How to survive in the forest: Cooking techniques in the wild. How to survive in the forest without food Methods of getting food in the forest

Man has been obtaining food in the wild since time immemorial. If earlier this was the first necessity and condition for survival, then with the advent of civilization many hunter-gatherer skills were lost. Finding yourself in the unusual environment of a wild forest, you can get confused and not immediately notice that food in the forest surrounds us on all sides. Nature offers man a lot of options for survival. It takes very little effort to not die of hunger in extreme conditions, while being able to get food for yourself. Knowing how to get food in the forest, you can go on a journey without fear.

Finding food in the wild

Much of what you can see while walking through the forest can be used to nourish and maintain strength. Therefore, when looking for food, you must first of all carefully look around you and at your feet. Food can even be found on tree trunks and under their bark. And an ordinary plant can not only be edible in itself, but also hide useful prey in its shadow.

How to get food when you are alone with wild nature? It’s easy to deal with plant food – you don’t need any special equipment to collect it, other than knowledge of edibility and toxicity. A strong stick is enough to dig out roots and worms.

Obtaining food that can fly, run and jump will require some skill and the availability of available tools or the manufacture of devices. It’s good if you have a rope or lace - they make snares or loops with which you can catch birds and hares. If you get used to it, you can catch fish using a homemade harpoon.

Methods of obtaining food are varied and depend on who or what is being hunted, where and at what time of year. So, in spring and summer it is easy to collect bird eggs. In winter, it is logical to track mammals by trail.

Methods of obtaining food and nutrition in the forest

Depending on the time of year, the quantity, quality and range of pasture in the forest changes. But you can be alone with nature at any time - you need to be able to find food for yourself both in the heat and in the cold. Winter is the most difficult time for survival in the wild. Finding food in winter is a severe test for a civilized person. However, the nature of the middle zone offers enough options for both winter and summer food:

• trees: the thin layer under the bark is edible - sapwood;
• mushrooms on tree trunks: oyster mushrooms, winter honey fungus;
• berries: rose hips, hawthorn, rowan;
• horse sorrel seeds, acorns, cones;
• plants: burdock roots, Icelandic moss;
• edible insects: grasshoppers, ants;
• birds and animals: hares, squirrels, mice.

Nature waking up in the spring gives much more chances for getting food. Young shoots are especially valuable for nutrition, and the ability to dig up underground parts of plants increases the nutritional value of the diet. Most of the herbs that are edible in the spring and summer are considered malicious weeds in civilized life and are mercilessly exterminated, but as food in the forest they will give a person a chance to survive.

The riot of vegetation and diversity of animal life in summer will not leave even the most inexperienced lost traveler hungry. Food in the forest in autumn is no less varied than in summer: even more berries ripen, nuts ripen, and the number of edible mushrooms increases.

A summary of the use of various plants depending on the season is shown in the table.

Expand the table of flora depending on the season

Necessary substances in pasture

To live, you need good nutrition with foods that contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. It is worth considering in what finds around us these or those elements of nutritious nutrition are hidden.

Carbohydrates

Plant foods in the forest, which can most easily be collected in the wild, contain mainly carbohydrates - a source of energy, fiber and vitamins. Parts of plants rich in starch will help you get enough: root tubers and rhizomes. When searching for food, you should not neglect anything: many herbs that are inconspicuous at first glance are edible. They have enough energy value to maintain and strengthen the vitality of the body.

Vegetable protein

The main source of vegetable protein is mushrooms, containing up to 40% protein in dry matter. In their composition they are close to meat. “Silent hunting,” or searching for food in the form of mushrooms, is usually fun and not difficult. But it’s important to be able to recognize which mushrooms you can eat and which ones you should avoid. If you are not sure that “plant-based meat” is edible, then it is better not to experiment.

Animal protein and fats

Most people prefer to eat not only plant foods, but also animal foods, which provide the body with proteins and fats. All small rodents are suitable for food in the forest: moles, mice, squirrels, hares, hedgehogs. Birds and fish will delight anyone who is hungry. In addition, do not disdain frogs, lizards, snakes, and snails.

The easiest way to start searching for food is with frogs and snails. This forest “meat” is a frequent guest in restaurants serving French cuisine. The frog tastes like chicken with fishy notes. The edible part of the snail is the head and leg, which contains more protein than a chicken egg. Large grape snails are no less successful than frogs in becoming affordable food in the forest. It is somewhat more difficult to obtain mice, shrews and moles for food, but it is also possible. The entire carcass of a field mouse contains a full range of substances necessary for the life of the body.

Edible insects are quite suitable for food in extreme situations and not only: in many countries they are eaten with pleasure at every opportunity. Pasture in the form of grasshoppers and locusts is a gastronomic delight that is often found in the wild. You should not bypass anthills: ants and larvae are a source of complete protein and phosphorus. Ants can be eaten at all stages of development and in any form.

Another available protein food is right under your feet, or rather, crawling in the ground. In this case, to get food, a stick is enough to dig up protein-rich earthworms - they will become a valuable help in an extreme situation.

Food in the forest: to cook or not

If it is not possible to light a fire, then you will have to master a raw food diet, which will somewhat reduce the variety and nutritional value of the forest menu. Food in the forest that can be consumed without heat treatment - mainly above-ground parts of plants, berries, nuts - you just need to find and collect them. The underground parts of the plants will require preliminary digging and cleaning. It is advisable to wash any pasture before eating. The food in the forest that is animal will require heat treatment - it is better to fry or boil it for better digestion.

