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Letter Re: Grub and Gear--Lessons Learned from an Alaskan Trapper
James,
Going through some old gear last month, I found my food supply lists and notes from 1976-79. I thought the old list might be of interest and the lessons I learned during the first three years in the remote Alaska bush may be helpful to a few of your readers. I do not recommend Alaska for a TEOTWAWKI retreat but the lessons I learned the hard way may be helpful to any one in a cold climate.
I grew up in California listing to stories from my grandfather about Alaska and the Yukon. When I graduated from high school my grandfather gave me his remote trapping cabin in Alaska. At 18 I had a lot to learn and discovered many things the hard way. I was lucky to survive the first year.
When I got to Alaska I met my Grandfather’s old trapping partner. He told me that the cabin was fully stocked with everything including food. Enough food and supplies for at least one winter. When I started asking him questions on how to trap he told me “sonny I have not got the time to teach you and since you don’t have to build the cabin you will have time to figure it out. He added half under his breath” providing you do not fall through the ice or freeze to death. He also said something to the effect that if he had not owed my grandfather a favor he would never give his ½ of the cabin to a long haired hippy kid from California. I had to promise the old Sourdough that I would have all of his traps flown back to town at the end of the trapping season or buy the traps from him.
My first winter was a disaster.
Before this the longest I had been in the wilderness was a 23 day Outward Bound survival class that I attended the year before and I had never spent a winter in a cold environment.
To get to the trapping cabin it was at least a two week walk from the end of closest dirt road or a 1:20 hour flight in a bush plane. The cheapest way to fly to the cabin was in a Piper PA-18 Super Cub on tundra tires. The pilot told me he could carry 1 passenger and 200 lbs of supplies or a total of 400 pounds of supplies and no passenger.
When the pilot dropped me off he told me “If I am in the area I will check on you” He did not have any charters that way so he did not check on me that winter.
I got out of the plane with a full back pack of gear, a duffel bag of supplies and a 30-06 rifle. I had to walk a few miles to the cabin. I left the duffel bag in a tree to retrieve later. With a full back pack and my rifle I walked as fast as I could to the cabin. I was excited to see “My cabin” at last. What a shock I had when I saw the cabin! The old Trapper had lived many winters in the cabin and told me it was built strong. What I found was a small log shack with a dirt floor and sod roof. In the cabin a wood stove, a hand built bed frame and table. A old bed mattress suspended by wire from the rafters. There were traps, snow shoes, ax, bow saw, one man cross cut saw, files, a lantern and the other basics that are needed to survive the Alaska winter as a trapper. The trapper had not been to the cabin for four years. At least 60% of the food supply that I was counting on had been eaten by rodents or had spoiled.
First lesson learned! If you count on food to be there when you need it, You better have had your food stored in a very secure way or you may go hungry. Theft is also something to be considered in today’s society and in TEOTWAWKI losing your food cache would be disastrous
Most people think it must have been boring spending 4 ½ months alone in a cabin. The reality is I was too busy just trying to cut enough wood to stay warm and skin the marten, fox or wolf that I trapped or shot. I was cold, hungry and exhausted most of the time. I never had the time to get board. Being a green horn at trapping I only averaged 1 animal a week and it was usually shot instead of trapped.
The first winter at the cabin.
As soon as I walked into the cabin I I knew I was in trouble. I did not have the 4-to-5 month supply of food I needed. I had a topo map of the trapping area only but did not have the maps to get me back to the road or town, Second lesson! Make your Egress plans ahead of time and have at least 2 good contingency plans.
Thankfully in the cabin there were two steel drums with snap ring lids that were full of dry goods and on the shelves were some cans of dried goods that were also still good. The following list is what was still edible in the cabin as best as I can remember
- 50 lbs Bisquick
- 50 lbs Beans
- 25 lbs Rice
- 10 Lbs Lentils
- 20 lbs Oatmeal
- 10 lbs Coffee
- 2 lbs black pepper
- 10 lbs Crisco
- 4 lbs Honey
- 25 lbs salt
The supplies along with a young moose I shot did keep me alive but it was no fun. I had youth and enthusiasm on my side and knew the situation was temporary. I decided to just make it a challenge and kind of live some of my grandfather's stories first hand for myself. I had in my pack 1 roll of toilet paper but there was none at the cabin
Third Lesson! Birch bark, snow or small pine cones work but make a very poor substitute for toilet paper. I also learned later that winter that at -40 your butt will freeze to a wood toilet seat in the outhouse. Make a toilet seat for the outhouse out of hard blue Styrofoam for winter will make using the outhouse less of a pain in the butt.
As fall quickly turned to winter the lake next to the cabin froze and the temp continued to drop. The high quality mountaineering boots I had used in the high Sierra mountains of California and Nevada were not anywhere near warm enough and did not have removable liners so the boots were hard to dry.
Forth lesson Pac boots with 2 sets of liners or bunny boots are must have items for cold environments.
Many times during the winter I could have shot Grouse or Ptarmigan If I had a 22 pistol. That would have added much wanted variety to the menu. The other problem I learned is if you get a wolf or wolverine in one of your traps a 30-06 blows too big a hole in the hide and destroys most of the value of the fur.
Fifth Lesson! a .22 rifle or pistol is a must have item.
After 2 months my clothes were in bad shape. Most Light weight high tech clothing used for backpacking or mountaineering is not designed for day to day hard use and does not hold up to rigors outdoor work for the long haul. High quality wool clothing does a lot better over the long haul and is not susceptible to melting next to a fire like nylon is. Yes wool is heavy and takes longer to dry but in my opinion for working in the woods wool is the way to go.
Sixth lesson ! clothing made for loggers, Surveyors and commercial fisherman may be heavy but it last a lot better than sporting gear. Filson is the best.
My diet was boring and I was always hungry after two months. I started getting sick and my teeth seemed to be getting loose. It finally dawned on me that I had no intake of Vitamin C. I may have had Scurvy. Remembering something I learned from my grandfather I started eating rose hips that were dried and still hanging on a few bushes near the cabin. Thankfully we did not have deep snows that year so I could find a few rose hips. I was lucky! Seventh Lesson! make sure you have a source of Vitamin C.
Every time I took my rifle inside the warm cabin it would condensate and the rifle would get wet.
Eighth Lesson If you bring a rifle into a warm cabin from a below freezing environment it will condensate, this promotes corrosion in addition the moisture in the bolt may be frozen the next time you are outside in the cold. If you do bring a weapon in from the cold strip it down, dry it and clean it. I left my rifle outside next to the door for most of the winter and only brought it in to clean. This would not work in a TEOTWAWKI so other tactics will have to be developed.
One morning there was a small earth quake that got me to thinking of my family and the outside world. Started felling very alone. Starting thinking what if the Russians had dropped “the bomb” I would not know it.
Lesson #9! Being able to at least hear what is going on in the outside world helps your mental attitude a lot. A radio to listen to the news was smoothing I longed for.
Snow shoes are easy to use and most anyone will figure them out quickly. When you are working on snow shoes you will fall now and then. Lesson # 10 tape the muzzle of your rifle to keep snow out of the barrel when you take the invariable header into the snow. I use electrical tape or put a condom over the muzzle of all my rifles in the field to keep everything out of the barrel. It will not affect accuracy unless you are shooting over 300 yards.
The winter was full of hardship and big education. I did enjoy it but given a choice I would not want to repeat that Winter. In the spring I sold my furs in Anchorage. The fur buyer could tell I had never trapped before as the way I had prepared the pelts was poor at best. I got .20 cents on the dollar for my pelts and I think that was generous on the part of the fur buyer. 4-½ months of hard work and after paying the bush pilot along with the money I still owed the trapper I would have less than $100. The trapper met me at the fur buyer after paying him for his traps he was now very friendly and asked me many questions. He encouraged me to go back for at least one more winter. He told me to go get a bath and haircut and meet him at the White Spot cafe down the street in downtown Anchorage and he would buy me a good meal. While eating he handed me a the following list
- 90 lbs bisquick
- 50 lbs Beans
- 50 lbs Rice
- 25 lbs Salt
- 25 lbs Lentils
- 20 lbs oatmeal
- 10 lbs Sugar
- 10 lbs lard
- 10 lbs powdered milk
- 10 lbs split peas
- 10 lbs Tang [freeze-dried orange juice powder]
- 10 lbs coffee
- 10 lbs noodles
- 1 case tomato paste
- 5 lbs strawberry Jam
- 4 lbs honey
- 2 lbs pepper
- 5 gal White gasoline
- 4 large boxes wood matches
- 24 large Plumber's Candles
- 8 rolls toilet paper
- 6 lantern mantels
- 7 Lbs Trapping wire
- Gun oil
- Trapping lures and scents
This was the list of supplies that the trapper had the pilot bring to the cabin each spring when the plane came to pick him up. This filled what would have otherwise been an empty plane. In early April the lake next to the cabin was still frozen so the plane would land on skis and taxi next to the cabin. The pilot and trapper would put the supplies into the cabin then the pilot flew the trapper back to town.
The Trapper then informed me that he had purchased the supplies for me and was having them flown to the cabin along with 2 more steel drums to safely store the supplies in.
The "Rifle and a Backpack" Myth
I often get a chuckle from people that think they can fill a back pack and head into the woods and survive long term with what is in a back pack. Until recently I spent most of my life guiding in Alaska and in Africa. I spent an average 110 days a year living out of a back pack under a tarp or in a pup tent, and another 180 days each year living in a remote cabins without electricity or running water.
In an uninhabited game rich environment with a rifle and only a back pack of gear I could survive for a period of time. How long could I survive? I do not know as there are too many variables.
What I do know is in the case of TEOTWAWKI where many people would be fleeing the cities and overcrowding the wild places looking for food I could not survive trying to live off the land with only a back pack full of gear. There will simply not be the recourses available. If a skilled person had no ethics they could take to stealing, looting, probably murder/cannibalism they might make it long term starting with only a back pack full of gear. For me and my family I believe in preparing now and stocking up while food and supplies are available and reasonably priced.
In the early 1980s I bought a lot of my supplies from a sporting goods/gun store in Anchorage. The store maintained an excellent inventory for hunters, trappers or survivalists. The store manager could talk the talk on both survival and hunting. One fall he hired me to take him on a 14-day bow hunting trip into the Alaska bush and film the adventure. He also hired a young guy that had just moved to Alaska from Georgia to help carry camera gear. I was concerned regarding the greenhorn from Georgia and even more concerned when I saw his marginal gear. The Georgia greenhorn however did fine and was a huge help on the trip. The trip however was a complete failure. The store manager had every neat gadget I had ever seen and many that I had never heard of. His pack was too full to carry any of the food or camera gear. He was out of shape and his pack was also too heavy for him to comfortably carry. After the float plane dropped us off on a high mountain lake we planned to walk for a week to my cabin hunting Dall Sheep on the way. Then at the Cabin we planned to hunt Moose and Grizzly. During the first 2 days the store manager left a lot of gadgets and some much needed gear on the trail to lighten his pack. I was stunned as I thought this guy knew his stuff but he was totally bewildered on how to apply his knowledge or gear in the field. One of the things I still clearly remember is he actually dumped all of his extra socks and his rain gear at the first nights camp. Leaving that gear behind cost him dearly. The Greenhorn from Georgia was a farm kid and was able to adapt to the Alaska bush even with his marginal gear and lack of knowledge of the Alaska bush. The store manager never made a single stalk on any animal as it became a challenge to just get the store manager to the cabin. By the time we got him to the cabin his feet were so badly blistered he could hardly walk and could not even carry his own pack or bow. This rambling story actually has a point. I had heard the store manager tell many people before our trip that with his properly equipped backpack he could easily survive in the bush indefinitely. My grandfather use to say: "Ignorance is bliss but it will not put food on the table."
My Second Winter
I still had a lot to learn but this winter was a lot better. First thing when I arrived at the cabin was to see that the supplies were all there and in fine shape. I also had topo maps and now knew 3 different routes to get back to civilization. It was at least a 2 week walk but I at least knew the routes to get there.
In a TEOTWAWKI situation if you are at your retreat in the winter you will probably also get into a routine. That could be both good and bad. Think security and mix the times up so ambush is harder for the goons to set up.
Winter set in, an in my second winter in the cabin, it did not take long to get into my routine. Every day starts the same. At approximately 6:00 A.M. The alarm clock goes off. What I mean the stove has only a few coals left and the cabin is freezing so I have to get up and stoke the fire. Then step outside into the extreme cold. Cut a log into rounds and this is done in the dark. Then go down to the lake still in the dark (batteries for the flashlight are too precious to waste and so is gas for the lantern) carefully chip the ice around each of five fishing lines with a hatchet. Pull up the hook hoping for a burbut (fresh water ling cod) reset the bait, haul water back to the cabin. If I had not caught a fish for breakfast then on the meat pole next to the cabin I used the saw and cut off a frozen chunk of caribou. Still dark and I am cold, step into the cabin warm up my frozen hands, dry my gloves and cook breakfast on the wood stove. Then put the dutch oven with beans, lentils or rice on the wood stove to rehydrate while I am gone for the day. Pack my lunch: two pancakes with a slab of cooked caribou meat in the middle, also put one tablespoon of tang into my insulated water bottle then fill it with hot water from the pot on the stove. Warm tang makes a nice mid morning warm up on the trail and is a source of Vitamin C.
As it is just starting to get light strap on the snow shoes and head out pulling the sled. If it has not snowed I can walk on top of the packed trail with the snow shoes on the sled.
The day is spent dragging the sled checking and resetting traps while constantly looking for a wolf, fox or wolverine to shoot. During each day I must also find a dry standing dead spruce tree to cut down and limb with the ax then using the sled haul it back to the cabin. Must always be on my main trail with everything tied onto the sled before it is completely dark. Days are short: the mid-winter sun is only up for 4 ½ hrs. I used my flashlight is only for emergencies.
Following a packed trail is easy in the dark just remember to get behind the sled on any downhill or the sled will hit you in the back of your legs and could break a snowshoe or your leg. Usually get back to the cabin long after dark.
Lesson # 11 Cross country skis are no substitute for snow shoes.
The snow shoes at the cabin were old and on the last legs of useful life. Instead of bringing a new set of snow shoes I had purchased a new set of back country cross country skis to the cabin. I thought I would use the snow shoes as a backup. Learned that skis are not as good to work on as snow shoes for doing chores or trapping. Skis have a place and can save time but are not a replacement for snow shoes. In snow country snow shoes are essential and skis are a nice luxury.
Each night when I finally arrive at the cabin I am tired and hungry. First thing is to start the fire then fix dinner. After dinner if I was lucky that day I can light the lantern and skin whatever I had trapped or shot after it has thawed. 9:15 PM is the highlight of the day! I get to listen to the AM radio for 45 minutes.
Lesson #8 and had brought a radio this time. Always hoping Caribou Clatters has a message for me from my family. Allow myself 45 minutes to read by lantern or candle light. 11:00 PM re-stoke the fire and collapse on the bed. The radio, dinner and sleep are the reward of a day’s hard work. Around 2:30 AM the fire has burned to just a few coals and I get cold, get up put more wood on and go back to sleep. The next thing I know it is 6:00 AM the fire has burned to just a few coals and it is freezing in the cabin and the day starts all over again.
Lesson #12 In a cold winter climate Use no oil in the bolt or trigger assembly of your rifle as it may freeze. I tried to shoot at a wolf (a wolf hide was then worth $450) when I pulled the trigger on my rifle it only went click. The firing pin would not strike the primer with enough force to set off the primer. After the second try and another click the wolf ran off and out of range. That was only an expensive lesson. In a TEOTWAWKI it could have been some one shooting at me and I would have had a useless rifle.
On my daily trips to check the fishing lines and get water I knew the ice was 28” thick and still getting thicker each week. A December day the temp was -27 F and I was crossing the outlet end of a small lake to check out some tracks. Not worrying as I thought the ice was 28” thick everywhere I fell through the ice and found myself waist deep in water. This was two miles from my cabin It was all I could do to make it to the cabin.
Lesson #13 any out let or inlet of a frozen lake may have thin ice also a warm spring or other things can cause thin ice. The fire was out in my stove and no coals were left. I had a very hard time getting a fire started and as a last resort used white gas and almost burned down the cabin.
Lesson #14 have the kindling and all the fixings of a fire ready any time you leave your cabin. You never know when someone may be at the end of their strength and need to get a fire going.
One evening in early January I returned to the cabin to find a note and care package on the table from the bush pilot. The pilot had brought me a bag of oranges, a fruit cake and a newspaper. He also left three letters from my family. It was if I had won the lottery
As the snow got deeper during the winter I started finding that many animals liked to use my packed trail. I learned never underestimate the danger of a moose particularly in the winter if they are on a packed trail they may charge you instead of going into deep snow. I had a cow moose chase me up a tree then stomp my on sled and break one of my snow shoes.
Lesson #15 Moose are dangerous, especially late winter
In early February I came across Grizzly tracks in the snow. I was shocked as I thought that bears would be in the den all winter. I followed the tracks and found the bear had made a moose kill.
Lesson # 16 Grizzly bears and black bears do not truly hibernate and may be out of the den during any month of the year. Over the years I learned if a bear is away from his den in the winter it will be hungry and grumpy.
As a kid I loved watching western movies. It seemed to me cowboys wore their handgun in a low slung fast draw holster and I thought that was cool. The western style fast draw holsters I tried in the bush were useless. I now see that some law enforcement and military teams are using a thigh mounted holster. I am not disputing the tactical points of that method but if you are working in the woods you will occasionally fall into snow or mud. That is when you want your hand gun in a full flap holster or in a normal holster worn under the last layer of clothing. Getting your hand gun into your hand fast is of no use if it will not fire when you need it.
Lesson #18 Select holsters that will allow you to comfortably carry your hand gun with you at all times and will protect the weapon from the elements. I have tried over 40 different holsters and method of carrying my handgun. I strongly suggest you experiment now on how to carry your own handgun. Find something that works for you. I presently use three different holsters:
- A holster that I use to carry concealed when I am in a city environment.
- A holster when I am working in the bush.
- A holster when I am flying float planes.
In March, the bush pilot landed on the frozen lake with 400 lbs of supplies. He helped me put the food into the steel drums for the next trapping season then flew me back to town.
I had spent 160 days alone in the bush trapping. I sold my furs to the fur buyer in Anchorage. After paying the bush pilot for the supplies and flights to the cabin and back I had cleared $2,700.
I learned a lot that winter and over the years refined the old trappers list to keep me well fed and a lot happier.
A More Complete Supply List
After my experiences the first two winters, I composed the following list. This is for one man for five to six months. It was refined for my personal taste and needs in the Alaska bush. The old trapper that I got my first list from made do with a lot less than what I took. This list is tried and true and not a just theory that someone made up. I had around 200 traps and ran the line on snowshoes, foot and skis. Cut my firewood by hand (no chain saw) and hauled my water from the lake in buckets. It was hard work 12-15 hours a day 7 days a week and I burned a lot of calories. Using the following list I ate well and always had plenty of supplies left in the spring:
- 50 lbs Flour
- 50 lbs Bisquick
- 25 lbs Pancake mix
- 35 lbs Sugar
- 50 lbs Pinto Beans
- 25 lbs Rice
- 40 lbs Salt pork
- 25 lbs Salt
- 10 lbs Dried prunes
- 10 lbs Raisons
- 10 lbs Dried apricots
- 10 lbs Dried apples
- 10 lbs Dried peaches
- 25 lbs Oatmeal
- 10 lbs Honey
- 2 cases Tomato paste
- 25 lbs powdered milk
- 15 lbs [canned] Butter
- 25 lbs Corn meal
- 25 lbs [canned] Cheese
- 20 lbs Spaghetti Noodles
- 10 lbs Crisco
- 15 lbs Hot cocoa mix
- 10 lbs Dried eggs
- 5 lbs Strawberry Jam
- 3 lbs Apricot Jam
- 2 boxes Pilot bread
- 1 gal Maple Syrup
- 180 Multi vitamins
- 180 Vitamin C
- 1 lb [powdered dry] Yeast
- 180 Tea bags
- 1 lbs Pepper
- 1 lbs
- Baking soda
- 8 lbs
- Dried onions
- 1 lb Baking powder
- 1 lb. Corn starch
- 24 oz Garlic powder
- 12 oz Vanilla
- 2 rolls aluminum foil
- 1/2 gal Dish soap
- 5 bars non-scented soap
- 36 Canning lids (to can meat if we had a winter thaw or for leftover in the spring)
- 8 oz Hydrogen peroxide
- 2 oz Iodine
- 12 rolls Toilet paper
- 2 Small sponges
- 2 Scrub pads
- 1 roll Duct Tape
- 4 boxes of wooden Matches
- 24 Plumber's candles
- 500 rounds .22 long rifle hollow point ammo
- 100 .308 ammo 125 grain hollow point varmint ammo
- 20 rounds .308 ammo 180 grain (for Moose or Caribou )
- Trapping license and regulations
- Hunting license, moose tags and caribou tags
- New snowshoe bindings
- 1 truck inner tube
- 3 New hacksaw blades
- 2 New Ax handles
- 8 Bow saw blades
- 36 oz Lanolin
- 6 Disposable lighters
- 12 gal White gas [aka Coleman Fuel]
- 12 Lantern mantels
- 6 oz. Gun oil
- Trapping Lures, urine and musk
- 10 lbs Trap wax
- 2 rolls Survey ["flagging"] tape
- 1 pair Heavy Neoprene trapping gloves
- 7 lbs Trapping wire( 50% 12 ga and 50% 14 ga)
- 50 ft Trap Chain #2 and #3
- 24 Links
- 24 Swivels
- AM Radio with 8 extra 9 volt batteries
- 8’ New stove pipe for cabin stove
- 4 Leather awl needles and 50’ waxed thread
- Extra shoulder straps for pack frame
- Extra hip belt for pack
- New lid for fry pan 14”
- 100’ - 3/8 nylon rope
- 12x18” glass to replace cracked window
- Personal items
- 1 Wool Jacket
- 2 Wool pants
- 2 Work pants
- 1 Pair insulated Carhartt coveralls
- 4 Pair work gloves
- 2 Pair heavy winter over mittens.
- Winter trappers hat
- 1 pair
- Pack boots with 2 sets liners
- 1 pair Bunny Boots
- 1 Wool sweater
- 4 pair long sleeved wool shirts
- 3 pair Wool long john pants
- 3 pair Wool long john shirts
- 8 pair Wool socks
- 8 pair Cotton socks
- 6 pair Underpants
- 1 Bible
- 2 flying ground school books
- 6 Short sleeve Cotton shirts
- Tooth brush
- Tooth powder
- 2 rolls dental floss
- Carried or in an external frame pack:
- 1 .308 rifle
- 1 22 pistol (Colt Woodsman)
- Rain coat
- Rain pants
- Insolite sleeping pad
- Sleeping bag
- 10x12’ and 4x8’ light nylon tarps
- Flashlight
- Flashlight batteries
- Binoculars, 10x40
- Green River skinning knife, caping knife, boning knife.
- Small stone, small file and small diamond steel
- Compass
- Topo maps 1:250,000 scale
- 2 Candles
- Matches in waterproof container
- Lighter
- Small cook pot with lid
- Water bottle
- 100’ Parachute cord
- Small First aid kit with Large suture needles and suture, in sealed pack
- Mini channel locks (Snap-on) used for sutures and other things
- Pack repair kit
- ¾-length Hand ax. (Estwing)
- Small shovel
- Bow saw with extra blade
- 1 pair wool socks
- Wire snares
- Fish hooks and line
- 25’ .042” stainless wire
- 1 lb Dried soup mix
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Basic Survival Skills for Children, by M.L.
Children play a part in many of our lives. Protecting them becomes an important issue in daily life as well as in an end of the world as you know it moment. However, what happens when adults can’t be there to protect them? What happens when they may need to protect us?
Our government and even many schools across the country, as well as parents and other adults, often do not see the potential in children. I am not talking about the educated potential one might find in the youth of a suburban school, but the potential to rise to the occasion when it is necessary to help themselves or their families.
The key to survival is knowledge. What you do with that knowledge and how you apply it at the right moment determines if you survive or not. Why can’t our children have the same knowledge?
We have many threats facing our world. Swine Flu or even other pandemics have been brought to the fore front this year. The WHO. is telling the world to expect an explosion of H1N1 cases. What happens if you and your spouse get Swine Flu? Who will take care of your children? Your sick neighbors? Your aging grandparents whom live three states away? Give your children the knowledge to take care of themselves and their families.
The following are some ideas on how to engage your children in survival learning (please gauge these ideas on the maturity levels of your own children):
- Cooking ~ Sit down and plan out a list of easy foods to cook with the least amount of required steps. Make sure you include some easy recipes for items in your food storage pantry. Most children can begin to learn to cook around age 8, provided you explain the dangers in the kitchen and teach them how to properly use the range, oven, sharp knives, etc. Many libraries and booksellers, as well as the internet, offer cooking books or recipes geared towards children. Cook through the recipes with your child, but try to be as hands off as possible, while teaching them proper techniques.
- Chores ~ Again, start out slowly, but instill an understanding in your children they can and are able to do most any chores in the home. By age 5, most children can at least do the simplest of chores like folding laundry, dusting, and putting away silverware. Give your children a responsibility and work along side them at first. Add laundry and yard work for older children. Again, teaching the safety protocols for certain items. When it comes to cleaning with chemicals, use alternatives made from natural ingredients. Label bottles and provide instructions. However, even children should not use certain chemicals and you should exercise caution.
- Pets ~ Children always want pets. Make them responsible for those pets. Teach them how to bathe and groom Fido. Show them how to properly and safely remove ticks. Have your child learn the commands to control your dog as well. Let your child clean out the gerbil cage or feed the fish. All these things teach children how to be more responsible.
- Protection ~ Enroll your child into a Mixed Martial Arts program or a boxing class with the understanding this is not for beating up little brother but to protect his/her self from others whom might want to harm him/her. For older children, teach gun safety. Show them your weapons, take them to the firing range, and let them understand what it feels like to shoot your P22 or your 12 gauge. Let them practice at shooting targets as well as clays. Take them hunting if you can. And if you have a bow set-up teach them how to shoot arrows as well. By properly teaching gun safety, archery, and self defense your child would be well prepared to defend themselves or to hunt for food.
- Bartering ~ As odd as it may sound, take your child to garage sales or flea markets. Any age can do this. Make them use their good manners when approaching the seller to barter or haggle over prices. Teach them about good deals and help them to find things that may be useful at a later time.
- First Aid ~ Children as young as five years old can put a band aid on a wound. Get a first aid manual and teach your children the proper way to care for cuts, scrapes, and other wounds. Let them know what alcohol and peroxide are used for as well as other medical topicals. Show them the difference between when to use a large butterfly bandage or gauze and tape. Teach them the proper way to take someone’s temperature. Explain when professionals should be called in to help or if you are in a situation where there are no professionals available what should be done. If you have a child that gets woozy at the sight of blood help them to get over their fear as best as possible or make sure that particular child has a different responsibility.
While many of the aforementioned tasks may sound obvious for all parents or care-givers, it always helps to remember your children can accomplish many tasks as long as they are given the chance to try. There are a variety of adult survival activities that you can tailor towards your children. Teach your child about your own family op-sec and basic safety when it comes to dealing with strangers. Above all, always remember to stress safety when teaching your children.
Give them a chance to hone their skills by taking them camping. Allow them to start the campfire (with parental guidance), cook the camp dinner, pitch the tent, etc. Get “lost” in the woods and have them bring you back to camp using a compass and map. Then later, have them look for a cache using your GPS. Teach them about the animal tracks your family sees and what animal crossing look like. In the evening, teach them the major constellations and how they can use those for direction as well.
I personally recommend the book The Boy's Book of Outdoor Survival
by Chris McNab. Although it is titled "for boys" and has pictures of boys in the book, I think it is highly appropriate for girls as well. Every child should know how to take care of themselves in survival situations.
If you can help your children and give them the knowledge to help themselves and others, even at a young age, you will enable them to be more responsible for themselves for the rest of their lives. As a parent, you are responsible for teaching your children.
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Preparedness Beginnings, by "Two Dogs"
I am a retired Marine Corps officer and Naval Aviator (jets and helicopters), commercial airplane and helicopter pilot, and most recently, an aircraft operations manager for a Federal agency.
I graduated from numerous military schools, including the U.S. Army Airborne (“jump”) School, U.S. Navy Divers School, Army helicopter, and Navy advanced jet schools. In addition, I have attended military “survival” courses whose primary focus was generally short-term survival off the land, escape from capture, and recovery from remote areas. Like most Marine officers, I attended The Basic School, an 8-month school (only five during the Vietnam era – my case), which is still designed to produce a second lieutenant who is trained and motivated to lead a 35-40 man platoon of Marines in combat. This course covers everything from field sanitation to squad and platoon tactics, artillery and other ordnance delivery, communications, reconnaissance, intelligence, firearms training, and much more. Later, I attended the Marine Amphibious Warfare School and the Command and Staff College, both follow-on schools and centered upon the academic study of tactics and strategy as they applied to the missions of the Marine Corps. I flew helicopters offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and across the U.S. I found out first hand how thoroughly corrupted is the federal bureaucracy and the government, in general. Not a pleasant experience. I’d rather have been flying. I have bachelor's and master's degrees.
As a result, my wife of forty years and I seem to have been moving endlessly from place-to-place. Nevertheless, I have tried in each place to do what I could to maintain a level of self-sufficiency for my family that varied greatly with locations and personal finances. My intention here is to try to share some of the less-than-perfect ways that I have tried to accomplish that end.
Only in the last few years, primarily as a result of the political and fiscal situation in the U.S., have I begun reading some of the huge amounts of literature about how one can prepare for serious long-term off-the-grid survival. I have found that the preparation required to be ready for that contingency seems to be endless. I do not want to talk about all of those preparations. Others have done so very well, and besides, I’m not there, yet. What I would like to do is to talk to those, perhaps like me, who are not true survivalists in the commonly referred-to sense, but who are genuinely concerned about the future of this country, and might desire, like me, to begin to prepare. Perhaps my elementary and simplistic efforts might be of help to someone else who is beginning to think about the subject of preparedness. There are many scenarios that might require this, but the two that I am thinking most about are economic collapse and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. I’m building small Faraday boxes, but not doing much else for EMP.
My thinking on begins with my own estimation of the basic problems: shelter, water, food, fuel, and security. I view these as the most critical needs, whether living in a tent or other outdoor shelter or here in our rural home in West Virginia. Here I have and often take for granted what I have -- shelter, well water, a small stream, a pond, a rain barrel; canned, dried, frozen, and freeze-dried foods; fuel for the generator and portable stoves, kerosene heater and lanterns; factory-made and reloaded ammunition for any one of several firearms. Edible plant books. Gardening books. Encyclopedia of Country Living-type books. Reloading books. Hunting books. Tracking books. A few novels devoted to the “what ifs” of the future, including Jim Rawles' excellent "Patriots:
A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse"
, for example. Books to fill an entire bookcase. The Boy Scout Field Book sits right there next to the military survival manuals, as do Tom Brown's Field Guides, the The Foxfire Book series, a canning book, field medical books, and quite a few others.
Those are the basic things about which I think. I have been thinking about them for quite a while, in fact, longer than I even realized. Perhaps I’ve been thinking about them ever since I was a young lad. For example, my very first “survival book” was the Boy Scout Field Book, the original of which I still have (circa late-1950s edition). It is still a great reference if one is looking for an all-in-one manual for starting fires, making simple shelters, recognizing game tracks, tying knots, and much more. I note that it is still available on Amazon.com. (It’s probably been scrubbed to favor the politically correct, but don’t know [JWR Adds: Yes, I can confirm that unfortunately it has been made politically correct--with the traditional woodcraft skills showing any injury to innocent and defenseless trees duly expunged. So I advise searching for pre-1970 editions!] ) One does not necessarily need the SAS
Survival Handbook
or the U.S. Army survival manual. I have them and have read them. They do cover security problems, but then don’t cover other topics. Alas, there appear to be no “perfect” manuals, and the Boy Scout Field Book is no exception. But it’s not a bad beginning. And so I was beginning the journey even before I knew that I was.
I think that my first education in “survival” came at about fourteen. That’s when I first shot a .30-06, an old [Model 19]03 Springfield. It pretty much rattled my cage. Mostly, my older brother and I used to track and shoot small animals in the deep woods of Missouri as youngsters. We were “issued” ten rounds of .22 LR ammo by our father, a retired USAF pilot, to be used in a bolt action, single shot, .22 rifle with open sights. One would be surprised what that meager handful of loose ammunition could do for one’s choice of shots, one’s ability to be patient in waiting for the shot, and for one’s great satisfaction at having brought home six or eight squirrels for the cooking pot, having used just those ten rounds – and sometimes, but not often, less. My point is that the knowledge of firearms is, in my view, basic to the notion of preparedness and in surviving in the wild. And it need not be exotic or overly complicated in nature. One can surely attend modern schools that will teach one to double-tap a cardboard target or silhouette at seven yards with a semi-auto pistol, as well as basic and advanced tactical rifle courses, but very basic survival skill with a rifle can be had without much cost if one is committed to learning the skill and if one disciplines oneself. Start with only one round, and work up from there. As Col. Jeff Cooper used to say, “Only hits count.” In a purely off-the-grid survival scenario, I can envision that .22 LR rounds would be very precious, indeed.
Consequently, and even though I own handguns and rifles that will shoot .45 ACP, .44 Magnum/.44 Special, .357 Magnum/.38 Special, .380 ACP, .223, .25-06, .270, 7mm-08, .308, .7.62x39, .30-30, .30-06, and .45-70/.457 WWG Magnum (a wildcat), I shoot a .22 rifle and pistol more than all of the others, combined, and normally at least twice a week. And I’m hoarding them, as well as shooting them. I have the capability to reload all the calibers (except .22 LR/Magnum, of course) above, as well as shotgun ammo in 12 and 20 gauge. I wasn’t really thinking of “survival” when deciding to do this about twenty years ago, but was interested only in having the capability to shoot more, and to do it more cheaply. Yet it appears that much of that ammo could be used for barter. I had never even considered this until reading some of the recent “survival novels.”
My apologies. I’ve wandered into the weeds here, as I could do forever on my favorite subject. Suffice it to say that whatever firearm one chooses – and make no mistake, one is necessary in my opinion -- there are all kinds of reasons to choose one over the other, depending on the situation and the person. One must endeavor to shoot it well. Owning a firearm is of almost no consequence, at all, unless it is properly employed. Personally, I prefer a M1911 .45 ACP pistol and a 7.62 M1A SOCOM, while my wife is comfortable with the milder .38 [S&W] revolver and 20 gauge. pump shotgun. I won’t even begin to get into the debate over .223 vs .308 and 9mm vs. .45 ACP. Suffice it to say that in Vietnam I had the opportunity to see the effects of all of these, and I chose for my own security the .308 and .45 ACP.
