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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.)
