Free The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide: The Ultimate Guide for Short-Term Survival by J. Wayne Fears

How to Use This Little Book
     
1. When you first get this book, sit down and READ it . Think about what you are reading and how it can apply to you and your outings.
2. Reread the chapter entitled “Survival Kit” and make a list of the items you need to purchase to put one together.
3. On a weekend you want to do something that is fun and educational, take your survival kit into the woods and spend the night using the items in the kit. Upon completion of the overnight test , be sure to replace any items that may be difficult to repack into a compact package.This exercise may also help you discover items you will want in your survival kit that my list did not include. Remember it is YOUR survival kit, so modify it to meet your needs.
4. This book does not go into navigational skills. I feel this requires training that, like first aid, you should have before you start exploring the backcountry. If you haven’t had training in the proper use of your GPS or map and compass, get it ASAP. That alone can keep you from ever needing this book.
5. This book covers only the most basic first-aid skills. It is my belief that everyone who ventures into the backcountry should have successfully taken a Red Cross first-aid course. Also, those who have special medical conditions should be skilled in managing them.
6. Place this book in your survival kit so it will be there if, and when, you need it to guide you through a survival situation. It was designed to be small enough to fit into your kit, and concise enough to be a quick and easy resource when you are in trouble.
7. Be sure you always read, then practice the information found in the chapter entitled “Before You Go.” This will help keep your time in a survival situation short.
8. If you find yourself in a lost or stranded situation, stop, sit down, think, remain calm, don’t panic and plan to stay put. By gaining control of yourself in these first few minutes, you have increased your chances of survival by 50 percent.
9. When you first realize you are lost and in trouble is the time to dig this book out and use it to guide you toward a safe wait until you are found.
10. As a Maine game warden once said, “Even in today’s modern world there are many trappers and guides that spend the night in the woods with little more than what is found in a basic survival kit, they spend their lives doing it. Relax—you may even enjoy your unplanned stay in the woods.”
     
    Take a first-aid course and keep your training up to date. You may have to treat your own injuries in a survival emergency.
     
     



1. SEARCH & RESCUE
     

Modern Search & Rescue Works for You
    If you have taken the time and precaution to file a trip plan with a responsible person before your outing, then should you not return on time, you will not go unnoticed for very long. This will begin a series of events that will result in your being rescued quickly.
     
    Many missing people give up hope quickly because they think no one is looking for them. Modern search and rescue is usually on the site within a few hours.
     
    One of the most common, and dangerous, fears most lost or stranded people have is that no one will know to come looking for them. If you have followed the steps in the next chapter of this book, then you can put this fear to rest; trained people will be looking for you soon. If you stay put once you realize you are lost, then it will take even less time to find you. Trying to walk out, panicking and running will work against you; and it will take much longer for rescuers to find you. For every hour a lost person walks, the search area grows four times larger. You should stay put and wait to be found!

Here Is How It Works
     
    A search starts quickly when you are reported missing to local authorities. In most cases, this is the county sheriff, district forest ranger or conservation officer. In Canada it is usually the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Today, many of these officers have received formal