Usually, if a person finds himself in a difficult situation, he does not have special tools for hunting or fishing with him. in such a situation? There is always a knife! He will help you get food.

Animal food

• Let's start with animal food. The easiest prey option is earthworms. These are organisms rich in proteins. You should dig up a handful of worms and soak them in water for several hours. After this you can eat it. It is, of course, impossible to look at such food. It is best to boil it, the taste will be more pleasant. The same applies to caterpillars.
• The next dish is frogs. Remember that in French restaurants this is a delicacy. Catching these animals is not that difficult. To eat, you need to remove the skin and place the legs on sticks to fry. Ready frog meat tastes like chicken.
• Mice are more difficult to catch, but still possible. Gut, remove the skin and roast over the fire. Studies by some scientists have shown that if you eat mice with all their insides, the body will receive all the nutrients and will not suffer from vitamin deficiency.
• You can also eat birds if you manage to catch them. Such meat is much more pleasant for humans. Bird eggs are also a very nutritious dish. You can drink it raw or boil it.
• Oddly enough, ant eggs are considered nutritious. They contain all the necessary nutrients. To get eggs, you need to remove the top of the anthill and throw on a white cloth. The ants will lay all their eggs under your fabric, protecting it from the sun.
• Grasshoppers, non-venomous snakes, lizards are all edible animals. But catching them is much more difficult.

Plant food

• People usually eat food with bread. Water lily leaves can replace it. They are rich in starch and taste like a bun.
• Many people think that you can only eat berries in the forest, but this is not true. There are many green plants that are eaten.
• For example, cattail or, in our opinion, reed. The edible part is the root. It can be sliced, boiled, fried or baked. The roasted root can be brewed. It tastes like a coffee drink.
• Icelandic lichen contains large amounts of starch and sugar. But it has an unpleasant bitterness. Before use, you need to soak it in water with ash.
• Burdock is used as a vegetable plant. In the forest, it will replace your carrots, potatoes, and parsley. The root and leaves can be added to soup. The rhizome is also eaten raw.

The next plant is hogweed. It tastes like cucumber. It is consumed raw, boiled or fried. But you need to be very careful with this herb. The fact is that hogweed juice can cause skin burns. But this happens when the sun's rays hit the skin. Therefore, carefully cut this plant and protect your eyes.

In addition, do not forget that not all forest inhabitants are friendly. While picking mushrooms, you can easily stumble upon a snake. It is important to know in order to provide medical assistance.

in autumn

Autumn - It's time when you can easily find mushrooms and berries.

So, we all know that it is important to distinguish edible from inedible.

Edible mushrooms.

1. The cap is spongy.
2. Doesn't darken when broken.
3. The colors are favorable, not flashy. Remember, plants that are too bright are usually poisonous. Coloring is their warning sign. Just remember the fly agaric.

It is better not to eat mushrooms raw; boil or fry them.

In autumn, in the forest you can find strawberries, currants, raspberries, lingonberries, cranberries, blueberries, blueberries, cloudberries, dogwoods, blackberries, and stone fruits.

As a rule, everyone knows what these berries look like. Eat only familiar fruits, otherwise it will lead to severe poisoning.

in winter

In winter, food is much more difficult to find, and the body, on the contrary, requires more calories.

First of all, pay attention to the berries that grow until the very cold - these are rose hips, hawthorn, rowan. If you see an oak tree, then you can find acorns under the snow. They need to be soaked and cooked. You can also find burdock or sorrel.

It is almost impossible to get game without special equipment. But if you’re lucky, you can watch for a hazel grouse and catch it at its roosting site.

The simplest options for food in winter are tree bark, buds, and the outer part of the trunk. Birch and pine are the most nutritious. Any mushroom picker or just a tourist should know how to collect birch sap. To do this, the top bark must be removed, but the young, green bark must be cut into strips and chewed. Buds, willow and oak twigs are all good for food.

In winter you can also find mushrooms, especially since they will be noticeable simply due to the absence of other plants. Most often these are tree mushrooms or oyster mushrooms. Chaga has therapeutic properties. Winter honey fungus can be found on aspen; it usually grows in groups. You can also meet the false honey fungus; it is also suitable for food.

How to reheat and cook food

Of course, it is better to heat treat all food, especially animal food. This way, you will protect your body from various diseases.

Naturally, the easiest way to do this is over a fire. Here you need to consider what exactly you are preparing. If these are some kind of plants, then they should be thoroughly dried and lightly fried.

Remember that any person has enough energy reserves to reach populated areas. First of all, try to reach people! And only if it is not possible to leave the forest, then you need to know the following.

Cold, snowy winter forest, it would seem that you can find food there without having a gun or a backpack full of stewJBut this is only at first glance. In fact, even in a winter forest without weapons or any hunting skills, you can find food and survive. Although this is not very easy, it is possible. Remember, the northern peoples prepare food for themselves all summer in order to survive in the winter. But if you find yourself in an extreme situation, it doesn’t matter how or why, and accordingly you have no reserves. You will have to get food - here are some tips on how to do it

