OK so you’re in the Arctic, you’ve made a base camp, eaten til you’re full and now you’re bored. My personal preference is to jump upon my sled and ride triumphantly out of the snow blizzard amazing and baffling locals with my ultimate survival skills ('Where the hell did them dogs come from?!'). Mwahhahahaha!!!
For those who aren't me unfortunately it looks like the rescue attempt has failed (people can be SO useless!), so you have made the decision to take matters into your own capable hands and to walk your way out. Make sure you lay your plans carefully and then stick to them. What course you decide to follow should be determined largely by your location and the terrain.
In mountainous or wooded areas, your best course, unless you know exactly where you are and have some definite destination, will be to FOLLOW STREAMS AND RIVERS DOWNSTREAM. They will lead you eventually either to some godforsaken post of civilization or to the coast where your chances of finding food and a native village will be good. There is just one exception to this rule - in Siberia (of course), rivers and streams should be FOLLOWED UPSTREAM. The rivers in Siberia flow north, while civilization is to the south.
In mountainous or wooded areas, your best course, unless you know exactly where you are and have some definite destination, will be to FOLLOW STREAMS AND RIVERS DOWNSTREAM. They will lead you eventually either to some godforsaken post of civilization or to the coast where your chances of finding food and a native village will be good. There is just one exception to this rule - in Siberia (of course), rivers and streams should be FOLLOWED UPSTREAM. The rivers in Siberia flow north, while civilization is to the south.
DON'T WANDER AIMLESSLY. Use your compass to maintain a general direction, but don't try to travel in a straight line. Follow the contours of the land for the easiest going in the general direction that you want to go. If you have no pocket compass, you can make one
WHEN YOU CAMP, camp on the mountains and not in the valleys. Slopes and ridges in the Arctic are always warmer than the valleys.
In thick woods, BLAZE A TRAIL on the trees as you go, just in case you have to double back on your course.
Different Blaze trail makers, yeah who's a survival expert now?!
PLENTY OF FOOD AND REST is the secret of Arctic travel, particularly in the winter. Don't rush, cook at least one hot meal a day, and be sure to get adequate sleep. You can survive many days without food if you relax and avoid exhaustion, DON'T WORRY ABOUT FREEZING TO DEATH WHILE YOU SLEEP. Unless you are exhausted you will wake up before you freeze.
See?! Easy!
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