Having got my favorite subject out of the way, I’ll talk about one that is likely even more important. Water. It is amazing how complicated this can be, and how many choices one has to solve this problem. I have not yet solved it. I have put up a rain barrel, and plan to get a couple more. It’s amazing how rapidly a 55 gallon barrel will fill in even a moderate thunderstorm. I got mine from Aaron’s Rain Barrels. http://www.ne-design.net/. I’ve camo-painted the first one to make it recede into the bushes that surround it.
We have a very shallow stream down the hill that I need to dam so that it keeps only about a foot-or-two deep pool for gathering some water. It flows into a large pond, of which we own half (The owner of neighboring property owns the other half.). But that’s over a hundred-yard trek downhill with empty buckets, and the same distance uphill with full ones. Now, while that is okay for a backup, in my thinking, because I’m going on 63 years, I prefer to have something closer. So my next “big” purchase will be a Simple Pump that allows one to drop a pump and pipe though one’s existing well casing down to below water level and extract water by means of a hand pump or DC motor attached to a battery which, in turn, will connect to a solar panel. This is much, much cheaper than a Solar Jack. At $1,200 for the hand pump capability (I’ll add on the DC and solar later), it’s a bargain, for me. See: http://www.survivalunlimited.com/deepwellpump.htm.
I’m not recommending it for anyone, yet, as I haven’t got one. It has plenty of good reviews, and I’m willing to try it. My apologies, but I am just talking about how I, for one, intend to solve my “water problem.”
I’ve also started collecting clear plastic soda bottles for use in Solar Disinfection (SODIS), see; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_disinfection. I’ve set up a rack for putting out the bottles in a sunny place. Again, that’s a backup, but I’ll use it.
I have bought three different water filtering devices, the best of which is the Swiss-made, all-stainless Katadyn Pocket Microfilter. It works wonders in that shallow stream and pond down the hill.. [JWR Adds: The same Katadyn filter model is available from several SurvivalBlog advertisers. They deserve your patronage first, folks!]
With the exception of the Simple Pump, these solutions are relatively cheap and effective, if not producers of great volume. So far, they are what I’ve come up with.
I won’t go much into the food problem. It isn’t quite as complicated as the water problem. I’ve either got to have it [stored], grow it, or kill it. I’ve started storing all kinds of Mountain House freeze dried #10 cans (with expiration date dates in 2034), two-serving meals from Mountain House (expiration dates circa 2016), and numerous grocery store-type canned foods (expiration a couple years), in addition to dried beans, rice, Bisquick (sealed in plastic bags with desiccant inside), salt, sugar (Domino, which are sold in one-pound plastic tubs), olives, peanuts, wheat, etc. Basically hit-or-miss, so far. I need to get this “food problem” organized and do it right. But it’s a start. I think we’ve got only about a 60-day supply now, for two.
I’ve got two Coleman two-burner stoves. One is a butane stove, and the other a dual fuel (white gas or unleaded gas), as well as several small backpacking stoves, the best of which is a MSR Whisperlite International
, which uses virtually all fuel (unleaded, white gas, kerosene, diesel, and maybe even corn oil). I was heavily into backpacking when we were stationed in Hawaii in the late 1970s, and still have all the gear. After having one knee replacement and hedging doing another, I’ll not be backpacking if I can help it. Nevertheless, I have two bug-out bags with essentials in them, ready to hit the trail if need be. I’ve saved up and bought two good Wiggy's bags and a couple of his poncho liners.
Concerning backpacking stuff, I can recommend a book that I read back then called The Complete Walker, by Colin Fletcher. I haven’t read it in at least a decade, but its import is such that I remember much of it. He emphasizes simplicity in gear. That is to say, don’t pack a tent if you can get by with a tent fly – which you cannot in cold weather. I’ve still got my old three-season tent, but am saving up for a four-season. And he emphasizes: don’t worry about pounds – worry about ounces. That is to say, if one is packing tea bags, remove the labels from the bags. Ounces. Remove all packaging material unless it is absolutely necessary (usually never). Don’t carry a “mess kit,” nor a knife, fork and spoon set. A spoon will do (I’ve done it) along with a pocket knife. Now I have so many knives of so many types that I can’t remember them. Personally, I’d go for a multi-tool. But it’s heavy. I never used to carry a weapon while backpacking. Of course, it was (and is) illegal in Hawaii, but I think one would be remiss in not doing so today. There was so much good advice in that book that helped me in the USMC, if nothing more than when packing my helicopter before a mission, or a car, trailer, or truck to move across the country. “Think ounces, not pounds.” I always think about Mr. Fletcher’s advice when I pack.
Anyway, I think I’ve got the camping stove angle covered in spades. That is, until the fuel runs out. Same goes for kerosene heater and lanterns (5). My plan is to pull out our pellet stove and replace it with a free-standing wood stove. Pellets are nice, but they must be bought, and the price is getting exorbitant, according to my pocket book. They likely will be non-existent in a crunch.
I connected a 12,000 Watt/50amp gasoline generator when we moved into this house nine years ago, as I have with every house in which we’ve lived for the last two decades. I’ve got it wired through a transfer box to the circuit-breaker panel, a job that I did myself. It works, and it’s safe. The main reasons for having this were to run the 220V[olt AC] well water pump and to run the refrigerator and our free-standing freezer during power outages. But I’ve got it wired, anyway, to nearly every circuit in the house, except the other 220V appliances – water heater and heat pump. It is somewhat selectable. That is to say that I can choose which circuits I want to power by engaging or disengaging the switches on the transfer box. The problem is that it uses gasoline. So in a long-term outage it would soon become useless. I’ve had the propane gas company come out to estimate what it would cost to get a dedicated 100 gal propane tank for the generator. It would be about $500, but then, in addition to the 50+ gallons of gasoline, butane tanks, and white gas that I keep stored in a separate outbuilding, it would make a great explosion when hit with a tracer round.
Which brings me to the subject of security. We live in a split-level home on about ten acres of forest. The property is surrounded by other similar-sized properties of seemingly like-minded individuals. I gleamed this because everyone out here shoots. The sweet sound of gunfire can be heard at times in a full circle. West Virginia, at least, has still got its priorities straight in this regard. But I digress. This is a frame house with half of it below ground in front, but framed in back, which faces the forest. The forest, itself, is a maze of downed pine trees blown over by the wind, interspersed with small saplings, vines and low brush. Not a likely avenue of approach for anyone but the most determined. For those who are determined, the downed trees would make excellent cover and concealment. So I have a security problem to solve there, as well as at the front.
I’ve started buying rolls of barbed wire and baling wire. Unfortunately, I do not have access to dynamite, which we used to be able to buy in a hardware store in the 1960s. We used it back then to blow stumps while clearing the land for our house. I am thinking of buying a bunch of used railroad ties to build cover in the back; I’ve thought also of bricks and sandbags. Problem is we’re reaching the point in all of this where the house would begin to look like a fortress, of sorts, to all but the most ignorant observers. So there’s a line here concerning security versus “normalcy” that I must cross sooner or later. Inasmuch as my wife is a few years older than I and is on constant medications, I’m afraid that finding a retreat (if we could even afford one) would be out of the question, as access to doctors, hospital and pharmacy are a necessity. Nevertheless I’ve got the bags packed and gear ready to throw into the pickup (Toyota 4x4 – like to have one of those older model American trucks, but I think they are getting rare, at least around here. And what there are will likely go to the Cash for Clunkers Program….grumble, grumble. What will they think of next?).
So it looks to me as if we are here for the duration of the crisis, or sooner, if they try to take the guns from my cold, dead hands. Speaking of, I still have to build a cache or two for guns and ammo and a few other necessities.
And since I’ve more-or-less made that decision (here for the duration), I’ve thought of organizing the apparently gun-loving neighbors. I’ve begun to buy walkie-talkies, if not field phones and commo wire. I’ve got solar panels and several batteries (need to get a mega deep cell or two, however) to run the small battery chargers and the CB radio. My shortwave is up and running.
I will have to wait to talk to the neighbors, whom I rarely see, much less know. I can just imagine the words that would come out of their mouths if I were to mention to them the notion of forming a security “company” and establishing a perimeter. “That old retired Marine down the road is nuts!”
So that’s what I’ve got to say. I do hope it at least stimulates some thought for those who are starting out trying to prepare, as I am. All of this shows me that one “problem” in this “survival” business leads to several more, and they in turn lead to even more problems. Lots to do. So I’m glad I’m retired. I’ve got time to think about it. If I were rich, I could do a lot more and likely in a far away place, but as it is, we do with what we have. I have to use the lessons taught to every Marine: Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.
Long Live America. Keep the Faith. - “Two Dogs”, Col. USMCR (ret.) in West Virginia
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Letter Re: An Outward Bound Prepper's Perspective
Hi Jim,
I’ve been out playing in the Wasatch mountains of Utah and found your e-mail when I got back. You mentioned several people had asked about my note on the significance of carrying large paper clips in your backpack. Ah, where have all the Boy Scouts gone?
If you think of all the things you can do or make out of a 5-inch long piece of bailing wire you will get your mind going in the right direction. Some of the uses for a heavy duty paper clip in a wilderness survival situation are; make a fishing hook, make a fish or small animal spear using a stick, make a crude small animal trap or snare, make a needle for sewing, mini soldering iron, pick locks, make a compass, use to start a fire, cauterize wounds, hang meat/fish over a fire, fix various objects, fasten items, etc.
If you go on the web and Google something like, wilderness survival paper clips, you will find page after page of sites listing the various uses, sites listing paper clips in their survival kits, or sites willing to sell you survival kits with paper clips. There is a lot of information out there to weed through. For those interested, I’ve included a few hyperlinks to sites that go into detail on some of the more practical uses such as making a compass or starting a fire instead of writing the directions out here.
Paper clips are something most everyone has around and they are lightweight, small, and have a ton of uses. I can’t count the times I’ve used them over the years for a wide variety of reasons. They’re pretty close on the list to a small spool of duct tape.
One of the other things I was going to mention pertains to using trash bags for waterproofing items such as backpacks or anything else you don’t want to get wet. Trash compactor bags work much much better. They are made of a heavier gauge plastic and are square at the bottom. They fit perfectly in most backpacks or day packs because they are rectangular. They work really well for storing or protecting most anything that has dimension. Also, great for an emergency rain poncho because people are not flat like normal trash bags but have a tendency to have some width to them. Trash compactor bags are not to be confused with Contractor trash bags.
Hopefully this answers some of the questions or at least directs people to where they can find more detailed information. The links are listed below. Take care, - Sharon
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Survey Results: Your Favorite Books on Preparedness, Self-Sufficiency, and Practical Skills
In descending order of frequency, the 78 readers that responded to my latest survey recommended the following non-fiction books on preparedness, self-sufficiency, and practical skills:
The
Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (Far and away the most often-mentioned book. This book is an absolute "must" for every well-prepared family!)
The Foxfire Book
series (in 11 volumes, but IMHO, the first five are the best)
Holy Bible
Where
There Is No Dentist
by Murray Dickson
"Rawles
on Retreats and Relocation"
Making
the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook
by James Talmage
Stevens
The
"Rawles
Gets You Ready" preparedness course
Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival
by Jack A. Spigarelli
Gardening
When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon
Tappan
on Survival
by
Mel Tappan
Boston's
Gun Bible
by
Boston T. Party
Seed
to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners
by Suzanne Ashworth
Survival
Guns
by
Mel Tappan
Boy
Scouts Handbook: The First Edition, 1911 (Most readers recommend getting pre-1970 editions.)
All
New Square Foot Gardening
by
Mel Bartholomew
When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency
by Matthew Stein
Back
to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition
by
Abigail R. Gehring
Preparedness Now!: An Emergency Survival Guide (Expanded and Revised Edition)
by Aton Edwards
Putting
Food By
by Janet Greene
First
Aid (American Red Cross Handbook) Responding To Emergencies
Making
the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook
by James Talmage
Stevens
Nuclear War Survival
Skills by Cresson H. Kearney (Available for free download.)
Cookin'
with Home Storage
by
Vicki Tate
SAS
Survival Handbook
by
John "Lofty" Wiseman
Root
Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables
by
Mike Bubel
Outdoor Survival Skills
by Larry Dean Olsen
Stocking Up: The Third Edition of America's Classic Preserving Guide
by Carol Hupping
The
American Boy's Handybook of Camp Lore and Woodcraft
Emergency
Food Storage & Survival Handbook by Peggy Layton
98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive
by Cody Lundin
Seed
to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners
by Suzanne Ashworth
Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life by Neil Strauss
Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management
by Maurice G. Kains
Essential Bushcraft
by Ray Mears
The
Survivor book series by Kurt Saxon. Many are out of print in
hard copy, but they are all available on DVD. Here, I must issue a caveat
lector ("reader
beware"): Mr. Saxon has some very controversial views that I do not
agree with. Among other things he is a eugenicist.
How to Stay Alive in the Woods by Bradford Angier
The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman
Tom Brown Jr.'s series of books, especially:
Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival
Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking
Tom Brown's Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants (Field Guide)
Total
Resistance
by
H. von Dach
Ditch Medicine: Advanced Field Procedures For Emergencies
by Hugh Coffee
Living Well on Practically Nothing
by Ed Romney
The Secure Home
by Joel Skousen
Outdoor Survival Skills
by Larry Dean Olsen
When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes
by Cody Lundin
The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to Warfare
by John Poole.
Camping & Wilderness Survival: The Ultimate Outdoors Book by Paul Tawrell
Engineer Field Data (US Army FM 5-34) --Available online free of charge, with registration, but I recommend getting a hard copy. preferably with the heavy-duty plastic binding.
Great Livin' in Grubby Times
by Don Paul
Just in Case
by Kathy Harrison
Nuclear War Survival
Skills by Cresson H. Kearney (Available for free download.)
How to Survive Anything, Anywhere: A Handbook of Survival Skills for Every Scenario and Environment
by Chris McNab
Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance
by John & Martha Storey
Adventure Medical Kits A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine
by Eric A. Weiss, M.D.
Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Green Resource for Every Gardener
Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook (superceded the very out-of-date ST 31-91B)
Wilderness Medicine, 5th Edition
by Paul S. Auerbach
Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long
by Elliot Coleman
Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition
by Abigail R. Gehring
Government
By Emergency
by
Dr. Gary North
The Weed Cookbook: Naturally Nutritious - Yours Free for the Taking!
by Adrienne Crowhurst
The Modern Survival Retreat
by Ragnar Benson
Last of the Mountain Men
by Harold Peterson
Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills: Naked into the Wilderness
by John McPherson
LDS Preparedness Manual, edited by Christopher M. Parrett
The
Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging
Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
by James H. Kunstler
Principles of Personal Defense - Revised Edition
by Jeff Cooper.
Survival Poaching
by Ragnar Benson
The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses
by Eliot Coleman
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Letter Re: Many Weeds are Actually Edible Wild Plants
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I read your blog every day and enjoy all of the helpful information that you
and your readers post on a daily basis. I just wanted to pass along this
information on edible weeds that can be found in ones backyard or about anywhere
where plants can be grown. To most people weeds are just that, weeds that
need to be destroyed to keep the yard or their property looking nice. But
some weeds can also be eaten if a person knows how to identify them and cook
them properly. In the event of a worst case scenario these 'weeds' can help
sustain a person or a family for a brief period of time or be a nice addition
to stored food, providing needed fresh veggies and nutrients.
The following is a list of some of the most commonly found 'weeds' in a yard
or field that can be edible:
Burdock (Arctium lappa) Cultivated as a vegetable in Japan where it
is known as gobo. The stalks are scraped and cooked like celery. The roots
can be eaten raw in salads or added to stir fries.
Cattail (Typha latifolia)
The pollen can be used to enrich flour. The unripe flower spikes can be cooked
as a vegetable and the young shoots and inner stems are eaten raw or cooked.
Century plant (Agave americana)
The flower stems and leaf bases can be roasted and eaten. Certain species can
be made into alcoholic drinks such as tequila.
Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Can be added raw to salads or cooked as a vegetable.
Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
The roots of this plant are used as a coffee additive. The sky blue flowers
are also edible and make a terrific addition to salads.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
The flowers can be made into wine or jelly. The roots are sometimes used as
a coffee substitute. The young leaves make a nice addition to salads.
Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides)
A tropical American weed commonly used in Mexican cooking to flavor corn, beans,
mushrooms, seafood, fish, soups, and sauces.
Garlic mustard (Alliaria officinalis)
The young leaves add a mild garlic flavor to salads, sandwiches, and soups.
JWR Adds: Exercise caution when gathering weeds on any land--whether
public or private--that is outside of your personal control. Don't overlook
the risk
that you could collect weeds that have been recently spayed with herbicides!
Also, just as when mushroom picking, be absolutely sure that you are
gathering the intended item. A mistake could prove fatal.
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Letter Re: Dealing with Uninvited Guests
Mr. Rawles
I have been a faithful reader for about a year now and would like to take this
opportunity to thank you and your contributors for the wealth of information
found on this site. I would also like to thank Anon T. for his article on quarantine
procedures, though I'm wondering if it should be expanded to include "debugging".
I'm referring to head lice, body lice, crabs, bedbugs, mites, and fleas. Nobody
wants to believe
that it will happen to them. It doesn't even have to be a WTSHTF scenario.
In today's economic environment many people are loosing their homes and moving
in with family or friends. With more and more people and their belongings under
one roof, personal and residential cleanliness may begin to suffer. In a SHTF scenario,
add to this stressful situation, not being able to properly bathe, wash hair,
clothing, and bedding as often as they should, and the possibility
of "unwanted house guests" rises.
About 8 years ago, my then two-year-old brought head lice home from day care.
Before
I realized it, I was also beset by lice. My mom said "getting lice isn't
a
sin,
keeping
them is." But getting rid of these little bugs was just short of impossible.
As soon as you think they're gone a nit that you missed hatches, and it starts
all over.
Hopefully this won't be a problem for most of your readers, but they should be
prepared and informed.
|
Treatment products like "Rid" won't be easily rotated before they expire,
so it may be cost-prohibitive to stock it. are there any natural or more cost
affective alternatives? I'm wondering how we will deal with this in the future
when products like "Rid" might not be available. and maybe someone
out there could explain identification and treatment for those readers who have
never been through this. - J.C.M.
JWR
Replies: I agree that it is wise to stock up on anti-parasiticals (pediculicides
and scabicides ) The
active ingredients in Rid and Lindane ("Kwell") can be
effective
for several years. Most of the Rid variants are a 0.5% solution of Permethrin.
The Lindane
solutions
(typically
1%) are
sold
under trade names such as BBH, Bio-Well, G-well, Kildane, Kwell,
Kwildane, Scabene, and Thionex. Some
traditional
treatments for lice that were used in the 19th Century and early 20th Century
might still be viable, but most of them are harsh an potentially toxic, so they
should be considered only in
absolute worst case disasters,
when
modern anti-parasiticals are unavailable. The 1996 article titled Control
of
Human
Lice
Infestations: Past and Present (in
PDF)
from
American
Entomologist provides some interesting history on lice control, including
some lousy methods from the 19th Century. It might sound severe, but when modern
anti-parisiticals can't be found, head shaving is a good starting
point. (But it will give you the Sinead
O'Connor "I'll never be accused
of
being
infested"
look.)
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Life's Lessons and the Foundations of Preparedness, by A.B.
We may soon depend on all of what we have learned over the years. Putting
all of the threads of knowledge together into a tapestry of self-sufficiency,
and survival capabilities, is part of the lifelong quest for our family’s
security. We learn from many sources and experiences such as: family, church,
friends, teachers, teammates, co-workers, reading books and SurvivalBlog, and
hopefully from our mistakes.
Preparedness Skills from our Grandmas and Grandpas
The foundation for preparedness begins with my childhood in Michigan. We
lived in Lansing where my great-grandmother was next door and my grandmother
lived
next door to her. My father was born in great-grandma’s house after
the family moved to the city during the early 1900s. My sisters and I spent
weekends and summers alternately at my mom’s family dairy farm, which
was just outside of the city, and at my dad’s family cabin “up
north”. These were the richest times of my life. We knew all of our
grandparents and some of our great-grandparents very well. My great-great-grandfather
still
lived in the old log cabin when I was born in 1956. We have been fortunate
to have had five generations alive consistently from then until now. The
wealth of love and knowledge you gain from your extended family is irreplaceable.
The “old timers” told stories of hardship during the great depression
and the dust bowl era (we live an area that was the largest prairie east
of the Mississippi.) Memories of crop failures with tales of early and late
frosts
were passed down. There were also hunting and fishing stories passed down
as we learned to hunt and fish with older family members. There were bigger
than
life lumberjack stories and stories from Prohibition and the World Wars.
I learned to safely handle and accurately shoot a .22 rifle with peep sights
when I was six or seven years old. I walked the roads with my grandpa squirrel
hunting. We ice fished on local lakes and went to Tip-Up
Town USA every year.
All
of
this adds to ones persona and the early experience helps awaken the necessary “survivalist” traits.
On a working dairy farm you rapidly learn about life (and death). Animal
husbandry and caring for the land lead to sustainability. Animals do become
food and
harvesting the crops sometimes seems little reward for the hard work. The
milking must be done every day and chores do not wait. As a kid I learned
to drive
tractors and pick-ups to and from the fields. We mowed, bailed and then stacked
the hay in the mow. Alfalfa, oats and corn were the field crops. Pigs, chickens,
and sheep were raised along with the dairy cows and we cleaned the barns
and spread manure.
Knowledge is passed down from generation to generation such as when to plant,
where to plant, when to harvest, and how to raise the animals. There were
many topics of conversations at the Sunday breakfast table. Many things are
debated
and discussed after chores and before Church. Most times the conversations
continued outside the Church after the sermon. It was the only time you saw
the other farmers. When you are a little guy you tended to be quiet, pay
attention and learn.
Grandpa was a farmer and Grandma was a one room school teacher. Grandma also
taught vacation bible school during the summer break. Us kids learned how
to tend good gardens and helped preserve the food we raised. We took care
of the
barn animals while the uncles milked. We hauled water to the bull pen and
helped milk as we got older. Survival skill sets from the farm come from
being part
of a close knit community with a solid work ethic. There are strong religious
underpinnings with good people engaged in caring for one another as well
as the animals and the land.
Preparedness from "Roughing It”
The log cabin “up north” had a well-house for getting water and
an outhouse for getting rid of water. There was a wood fired cook stove for
heat and kerosene lamps to play cards under. There was a red checkered oilcloth
on the table with cane chairs around it. The place was originally homesteaded
by my great-great-grandfather in the late 1800s (a few electric lights
were added at some point.) We used to go up on Friday night after Dad or
Grandpa got out of work. The next morning started with an awakening trip to
the outhouse
and then fetching a bucket of water from the well house and kindling for
the wood stove. On a cold morning you stepped lively until the fire was going.
Once the stove was hot, Grandma would cook buttermilk pancakes on a griddle
that my great-grandmother had used in the lumber camp. Eggs and bacon sizzled
in a cast iron skillet. Clothes were washed on a washboard in a wash tub and
then
hung
out to dry. You took a bath in the river. During the summer we would fish
morning and evening and water ski on the nice days. The family summer vacation
was
spent camping in a tent along the river or at a state park. The old cabin
was also used for small game hunting in the early fall and deer camp in the
late
fall / winter. We would take walks in the woods and look for morels and other
edible things like may apples, hickory nuts or raspberries and huckleberries.
Animal tracks were learned and followed with hopes of a glimpse. Life was
considered sacred unless needed for food and being a part of nature became
obvious. A
leave no trace and waste nothing ethic was being born.
Opportunities for further wilderness and pioneering skill development were
provided by Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. My mom and dad were actively involved
in Scouting when I was growing up. Teamwork and sharing responsibilities
for the group were learned. Outdoor cooking and keeping things sanitary were
heavily
emphasized. Food poisoning is no joke – we had one patrol that damn near
killed us with their meal. We learned to wash our hands and boil the crap out
of everything. Hiking and backpacking skills were beginning to be developed
in the Scouts. We day hiked a 20 miler once a year on the Johnny Appleseed
Trail - the Scouts version of the death march. You had to carry a full pack
if you wanted the patch. We also hiked the Pokagon Trail in northern Indiana
and learned to camp in the winter.
While living in Pennsylvania (later in life) I started winter backpacking with
a few of my buddies. We went in the winter both for the solitude it offered,
and
to learn the special skill sets required for survival in the cold. There
are beautiful views from Seven Springs and other spots along the Laurel Highlands
Trail during the winter. This experience then led to the development of technical
mountaineering skills. The books Basic Rockcraft, Advanced Rockcraft and
Knots
for Climbers were memorized along with study of the book Mountaineering:
The Freedom of the Hills. Skills were practiced and ingrained.
My first solo backpacking / climbing trip came in the summer of 1980 in the
Organ Mountains of southern New Mexico. I later solo climbed most of the
4,000 and 5,000
footers in New England (many in winter). I met a like minded climber on one
of those hikes and we made a summit bid on Mt. Rainier in June of 1998. I
also began
the solo circumnavigation on the Wonderland Trail that year. I set the first
tracks both that year and when I completed the circuit in June of 2001. Map
and compass skills were required. Primitive camping
while carrying everything you
need to survive for two weeks is a tough proposition. It was tough in my 30s
and 40s. It’s even harder now that I am in my 50s. G.O.O.D. to
the deep woods is doable but it would be a hard life.
Responsibility and Teamwork
We learned to be responsible and self-sufficient during our childhood. We learned
to play without other kids around and had chores to do for our allowance. I
learned to gather the wood and light a fire as soon as I was old enough. You
pumped the
water and filled the reservoir if you wanted warm water for washing up. You
learned to use guns and knives as tools while you learned hunting techniques
and cleaned
the game for the table. Being a responsible hunter meant taking ethical shots
and using what you kill. Catching and cleaning fish, then cooking or smoking
them were all part of being a good fisherman. To go along with these survival
skills you also need the ability to share knowledge and work as a team.
Most of the skills you learn will help you to fend for yourself one way or
another. The only problem is summed up with the statement “no man is an island”.
You will need others sooner or later. My sisters and I developed basic teamwork
skills while setting up camp. The girls helped mom and I helped dad. We had a “system”.
This was carried further in Scouting. Some Patrols set up tents while another
set up the kitchen. These valuable lessons were used later in life as I went
through boot camp and during service in the military. I served on small boats
as part of a search and rescue team in the USCG.
Teamwork helps to overcome the steep learning curve and high risk of being
a self-sufficient survivalist. You can do things as a team exponentially quicker
and safer than you can by yourself. Your bunkmate becomes your partner in boot
camp and later becomes your shipmate. You learn “one hand for yourself
and one hand for the boat”. As a team you can survive what would kill you
alone. In a bad storm someone has to steer while someone bails out the boat.
One person couldn’t do it. Avalanche in the back country is another perfect
example - by yourself you are probably dead. Doing things alone is great - but
it may cost you your life. Skill and knowledge can’t cover your a** like
a buddy. It’s nice to have someone else on the rope with you; they are
your only hope.
Teaching everyone at least something you know and learning from everyone something
you don’t know can only make the group stronger. If someone gets sick
or is tired someone else can step up. CPR is
a good example here. In the back country one person can’t help himself.
One person helping may bring back the life but it better happen quickly. Two
people allow you to send someone for
help while
rendering aid until you are too tired to continue. Three people allow almost
indefinite support. Two can alternate CPR while waiting for the one who left
for help to return with the defibrillator. If help is real far away, then it’s
done. There is a point of no return. Remote locations usually cross that point
which is a distinct disadvantage (unless the SHTF).
Without teamwork you will usually die if something bad happens. Everyone has
to be a good shot. Everyone needs to be able to render first aid. The group
is only as strong as the weakest link and precious resources are spent covering
someone’s a** that’s not up to speed. Teach and learn and cross train.
Remember what you did as a kid and don’t sell the kid’s of today
short. Teach them the skills they need and allow them to grow into the responsibility.
Being part of a team or extended family that functions like a team is fun. The
action of being responsible for one another is at the root of any team.
The
Prepared Family
The family is the primary source of knowledge. Some survival skills to learn
right along with reading, writing and arithmetic are: swimming, knot tying,
fire building under all conditions, where to get water and how to make it safe
to
drink, safe gun handling and accurate shooting, hunting in fields and the woods,
fishing in rivers and on lakes, first aid, camping, boating, gardening, making
things “homemade”. You can’t start learning or teaching these
things too soon.
10 years ago we moved back home to Michigan after living all over the USA.
I had come home for my Grandpa’s funeral and was returning to New England.
Something was wrong and I couldn’t put my finger on it. That’s when
the light came on and as I drove it became apparent that I was going the wrong
way – both figuratively and literally. We were chasing the so called “American
Dream”. Losing my grandfather and returning to the north woods had shown
me where home really is. It is with family and God and where your roots are.
I had drifted away from the true values I had learned early in life.
I resigned my position, cashed out the 401(k), and bought the homestead from
grandma. We planted 24 fruit trees and installed irrigation systems for the
gardens. We
pruned the grape vines back and tended to the asparagus beds. My wife renewed
the old flower beds and I have replaced the split rail fence. We re-roofed
everything. The folks put down another well up the field and had another septic
system installed
for their travel trailer. We had a 100 amp power drop installed and we also
buried a power cable from the field to the trailer for a 12 volt system (small
scale
solar and wind).
I once again could use guns after living in the tyranny of Massachusetts. (I
refused to get an Firearms ID card so my guns never left the house in 16 years.)
I taught a niece
and nephew to shoot with the same .22 that grandpa used to teach me with almost
50 years ago. My nephew, now an 8th grader, got his first deer this past year.
No one believed him when he came home and told them. He did it on his own.
Things have now come full circle in our life. My grandma lives with us in her
old house through the summer. My sisters are both Grandmas themselves now and
they are taking care of our mom and dad. The kids have great-grandparents and
a great-great grandmother. My understanding wife of thirty years and I live
here on the homestead as stewards of the family heritage. The whole family
gets together
up here once or twice a year. We know how to provide for and take care of each
other. If the SHTF my sisters and the rest of the family will head up here
to the homestead and once again adopt the ways of our Great-Great Grandpa and
Grandma.
Everything we have learned through our lives will serve us well. Skill sets
from the north woods and from the farm are derived from living simple, living
manual
and living with nature as part of nature.
We used to fall to sleep on a feather tick mattress while listening to rain
tapping over our heads in the loft of the old log cabin. Bedtime stories were
told as
we drifted to sleep and the whippoorwills sang into the night. We didn’t
think that the day would come that just about all of what we learned from our
family and from our life would come into play. Thank God for our tight family
and all of the distilled knowledge passed down to us. I now live in a home
built over the site of the original log cabin and now we have 7 generations
since my
great-great grandparents first cleared this piece of land. It looks like we
will be talking of another “Great Depression” soon and the complete
cycle renews. Do we learn from our mistakes?
Preparedness Skills and Materials
We’re preparing for the future and I hope to teach what I can to as many
people as I can before it’s over. We can survive well if we draw on one
another’s strengths and knowledge. It starts with the family and moves
out to the extended family then to the neighbors and on to town folk and into
the blogosphere. Many people have grown up in similar circumstances and have
similar experiences. We must practice our learned skills and trades all of
the time to stay fresh and perpetuate our way of life. We must keep acquiring
new
skills and more materials for survival. Preparedness is a constant quest.
Survival trades that I've learned:
ASE Certified Master Auto Technician
Journeyman Machinist and Apprentice Welder.
Experience with all aspects of house construction from framing to finish work,
including house wiring and plumbing for water, gas and DWV systems.
Professional ditch digger and home brewer of beer.
Survival tools, equipment, and material acquired over the years:
Comprehensive set of Snap-On hand tools, diagnostic equipment and garage.
Several redundant computers and complete wi-fi coverage with satellite internet.
All of the carpentry, plumbing and electrical tools needed to build a house.
All of the tools required to garden both manually and with gas engines.
Fence building tools and supplies.
5,500 watt gas generator.
Wood stove and saws, axes, mauls, wedges.
Stores of food, bits of gold and silver, books and manuals, and lots of lead.
Survival firearms battery:
Auto-Ordinance Model 1911A1 .45 ACP (I qualified Marksman in USCG)
Stag Arms AR-15 with 20” Bull barrel, 5.56 (I qualified Expert in USCG)
Marlin .22 WMR (squirrel / varmint gun)
Mossberg .22 LR (shot this since 1962)
Ruger M77 Mk II .270 Win. (my deer rifle)
Winchester Model 94 .32 Win. Special (got my first deer with Grandpa’s
gun)
Mossberg 12 ga. 3 -1/2” Ulti-Mag in Camo (turkey / duck / goose gun)
Winchester Model 1897 12 ga. 2-3/4” (I've shot this gun since 1969)
Reloading equipment and supplies (loads for Barnes Bullets)
Survival Quest 2009 (the final pieces I'll need for grid down and
"zombies"):
Ruger M77 Mk II .300 Win Mag with optics
A manual water pump (the old pump is
gone)
Wind turbine and photovoltaic panels for water pumping and power generation.
Battery bank and inverter
More kerosene lamps
Night Vision for the AR-15
Radios
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Letter Re: Gaining Situational Awareness and Old-Time Knowledge
Jim,
Situational Awareness has a number of definitions, from the rather complex
to the "simple". They include:
- The process of recognizing a threat at an early stage and taking measures
to avoid it. (Being observant of one's surroundings and dangerous situations
is
more an attitude or mindset than it is a hard skill.)
- The ability to maintain
a constant, clear mental picture of relevant information and the tactical
situation including friendly and threat situations as well
as terrain.
- Knowing what is going on so you can figure out what to do.
- What you need to know not to be surprised.
This comes to mind because of my recent reading of your novel, "Patriots".
(An excellent book. A must have for any "prepper".) The book
is primarily about a group of people who joined together to survive in the "days
after". The daily requirements of surviving in times of roving bands of
criminals and martial law enforcers were covered rather forcefully. Many of the
challenges they faced required an armed response, and situational awareness was
often discussed. For the kinds of situations in which the "Patriot" folks
found themselves, the extremely helpful explanations of such matters as OPSEC and
LP/OPs are very helpful to anyone facing what is soon coming for many of
us.
As the book describes, situational awareness is absolutely vital to survival
and success in our near future.
But, while situational awareness is most commonly thought of as a conflict skill,
there are also other kinds of situational awareness. On Yahoo Groups, there is
a discussion group about surviving in the days after. One of the most prolific
writers has several times recently warned the readers to "Get out of the
cities now !". He's even suggested moving to very unpopulated areas and
using wood pallets to erect shacks. IMHO, this is a suggestion that will cause
many people great harm. Folks, with little or no preparations, suddenly moving
to the land to escape the "Golden
Horde", will likely fail or die.
Just reading the stories of the many pioneers who moved west, will quickly sober
you up from any "can do/don't know" thinking.
I have lived nearly all my life on a farm. I have developed a deep knowledge
of the land. It has come at the great expense of many missteps, failures, successes,
hard work and time. I call it having situational awareness of the environment.
I know what certain kinds of clouds mean when forecasting tomorrow's weather.