Mushrooms in the winter forest

Surprisingly, mushrooms grow in the forest in winter. There are not many of them, but they are all tasty, widespread and not at all difficult to collect. Winter mushrooms grow mainly on tree trunks, as well as on fallen trees and stumps. They are easy to collect, since the lack of foliage on the trees allows you to see the mushrooms from afar. Types of mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms, winter honey fungus and sulphurous honey fungus can be collected throughout the winter. In the winter forest, not only edible mushrooms grow, but also medicinal ones, for example, chaga, the harvest time of which falls right at this time. Chaga contains substances that together determine its unique therapeutic properties. The main active principle of chaga is a chromogenic polyphenolcarbon complex, which has the highest biological activity and is a powerful biogenic stimulant. This complex is unique, and it has not been found in any other tinder fungi. At the beginning of winter, you can find autumn mushrooms in the forest - row mushrooms, autumn honey mushrooms, tinder fungi. The most common in the winter forest are late oyster mushrooms, which do not differ in appearance from those grown in greenhouses. The shape of oyster mushrooms is similar to shells, which is why they are called shell or oyster mushrooms. The color of the cap of these mushrooms can be light gray, bluish, brown or yellowish. Oyster mushrooms are sometimes confused with tinder fungus, which, unlike oyster mushrooms, lacks a stem, and the flesh is hard and unsuitable for consumption as food. Winter honey fungus is a bright yellow-orange color, with sparse light plates under its cap. The long, hard leg is covered with light fluff and becomes darker at the bottom. The top of the mushroom cap is covered with protective mucus. The bright orange winter honey fungus against the background of white and blue snow is very beautiful. They grow in groups, most often on aspen, elm, poplar, willow, as well as on old apple and pear trees. It is known that winter honey fungus has an antiviral effect and even stops the growth of cancer cells. Less common is the sulfur-plated false honey fungus; it grows on stumps and dead wood of coniferous trees. It should not be confused with the poisonous sulfur-yellow false honey, which has a bitter taste and unpleasant odor. The edible mushroom has a pleasant mushroom smell.

Berries and pasture in winter

Well, first of all, berries, such as rose hips, lemongrass, hawthorn, rowan and so on. Such berries hang until frost, and sometimes even longer. You can look for cranberries under the snow on the bolts. If you manage to find oak trees, immediately dig through the snow, under it you will probably find acorns that can be soaked and then cooked. Dead burdock stands are clearly visible from under the snow. And we know that burdock root can replace potatoes for us. But here you will have to strain yourself and dig a little into the frozen ground. However, if there is a lot of snow and you dig it out quickly, it is quite possible that the ground will not be so frozen. The rich layer of leaves acts like a thermos, and most often the ground under the snow in the forest is soft.

In winter, horse sorrel sticks out from under the snow in thick tufts of seeds. It is not difficult to see them from afar, thick cinnamon rods with a large number of seeds. These seeds can be used as cereal. The taste is a bit like Hercules oatmeal. The roots of reeds and reeds can be eaten; in winter, these plants are quite easy to find.

Edible parts of trees

Not only herbaceous plants are edible, but even trees! No, this does not mean that in the depths of the taiga there grows a little-known sausage tree, which, after being cut down, can be cut into circles, like an ordinary “Doctor’s” sausage. Of course not. It is not the trees themselves that are edible, but their individual components, and even then not at any time of the year. For example, cones, acorns or sapwood - thin young bark adjacent to the trunk.

Pine can offer five edible parts to the table: unopened flower buds, young shoots, sapwood, cones, and pine needles as a vitamin drink.

Birch trees have sapwood and bark

The dwarf polar willow is almost entirely edible. This shrub, no more than 60 cm high, is often found in the tundra. It grows in groups, sometimes completely covering the ground.

In the polar willow, in early spring, the internal parts of young shoots freed from bark are eaten. You can even eat them raw! In addition, the young leaves are edible and are 7-10 times richer in vitamin C than oranges. Blooming "earrings". Young roots, cleared of soil.

And even the trunks, freed from bark, well boiled and ground

Edible trees include oak. Since ancient times, the inhabitants of Europe have saved themselves from hunger using oak acorns. Acorns were collected at the end of September or immediately after the first frost. Raw acorns are not suitable for food due to the abundance of tannins in them.

Therefore, they were peeled, cut into four parts and filled with water, soaked for two days, changing the water three times a day to eliminate the bitter taste. Then they poured water again in the proportion of two parts water to one part acorns and brought to a boil.

The boiled acorns were scattered in a thin layer in the open air on a wooden baking sheet to pre-dry, and then dried in an oven or on the stove until the acorns began to crunch like crackers. After this they were pounded or ground. At the same time, coarse grains were used for porridge, and flour was used for baking flat cakes.

I will quote several ancient recipes for foods made from trees.

“Next, dried fish roe is prepared, which is intended mainly for men who go into the forest to catch wild animals. Having with him one single pound of this dried caviar, the Kamchadal is provided with provisions for a whole month, because when he wants to eat, he cuts off the bark of a birch tree (and they grow here everywhere in abundance), removes the upper soft bark, and the hard part of it, adjacent just to the trunk of a tree, spreads a small amount of fish roe he took with him, and then eats it like a cracker or like a sandwich, which is all his food.”

“The bark (of birch) is in great use, for the inhabitants, having scraped the bark from a damp tree, chop it with hatchets, like noodles, finely and eat it with dried caviar with such pleasure that in winter you cannot find a Kamchatka prison in which women would not sit near a damp birch ridge and did not crumble the declared noodles with their stone or bone axes.”

“Dried sapwood of larch or spruce, rolled into a tube and dried, is used as food not only in Siberia, but also in Russia up to Khlynov and Vyatka during famine years.”

“The Chukchi used leaves and young shoots of willow to prepare one of their favorite dishes and stored them for future use. Bags made from seal skins were stuffed with willow, and this kind of silage was left to sour throughout the summer. In late autumn, such an acidic mass froze and in the following months it was cut into slices and eaten like bread.”

