Wilderness Survival Skills

There's north and then there's true north. Find out how stabbing a stick in the dirt to make a shadow can help you find the true north.

By Cristen Conger & Jesslyn Shields

When wind and water steal heat from your body, your internal temperature plummets. Find out why you'll need more than just some mittens and a stocking cap to prevent hypothermia.

By Cristen Conger

Gandhi fasted for three weeks while he was in his 70s, but he had water to drink. How long can the average person last without food or drink?

By Charles W. Bryant

You may associate smoke signals with Native Americans in old Westerns, but they aren't totally a thing of the past. Find out why the Boy Scouts still teach kids how to make them -- and how you can send some yourself.

By Charles W. Bryant

The chance that you'll be shipwrecked on a deserted island and have to start a fire is slim. But let's imagine that you're lost somewhere and it's getting dark and you don't have any matches. What do you do now?

By Charles W. Bryant

Let's say you get lost in the woods. You're by yourself and don't really have any supplies. You know you need to find water -- but how?

By Charles W. Bryant

You may not be John Rambo but that doesn't mean you don't need to know basic survival techniques. If you were stranded in the wilderness would you know how to build a basic shelter to shield you from the elements?

By Charles W. Bryant

Most of us have heard some amazing survival stories in our lives -- people living after hours trapped under an avalanche or amputating their own limbs to get free of traps. Check out some true survival stories.

By Allison Klein

Hey 63-year-old retired schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor took the challenge in 1901. How hard can it be? Well Ms. Taylor may have gotten lucky because these falls have claimed the lives of many. Find out what it takes and who in the world would volun

By Lee Ann Obringer