I have recently retired from the military and have began to dig deeper into the survivalist arena. I have always been interested in this area for quite some time but have not really dedicated the amount of time that I want due to job requirements, life events etc. I have been reading all the blogs, videos and write ups about prepping, survival and there are a lot of good information out there. So I decided to use my 26 years of military experience (4 yeas Infantry, 6 years Long Range Surveillance and 16 years Special Forces)  and apply pertinent concepts toward the Survivalist Mindset.  In this paper I will discuss some planning considerations for establishing a Survival Plan of Action (SPA) and the survivalist mind set. Your skills and abilities are tools in the tool box (your mind). Hopefully this discussion will aid you into adding more tools to your tool box.                 

Throughout the Internet and online blogs you have seen a plethora of acronyms dealing with prepping, survival, and the end of the world.  Some are The Schumer Hits The Fan (TSHTF), The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI), BOB - Bug Out Bag, Get Out Of Dodge (G.O.O.D.), But we don't have an overall acronym for all the planning, resource identification, rehearsing, etc that encompasses the entirety of what we do to accomplish all of this great information and techniques. This is where the SPA comes into play. It is the Survival Plan of Action (SPA). This document should include information that outlines your groups plan to Get Home, Bug Out, Bug In, Get Out of Dodge, etc. You can add to this document by adding Annexes to augment the information like Food Storage Inventories, Vehicle Inventories,  or Bug Out Site Inventories.

I am currently working on a format to help with creating your SPA. It will include the base document, annexes, appendices and tabs, which will be all inclusive to every scenario.  Now if one decides to establish a SPA he must take the utmost care in securing it in a safe and secure location that only a select few will know or have access. One technique is to have a hard copy sealed in an envelope in a safe. If you have a digital copy or use a computer to write one, use a laptop that is never connected to the internet preferably with a removable hard drive. If you store a back up on a thumb drive with all your personal information place this in your envelope also.

Area Study
One of the first things you should do is conduct a comprehensive area study of your operational area (home site, get home route, bug out site, etc) especially if you have recently moved or plan on relocating to a more suitable area. Some of you may be saying "I have lived here all my life" then this area study should be real easy. You will be surprised with information that you find or might never have considered. This area study should be a living document (continue to update and add information) and your base resource document for planning.

Why is it good to have one? Several reasons; if you plan on establishing a group survival area, the new members of your group can read the document to become familiar with the area. If you have distant family members relocating to the area with you, you can send them the document so they can become familiar with the area. These documents should be a great addition to your survival SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures).

This document is all open source and contains the following basic  information (not all inclusive): Natural environment, Demographics/Cultural features, and Lines of Communications/Information Systems. Since this is a living document you will periodically update it and add additional information. If you need to add new categories or scenario plans, just add an annex, appendix or tab to your overall SPA.

When you are researching the natural environment include all geographical data.  Consider your operational area and dimensions; state, county and municipal boundaries; terrain,  general direction of mountain ranges, areas that provide good concealment/cover, the general degree of slope, large open fields suitable to land small aircraft, hazards toward movement, natural routes over land, natural resources for survival, historic land use, suitable locations for hole up sites or base camps, typical climate overview, temperature tables, snow/rainfall, wind/visibility, sun/moon table, general drainage pattern, river flow and current, location of lakes/ponds, potable water resources, coastal tides/currents, beaches, and areas that are good for subsistence. Remember to include seasonal changes to all these categories.

In the demographics and cultural section be sure to include area population estimates, location of towns,  ethnic composition, language, social conditions, religious factors, medical/health information, economic conditions, political factors, type of currency, typical dress, customs, local government information, travel restrictions, local degree of self sufficiency, agricultural information, local industrial information, and commerce/trade information.

When it comes to lines of communication/information systems we are referring to how do people commute and communicate in the area. Include location/direction of interstates, state highways, county roads, forest service roads, jeep trails, hiking trails; major active and inactive rail ways, navigable waterways, location of large and small ports, harbors, marinas; location of gas stations, petroleum storage; location and type of power plants, sub stations, transmission lines; location of radio broadcasting stations, telephone companies, satellite companies and newspaper offices.

