What essential skills are needed if you become lost in the woods and plan to spend the night?

The essential skills needed if you become lost in the woods and plan to spend the night involve starting a fire, obtaining water, building shelter, and signaling for help.

These skills are crucial for survival in a wilderness setting. Starting a fire provides warmth, light, and a means to cook food or purify water. Being able to obtain water is vital since human survival without water is limited to just a few days, especially in cold conditions where hydration is often overlooked. Building a shelter is important to protect yourself from the elements, including rain, wind, and cold temperatures, which are significant factors in keeping warm and safe overnight. Lastly, signaling for help can be a lifesaving skill, as it increases the chances of rescue by making you visible to others, such as search teams.

While cooking and navigation, hiking and climbing, and map reading along with survival techniques are valuable skills in the outdoors, they do not specifically address the immediate needs one would face after becoming lost and needing to survive through the night. The focus in such a scenario is on basic survival—making sure you have warmth, water, shelter, and a way to attract rescuers.