I hope the above lines have convinced skeptics that trees can be used not only as firewood or building material, but also served!

The most nutritious and tasty sapwood (sometimes incorrectly called bast) is in the spring, during the period of sap flow and intensive growth of the tree. Although, in principle, it can be used for gastronomic purposes in summer and autumn. Some sources claim: during severe famine, northern peoples also ate winter sapwood as an additive to other products. Although, probably, at this time of year it is no longer much different from the upper crust. But, as they say, hunger is no help, there is no time for gourmet food here.

Moreover, I read historical chronicles that talked about eating bark in general, although it is generally accepted that the upper bark of trees is not suitable for food due to the too rich content of tannins. It's difficult to figure this out. It probably all depends on the degree of hunger.

Academician Likhachev said in one interview that in besieged Leningrad, people dying of hunger ate sawdust (!), for which they threw it into the water, where the tree, having been there for a long time, began to ferment. They ate this fermented, smelly, but protein-producing mushy mass.

When harvesting sapwood, it is best to remove it at the base of the trunk or even from thick roots that have emerged to the surface of the earth, where it is most nutritious and juicy.

There are different methods for extracting sapwood

.

The simplest is to use a knife or an ax to make two deep circular horizontal cuts on the trunk and two vertical cuts connecting them. Remove the top bark by prying it off on one side with a knife. If it does not yield well, you can use small wooden wedges driven between the trunk and the bark

In principle, sapwood can be eaten raw - its taste is sweetish, of course, not without a “woody” aftertaste. Long-term cooking significantly improves its taste. Sapwood, immersed in boiling water, gradually soaks, swells and turns into a uniform gelatinous mass, which, after slightly cooling, should be eaten.

If this “porridge” is dried on stones heated over a fire, or another improvised frying pan, then the resulting flour can be used for baking bread cakes.

The secondary bark of birch, willow, maple, pine, aspen, larch, spruce, and poplar is considered the most nutritious. By the way, all of the trees listed above, except larch, have edible buds and young shoots raw, but better when cooked.

The drippings of juice that has evaporated and thickened on the trunks, reminiscent of chewing gum, are nutritious.

Game

Of course, the best thing to eat in cold weather is fried or boiled meat, but if you don’t have a weapon, it will be very difficult to get it. Although you might be able to catch a hazel grouse if you’re lucky. To do this, you first need to find a place to spend the night. Keep an eye on the birds if they suddenly fly out from under your feet, but do not actively pursue them, otherwise they will just run away. These birds feed at dawn and dusk, after which they bury themselves in the snow. Take the nearest hole and wait until dark. Stepping almost silently, and lighting your way with a torch, you need to approach the hole and fall onto it with your whole body, while spreading out your clothes. You might get lucky.

If you have a weapon, try hunting, remember, the wind must blow in your face all the time, otherwise the animal will smell you before you see it!!! Traces, learn to read them. With some skill and windy weather, you can sneak up on a hare's bed. Attention: This seemingly good-natured bunny calmly rips open your winter jacket and your belly underneath with a kick from his hind leg. Even a small, wounded animal is dangerous (there is a known case when a stunned hare lying in a shoulder bag came to his senses and tore his back and padded jacket and sweater into meat). Kill for sure. Place traps and snares on animal paths. You can make a trap like an ice bucket in the snow, which is covered on top with a piece of ice with a hole and bait inside. There is also a vertical pipe ice trap; if you are lucky, you can catch a bird there. The pipe is large enough for a bird or animal to easily get into it for bait, but it will be difficult to get out (it slips). Do not disdain mice, they are easier to get. These traps can be made with your bare hands. Place a bucket or tin can of hot water or coals on the snow and it will gradually sink, and the edges and bottom of the resulting pit will be covered with ice. A black object thrown onto the snow on a sunny day, a cooled coal, will also begin to sink into the snow or ice. Look for thawed areas on the rivers, there is something to profit from, if possible, make an ice hole yourself, you are guaranteed fish, since in winter there is a lack of oxygen under the ice. At night, you can lure fish with the light of a torch or flashlight; don’t forget to make a spear before doing this.You can also look for winter reserves of forest inhabitants, squirrels and birds on bushes and trees. Always leave a supply of caught food, preferably for 3-4 days. Depending on the amount mined

B. Polevoy "The Tale of a Real Man"

"That day he was lucky again. In the fragrant juniper bush, with which he was picking off the gray, matte berries with his lips, he saw some a strange lump of fallen leaf. He touched it with his hand - the lump was heavy and not crumbled. Then he began to tear off the leaves and pricked himself on the protruding needles through them. He guessed: a hedgehog. Big old hedgehog climbing in thicket of a bush for the winter, for warmth I covered myself with fallen autumn leaves leaves. Insane joy took possession of Alexey... ...And then a piece of meat fell into his hands. Without a moment's hesitation, over the fact that hedgehogs are believed to be disgusting animals, he quickly tore off the scales of foliage from the animal. the hedgehog did not wake up, did not turn around and looked like a funny huge bean bristling with needles. With a blow of a dagger Alexey killed the hedgehog, turned it around, clumsily tore off the yellow skin on abdomen and spiny shell, cut it into pieces and began to tear with pleasure teeth still warm, bluish, sinewy meat, tightly adhered to the bones. Hedgehog was eaten immediately, without a trace. Alexey chewed and swallowed all the small ones bones and only after that I felt the disgusting smell of dog in my mouth. But what this means this smell is compared to a full stomach, from which everything the body was filled with satiety, warmth and drowsiness!”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Water

Speaking of water. It is better to use melted ice. Under no circumstances should you eat snow; this can lead to dehydration. Strange but true. There is also no need to eat ice in fragments; you can injure your lips, tongue or esophagus, and even get excessive hypothermia. Melting ice into water is much more efficient than melting snow.