I know that the vine-like plants with three shiny leaves aren't so good to eat
or touch. I know a dead snake can still bite. People just coming to the land
for
the first
time will have little of that knowledge.
For untold years and many generations, the knowledge of how to live on the land
and be self-sufficient was passed down thru families. In farm country, school
was often found at the back fence. If you or your Grandfather didn't know something,
the farmer next door often did. I remember many times in my youth when I'd be
out working the land and the guy next door would be out on his. Often as not,
we'd stop and stand by the line fence and talk. ...And I learned lots. But, now,
much of this passing on of knowledge is lost. Farmers more commonly sit 12 feet
in the air, driving an air conditioned combine, following the turns suggested
by the GPS receiver
on the dash. Your parents most likely worked in a factory
or
a
shop, than on a farm. What was common family knowledge just a couple generations
ago,
such as maple syrup making, canning, gardening, butchering, animal husbandry,
etc., etc., is gone. The "chain" is broken. Without
this great deal of passed on knowledge and experience, nearly any farm endeavor
can, and often
will, lead to unexpected disaster.
This is where Situational Awareness comes in. "The need to know, so as not
to be surprised." The list is endless, but for starters:
- Knowing the good bugs from the bad in the garden
- Knowing fresh horse manure
will kill a garden, fresh chicken m. will help
- Knowing only 3 or 4 ounces
of yew leaves--a common landscape plant in much of
the US--can kill a horse
- Knowing how to split wood so that the axe won't
glance off and chop your leg
- Knowing that burning certain kinds of wood in
your wood stove means you need to clean the chimney twice a winter so you
don't burn down your house [with a chimney fire]
- Knowing the nice, fresh,
clean, free flowing, mountain stream may be full of giardia.
- Knowing that,
when plowing with a horse, you should never tie the reins together and put
them around behind your back so your hands are free to handle
the plow.
(This was the way it was done in the novel "Dies the Fire" [by
S.M. Stirling).
If your horse happens to shy and takes off running, you will be dragged along
the ground
and be seriously hurt. The proper way to plow is with the reins over one
shoulder and under the other. Then, if your horse runs, you just duck your
head and
the reins slide off.
- Knowing that crows in the garden are bad because they
eat the new planted seeds, but crows around your chicken coop are good
because they keep away
the hawks
that will eat your chickens.
- Knowing that if your tractor suddenly starts
making a new sound, this is not good. Stop immediately and figure out what's
going on, before something
breaks.
- Learning to look around you when walking, instead of only staring
at the ground for
your next step, (as most people do).
And on it goes. I have lived decades on the land. There's not a day goes by
that I don't learn something. But even with all my handed down knowledge and
hard-fought
experiences, I'm not even sure I could make a go of suddenly heading out
to the "country" to build a cabin and barn, till the soil, cut fire
wood, store food for man and beast, and more. It's just awful hard without lots
of prep's. And I can tell you, without an extensive knowledge of what the "environment" around
you is telling you, it's darn near impossible. ...(Taking a walk in the woods
can hurt just as much as a walk on certain inner city streets.)
So what are you to do ? Well, having a "G.O.O.D." bag
and great escape vehicle is a start. Having supplies, tools and seed already
in place really helps.
But once you get to your retreat site, have a plan, have some knowledge of how
to do, what to do. Practice now. If you think you're going to learn while living
in a wood pallet shack, you won't. You'll most likely die. If there's no more
Elders to ask, get to know the other "elders"--books.
Go to local farms and ask to spend time just helping, so you can learn something.
Go to a school to
learn skills; like tracking, orienteering and fire building without matches;
(one of the best, imo, is Midwest Native Skills Institute). Never take charcoal
or
lighter fluid on a picnic, learn to gather what burns. Go camping in winter,
instead of just when it is "pretty" outside. Find a "big animal" vet.
and ask to attend and help when birthing a calf. Most especially, turn off your
tv. Use your time to learn to sew, or knit, or make soap. Pick up (fresh) dead
animals on the road and practice skinning them and then tan the hide. [JWR
Adds: Needless to say, consult your state Fish and Game laws before
doings
so!]
Find
local crafts people
and
acquire
a
skill,
such
as
weaving,
or
candle
making,
or
tin
smithing, because having a survival trade in a cashless society may keep you
alive. Learn to listen. Throw away those darn ear plug music things. Learn situational
awareness. What is the wind telling you about the day ? What does the sudden
and not normal crowing of a rooster warn you of ? What does the setting of the
moon in a certain place on the horizon tell you about the season ?
Learn what it takes to live on the land, before you have to suddenly move there.
Learn what nature, the land, and new tasks are telling you, before you find yourself
in a difficult situation, ...(un)aware.
- Jim Fry, Curator, Museum of Western
Reserve Farms & Equipment, Ohio
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Letter Re: Handy Uses for Thermite
James:
I followed a link from your site and ended up at the DBC Pyrotechnics site,
looking at a
lot of 10 Thermite "all weather fire starters".
It seems like a very handy tool to have - cold weather fire
starters like that. I wonder if any other readers of your novel might find
them useful. A lot of 100 of those might be just a very useful thing to add
into someone's retreat supplies.
Now if I can just find a place that offers pre-mixed bulk thermite, I might
build some nice #2 can-size thermite devices, in case I ever have a need to
do some "off grid welding", or whatever. A smaller [one quart] can
[at the bottom of] a larger can filled with sand (along the sides) tends to
direct more of the molten metal down through the bottom. Just the thing if
you need to put a nice, fairly round hole through some steel plate for a special
construction project. - Bob B.
JWR Replies: I describe how to "mix your own" thermite
as well as how to make thermite igniters in my novel "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse". Thermite itself is quite easy
to make, with black iron oxide and aluminum powder. But the igniters are
a bit harder to improvise. So it might be easiest just to buy the small readily-available
DBC Pyrotechnics fire starters with integral igniters, and use them to start
larger containers of home-made thermite powder for those big cutting and welding
projects.
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Field Gear on a Shoestring Budget: Ten Project Examples, by George S.
The following are some hopefully useful field expedients, substitutes and
spares, all
of which can be had for a buck to about ten bucks each:
#1: Drywall Saw: if you don’t have one of those all-purpose $49.95 survival
knives or field shovels from Gerber or Glock with the accessory root saw, or
you’ve found that the finger-length saw blade on a Swiss Army folder
leaves a lot to be desired when cutting a 2x6 [board] down to size? A bow saw
or flexible survival kit saw are a couple of possible candidates that may be
up
to the
task, but so too is an inexpensive drywall "stab" saw. The blade
on the one I got for a buck in the closeout tool bin at my local Big Box store
hardware department has a blade just a smidgen under 7 inches long and saw
teeth that cut on the push stroke on one edge and reversed teeth that work
on the
draw stroke on the other. It also has a sharp enough tip on the blade point
to poke through drywall or thin wood paneling, hence the term "stab" saw.
The handle on mine, made/distributed under the GreatNeck
brand, P/N 4932, is
hard plastic and black rubber, comfortable enough to use for repeat cutting.
Though that handle included a molded-in flap pierced for a lanyard or hang
cord, the handle itself is stout enough to be drilled at the butt end for a
hole for a wrist lanyard or dummy cord. So I modified mine to eliminate any
chance of the cord tearing through the molded flap. I also did a little reshaping
of the handle on my saw with a file to get it to better fit my hand, so there
is enough material molded around the blade at the handle end for personal modification
to suit.
In addition to the obvious uses for field carpentry, mine’s proved useful
on the rib cage and pelvic bones when field dressing whitetail deer. There
are certainly other times in the woods when a nice quiet saw is to be preferred
to noisier if sometimes quicker tools like machetes or hatchets, as well as
being lighter in weight. A drywall saw is easily carried in a homemade or improvised
leather or nylon web belt sheath, or a short length of metal tubing can be
squashed flat and the saw blade inserted, both for protection for the blade
from other residents in a toolbox and to keep the saw from chewing holes in
a pack or rucksack pocket. Mine also fits in a scabbard meant for an M7 bayonet
for an M16 rifle,
which I picked up for a couple of bucks in the junk box at my favorite army-navy
surplus store. That has the total cost for my saw under
five bucks, so I went back and bought two more, one for a pal and one as a
spare for myself. Using a saw to cut those little figure-four release triggers
for small game snares or dead
fall
traps beats doing that task with most knife
blades, by the way, though setting snares in the cold is not real high on my
list of fun things to do. But if
you’re going to try it, I suggest you first practice setting the things
when it’s warmer out...and using a saw instead of a knife to build your
hare-trigger releases. (Yes, that spelling was intentional!)
#2: Snow Camo Overwhites: I live in snow country where sets of military over-white
trousers and parka can be useful during the white time of the year, and yes,
I have a good set. But my back-up plan consists of a large white vinyl trash
bag that can either be used for its intended purpose or can instead have neck
and arm holes poked into it in a pinch, then to be worn to help keep drizzle
and sleet off. It’s considerably more glossy and shiny than I care for,
which can be cured either with a few vertical stripes of flat white automotive
spray paint, or an XXXXXL white t-shirt can be added over it- unless, of course,
you are a XXXXXL T-shirt size as is, and you have to use a white pillowcase
or kiddy bed bed sheet substitute instead. Really large used T-shirts go for
50 cents each at my local Goodwill thrift store, and since I’m not planning
on wearing these against my skin, I’m not the least bit squeamish about
getting one that’s been used. And while I was there I found a pair of
much-dripped-on white painter’s pants for a buck, too, oversized and
baggy, just right for wear over warmer trousers underneath. A few shots with
the ol’ 99-cent can of flat white spray paint, and I was right in business.
Admittedly, they were still loose enough on me that I needed a pair of elastic
carpenters’ suspenders to help hold them up, and those suspenders were
available only in blue or red, not white. Out came the flat white spray can
again, which took care of that, backed up by a wrap or two of white athletic
bandage tape over the too-shiny buckles, which both locked them in place and
ensured there wouldn’t be any giveaway shine even if the paint flaked
a bit. It didn’t hurt to have that pair of short lengths of tape handy
should they be needed for other uses, either. That white spray paint also works
real well on surplus store desert helmet covers to whitenize them for winter
wear, then useable either as field jacket or parka hoods, or as, of all things,
wintertime helmet covers.
#3: Inexpensive Lockblade Folding Knifes: I like nice pretty folding knives,
both factory and custom, and some are so pretty and beautifully crafted that
it seems like sacrilege to drop one in a pocket, let alone open it up and actually
use it; the one I got as a present a couple of years back is like that. So
in my pocket rattling against my keys instead is the cheapie $1 lockblade folder
I picked up in the sporting goods/camping supplies department at my local Wal-Mart.
Packaged as "Ozark Trail #3074," the knife’s 31⁄4" blade
is jinked (partially "sawtoothed) along the rear third of its belly
edge, is marked "stainless," and is retained by a screw, making sharpening
and other maintenance simple. The knives’ handles/scales are a hard black
plastic that’s sufficiently impact resistant that of the dozen or so
examples I have none have yet suffered breakage or cracking, though one that
came in contact with a hot Jeep exhaust manifold melted and blurred a bit.
Now that one’s a "parts queen" donor for any of the others
that might have a blade chip or snap a point. That hasn’t happened yet,
the only replacement so far needed on my stable of cheap Chinese folding pointy-sharpie
things having been that of a replacement blade pivot screw that came loose
on one and got away in my pocket. The scales are a little squarish for my taste,
easily fixed by rounding off the edges and corners with a file or sandpaper,
and yep, there’s a well-placed hole for a dummy cord lanyard or key ring.
One so equipped resides on a spare bootlace that goes around my neck when I’m
kayaking in the summertime, and twin brothers of the cheapie Wal-Mart folder
live in the glove box of each of my vehicles, my tool boxes, in one pocket
or another of most of my rucks and daypacks, on my key chain and there’s
one in the drawer of my computer desk where it does double duty as letter
opener and box tape slicer. There are some users who don't care for the idea
that the
knife can be disassembled and have concerns that parts can become
unattached and lost. I haven't had that happen yet, but I figure screw tightness
checks are routine maintenance,
and I will use a threadlocker if I think it's necessary.
#4: Singlepoint Balance Sling: I had always wanted to be a high-speed, low
drag, tactical operations operating operator, but had never been able to come
up with one of the $35-$50 3-way HK or
Vickers slings that all the gun shop commandos and SWAT Team
guys who’ve never fired a shot in a real world
gunfight keep insisting to me that all the real professionals use. Adding a
center-of-balance attach point for a centerpoint sling is a simpler alternative,
and can be accomplished with nothing any more complicated or expensive than
a screw-in eyebolt at the point where the wrist of a shotgun’s butt fits
into the gun’s receiver, an expedient that goes at least as far back
in historic use as Doc Holliday’s sawn-off double-barreled scatterguns.
For the sling itself I used a five-foot length of black 1-inch wide tubular
webbing as used for rock climbing harnesses, also very useful for belts and
regular weapons slings. The advantage of using the tube web in this application
is that the tube web is hollow inside, and inside went a 48-inch-long elastic
bungee cord. The hook of one end of the bungee’s elastic shock cord was
then crimped to the front snaploop of a very used AK-47 sling
that had pulled out the oil-rotted threads holding it on, though all sorts
of alternate snaps
and swivels [or a 550-cord loop] could be used instead. The ones found on $2
surplus Swiss gas mask bags are especially excellent, with or without the bag
strap attached. The hook then attaches either to an AK or other rifle’s
front sling swivel, or at the new midpoint location if the hardware for that
application is installed. A friend who saw and tried my centerpoint sling on
my AK wanted one for his new M4 configuration
AR-15, and since he already had a sling attach point installed as the stock
locking plate of his CAR-15,
all I had to do was add the sling’s body loop and the strap with the
swivel snap. In his case, that snap was made from a pear-shaped key ring mini-caribiner,
after threading a short piece of clear plastic gas line tubing over it to keep
it from scratching the rifle finish and keep potential rattling silenced.
At the other end there’s a loop just large enough to go over the user’s
shoulder across the chest front, again with the elastic cord keeping it snug.
With the sling snap attached at the midpoint I can hold my rifle in both hands
and extend it out to arm’s length in front of me, and the elastic and
slightly muzzle-heavy weight with a loaded mag in places returns it to a muzzle-down
port arms position. This allows a fast transition from carbine to handgun,
handheld radio/cell phone, or my ice cream cone, depending on my priorities
at the time. I really prefer to have web or leather slings on weapons that
may be fired enough to get more than a little warm, since nylon slings can
melt through if they come in contact with a hot barrel. I’ve also had
my doubts about the general utility of balance point slings, but this is my
opportunity to try one out for a while, and there do seem to be two situations
in which mine has proven useful for me. One is while standing around with the
weapon at ready for long periods of time, as when at a guard post or waiting
to hit the firing line on a hot range, probably why they’ve been so popular
with some troops in Iraq. The other is when aboard a motorcycle, snowmobile
or ATV and the right hand is occupied with operating the vehicle, which would
be a really nice time to have a shorty bullpup weapon instead. But when what
you’ve got is what you’re going to have to use, I’ll admit
the springy sling may be worth being fitted.
#5: Gear/Armor Carrier Vest: Now that I had my new SWATzie sling I now needed
a black tactical vest and armor plate/pad carrier to go with it, and $2 seemed
to be a good price to give for the basic start for one. That was for two of
the polycloth black shopping bags from my local Wal-Mart store at a buck each,
offered as an alternative to the usual flimsy plastic variety. Aside from the
low cost, their big attractions were their 12" x 12" square size,
and the pair of 11⁄4" wide straps that serve as the bags front and
rear handles. Cutting away the stitching that held the end of one strap at
the mouth of one bag left an attached double strap that was long enough to
go over my shoulder and connect the first bag worn in front to the second one
across my back. The other strap was similarly modified, but on the other side
of the handle, giving a strap on either side to connect to the other bag, one
on the front left side of the front bag, and the other on the right rear of
the same bag. The straps on the other bag were modified the same way, but alternated
in mirror-image reverse, so that the outside left strap of the front bag’s
strap connected to the outside left of the rear bag, and the inside straps
likewise went to the attach points of their respective counterparts. In my
case, just the straps of one bag worn draped over my neck probably would have
been enough to position the front bag high enough in front that the bag’s
open top came to about the height of a field jacket’s front collar button.
That configuration is very similar to the old Military Armament Corporation
(MAC)
Ingram M10 submachinegun carry bags [made of then military-standard olive drab
canvas] that unfolded for wear beneath the user’s neck, the inside
of the MAC bags being lined with a Kevlar pad. I wanted protection and other
features
in back, though, so initially went with the twin bag approach. The bag in back
rode high enough that it too left just enough room for a jacket or shirt collar
to fit beneath it, and it covered my upper back and shoulders nicely. Both
bags rode high enough that an equipment belt can be worn underneath, and the
belt can be put on either first or after the vest is in place; others of different
body sizes may find they’ll need more of the adjustment provided by lengthening
both shoulder straps. Alternately, a set of padded shoulder straps salvaged
from a day pack or ALICE ruck
shoulder straps could be used instead.
Inside the rear face of my front bag went a used and expired Kevlar soft vest
obtained in a trade from a retired cop neighbor of mine. Inside the front face
of that same pouch went a military SAPI plate,
hopefully capable of withstanding rifle fire--or maybe not as effectively as
desired:
the military
has been replacing them with a newer E-SAPI version--an enhanced SAPI plate.
I also added a "kangaroo pouch" extension extending from the bottom
of the front bag, [made from a third black cloth shopping bag folded in half
top-to-bottom, giving a 6-inch extension and raising the basic cost of the
rig by another whole dollar. The Kevlar padding from another soft vest went
in the bag in back. I can add yet another "kangaroo" drop pouch location
on the bottom of the rear bag, should another 8" by 12" SAPI or E-SAPI
plate come my way and I feel like spending yet another dollar, and depending
on whether I want the extra SAPI protection low over my kidneys and spine,
or higher at my shoulder level. Until then the ballistic pad from a vest fired
into for testing rides at a height in between, sealed in a large vinyl pouch
to prevent the pad from becoming soaked if I get caught wearing the vest outside
in the rain, or go for an unplanned swim. No, you shouldn’t use expired
or damaged vest inserts or material. Yes, you ought to spend the bucks for
the very best body armor you can afford, and if you’ve developed tastes
based on personal experience, go with it. But if all you have on hand is less
desirable material, it may be better than nothing, so long you’re under
no illusions about its lessened effectiveness.
At the bottom edge of both the front and rear bags’ exterior I added
a left and right-side horizontal black nylon strap [sections left over from
building the sling described in section #4 above] and quick-release buckle
to connect the front and rear bags at my waist. The buckles came in a package
of three from the craft section of my local fabric shop, and one had been used
on a holster project, leaving the two I needed. I notice, however, that these
not only appear identical to the ones used on grocery shopping cart kiddy seat
belts and will fasten with the cart buckles just fine, but also are even identified
as having been made by the same manufacturer. [Ask nicely at your grocery when
they change their shopping carts’ seatbelts for newer ones less frayed
or for ones with a newer advertising message and you may get a grocery bag
full of the old ones for free.] In any event, the bottom straps do a fine job
of keeping the bottoms of the vest bags from flopping around, and mine can
be adjusted for anything from t-shirt weather to opened up enough to fit over
a parka or field jacket with winter liner. Velcro attachments would probably
work just as well.
Upgrades and enhancements: I also added velcro at the edge seams of the bags
to help the bags maintain their flat and square profile when other items like
my cheapie overwhites and poncho are added inside between the ballistic panels.
Likewise I added matching facing velcro straps to the former cloth handles,
now over-the-shoulder straps, which helps them stay together to be slid through
the adjustment buckles for them, which are former metal sling adjustment keepers.
The Velcro came from the craft department at Wal-Mart in a strip about 3⁄4-inches
wide by 3 feet long for a little over a buck. Yes, there are uses yet to come
for the leftover hook-and-loop pieces.
I wanted a way to carry ammo and other goodies with my cheapie vest, and since
they’d be a bit difficult to get to with the vest padding inside, that
meant pouches for them on the outside surface, leaving the bag interiors to
function as a drop pouch for empty magazines or clips or other non-disposable
novelties. The solution to hanging external pouches or other accessories was
easy, and all it took was a bunch of 12-inch long black nylon inch-wide straps
laid out in horizontal rows across each bag’s outside face, separated
by about a half inch. If that sounds like MOLLE rack
webbing, it should because that’s a good approximation of what it
is, though spaced primarily for ALICE gear
rather than MOLLE. Accordingly, the
critical dimension is not the
spacing between the straps, but the distance from the bottom edge of each lower
strap to the top edge of the upper strap, which should be from about 2-1⁄4
inches to no more than 2-3/8 inches, the inside height of an ALICE fastener.
The front face of my vest wound up with nine rows of webbing, seven at the
bottom and two at the top for first aid packet or compass pouches. On the back
outside face, it’s also covered top to bottom with nine rows of the webbing,
allowing anything from a Camelbak canteen pouch, a couple of 2-liter GI bladder
canteens or ammo pouches to be fitted. The spacing for the vertical stitches
that hold the straps to the fabric is approximately 1-3/16ths inch apart each
and I made up a spacer from a narrowed wooden paint-stirring paddle to keep
them in a reasonably uniform vertical line. Note that the metal ALICE clip
fasteners will chew through web straps fairly rapidly, since they’re
really meant for use on the heavy- duty web of a pistol or LBE belt.
One answer for this is to use the commercially available and relatively inexpensive
ALICE
strap-type adapters; another is the old airborne unit trick of replacing each
ALICE clip with at least two separate loops of parachute cord, knotted tight
and with the ends at the knot fused by heat to prevent the knots from working
loose. Now if you come across a military vest or armor carrier with the MOLLE
straps worn through, you’ll have a good idea as to the likely cause,
and how to prevent a repeat if you adopt the vest and repair the damage.
As an added benefit, the resulting ALICE/MOLLE web slots are just large enough
to allow the body of a 12-gauge shotgun shell to fit, with the shell’s
rim keeping the round from dropping through. That inspired me to build a second
vest primarily for use with a shotgun. Lacking the bottom extensions it’s
accordingly shorter and more compact, and so can be worn reasonably concealed
beneath a GI field jacket. The old Second Chance Z9 that was the first vest
I owned back in the 1970s rides in front in this one, and I’m still looking
for another castoff vest for the back pouch. Additional boxed ammo carried
in pouches in back helps balance the load on my shoulders, and helps prevent
me from kicking myself for not bringing more ammo along for those parties that
last longer than anticipated.
A third, similar vest was made at the request of a friend for carrying .50
caliber rifle ammo, among other items. It’s similar to my second "shotgun" vest,
with a few variations described later. Other specialized applications may well
come along, and I expecting that vests to serve as at least temporary expedients
for dealing with them can be launched at a cost of around two bucks each, for
a start.
The triple-magazine ALICE pouches
for M16 magazines fit very nicely at the bottom corners of my first "rifle" vest,
though M16 magazines aren’t
what are in them. With the two inside top anti-rattle strap tabs that separate
the three magazines removed, an M16 pouch is just right for an 8-round M1
Garand clip of .30-06 ammo laid flat. Alternate the bullet ends left to
right as more loaded clips are added, and they’ll hold eight clips, nine
in some if an extra one is crammed up into the pouch cover before snapping
it shut. I’ve
got two pouches so filled on the back bottom corners of my long vest and another
up front, [and a holstered handgun where a fourth ammo pouch could go] giving
me 192 rounds in 24 clips carried in three pouches. Conveniently, my Garand
ammo is stored in 192-round cans, in clips; isn’t it splendid how such
things sometimes work out?
A load like that with the added weight of vest pads and plates can get heavy
after a bit, so I added some of that black nylon webbing along either side
of both of the adjustable straps to help spread the weight; padded pack straps
are a possible solution for this problem, too. Those leftover short sections
of Velcro strip were added to three of the webbing rows approximately centered
on the front panel on the third, fourth and fifth rows from the top. Their
mating sections were added to the back of a largish US flag patch, which I’ll
continue to consider wearing so long as this country and its Constitution remain
at least partially workable institutions. Since situations in which wearing
a bullet-resistant tac vest with a couple of hundred rounds of Garand ammo
are not only possible but appear to be becoming more likely of late, there
may be some question as to how long that "workable" consideration
will last. Others may find flags of state or local jurisdictions, their religious
or veterans organizations, or family or group identification symbols or name
tapes to be more suitable or to the point.
Oh yeah: the black Wally-World bags come with the motto "Paper or Plastic?
Neither", and "Wal-Mart" printed across their front. Various cures for this
can be as simple
as just facing those slogans inward, turning the bags inside-out placing the
lettering in the inside where it won’t be seen, to a few shots with the
trusty 99-cent spray paint can, the flat black one in this case. I found that
the paint solvents softened the bag lettering enough to allow the printing
to be scraped away, but turned one inside out for better access to the stitching
of the handle straps anyway. If you don’t care for the black colored
bags, blue ones from Kroger grocery stores can be used instead, or bright orange
ones from the Big Lots retail chain. I’m sure that the selection can
vary depending on what stores are in a particular area; I haven’t found
suitable bags in winter white yet, but either a white cover can be added to
the front and rear faces of the pouch sections, or that ever-handy can of flat
white spray can be again called to duty. An inexpensive camouflage bandanna
can be used as a sewn-on cover before ALICE or MOLLE
webbing is added instead, for those wishing to match their other field gear
or maintain uniformity with
group camo; likewise the remaining material from the back of a camouflage shirt
blouse or lightweight T-shirt could be used. I've also found that the
JoAnn Fabrics shop chain offers
a very similar bag in a Loden/British Racing Green for a buck each, and a few
of them may be the beginning of my next project.
Those who’ve seen how glaringly black vests fluoresce in current night
vision equipment seem to be less enthusiastic about using all-black gear, but
television and movies have done their best to condition their zombie audiences
to accept those in the black tac vests as being the ultimate in authority figures.
That
kind of mass conditioning may be helpful to domestic concentration camp guards,
but the cowering habits of sheep-like GDP en
route to the slaughterhouse may also be utilized in making one’s
exit from such locales by other individuals or groups wearing the black vests,
at least until the urban inmates discover that many of those in the black outfits
may not have their best interests at heart.
As for sourcing components, I happened to get a deal on a couple of a hundred
18-inch sections of nylon strap from the industrial surplus outlet of a manufacturing
plant. New web from commercial sources can be used instead; one pal of mine
used a couple of cheap nylon dog leashes to make his, and inexpensive import
nylon slings are another source of alternate potential raw material. Those
wanting olive drab straps instead of black can use the material from the Swiss
military web straps offered by Sportsman’s Guide, 6 of them 31 inches
long and 14 that are 66" each, all with plastic pinch-release buckles,
and
under $15 for all 20, their item # 124510. Sportsman's Guide also offers 1-inch
wide nylon strapping in 125- yard rolls as their item
# 132816,
but you don’t get any buckles with that deal. My ballistic pads and inserts
have been collected from a variety of sources and applications over the years,
but those looking for their own suppliers of those components should check
with the offerings of BulletproofME.com or UsedBodyArmor.com as
possible sources.
Previously I’ve never cared for vests for much other than the specialized
ones for aircraft survival gear, [which can be slung over flight deck seats
when not in use] M79/M203 ammunition or photographic gear. The polyvalence
of having body armor and ballistic plate carriers do double-duty as attach
points for web gear is too obvious to avoid, however, particularly since the
armor carrier makes the use of web gear or LBE suspenders underneath both hot
and uncomfortable, and can restrict access to gear carried underneath. Two
bucks [or four] for a pair of shopping bags as a starting place for an armor/gear
carry vest seems like a good bargain to me, though you’ll have considerable
time and hand work putting one together after you decide just how you want
it arranged.
The vests made from 12"x12" bags front and rear work out a little
short so far as complete lower torso coverage goes, but that can be an advantage
for those who expect to spend lengthy periods seated in vehicles or elsewhere.
Adding the extensions like those I used for my SAPI plates provides an additional
6-inch deep pocket that runs horizontally completely along the front of the
vest, long enough inside for double-taped "royal" AK or RPK magazines,
full-length Sten, Swedish K or Thompson SMG magazines,
or for use as a "drop
pouch" for expended magazines or recovered clips in the case of my Garands.
Those without such concerns can use the long horizontal space for chem-lights,
highway flares or pop flares, pistol mags or a gas mask or night vision device,
as available.[JWR Adds: I do not advocate taping rifle of
SMG magazines "end for end" . This often results in the downward-pointing
magazine getting jammed full of mud when you jump down prone. So instead, tape
the pair together parallel (with both tops pointing upward.) You can
use a short length of dowel, and a pencil, or even a couple of thicknesses
of MRE spoon
handles between
the magazines, to make them angle apart from one another, to provide the necessary
magazine well clearance.]
Those who are really tall might want to consider the possibility of stacking
two bags piggyback, front and rear- four bucks worth, again. Alternately, that
open space beneath the rib cage not well covered by a single bag [or the small
of the back, for the rear bag] can be used for a front- attached drop magazine
pouch or reversed fanny pack, or in back, for an extension for a poncho or
sleeping bag carrier that rides below the 12" x 12" dimensions of
the bags. If a fanny pack is used low across the back, the waist straps from
it can be used for the waist/belt line connecting straps between the front
and rear bags, saving the separate addition of those components. It’s
also a common feature on commercial vests to include multiple belt loops extending
beneath the vests’ bottom edge at the belt line, allowing an equipment
belt to be supported by the vest itself. Such can be added and used if that’s
your preference.
One additional word of warning: the allegedly recycled plastic-weave material
from which the raw material shopping bags are made does not seem to be especially
fireproof or fire-resistant, and the nylon straps added for gear attachment
certainly are not. A dunking of the vest in one of the commercially
available fireproofing chemical mixtures could be a wise final finishing step
once the vest is completed but before other equipment is installed. That may
be more of a consideration if you’re an armored fighting vehicle crewman
or plan to hang around the exhaust downdraft on either side of a CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter
exit ramp, but do be cautious when close to campfires or other open flames,
and try not to excessively antagonize anyone operating a flamethrower.
#6: Too-big, worn-soled Moccasins fix: I’d been watching for a decent
pair of mocs for most all of last year’s yard sales, but all that turned
up [at the last yard sale of the season, of course!] was a pair that was way
oversize and had both soles worn through. No worries, for 50 cents for the
pair, they were a bargain, just a quarter apiece. I spent part of the winter
cutting away the worn-through bottoms and peeling off the glued-on strip of
finest plastic beading in the decorative native pattern of the Made in China
tribe. On Memorial Day weekend, off I went to the Buckskinners' and Revolutionary
War Reenactors’ Rendezvous where the sutlers and craftsmen had set up
their booths and tents on Sutler’s Row. I found the guy I was looking
for, a leathersmith who offered a resoling service for mocs, with buffalo leather
soles for $2 per sole. That gave me a pair of newly-resoled slightly oversize
mocs for just under 5 bucks. I added a pair of glue-in padded insoles, let
them dry, and then checked their fit: still floppy. The next addition was a
pair of $1.98 cotton booties, which I installed by wrapping my feet in plastic
shopping bags and then putting on the booties, and then liberally slathering
rubber cement over the booties and the places inside the mocs I could reach,
pretty much everywhere once I had them turned half-inside-out. Insert glue-coated
bootied foot in moccasin, allow to dry, and then repeat on the other foot.
While I was waiting for the second foot’s new addition to dry, I carefully
removed my other foot from the first one, leaving the bootie and plastic bag
inside. I then had at it with my paramedics’ shears and cut away all
of the former bootie that showed outside the edges of the moccasin, then slowly
and gently began peeling away the remains of plastic bag from the moc’s
interior. Again, by the time I had finished with the first foot the glue had
set up enough for me to begin on the second. I set them aside to cure up overnight,
and as it turned out, they had all weekend. When I tried them on again, the
fit was just right, tight enough to stay in place without flopping or raising
blisters, and loose enough I could nudge one off with help from the toes of
the other foot.
The insulation from the cold provided by the cotton bootie bottoms was a nice
feature, but one I’d have rather avoided for extended summertime wear
or for wear in situations in which the things were likely to get soaked. If
I hadn’t had the services of the rendezvous craftsman, I could have likely
have done a fair job of resoling them myself, or could have let a local shoe
repairman- getting harder to find nowadays- do the job. But he did a very tidy
job, had materials that were unavailable to me, and the skilled experience
he had at doing dozens of pairs of mocs at each of these events he attended
far outweighed the cost of his very reasonable price. Interestingly, that leatherworker
who did my resole work had another pair he was working on when I picked mine
up. Belonging to a big feller pushing over 350 pounds or so, the addition to
his mocs included the bottom of a pair of flip-flop shower shoes added as a
cushion to the underside of his mocs before the buffalo skin retread went on
and concealed that decidedly non-period padding. That combination would indeed
help keep ground dampness from morning dew or a light rain off the bottom of
one’s feet, though, and if needle and flax or waxed linen shoemaker’s
threads weren’t available, at least some similar work could probably
be managed with a tube of shoe-goo and/or some staples. And maybe an old pair
of cast-off donor flip-flop shower shoes.
Yeah, during this year’s yard sale season, I kept my eyes open for any
more good deals on moccasins, with no real sweet finds. But now I’m happy
to find any good deal on mocs whether they’re my size or if they happen
to be a bit bigger, and smaller ones go into a "trade goods" bucket.
Any time I can get a pretty good pair of mocs for under a couple of bucks,
I figure I’ve done okay; I spend a lot of time in the things, indoors
and out, so spending another five dollars or so on a pair to extend their service
life and improve their fit seems like money well spent. That’s not only
much less than what a decent pair of even imported lined mocs will run new,
but I suspect those buffalo hide soles are going to last me a good long while.
And interior padding added to a pair of oversize shoes or boots when nothing
else is available could save someone an awful lot of blisters.
#7: Fifty Caliber Spare Ammo Carriers: When a pal of mine managed to scrape
up the bucks to get the .50 caliber long-range rifle he’d wanted for
some time, he came to me for advice and counsel on ammo and accessories, since
I’d gotten myself one as a 50th birthday present a few years back. Could
I make one of those two-dollar tac vests [#5 above] for him, but set up for
.50 x 99mm Browning MG ammo for his Big Rifle instead of shotgun shells or
MOLLE gear? Why sure, I told him, it being just a matter of having three rows
of loops per row of shells, the one at the bottom consisting of smaller bullet-diameter
loops to keep the cartridge cases from dropping through, the rimless but bottlenecked
.50 cases not being as well retained by the top row of webbing as rimmed shotgun
shells are. I believe it would have been no great problem to space rows of
eight cartridges across the 12-inch space available, but he was happy with
a pair of rows of six shells each, with a little extra space in front, a configuration
that does make removing them from the loops a bit easier and keeps the vest’s
weight down. On the back, he specified an all-web covering, giving him the
option of carrying additional ammo in pouches, or canteens, Camelback water
bottle, or other useful goodies back there. I don’t expect he intends
to do much crawling beneath barbed-wire fences for long distances, especially
on his back, while he’s equipped with his big long-range noisemaker.
