Knowing the ways to find water in the wild becomes most important when you run out of your water supply. Because unarguably, water is the most crucial need in the wilderness. You are expected to survive just three days without water, regardless of where you are (the wild or home). What’s worse, one will spend these three days in so much agony that you may start to hallucinate as you gape and crave for water. This may be scary, but having no water supply in the wild should scare you very much. There’s no way to put it: your inability to sniff out water after your supply finishes will kill you faster than anything else.
6 Ways To Find Water In The Wild
Fortunately, for the prepper, running out of water is not very frightening. There are ways to find water in the wild, although this may take some techniques. Let us look at six (6) sources through which you can stay hydrated in the wilderness even after your water reservoir is emptied. What is your oasis in the desert?
Rainfall
Rainfall is arguably the most popular water source in the wilderness as it is typically in abundance, safe for instant drinking, and enough to fulfill all water uses. It is also the simplest and quickest water source in the wild, except you’re camping close to a river. But even if you are close to a stream, you’ll still prefer rainfall because it is safer than perhaps every other source in the wilderness. Boiling is always advised, but it isn’t mandatory for rainwater.
However, the downside to rainfall is that it is unpredictable and will not continue forever. This means that you have to harvest rain, but how do you do so in the wild? Typically, your best option is to have some containers brought specifically for this purpose. That way, you’ll have enough material to conserve water and ensure that the water is collected in safe containers.
Water Bodies, Such As Rivers, Streams & Lakes
These are your most obvious water sources, but only when you know where they are or are directly beside one. Otherwise, you may have a hard time finding one. Thankfully, birds are not only to be eaten; they can be your guide as well. Birds are usually flying in unison at dawn and dusk to a water place, and all you have to do is follow them. You can also follow game trails because you’re not the only one who has to drink water. Deer, buffalo, lion, and other animals have to as well.
However, these water sources may be abundant and sufficient for every purpose, but they are most likely to be contaminated. So, it is compulsory to boil water from rivers and streams before drinking. If you can’t boil, there are other methods for purifying water in the wild, all of which will suffice. To be on the safer side, even if you’ll be boiling the collected water, fetch from free-flowing water.
Morning Dew
Unfortunately, you may not find rivers or lakes in some areas, and even rainfall may be scarce. This leaves you with morning dew, which, although very little, will provide you with enough to drink for the day, and you can always go again tomorrow. But how do you harvest morning dew? It’s pretty easy once you know it.
Tie a clean, absorbent piece of clothing to your ankles or calf and before sunrise, walk through meadows or tall grasses, and then squeeze the clothing into a bowl. Apart from the quantity, another downside to morning dew is that you may unknowingly come in contact with poisonous plants. Therefore, you must be careful because walking through toxic plants may not only scar your legs, the water collected may be poisonous as well. And for such little quantity, I doubt you want to boil what you’ve collected.
Fruits & Vegetables
Most fruits and vegetables are filled with water. All you have to do is know these fruits or veggies and squeeze or crack open. For example, Mother Nature’s Gatorade, the coconut, is an excellent water source in a tropical environment. In fact, some of these fruits and veggies can just be directly eaten for hydration.
A helpful tip is to be familiar with the various fruits and veggies around you beforehand and know how to get water out of them. You may indeed be stranded in a place you did not plan on getting to in the wilderness, but I doubt it’d be far from where you initially planned. It’s as they say: the apple never falls too far from the tree. So, there’s more than 50% that the fruits and veggies in your pre-planned environment are similar to what you’ll find in a different location from what you planned.
Plant Transpiration
When plants transpire, they send moisture from their roots to the underside of their leaves for whatever reason, but in this case, for you. To take advantage of this natural process, tie a clean bag around a branch with leaves, such that vapor from the undersides fall into your bag, after which they turn into moisture. However, plants are not your closest friends in the wild. So, you have to be watchful of toxic plants like sumac, poison ivy, or oak.
Solar Still
A solar still is more or less a well in the wild, although a much smaller one. Water is deep within the soil, and so what you do is dig your way to it. A solar still can get you up to 5 water liters daily.
Dig a hole that is 3ft by 2ft, and then another that is smaller but will hold your container in place. Position your container in the smaller hole and use some manure and rocks as filling to hold it in place. Cover the mouth of your plastic with nylon or something and then drop a rock in its middle such that it is forming a cone. That’s all.
Conclusion On How To Find Water In The Wild
Thirst is a critical need in the wilderness. The inability to fulfill this need on time will be scathing on you. Thankfully, there is no need to worry after your water supply finishes, since you now know the various ways to find water in the wild. You now know where and how to find your oasis in the desert.