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| A Simple Lean-To Shelter. Courtesy of Flickr User Erik Fitzpatrick |
1: Stay Put
Unless you're planning on sustained off the grid living, most survival situations will involve you being lost and waiting for rescue. The last thing you should do is start moving farther away from your potential rescue crew. Once you realize you're lost stay put, most SAR teams will deploy within 12 to 24 hours so you'll most likely only need to survive for one or two days at the most. Moving around will increase this.
Related to this - if you're in a group don't split up for any reason. Stay put and stay together.
2: Find Shelter
Regardless of the current temperature, you should always construct or find a shelter. A hollowed out log will do, an overhanging rock or cave will suffice, but you may have to construct something. A shelter will not only protect you from wind and rain, but if properly built will help retain heat by preventing heat loss by radiation. A shelter should be just large enough for you to fit in but not so long that it can't insulate you.
Many people overlook one of the most important parts of a shelter - the floor. Insulate yourself from the ground with grass or leaves - anything to prevent the cold ground from leaching away your precious body heat.
3: Find Water
Water is your next priority, and is your only logical reason for continuing to move in a survival situation. You can usually survive about 3 days without water but that's it. If there is no water within a short distance to your location and you know where water is, go to the water and then stay there. Be sure to drink from moving water sources (streams not standing pools) and purify this if possible.
4: Build a Fire
Regardless of how hot or cold you think it will be, start a fire and keep it lit. Gather however much wood you think you'll need to maintain your fire for the night - and then gather ten times that amount. Be vigilant and keep that fire going.
5: Find Food
6: Don't Sweat
If you sweat, you're dead. Sweat will weigh your clothing down, but most importantly when the temperature drops at night it will chill you, possibly leading to hypothermia. If you begin to sweat, stop working until the sweat dries. If you become too damp, dry your clothes off over your fire immediately.
7: Stay Dry
Basically a rehashing of #6. That's how important it is. If it rains, stop working and get under your shelter. Don't let yourself get soaked - it can be a death sentence in anything but the hottest of weathers.
8: Care for Injuries Immediately
A simple cut can lead to an infection within hours. Sanitation will be almost non-existant in a survival situation so you have to do what you can in order to keep your wounds clean and caring for serious injuries/illnesses immediately. An infection can be fatal in the wilderness.
9: Build Signals
Once you've gotten your immediate concerns taken care of, you should start thinking about being more active in your rescue. If you have anything that is brightly colored in contrast with the local foliage, put that on your shelter or an area where it is easily visible. Grab green, sappy wood or other materials that will make a black smoke to alert helicopters. Scout your immediate area and see if there are any clearings that are more easily visible to choppers.
10: Stay Calm
The psychological issues of survival are important. Don't panic. Learn to stop, breath calmly and think rationally about your situation. Being panicked helps no one and leads to rash decisions that you may regret (if you live to).
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