Desert Survival Tips

By Paul Kigen.

As an individual who grew up visiting various deserts around the world, I can assure you that survival in the desert is an incredibly hard task. The dry surrounding air draws moisture out of you so fast, to a point, it might be hard to stay hydrated even when you’re working in your own backyard. You won’t survive for a long time in any desert without enough water as you would in a more humid climate. In an area where water locating a water source is a hassle, and even the animals and plants struggle to get by every day, it can be a real challenge to get by without many inconveniences.

To help you last for as long as possible out there, family survival farm has compiled a list of the various survival skills that could save your life in the desert.

1.          Do not overeat.

The more you eat, the more water you’ll need to stay alive. In case water is scarce (it’s more likely it will be), then you’ll want only to eat the amount needed to keep your energy levels up. Any more than what’s required and you place yourself in a risk of using up too much of your priceless water supply.

2.          Prepare for the cold.

In case you’ve spent some time in the desert, then you know the nights are tremendously cold.  At the start, this will feel like an awesome relief after a long hot day, but as the night goes by, you might find yourself freezing from the cold. It’s crucial, therefore, that you prepare (well) for the cold nights and the hot days.

3.         Move at Night.

You’re advised to rest amidst the day and only move during the night. Not only does trekking during the day increase your body temperature, but also makes you sweat, speeding up dehydration as a result. Try and locate a shady area to sleep off the day so that when the night comes, you’re ready to travel.

4.          Keep your Clothes On.

You might get tempted to take off your clothes when the temperatures’ escalate, but you are better off if you don’t. Exposing your bare body to the sun worsens dehydration and also places your body at a risk of severe sunburns.

5.          Cover your head.

This might seem like a contradicting advice as most people take off their hats to keep their heads cool, but if your head, with its possibly dark hair, is wide-open to the sun throughout the day, your body is likely to absorb a lot of heat, making it hard to stay cool. Preferably, you’ll need to cover your head using a light colored shirt or hat.

6.          Wear Light Colors.

Dark colors absorb sunlight while light colors reflect it. And since keeping your body cool is the main priority here, the latter is far more desirable than the former.

7.          Watch out for the floods.

Floods sound like the last thing you should have to worry about when you’re stuck in a desert, and yeah, 98%of the time it’s true. But, in case it rains in the desert, it rains hard, and as a result, flash floods turn out to be the norm. Whenever you spot thunderheads approaching, abstain from dry washes.

8.          Locate a water source.

Any person stuck in the desert with no water supplies is in an exceedingly dangerous situation. Luckily, there are a number of ways you can use to locate water sources in a desert. In case it's summertime, look for cactus fruits. Consuming cactus fruits will help you stay hydrated, but, you’ll need to watch out because too much of cactus fruit can make you sick, as a result dehydrating you even rapidly.

This means that even after you’ve located cactus fruits, keep looking for water sources. Some of the ways to help you locate water sources in a desert include;

•        Animals like camels can lead you to a water source. Look for multiple animal trails converging in the same direction, especially downhill and follow them.

•        Explore the dark sides of Canyons. In case you come from the Northern hemisphere, search the north sides of the Canyons, and in case you’re from the southern hemisphere, explore the south sides of the Canyons.

•        Search just beneath the surfaces of dried up creek beds.

Good Luck Out There!