A dozen rounds is a good beginning for an ammo load out for the big loud rifle,
but a way to easily increase that amount by double or triple was still needed.
In the big box in one gun shop I visit pretty regularly all sorts of used holsters,
pouches and cast-off accessories from trade-in guns can be found. Though I’d
pawed through the contents before and noted an odd trio of residents therein,
I’d never had a use for the particular items I had encountered and had
no immediate use for them. Apparently, other customers had felt the same way,
because there they remained, despite price tags of five bucks each. Now they
had suddenly become useful; I paid for the three and picked up a fourth one
new in the packaging, at a cost more than the three used ones combined. The
items in question were vinyl plastic "Sidesaddle" 12 gauge shotgun
shell holders meant to be bolted to the side of Mossberg 500 series scatterguns;
similar models are available for the Remington 870 and Winchester 1200 guns,
and several other models. The problem is that with the aluminum receiver of
the Mossberg guns, the receivers can be warped inward if the sidesaddle attaching
bolts are overzealously tightened. The previous owners of the guns traded in
with their spiffy tactical ammo holders still mounted had apparently found
that out the hard way.
One simple answer if using the things on a shotgun, especially if it’s
a gun other than the model the device is meant to be mounted upon, is to attach
it to the stock instead, using wood screws and/or multiple wraps of tape. In
this case instead, the ammunition holders were fitted up to each other, back
to back, with a short section of seat belt webbing removed from a junked car
mounted in between as a spacer. The spacer web extends just far enough from
either end of the two shell carriers to allow a pair of grommets to be added
at the corners of both ends. This allows a carry strap with snap hooks to be
hooked to them for carry in either a vertical or horizontal position. The strap
I favor for the purpose is the one that’s used for the U.S. military
2-quart bladder canteens, since it’s wide, adjustable and comes with
a snap hook at either end; the Israelis are also real fond of using these as
top-mounted M16A1 rifle slings. Since the ammo being carried is a dozen rounds
of .50 caliber instead of a dozen lighter-weight shotgun shells, the wide strap
is advisable since it helps spread the load across the shoulders.
With the six-.50 rounds of one carrier facing forward and the others pointed
to the rear, [or up and down, if a horizontal carry position is used] it’s
a simple matter to peel off individual rounds as needed, either to load the
noisy rifle, top up a magazine, or refill the vest loops. If the user prefers
to have them all face in the same direction, they can be inserted in that way
instead. There’s a possibility that rounds could drop out or be knocked
off inadvertently, since the .50 rounds are much longer than the shotgun shells
that were fully covered when in the carrier slots. That leverage of the longer
ammo can be taken care of by having a pouch on the belt into which the carriers
can be dropped when on the move, one on either side, or velcro or snap-on covers
can be made and installed.
Those who don’t have a .50 but are looking for a means of carrying a
dozen extra reload rounds for a shotgun may also find that fitting two of the
sidesaddle carriers mounted back-to-back is a suitable way of doing so, especially
if an over-the-shoulder strap is added. That allows a quick "grab-and
go" procedure of quickly taking up the shotgun by its sling in one hand
and the dozen-round ammo carrier in the other, then tossing the ammo carrier’s
strap over a shoulder to free up the hand with the ammo for other purposes.
#8: Knife Handle Repair: While at the local thrift store looking for really
big undershirts, white painters’ pants and worn-out, torn or ugly belts
[a buck each, and dandy material for knife sheaths or reinforcing cheap import
book bag/backpack shoulder straps for more severe duty] I made my usual search
of the used kitchen cutlery box; this time I struck pay dirt. With items ranging
from 25 cents to an extravagant $2.50, I zeroed in on a 7-inch blade Ontario
Knife Co butcher’s knife, with a 50 cent tag sticker on it; when
I picked it up I found out why: the wood around the rivets on the starboard
side grip
scale had split and required repair or replacement. Can do!
Yep, I could have just whittled and sanded a twin of the good one, drilled
out the remaining rivets, replaced them, and it would have been almost as good
as new. I could even have just epoxied the old handle back on, good for at
least a short-term fix, but probably a repair that wouldn’t survive hard
use. Instead I took some of that black nylon web strap material left over
from building those $2 tac vest/ armor vest insert carriers, and cut a section
long
enough to go from the back of the blade’s edge along the handle where
the grip scale had been, wrapping around the butt of the handle at the end,
then back again along the other side to match where I’d begun, but on
the other side. Then I cut another one, same length. Mine worked out to just
over 91⁄2 inches long; shorter or longer handles would of course require
shorter or longer sections. The point, though, is that the length of strap
material that covers both sides is made from one continuous strip of web.
The next step is to liberally coat both sides of the knife blade where the
handle rests with epoxy [knives that have a short tang instead of full-blade-width
material for grip attachment get a different fix, discussed later] and to press
the web, not along the sides of the grip where the wood scales
had been, but along the top and bottom, again, wrapping around the butt. When
the epoxy has
tacked up sufficiently to keep the web in place, fold the material sticking
out to the sides down against the handle area. Don’t worry if there’s
a gap, but if a dry test fit before applying epoxy shows any overlap, you may
want to trim a little off the edges so that they neatly butt against each other.
At this point I begin wrapping the handle area with plastic shopping bag material
cut about a half-inch wide, overlapping each wrap just snug enough to hold
the webbing tightly against the handle. When you get up to the end try to tuck
the section wrapping around the handle’s end in as tightly as you can;
if it won’t cooperate, there’s a cure for that after it’s
dried.
Once you’ve completely covered the handle with the plastic bag material
wrap, you’re ready for the next step, which is a single-layer wrapping
of more of the bag material around the entire handle. At this point, I add
a pair of corrugated cardboard pads over the handle area- you may not need
it. I then put my handle in a vise and tighten that sucker good, squeezing
the epoxy into the nylon web and getting a good bond to the metal beneath.
I let it set up overnight at least, a weekend if possible- the directions for
your epoxy, room temperature and your experience with your favorite flavor
of epoxy may vary. When it’s nicely set up and cured a couple of days
later, I peel away the plastic bag strip, and if necessary I’ll then
hold that butt section momentarily over a candle if needed to get a good fit
on that back-end fold. The idea here is to heat the material just enough to
soften it, not for it to catch fire. Again, squashing it in a vise while it
cools may help, but if you don’t have a vise, you can do about as well
by setting the handle on the edge of a brick on it’s side, using another
brick on top for pressure, and adding a concrete block on top of the upper
brick for
additional weight.
The next step is a repeat of the first, but using that second strap you cut
to size, except that this time the web will be placed flat on the handle sides
instead of the edges the first strip covered. This time you do really want
as good a fit as possible at the back edge of the handle, and this time, since
the epoxy is going to bond web-to-web, my first wrapping to secure the web
in place while it sets up is a covering of black nylon fishing line. Then I
add the plastic bag strip, then squish that feller real good in the vise, and
go away for a day or two. Or three.
Unwrapping the bag material is like Christmas, I’m surprised almost every
time, sometimes good, sometimes not. If the repair is to your satisfaction,
good on you. If not, some more carefully applied heat, a little more epoxy
here and/or there, and some more of that fish-line wrap may fix your problem.
If not, you can always get out the rasp or a wire wheel on a drill and start
over. Or use leather from those cheap thrift store belts instead, though it
doesn’t wrap around the ends as well and heat won’t help shrink
it to fit- you may be better off cutting a separate piece for each side’s
handle if you use leather. I’ve repaired the handles of around a dozen
knives and one hammer using variations of this method, some of ‘em toolbox
knives that get knocked around and rattle in the box quite a bit. So far, I
haven’t had to redo any of the ones I’ve reworked this way, and
some of those repairs date back to 2000. Though some folks like to use a loose
wrap of cord around the handle so that it can be unrolled and used for alternate
purposes in an emergency, I’d rather have the most secure handle possible
and carry spare cordage wrapped around a knife’s sheath and as a sheath
tie down. That personal preference is up to the user, but I’ve yet to
run out of cordage and regret not having access to that epoxied to my knife
handle.
As for those knives with narrow tangs or less than full-length material where
the handle attaches: I’ve done the same sort of thing with a cord-and-epoxy
repair, except that in this instance I use heavy nylon cord [trotline cord
from the Sporting Goods department] instead of flat web. If there’s a
hole through the tang from a previous attach rivet or screw, I start on one
side there, go through any existing or added hole to the other side, and then
both radial wrapping and back-and-forth linear runs of cord begin. Once it’s
built up enough to act solidly enough as a handle again, a cover made of a
short section of that black hollow-center tube webbing can be used if flattish
grip sides are preferred. If not, just go at it with more and more trot line,
and again, finish up with a finer fishing line or even heavy carpet thread
in the color of your choice if desired.
The application of composite cord/epoxy handles is not limited to knife blade
repairs of course, but may also be of use to those looking for a way to utilize
hacksaw or Sawzall blades made for cutting metal as emergency hand tools. The
back-up plan to this application is to use a pair of vise-grip locking pliers
as an expedient handle for a metal-cutting saw blade, allowing later use of
the blade in the tool for which it was designed if desired or possible, but
the added permanent handle is certainly more comfortable for extended in-hand
use. Neither should the possibility of adding a handle to a worn-out or broken
saw blade reground to a knife edge be overlooked; power hacksaw blades are
particularly nice for this application. Those who wish to build their own survival
knife with saw teeth on the blade spine and a sharp belly edge can begin with
a new power blade, rework that blade to the length and shape they prefer, and
add a handle as per the above. Their resulting tool will be at least reasonably
capable of either whittling or cutting metals.
#9: BugOut Bag folding fork and spoon [or "Spork".] This one is an
idea that’s
neither new nor original, but like the others is one that’s been further
modified to fit my particular needs and the material available to start the
project.
In this case, I wanted a compact fork and spoon for use with both my personal
bugout bag, as well as extras for the 30-day supply bags carried in my vehicles.
My first attempt consisted of simply shortening a pair of the utensils in question,
then drilling a hole in their shorter handles for a connecting lanyard or key
chain. But they rattled.
During the Second World War, some German troops were equipped with a
mess kit fork-and-spoon combination that had the handles of the utensils shortened
even
more, then were joined by a rivet that served as a pivot, allowing them to
fold and nest into each other nice and compact. When folded out, the opposing
tool became the handle end for its partner, allowing shorter handles than if
they had been separate items. I cut the handles of
my first-draft unit down further, drilled them for the pivot and joined them
together. Opened, the utensil’s fork was sturdy enough to assault combative
peas, or, with the other end, the spoon was ready for the annihilation of soups.
Folded, the unit was compact enough to slip handle-first into the side of a
first-aid or compass carry pouch, through one of the webbing loops of a tac
vest or armor plate carrier, or, temporarily, in the top of one’s boot
if the cuffs are bloused into it.
I began my initial limited production run of enough of the folding utensils
for my BugOut Bag, 3-day pack and 30-day packs, plus one each for the glove
boxes of each of three vehicles, and a couple of spares. Improvements/additions
included grinding a flat screwdriver tip on the end of either handle just past
the rivet, one that is narrow enough to service M1911 grip
screws and my pocketknife blade pivot screws, and the other a bit wider. Adding
a second pair of smaller
holes further down the handle with another rivet set into one handle so that
the rivet’s head acted as a detent into the mating hole in the handle
of its partner made the lockup of the unit more positive when in the open position.
And naturally I added a small hole for a dummy cord lanyard to prevent loss
either from dropping or absent-mindedly setting it down and forgetfully walking
away from it. This is why they’re called dummy cords.
It turned out that the first dozen I built for myself weren’t enough:
others who’ve been around me when I’ve been using mine have asked
me to build one or more for them too. I’ve also got a simpler variation
that simply consists of a fork-and-spoon pair riveted together end-to-end but
doesn’t fold. That version goes along with bulk packages of food in storage,
along with a P-38 military folding can opener. The two items can be connected
together by key chain, one of the ubiquitous mini-carabiner snap links or a
chain repair link, or on a lanyard cord long enough for the useful tools to
be carried or temporarily draped around a user’s neck.
#10: Shoestrings. Speaking of hanging things on a cord around one’s
neck: I frequently keep a quarter-sized "button" compass and small
pocketknife around my neck on a spare bootlace; and some of us old-timers include
a military
P-38 C-ration can opener as well, even though the days of the issue of C-rats
are long gone. This used to be a common practice when I was in the military,
threading the bootlace cord into the plastic protective tubing we put over
our dog tag chains to keep the cold chain off our bare skin. I’ve yet
to really need these minimalist survival tools, though I’ll be glad enough
to have them if I do suddenly have a critical use for them, but the extra boot
lace has come in handy numerous times. Sometimes that’s actually been
as a replacement for a shoelace that’s broken on a shoe or boot, but
there’s a swell flash of realization when you really need a short length
of strong cord and then remember you’ve got one handy right around your
neck.
Variations on this idea include using braided nylon #550 pound test parachute
suspension line, also known as "parachute cord" instead, or using
fisherman’s
twisted cord trot line, both of which are available in a variety of colors
and sizes/strengths. The #18 twisted nylon cord I use is rated at 113 pounds
test, and the thicker #36 cord is listed as good for 320 pounds; if anything
stronger is required I reach for my roll of parachute suspension line. Short
sections of any suitable cordage are useful as "dummy cord" lanyards
for weapons, knives or other critical gear, especially when in or around boats,
snowmobiles, or motorcycles. Cord can be such an excellent replacement for
the metal ALICE equipment clips for U.S. belt equipment that some military
users pitch all their metal fasteners; just be sure and use at least two separately
knotted cord loops as the silent and nonmetallic replacement for each ALICE
clip if you do this- and three per is better.
I’ve also known one trooper who used military issue WD-1/TT commo wire
as replacement boot laces in a pinch; the civilian-world equivalent would be
stereo speaker wire. Clearly, he didn’t have an extra bootlace worn around
his neck...
.
Final thoughts: My adaptations, field expedients, and shade-tree modifications
are ones that were suitable for the tasks I’ve had at hand, the tools
I’ve had available, and the skill levels and experience I’ve got
at working with the tools I had for what I was doing. Changing materials or
methods may be perfectly suitable for your needs, you may conclude that some
of the items or modifications just aren’t worth the trouble, or that
the expenditure of a few more bucks on more specific-purpose items is a better
idea- and for you, that may well be. For others, some of these adaptations
may be the only gear that fits a minimalist budget, or that allows the purchase
of other necessities. In other cases, some of the items presented here may
serve as spares, with better top-grade [and top-dollar!] equipment better used
for the job at hand until it fails from overuse or is otherwise expended- and
my low-bucks methodology may give you a back up plan to turn what might have
been a disastrous shortage into an inconvenience. As with all things, your
mileage may vary, and remember that all of my demonstrations have been performed
by a professional on a closed course.
Way back in the early days of World War Two, when wartime shortages and
rationing began to affect stateside consumers, a motto appeared by which many,
perhaps most of those recent survivors of the Hoover-Roosevelt Depression lived.
Some thirty-five years later it was revived and applied to those living in
politically [and physically] embargoed Rhodesia, also engaged in a war, theirs
simultaneously against foreign invaders, domestic terrorists and sellout politicians
[in England and] within.
Now there may be another resurgence of the applicability of that motto, and
we may soon be in a much better position both to more clearly understand and
appreciate the creativity and resourcefulness of those who lived by those words
earlier, as well as finding a few of their earlier methods and techniques useful
in our time as well: "Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!"
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Letter Re: A Suggested Checklist for Preparedness Newbies
Here's a beginner's list I made for my [elderly] father today:
Food
{Brown pearl] rice does not store well. Neither does cooking oil so that needs to be fresh.
No, Crisco doesn't count.
Coconut oil would be your best bet.
Wheat berries - 400 pounds - bulk order at your local health food store
Beans - 400 pounds - bulk order at your local health food store
Mylar bags
Spices
Salt
Country Living grain mill
propane tanks, small stove and hoses to connect
freeze dried fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat if you can find them.
Water
500 gallons
of water [storage capacity. Rainwater catchment is a common practice
in Hawaii]
Water filter
Cooking
Cast Iron Cookware
Firearms
FN PS 90
10 PS 90 magazines
5.7 handgun
10 FN 5.7 handgun magazines
5.7 ammo
Training: Front Sight four day defensive
handgun course. (Note: eBay sometimes has
course certificates for $100!)
Body armor: Nick at BulletProofME.com
Medical
Personal medications
Augmentin antibiotic
Up to date dental work
Painkillers
Bandages
Iodine
Anti-fungal spray
Finances
$10,000 cash in small bills
100 one-ounce silver coins (GoldDealer.com or Tulving.com)
Transport
Gasoline in 5 gallon cans or better yet, this.
Gas stabilizer
Mountain bikes
Air pump
Miscellany
Flashlights
Rechargeable Batteries
Battery
charger
Hand held walkie talkies
Topographical map of your area
Spare eyeglasses
Shortwave radio
Home generated power
12 volt battery system
Good backpack
Good knife
Good compass
Good shoes
Bar soap
Toothbrushes
Dental floss
Toilet paper
Fishing kit
Salt licks
Connibear traps
Regards, - SF in Hawaii
JWR Adds: The following is based on the assumption that SF's
father also lives in Hawaii: Because of the 10 round magazine limit for handguns,
I recommend that Hawaiians purchase only large
bore
handguns for self defense--such
as .45
ACP.
Both the
Springfield
Armory XD .45 Compact or the Glock Model 30 would both be good choices. The "high
capacity" advantage of smaller caliber
handguns
is not available to civilians in Hawaii, so you might as well get a more potent
man stopper, given the arbitrary 10 round limitation.
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Letter Re: Holster, Sling, and Web Gear Recommendations
Howdy Mr. Rawles!
Before I begin, I’d like to offer my congratulations on your fine novel
being republished. I’ve read it once myself, then again to my family
(I hate television, reading is good family entertainment) which should be considered
high accolades in itself. Currently my copy is in the Pacific Northwest, bound
for the midwest next, as it continues to travel the country within my circle
of friends.
I read the
posted letter by R.P. on 26 August, and associated recommendations
on holsters, slings, and web gear, and thought I’d offer some discussion
on the matter:
The main reason pistols are currently worn on thigh rigs has less
to do with ‘CDI’ [“Chicks Dig It”] factor and more
to do with accessibility. When one wears a vest festooned with pouches, the
bulk of these tend to hinder proper presentation of the pistol when the holster
is worn conventionally on the pants belt. That is, if the pants belt can even
be seen, as most wear their vests low enough to preclude such. The addition
of body armor only exacerbates the situation. The pistol, therefore, is typically
moved elsewhere – mostly onto a thigh rig or integrated into
the vest itself. This is far from a new style though – the old leather
1911 holsters
hung down from the frog clip to accomplish the same purpose.
As you noted, thigh holsters typically aren’t comfortable
while ‘on
the move’ . They are good for one thing though, and that’s an assault.
Thus the reason that laden troops are often seen with them – those troops
are equipped for an assault. Additionally, a conventionally mounted holster will
typically interfere with a ruck waist belt. If not precluding ruck use entirely,
at a minimum compromising comfort.
I’ve been working through these issues for years, and have come to some
conclusions:
No one rig will ‘do it all’. Compromises abound and are mandatory.
For the vast majority of time (as it applies to me) a light vest, at the
most, is all that is called for.
I am not personally a fan of the heritage [LC-1/LC-2 series] deuce gear. Not
that the concept is wrong, bad, or anything else – but the ALICE clips
(or as my associates and I came to call them, “meat hooks”) really
did need to be jettisoned. They rub body parts raw, blistered, and cause other
similar problems when used for any significant length of time. As well, the
magazine pouches were designed more for extreme magazine retention and protection
(security) than allowing a speedy reload, and the closure hardware on them
never was very robust.
When I had evolved my deuce gear as far as it would go, my pouches were all
lashed to the pistol belt with gutted paracord.
Using the grommets of the belt and the freshly-emptied ALICE clip slots on
the pouches, paracord can be worked
tight enough to prevent pouch movement laterally and vertically. Another consideration
is that by using paracord, there is less metal to clink against other items.
This technique worked well in my opinion, and happened to be identical to
the way – in both layout and
attaching - one of my closest friends independently evolved his LBE in Ranger
school. If one is really attached to that generation of equipment, then I recommend
this method of pouch attachment, as it is a quantum step up in comfort! Just
make sure that the knots are oriented away from your body and melted somewhat,
to prevent them from coming loose and the paracord sheathing from unraveling.
In my opinion the new generation of MOLLE load bearing vest (LBV) is superior
to the old deuce gear - of course allowing that everyone is different. Not
only are the MOLLE vests superior in comfort, but the modularity offers the
capability of repositioning your pouches to find the placement where they feel
best for that individual. I personally prefer the slightly older models that
use two buckles in the front, as opposed to a zipper. Conveniently, these vests
are low enough in cost that purchasing one per rifle, carbine, or shotgun isn’t
cost prohibitive.
Like R.P. and yourself, I have attended Front
Sight. I’ve also attended
other top-notch institutions – I typically attend at least one course
per year. As such, it should come as no surprise that after significant attempts
at finding “a better way”, I also advocate using a conventionally
mounted belt holster. It seems we prefer the same manufacturers as well – Blade-Tech
and Milt Sparks specifically. The Milt Sparks folks talked me into trying the
Summer Special II and I’ve been happily using that for the last three
years or so and actually prefer it to the original Summer Special. I would
also add Lou Alessi to the recommended holster-maker list, as I’ve been
using his leather belt holsters for the last decade or so and am quite taken
by his execution of the old Bruce Nelson design, which Lou calls the DOJ holster.
Specifically, I prefer the slightly modified version he made for Dick Heinie.
Those can still
be ordered as such directly from Lou, as Dick quit carrying
them. I’ve used several gun belts over the years, but eventually stuck
with the Riggers Belt offered by The Wilderness. I prefer mine with the optional
5-stitch reinforcement, to make the belt less flexible under load.
I have found that the key to proper pistol presentation when wearing a vest
is to have the vest ride high enough that it doesn’t interfere with the
holstered pistol; not quite as high as a chest rig, but almost. As well, when
laying out the pouches for attachment, I leave a open area on my front and
both sides; approximately 10:45 to 1:15, 2:00 to 4:30, and 7:30 to 10:00 are
all open space. This allows unimpeded access to a properly holstered pistol,
as well as the spare pistol magazines and such on the opposite hip. The open
area directly to my front is so that I can assume a solid prone position without
lying on full magazine pouches; I space the pouches such that they act as wheel
chocks when I’m in the prone. With the vest riding
at this height, other items can be carried on the belt with decent access – a
knife, pistol magazines, flashlight, multi-tool, and compass for example. With
all that open area though, the vest really doesn’t carry much. As
I’m not employed to assault enemy positions, I don’t need an assault
vest. What I do need – and what the vest provides – is water, more
ammo for the pistol and carbine, navigation, communications, and a blow-out
kit. If called for, a PVS-14 or PVS-7D in rigid case can be quickly and securely
attached to the water carrier on the back. As the unofficial motto of my favorite
school says, “shoot, move, and communicate”, this vest is geared
to meet those needs. What it is not geared to meet is self-sustainability.
This vest shouldn’t be confused with a rig meant for patrolling, what
one would choose to wear when knowingly venturing into unfriendly areas, or
anything to sustain oneself longer than a few hours. Essentially this is a
vest to be worn when contact isn’t expected, just something to work ones
way back to a nearby resupply.
For the applications where the light vest isn’t sufficient, a ruck is
called for, as well as a vest that works well with a ruck but also has the
volume capabilities for sustainability. Of course, this is a trade-off, and
there are many trade-offs involved in choosing kit. As always, determined by
METT-T [Mission,+Enemy,+Terrain,+Troops+Time Available]. At this time, for
a patrolling
/ heavy vest, I’m evaluating
the K171 Arktis model. It’s heavier, bulkier, doesn’t allow unimpeded
pistol usage (the pistol is stowed in a cross draw integral holster and meant
to provide
security over speed), and favors security over speed in reloading – but
it does carry a patrolling load well.
On the topic of slings, I realize this is personal preference, but I prefer
different slings for different applications. On a battle rifle or a precision
rifle, I prefer the Quick-Cuff from Tactical Intervention Specialists. I’d
been using these slings for years before our military adopted them as part
of issue sniper kit - they really are top-drawer quality. I’ve used them
on long-range courses and competitions and never regretted it. It doesn’t
do anything that a good loop sling doesn’t
do – it just does it faster and easier. For shotguns and carbines, it’s
difficult to find better than the Giles or Vickers slings, in my opinion. When
set-up such that the buttplate is approximately one fist height below the chin,
these work very well.
At this point though, I’d like to reiterate your admonition that training
must be sought. If a trip into the Arizona or Nevada deserts, the
Oregon mountains, the Oklahoma hills, isn’t a viable option at the
moment, then I also advocate the Appleseed
Program [rifle matches and clinics].
These fine, hospitable folks will get you spooled up on the basics of marksmanship
quickly
and efficiently – I
should know, I’ve
been volunteering as an instructor for almost a year now. All the best, and
God Bless! - Bravo
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Letter Re: Ropes and Knot Tying
Mr. Rawles,
I'm an avid reader of your blog, and have found it most helpful in a variety
of ways. However, I have noticed a slight deficiency: there is little mention
of ropes and knots.
Rope is an incredibly useful thing, both in everyday life and in a SHTF situation:
it can be used in combination with a tarp and two trees to construct a makeshift
shelter, can lift or pull objects, can secure objects to prevent them from moving, it can make snares and traps to
catch food, and so on. One can even tie their shoes!
However, when tied with clumsy or inadequate knots, rope can be incredibly
dangerous. The common square knot can fail if sideways (relative to the length
of the rope) tension is applied to one of the working ("free") ends.
Certain knots can weaken rope['s breaking strength] by more than 40%, which
can be a dangerous condition in and of itself.
For light duty (tent cord, tying things down, etc.), military-style 550 [nylon
parachute] cord is incredibly useful. For heavier load-bearing uses, one should
use a suitable
rope.
As always, the Wikipedia
has useful links and information for tying different knots.
Bookstores sell books describing hundreds of knots and their uses. As always,
having paper books on hand is more useful in a SHTF situation than computer
files. Sincerely, - Pete S.
JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning that. I have provided
a couple of links to knot tying web sites in the past --such as this site
that shows you exactly how they're done (they show
examples of around 75 specific knots) via clearly photographed animations.
One item that bears special
mention is the rappelling
carabiner. Commonly just called a "biner"--and called
a "snap
link" by
the US military--these have umpteen uses for attaching/lifting/slinging/securing
loads and acting
like a pulley (or
providing greater rope friction by adding multiple coils of rope, which of
course relates to their originally-intended purpose for rappelling. I recommend
buying
a half-dozen
(or more), with
at least two of them
with
thumb screw-type locking gates.OBTW, avoid the
flimsy pseudo-carbiners that are sold as key ring holders. (Thankfully, nowadays
most of these are stamped "Not for Climbing Use".) We keep several carabiner
in our ATV's
cargo bag, along with a 150 foot coil of rope, and a
pair of Jumar
ascenders. When used in conjunction with our ATV's electric winch, this gear
has
proved immensely useful for tasks around the ranch, and particularly when packing
big
game
uphill.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Family Learning for Preparedness, by T.D. »
Letter Re: Advice on Purchasing Priorities For a Tight Budget
Mr. Rawles,
Hello again! Hope you and your family are doing well. I have had some questions
on my mind lately, and was curious if you would mind helping me. (I know you
must
be tremendously busy with our "strong" economy!). My wife and I are
both college students in Santa Cruz, California, and we have a very limited amount
of
storage space and limited income. Are there any tricks or pieces of advice you
have
for individuals like ourselves? I recently spent my tax refund on some firearms
(which
were from
a federal firearms dealer :-[ ) and now I was curious about the next step. I
contacted "Wiggy's" from your web site about some sleeping bags, but
feel like a water filter would be a better investment at the moment. Thanks
for your time!
OBTW, I feel like California is turning into a commune, I literally have
less freedoms than I had recently thought. - V. from California
JWR Replies: Given the mild climate on the California coast,
a water filter is much more important than cold weather gear for your next
purchase. I recommend the American-made Aqua Rain brand. These are similar
to the Big Berkey
(imported
from England),
but they only cost half as much. (The US Dollar's recent slip versus the British
Pound
has sadly further widened this price gap.) Please compare prices with our advertisers
such as Safecastle, JRH
Enterprises, and
Ready
Made Resources,
before buying
elsewhere. Next, consider buying from our affiliate advertisers like
Lehman's and
Nitro-Pak.
OBTW, if you contact any of our advertisers, then please mention where you
saw their ad. Thanks!
« Letter Re: Deep Family Roots Versus "Ideal Location" When Considering Relocation |Main| Note from JWR: »
My Seven Favorite North American Edible Wild Plants, by Paul C.
In light of the impending economic and social crisis, a knowledge of edible
wild plants is essential. I have included a list of seven easily recognized
plants
in this discussion, but keep in mind there are hundreds of edible species. These
seven
are common throughout much of North America.
When foraging, one must remember that if you need a field guide to identify a
plant,
you are not ready to eat that plant. However, field guides with color
photographs are necessary for anyone interested in this activity. In my opinion,
the best
field guide on the market today is The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel
Thayer. Although it
only covers 32 plants, it does so in amazing detail. Unlike other authors, Thayer
has eaten
all the plants he discusses. He also notes important errors found in other field
guides.
Before listing my seven choices, please keep these facts in mind: (1) an individual
may
be allergic (or develop an allergy to) any of these plants. Initially consume
them in moderation. (2) although a plant may be easily recognized during its
flowering
stage, this is often NOT the time they are collected for food. Use sources with
color
photos (not drawings) of a plant at various stages of its life cycle to aid
identification.
(3) In addition to field guides and on-line sources, consult a botany reference
to become familiar with botanical terms.
At the end of this discussion, I have included both on-line references as well
as field guides from my own personal collection. While you may not be initially
familiar with some of the plants on this list, once you see color photographs
of these
wild edibles you will be able to recognize many of them on your front lawn.
(1) Plantain- broadleaf plantain is found on lawns throughout the continent.
It has broadly elliptical leaves that rise directly from the root in a formation
known as a basal rosette; these leaves remain close to the ground. This plant
can be eaten as a salad or boiled in soups (the latter is preferred when the
plant gets older-at this point the leaves become stringy). Plantain leaves
are rich in vitamins A and C, and minerals. Narrow-leaf plantain is also edible
and is similar in appearance except for the shape of the leaves. Fresh leaves
can also be mashed and applied to minor wounds.
(2) Common Purslane- Purslane is also found on lawns throughout North America.
This plant barely reaches an inch off the ground. It has fleshy, jointed stems
(purplish- green with a reddish tinge), and narrow, thick leaves about two
inches long growing in opposite directions. The stems contain a clear fluid
(Spurge, a poisonous plant that looks similar to Purslane, has milky sap).
The best way to harvest this plant is to cut off only the leafy tips; it will
rapidly sprout again and provide greens from May until the first frost. It
can be used in soups or salads.
(3) White Oak Acorns- The leaves of a typical white oak have rounded lobes
which are never bristle tipped (as opposed to red or black oak). After
shelling acorns, they must be boiled to leech out tannins (in high concentrations,
tannins damage the
kidneys—tannins are also found in tea). The yellowish-brown water left
over from leeching is a good topical remedy for poison ivy rashes; it is also
styptic—it will
stop bleeding. Leeching takes several hours—change the water each time
it becomes yellowish-brown. After leeching, the acorns can be dried in a slow
oven. They can be eaten or ground into a fine meal. This meal can be mixed
with flour to extend your supply; acorn meal lacks gluten and will not make
dough rise. The acorns of other oaks, while requiring a longer leeching period,
are also edible.
(4) Maple Trees- people think of maple syrup, but the liquid extracted from
a tapped maple tree is potable. The “keys” (winged seeds) can be
boiled or roasted, while the leaves can be used in salads. In emergencies,
the inner bark can also be consumed.
(5) Wild Rose- this plant is widely distributed throughout the continent. Few
foods have a higher vitamin C content. The rose-hips (seed pods) can be used
to make jams or dried and used for soups or teas. They remain on the plant
throughout winter and can be picked when other food is not available. The seeds
within rose-hips can be ground and boiled in water to provide a rich source
of vitamin E. Rose flowers and leaves can also be used to make tea.
(6) Lamb’s Quarter- this plant, which thrives throughout most of the
U.S., is regarded as among the most delicious of wild edibles (similar to spinach).
It is available from
spring to the first frost. This plant is generally 3-5 feet tall with diamond
shaped leaves; the leaves have irregular teeth or shallow lobes when mature
(immature plants have spade
shaped, toothless leaves). The undersides of the leaves are often coated with
a thick whitish-gray powder. Before cooking, water will not wet these leaves.
(7) Cattails- this is an easily recognizable plant of swamps and marshes throughout
the world. It is a year round food source. The leaf bases can be harvested
from mid spring to early summer. The immature spikes can be boiled and served
with
butter like corn on the cob during early and mid summer. Cattail pollen requires
little
processing once gathered (except for sifting) and can be combined with flour
stores; it
is collected during June and July. The cores of the underground rootstocks
are a valuable
source of starch (especially during winter)- waders or a wetsuit would be a
good investment
for winter harvesting. Finally, small sprouts begin to form at the tip of the
rootstocks between early summer and early fall
Use the following listed sources for more information about these wild edibles.
Also keep in mind that this is only the tip of the iceberg; there are hundreds
of wild edibles waiting to be utilized—good luck!
References:
Thayer, Samuel. The Forager’s
Harvest. Ogema, Wisconsin: Forager’s Harvest, 2006
Angier, Bradford. Feasting Free on Wild Edibles. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania:
Stackpole Books, 1969
Kinsey and Fernald. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York:
Dover Publications, 1943
Peterson, Lee. Edible Wild Plants: Eastern/Central North America. New York:
Houghton Mifflin, 1977
Heyl and Burt. Edible and Poisonous Plants of the Eastern States.
(A card deck with color photos!) Lake Oswego, Oregon: Plant Deck, Inc., 1973
Web Resources:
EdiblePlants.com
Plants.usda.gov
WildmanSteveBrill.com
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Letter Re: Consider Volunteering at a Homeless Shelter
Jim,
I read Doc's
article about volunteering in a homeless shelter and meeting
some of the occupants. That brought back memories of when I was in my early
teens. My Dad worked for the railroad and we lived near the railroad yards
and I met a number of hobos in the woods behind our house. Most of them knew
my Dad and had a lot of respect for him. He would sometimes give them spare
change and cigarettes. The hobo's slept in small dugout caves in the woods
and would never steal from us. But they would steal chickens from a couple
of our
neighbors. I never ever saw a hobo carrying what he had in a bandana on the
end of a stick like you see in pictures. What most of them had was either a
small suitcase or an old surplus WWII army [back]pack. My friends and I would
be playing or riding our bikes in the woods and run into the hobo's eating
or
just hanging around. I was amazed on how they could start fires, cook, a lot
of them always carried fishing tackle made up of hooks, sinkers, and line,
used frog gigs with branches, set traps using snares. I used to hang around
with these guys just to watch them. In turn I would sneak out some cans of
beans, corn,etc to help them out. Not one time was I ever scared or harmed
in any way. Again, most of them knew my Dad and left me alone. At the time
I was in the Boy Scouts and learned from the hobo's and when my Scout troop
would go camping I would use my skills I learned from the hobo's. This would
amaze my scoutmaster and some of my fellow scouts. So I can understand Doc
learning from the homeless that stay in the shelter he works at. - Randy in
Asheville, NC
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Letter Re: Consider Volunteering at a Homeless Shelter
Sir;
I once had an opportunity to volunteer at a homeless shelter in Denver, Colorado.
