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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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