Hiking in the Mountains
A Survivor’s Guide

Did you know that the inner bark of the marula tree, if crushed and pulped is a wonderful anti-histamine? And that the common-garden “black jack” or “khaki bos” are part of the spinach family and can be quite safely eaten. Why stop there? Ants are quite nutritious. And flying ants are full of lanolin oil – which is wonderful for your skin. Even rats are edible. Ask an expert which berries and fruit in the area where you are hiking are edible

Get up early in the morning and watch the bees when the sun is at the right angle. When they are hunting for food they zigzag all over the place, but when going back to their hive they fly straight back there. Follow them and see if you can get some honey, using a smoke to get them out. But avoid getting stung.

Some tracking skills can come in handy when trying to find your way, but also for tracking game.

If short of water and devices for carrying, why not cut a hanging vine? This is loaded with delicious fresh water. Talking about being short of water, it is always good practice to carry a short straw or piece of flexible tubing so that you can suck water up from puddles which are too shallow to scoop water from. With some dry riverbeds you do not have to dig deep to find water. Observing game can often lead you to the water spots. Steri-tablets are helpful for killing bacteria in doubtful water. In a survival situation the taste is not too bad.

Whilst on the topic of inner bark, you can use that to plait rope. Did you know that you can also plait rope from toilet rolls? With enough toilet rolls and effort, you can plait a rope to pull a 10-ton truck. Once you start applying your McGiver mind to things, there is no limit to the human ingenuity to make life comfortable.

Fire is always a huge psychological aid to survival, and the experts always recommend that one of the first things that you should try to do in a survival situation is to get a fire lit and keep it going. The traditional method of lighting a fire using a softwood block and a hardwood stick is quite difficult to do, especially as you need dry kindling which is quite hard to find when it is raining and that is when you need the fire most. Did you know that if you mix Condie’s Crystals (Potassium Permanganate) and Glycerine together a chemical reaction takes place resulting in fire? These items are sometimes found in first aid kits.

Of course it is prudent to carry waterproof matches in your backpack, or a magnesium stick from which you can make magnesium flakings and set alight by rubbing a steel knife against the flint backing which comes with the magnesium stick. This is very handy as an intensely hot flame is produced which can light most wet kindling and get you going. Failing this, if you have a car handy with it’s battery still working, you could try and get a spark off this to light some dry grass kindling. Cotton wool also makes quite effective kindling. And of course, once you have your fire going, don’t let it go out.

Fire is practical for fending off wild animals. A handy thing to do is to find thorn bushes and make a coral around your shelter so that wild animals cannot easily get at you at night. Also, keep a pile of stones and sticks as handy weapons. If you still have your pocketknife, you can lash this to a long stick to make a suitable stabbing spear. Fire also has the practical use of showing your rescuers where you are, especially at night.
Did you know that if you are short of salt and flavouring, the white ashes form a fire are quite nutritious?

Try to build a fire-beacon or mark out with stones a sign so that your rescuers can spot you from the air.

So why not learn about this beforehand and carry a small survival kit in your backpack. If you are going to get lost, always make sure you have your backpack with you with all these goodies in such as a fishing line and hooks, waterproof matches, a mirror for signaling, a meter-square clear plastic sheet to build you own water still, a straw, a whistle.

A bright orange survival bag is always an essential part of your survival gear and can serve many purposes, form carrying water, keeping warm in cold and wet weather, keeping your things dry when crossing rivers, to aiding aircraft spotting you. Using a mirror also helps, but only when the sun shines, so a small flashlight is also essential.

Did you know that the light on your watch can sometimes help with your personal visibility at close range in pitch darkness?

You know what they say about insurance: You cannot buy it when you need it. The same with survival – it is best to know about these things before you get into the predicament. There are a number of survival books out and most books on hiking carry some information on survival tips.