Cooling degree and fire

The degree of cooling should be checked by trying to connect the little finger of the hand with the index finger. If that doesn't work, do 20 squats and start making a fire. Remember: during the physical exertion of setting up a camp or chopping firewood, under no circumstances should you allow your clothes to become damp from sweat. At night, it is always advisable to keep warm well. There is an exotic way of making fire in case there are no matches, etc. on a sunny day with ice. You need a transparent piece of ice, which you can use a knife or the warmth of your hands to shape into a lens. Of course, this is not exactly glass, but with some patience it can light a fire. Light up the “node”, prepare firewood for the whole night, and more. When making a bed, never make yourself a bed on the ground. better than a meter of snow. The frozen ground drains your strength very, very quickly.

Based on materialsInternet and books Andrey Ilyin"School of Survival. How to avoid starvation"

When I was little, adults took me into the forest to pick berries. After an hour of gathering, I became bored, and I rushed through the forest with a stick at the ready, hooting, and pretending to be an Indian with these actions.

One day I got so carried away that I lost sight of my people and realized that I was lost. I walked through the forest for about an hour until I heard my parents screaming. Then he hit me on the ass. By the way, my fear of the forest remains to this day, so when I go to barbecue I almost never leave the car. But, in case I suddenly get lost in the forest, I learned how to get food in the forest and not die of hunger.

Foraging for plant food in the forest

It would seem that everything is simple pick a berry, cut mushroom and chew. It's not easy at all, because it is necessary consider following factors:

• mushrooms are hard on the stomach;
• Very many poisonous types of mushrooms, so the death will not be from hunger, but from poisoning;
• black rowan can be easily confused with wolfberry, after tasting which you will immediately become a potential client of the pathologist.

Gather need those berries, in which sure: raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, rose hips, hawthorn and rowan.

Also, don’t be disdainful roots. For example, if dry and grind the reed root, then from the resulting substance it is possible prepare a drink, Looks like coffee. Next on the list nuts. That's where storehouse of vitamins.

Just don’t try to rob the squirrel, otherwise it may take revenge later by coming to you after another stormy banquet. :)

How to get food of animal origin in the forest

It's a little more complicated, but very real. If nothing to light a fire with, then look for something like this what can you eat raw. For example, bird eggs, it’s not beautiful, but it’s “good” to live. Insect larvae- disgusting, but in them a bunch of protein, but it tastes like chicken without salt. We close our eyes and cram this muck into ourselves.

They can also be eaten worms, grasshoppers, ants and caterpillars. If you have matches, or you have mastered the ancient art of making fire by friction, then You can get and cook such animal food:

• Jerzy. Easy to catch. After gutted and baked in clay.
• frogs- why are we worse than the French?
• Birds- can be knocked down with a stick or stone.
• Fish- can be caught in a stream or small lake.

We all believe that nothing can happen to us. That our train will never go off the rails, the car will never stop in the middle of the road with a broken tire, and the trip for mushrooms will end successfully and the path will lead straight to the house. Usually, in 99.9% of cases, this is exactly what happens.

However, every thousandth person is still unlucky. If you think about this constantly, it’s easier to sit at home and not stick your nose out the door, saying goodbye to hiking and traveling. Although in order to safely get out of such a jam, in fact, you need very little: take with you a map of the area, a spare tire and a repair kit when you go on the road, matches and a knife when you go mushroom hunting. The rules on how not to get lost are very simple. Surviving when lost is also not difficult - so much so that even girls from high school, falling behind the group, are able to spend several days in the forest and wait safely until rescuers find them.

We wrote below about how to build a hut and acquire simple utensils. But what is much more important is what all pilots and cosmonauts are taught and what all tourists should know, no matter whether they prefer excursion or individual hiking trips - this is the answer to the question of how to find food in the forest.

Our ancestors looked with surprise at people who did not know how to survive in the forest - a place that from time immemorial fed people. But today, the vast majority of tourists who find themselves in extreme conditions are capable of starving to death while passing by a richly laid table of forest delicacies. In fact, the most nutritious and simple protein food is right under any traveler's feet. And you don’t need a gun or a knife to catch her. A shovel or, at worst, a digging stick is enough. Because this protein-rich food is earthworms.

In order to survive, you will have to eat them. It is enough to dig up the worms and place them in running water for several hours so that the digested earth comes out of them. It’s almost impossible to look at such food, but it’s quite possible to eat it. They even have a taste - far from exquisite, but still. It’s even better to boil the rinsed and soaked worms - eating them in this form is much more pleasant.

The following forest-meat dish is a frequent guest in restaurants, especially French ones. Of course, our frogs are not nearly as large as those served in France, but you can eat them too, because they taste almost like chicken, and they are quite common in the forest. And it's not difficult to catch them.

The main thing is to remove the skin and place the legs on sticks to fry. You can eat it raw, but people are more accustomed to hot and cooked food.

Mice are more difficult to get, but still possible. Observations of polar wolves and subsequent experiments on humans, described by Farley Mowat, showed that a person who eats field mice whole, along with their entrails, receives a complete set of substances necessary for life and may not even suffer from vitamin deficiency.

