Do you know how to pick a campsite? If you’re hiking or camping and the sun is starting to set, do you know what to look for when choosing where to set up your tent? Do you know the difference between a good campsite and a bad one?
Have you heard of the 5 W’s in campsite selection? Have you ever slept with wolves?
It might seem like an odd and obvious question. Firstly, If you have, make sure you visit our contact us page and teach us your ways so we can make another survival skills article about it.
Secondly, if you haven’t, well I wouldn’t recommend trying it. Even though they look badass and seem like they would make badass guard animals. It wouldn’t be the wisest to go out searching for them.
Most articles I researched for this post give some good tips on how to go about choosing a good spot in the woods to pitch a tent, but when it comes down to a backcountry campsite selection, wolves might be the last resource you turn to for advice. But there is something you can learn from them about where to set up your camp.
How To Choose a Campsite Location
When it comes to campsite selection, wolves can tell you all you need to know. So here’s what wolves do to find that perfect spot to settle in for the night that we can learn from.
As they are looking for a potential spot. After identifying one. They start to circle the area and look for potential threats and dangers. Both Wolves and dogs go through this process.
So the next time you’re camping or hiking and you start to see the sun go down. You know it’s time to start looking for a place to set up camp for the night. After you identify a potential campsite, imagine drawing a circle radius around the spot on a map. Circle that area.
While you’re patrolling the area, keep your eyes on the ground to look for tracks. But don’t keep your eyes just on the ground and in front of you. Look up as well.
Look at the trees.
Look for Widow Makers.
Dying or dead branches are always falling from trees. It would be a wake-up call like none other than to get smashed by a branch at 3:27 a.m. Keep your eyes open for any potential danger.
Wolves are smart creatures. So if they do this, it may be worth doing as well.
After you’ve scouted a circle around where you want to set up camp and it’s all clear. Go ahead and pitch your tent. Hopefully, no wolves think it’s a good spot to sleep for the night as well.
Campsite Selection: 5 W’s
Have you ever heard of the 5 W’s of campsite location?
If you’re looking for another method on how to choose a backcountry campsite for your tent and don’t like the wolf method, this is another method that’s worth learning.
There are many different rules in the prepper and survival life, such as the survival rule of threes. This post is about the 5 W’s of survival. The 5 W’s are used for shelter survival as well as determining how to pick a campsite in the wilderness.
You might have already thought of the 5 W’s that are often used in journalism and problem-solving.
- Who
- What
- Where
- When
- Why
There’s another rule of 5 W’s in the Survival World.
The 5 W’s in Wilderness Survival are:
- Wind
- Water
- Widowmakers
- Wood
- Wildlife
These 5 factors are important to consider before settling on a location to set up your camp.
For more information, check out this post on the 5 W’s of wilderness survival.
Conclusion
When choosing a campsite location, your safety is the top priority. Taking the extra time and effort to choose wisely can mean the difference between having a good night’s sleep and waking up in the middle of the night next to a 1200lb predator looking for a midnight snack.
How do you usually pick your spot for your campsite?
If you liked this post, check our post on how to start a campfire.