When writing your SPA, you will get pertinent information from this section. Like urban and rural key terrain (places to avoid or to occupy) , avenues of approach (places for travel routes and places for avoid ambushes, choke points, bridges, river crossings), the best times to move in total darkness (no illumination), time of year with the best or worse weather (seasonal effects of weather on terrain and visibility), river and stream data (depth, width, flow rate and direction of flow, potable water), coastal data (tides, beach type, coves) towns with dense or sparse populations, subsistence data (cultivated, natural wildlife),government offices (urban key terrain),  military bases, governmental control measures (check points, curfews, population control measures), health data and hospitals, areas with friendly or favorable ethnic/social/religious factors,  agriculture and domestic food supply, natural resources, percentage of self sufficiency, manufacturing plants, local dress to assist with "blending in",  economic trends over a period of time.

Your area study is basically a plethora of information that you update over time. It will give you all the information that you will need to plan all your scenarios. Use it to assist you planning your Get Home Plan (GHP), Bug Out Plan (BOP),  or your Link Up Plan (LUP). 

Planning considerations

When planning your scenarios there are a few acronyms to discuss. METT-TC, OCOKA, PACE and PRSCC. These acronyms will assist you in planning multiple scenarios and establishing SOP's. A few of these will be used throughout your planning and during your scenarios to assist you in your decision making process. IN the following discussion I will focus on a Get Home Scenario.

METT-TC is used primarily during your initial planning phase. M stands for mission (what is your mission? Get Home) you should state who is doing the mission, where are they going, what is to be accomplished and when is it going to happen.  E stands for enemy situation (basically this is any hostile group) you want to detail their size, location, operational area and equipment to include weapons. T stands for Terrain and Weather (specific to your mission not your entire area of operations) for weather you want to discuss the effects on you and the hostile forces. When covering terrain you will use OCOKA, which  I will cover later in this section. T stands for Troops available (personnel that you have or need to accomplish the mission). The second T stands for time available to accomplish the mission. Do you have one day or a week? C stands for civilian considerations. You can put in this section the potential for mass refugees or displaced persons congesting up the main roadways, possible direction of mass evacuations from built up areas in your mission area. So by using METT-TC you are taking information from your area study and experience to narrow down information for your specific mission.

The next is OCOKA. This one is used for detailing the terrain section in METT-TC.  O is for observation and fields of fire.  You need to determine locations along your route that provide the best observation of and from road ways, towns, bridges. rivers etc. C is for cover and concealment. Cover is something that will protect you from small arms fire and concealment only conceals your location. Identify locations that aid you in your movement home by vehicle and foot. Which route offers the best concealment and what locations along your route provide good cover. The second O is for obstacles. you want to identify any obstructions along your route, destroyed bridges, natural terrain that hinders vehicular movement like a swamp or large bodies of water. K is for key terrain. Identify locations  or areas (natural or manmade) that the seizure, retention, or control of affords a marked advantage to either friend or foe.  A is for avenues of approach. Identify all road ways, trails, power line paths, railroad tracks between you and your home. Don't forget to consider aerial and subterranean routes.

The third one is PACE. When constructing your plan you do not want to have only one route, one location, one vehicle or one weapon. You need flexibility and depth just like a NFL teams roster. This one is very simple. P is for primary, A is for alternate, C is for contingency, E is for emergency. Keep in mind that in some cases you will not use all of the PACE, mostly you will only use the P and A. It is up to you  and your resources how deep you are able to go. Bottom line, you should always have at least an alternate plan, route, weapon or location. So using a PACE for all your scenarios or missions is essential to good planning. Personally, I always have a primary weapon and an alternate weapon. 