We've sorted out the meat menu. The second dish necessary for a person is bread. Of course, a tourist may come across an abandoned but sown field or pick up a crust thrown by a magpie, but in fact, it is much easier to get bread in the forest. Especially if you come across a river or lake.

Large white lotus-like flowers, rounded leaves - this is what a water lily or white lily looks like. Now there are not so many of them left in Russian reservoirs, but when it comes to human life, there is no choice. The water lily rhizome consists of 49% starch, 8% protein and about 20% sugar. Of course, before gnawing it, you will have to dry it, grind it into flour and soak in running water to remove tannins. But then, after drying, this flour can be used for baking bread or dough strips wound on sticks over a fire, or simply whiten a soup with it for satiety.

By the way, similar flour can be made from acorns and even dandelion roots, an eternal weed and a thunderstorm of summer cottages. True, they will also have to be dried first, then soaked twice, and only then, having dried again, ground into flour or cereal to create porridge, but when you are hungry, you don’t have to be particularly picky.

The rhizome of the cattail is also good for flour - the same one from which the children make spears, calling it reed. Moreover, you don’t have to soak its root, just cut it into pieces, dry it, grind it and bake it and cook it as much as you want.

And if you fry pieces of roots, you can also make a coffee drink from them. Not Arabica, of course, but it invigorates you on a hike, and what more could you want from reeds? You can also collect young shoots, boil them and serve them with frog legs - the taste of the shoots is reminiscent of asparagus. From a distance, of course. But the menu for the forest “French” restaurant is almost ready.

Icelandic lichen, which is found in central Russia in pine forests, is also edible. And not just for deer. It contains 44% soluble lechenin starch and about 3% sugar. In order for a person to eat it, it is necessary to deprive the lichen of bitter substances. Therefore, Icelandic moss is soaked with soda or potash for 24 hours. For those who are not used to carrying baking soda with them on an industrial scale, we can advise pouring ash infusion over Icelandic moss. Approximately 2 tablespoons of ash per liter of water, add another two liters of water and you can soak one hundred grams of Icelandic moss. After a day, the moss needs to be washed and soaked in plain water for another day. And then either dry, grind and add to other flour, or boil into jelly and pour in jellied meat or jelly from wild berries. In addition, the cunning Swedes distill alcohol from Icelandic lichen. So the forest is not only ready to feed and shelter any lost tourist, but also to give the skilled one the opportunity to have fun and warm up from the inside.

Another green edible plant that is usually forgotten is burdock. Its roots are best collected in early spring or late autumn, but even in summer they are quite capable of feeding a tourist. They can be eaten raw, boiled, and even better, baked. Completely replaces potatoes, carrots or celery. And if you boil peeled and chopped burdock roots with sorrel or sorrel, you can get excellent sweet and sour jam.

The common and seemingly useless plant chickweed can also be eaten - in salads, soups or even purees. The same is done with sorrel, snytka and “rabbit cabbage”. And young ones can completely replace Brussels sprouts in forest green soups or baked as a side dish.

The forest table is not as familiar as our everyday one, but it is much richer than ordinary tourists imagine. When you have canned food and cereals with you, you can neglect them, but you still need to know about them. And only then, in an extreme situation, decide whether it is worth dying of hunger next to such delicious dishes.

one more article. . . .

Survival in the forest

There are many cases where people, having gone into the forest and not having sufficient experience and knowledge of local conditions, easily lost their way and, having lost their orientation, found themselves in distress.

How should a person who gets lost in the forest behave?

Having lost his orientation, he must immediately stop moving and try to restore it using a compass or using various natural signs. If this is difficult, then you should organize a temporary parking lot in a dry place, which is not easy to do, especially in mossy forests, where the ground is covered with a continuous carpet of sphagnum, which greedily absorbs water (500 parts of water to one part of dry matter). Temporary shelter can be a canopy, hut, or dugout.

In warm weather, you can limit yourself to building a simple canopy. Two 1.5-meter stakes as thick as a hand with forks at the end are driven into the ground at a distance of 2-2.5 m from each other.

A thick pole is placed on the forks - a supporting beam. Four to five poles are leaned against it at an angle of 45-60° and secured with rope or flexible branches. Three or four poles - rafters - are tied to them (parallel to the ground), on which, starting from the bottom, tiled-like (so that each subsequent layer covers the underlying one to about half) spruce branches, branches with dense foliage or bark are laid.

Bedding is made from spruce branches or dry moss. The canopy is dug in with a shallow ditch to prevent water from flowing under it in case of rain.

A gable hut is more convenient for living. It is built according to the same principle, but the poles are laid on both sides of the supporting beam. The front part of the hut serves as the entrance, and the back part is covered with one or two poles and braided with spruce branches. Before starting construction, it is necessary to prepare materials - branches, beams, spruce branches, bark.

To obtain pieces of bark of the required size, deep vertical cuts are made on the larch trunk (to the wood) at a distance of 0.5-0.6 m from each other. Then these strips are cut from above and below with large teeth 10-12 cm in diameter and the bark is carefully torn off with an ax or knife. In winter, you can build a snow trench for shelter. It is discovered in the snow at the foot of a large tree. The bottom of the trench is lined with several layers of spruce branches, and the top is covered with poles, tarpaulin, and parachute fabric.

How to navigate in the forest?

Being in the taiga, it is difficult to move among rubble and windbreaks, through dense forest overgrown with bushes. The apparent similarity of the situation (trees, folds of terrain, etc.) can completely disorient a person, and he will move in a circle, unaware of his mistake. But, knowing various signs, you can navigate by the cardinal directions even without a compass.

