Desert hiking is actually quite a fun recreational activity for many. Despite the harsh and arid environment that a desert brings, many hikers and adventurers press on in these places anyways, whether it’s for the experience or for a change of pace from the usual forest hikes.
However, accidents can and will happen, no matter what kind of trail you are in. If you find yourself thrust on a survival situation in the desert due to losing your way from the trail, you will need to think fast on what to do next.
Your priorities while trying to survive in a desert environment may differ from trying to survive while lost in a mountain or a forest, simply due to the different structure of the environment around you.
With all that said, here are some survival tips that you can use to help keep you alive for as long as possible while you search for help or safety.
Try to find water, but prioritize watching your sweat
Other than the ungodly heat radiating from the environment especially during midday, deserts are characterized by water… or rather, their lack of it.
For animals that have been groomed to survive in such environments through generations of evolution and adaption, this isn’t a problem that can’t be solved without changing the way they function, both inside and outside.
For humans though? We’re in big trouble without access to water. We can even start experiencing dehydration in as little six hours without having water to drink.
In the desert, what you should primarily be concerned is not the water outside of your body, but rather inside. Sure, you have a lot of water inside your canteen that you can chug down when you feel thirsty, but what about the inside of your body? How much have you sweat?
It’s not uncommon for people to die on the desert from dehydration despite still having water inside their canteens, or jugs and even have some to spare in the form of plastic bottles.
Thirst, for instance, is a good indicator that you really need to put water inside of you, but dehydration can strike even if you aren’t feeling thirsty. If you’re sweating up buckets, it’s better to take a good drink to fill yourself up and restore your water levels to safety – The water inside your canteen isn’t going to be too helpful to you if you’re dead from dehydration.
But now you will be faced with another problem: Finding more water. As mentioned earlier, water isn’t exactly abundant in the desert, so you will need to watch for signs of nearby water sources. Vegetations and trees such as palm are good indicators that there is a water source nearby, while animals and insects can lead you to water since they too need water to sustain themselves.
Make a fire
It might seem odd at first to put fire making as part of your desert survival priorities, especially with how hot the environment already is, but like in other survival situations, fire can provide you with more than just heat.
Fire can cook, have its smoke signal people from the air, purify water, keep potential predatorial animals away, and even be a guiding light during the night. Oh, and while deserts may still remain slightly warm during summer nights, they are definitely known for getting quite cold during the winter, so a fire will be helpful there.
Eat cactus fruit, but don’t drink from the cactus
A cactus in the desert can be really helpful, but not in the way you would expect.
While you might think that a cactus has water that can help quench your thirst, the “water” inside of it is actually a liquid filled with a lot of alkali that can give you stomach troubles for the days to come. While not completely inedible, your body certainly will not appreciate it at all, especially as they need to consume a lot more energy to properly get it inside of you. Plus, you’ll just feel terrible the entire time.
On the other hand, however, a cactus can have fruit. Prickly pear, for instance, is just one of the many fruits that you can find on a cactus. They are safe and edible to eat, filling up your stomach to help give you nutrients, while also giving you a little hydration boost in the process! Fruits like these are immensely wonderful, especially if you can find multiple of them, but it might be tough, since deserts can have a lot of empty spots.
Try to find or build a shelter
The strong sun in the desert can get immensely potent, and can cause all kinds of skin diseases, which is certainly more than just an annoying sunburn down at the beach.
Ideally, you would be able to build a shelter in the desert but considering how most of the day will be spent under the blazing sun, finding some rock formations that can shade you from the heat can be helpful in allowing you to rest and recover your energy away from the sun’s dangerous rays, at least until the starts going down. At that point, you can start considering a more “permanent” shelter, at least until you need to move on.
Don’t hunt animals, let animals come to you
You’re totally out of your element in the desert. Many of these animals are adapted to surviving and hiding away until the time is right to head out.
This means that trying to chase after and catch these animals will more likely than not lead you empty-handed, sweaty, and with a lot of energy spent, which is something you absolutely do not want to happen, especially when you want to conserve your energy amidst limited and dwindling resources.
Instead, considering trap-laying in front of holes and mounds with suspected lizards or insects, and maybe place a piece of bait from that prickly pear you picked up earlier to entice the inhabitants to come out to play. That way, you save your energy, and even if it turns out to be a dud, you will not have wasted too much energy.