Letter Re: Backpackers of the Apocalypse: Selecting and Ultra-Lighting Your Bug-Out Bag

Hello Mr. Rawles,
I would like to comment on the recommendations for Bug Out Bags:

Do not include an axe. It is a crude cutting device prone to making copious whacking noise while in use. Bugging out must be accomplished almost silently...
But do carry an Ontario 18" Machete . It cuts branches up to 1.5 inches thick in a single cut when sharp. My Ontario Machete is now more than 30 years old. It has been thoroughly used during military operations and during a tour of duty in Africa with the Peace Corps. Get a good flexible sheath with a hard tip inside on the bottom to nestle the sharp end into.

Collecting wood should always be done quietly. Be like the indians and gather [what in less politically correct days was called] 'squaw wood'. Wood that is dead and still attached to the tree. It will already be dried and aged. Perfect for a [small, low-smoke] campfire. In dry areas it can be picked up off the ground.

You can make a wood carrier out of a piece of old cloth tarp or heavy cloth. make it 24 inches square with a handle on opposite sides.
Lay the branches parallel to the handles and pick it up and you have a nice bundle of wood, easy to carry. You can also use this carrier as a ground cloth for laying out cooking utensils on.

During a bug out situation never burn up body energy cutting wood. [When moving quickly to get to your intended retreat,] you do not have the time nor the caloric reserves to do this.

Gather [cotton] lint from your home dryer and use it as fire starter. Store it [compressed] in a plastic bottle for inclusion in the bug out bag.

Bugging out must be accomplished silently and stealthily. No noise and stay out of sight.

Have a nice Easter. Cordially, - J.W.C. (A backpacker from the 1960s and 1970s.)