Thus, the bark of birch and pine on the northern side is darker than on the southern side, and tree trunks, stones, rock ledges are more densely covered with moss and lichens. Resin drops on the trunks of coniferous trees are released less abundantly on the northern side than on the southern side. All these signs are clearly expressed in a separate tree in a clearing or forest edge.

To maintain the intended direction, they usually choose a clearly visible landmark every 100-150 m of the route. This is especially important if the path is blocked by rubble or dense bushes, which force you to deviate from the straight direction. Trying to go ahead is always fraught with injury.

Movement in the forest

It is extremely difficult to cross the taiga in winter, when the snow cover is very deep and it is almost impossible to overcome snow-covered areas without skis and snowshoes. Such skis, with a certain skill, are made in the form of a frame of two branches 2-2.5 cm thick and 140-150 cm long. The front end of the ski, steamed in water, is bent upward, and the frame (the width in the center should not be less than 30 cm) braided with thin flexible branches. In the front part of the ski, four transverse and two longitudinal slats are used to create support for the foot according to the size of the shoe.

In winter, you can move along frozen river beds while taking the necessary precautions. So, we must remember that the current usually disturbs the ice from below, and it becomes especially thin under snowdrifts near steep banks. In riverbeds with sandy banks, sagging often forms, which, when frozen, turn into a kind of dam.

Most often they are hidden under deep snow and are difficult to detect. Therefore, it is better to avoid all obstacles on river ice, and in places where rivers bend, you need to stay away from the steep bank, where the current is faster and the ice is thinner. Often, after a river freezes, the water level drops so quickly that “pockets” form under the thin ice, which pose a great danger. On ice, which seems not strong enough, and there is no other way, they move by crawling. In spring, the ice is thinnest in areas overgrown with sedge and near flooded bushes.

Small taiga rivers are quite passable for light inflatable boats and rafts. In the center of the raft you can build a small shelter (hut) from rain and wind and prepare a place for a fire by pouring layers of sand or pebbles. To control the raft, two or three long poles are cut down. A heavy stone with a strong rope can serve as an anchor.

Swamps and bogs

The most treacherous obstacles in the taiga are swamps and bogs. A characteristic feature of swampy terrain is its poor habitability, lack of roads, and the presence of difficult and sometimes completely impassable areas. Swamps are rarely equally passable throughout their entire length and at different times of the year. Their surface is very deceptive. The most difficult to pass are marshy swamps, the distinctive feature of which is the whitishness of the surface layer.

It is easy to get around small wetlands by stepping on hummocks or rhizomes of bushes, or wade, having first felt the bottom with a pole. Once you are convinced that it is impossible to pass or bypass dangerous areas, you can throw down some branches, lay a few poles crosswise or tie a mat of reeds, grass, straw and cross this prepared “bridge” to solid ground.

Lakes overgrown with peat and vegetation pose a great danger to humans. They often have deep shady ponds, covered with floating plants and grass on top, and these “windows” are almost indistinguishable from the outside. You can fall into them suddenly if you neglect precautions. Therefore, when passing through an unfamiliar swamp, you should step slowly, carefully, without making sudden movements, always have a pole with you and test the soil ahead.

Having fallen into a swamp, there is no need to panic or make sudden movements. It is necessary to carefully, leaning on a pole lying across, take a horizontal position, then try to reach the reeds and grass with your hands and, pulling yourself up, crawl away from the dangerous place. If several people are moving through the swamp, you need to stay close to each other in order to be able to help a friend at any moment.

You can check the thickness of the peat layer, its density and the hardness of the soil using a metal pin with a diameter of 20 mm with notches every 10 cm. To overcome vast swampy spaces, you can make swamp shoes and other devices from improvised means.

Cooking and lighting a fire

Fire is necessary for heating, drying clothes, signaling, cooking, and purifying water by boiling it. Survival time will increase or decrease depending on your ability to start a fire.

If you have matches, you can start a fire in any conditions and in any weather. If operations are expected in remote areas, stock up on a sufficient number of matches, which should always be kept with you in a waterproof bag. It is necessary to learn how to keep the flame of a match as long as possible in strong winds.

Fuel, tinder and determining the location of the fire

A small fire is easier to start and control than a large one. Several small fires around you in cold weather will provide more warmth than a large fire.

Identify and clearly limit the location of the fire to avoid a large forest fire. The first step when you need to start a fire on wet ground or snow is to build a platform of logs or stones. Protect the fire from the wind with a shield (windbreaker) or reflector that will direct the heat in the desired direction.

Use dried trees and branches as fuel. In wet weather, you will find dry fuel under the trunks of fallen trees. In areas with sparse vegetation, dry grasses, animal fats, and sometimes even coal, shale tar or peat, which may be located on the soil surface, can be used as fuel.

If there is wreckage of an airplane involved in an accident nearby, use a mixture of gasoline and oil (petroleum) as fuel. Some plants can also be used, but in no case are they poisonous.

To start a fire, use something that ignites quickly, for example, small blocks of dry wood, fir cones, tree bark, twigs, palm leaves, dried spruce needles, grasses, lichens, ferns, spongy threads of a giant puffball (mushroom), which is also edible. Before attempting to light a fire, prepare dry wood shavings. One of the most convenient and best materials for starting a fire is the rot of dried trees or logs.