The last one is the PRSCC  or the Five Principles of Patrolling. . It is used heavily by any combat force that conducts patrolling,  P is for planning. In the previous paragraphs I have discussed planning extensively, so I will not dwell on this one. R is for reconnaissance. Reconnaissance should always be part of your planning. It should be implemented at the beginning and continued throughout your mission.  You can accomplish this through maps, imagery and actually traveling the route (best choice) . By actually traveling the route you will identify any known obstacles, alternate routes and potential hole up sites, to include the time needed to accomplish. S is for security. Security is a constant throughout your planning and scenario. Keeping your documents locked up and your situational awareness while moving applies. Whether traveling alone or in a group always stop, look,  listen and smell (SLLS) first when setting up your camp. After this you should always have a conduct a short recon around your area to identify key terrain or avenues of approach that can assist you or effect you, to include water resupply. If everything is safe then you can ensure your weapons are ready to go and then eat. Once you have eaten and water is filled, then you can implement a rest plan. If you are in a group, not everyone cleans their weapons or eats at the same time. Always have someone on guard during the rest plan. C is for control. Control is any method, terrain or device that will help you control your team, movement or mission. Such as check points, phase lines, limit of advance, contact points, decision points, No later than times (NLT), no earlier than times (NET) and boundaries (left limit or right limit). The last C is for common sense. Common sense is not so common. So always do a common sense check with all decisions. Identify the your action, the reaction to it (from enemy) and what your counter reaction would be if it happened.

Mindset

Having the correct mindset is the most important aspect to survival. With the proper mindset, you can achieve anything. So you can say survival is mainly a mental game. You should always keep your situational awareness, stay healthy, have the proper equipment and the right skills to survive.

Situation awareness (SA) is very important during all your activities, not just when a survival situation hits. Some would say stay alert, stay alive. Maintaining your SA will prevent you from becoming a victim. If I am on a trip or in an area unfamiliar to me, I apply the 51% rule. I look around me and see what the majority of the people are wearing, their actions and mannerisms, their type of vehicle, or other habits of the environment. Kind of like, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." By doing this, you will blend in with your surroundings and not stand out. Just blending in will help you not be a victim or a target. You can prepare yourself by researching the area you will be traveling. The next time you go somewhere and park in the parking lot. Look around and see how many vehicles are backed into a parking space versus parking "normal" in a space. You will begin to take notice of these vehicles every time you go out.

Staying healthy and in good shape is the second thing to consider. If you are overweight and out of shape you can become injured easier. This is probably the hardest thing to accomplish for some people. Lifestyles and life events can affect you. Always begin slow and never over do it. If you over do it and are unable to function the next day, it will discourage you from continuing. Set yourself small, realistic goals and give yourself plenty of time to achieve them. Get your whole family involved with a new diet and exercise routine. This will aid you in your goal of getting in shape, not to mention the benefits for your entire family. I am not saying you need to be a professional athlete but just stay healthy with a good diet and exercise routine.

The third thing you need is the proper equipment, basic foundation and skill sets. You need to look at your budget and realize how much you have to acquire the right tools of the trade. Just do not buy an item because it is a "name brand" or the "most expensive." These terms do not always equate to good, versatile and solid tools. Research and test (if possible) these item before you purchase them. Establish your survival fundamentals or foundation. By this I mean your navigation, water procurement, food procurement, shelter making and fire making skills.

You need to learn the basic ways to accomplish each of these tasks. The ability to achieve each of these with a minimalist type of kit. A GPS is great to aid your navigation but when the batteries go out or you smash the screen it is a paper weight. So understanding how to navigate by the sun, stars and/or compass and map is critical. Learn how to start a fire without a lighter or match. Learn how to make a shelter out of natural materials, learn how to trap food, improvise a weapon to assist your hunt. Learn how to acquire water through various means. Once you have mastered the basics, then move on to more advanced techniques.

Do not go out and buy the entire Wal-Mart camping section, place it in your pack or vehicle and call it good. Because it is not learning the basics, it is a waste of time and money. There are a lot of videos, blogs and so called "experts" out there on the internet. Use your 5th principle of patrolling (common sense) when looking at these sites. You will realize that they are unqualified individuals that have no experience or training. That being said, there are a lot of great videos, blogs and web sites from people who have those skill sets and the experience. Good luck in all your endeavors. Remember to learn the basic fundamentals, acquire the right tools and sharpen your skill sets. You have the tool box, all you need to do is to add the right tools. De Oppresso Liber.