What started as a chance to be of service, turned out to be a lesson in survival.
I was surprised to learn that many of the "guests" at the shelter
had become experts at existing comfortably, on a permanent basis, without benefit
of a home. Here are some of the things I learned:
1) The first lesson is - The quality of your bags determines the quality of
your life. If your possessions are contained in fragile garbage bags, you are
limited in how much can be carried and how far it can be carried. The first
step up is a simple sports bag, and better yet is a backpack. Next up is a
backpack along with a wheeled carry-on bag and collapsible handle. With such
equipment, you stop looking homeless, and if you and your clothes are clean,
hitch hiking is easier. One creative fellow used bungee cords to lash the luggage
handle to his belt, so the luggage became a trailer of sorts.
On another level was a bicycle messenger who equipped his bicycle with a trailer
for his worldly possessions and panniers for making package deliveries. Before
you dismiss such an arrangement, consider this: His vehicle was paid for,
he had
no mortgage or rent to worry him, a steady job, and a large circle of friends
in the shelter community. He always had money, a smile on his face, no stress,
and time to help others. Can many of us say the same?
No doubt many readers of this blog have seen a "Sidewalk Winnebago" as
the homeless sometimes call them. This is a grocery cart filled to overflowing
with everything the user owns. If you can gain the trust of the owner, perhaps
he will show you what is in the bags. It may amaze you how well equipped they
are to survive whatever comes their way.
2) Staying Clean - Walgreen's sells a shower head on a short hose with a rubber
adapter to connect to a faucet. They are meant for cleaning pets or dishes
in the sink, but can also be used to shampoo your hair in a convenience store
bathroom. The homeless man who showed me this trick said that if your hair
is clean, you appear clean. This helped him find temporary jobs.
3) Self Defense - One man carried a sports bag with a Ka-Bar sheath knife inside.
He could hold the sheath through the bag with his left hand, while drawing
the knife through the open top of the bag with his right hand. Yet another
had a Colt .45 in his bag.
4) I was told that a roll of toilet paper soaked in lighter fluid, charcoal
starter, or alcohol makes a good improvised cooking fire.
5) Another guest showed me his cache that was buried by the river. It was a
pair of five gallon plastic buckets, buried by rocks and hidden behind some
trees
in
a remote area. One was filled with food, the other with cooking utensils. I
doubt that this was his only stash.
Consider volunteering at a homeless shelter. You may be surprised what the
residents there can teach you about survival. The most important lesson I learned
is: I should be more grateful for what I have, and I should give thanks more
often. What a precious lesson. - Doc. S.
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Letter Re: Survival Lessons from the Book "The Long Walk"
Jim,
One of your blog readers suggested the book "The Long Walk". Five
minutes Googling around will satisfy you that "The
Long Walk" is
pure fiction masquerading as fact. I like a good yarn, but only when such stories
are clearly labeled "fiction." Nobody but the British author who
made up this tall tale has ever met or interviewed or known anything about
the supposed Polish prisoners who he claims walked across the Gobi Desert
and the Himalayas with virtually no gear. There are many great true survival
stories, but unfortunately this is not one of them. - Matt
Bracken in North Florida,
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Letter Re: Survival Lessons from the Book "The Long Walk"
Dear Jim,
The book "The
Long Walk" by Slavomir Rawicz is the best book on the
human spirit over the elements (both natural and man made) that I've ever read.
The author and his group escaped from a Siberian Gulag in 1942, crossed the
Gobi Desert and the Himalayas, and walked all the way to India. Over 4,000-miles!
This was all without the aid of $10,000 worth of gear from the REI catalog,
or for that matter,
shoes.
It's a perfect combination of some of our standard topics! Government tyranny,
survival, hope, ingenuity, teamwork. It was absolutely inspiring! - Frank S.
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Letter Re: The Recent Blizzard on I-90 in Wisconsin
JWR,
I read the link that was submitted by Craig in Odds 'n Sods. The
Channel 3000 story couldn't be farther from the truth. As a local first
responder, I can attest that we are getting the short end of the stick. The
State Patrol didn't even acknowledge
there was any problem on the interstate until hours after our crews
were already on scene. They didn't even know that Dane County had set up
an incident
command headquarters at the Highway 51 interchange. The first semi trucks
started losing traction as early as 10 a.m.that day. Near blizzard conditions
had been
present
all the previous night. I am on Stoughton, Wisconsin EMS team,
and my cousin is with the Stoughton Fire Department. My cousin and his friend,
also a firefighter,
responded to
the
command
center with personally owned snowmobiles.
Shortly after these two individuals start checking
the welfare of motorists, a State Patrol officer stopped them and read
them the riot act for daring to drive snowmobiles on what he called "my interstate." He
threatened to give both emergency responders (acting under fire command orders)
citations for operating the snowmobiles on the interstate. They had
been tasked by the incident commander with recon of the southbound lanes,
they made it to the Rock River (where the Rock County incident command was
set up), and
were met by more than 30 members of the local snowmobile club. These private
citizens came ready equipped with food, water and first aid. The two local
firefighters
were tasked by Rock Co. incident command to split up the club members into
two teams and check lanes in both directions.
At no time did the local
responders ever see National Guard members on snowmobiles. Nor did they ever
see any on the interstate. The National Guard were handing out water
and food from one truck at the Dane Co. incident command headquarters to emergency
workers. The
stranded
motorists soon started to become covered by snow drifts. Many said that was
the most scary aspect, as well as the total lack of information. Local cell
towers became overloaded. Communications were accomplished by "CB relay chains".
Several diabetic motorists were assisted by snowmobilers, and one patient
who was en route to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in his privately
owned car was loaned a portable generator since the internal battery on the
patient's medical
device
ran out.
The National Guard chopper
was seen overhead on several occasions, but never landed as far as I
know. Much later in the day, after some traffic flow began, the snowmobilers
had to go back out to the interstate to wake up some of the semi truck drivers,
who had been
sleeping in their cabs, and whose rigs were now blocking traffic flow.
All told, the
firefighter/snowmobilers logged over 400 miles traversing a 25 mile stretch
of I-90. - BadgerDad, EMT-IV
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Letter Re: Homemade and Expedient Vegetable Oil Lamps
Sir,
I clicked on this link from your site, JOTW
- Home Made Vegetable Oil Lamp. This got me to thinking about something
I read about and tried once, some
years ago. Take a tangerine, and using a knife, cut the nub off of the top,
to expose the fruit, and using a spoon, separate the fruit from the peel and
the segments from each other, leaving the sting like " pith " that
runs from top to bottom, down the center of the segments, connected to the
bottom. After letting the thing dry a bit, the pith is cut a bit to act as
a free standing " wick ", a bit of olive, vegetable, or corn oil
is put in, leaving about 1/4" of the pith above the oil to light. If it
soaks up the oil enough, the lamp can be made to last quite a while for survival
needs.
If you go to the extreme in a survival situation, a lamp could be fashioned
from natural clay like the ones seen in the Middle East that have been made
the same way since biblical times. . Many thanks to Hawaiian K.
for the link. I like to try some of these type preparedness do-it-yourself
projects from time to time to learn a new skill that may help me and my family
some
bad day.
-
Dim Tim
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Letter Re: Keeping a Low Profile is Crucial for Preparedness
Jim,
My missus and I have been into "prepping" for about 15 years. Our
house has a basement and it is practically wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling
with shelves--with just narrow aisles in between. The shelves are chockablock
with storage food (all labeled and organized "FIFO"-style),
medical supplies, assorted "field" type gear, tools, barter/charity
stuff, ammo cans, propane cylinders (that fit our camp stove and camping lantern),
reels of field phone wire, paper products, and so forth. Following the example
of Mr. Whiskey (from your "Profiles")
we have recently built up 27 sets of designated "charity duffles",
each packed in a cheap Made-in-Taiwan nylon duffle bag. Each of these contains
a Dutch Army surplus wool blanket, a Chinese knockoff of a Leatherman tool,
a pair of gloves, a pile ("watch") cap, a half dozen pairs of socks,
a thrift store man's jacket, room for four days worth of food (which we would
pack from our FIFO inventory, as needed), a collapsing plastic water container
(the type that Campmor sells), a waterproof match container, a tube tent, and
a hand line fishing kit. ("Teach a man to fish...")
When we moved back to California in 1998, we picked our house specially because
it was built in the 1940s. It is the oldest and sturdiest house on the block.
(The neighborhood built up around the house, when the property was subdivided
in the 1960s.) It has a basement and its own water well, which
is now "off the books"--since the house is now on "city" [metered]
water, but the well is still functional with a 24 VDC submersible
well pump. I have four flush roof-mounted Kyocera PV panels
(cannot be seen from the street) and six deep cycle batteries. The cables are
run series-parallel to provide both 12 VDC and 24 VDC outputs.
Even though we live in a standard suburban neighborhood, none of out
neighbors are any the wiser about our preps. At the core, I
consider my preparations my own business. When the time comes to
hand out the charity duffles, we will do so through an intermediary,
like our church. (We are Methodists.)
After seeing what
happened to that guy in Norco last year, I am glad that I keep a low
profile. The specific measures that we have taken to keep a low profile are:
1.) We take no UPS deliveries
at our house. Nearly all of our mail-ordered goods are sent to our private
mail box at the local UPS Store (it was formerly a "MailBoxes, Etc.")
From there, we take the boxes home in our minivan.We are always sure to unload
the van from inside my garage, with the garage door shut.
All of the empty boxes have the "to" and "from" address
labels cut out with a box cutter knife. I discard the flattened boxes in the
cardboard recycling dumpster behind the office where I work. (I'm a sales engineer
for a medium-size company.)
2.) We don't subscribe to any shooting or hunting magazines. We get all of
the gun information we need online. To "stay in the fight" politically,
I do make regular anonymous contributions to the GOA, JPFO and
CRPA [The California Rifle and Pistol Association, a firearms rights organization],
via Post Office Money Orders. (BTW, I do the same for the SurvivalBlog [10
Cent] Challenge. Shame on any of you that read this blog regularly but
don't pony up the 10 pennies a day!)
3.) We access all web pages via Anonymizer,
with no exceptions.
4.) Most of of our preps purchases are either made F2F,
with cash, or with Post Office Money Orders if ordering by mail. This eliminates
the "trail of paper" from writing checks or using a credit card.
We buy a lot from Nitro-Pak, Ready
Made Resources, Major
Surplus, and Lehman's.
5.) All of our guns, ammunition, gun gadgets, targets, and cleaning supplies
are bought "private party", mainly at SoCal [(Southern California)]
gun shows. Also, needless to mention, these are greenback transactions
only! In
California, we can still at least buy rifles and shotguns that are more than
50 years old
without having to buy through a [licensed] dealer. We have two [M1]
Garand rifles, and a FN.49, also [chambered] in .30-06. I'm still looking
for one or two more of those, but they are scarce, and even harder to find
private party. We also have three [Winchester] Model 12 pump[-action] 12 gauge
shotguns, two of which have had their barrels shortened to 18.5 inches. Handgun
buys in California all require paperwork, but by Divine Providence
I bought several Glocks
and [Colt Model] 1911s when
I was living in Arizona for a couple years, back in the late '90s. [JWR
Adds: That loophole was recently closed for Californians. Anyone moving
into the state must now register their handguns. Drat! But at least there was
a grandfather clause.] There is isn't much to do out in the desert except shoot,
so I bought a lot of guns when we were there.
6.) We signed up for an identity theft and credit report checking protection
plan three years ago. I noticed that SurvivalBlog just started running an ad
from Comprehensive Risk
Solutions. Their service has more bells and whistles and a lower subscription
cost that our current provider, so we will switch [to them] when our current
subscription lapses. [JWR Adds: I highly recommend this service.
It is cheap insurance to prevent what would otherwise be a very costly incident.]
7.) We use a TracFone
whenever
calling a mail order vendor. (No calling history paper trail.)
8. ) We don't mention our preps to anyone outside of our family.
We have coached our kids from an early age to keep their lips zipped.
9.) Whenever we have anybody visit our home, the basement door stays closed
and locked. (It is a keyed deadbolt lock.) The basement has
no windows. Most of our friends and relatives don't realize that we
even have a basement. (Basements are actually rare in California
tract neighborhoods.) To anybody that visits, the basement door just looks
like a locked closet.
10.) We don't leave anything "suspicious" out where it can be seen
in our house and garage.
These precautions might seem kinda "over the top", but put yourself
in my shoes. In the People's Republic of California it pays to be a bit of
a Secret Squirrel. I does cost me about $300 per year to get my mail and packages
at the UPS Store, but I consider that a small price to pay for my privacy.
I plan to retire to the mountains of central Nevada in nine years, but for
now, I am making do in my present circumstances. - F.L. in Southern California
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From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Start With a "List of Lists"
Start your retreat stocking effort by first composing a List of Lists, then
draft prioritized lists for each subject, on separate sheets of paper. (Or
in a spreadsheet if you are a techno-nerd like me. Just be sure to print out
a hard copy for use when the power grid goes down!) It is important to tailor
your lists to suit your particular geography, climate, and population density
as well as your peculiar needs and likes/dislikes. Someone setting up a retreat
in a coastal area is likely to have a far different list than someone living
in the Rockies.
As I often mention in my lectures and radio interviews, a great way to create
truly commonsense preparedness lists is to take a three-day weekend TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experiment” with your family. When you come home from work on
Friday evening, turn off your main circuit breaker, turn off your gas main
(or propane tank), and shut your main water valve (or turn off your well pump.)
Spend that weekend in primitive conditions. Practice using only your storage
food, preparing it on a wood stove (or camping stove.)
A “TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experiment” will surprise you. Things that
you take for granted will suddenly become labor intensive. False assumptions
will be shattered. Your family will grow closer and more confident. Most importantly,
some of the most thorough lists that you will ever make will be those written
by candlelight.
Your List of Lists should include: (Sorry that this post
is in outline form, but it would take a full length book to discus all of
the following in great detail)
Water List
Food Storage List
Food Preparation List
Personal List
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
Nuke Defense List
Biological Warfare Defense List
Gardening List
Hygiene List/Sanitation List
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
Fuels List
Firefighting List
Tactical Living List
Security-General
Security-Firearms
Communications/Monitoring List
Tools List
Sundries List
Survival Bookshelf List
Barter and Charity List
JWR’s Specific Recommendations For Developing Your Lists:
Water List
House downspout conversion sheet metal work and barrels. (BTW, this is another
good reason to upgrade your retreat to a fireproof metal roof.)
Drawing water from open sources. Buy extra containers. Don’t buy big
barrels, since five gallon food grade buckets are the largest size that most
people can handle without back strain.
For transporting water if and when gas is too precious to waste, buy a couple
of heavy duty two wheel garden carts--convert the wheels to foam filled "no
flats" tires. (BTW, you will find lots of other uses for those carts around
your retreat, such as hauling hay, firewood, manure, fertilizer, et cetera.)
Treating water. Buy plain Clorox hypochlorite bleach. A little goes a long
way. Buy some extra half-gallon bottles for barter and charity. If you can
afford it, buy a “Big Berky” British Berkefeld ceramic water filter.
(Available from Ready
Made Resources and several other Internet vendors. Even if you have pure
spring water at your retreat, you never know where you may end up, and a good
filter could be a lifesaver.)
Food Storage List
See my post tomorrow which will be devoted to food storage. Also see the recent
letter from David in Israel on this subject.
Food Preparation List
Having more people under your roof will necessitate having an oversize skillet
and a huge stew pot. BTW, you will want to buy several huge kettles, because
odds are you will have to heat water on your wood stove for bathing, dish washing,
and clothes washing. You will also need even more kettles, barrels, and 5 or
6 gallon PVC buckets--for water hauling, rendering, soap making, and dying.
They will also make great barter or charity items. (To quote my mentor Dr.
Gary North: “Nails: buy a barrel of them. Barrels: Buy a barrel of them!”)
Don’t overlook skinning knives, gut-buckets, gambrels, and meat saws.
Personal List
(Make a separate personal list for each family member and individual expected
to arrive at your retreat.)
Spare glasses.
Prescription and nonprescription medications.
Birth control.
Keep dentistry up to date.
Any elective surgery that you've been postponing
Work off that gut.
Stay in shape.
Back strength and health—particularly important, given the heavy manual
tasks required for self-sufficiency.
Educate yourself on survival topics, and practice them. For example, even if
you don’t presently live at your retreat, you should plant a vegetable
garden every year. It is better to learn through experience and make mistakes
now, when the loss of crop is an annoyance rather than a crucial event.
“Comfort” items to help get through high stress times. (Books, games,
CDs, chocolates, etc.)
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
When tailoring this list, consider your neighborhood going for many months
without power, extensive use of open flames, and sentries standing picket
shifts exposed in the elements. Then consider axes, chainsaws and tractors
being wielded by newbies, and a greater likelihood of gunshot wounds. With
all of this, add the possibility of no access to doctors or high tech medical
diagnostic equipment. Put a strong emphasis on burn treatment first aid supplies.
Don’t overlook do-it-yourself dentistry! (Oil of cloves, temporary
filling kit, extraction tools, et cetera.) Buy a full minor surgery outfit
(inexpensive Pakistani stainless steel instruments), even if you don’t
know how to use them all yet. You may have to learn, or you will have the
opportunity to put them in the hands of someone experienced who needs them.)
This is going to be a big list!
Chem/Nuke Defense List
Dosimeter and rate meter, and charger, radiac meter (hand held Geiger counter),
rolls of sheet plastic (for isolating airflow to air filter inlets and for
covering window frames in the event that windows are broken due to blast effects),
duct tape, HEPA filters (ands spares) for your shelter. Potassium iodate (KI)
tablets to prevent thyroid damage.(See my recent post on that subject.) Outdoor
shower rig for just outside your shelter entrance.
Biological Warfare Defense List
Disinfectants
Hand Sanitizer
Sneeze masks
Colloidal silver generator and spare supplies (distilled water and .999 fine
silver rod.)
Natural antibiotics (Echinacea, Tea Tree oil, …)
Gardening List
One important item for your gardening list is the construction of a very tall
deer-proof and rabbit-proof fence. Under current circumstances, a raid by deer
on your garden is probably just an inconvenience. After the balloon goes up,
it could mean the difference between eating well, and starvation.
Top Soil/Amendments/Fertilizers.
Tools+ spares for barter/charity
Long-term storage non hybrid (open pollinated) seed. (Non-hybrid “heirloom” seed
assortments tailors to different climate zones are available from The
Ark Institute
Herbs: Get started with medicinal herbs such as aloe vera (for burns), echinacea
(purple cone flower), valerian, et cetera.
Hygiene/Sanitation List
Sacks of powdered lime for the outhouse. Buy plenty!
TP in quantity (Stores well if kept dry and away from vermin and it is lightweight,
but it is very bulky. This is a good item to store in the attic. See my novel
about stocking up on used phone books for use as TP.
Soap in quantity (hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, cleansers, etc.)
Bottled lye for soap making.
Ladies’ supplies.
Toothpaste (or powder).
Floss.
Fluoride rinse. (Unless you have health objections to the use of fluoride.)
Sunscreen.
Livestock List:
Hoof rasp, hoof nippers, hoof pick, horse brushes, hand sheep shears, styptic,
carding combs, goat milking stand, teat dip, udder wash, Bag Balm, elastrator
and bands, SWOT fly repellent, nail clippers (various sizes), Copper-tox, leads,
leashes, collars, halters, hay hooks, hay fork, manure shovel, feed buckets,
bulk grain and C-O-B sweet feed (store in galvanized trash cans with tight
fitting lids to keep the mice out), various tack and saddles, tack repair tools,
et cetera. If your region has selenium deficient soil (ask your local Agricultural
extension office) then be sure to get selenium-fortified salt blocks rather
than plain white salt blocks--at least for those that you are going to set
aside strictly for your livestock.
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
“Buckshot” Bruce Hemming has produced an excellent series of videos
on trapping and making improvised traps. (He also sells traps and scents at very
reasonable prices.)
Night vision gear, spares, maintenance, and battery charging
Salt. Post-TEOTWAWKI, don’t “go hunting.” That would be a
waste of effort. Have the game come to you. Buy 20 or more salt blocks. They
will also make very valuable barter items.
Sell your fly fishing gear (all but perhaps a few flies) and buy practical
spin casting equipment.
Extra tackle may be useful for barter, but probably only in a very long term
Crunch.
Buy some frog gigs if you have bullfrogs in your area. Buy some crawfish traps
if you have crawfish in your area.
Learn how to rig trot lines and make fish traps for non-labor intensive fishing WTSHTF.
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
One proviso: In the event of a “grid
down” situation, if you are the only family in the area with power,
it could turn your house into a “come loot me” beacon at night.
At the same time, your house lighting will ruin the night vision of your LP/OP pickets.
Make plans and buy materials in advance for making blackout screens or fully
opaque curtains for your windows.
When possible, buy nickel metal hydride batteries. (Unlike the older nickel
cadmium technology, these have no adverse charge level “memory” effect.)
If your home has propane appliances, get a “tri-fuel” generator--with
a carburetor that is selectable between gasoline, propane, and natural gas.
If you heat your home with home heating oil, then get a diesel-burning generator.
(And plan on getting at least one diesel burning pickup and/or tractor). In
a pinch, you can run your diesel generator and diesel vehicles on home heating
oil.
Kerosene lamps; plenty of extra wicks, mantles, and chimneys. (These will also
make great barter items.)
Greater detail on do-it-yourself power will be included in my forthcoming blog
posts.
Fuels List
Buy the biggest propane, home heating oil, gas, or diesel tanks that your local
ordinances permit and that you can afford. Always keep them at least two-thirds
full. For privacy concerns, ballistic impact concerns, and fire concerns,
underground tanks are best if you local water table allows it. In any case,
do not buy an aboveground fuel tank that would visible from any public road
or navigable waterway. Buy plenty of extra fuel for barter. Don’t overlook
buying plenty of kerosene. (For barter, you will want some in one or two
gallon cans.) Stock up on firewood or coal. (See my previous blog posts.)
Get the best quality chainsaw you can afford. I prefer Stihls and Husqavarnas.
If you can afford it, buy two of the same model. Buy extra chains, critical
spare parts, and plenty of two-cycle oil. (Two-cycle oil will be great for
barter!) Get a pair of Kevlar chainsaw safety chaps. They are expensive but
they might save yourself a trip to the emergency room. Always wear gloves,
goggles, and ear-muffs. Wear a logger’s helmet when felling. Have someone
who is well experienced teach you how to re-sharpen chains. BTW, don’t
cut up your wood into rounds near any rocks or you will destroy a chain in
a hurry.
Firefighting List
Now that you have all of those flammables on hand (see the previous list) and
the prospect of looters shooting tracer ammo or throwing Molotov cocktails
at your house, think in terms of fire fighting from start to finish without
the aid of a fire department. Even without looters to consider, you should
be ready for uncontrolled brush or residential fires, as well as the greater
fire risk associated with greenhorns who have just arrived at your retreat
working with wood stoves and kerosene lamps!
Upgrade your retreat with a fireproof metal roof.
2” water line from your gravity-fed storage tank (to provide large water
volume for firefighting)
Fire fighting rig with an adjustable stream/mist head.
Smoke and CO detectors.
Tactical Living List
Adjust your wardrobe buying toward sturdy earth-tone clothing. (Frequent your
local thrift store and buy extras for retreat newcomers, charity, and barter.)
Dyes. Stock up on some boxes of green and brown cloth dye. Buy some extra for
barter. With dye, you can turn most light colored clothes into semi-tactical
clothing on short notice.
Two-inch wide burlap strip material in green and brown. This burlap is available
in large spools from Gun Parts Corp. Even if you don’t have time now,
stock up so that you can make camouflage ghillie
suits post-TEOTWAWKI.
Save those wine corks! (Burned cork makes quick and cheap face camouflage.)
Cold weather and foul weather gear—buy plenty, since you will be doing
more outdoor chores, hunting, and standing guard duty.
Don’t overlook ponchos and gaiters.
Mosquito repellent.
Synthetic double-bag (modular) sleeping bags for each person at the retreat,
plus a couple of spares. The Wiggy’s
brand Flexible Temperature Range Sleep System (FTRSS)
made by Wiggy's of Grand Junction, Colorado is highly recommended.
Night vision gear + IR floodlights for your retreat house
Subdued flashlights and penlights.
Noise, light, and litter discipline. (More on this in future posts--or perhaps
a reader would like to send a brief article on this subject)
Security-General: Locks, intrusion detection/alarm systems, exterior obstacles
(fences, gates, 5/8” diameter (or larger) locking road cables, rosebush
plantings, “decorative” ponds (moats), ballistic protection (personal
and residential), anti-vehicular ditches/berms, anti-vehicular concrete “planter
boxes”, razor wire, etc.)
Starlight electronic light amplification scopes are critical tools for retreat
security.
A Starlight scope (or goggles, or a monocular) literally amplifies low ambient
light by up to 100,000 times, turning nighttime darkness into daylight--albeit
a green and fuzzy view. Starlight light amplification technology was first
developed during the Vietnam War. Late issue Third Generation (also called
or “Third Gen” or “Gen 3”) starlight scopes can cost
up to $3,500 each. Rebuilt first gen (early 1970s technology scopes can often
be had for as little as $500. Russian-made monoculars (with lousy optics) can
be had for under $100. One Russian model that uses a piezoelectric generator
instead of batteries is the best of this low-cost breed. These are best used
as backups (in case your expensive American made scopes fail. They should not
be purchased for use as your primary night vision devices unless you are on
a very restrictive budget. (They are better than nothing.) Buy the best starlight
scopes, goggles, and monoculars you can afford. They may be life-savers! If
you can afford to buy only one, make it a weapon sight such as an AN/PVS-4,
with a Gen 2 (or better) tube. Make sure to specify that that the tube is new
or “low hours”, has a high “line pair” count, and minimal
scintillation. It is important to buy your Starlight gear from a reputable
dealer. The market is crowded with rip-off artists and scammers. One dealer
that I trust, is Al Glanze (spoken “Glan-zee”) who runs STANO
Components, Inc. in Silver City, Nevada. Note: In a subsequent
blog posts I will discuss the relationship and implications to IR illuminators
and tritium sights.
Range cards and sector sketches.
If you live in the boonies, piece together nine of the USGS 15-minute maps,
with your retreat property on the center map. Mount that map on an oversize
map board. Draw in the property lines and owner names of all of your surrounding
neighbor’s parcels (in pencil) in at least a five mile radius. (Get boundary
line and current owner name info from your County Recorder’s office.)
Study and memorize both the terrain and the neighbors’ names. Make a
phone number/e-mail list that corresponds to all of the names marked on the
map, plus city and county office contact numbers for quick reference and tack
it up right next to the map board. Cover the whole map sheet with a sheet of
heavy-duty acetate, so you can mark it up just like a military commander’s
map board. (This may sound a bit “over the top”, but remember,
you are planning for the worst case. It will also help you get to know your
neighbors: When you are introduced by name to one of them when in town, you
will be able to say, “Oh, don’t you live about two miles up the
road between the Jones place and the Smith’s ranch?” They will
be impressed, and you will seem like an instant “old timer.”
Security-Firearms List
Guns, ammunition, web gear, eye and ear protection, cleaning equipment,
carrying cases, scopes, magazines, spare parts, gunsmithing tools, targets
and target
frames, et cetera. Each rifle and pistol should have at least six top quality
(original military contract or original manufacturer) full capacity spare magazines.
Note: Considerable detail on firearms and optics selection, training, use,
and logistic support are covered in the SurvivalBlog archives and FAQs.
Communications/Monitoring List
When selecting radios buy only models that will run on 12 volt DC power or
rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery packs (that can be recharged from
your retreat’s 12 VDC power system without having to use an inverter.)
As a secondary purchasing goal, buy spare radios of each type if you can afford
them. Keep your spares in sealed metal boxes to protect them from EMP.
If you live in a far inland region, I recommend buying two or more 12 VDC marine
band radios. These frequencies will probably not be monitored in your region,
leaving you an essentially private band to use. (But never assume that any
two-way radio communications are secure!)
Note: More detail on survival communications gear selection, training, use,
security/cryptography measures, antennas, EMP protection, and logistical support
will be covered in forthcoming blog posts.
Tools List
Gardening tools.
Auto mechanics tools.
Welding.
Bolt cutters--the indispensable “universal key.”
Woodworking tools.
Gunsmithing tools.
Emphasis on hand powered tools.
Hand or treadle powered grinding wheel.
Don’t forget to buy plenty of extra work gloves (in earth tone colors).
Sundries List:
Systematically list the things that you use on a regular basis, or that you
might need if the local hardware store were to ever disappear: wire of various
gauges, duct tape, reinforced strapping tape, chain, nails, nuts and bolts,
weather stripping, abrasives, twine, white glue, cyanoacrylate glue, et cetera.
Book/Reference List
You should probably have nearly every book on my Bookshelf
page. For some, you will want to have two or three copies, such as Carla
Emery’s "Encyclopedia of Country Living". This is because these books
are so valuable and indispensable that you won’t want to risk lending
out your only copy.
Barter and Charity List
For your barter list, acquire primarily items that are durable, non-perishable,
and either in small packages or that are easily divisible. Concentrate on
the items that other people are likely to overlook or have in short supply.
Some of my favorites are ammunition. [The late] Jeff Cooper referred to it
as “ballistic
wampum.” WTSHTF, ammo will be worth nearly its weight in silver.
Store all of your ammo in military surplus ammo cans (with seals that are
still soft) and it will store for decades. Stick to common calibers, get
plenty of .22 LR (most
high velocity hollow points) plus at least ten boxes of the local favorite
deer hunting cartridge, even if you don’t own
a rifle chambered for this cartridge. (Ask your local sporting goods shop
about their top selling chamberings). Also buy at least ten boxes of the
local police department’s standard pistol cartridge, again even if
you don’t own a pistol chambered for this cartridge.
Ladies supplies.
Salt (Buy lots of cattle blocks and 1 pound canisters of iodized table salt.)
(Stores indefinitely if kept dry.)
Two cycle engine oil (for chain saw gas mixing. Gas may still be available
after a collapse, but two-cycle oil will probably be like liquid gold!)
Gas stabilizer.
Diesel antibacterial additive.
50-pound sacks of lime (for outhouses).
1 oz. bottles of military rifle bore cleaner and Break Free (or similar) lubricant.
Waterproof dufflebags in earth tone colors (whitewater rafting "dry bags").
Thermal socks.
Semi-waterproof matches (from military rations.)
Military web gear (lots of folks will suddenly need pistol belts, holsters,
magazine pouches, et cetera.)
Pre-1965 silver dimes.
1-gallon cans of kerosene.
Rolls of olive drab parachute cord.
Rolls of olive-drab duct tape.
Spools of monofilament fishing line.
Rolls of 10 mil "Visqueen", sheet plastic (for replacing windows,
isolating airspaces for nuke scenarios, etc.)
I also respect the opinion of one gentleman with whom I've corresponded, who
recommended the following:
Strike anywhere matches. (Dip the heads in paraffin to make them waterproof.)
Playing cards.
Cooking spices. (Do a web search for reasonably priced bulk spices.)
Rope & string.
Sewing supplies.
Candle wax and wicking.
Lastly, any supplies necessary for operating a home-based business. Some that
you might consider are: leather crafting, small appliance repair, gun repair,
locksmithing, et cetera. Every family should have at least one home-based business
(preferably two!) that they can depend on in the event of an economic collapse.
Stock up on additional items to dispense to refugees as charity.
Note: See the Barter Faire chapter in my novel "Patriots" for
lengthy lists of potential barter items.
« Two Letters Re: A Warning on Kelly Kettles |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: A Reader's Tale of Survival on Alaskan Rivers
In reading your last few days posts on preparedness for disaster, etc, it brought
to mind an experience I had twenty plus years ago in Alaska's wilderness.
I am only here to relate this story for one reason - I listened to my father
as a young man, one of the few times that I did, but it saved my life.
In 1985 I was on a moose hunting trip on a river boat with a close friend,
whose nickname is Dangerous Don. We had put in our boat at the town of Nenana
and proceeded up river to a smaller tributary, about 60' wide. As we made
the tributary, we got hung up on a sandbar. While we were stuck, Don decided
to fill the gas tank on the boat motor from a jerry can. I was in the bow keeping
us stable in the river with an oar. He filled the motor, and then used a battery
cable from the battery to touch the lead on the motor. He had spilled gas in
the back of the boat. As soon as he touched the post on the motor, it sparked
and the gas immediately exploded. I heard the explosion and felt the heat on
my neck at the same time. I turned and saw Don engulfed in the flames. At that
moment, I panicked. I jumped out of the boat, and in the process, flipped my
glasses into the river. I grabbed the rope and went towards shore. I was able
to tie the boat off on a dead snag next to the river. Don was able to get out
of the boat. We stood on shore watching the boat burn.
After watching the boat burn for what seemed like an eternity, we realized
the boat was our only way out. We managed to salvage our clothes, a thermos
of hot water, a bag of sugar and Don's rifle. By then the fire was out of control,
burning the wood transoms, seats and floorboards. We managed to swamp the fire
out of the boat by pulling it up the bank and swamping the stern into the river.
As we did this, an oar floated down river.
Don immediately dived in, swam down river and retrieved the oar. We then had
to pull the boat out of the river after swamping it. By then 10-12 minutes
had passed. We were soaking wet and chilled to the bone in the 35 degree drizzle.
We were starting to exhibit hypothermia, and knew we were racing a clock.
We decided one of us should immediately change to get into dry clothes, and
the other start a fire. I changed to dry clothes while Don chopped dry branches
off the dead snag, and found some somewhat dry plywood out of the boat. We
found some tinder from some dry game bags. But nothing to start the fire. This
was the most ironic situation I had ever faced - just put out a fire that was
trying to kill us, only to not be able to start one so we could stay alive.
Don finally got a spark off of his lighter to ignite the game bags we had soaked
in white stove gas we had salvaged.
Once the fire was roaring, Don was turning white from the cold. I had to change
his clothes, as he could barely stand. We found a blanket, tied it up as a
windbreak and sat in front of the fire, feeding it branches until they ran
out. We poured the baggie of sugar into the hot water thermos and drank it.
I was sitting on a stump and was starting to doze off - which I knew was trouble.
