The biggest danger to people stranded in the wilderness is not hunger or thirst, but cold.
Hypothermia, which occurs when body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, kills more travelers outdoors than anything else.
A human being can live six to eight weeks without food, but cold kills fast.
The best advice about survival is to make contingency plans in advance in case you do lose your way.
Take these precautions:

1. Give your itinerary to someone.
   Call in at designated times, so that if you fail to call, your contact will suspect there's a problem.
   
2. Dress for warmth in breathable, water repellant fabrics - polypropylene (which dries quickly and provides warmth) or wool (which does not dry so fast).
   Protect your head, neck and hands by wearing gloves, hat and scarf.
   
3. Always carry a fire starter - bits of candle or fire-starter paste.
   Bring matches that light under all conditions, along with a striker panel.
   
4. In a thunderstorm, seek shelter away from trees or hide under a blanket.
   
5. Carry a garbage bag, preferably of yellow or orange for visibility.
   You can cut holes in it to make a poncho, and it will provide emergency shelter.
   
6. If you plan to take children into the woods, footprint them by having them step on a piece of padded tinfoil; identify each footprint with the child's name.
   Do this for each pair of shoes the children will be wearing.
   This will help searchers distinguish your child's tracks from those of others.
   
7. Put a whistle around your child's neck and teach him or her that three blasts is a signal for help.
   

If you are stranded:

1. Unless you know how to walk out, stay where you are.
   Before you go camping, tell your children what to do if they are lost - to hug a tree.
   This will keep them in one place and prevent them from panicking.
   
2. If you do decide to move on, leave a trail.
   You might drag a stick, for instance.
   Do not move at night - you can't see where you are stepping.
   
3. Find shelter in a high place out of the wind - in a cave, a hollow tree, and rocks.
   Remember that wind-chill, brought on by wind, can reduce air temperature.
   Know how the wind blows - up valleys by day, down them by night.
   
4. An International Distress signal is three of anything - a yell, a whistle blast, a column of smoke.
   Make three piles of firewood, ready to light if you hear rescuers.
   Flash signals at planes with a mirror or any surface that is reflective (a metal pot for instance)
5. In a clearing, make a big cross of 'SOS' From rocks or another material visible from the air as a clue to searchers.
   
6. After you have started a fire for warmth, make a heat reflector of a rock or stack of wood.
   Build a platform of dirt or branches for sleeping.
   Find some material to put between you and the ground - dry pine needles for instance.
   
7. Drink plenty of water, which will help you maintain body heat.
   If snow is the only water, melt it first.
   Eating snow can lower your body temperature which is dangerous.
   
8. Lie on the ground to wave if a search plane comes over.
   You will be easier to see.
   
9. Yell at frightening noises.
   Animals may be frightened away, and searchers may more easily find you.
   
10. If you accidentally step into quicksand, lie flat, which provides more surface so that you won't sink.
    Use the backstroke to swim out.
    
11. Don't try to conserve water.
    Drink what you need.