Rot can be found even in wet weather by clearing the wet top layer of such a tree with a knife, a sharp stick, or even with your hands. Paper and gasoline are useful as tinder. Even in the rain, the resin of fir cones or dry stumps will quickly catch fire. Dry birch bark also contains resinous substances that quickly catch fire. Arrange these materials in the form of a wigwam (hut) or stack of logs.

Maintain the fire properly. Use freshly cut logs or the end of a thick, rotten log to keep the fire burning slowly. Protect the red lights from the wind. Cover them with ash and a layer of soil on top. This way it will be easier for you to maintain the fire than to start it again.

In northern ice or in areas where other fuels are not available, animal fat should be used.

Starting a fire without matches

Before you try to light a fire without matches, have some dry, flammable materials ready. Then shelter them from wind and moisture. Good substances can be rot, scraps of clothing, rope or twine, dry palm leaves, wood shavings and sawdust, bird feathers, woolly plant fibers and others. To stock up on them for the future, put some in a waterproof bag.

"The Sun and the Lens". A camera lens, a convex lens from binoculars or a telescope, and finally a mirror can be used to focus the sun's rays on flammable substances.

Flint and steel (steel plate). If you don't have matches, this is the best way to quickly light dry tinder. The flint can be the corresponding side of a waterproof matchbox or a solid piece of stone. Hold the flint as close to the tinder as possible and strike it against a steel knife blade or some small piece of steel.

Strike so that the sparks hit the center of the tinder. When it starts to smoke, blow lightly on the flame. You can add some fuel to the tinder or transfer the tinder to the fuel. If you fail to strike a spark with the first stone, try with another.

Friction of wood on wood. Considering that making fire using the friction method is quite difficult, use it as a last resort.

Bow and drill. Make an elastic bow by stretching it with lace, rope or belt. Use it to spin a dry, soft shaft through a small hole made in a dry, hard block of wood. As a result, you will get powdery black dust, in which a spark will appear with further friction. Lift the block and pour this powder onto a flammable substance (tinder).

Starting a fire using a belt. To do this, use a thick strip of dry rattan (palm wood) approximately 1 to 4 inches thick and 2 steps long, and dry wood. Place it on the ground, cut it at one end and insert another shaft so that the first one is held in the cut form. Insert a small lump of tinder into the crack and grab it with a belt, which you begin to rub back and forth, while supporting the shaft with your feet.

Making fire using a saw. It consists of two pieces of dry wood, which are carefully rubbed against each other. This method is mainly used in the jungle. For friction, use a cut piece of bamboo or other dry wood and the shell of a coconut flower as a wooden base. Good tinder is the brown fuzz that covers the bee palm and the dry material you find at the base of coconut leaves.

Ammunition and gunpowder. Prepare a pile of dry wood and other flammable material. Place gunpowder poured from several cartridges at its base. Sprinkle some gunpowder on the two stones you have chosen. Hit them together close to the base of the tinder. The sparks will ignite gunpowder and tinder.

Fire for cooking

A small fire and something like a stove is all that is required for cooking. Arrange the fire logs in a crisscross pattern to create an even layer of embers. Build a simple contraption using two logs, stones, or a narrow ditch on which to place cooking utensils over the fire. A large can of canned food can serve as a mobile stove, especially in northern conditions.

An even layer of coals will provide the best temperature for cooking. For baking, the fire should be lit in a hole.

Making a fire underground, often practiced by the Indians, requires drilling one or more vents on the windward side. Vents play the same role as the exhaust pipe in a stove. This method of cooking has great safety benefits in survival situations because it greatly reduces the possibility of detecting smoke and fire. In addition, it neutralizes the negative effects of strong winds.

Water supply

It is known that the human body consists of almost 65% water. Water is part of the tissues; without it, normal functioning of the body, the metabolic process, maintaining heat balance, removing metabolic products, etc. are impossible. Dehydration of the body by just a few percent leads to disruption of its vital functions. At an ambient air temperature of +30°C, even 20-25% dehydration is easier to tolerate than 10-15% dehydration, but at a higher air temperature.

It is allowed to set a norm of about 2.5 liters of water per day. In hot weather and during heavy physical activity, the need for water increases significantly and reaches 4 liters per day. But not all areas of the world have natural sources of water (rivers, lakes, ponds) and not all of these sources can be used. You need to know how and where to find groundwater.

In conditions of autonomous existence, especially in areas with a hot climate, with limited or no water supplies, water supply becomes a problem of paramount importance. It is necessary to find a water source, purify the water from organic and inorganic impurities if necessary, or desalinate it if it contains a large amount of salts, and ensure its storage.

Natural sources can be divided into several groups: open bodies of water (rivers, lakes, streams); groundwater bodies (springs, springs, accumulations of water in underground reservoirs); biological water sources (water-carrying plants); atmospheric water (rain, snow, dew, desalinated ice).

In areas with temperate and cold climates, finding water sources is not difficult. The abundance of open water bodies and snow cover make it possible to timely meet the body's water needs and create the necessary reserves of water for drinking and cooking.

Only in some cases is it necessary to use natural signs to reach a water source (paths made by animals, usually leading to water, wet lowland soil). It is much more difficult to provide yourself with water in the desert, where water sources are often hidden from view and it is impossible to detect them without knowledge of special signs and features of the relief. They can be indicated by the nature of vegetation, indicator plants, artificial signs (“obo”), etc.

With limited water supplies, especially in hot climates where the body loses a lot of fluid through sweat and becomes dehydrated, it is very important to reduce sweating. This can be achieved by protecting yourself from direct solar radiation with the help of a simple sunshade, limiting physical activity in hot weather, moisturizing clothes, etc.