I must digress here to relate the reference earlier of listening to my father
as a young man. When I was 6 years old, my father's brother-in-law was on an
elk hunting trip with him and others in the Coeur d' Alene mountains, when
he became separated from the party during a snow storm that set in. My father
looked until late and went to town to the sheriff's office, only to be turned
down by the sheriff - he said it would have till wait until morning. They found
my uncle dead the next morning sitting on a stump with his glasses off and
his wallet next to them. He was 19. (This happened in 1961.)
For the next ten years, I was schooled by my father in the woods, when we went
hunting, fishing, camping, working on the farm etc. When I was twelve and old
enough to hunt, I never left his sight for the first three years. After that
he would put me on stands until he was certain I knew what I was doing. Most
of my hunting was in the rugged Coeur d'Alene Mountains. His number one mantra
"If you are in trouble and cold and have no shelter, and no means to make one,
don't
ever sit down until you can find shelter."
As I was sitting on that stump after the boat fire, my father's words came
back to me. I remember in my daze telling Don to "kick me" I woke
up on the ground. I jumped up, grabbed Don by the lapels and told him we were
leaving. We were going to somehow fix the boat, load everything back in it
and float back to the truck. I told him I would rather die on the river attempting
to get out, than I would of hypothermia sitting along the river bank. We had
no fire, no shelter, no food - he agreed.
We patched the holes along the transom in the boat with foam from under the
seats. We loaded all our gear in the front so as not to swamp the back where
the holes were. We then shoved off and began to float back to Nenana. As I
had lost my glasses, we switched off with Don's glasses to read the river.
Once we got to the Tanana which
is over a 1/2-mile wide of glacial silt, we felt confident we could make it
back.
We then encountered Mr. Murphy. ("Murphy's Law."]After thirty minutes or so
on the big river, we saw a tugboat headed up to Fairbanks pulling a barge,
and
throwing
a big
wake. As we had a leaky boat on the stern, we knew if we took a wake, we were
sunk, literally. We rowed frantically to the far side of the river, turned
into the wake and crossed over behind the tug and barge without mishap. We
made it to Nenana with no further trouble.
As I have related this story over the years, and am now preparing everyday
for "The Crunch" I realize that no matter how prepared we are, how
many books we read, how many exercises we drill at, we have to all at times
rely on Divine intervention, first and foremost. Yes we were prepared that
day for emergency, but not completely. We made mistakes, and we got things
right. But without the intervention of YHWH, we would be dead.
During the times ahead of us, which I believe to be the unfolding of events
that will usher in the return of our Messiah, we must be so tight with YHWH,
that we will know what to do ahead of time prompted by his spirit. I pray that
all that have read this, will understand we can be prepared, but if we aren't
redeemed, we don't stand a chance with the Almighty when the last trumpet sounds.
- Kepha in Idaho
JWR Replies: Thanks for sharing that story with us. As background,
I should mention that I attended Northern Warfare School in Alaska, in 1980.
It was the three week summer course for West Point and ROTC cadets.
(It had nearly all of the fun of the winter course, but very little of the
misery.) The
first phase
of
the course was a week of riverine operations, on the Tanana River. What many
readers
that
are
unfamiliar
with
glacial rivers would not realize from reading your account is the
depth of the peril you were in. For their benefit, let me add this:
If Kepha's expedient
boat patches
had not held and the boat had sunk mid-channel in the Tanana, he and Don probably
would
not
have
lived
for
more
than
20 minutes, even wearing life vests.
Glacial rivers are bitter cold--so cold that if you fall in, you can lose consciousness
within 10 minutes. Their waters are also so silt-laden (which is what gives
them their
liquid chocolate appearance) that anyone that falls in very quickly has their
pockets
and every crevice of their clothing fill up with silt, weighing them down.
This is often enough to drown even a very strong swimmer. Kepha's survival
was indeed a providential gift from God.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Note from JWR: »
Prepare or Die, by J. Britely
Throughout my life I have been
caught unprepared several times and while nothing seriously bad happened, it
easily could have. I have been
lost hiking. My car has broken
down in very bad
neighborhoods - twice. I have
been close enough to riots
that I feared they would spread to my neighborhood, been in earthquakes, been
too close to wildfires, been stuck in a blizzard,
and have been without power and water for several days after a hurricane. I managed to get myself out of
each situation, I thanked God, and tried to learn from my mistakes. I could have avoided these situations
or made them much less unsafe and worrisome if I had been more aware and
prepared. I have also tried to
learn from the mistakes of others
so as to not learn everything the hard way. One group I assisted was a two hour drive into the
mountains, out of gas, wearing tee shirts, and had empty water bottles (at
least they kept them) (I have made each of those mistakes but not all at the
same time).
I aspire to be more prepared the
next time. My preparedness
includes many different aspects.
In my opinion, the most important thing I have done is to learn as much
as possible about what to expect and how to deal with those situations. The other important thing that gives me
some piece of mind is that I carry
and stock away water, food, ammo, books, and other tools and equipment that
should help me survive a bad situation.
Be prepared!
The other inspiration for my
preparations is my family. Seeing
my family suffer from lack of water or food would be very hard for me,
especially if some easy and cheap preparations could have made a big
difference. Recently, a few
friends and family have asked me about my preparations and how they might
prepare. I didn't have a good
short answer because I have spent years learning and stocking away. I thought of myself as more of a
student than a teacher in this area, but now I think I do know enough to give
some basic advice and refer them to good sources for more. Hopefully, they (and you) can learn
from my mistakes without having to waste time, energy and money on things that
don't work. Of course, I haven't
been through every situation or disaster but I have made it through a few tough
spots without losing my head. My
advice is based upon what I know to work and also what sounds like it would
work with the minimum fuss. I
always prefer the cheap, easy, home-made solution, but
sometimes it is worth the cost to get a quality item that is just too hard to
improvise or where the manufactured solution is much better (such as a
knife). Keep it simple stupid
(KISS) when you can. With
persistence you can get a lot done $20 at a time.
The purpose of this document is
to give an overview of preparedness and the first steps to take. I focus more on the why than the what
so that you can tailor your preparedness to your own situation and budget. I will also cite the best sources I
have found for more information.
There is a lot of information out there in books, classes, web sites,
and forums. Most of it is good but it is also really repetitious and
overwhelming. This document is
only about 15 pages printed out (you are printing important information (not
necessarily this) aren't you - since in an emergency you may not have power and
need to take the information with you).
I try to keep my important preparedness documents in an expandable file
folder with a tie inside a plastic crate.
What are you preparing for?
No one really knows what will be
the next survival situation they will face or how it will play out (will it get
worse before it gets better?). It
could be getting lost hiking, the car getting two flats in the middle of the
desert, a hurricane, a home invasion, an earthquake, or a terrorist
attack. You must assess your own
situation and determine what you need to prepare for. Of course some preparations will be useful in many
situations including everyday life, and these are the best type.
In order to get an idea of what
to prepare for, look at the types of situations that you or people similar to
you have been through. Also,
assess where you live or spend a lot of time such as work and vacation. We need to learn from the past but
without fighting the last war.
I like hiking and being
outdoors, so for me learning how
not to get lost and how to stay alive in the outdoors are high
priorities. These skills may also
come in handy if I need to walk to safety during a terrorist attack because all
of the roads and public transportation are closed. Living in your house without power or water isn't too
different from camping
except for the nice roof over your head and all of your stuff. I have also taken a first
aid class. It is pretty
limited in coverage but still useful in a variety of situations.
To assess the likely dangers to
where I live and work I used several sources including FEMA (free guide), DHS, Disaster Center, Emergency
Essentials, Two
Tigers and CBS. Also, find your local emergency
response office. But don't
rely on the government too much for planning or for help. As we relearned with the Katrina
response, their information and advice is far from perfect. And FEMA has always said it will take
72 hours to respond. So the way
I
look at it, during Katrina, FEMA (and
local governments) failed to live up to
its own low expectations. But even
if FEMA had been able to provide more food and water, you would still be much
better off taking care of yourself.
Do you really want to be told what possessions you can hold, when to
eat, when to sleep, and live in close quarters with thousands of
strangers? Sounds like prison to
me.
It's
A Disaster is a good book that will get you started on a plan for most
disasters. Some of their plans are
a little passive for me (don't take any risks and follow all FEMA directions)
and their kits lack some important things like knives. Still, it is a very good book and a
great start. Family and friends
should be included in your planning and preparations as much as they want to
be, but be careful about telling people who you do not trust or know well. You do not want to become a target in a
crisis.
I
think one of the best sources for thinking about what you are preparing for
and what does and doesn't work is news and
first hand accounts. These are some of the best ones I have
found. A few of them seem kind of
glib and bravado but the advice seems sound.
True Stories of Survival
Hurricane Katrina: http://www.frfrogspad.com/disastr.htm
Argentina thread 1: http://www.clairewolfe.com/wolfesblog/arg.html
Argentina thread 2 (some
swearing): http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2715
Airplane crash: http://www.equipped.com/waldock698.htm
Ground Zero: http://www.equipped.org/groundzero.htm
Karen Hood's Survival Journal (a week in the wilderness) http://www.survival.com/karen1.htm
Sailing to Hawaii http://www.equipped.com/0698rescue.htm
Tsunami http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/
Alaska http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/8017/index2.html
A list of stories
Priorities
The survival Rule of Threes:
- It takes about three seconds to die without thinking
- It takes about three minutes to die without air
- It
takes about three hours to die without shelter
- It
takes about three days to die without water
- It
takes about three weeks to die without food
- It
takes about three months to die without hope
- Try to
have at least three ways of preventing each
of the above (a backup to your backup).
So the priorities are thinking,
air, shelter, water, food, and hope.
These are rules of thumb and approximations. Also, you will likely start feeling really bad before you
die so you need to be proactive in addressing these needs.
Thinking
Basically, don't panic
and do
something stupid. This is easier
said than done, but you can build your thinking skill and confidence by playing
“what if” games. After reading about the risks to your area and the survival
stories above, think about what kinds of things could go wrong and how you
would deal with them. The more
detail the better. What would you
do if a cat 5 hurricane was projected to hit your house? Where would you go? What would you take? Would it all fit in your car? Do you have enough gas to get there if
the gas stations are closed? What
if you don't have time to leave? What room in your house is safest (can you
reinforce it easily)?
If you are facing a serious
situation but no immediate threat, take the time to consider your options
before rushing into a course of action.
Take an inventory of what you have on hand and what is around you. Think of how each item could help solve
one or more of your priorities.
Thinking about these things may
be scary but it will be less scary when it actually happens if you have thought
it through. Focus on what you can
do to improve things and not on what you cannot change. Thinking can also be
more long term as in learning and planning. I suggest you read some of the sources below and then come
up with a plan for several types of situations that you are likely to
face. But don't delay, you can take
some first steps outlined below, such as storing water, right now. You can then read more, take classes
and collect useful items.
Preparing is a process not a one time event.
Air
Having breathable air is not
something you usually have to worry about, but it is an immediate priority if
you do. First aide can help with
choking and bleeding (which causes the body to not get needed oxygen). Hundreds
of people die from carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide poisoning
every year because of gas leaks and cooking
or heating indoors. Being at
altitude can also make it harder to breath. Finally, a terrorist attack could put dust, chemical,
biological, or nuclear contamination in the air or force you into a shelter
that needs ventilation. Be aware
of these dangers and have appropriate detectors if possible (smoke, carbon
monoxide, etc.). A wet cloth or
hand wipe (carry on airplane) to breathe through can help for dust or smoke.
Shelter
Shelter is mainly about staying
dry and the right temperature, but you also want to avoid sunburn, bugs,
animals and other dangers. Your
house is your usual primary shelter but it could become damaged or you may have
to evacuate. You should have
emergency repair items on hand such as tarps, lumber, shovels, nails, plastic
sheeting, crowbars, and a saw.
Your clothes are your first and
most important layer of shelter outdoors.
Clothes protect you from heat, cold and abrasions. In general silk, wool, and synthetic
materials are better than cotton especially to keep you warm in cold wet
weather. I find cotton more comfortable especially in hot weather, so I
compromise and wear a cotton shirt and shorts, but carry a better shirt, pants
and socks
in my bag, as well as additional layers and a change of underwear. This makes my pack a little heavier,
but I have been cold and wet in the wilds and that is miserable. For me, a hat and sunglasses are
indispensable. I try to always
carry at least a light water resistant jacket or poncho (with a garbage bag as
a backup). For me, boots are the
only sensible walking shoes. Find
some that are rugged and comfortable.
Have extra laces and a backup pair.
You can carry a tent, a tarp or garbage
bag for resting and sleeping.
A tarp can make a simple shelter or
an elaborate one. Rope, twine and tape are also
useful. You can carry some type of
staff
or tent
poles or make them with an ax or saw.
Mosquito netting is necessary in some places.
You should have many ways to
start a fire since most are cheap and compact. At least have a lighter, matches,
and flint. You can also build a firebed to sleep in if you have
inadequate shelter from the cold.
Water
This is a crucial area that
can be helped a lot with very cheap and easy actions before The Schumer
Hits The
Fan (TSHTF). This is probably the
thing
you can do with the highest payoff for amount of effort. The only problem with water is that it
is heavy and can take up a lot of room.
If you have storage room and are staying home this isn't a problem but
if you are on the move it can become a driving factor in your progress. Long term solutions are also difficult
if your primary water source (city water or well) goes out and you are not near
a river or lake.
Used plastic soda bottles and
orange juice jugs with screw tops make very convenient water storage containers. Just rinse them a few times with hot
water. Old liquor bottles and wine box bladders work well too. I also have several canteens and rugged
5
gallon containers with taps.
The five gallon containers weigh about 40 pounds each and are about as
big as can be easily moved (larger drums can go in your basement or garage or
under a rain spout). A few collapsible
containers might also be useful because they can be stored and carried
empty. Tap water can last for
years without going bad if kept in a cool dark place. But you should check water that has been stored for clarity
and odors. If in doubt, treat it
with one of the methods below. You
can also freeze the plastic soda or orange juice containers (these do crack sometimes
when freezing) and use them in a cooler to keep food cold if the power goes out
before drinking it. If you know
a
disaster is coming fill up any container you can including the coffee maker,
crystal vase, bucket, bathtub, sink, and kiddy pool (some of these could be
spilled or contaminated but hopefully some will make it).
Most sources recommend about a
gallon per person per day. People
consume about 2 quarts in cool low activity environments but much more if hot
or active. You should have at
least 2 weeks worth per person in your primary residence (but why not have
months worth if you have the room).
If you are traveling by car, three days worth per person is minimum
(more for bathing), and if you are walking take as much as you reasonably can
carry but at least one days worth (several small bottles are better for
diversification if one leaks and also to let you know to start looking for more
water before you are on your last bottle). I also store extra water for washing and bathing. Here the container doesn't matter quite
as much. I use old liquid
detergent jugs. You should also
have at least two methods of sterilizing water.
The first step in sterilizing
water is to get the water as clear as possible. If it is cloudy, strain it with coffee filters, a clean
cloth, or sand. Or you can let it
settle and pour off the more clear water.
The primary and most reliable
method of sterilizing water is boiling.
You actually do not need to boil the water just heat it past 145 degrees for long enough. But
if you don't do it right you can get sick. So to be safe, boil it for 5 minutes if you can. If you are
walking, a metal cup (enamel or stainless) or a converted tin can is easier to
boil than a full pot. You can
carry a backpacking
stove or a Kelly Kettle. You can
use solar power to sterilize
water (in a soda
bottle) if no cooking is possible.
Other stoves are suggested below under food.
To sterilize water
with bleach use 2 drops of plain unscented
bleach per quart of water (or 8 drops per gallon or 1⁄4 tsp per 2 gallons). If you don't have a dropper you can wet
a paper towel and then drip it (wear gloves). Let the water sit for 20 minutes and then smell it. If it smells like chorine then its good
to go. If it doesn't, repeat with
the same amount of bleach. If that
doesn't work try to find other water.
(Really bad water or salt water requires a still.) Bleach is cheap but does not last forever - rotate. Dry Calcium Hypochlorite {sold as "pool
shock" bleach) stores
much
better
than liquid bleach but requires an
additional step of mixing a solution. (It provides a very inexpensive long
term
solution
to
water treatment).
There are also Potable
Aqua iodine tablets that are more
compact for sterilizing water. You
can also use Tincture of
Iodine. Iodine and chlorine
are poisons so be very careful (kill the
bacteria not yourself. [Avoid ingesting chlorine or iodine crystals!])
Any of the chemical treatments
can make the water taste funny.
You can use drink mixes to make it taste better. I'm not sure if sports drinks are
really better, but Gatorade seems more thirst quenching to me than water. The powder form is more convenient and
cheaper. You can also make your own sports drink
(1/4 tsp nu salt (potassium chloride),
1⁄4
tsp
salt,
3-6 tbsp sugar (to taste), juice of 1 lemon (or orange), and optional flavoring
(Kool-Aid) per gallon of water) or switchel.
Of course you can spend money for water if you
want to. You can buy prepackaged water or expensive
filters. There are backpacking
filters but I have found these to be temperamental. A water
bottle with a filter would be a good backup or a straw.
You can also go the more expensive route with a good gravity fed filter like
this: http://www.doultonfilters.com/gravity.html. This is a great looking solar still but doesn't appear
to be for sale right now.
If you are a homebrewer (or like beer), you can add some
dry malt extract, hops, and dry yeast to your
stash. Beer is boiled as part of
the brewing process. Then the
alcohol and hops act as a natural preservative. For the long term you can get some sproutable barley, grow some hops, and culture yeast. If you or someone with you doesn't
handle alcohol well, skip this.
Food
Providing food can be as
easy or
complicated as you want. The
easiest thing to do is simply buy
more of any food you normally buy that stores well. By store well, I mean does not
spoil. Foods like fresh milk, meat
and bread do not store well. Other
foods like rice, dried beans and pasta all store well and are cheap. They eventually lose some of their
nutrition but this is gradual and will not make you sick from eating “expired”
food if you forget to rotate. I
do
not list exact rotation schedules because every source is different. Some sources say grains only last one
year but most sources say 10 plus years and other credible sources say hundreds
or thousands
of years. It all depends upon how
it is packed and where it is stored which is discussed below (vacuum packed,
cool and dry are best) Canned meats, fruits and vegetables store okay and are
more expensive.
How much food you want to have
on hand depends on what type of situation you expect and how much you want to
spend. Buying a month' worth of rice, beans,
salt, and pasta will not cost much (and
is a good start). You will be a
lot happier if you add:
- canned or dried
meat (Costco and BJs have multipaks of Spam, ham, tuna and chicken for
under $10)
- canned or dried fruits and nuts
- canned or dried vegetables
- dried potatoes
- canned or dried sauces (for
pasta, chili, etc.)
- soup mixes (bean soups are
cheap) and bullion
- dried onions
- parmesan cheese
- cooking oil
- ramen noodles
- peanut butter
- mayo
- vinegar
- sugar and honey
- powdered milk
- bread crumbs, stuffing, oatmeal,
cereal
- flour, pancake mix, biscuit mix
- baking soda
- cocoa, instant coffee, tea,
drink mixes, juice mixes (cranberry)
- lemon juice
- dry yeast
- spices
Some of these can be eaten
without cooking or water if you have to.
Costco is great for the rice, canned goods, bullion, yeast (2 pound
box), cooking oil and spices. Don't forget a can opener and other
utensils. Of course you can do the
drying (wood
or solar) and canning yourself
for better quality and lower cost.
The oil, flour, baking soda and yeast (refrigerate the yeast if
possible) do not store well and have to be rotated more frequently than the
rice, beans and pasta. You will
be
healthier if you add some multivitamins. There are also luxury items like
Powerbars, powdered eggs, powdered cheese, powdered butter, food tabs, and meals
ready to eat (MREs).
To decide how much you need, you
can simply scale up recipes
and meals (print some simple recipes that use your stored food). How much rice and beans would you eat
at a meal or in a day if that was all you ate? A lot probably (make a meal as a trial). Now multiply that by the number of
people and the number of days and you have a ball park of how much to
store. The problem is that you
could end up feeding more people than your immediate family. Who else would you not turn away?
(Anyone you wouldn't want to live with normally is not someone you want to be
stuck with in a crisis. That said
there is some family I wouldn't turn away even if they deserve it). Start with the cheap stuff (rice,
beans, pasta, salt) and then slowly keeping adding and rotating the other food
until you have at least one months worth.
Do an inventory at least twice a year.
Store everything in
airtight/waterproof containers inside a tough container in a cool, dry, dark
place. Some things come packed
pretty well and can just go in a plastic
bucket or crate (cans can
be dipped in wax). Other items
should be vacuum
packed in small bags or large mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and
then put in the plastic bucket with a lid or crate (with a solid latching
lid). If you don't have shelves,
you can make shelves out of the buckets or crates and 1”x12” lumber. Put 2”x4”'s under the bottom shelf to
keep it off the floor.
For years
worth of food instead of months worth of food we need to move to grain and grain grinders. The Church of Latter Day
Saints are the experts
here. They also have storehouses that will sell
to the public if you are polite.
Of course you can buy online
but the shipping will be as much or more than the food. I went cheap and was able to get about
six months worth of food for one person for $100. I stuck to grains (400 lbs/year), beans (40 lbs/year), soup
mix (20 lbs/year), and milk (16 lbs/year) (I already had sugar (60
pounds/year), salt (10 lbs/year), oil (5 gallons/year), baking soda and yeast). I borrowed some of their equipment to
pack some of the food, the rest I packed at home in the mylar bags and buckets
described above. The milk is a
sticky powder and very messy (think of spilling flour and multiply by 100),
repack it outside if possible. I
also bought a hand operated
grain grinder to make flour from the wheat. Then I can make bread
(scale this recipe up to one loaf per day for a year as a cross check for a
year's supply). This would be a
pretty miserable diet but I think it would keep me alive and healthy if I had
enough vitamins. Because of the
sack size I have more of some things than others so towards the end I may be
eating paste. I hope to upgrade later. For infants you need more milk, oil,
sugar, and vitamins from which you can make an emergency formula (breast
feeding is better, then you give the extra
food to the mother).
For even longer food solutions
you need to farm. Supplementing
your food with a garden
or sprouting would also make
things last longer and provide some healthy variety. Its best to have some non-hybrid seeds on
hand or save
seeds from your garden.
Serious (expensive) seed packages are here. Have some fertilizer and pesticides on
hand but in the long run organic
is the way to go.
For cooking you can use a wood
burning stove, barbeque, or camp
stove in the short run (have some extra fuel on hand). The Petromax
lantern is pricey but well made and also has a stove attachment. If you don't have one of these or run
out of fuel you can build one: a coffee can
stove, a bucket stove
(avoid galvanized metal),
a alcohol stove, a collapsible stove, a tin can stove (simple
version), solar
oven (portable version),
or a clay
stove (print directions for making at least one of these). This is also a good commercial stove for those with cash
to burn. These are much more
efficient than an open fire. You
need a good pot or dutch oven for
boiling water and cooking. For
more portable food you can go with MREs, make your own
or stock what ever you would normally backpack with.
Hope
Hope is different for
everyone. It can be safety,
comfort, companionship, or normalcy.
For me it is mainly hope that there is light at the end of the
tunnel. I can work hard and
persevere if I know eventually things will get better. This means long term planning. So I want to have what I need in the
short term but also have some hope for the long term (so I have gardening tools
and seeds in addition to rice and spam).
You also want comfort items such as a book, Bible, game, coloring book,
pictures, beer, tea, or warm
shower. Some of these can be
dual purpose such as a book about hiking or gardening, survival playing cards,
or a novel about survival and perseverance.
Equipment
There are lots of things you can get, but you can also
just organize what you have already. The number of lists
seems endless and what you need depends upon the situation, your skills, and
your budget. Here is what is wrong with
the DHS kit I have already
mentioned several items above and list some others here but being comprehensive
would take a lot of space (read the links and references for more). Here are some basics.
All types of camping equipment
and tools come in handy but can be
expensive (shipping can be expensive too so you may want to make your own, try your
local yard sales, craigslist,
sporting goods or hardware store first).
You may want a small tent to carry and a larger tent to put in the car. Sleeping
pads are as much for insulation as for comfort (learned the hard way—you
don't want to be in the cold without some insulation between you and the
ground). A hammock
can be multipurpose. You can
try your local hardware store for lanterns or Lehman's
(they also have candle making supplies).
I suggest four knives for anyone
responsible enough to have one (in general you get what you pay for, but start
cheap and upgrade later): a folding
lock blade knife (buck and gerber are both good reasonably priced brands), a
Swiss army knife (with saw blade) or leatherman type knife
(pliers are handy), a
solid full tang knife, and a machete or short sword for brush. A kitchen knife can work until you get
any of these. A hatchet would also
be useful. Keep them sharp.
You need several maps (local,
state (small scale and large scale), neighboring states, topographic and road)
and a compass. A GPS
is optional but very handy. There
are usually welcome centers along interstates and in some cities that hand out
free maps. The USGS is a good source for reasonably
priced maps but sometimes it is a bit hard to find what you are looking
for. They have a catalog
for each state that really helps. They are also very friendly by phone but
still prefer if you order online.
You should have at least one non
portable (plug in) phone that can be used with the power out. Medicine, diapers and feminine products
will be hard to get. A generator
is great but can be expensive and you must have enough fuel (I don't have one
but want one). Solar
powered battery chargers are really slow but might be the only option.
Change your attitude, don't be
wasteful, and you can reuse many items. A tin can becomes a cup or pot with
a
little work. Use both sides of a
piece of paper and then use it as insulation or tinder. Waste not, want not. This also minimizes trash as there may
be no trash pickup.
Organize your equipment and supplies into different
levels and packages
Stuff you almost always carry
You should make a small kit that
fits in your pocket or
around your neck. This should include:
- ways to make a fire (matches,
mini bic, flint, etc.)
- a button
compass
- a small knife or razor blade,
broken hack saw blade, small file
- Swiss Tech Micro-Tech
6-in-1 Tool
- led light
- small candle (light or fire
making)
- a saw
- short piece of wire
- parachute cord (as much as will
fit)
- iodine tablets
- sturdy needle and thread
- individual salt servings
- food tabs, hard candy, bullion
or individual parmesan cheese/sugar (if space permits)
- freezer bags (water)
- nails (assortment)
- trash bag if it will fit (poncho
or tarp)
- dental floss (twine)
- Advil, Imodium, Benadryl,
vitamins, band aids, SPF chapstick any other essential medicine for you
or your family (all labeled)
- fish hooks, split shot, fish
line, safety pins.
- Survival
cards can go in kit or wallet (you can make something similar).
Personal Fanny Pack (or vest)
This should be small enough and
attached to you so that you do not put it down even when you take a break. Take it with you on any hike, drive or
emergency. A large fanny pack
works well or Ranger Rick
suggests putting everything in a vest and a bamboo walking stick. You can duplicate some of the items in
your mini kit but add substantially.
- Survival
cards or pocket
survival guide (or print some out).
- Knife of your choice (another
one can go in your pocket or on your belt)
- Sharpening
stone (or ceramic
insulator)
- Fire materials (matches and tender
(dryer lint, cotton balls in Vaseline, small candles, etc.) waterproofed)
- Magnifying glass wrapped in
bandana
- Pliers if your knife doesn't
have them
- Compass
- Maps
- Metal cup (boiling water)
- 2 small bottles of water
- Freezer bags (organization,
waterproofing and for more water)
- Small camp soap (or traveler's
shampoo)
- Iodine tablets
- At least 2 trash bags (clear for
still and heavy black for shelter), or tarp and poncho, or space blanket,
or light weight jacket with hood (a shell that compacts) or hat
- Rope, twine and wire
- Headlamp and extra batteries
- Candle
- Wipes
(these are multipurpose and are more compact than toilet paper, keep them
in zip lock bags (add a little water if they get dry))
- Gloves and socks
- Small first aide kit (including
prescriptions)
- Sunscreen and bug repellant.
- Whistle
- Snacks (powerbars, trail mix,
food tabs, tea, Gatorade mix, bullion, beef jerky, MRE)
- A GPS, FRS radio, am/fm radio,
cell phone, or CB can go in here if it fits
- Mini binoculars (to spot
landmarks, approaching fires, etc.)
- Notepad and pencil or pen
- A multipurpose
tool is a good backup for the other items.
72 hour kit (or less)
To some, the 72 hour kit is
everything they have in their house for disasters. I think this should be what you take with you if you have to
evacuate (even on foot). If you
can't carry 72 hours worth of food and water (that is a lot of water even if
you only plan 2 quarts per day), scale it down and put the rest in a car bug
out kit that can be used in your house or on the road. You can also make a similar kit for work
or other places you are likely to be in an emergency. It should be in a medium sized backpack that you can easily
carry (get
a rain cover for the backpack (or make one)—these really help in wet
conditions). Again, repeat items
in your smaller kits as you see fit.
Here are some suggestions:
- It's
a Disaster! Book (or print out a similar one)
- Personal mini-kit and fanny pack
or vest (attached to you separately from the backpack)
- Water (as much as you can fit
without making the bag too heavy, you can carry some containers empty and
fill them later)
- Changes of clothes (several
underwear and socks, long underwear)
- Jacket, hat, and sunglasses
- Sleeping
bag or blanket (and compact pad), hammock
- Soap and other toiletries (comb,
nail clippers and razor)
- Small stove and/or lantern (or
directions and supplies for making one of the stoves above)
- Small tent or tarp and netting,
plastic sheeting, tent poles and stakes (multipurpose)
- Stuff sacks, mesh bags, pillow
cases for organization
- Duct tape
- Hatchet or machete, folding saw
- Small shovel
- Rope, twine and bungee cords
- Backpacking pot/pan
- Cooking and eating utensils
(kitchen knife, can opener, spatula, spoon, forks, plates, cups)
- Foil
- Dish soap, sponge, dish pan or
bucket (collapsible) (also a wash basin or bucket), towel
- Food (Snacks and MREs as well as
rice)
- Vitamins
- Detailed road maps
- topo
maps
- Extra ammo
- Pocket warmers
- A GPS, FRS radio (everyone with
a list of channels to use), am/fm radio, solar calculator, or CB (whatever
you have that fits)
- Copies of important documents,
phone numbers, extra credit card, cash, ID
- Comfort items (book, cards,
bible, pictures, coloring books, games)
Car Kit
Keep this in the car if
possible. I used to keep a lot of
this in my car but since some of it was stolen, I keep most of it in the house
and load it up for longer trips. I
have something similar to the personal fanny pack that I keep hidden in the
jack compartment.
- 72 hour kit
- Flashlight and batteries
- Fire extinguisher
- Jumper cables
- Seat belt cutter and window breaker
(keep within reach)
- Water (bottles can go under the
seats)
- Matches
- Gloves
- Tarps
- Garbage bags
- Wipes
- Maps
- Driving compass
- Rope and/or tow strap and bungee
cords
- First aide kit (any medications)
- Siphon hose for water or gas (do
not drink gas)
- Window washer/scraper
- Crowbar and other tools (hammer,
saw, wrenches, duct tape, fuses, belts, and screws)
- Ax, bucket and shovel (this is
required in some forests)
- Engine oil
- Gas can (keep it empty and
unused unless you have a place for it on the outside of your car or truck)
Stuff you take if you have to Bug Out
This is stuff that is too heavy
to carry in your 72 hour kit but something you can throw in your car (in
addition to what is already there) quickly if you need to evacuate. You might be able to take it in a
garden cart if you can't drive but travel by roads is still safe. Here is an example to help you make
your own
kit (or here). Pack it in crates or duffle bags. Here are some suggestions (what fits in
your car will vary):
- More survival books or books on
camping/country/simple living
- 5 gallon water cans (full)
- Food (cans and other heavy bulky
items)
- Cooler (grab some ice and any
travel friendly fresh items that are still good like cheese, peanut
butter, apples, lemons, and bread)
- Large first aide kit
- Dutch oven
- Stove and fuel or barbeque,
Kelly Kettle
- Lantern (Petromax is good but
expensive)
- Unscented bleach
- Tent and large tarps, rugs
- Blanket and pillows (sleeping
pad, hammock, or cot)
- Paper plates, utensils and cups
- Paper towels and wipes
- Foil
- Solar shower
- Bucket
toilet (you can store garbage bags, toilet paper, wipes, and soap
inside the bucket)
- Many garbage bags
- Laundry soap
- Clothes pins
- Soap and shampoo
- Ant traps and insecticides
- Fishing gear
- Radio and batteries
- Several extra fuel cans (enough
to get to your destination without refueling)
- Propane
heater with fuel
- Generator
- Small safe for guns and
documents
- Bikes (on rack and with pump and
tire repair kit)
- Frisbee or other games
First Aid and Medical Kits
Take a first aide class and more
training if you can. For supplies,
the place to start is with a pre-made small portable first aide kit and a
larger home or car first aide kit.
These are usually $10 to $20 on sale (but can be $100's if you want). You can add items from your
medicine cabinet and replace things like the cheap scissors that usually come
with them. However, these usually are not good for much more than minor cuts
and scrapes (going to a hospital/doctor may not be an option or may take a
while—so do
your best until you can get to one).
For more serious injuries you probably have to make your own kit. The best book is Wilderness
Medicine, by William W. Forgey. His suggested kit in the back of the
book is great (I learned the hard way I needed some of the items that he
recommends and figure the other items are ones I may need in the future). Amazon
and Moore Medical have
most of the items if you can't find them locally. For the house or car first aide kit, I suggest a hard sided
box like a tool box. Dental care is
also important. A toothache is
really distracting. A little dental kit like this
could make you a lot more comfortable until you can see a dentist.
Other Kits
Make other kits as you see
fit. I have a kit that is mainly
in case of terrorist attack (I live and work too close to a likely
target). I have Jane's
Chem-Bio Handbook and what to do if a nuclear attack in imminent as well as Potassium Iodide (seven
days), plastic sheeting, duct tape, Tyvek clothes
coverings, and a face mask
(this is not as good as a gas mask but its what I have). You can spread this to your other kits
if you want.
Security
Protecting yourself from
criminals is as natural
as buying a fire extinguisher to put out fires (but more expensive). Get fences, dead bolts, and lock
your windows at night but if someone really wants to get in your home they
will. Police take an average of
11 minutes or more to respond to violent crimes 40 percent
of the time (sometimes hours), under normal conditions. A lot can happen
in 11 minutes and you are going to wait a lot longer in a crisis. When someone is kicking in your door,
it is too late to go buy a gun.
You are on your own.
Relying on the kindness of someone breaking into your home is not a
good bet.
If you are a gun person, pick
your own gun. This advice if for
those who don't own a gun or don't shoot.
I suggest a pistol, a rifle and a shotgun for every adult (check
you local gun laws). If I had to only have one gun it would
be a shotgun
because of their versatility. A 20
gauge shotgun is more than enough for most purposes including home
defense and has less recoil than a 12 gauge. The Remington
870 is a great choice but many people also like Mossberg. Take a class
on using the shotgun for home defense.
For home defense ammo, I use bird shot. This will not penetrate and
stop a criminal as fast as buck shot but is
also less likely to go
through a wall and hurt an innocent person. Make your own decision here based on who is in adjoining
rooms and how close the neighbors are.
