Backcountry Survival Skills

A field-ready emergency and preparation reference for U.S. backcountry hunters.

Emergency Priorities

Use a calm decision sequence to control immediate danger before discomfort becomes an emergency.

Build overlapping plans for communication, navigation, weather, equipment, and a delayed return.

Stop compounding uncertainty, protect the group, and make movement decisions from evidence instead of panic.

Send useful information, conserve communication tools, and make yourself easier to locate safely.

Choose a safer site, stop conductive and wind-driven heat loss, and make darkness manageable.

Use flame only when legal and controllable, and never trade cold exposure for smoke or carbon monoxide poisoning.

Protect hydration without treating a mapped water feature as proof that safe water is present.

Recognize dangerous cooling early, stop additional heat loss, and know when evacuation is urgent.

Recognize when ordinary fatigue has become heat illness and cool a person before transport decisions.

Recognize fast-moving hazards early enough to leave exposed terrain, smoke, or confined drainages.

Address life-threatening bleeding and scene hazards first, then protect the injured person while rescue is arranged.

Recognize serious changes, use prescribed rescue medication correctly, and avoid common harmful bite treatments.

Reduce surprise encounters, protect food and camp, and respond according to the animal and its behavior.