You can always load bird shot as the first few shells followed by buck
shot (keep about 200 rounds on hand because it will be hard to buy in a
crisis). The only options I
recommend are hearing
protection, glasses,
a cleaning
kit, a sling
(guns with slings don't get set down in bad places as much) and maybe a light
or night sights. I think the
factory stocks are fine.
Next on my list would be a
.22. The Ruger
Single Six is a nice
revolver that is convertible to either 22 LR or 22 magnum (This might be a
better choice as the only gun for some people). Also get a holster for it. Savage and CZ make bolt
action rifles that are great bargains. A .22
is a little small for home
defense (it is less likely to stop a criminal in his tracks) but a lot
better than nothing. It is also
important to be comfortable with your gun and a .22 is fun to shoot so you are
more likely to practice
(.22 ammo is very cheap and you can get 1,000 rounds for about
$20). As soon as you are
comfortable with the .22 and your budget allows, you should probably upgrade to
a larger common caliber (.357
for a revolver, 9mm, .40 or .45 for an automatic pistol, 12 gauge for a
shotgun, and .223, .308, 7.62x39, .30-30, or .30-06 for rifles). Get a concealed weapon permit if your state
allows them even if you don't plan on using it (carrying a gun). Again, these take some time to get so
you have to get one before you need it even if you think that will be
never. Also, the required classes
are really great and focus mainly on when not to use a gun. Almost any gun range will offer such a
class (and many others that are worth it too). In general, buying a used
gun is fine (simple guns are very durable) but for the guns I recommend
here, the premium for a new gun (gun store or some sporting good stores) will
probably be less than $100 and probably worth it to avoid any mechanical issues
to start with.
Learn the gun safety rules and
locking up any guns not on your body is a good idea and a necessity if you have
kids (or adults who act like kids) in your home. For pistols you can get a cheap keyed
safe for about $20 (also good for documents). Then you have to hide the key where you can find it quickly
but no one else can. A combination
safe is better but a lot more expensive (practice opening it in the
dark). For long guns you can get a
locking
cabinet for about $100 (some cases have a good
lock and that is a good idea for taking with you in the car), put a lock on a
closet, or get a
real safe for about $1,000.
Trigger locks are generally a bad
idea because you can accidentally pull the trigger when getting them on or
off.
If you decide against a gun, at
least get pepper spray, a baseball bat, or a flashlight. A self-defense class would be good too
(martial arts classes are good but take a long time to become practical). A bullet
proof vest and helmet
would be good but neither is inexpensive.
Finally, there is safety in numbers. Staying with family and friends during a crisis is a good
idea if resources and space allow.
First Steps
- Buy some unscented bleach and start storing water.
- Start accumulating food and other supplies. Initially, just buy more of the food
that you already buy that stores well. Re-pack
as necessary. Get some food
grade buckets or plastic crates and find a cool dark place.
- Start reading more about the risks that you face personally and
ways to deal with them. What
is your plan to deal with each?
- Organize your stuff into personal mini kits, personal fanny
packs (or vests), one or more 72 hour kits for each person for each
location they spend time, a car kit, a bug out kit, and your house stash.
- Practice. This
doesn't have to be a military style exercise. Try camping and living without power and running water
(in your backyard to start with).
Load your car with what you think you would want to take if you had
to evacuate. How long did it
take? Did it all fit? Try driving back roads to get out
of town. Go hiking with your
72 hour kit.
- Periodically take an inventory and revise your plans.
Books and other sources (in order of relevance and
grouped)
Online Resources
SurvivalBlog
(the best daily variety of all types of information at a good price too)
Alpha Rubicon
(The "Mythbusters" of the survival world. Membership required for most information,
great information and more personalities than members)
Non-fiction
Fiction
Some of these are a bit
far
fetched and depressing (worst case) and mainly about TEOTWAWKI (sing “It's The
End of The World as We Know It, and I feel fine" ) (they are fiction)
but still give some good food for thought.
Author's web site: www.PrepareOrDie.com
« The Precious Metals Bull Charges Onward |Main| Note from JWR: »
Sources for Free Survival and Preparedness Information on the Internet, by K.L. in Alaska
Recent comments in SurvivalBlog provided excellent advice on using the public
library. You can gain lots of knowledge with no expense, then purchase only
those books you want to keep on hand for personal reference. Also, many colleges
and universities loan to local residents, so you can use them too, even if
you aren't a student.
If your local libraries participate, a great resource is Worldcat. It lets you search for books from home,
then go check them out, or get them through interlibrary loan.
What will happen to the Internet when the SHTF?
There's no guarantee it will survive. Even if the World Wide Web endures in
some form, most of the individual computers connected to it will not. Hopefully
by then you will have already downloaded all the free info that's going to
help you cope with the new world.
You may want to download a copy of information
on this web site or any other web site with useful content. It would be a shame
to face some disaster when all the resources of the internet are no longer
at your fingertips.
In preparation for a worst case scenario,
it's a good idea to begin now to collect the knowledge that will come in handy
later. You can download whole books, save them to jump drives, and keep an
entire library in a very small space. All kinds of free manuals, guides, tech
tips, and schematics are available on the internet; for everything from firearms
to furnaces to computers to appliances.
All of the downloads listed
here are in the public domain or allowable for copying. Stay away from sites
that may involve copyright infringement. If you use a file-sharing site such
as Limewire, Kazaa, or any site that uses bit torrents, you are not only downloading,
but also uploading. Your participation involves automatically uploading to
other users. If the file is illegal, you are distributing illegal material,
not just downloading it. Stay away from these and stick with the legitimate
sites listed below.
Keep in mind that some of this information you
download might be illegal to use at the present time. You can't practice dentistry
on your neighbor just because you have the book. Nevertheless, you have the
right to possess this very vital information. After TEOTWAWKI,
all bets are off. The information you collect today might save your life or
the life of somebody you love.
Many downloads are in Portable Document Format
(PDF) form, so to read them you must have a suitable program such as Adobe
Reader, which is the free version of Adobe Acrobat. There are alternatives
to Adobe that can read PDF files, if you prefer. Some of these files are very
large. If your internet connection is slow, it's better to right click and
download rather than try to read a huge file online.
Some documents you may want to print out. Others
you can just leave on disc. Just be sure to store your drives safely. Not included
in this list are the many web sites that are very good resources in themselves.
Rather, these are the files you can download for offline viewing at a later
time. Download them while you still can!
Project
Gutenberg was mentioned as a good place to go for eBooks.
The Smithsonian
Institution is another great resource. They have digitized many older
books, maps, and documents in their collection.
Wikisource has
a nice collection of free eBooks.
One way to search for books no longer in copyright is to use Google
Book Search. Check "full view." If it comes up in the search,
it can be downloaded as a PDF file.
A good alternative to Google is the Internet Archive which includes books,
images, audio, and more. The Internet Archive also hosts the Wayback Machine,
which archives copies of an incredible 85 billion pages from the internet of
years past.
Over 100,000 free eBooks can be accessed through Digital Book Index
2020ok is a directory of
free online books and free eBooks
The British Columbia Digital Library has an impressive Collection, including
dictionaries, encyclopedias, and most importantly, the Holy Bible. It also has a Guide to other digital libraries.
Scribd is an online document
library of free research articles, eBooks, and other content.
A great resource for home schoolers is the Internet's largest
directory of free audio & video learning resources maintained by LearnOutLoud.com.
Check out the postings of Home Schooling
On-line Resources on the The Mental Militia Forums, as well as the "Must
Have" Books/reference material topic.
More than 3,200 pages related to the U. S. Constitution can
be downloaded from The Founders' Constitution
Firearms For any
firearm you own or plan to own, you should have a drawing of its Exploded View,
which will help identify parts and how they fit together. One of the most comprehensive
collections of Exploded Views is the paper edition of the Numrich Arms Catalog, which
in itself is a gold mine of information and very inexpensive for a volume of
over 1200 pages.
But if you only need certain Exploded Views, there are many
places on the internet where you can download them for free:
Gunuts is a good place
to start with hundreds of drawings. Another source is The Okie Gunsmith Shop, which
is apparently no longer operating, but you can still download drawings and
parts lists from its web site.Big Bear Gun Works has
another good list. For pre-WWII firearms, check out Gunsworld. For examples of specific
firearms manufacturers, see Remington, Browning, and SKB Shotguns
The book, The Defensive Use Of Firearms by
Shane C. Henry is available as a download from rec.guns. An enormous amount
of additional gun information is available on the rec.guns web site.
There are several good sources for Military Publications: GlobalSecurity.org has
a huge collection of Military manuals.
Try Integrated Publishing for
access to millions of pages of engineering manuals and documents.
The U.S. Army Materiel Command maintains the LOGSA web site for access
to thousands of Army technical manuals.
The U.S. Air Force maintains the Air Force e-Publishing web site.
As mentioned recently, The
Small Wars Journal has a Reference
Library of downloadable military documents.
The Brooke Clarke
web site has a good guide to accessing military field manuals
Surviving War and Nuclear
Attack For a basic guide, download How
To Survive A Chemical Or Biological Attack.
Nuclear War Survival
Skills, along with some other very interesting books, can be found on
the Oregon
Institute of Science and Medicine web site. This book includes plans
for the Kearny Fallout Radiation Meter (KFM). If you have not bought a radiation
meter, you should at least download the book for future reference. You can
also get the Free
Plans from The Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Nuclear War Survival Skills is also available on the KI4U web site as an online
book, but not as a download.
The Equipped To Survive web site
has some free ebooks, as well as books for sale: Survival,
Evasion, and Recovery and U.S. Army Survival Manual FM 21-76.
The Volunteer Center of Marin County, California has prepared A Guide to Organizing
Neighborhoods for Preparedness, Response and Recovery which you
can copy from their web site.
Medical Resources The Disease
Net has a library of downloadable manuals on survival, weapons, emergency
medicine, and less serious subjects.
Virtual Naval Hospital is
a digital library of naval, military, and humanitarian medicine
The very important field manual, First Aid For Soldiers FM 21-11 can be downloaded here.
One of the best medical handbooks available is the U.S. Army Special Forces Medical Handbook ST31-91B.
It can be downloaded free (as well as additional essential guides) from Delta Gear, Inc.
A newer version of the Medical
Handbook, plus more great material can be downloaded from NH-TEMS
(New Hampshire Tactical Emergency medical support).
The
American Red Cross has some of their disaster guides online for download.
For most of their material, you have to go to the local office. Some of it
can be copied from the Earth
Changes Media Survival Tips page.
The Red Cross Book, First
Aid in Armed Conflicts and Other Situations of Violence
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency book, The
Ship Captain's Medical Guide
Hesperian makes
available free downloads of its books for medical treatment in primitive conditions.
Two highly respected guides it publishes are Where There Is No Doctor and Where
There Is No Dentist.
Here is a direct link to the must-have book Survival and
Austere Medicine: An introduction. Australian Survivalist Online
has several additional Files
for downloading.
The Department of Agriculture has
a treasure trove of information for free download. This agency maintains The
National Agricultural Library, a collection of free information on Agriculture,
Food and Nutrition, and other related subjects.
Another USDA web site is the Cooperative Extension
Service. Click on the map to navigate to various Extension offices around
the country. Don't limit your search to just your own state. Many of them
have invaluable information on animals, crops, construction, food preparation
and much more for free download.
The
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) offers downloads about preventing plant and animal diseases,
among other topics.
The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) offers Fact
Sheets about food handling and preparation, and emergency preparedness.
Other Important Reference
Resources The classic outdoor guides, The 10
Bushcraft Books by Richard Graves are available on the Chris Molloy web
site. Free manuals for electronic equipment can be downloaded from eServiceInfo.com. Another source is UsersManualGuide.com. For Ham Radio
and Test Equipment Manuals, the KO4BB web site has Free Downloads, as well as LINKS to many other web sites with free downloads. A few examples
of repair information for outdoor equipment are Penn Reel Schematics,
and Mercury outboard
parts.
Paid Services In
the unlikely event that you can't find free information on the Net to fix that
generator or whatever you need to repair, there are web sites that charge for
information. As a last resort, you can check Sam's PHOTOFACT service manuals,
or RepairManual.com. Hopefully,
that won't be necessary.
The foregoing just begins to scratch the surface. Some of
these free downloads are also available as books or CDs from eBay, Amazon or
from some of the survivalist web sites. That is fine. Sometimes it is easier
to just pay the money and buy the book. But nobody can afford it all, and downloading
gives you access to millions of pages - much more knowledge than you could
acquire through any other method.
« Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Letter Re: Skills Versus Gear for Survival
Jim,
After reading the Profiles you
have posted. I have come to the conclusion I cannot hold a dime to these folks.
Makes me wonder why should I bother. Hmmm,
that thought lasts all of five seconds. A lot of the people for whom you profiled
are in a much higher income bracket than the rest of us working folks. Personally,
I have two jobs and work 12-14 hours a day. I was unlucky enough to be in
a third rear end collision. In my life time this year, although instead of
being rear ended by an illegal uninsured illegal alien like the last two times.
This time I was rear ended by a 94 year old woman who also was uninsured.
Makes it hard to work with post-concussion syndrome from Traumatic Brain Injury
(TBI).
I have a hard time with short term memory. But do what I can, the best that
I can.
I live in a small city in Massachusetts in a 500 square foot second floor apartment
in
a
house.
I have four 15-gallon water containers + 15 cases of Poland Spring 3 liter bottles,
About 20 cases of MREs
or the equivalent thereof. I bought only the items I knew I liked, 20 cases of
the
two
person pouches from Mountain House again a chosen menu but rather extensive.
Also 50 #10 [one gallon] cans of both freeze-dried food and dehydrated foods--mostly
soups in the dehydrated department. I have close to 15 weeks supply of groceries.
I
work
in a supermarket for one of my jobs and I look around during my break for "ideas " to
expand my dietary habits.
I have canned butter, cheese, bread, and meats. My other job allows me to get
discounts on a product called a Vittle Vault. An 80 gallon air/water tight container
which I use to bury my other food (all freeze dried pouches) but not before
sealing it in plastic from a nifty device I found at Costco one day ( One day
I was shopping at Costco and I stopped to look at something else and came back
to my cart and there it was just sitting in my cart. Never did find who put it
there. Anyway it has found a good home with me ever since.:) Everything is
hidden away. Amazing what one can stuff safely under the bed. I have a couple
of products that run on propane one-pound cylinders like the Mr. Heater Big Buddy
and a Coleman lantern. The Christmas Tree Shoppe is world renowned for having
lots of candles on sale all the time too. Although do not want to have any lights
on when other do not. Not too draw any unnecessary attention to ones self.
I have a Black Berkey water filtration system, with a half dozen back up filters
and several 5 gallon buckets for either the collection of snow or from the stream
out back, or to use as an emergency dry toilet.
I am a faithful practitioner of homeopathic remedies,and have quite the collection
of remedies and books and homeopathic today magazines. Which I read all the time,
to keep it fresh in my memory. Also read a lot of medical/ wilderness first aid
books. Took a class from the National Ski Patrol. Thought it would be another
1st aid class. Boy was I wrong. Three months later they awarded me with a WEMT
certification, finished top 3 in my class of 20. I have an easier time learning " if
I can play with it ". So now I have a collection of 500 EMT flash
cards that I go through twice a week, Also Wilderness Way magazine read
through
my collection of 40 magazines every
week as well. My library also included books on herbs, symptoms, pathology,
anatomy, first aid, NBC,
wilderness survival.
I'm obtaining a [State-issued] Firearms Identification (FID) card soon, God willing
for
a
long
gun
or
three.
Handguns
are
not allowed in Massachusetts for subjects err I mean citizens. Also magazines
over ten rounds are not permissible unless one has a handgun permit for that
as well
or
its off
to jail for a year, no questions asked. Trying my best to avoid the jail part.
Go to a gun range three times a month and rent a instructor and a gun of my choosing
over 300 to choose from ( guns)and say teach me how to use this. Stocked up on
medical supplies and trauma kits mostly from Galls.com.
I have wiped out many a first aid kits just from cutting my finger. What am I
preparing for I think
the economy is going to blow out sooner than later. Like it would not surprise
me if it happened in the next 30-to-60 days. How bad it will be and how long
it will last?. No clue but history shows major wars start with major economic
troubles.
Oh forgot to mention already went shopping at KI4U and
got the complete package. A lot of other items I am sure I left out but you get
the gist of it.
The longer the economy survives the longer we have time to prepare, for whatever.
I
do not wish the dollar to die but if it does die then I hope it enjoys a long,
very
long lingering death. - Scott V.
JWR Replies: I commend you for your dedication, Scott. I
have long held the opinion that true
preparedness is more about skills than it is about money.
I have a lot of wealthy consulting clients that have heaps of supplies and
tools,
but I have my doubts about their ability to actually survive when
things get Schumeresque.
When I ask them about firearms training, they often say that they have the
money, but that they don't have the time to attend. What good is a large firearms
battery if you aren't confident and competent with these tools? (Some owners
admit that they haven't even zeroed all of their guns!) I hear similar
lame excuses
about first aid training. Many community classes are available free or
for a nominal fee, but few take the time
to attend them. And the same for physical fitness. Most exercises take little
or no equipment, or can even be done with improvised "low cost/no cost") equipment.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| During a Disaster Event Should You Stay at Home or Leave?, by Grandpappy »
Letter Re: Hunkering Down in an Urban Apartment in a Worst Case Societal Collapse
Hello,
In the event of a disaster (I live in New York City) I intend to shelter
in place until all the riotous mobs destroy each other or are starved out.
I am preparing for up to six months. I have one liter of water stored for
each day (180 liters) and about 50 pounds of rice to eat as well as various
canned
goods. I have not seen on your site anything about heat sources for urban
dwellers who intend to shelter in place. I'm assuming that electricity would
go first soon followed by [natural] gas and running water. Do you have any
recommendations for cooking rice and other foods in this event.
I am considering oil lamps or candles, methane gel used for chafing dishes,
or small propane tanks. Because of the small size of my apartment and potential
hazards of storing fuel I'm unsure which would be best. Please advise. Thank
You, - Michael F.
JWR Replies: I've heard your intended
approach suggested by a others, including one of my consulting clients. Frankly,
I do not think that it is realistic. From
an actuarial standpoint, your chances of survival would probably be low--certainly
much lower than "Getting
Out of Dodge" to a lightly populated area at the onset of a crisis. Undoubtedly,
in a total societal collapse (wherein "the riotous mobs destroy each other",
as
you predict)
there
will be some stay-put
urbanites
that
survive
by their wits, supplemented by plenty of providential fortune. But the vast majority
would perish. I wouldn't want to play those odds. There are many drawbacks
to your plan, any one of which could attract notice (to be followed
soon after by a pack of goblins with a battering ram.) I'll discuss a few complexities
that you may not have fully considered:
Water. Even with extreme conservation measures you will need
at least one gallon
of water per day. That one gallon of water will provide just
enough water for one adult for drinking and cooking. None for
washing. If you run out of water before the rioting ends then you will be
forced
to go out
and forage for water, putting yourself at enormous risk. And even then, you
will have to treat the water that you find with chlorine, iodine (such as Polar
Pure--now very scarce), or with a top quality water filter such as a Katadyn
Pocket water filter.
Food. For a six month stay, you will need far more than just
50 pounds of rice! Work out a daily menu and budget for an honest six month
supply of food with a decent variety and sufficient caloric intake.
Don't overlook vitamin supplements to make up for the lack of fresh fruit and
vegetables. Sprouting is also a great option to provide vitamins and minerals,
as well
as aiding digestion. Speaking of digestion, depending on how your body reacts
to the change in diet (to your storage food), you may need need a natural laxative
in your diet such as bran, or perhaps even a bulk laxative such as Metamucil.
Sanitation. Without water for flushing toilets, odds
are that people in neighboring apartments will dump raw sewage out their windows,
causing
a public health nightmare on the ground floor. Since you will not want to alert
others to your presence by opening your window, and no doubt the apartment
building's
septic
system stack will be clogged in short order, you will need to make plans to
store
you
waste in your apartment. I suggest five gallon buckets. A bucket-type
camping toilet seat (a seat that attaches to a standard five or six gallon
plastic pail) would be ideal. You should also get a large supply of powdered
lime to cut
down on the stench before each bucket is sealed. You must also consider the
sheer number of storage containers required for six months of accumulated human
waste.
(Perhaps
a dozen
5 gallon
buckets
with tight-fitting o-ring seal lids would be sufficient.) Since you won't have
water
available for washing, you should also lay in a supply of diaper wipes.
Space heating. In mid-winter you could freeze to death in
your apartment without supplemental heat. As I will discuss later, a small
heater or just a few candles
can keep the air temperature above freezing.
Ventilation. If you are going to use any source of open flame,
you will need lots of additional ventilation. Asphyxiation from lack of oxygen
or slow carbon
monoxide (CO) poisoning are the alternatives. Unfortunately, in the circumstances
that you envision, the increased ventilation required to mitigate
these hazards will be a security risk--as a
conduit for the smell of food or fuel, as a source of light that can be seen
from outside the apartment, and as an additional point of entry for robbers.
Security. The main point of entry for miscreants
will probably be your apartment door. Depending on the age of your apartment,
odds are that
you have
a traditional solid core wood door. In a situation where law and order has
evaporated, the malo hombres will be able to take their time and break
through doors with fire axes, crow bars and improvised battering rams. It is
best to replace wooden apartment doors with steel ones. Unless you own a
condo rather than lease an apartment, approval for a door retrofit is unlikely.
However, your apartment manager might approve of this if you pay for
all the work yourself and you have it painted to match the existing doors.
Merely
bracing a wood door will not suffice. Furthermore, if you have an
exterior window with a fire escape or your apartment has a shared balcony,
then those
are also
points of entry for the
bad guys. How could you effectively barricade a large expanse of windows?
If you live in a ground floor apartment or an older apartment with exterior
metal fire escapes, then I recommend that you move as soon
as possible to a third, fourth, or fifth floor apartment that is in a modern
apartment building
of
concrete construction,
preferably without balconies, with steel entry doors, and with interior fire escape stairwells.
Self Defense. To fend off intruders, or for self defense
when you eventually emerge from your apartment, you will need to be well-armed.
Preferably you should also be teamed with
at least two other armed and trained adults. Look into local legalities
on
large volume pepper spray dispensers. These are marketed primarily as bear
repellent, with brand names like "Guard Alaska", "Bear Guard", and "17% Streetwise."
If they are indeed legal in your jurisdiction, then buy several of the big
one-pound dispensers, first making sure that they are at least
a 12% OC formulation.
If you can get
a firearms
permit--a bit complicated in New York City , but not an insurmountable task--then
I recommend that you get a Remington, Winchester, or Mossberg 12 gauge pump
action
shotgun with a SureFire flashlight forend. #4 Buckshot (not to be confused
with the much smaller #4 bird shot) is the best load for defense in
an urban environment where over-penetration (into
neighboring
apartments)
is an issue. But if getting a firearms permit proves too daunting, there is
a nice exemption in the New
York City
firearms
laws
for
muzzleloaders
and pre-1894 manufactured antique guns that are chambered for cartridges
that are no
longer commercially made. It is not difficult to find a Winchester Model
1876 or a Model 1886 rifle that is in a serial number range that distinguishes
it as pre-1894 production.
(See: Savage99.com for
exact dates of manufacture on 12 different rifle models.) You will be
limited to chamberings like
.40-65 and .45-90. You can have a supply of ammunition custom loaded. A Winchester
Model 1873 or and early Model 1892 chambered in .38-40 might also be an option,
but I would recommend one of the more potent calibers available in the large
frame
(Model
1876 or 1886 ) rifles. Regardless, be sure to select rifles with excellent
bores and nice mechanical condition.
For an antique handgun, I would recommend a S&W
double action top break revolver chambered in .44 S&W Russian. None
of the major manufacturers produce .44 S&W Russian ammunition. However,
semi-custom extra mild loads (so-called "cowboy"
loads, made specially for the Cowboy Action
Shooting enthusiasts) in .44 S&W Russian are now available from Black
Hills Ammunition. The Pre-1899 Specialist (one of our advertisers) often has
large
caliber S&W
double action top break revolvers available for sale. The top breaks are very
fast to load, and you can even use modern speed loaders designed for .44 Special
or .44 Magnum cartridges with the stumpy .44 S&W Russian loads.(It has
the same cartridge "head" dimensions.)
Firearms training from a quality school (such as Front
Sight) is crucial.
Fire Detection and Contingency Bug-Out. A battery-powered
smoke detector is an absolute must. Even if you are careful with candles,
lanterns, and cook stoves, your neighbors may not be. There is a considerable
risk that
your
apartment
building will catch fire, either intentionally of unintentionally. Therefore,
you need to have a "Bug Out" backpack ready to grab at a moment's
notice. Although they are no proper substitute for a fireman's compressed
air breathing rig, a
commercially-made egress smoke hood or a
military surplus gas mask might allow you to escape your building
in time. But even if you escape the smoke and flames,
then
where
will that
you
leave
you?
Outdoors,
at an unplanned hour (day or night), in a hostile big city that is blacked
out, with no safe means of escape. (This might prove far too reminiscent of
the the 1980s Kurt Russell movie
"Escape from New York.") By the time this happens, the mobs
may not want just
the contents of your backpack. They may be sizing you up for a meal!
Fuel storage. Bulk fuel storage has three problematic issues:
1.) as a safety issue (fire hazard), 2.) as a security issue (odors that could
attract
robbers),
and
3.) as a legal
issue (fire code or tenant contract restrictions). I suspect that
New York City's fire code would not allow you have more than a week's worth
of propane on hand, and completely prohibit keeping more than just one small
container of kerosene or Coleman fuel. From the standpoint of both safety and
minimizing detectable odors, propane
is
probably
the best option. (The odors of kerosene and chafing dish gel are both quite
discernable.) But of course consult both your local fire code and your apartment
lease agreement
to determining
the
maximum
allowable
quantity
to keep
on hand.
Odds are that there will be no limit on the number of candles that you can
store. If that is the case, then lay in large supply of unscented jar
candles designed for long-burning (formulated high in stearic acid.) I
suggest the tall, clear glass jar-enclosed "devotional" candles manufactured
in large numbers for the Catholic market. You can even heat individual servings
of food over these if you construct a stand with a wide base out of stout
wire. Watch for these candles at discount and close-out stores. We have found
that
the
large adhesive labels slip off easily if you soak the jars in water for an
hour. Since their burning time is approximately 24 hours, and since
you might
need
two
of them
burning
simultaneously for
sufficient
light
and to stay warm,
that would necessitate laying in a supply of 360 candles! (This assumes that
the worst case, with the outset of a crisis in October, and your having to
hunker down
for a full six months.)
Fire fighting. Buy at least two large multipurpose ("A-B-C")
chemical fire extinguishers
Cooking odors. In addition to the smell of fuel, cooking
food will produce odors. I recommend that you store only foods with minimal
spices. In situation where you are surrounded by starving people, just frying
foods with grease or heating up a can of spicy chili con carne could
be a death warrant.
Noise discipline. Just the sound of moving around your apartment
could reveal your presence. For some useful background,
see if your local library has a copy of the best-selling memoir "The
Pianist", by Wladyslaw
Szpilman.
(If not, buy a copy through Amazon or request a copy via inter-library loan.
It has been published in 35 languages. The US edition's ISBN is 0312244150.)
The book describes the harrowing experiences of a Jewish musician in hiding
in Warsaw, Poland,
during
the
Second
World War.
Following
the 1943
Warsaw Ghetto uprising and forced deportation, Szpilman spent many months
locked in a Warsaw apartment, receiving just a few parcels of food from some
gentile friends.
In his situation, the power and water utilities were still operating most of
the
time,
but he
suffered from slow
starvation and lived in absolute fear of making any noise. His survival absolutely
defied the odds. There was also an excellent 2002
movie based on Szpilman's book, but the memoir provides greater detail
than the film.
Light discipline. If you have any source of light
in your apartment, it could reveal your presence. In an extended power blackout,
it will become
obvious to looters within a couple of weeks who has lanterns or large supplies
of candles and/or flashlight batteries. (Everyone else will run out within
less than two weeks.) And I predict that it will be the apartments
that are still lit up that will be deemed the ones worth robbing.
So if you are going to have a light source, you must systematically black out
all of your windows. But sadly these efforts will be in direct conflict with
your need for ventilation for
your heating
and/or
cooking.
Heat. With the aforementioned restrictions on fuel storage,
heating your apartment for more than just a few days will probably be impossible.
Buy an expedition quality sleeping bag--preferably a two-bag
system such as a
Wiggy's brand FTRSS. Under
the circumstances that you describe, don't attempt to heat your
entire apartment. Instead, construct a small room-within-a-room (Perhaps
under a large dining room table, or by setting up a camping tent inside your
apartment, to hoard heat.) Even if the rest of the
apartment drops to 25 or 30 degrees Fahrenheit, your body heat alone will keep
your demi-room
in the 40s. Burning just one candle will raise the temperature another 5 or
10 degrees. For the greatest efficiency at retaining heat, your demi-room
should be draped with two layers of mylar
space blankets.
Exercise. While you are "hunkered down", you will
need to maintain muscle tone. Get some quiet exercise equipment,
such as a pull-up bar and some large elastic straps. Perhaps, if your budget
allows in the future,
also purchase or construct your own a quiet stationary
bicycle-powered generator. This would provide both exercise and battery charging.
Sanity. .Hunkering down
solo in silence for six months would be a supreme
challenge,
both physically
and
mentally. Assuming that you can somehow tackle all of the aforementioned
problems, you also need to plan to stay sane. Have lots of reading materials
on hand.
In conclusion, when one considers the preceding long list
of dependencies and complexities, it makes "staying
put" in a worst case very unattractive. In less inimical circumstance, it
is
certainly feasible, but in a grid-down situation
with utilities disrupted and
wholesale
looting
and rioting in progress, the big city is no place to live. But, as always,
this is just my perspective and your mileage may vary (YMMV).
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Letter Re: Preparedness on a Very Tight Budget
Mr Rawles,
Having read your reply to S.'s letter "Preparedness on a Very Tight Budget" I
must say you made my day! It made me realize that I am much better
off than I thought and on the right track.
I am one of those weird (smart?) people who was raised in the city, but for
some reason, never belonged. From earliest childhood, I was always "preparing" long
before I really knew what for. In other words, I was not your typical "raised
in captivity" child. I learned to sew at nine, and spent a lot of time
making sleeping bags and fancy wall tents for my Barbies, then set up elaborate
campsite in the backyard,
complete with chopped firewood, and water storage systems. (I did say
I was weird, remember?)
I also used to spend weeks playing dolls with my sister and friends, but not
like most girls. We had a favorite scenario in which we ran a huge orphanage
which sprung into being because of some horrible disaster. The disaster didn't
matter. What mattered was being able to care for all our babies with
no power or outside help. (I nearly set the basement on fire once during these
episodes)
Later when my family moved to a suburban/rural area, I was finally able to
indulge more aspects of my survivalist side. I got into horses. And I mean
I lived and breathed horses. Not just the typical horse crazy girl stuff...no,
I had to practice loading my severely injured (or dead) friends onto my horse,
practiced packing all sorts of gear on my horse, etc.
I began target shooting as a youngster with my father (who also took me on
long hikes from the age of six on) but during my teen years I learned how to
reload, thanks to a wonderful like-minded guy. We were kindred spirits, and
spent hours reloading during the week so we could shoot for hours on the weekends.
He taught me how to field strip a .45 Model 1911 in under 45 seconds blindfolded,
among other things. ( Can't you just see the headlines if some high school
kids were seen doing this today?)
I began gardening, canning and dehydrating at 16. My mother thought I'd lost
my mind when I came home all excited about the fact that the owner of the stable
where I kept my horse said I could plant a garden in the old chicken pen. I
was sure busy that summer.
Fast forward 6-7 years: I am now married and having babies. After living in
dinky houses in town, I convince my husband to buy a house on acreage. We find
a wonderful little 800 square foot house on five acres about 20 miles from
where we work (which was in a very small town about 20 miles from a large metro
area) And the cycle started in my childhood continued.
I raise horses, goats for milk and make cheese, cows for meat, chickens for
eggs and meat. I try my hand at rabbits, successfully building a huge herd of
breeders, and selling fryers commercially for a couple years before a family
disaster forced me to sell. My garden is bigger, and I can enough
to see us through every year till the next garden. Pigs are raised on leftovers.
We heat only with firewood. Life is busy, but good.
Later, when the kids are bigger, I get into a sport that seemed custom-made
for me. Endurance riding. We had moved from our five acre place to a larger
spread which bordered on State land, and I began spending hours riding alone
for miles every day of the week. (I quit working outside
the home when my kids were 2 and 4 years old. I didn't see the point of paying
someone else to raise
my kids.)
Even some of my endurance friends say I take it to the extreme. I always pack
everything imaginable with me: Pistol (and rifle during hunting season) first
aid kit, feed for my horse, food for me, shovel, saw, you name it, it's on
my horse or myself. Everything except a cell phone. Nearly everywhere I ride
a cell phone doesn't work, so why bother? I feel they just give a false sense
of security and prevent proper survival thinking.
Fast forward 20 years: I divorce and start over. My kids are grown and I
am thoroughly pleased with how they turn out. My daughter learned early on
how
to do oil changes and tune-ups on the old Ford pickup trucks I always drive.
My son took his skills further. He can rebuild any old rig from the ground
up.
They both know a lot about farm animals and gardening, and both are avid
campers. Both shoot, though my daughter can't hold a candle to her brother.
He is by
far the best shooter I have ever seen. I once watched him
shoot a starling
through the neck from 75 yards, offhand in the wind with
a .22 [rimfire rifle]. The bird was sitting at the top of a 75 foot fir tree,
and my son told me beforehand
where
he was going to hit it. Recently my kids have both come to the conclusion
that their survival would be well served by learning even more of Mom's skills.
Both (and their other
halves)
are joining me in the spring to become more proficient in gardening, canning,
and we will be raising cattle and pigs together.
I am very lucky to have bought a wonderful 13 acre place with
a delightful but tiny 130 year old homesteaders cabin. We have two year
'round springs. We heat with firewood cut here and on many of our wonderful
neighbor's places.
We have a small orchard, a huge garden (about 3,000 square
feet, with room for more) and tons of pasture. I say we because I was very
lucky (and smart) to have married again. And
I married that wonderful man from my high school years who taught me to shoot
and reload! My kids adore him, and though they live in town, they are out
here
all the time. My husband and I have a very good skill set between us
I don't think there is anything we can't do, from blacksmithing
to soap-making and all manner of other skills esoteric and arcane.
In the past several years the kids in particular have all realized that our
survival skills are not just some game that is fun to play. We have gotten
very serious about our future and how to deal with the up-coming disasters
whether large or small. I read your novel "Patriots" several
months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I discovered your blog about a month
ago, and I am
hooked. I love all the advice, and I am even more thrilled that there is
some information
here that I had either not though of, or not gotten deeply into.
We have all been tossing around the idea of moving elsewhere, though it just
isn't possible at the moment. And I am not sure we really need to. This place
is nearly perfect. It is 25 miles from a major metro area, (But right off
a two lane highway, though the major highway out of the metro area is on the other side
of a huge river) safe and consistent water supply, etc.
The only problem which needs to be addressed is defense. It's not a horrible
place to defend,
but
it does need work.
So for now, we are continuing what we have always done and making the place
more defensible. We are all honing skills, and keeping an eye on the world.
And we are also looking into moving to a better place in 3-to-5 years.
The last paragraph of your reply was what prompted me to write. Thank you
for making my day. It really made me feel good to see that I am already doing
what
you do. And those hours of sweat versus dollars are great for keeping you
in good shape! Best Regards, - J.F.
« Letter Re: Light, Noise, and Smoke Discipline for Retreat Security |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Preparedness While on Business Travel--What to Pack, by LP
If you’re like me, there are times when you have to leave almost all
your preparedness stuff behind as you journey by air to strange, far-off places
on behalf of your employer. No access to your well-stocked SUV.
You are alone, and home is hundreds if not thousands of miles away. But disaster
will not be consulting your
personal travel itinerary before it strikes. How best should you prepare?
Let’s first discuss the objective, as it determines the approach. For
most
of us, we leave family, friends, and a (more-or-less) well-stocked homestead
behind. This means Your primary objective is to make it home safely
and quickly. By any means necessary: your return airline ticket, the
rental vehicle, alternative transportation, or if all else fails, on foot. Under
no circumstances do you
want to be swept into the mainstream of refugees, wandering aimlessly to eventually
be herded into government “aid facilities”. (If you’re outside
of CONUS however,
your objective may likely be via the U.S., Embassy). You are different. You have
a specific mission. And you have made preparations to
succeed.
Here
are some ideas I use that are carefully selected to be lightweight, compact,
don’t require you to schlep along extra suitcases, but will give you more
than a leg up on most locals in an emergency.
Luggage - The very best choice is a soft-framed backpack with waist belt,
or carryable duffel. It lets you retain the most stuff on long hauls over mixed
terrain. This may be impractical for some folks, so the next best thing is a
prime-quality rolling carryon with a locking collapsible handle, combined with
a laptop backpack. The rolling carryon keeps the weight off your back, but will
be useless off pavement. That’s why you must bring your
laptop in a backpack carrying case. That will become your primary backpack (you
will most likely be
leaving the laptop behind, but you keep all your data on a memory stick, right?).
Get it with--or sew on--attachment points on the bottom and sides of the backpack.
Bring strapping, bought at a hiking store, this lets you lash up bedding you “borrow” from
the hotel room, or other provisions you acquire along the way, and add a waist
strap for long-haul walking. Plan on checking the large piece of luggage – otherwise
you won’t be able to bring along a number of key items like edged weapons.
Granted,
you’re less equipped during your flight, but life is full of compromises.
Keep your medications, food, flashlight, communications gear, money and a couple
of
layers
of clothing with you on the plane. If you can’t do without a briefcase,
forgo the fancy leather banker version in favor of nylon w/ a shoulder carry
strap. You must be ready to carry everything you need on your back in the event
you have to walk it home, and the right briefcase can become an asset [instead
of a hindrance.]
Money and valuables - Assume that your credit, debit, and ATM cards
will become useless in an emergency. That leaves cash and tangibles. I bring
at least $1,000
in assorted
bills with me when I travel domestically, and several thousand when I travel
internationally. This will enable you to buy the food, transportation, weapons,
and lodging you need to make it back, if it can indeed be bought. As I am not
rich, this presents a burden, but I believe it is very worthwhile to ensure success.
Hoard your cash when on travel – use credit for every thing so you have
the most available when you really need it. If you’re partial to wearing
expensive watches or jewelry, consider them barterable (have an inexpensive,
sturdy backup watch in that case) – be discrete so you do not attract mutants.
Keep your cash/valuables out of sight, in multiple places, and don’t leave
it in the hotel room. Under most scenarios short of total meltdown, people will
continue to honor paper money long enough for you to make it home, so I don’t
see a strong need for gold/silver coins. [JWR Adds: I always
wear
a
discreet money belt when I
travel. Keeping in mind cross-border currency movement restrictions, you can
easily
carry
the
equivalent
of $8,000 US Dollars if you carry it in the form of EU500 Euro notes or $500
Canadian Dollar notes. (Sadly, the largest US bill in circulation is the $100
note, which
is five times more bulky.)
Both the
Canadian and Euro "500" denomination notes are
hard
to
find,
but worth the search, and even worth paying a premium, just for the sake of
compactness.]
Clothing - Even if the forecast is warm and sunny for your entire planned trip,
bring rain and cold weather gear. Forget umbrellas, they are flimsy and occupy
a hand. Use the layering approach – a fold-up waterproof hooded shell in
a dark color, collapsible down vest and/or a couple of fleece or thin wool sweaters,
and an Under-Armour-style inner layer (remember you are fitting all this into
a standard piece of luggage). Bring sturdy hiking shoes; wear them on the plane,
and keep your dress shoes handy in your checked luggage. Bring at least two pair
of hiking socks and liners (one to wear, the other undergoing wash/dry), even
if it’s just an overnight trip, comfortable pants, a warm hat with ventilation
and a good brim, sunglasses, and thin gloves. By wearing the heavier/bulkier
items as you travel, you minimize the space demands on the luggage. Include a
bandana
or two – they have a thousand uses.
Food - You want compactness, indefinite storage, and high energy density,
so you can stay on the go for several days. My favorite is Go Lean energy bars.
Generally, look for high fiber brands, as they ward off hunger longer. Unsalted
peanuts and M&Ms are also good choices. I bring 6-12 bars, secreted in nooks
and crannies. Get a set of lexan resin eating utensils from a hiking store, and
a P-38 can opener (put that in checked luggage). If things go longer, use your
cash or resort to hobo cooking (canned food heated over fire).
Water - make your canteen from the 24-oz water bottle you bought for your flight,
by bringing along a water bottle carry strap like those found at amusement parks.
Don’t forget a small bottle of purification tablets – you can use
your bandana as a 1st-tier sieve/filter.
Self-defense - Limited options due to the TSA restrictions
for airline flights.
Mailing firearms
to
yourself at your hotel [for an extended stay] is theoretically possible, but
really
very
impractical
in most
business trips. In any event do bring your folding knife with combination
straight
and serrated blade (two is better than one) in you checked baggage,
an impact weapon like a nylon kubotan or a carabiner employed as a keychain,
and a flashlight
(w/ multiple extra batteries) that is blindingly bright and sturdy enough to
be used as an impact weapon . Make sure the carabiner is a real one from a hiking
store, and is big enough to get all your fingers into so you can use it as “aluminum
knuckles”. For carry-on, bring several thick rubber bands, so you can tightly
wrap one of those in-flight magazines into a makeshift club. In an emergency
after you arrive, if you cannot acquire a firearm or larger edged weapon, then
use your folding knife to fashion a sturdy walking staff / club / spear from
a mop handle or similar. Hiking stores carry very compact sharpening stones that
can clip to your coat’s zipper – if you are in transit for a couple
of weeks, you will need to keep an edge on your knives. Note that in some locales
such as England and New York City, carrying a knife, or any “weapon” is
illegal.
Be informed, and use your own judgment. [JWR Adds: A roll of
quarters (or British One Pound Coins or One Euro coins) can serve the dual purpose
of
being
an
impact
weapon
(a
"Sunday
Bar")
and being
available
to make
emergency pay
phone calls. I can't imagine any jurisdiction that would charge you with carrying
a "concealed" roll of coins. (Although once
I witnessed
the
TSA goons asking
a
fellow
passenger
to take the dimes out
of a paper
roll and
confiscate the coin roll paper. Oh, I felt so much safer after they
did that!)]
Communications - Bring power adapters for your cellular phone, both AC and, critically
DC vehicle power, and windup (FreePlay). Bring a roll of coins
for a payphone
(just
in case you can still find one – they are still common in Europe). If you
have the option of choosing your cell phone model, consider a tri-band GSM-mode
smartphone with Internet connectivity, a USB port and USB to Ethernet adapter
(don’t forget the cables) – this preserves the most vital functions
of a PC in an emergency: news feeds and e-mail, without its bulk. Some smartphones,
like the Nokia N95, include GPS and maps, too. GSM is the world standard, so
it will work in both US and Europe. Keep phone numbers and addresses of extended
family and friends, in case you need to make a pit stop on your way. An earbud-style
AM/FM radio, so you can keep up with radio news and weather reports.
Shelter / Light - Keep it simple and lightweight for starters, and pick
up stuff as you go. Strike anywhere matches in a waterproof container and a magnesium
striker-type fire-starter in checked baggage; buy a disposable
lighter or two on arrival and discard on return, a space blanket, and one or
two 3-mil thick
contractor garbage bags for rain poncho, ground cloth, and/or tarp, and 50 feet
of parachute cord. Have an LED microlight
on your keychain, in red illumination,
with
an extra button battery or two. This conserves your tactical flashlight’s
life. [If things looks bad,] borrow the bedding from your hotel room and strap
it
to
your
backpack
or
stow in your rental car’s trunk – you can pay them back later.
Transportation - When traveling in a group, always be the one to rent
the
car,
so
you have options and maintain control. When you can, try to make it a compact
4x4,
like
a Ford
Escape (companies always want you to get the absolute cheapest, so this is easier
said than done). Keep the gas tank filled. Onboard GPS navigation options are
becoming
commonplace, but at $10+ per day, expensive – it may be worth it to you.
(See “navigation” below).
Medications and First Aid - Don’t assume you’ll be home in
a day or so. Bring enough prescription meds for at least two weeks. I also bring
a very small first aid kit – it fits into a pants pocket and holds band-aids,
a disinfectant cream, sun block in stick form, ibuprofen, anti-diarrhea pills,
and tweezers. Separately, I include a couple of sanitary napkins and tape as
a compress, and a small bottle of insect repellant. Having balance is key here – you
will not need a full kit. If you break a leg or are shot, you will need more
help than you can self-administer. To stay clean, I take a refill pack of baby
wipes, a trial size bottle of hand sanitizer, and a small bar of soap. I also
bring a blister kit for my feet – most people don’t hike 30 miles
a day with a pack, and blisters can be totally immobilizing, with an attendant
risk of infection. Taking good measures with your feet, starting with the right
footwear will help you get home in one piece.
Navigation - Be able to figure how to get back home, from several routes.
Get a good street map of the city you are visiting, and multi-state AAA highway
maps between there and home – don’t bring a book, or piles of topo
maps – too big and heavy. I have a small compass that clips to the zipper
of my shell. A GPS unit may be a good idea – they are compact and full
of map data – but they run on batteries, and will be inoperative if the
disaster involves an EMP,
or the government turns off GPS in response to a terror attack. Compact binoculars
are very important for reconnaissance. If abroad,
know how to get to the embassy, and to major rail junctions, seaports, and border
crossings.
Utility - Bring a multi-tool (again, in checked baggage) – I prefer
the Leatherman Wave with bit assortment, but YMMV. As I said, a flashlight will
be
essential,
with extra batteries.
All this can and does fit in one piece of rollaway luggage along with my regular
business accoutrements for one or more weeks of travel – mine is a Victorinox
model with an expandable main compartment.
In a disaster, it may take several
weeks
to make it home from your trip – the preceding advice will get you off
to
a
good start. Good luck and I hope that nobody ever needs any of this!
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Curious About "Curio and Relic" Firearms Laws in the US »
Two Letters Re: Living Off The Land
James:
I just finished “Tree Crops” by J. Russell Smith which
just became one of my favorite books. In it he briefly mentioned edible
nuts from pine trees. I did a scroogle search and found a great place in
Canada that sells these types of pines. My favorite so far is the Korean Pine.
Everybody grows pines for blocking winter wind and for privacy so why not pick
a breed that gives you food? They grow in areas as cold as Zone 1 so this would
be great for a lot of the northern retreats. One last thought is that Pine
Nuts would be a great hidden emergency reserve of food because no mutant zombie
biker would ever think of the nuts in pine cones as food. - Adam in Ohio
Jim:
Just chiming in on the commentary from today: I have been reading The
SAS Survival Handbook by John "Lofty" Wiseman There is a lot
of information about edible plants and procedures to use to test plants you
are unsure of. The book is full of other valuable survival info too as you
would expect.
Another old source for good survival skills is our very own armed forces publications:
field manuals (FMs) and training manuals (TMs). One was called
Survival, Evasion and Escape (FM 21-76)
but it has changed names now [as
a multiservice "Survival, Evasion and Recovery" manual.] Plus,
the good 'ol
[U.S.
Army]
Ranger
Handbook is
an
amazing
source
of information!
Sincerely, - Tanker
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Letter Re: Living Off The Land
Mr. Rawles,
My Survival Group was having a discussion the other night, and we got to talking
about "What if / Worst case" stuff. One of the situations involved
the old "Lost in the wilderness with nothing but your knife and your
lighter". (you do carry a pocket knife and a lighter with you, right?)
That got us to thinking...what would you eat? Most of us tended to think
of ways to snare small game, but then we got to talking about wild plants.
Before long, it became clear that not only is foraging for wild plant potentially
more efficient than snaring wild game, its also much easier. There are almost
always edible plants all around you, no matter where you are. Usually within
arms
reach! Case in point: The Pine Tree.
Pine needles can be easily brewed into tea which contains many nutrients and
vitamins. Pine cones can be roasted over a fire (you did start
a fire already, right?) to open the cone and access the seeds inside. In a
longer term situation…those
same seeds can also be ground into a type of course flour. One can also east
the inner bark of Pine trees if nothing else is available. And that’s
just the common Pine tree, which grows almost everywhere! Speaking of Tree
bark: remember that Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) was originally derived
from teas made from the inner bark of the Willow tree.
Anyway, you get the point. A little study on the matter can go a long way toward
making you self sufficient as far as food is concerned, by enabling you to
supplement your dry-stores (you do have food stores, right?)
with fresh greens providing vitamins and nutrients year round. Just remember
what Crocodile Dundee
said “You can live on it, but it tastes like…”Well, you
know what.
Here area couple of web sites I’ve come across that deal with this
topic:
Linda Runyon's "Of the
Field" Web Page
WildwoodSurvival.com/
There are, of course lots of other web sites out there, as well as good old
fashioned EMP-proof books as well.
Good luck, and KYPD,
- Krys in Idaho
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Are You Ready to Get Out of Dodge in Winter Weather?
Here in the northern hemisphere, winter is rapidly approaching. So it is timely
that I write about vehicular mobility in winter weather.
Every well-prepared
family should have one or more four wheel drive vehicles with snow tires
or chains. For those of you that have "11th Hour" Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.)
plan, I
trust
that you have pre-positioned the vast majority of your food
and gear at your intended retreat. Towing a trailer on icy winter roads
is a dicey proposition even in the best of times. In my estimation, piloting
an
overloaded vehicle with an overloaded trailer WTSHTF is
tantamount to suicide. If you've planned things properly and pre-positioned your
gear,
then there is no need for a trailer. Just one quick trip with fuel cans,
bug-out bags, backpacks, web gear and
weapons cases should suffice. Enough said.
So what do you need in your vehicle to make sure that it gets you from Point
A to Point B? I assume that at all times you carry a tool kit, flashlights,
road flares, engine starting fluid, first aid/trauma kit, chemical light sticks, a CB radio, and your
usual "Bug
Out Bag" basics including food and water. So lets talk specifically
about mobility
essentials:
Traction sand. You probably already have a couple of bales
of USGI sand
bags. Just fill a bag (or two) with coarse sand and tie them shut with
a pair of plastic cable ties to prevent leakage.
Single-Bit Axe, at least 3 pound. (Such as Northern
Tool & Equipment
Item#
119922)
Shovel. A proper USGI folding entrenching tool (not a cheap
Asian knock-off) might suffice,
but I prefer a more substantial 40-inch D-handle round nose shovel, such as the
Kodiak, available from Hector's hardware.)
Hi-Lift Jack (aka "Sheepherder's jack") (Such as Northern
Tool & Equipment
Item#
14421)
Choker/tow chain (such as 4WD.com Item
# 26083.) These should also be available from JCWhitney.com
4WD Parts and most local auto parts stores.
Ratchet hoist aka "Come-along". (Or better yet, carry two.)
I like the Dayton and Tuf-Tug brands brands. (Such as Northern
Tool & Equipment
Item#
152911)
Several short lengths of chain, steel sleeve-locking carabiners,
and large Grade 8 bolts with nuts that can be used to connect/secure chains.
(Sometimes
you
need to
improvise.)
Tire chains (Yes, even if you have studded snow tires.) And if you must depend
on a trailer for winter G.O.O.D., then get chains for the trailer, too.
And to risk some controversy: Bolt cutters--at least 24" length. I prefer
36".
(Such as Northern
Tool & Equipment
Item#
558397). Sadly, very few of these are now made in the States like my trusty
old Woodings-Verona brand. Note: Please don't do anything
illegal. Also be advised that in some of the
liberal
Nanny
States, carrying bolt cutters in your rig could be considered "criminal
intent." But here in The Un-named Western State, they just call it a "A
real good idea."
Other Cold Weather Essentials (this list assumes that you will be
transiting snow country--modify it accordingly if you live in the South):
Warm Clothing, pile caps, and gloves
Extra pairs of dry socks
Ice creepers (such as "YAKTRAX", available from Lehmans.com)
Snow shoes and spare binding parts (Such as the Huron-made snowshoes available
from Lehmans.com)
Sleeping bag(s). I prefer the Wiggy's brand
FTRSS.
We have five sets of them here at the ranch, and they have served us very well
for nearly 15 years.
Fire starting kit with plenty of tinder.
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Cold Weather Survival Tips, by David in Israel
James,
Winter is coming [in the northern hemisphere]. An important skill is treating
and preventing cold exposure, especially if a person is disabled and on the
ground.
The
ground
steals heat
through direct conduction and by absorption of moisture.
Always go out well fed, include plenty of protein, copious warm hydrating liquids,
and fats. Together these break down in a heat generating reaction as well as
providing large amounts of energy for more heat
generation.
Have a way to make a warm drink. A Thermos is skimping, better a small stove
that is easily lit and kettle that will let you melt snow and make hot water
to drink, this saves your body from having to heat
your drinks and also raises your core temperature if you get chilled or worse.
Cold drinks bring down body temperature and the metabolism required to heat
it to
body temperature nearly requires as much water as you are consuming, un-melted
snow is actually hydration negative due to the metabolism [required] to bring
it to body temperature.
Insulate from the ground, dry grass leaves, seat pad foam, clothing, whatever.
The ground will steal your body heat quickly.
Share warmth with a friend or more, huddle, hug, stack up as injuries allow.
Protect the heat loss areas. Cover first the head, then armpits, groin, trunk,
and finally the extremities.
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"Zeroing In" Your Bugout Bag, by SF in Hawaii
Last week my wife told me that another couple had gotten reservations at the
cabins at Haleakela
State Park for the Labor Day Weekend. We would hike across the crater
floor,
then down the Kaupo Gap. These are hard to come by and since we were invited,
I felt we had
to go. Great, a chance to try out my bug out bag. I gave my feet a liberal and
prophylactic spraying of anti-fungal medication (a ritual I would end up doing
every morning on that trip) and put on my Bug-Out Bag (BOB).
Before we left,
I
unscrewed the aluminum pole from a mop, checked to make sure my
backup knife would fit
on it
and now I had myself both
a strong and lightweight walking stick as well as a spear in case a wild boar
came too close. The BOB weighed in at 55 pounds. I'm 160 and with the
backpack
I was using it felt like a manageable weight.
On the way there, the steering and brakes on the car went out. I hit the emergency
brake and slowed down. The engine just turned off. Since it had power steering
and
brakes, when the car turned off, they went off too. Strange for a reasonably
new car. It started up again so I figured EMP was
ruled out. We drove up to about 10,000 feet, got our gear on and started hiking.
It was a steep decline into
the volcanic caldera/crater and within about 10 minutes I noticed a hot feeling
in the heels of my feet. You see, as a sufferer of athletes foot, I tend to keep
my shoes loose. Bad idea. Loose shoes make blisters. I stopped and got out the
moleskins but I didn't have a pair of scissors. Let me say for the record, a
knife is not a pair of scissors. These are separate tools. There I was with my
BAK (Big
A** knife) trying to cut moleskin pieces. Not only was it the wrong tool for
the
job, but one
slip and it would be a bloody mess.
To take the pressure off my heels, I walked
native style (toe to heel) and this helped.
We hiked for the rest of the day through what can only be described at the surface
of Mars and finally arrived at the first cabin. The manual pedometer gave me
some lousy data. It was set for a 2 foot step/4 foot stride length but I forgot
to take into consideration that stride changes with inclines and declines. When
I got there I tried out my Zipstove for
the first time. At first glance, it looked like something made in a high school
metal shop class,
and it's a lot heavier than other stoves, but then again, I didn't need to pack
any fuel. It has a battery operated fan built in and get fires hot real fast.
I hit my sparker into a cotton ball with some vaseline rubbed in and presto.
I dropped the little ball of fire into the stove, and added a few twigs and turned
on the fan. Wow. The stove worked great. In a minute or two dinner was on it's
way. I'll be investing in their titanium version and perhaps I can swap out their
metal fan for a plastic one to drop the weight. I was cooking in a titanium
Titan pot and I was concerned that
due to the rapid heat transfer of titanium I'd burn the food but it never happened.
Another nice thing about cooking with titanium is that as fast as it heats up,
it cools down too and less than a minute after taking it off the fire, the top
was cool enough grab and move around. We sat around when the lights went out,
lit some candles and played Hearts for a few hours. (Make note to get Hoyle's
Encyclopedia of Card games.) Before I went to bed I inspected my feet. Yup.
Two huge blisters, one on each foot. These were the biggest blisters I'd ever
had. Each one covered my entire heel. I also had burns on the backs of my hands.
I
was wearing nylon
pants and a long sleeve shirt
to keep out of the sun, and because we all know 'cotton kills.' I also had
a
cloth over my head which I kept in place by wearing a pair of sunglasses which
had a retaining strap on them to keep from getting lost during activity. The
strap around the back of my head kept the rag in place nicely and with the exception
of a spot on my nose, I escaped the searing rays of Hawaii at 10,000 feet. What
I didn't think to cover was the backs of my hands. The were bright red and angry
when I saw them. I cut squared of cloth off my head rag and placed on the backs
of each hand. I held them in place (mostly) with rubber bands around my wrists.
They kept me from getting burned any worse, but it was a constant annoyance repositioning
them for the rest of the trip. (Make note, put tactical gloves in BOB).
The next morning after having some oatmeal, I packed up. I put on another pair
of socks and this was helpful as with less wiggle room, my feet didn't slip around
so much and maybe I wouldn't make any new blisters. My wife suggested that in
her experience (She hiked the Thorong
La Pass.
I lance the blisters. (Make note to bring needle in first aid kit) I left the
blisters alone. Personal preference. The other fellow on the trip I noticed had
the soles of one of his shoes come off. He was wrapping cord around them to hold
them together when I suggested he use the awl tool on his swiss army knife to
stitch them back on his shoe. He liked this idea and it worked. (Make note, find
that Speedy
Stitcher and add it to my BOB.)
The second day was excruciatingly painful. I can't recall the last time I was
in that much pain for that long a period. I now had pain along the entire bottom
surface of my foot. There was no comfortable way to walk. I was very grateful
for the walking stick! Sure I could have make one from wood on the trail, but
it would have been much heavier and bulkier to be as strong as the cheap aluminum
tube.
After hours of promising myself I would never go hiking again, we arrived at
the second cabin. At this point the fellow's second shoe fell apart. Keep in
mind that both shoes were in good condition before we left. His wife was also
having shoe trouble but she overcame it with a safety pin. (Make note, safety
pins.) More cards and dinner and now the other people were complaining. No
one else had a good external frame pack and their hips and backs were sore. For
me, it was just my feet. Even though my pack outweighed anyone else's there by
a factor of 2, it was a good pack and now showing itself to be worth the high
cost.
The third day we had to hike down from over 6,000' to 1,000'. We'd already gone
from 10,000' to 6,000 the previous two days and left the Martian landscape. We
were now in fog enshrouded hills and rain forests. The next 5,000' would be a
30 degree incline though rain forests and meadows. I filled up my 4 steel water
bottles with filtered water from my Katadyn and told my wife that with the condition
of my feet, I wanted to leave a hour and a half before the rest of the group
as I'd be going slow. I also wanted to hike in the morning to stay out of the
heat . She finally agreed and we slushed though thigh high wet grass and we were
both
soaked in short order. It was about five minutes into the hike that I learned
that not only were my hiking shoes too big, but they weren't waterproof nor even
water
resistant. The cool dewy water was sloshing around in by boots for hours. It
wasn't just an annoyance either. When I took the map I got from the Ranger station
out of my pocket, it was soaked and the pages were sticking together. Oh, did
I mention that the trail I was taking was right along a crease on the map and
due to the water damage it was totally illegible? (Make note, put Zip lock bags
in BOB).
Although she didn't say anything, I know she was pissed. Cold, wet and pissed
but when she realized how hard the hike was getting, she looked at me. "I'll
just say it once and get it over with. I told you so." She thanked me.
We smiled and moved on. That extra time was great to have. I used an altimeter
to
guesstimate where we were on the map. I didn't bring my topos with me, but
it was a great psychological benefit to know how much longer you had to go.
My wife started complaining about her left knee under when we stopped at an
old growth Koa tree. We snacked on ostrich filets (kept at 150 degrees in the
oven
overnight), peanuts and some chocolate. She wanted a Koa walking stick. "But
that's a heavier wood and look, no straight branches here darling." Well,
she wanted one anyway so I hacked her a walking stick, put a point on the bottom
and cut away the bark where her hand would grip it. At about 4,000 feet I saw
my wife walking backwards for a few seconds. I tried it and it was great. Although
it was riskier, I couldn't walk forwards anymore. Aside from the fact that
my blisters were hurting, I now had somehow developed a pain in my left knee
too.
It only hurt when I walked forward, or sideways (yes I tried that too) so my
wife and I walked backwards down the rocky and treacherous declines for miles.
The trails were covered with golf ball and base ball sized spherical lava rocks
that acted like ball bearings. It was hard going and nerve racking. I made
us both drink like fishes and soon I was dripping with sweat and she was peeing
like a racehorse. Every time my mouth got dry I drank and so did she. I wasn't
thirsty but I drank anyhow. Then the water stopped feeling good to drink. Dang,
with all this drinking and sweating I was beginning to going hyponatremic.
(Make
note, put ORS packets
in BOB). On the milder inclines I tried walking while dragging my left leg
behind me to avoid having to bend it. It was slow going and again,
my wife thanked me for getting us out early. We came across some ambiguous
fork in the road and she lost it for a bit. I said that I thought both trails
would
probably work and let her pick the route. She picked and then got nervous. "What
if it's the wrong one?" She was starting to lose it again. "This
trail is the correct trail." I said forcefully and with more
confidence that I really had about her choice. She seemed okay with that and
we kept going.
We used the last of the water that everyone said I was crazy to bring just minutes
before reaching the rendezvous point. One of the women in the group I later found
out had a near nervous breakdown as she never knew how much farther she had to
go. That altimeter kept my wife and I sane.
I'm finally home and writing this out before I forget. The blisters will probably
heal in a week the knee, who knows. (Make note, put ace bandages and maybe
even knee and ankle supports in BOB). I'll be walking with a cane for a bit
but no
permanent damage, I don't think. I will now have a dedicated foot first aid
section for my BOB. Consider giving your BOB a test run. You may find things
you want
in it you don't have now and some things you can do without. I think of my
BOB like a gun now. If it's all shiny and new but not zeroed in, you may be
in for
some nasty surprises. - SF in Hawaii
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Are You Preparing Without Physical Fitness? How and Why to Get Physically Fit, by Flhspete
Introduction
The more physically fit one is overall, the better your odds are you will survive
WTSHTF.
Or, maybe you don’t believe that survival preparations should include physical
fitness.
U.S. military forces emphasize solid fitness in part because the higher the fitness
level, the more an individual can maintain acceptable performance levels while
under stress. Police SWAT units emphasize high levels of fitness for the same
reasons. Organized units like these are highly effective also because they conduct
rehearsals of established SOPs until it is ingrained to the point that
they are able to perform under any conditions. They are able to train at high
levels of performance seamlessly because they are capable of keeping up physically
and mentally. They also have each other to depend on while operational making
them even more effective. Maintaining a solid level of fitness is important for
civilians as most of us are preparing with the free time available in our schedules.
It is important to identify where you stand in physical fitness. Ask yourself,
am I fit? How fit is fit enough? Who will be there to assist me when TSHTF?
When visiting the SurvivalBlog web site, consider how much of the material and
advice provided requires you to be in good shape in order to take advantage of
it.
I’ve assisted and encouraged others to improve their physical conditioning
for decades. During yesteryear I promoted fitness primarily for healthy living.
The reasons these days are for healthy living and potential survival scenarios.
Living ‘healthy’ during a non-survival scenario is one thing, living
healthy during a survival scenario is quite different. Fitness doesn’t
just happen. Fitness is accomplished by adopting good habits of exercise, nutrition
and rest.
Step One: Assessment
Assessing your level of fitness requires only that you be honest with yourself
in several physical fitness categories including your present fitness level;
your weight status; age; diet/nutrition; and your overall state of health.
Present Fitness Level: Ask yourself what you can do today in terms of sustained
heart rate while active. If you are already active then this should be easy
to answer. If not currently active (or haven’t been in the short term,
i.e.: within 12
months), then you probably have a good understanding for where you stand
and are capable of daily/weekly exercise routines not too far off from your
previous workouts. If you haven’t been active for 12 months to 24 months
but previously were active, then you know what you are capable of, you just
have to start
and make it routine again. For those beyond the 24 month time period, you fall
into
one of several categories spanning a range from former solid fitness to those
who have never been fit. Either way, you have been away from a fitness routine
for too long.
Weight Status: Are you overweight, underweight, or at (or close to) where you
should be? Take this into consideration when deciding what course of action(s)
you decide to take. If you are overweight today, you could be significantly trimmed
down by your next birthday. Whatever your particular case is, when going from
non-active to active, you will start to lose body fat and become lean. Just assess
where you are and be cognizant of how your body will react. It is all important
to keep in mind that your body will change and that you will need the proper
diet/nutrition to recharge your batteries between workouts. Refueling with the
right foods will payoff big when you go for the next workout. If you are not
overweight but have never committed to a fitness program and feel it is unnecessary,
consider this: my sister went for her annual physical. She is 50, mother of 3,
is not overweight, and looks good. The physician advised her that she was obese.
Huh?
The doctor's explanation: you have no muscle and therefore you are obese. My
sister has never done anything physical, ever. This may be an extreme example,
but
illustrates the point that inactivity and not being overweight don’t
add up to capable of handling the rigors of a post-WTSHTF life.
Age: Don’t let age fool you. It’s deceiving. I currently exercise
by training/running long distance races (10 mile races to marathons), weight
lifting, boxing, biking, and recreational swimming. I started wrestling when
I was 6 years old and continued competing for 15 years and it still pays off.
I have a small farm that keeps me moving constantly otherwise. I also have
a full time occupation so I don’t workout daily. It is unnecessary. I
bother to mention this because with all of the above exercise and while I averaged
15
long distance races a year for the last four years, I am constantly amazed
at the older men/women who beat me (45 yrs old) to the finish line every race
and
I’m
in the top 15 - 25%! Age definitely slows one down in terms of intensity and
volume but that’s it. Age is deceiving so never judge a book by a cover
regarding fitness/self defense. If you consider yourself ‘old’ and
have never been fit (or out of it for quite some time), it is never too late
and you will probably surprise yourself at the results. If you are young and
never been committed to a fitness program, don’t wait. Find something(s)
and go for it. Make it a habit and the health benefits will stay with you for
a lifetime.
Diet and Nutrition: Assess what you are eating and how you
feel. Eating fast food? Too many carbs? Sweet tooth? Living on coffee and cigarettes?
Or, are
you already eating a healthy diet? Either way, the new stresses added to your
daily
routine in a survival scenario will cause your body new stresses. You will
either keep up or break down. It really depends on your present habits. An
individual
who is fit and maintains a healthy diet will be able to make
the transition from living in the present day to a survival mode relatively
easy. Adrenaline
will
carry the day for a brief time. But after the adrenaline subsides, what’s
left in the tank and where is the energy required to keep up coming from? I
know many over the years who have maintained poor diets but had excellent workout
routines. They were mostly the younger generation. It always catches up with
them. They usually become injured/hurt, sick, and/or are tired…but then
they come back after a rest period and the cycle repeats itself. If you have
poor fitness and a poor diet, you are advised to alter both. The body wants
good clean fuel, not items containing too many carbs, items made with hydrogenated
oils, trans fats, a diet loaded with sugar (sodas, desserts, snack(s)…).
Also overlooked is hydration. Re-hydrating is critical. Once you begin to exercise,
you have to replace your fluids. Not doing so will result in cramping, tiredness,
and/or can result in heat exhaustion if not replacing fluids while exercising.
Watch the sports drinks as some have lots of sugar. I always dilute my quarts
of Gatorade 50-50 [with water]. Too much sugar can prevent the hydration you
are seeking. ‘Emergen-C’ is
a product I use daily to keep the immune system strong. It contains numerous
vitamins and supplements in small packets mixed in water. Particularly good
is the chromium, sodium, several antioxidants, vitamin C and low sugar
content. Some final words regarding overall diet and fitness are: everyone
has time
to
eat right. If you believe you are eating ‘right’ but are under/overweight,
then your diet needs improvement.
Overall State of Health: Take the four assessment categories above and rate
yourself overall. With the exception of age, you should be in control of the
other three
categories. While modern medicine has extended, saved, and aided our lives,
could you get by without the convenience of it? If you find yourself not in
control
of your fitness, weight, and diet, you need to get control of each. If you
score low in each of the categories and are overwhelmed by what appears to
be too much
at once, take Henry Ford’s advice: "Nothing is particularly hard if you
divide it into small jobs."
Step Two: Getting Started and Motivated
I found that to identify a realistic fitness program, it’s important to
know that person’s motivation, goals, attitude and background regarding
physical training. Rate yourself in each category. Not everyone has time or ability
to invest in what it takes to climb mountains, run marathons, bicycle 100 mile
routes, or carry a 60 lb ruck sack with battle weapon in hand over an extended
obstacle course. That’s understandable. However, everyone should make time
to ensure that they can do the arduous tasks that await us in a survival scenario.
Your motivation in this regard is to increase your fitness level and therefore
increase your ability to survive. Your goals need to be realistic. Most of us
are not trying to qualify for the Olympic Judo Team. From a strictly survival
perspective, ‘realistic’ fitness means different things to different
people. Consider the answers to some commonsense survival questions: Just how
arduous will it be? How much time are we talking? Will I be able to driv