Preparation, by definition, is this:

"1. the act of getting something ready. 2. a state of getting ready."

So what is it you are getting ready for? Are you taking action and making a plan? Are you stocking-up?
“Sure!” you say with enthusiasm “I am a prepper!”  You boast, as you align yourself with the great people of the past that were also prepared for catastrophes and unseen calamities of their day.

Today is my opportunity to give you some insight on a topic that might easily be overlooked. I want to touch on the subject of “preparedness”, specifically a mental preparedness. Maybe you’re thinking “Who cares about that?”
 
Just tell me the steps to making a wickiup (lodge) in my back yard!
 Hold on!  Let me give you another definition. Change: to cause to have a completely different form…to put another in place of.
Think on that for a moment. Your life will have a complete new form; your life style will have another style ‘put in its place’. Are you prepared for that? Is your family prepared for that?

If you are single and going it alone this wake –up call may still be for you but it is most definitely for the man that is family minded and wants to prepare for the survival of his kin.

Let me introduce myself, I am the wife of a survivalist-prepper.
I do not have any statistics to go off of, but I feel strongly that it is the man that has his families’ best interest at heart who takes on the task of getting ready for the end. Wives, please give me a moment of your time.
I’m thinking as I sit here by my woodstove, bundled in a blanket wearing my jacket (hat and all!)
 
Lately I can’t seem to get more than a few feet from this behemoth of heat before I feel the chill of winter begin to creep into my bones.
I am thinking about the wives of these pioneering men that we love. Those men, the fierce hunters, the brave and the strong, the man you married and trust to take care of you when the world collapses.
Wives, I ask are you preparing as well?

Are you just stocking up for a food shortage or are you planning on “going off the grid”?
Some of the greatest wisdom is to take the gift of learning from others mistakes. Though my words may seem ominous at times, I assure you I have only your success in mind. The mental attitude you take into your new life will factor into what you purpose to do.
If you’re a mother you will affect your children as well. Know it or not you are the hub of the home.
Never in my life was I one to sit around and wait till things got so far out of hand before I made a move. We have been told on many occasions that we are extreme people. Maybe that is because instead of talking about a thing, we will just go and do that thing. It has taken us everywhere in the U.S. and made us the hearty people we are today. Though we are very independent in our ways, it is by the grace and mercy of the Lord that we abide.

We chose to go all the way in our preparations for TEOTWAWKI, and we moved to an off-grid location. Years prior to the move, we bought acreage and paid the loan off early. I did not want any land payments to contend with during the building process.
Yet, before this enormous leap of faith many things came up. We even moved to Alaska and derailed our plans for off grid life by a couple of years, always keeping the notion tucked away in our mind.

As tough as Alaska was, moving to the foothills of the Adirondacks was even more brutal. We have had many mishaps and made tons of mistakes along the way. I glory in telling you that we have great successes and unmatched accomplishments from our endeavor as well.
Can you learn from a wife and mother that is currently living out the “worst case scenario”?

Mistakes:
My first mistake was letting my husband do everything.
Though I was there when the land was purchased, all I cared about was the quaint little town and how cute it looked. He was looking at hunting opportunities and the distance from town. I was still thinking about Wal-Mart, which by the way is nearly an hour from our location. He was already planning on gardens and feeding ourselves. I was not. Wasn’t the food in the sealed buckets enough of a plan?

I thought that I knew enough.  I really believed that all the years of reading and research would prepare me for what we were going to do. Studying about photo voltaic systems and learning about which batteries held the best charge. I studied what others did and drew plans for my own. I have to laugh because it doesn’t matter what system you buy, if the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing you simply have no power. Oh sure you can get a generator for all your needs. But wait, what if that breaks? And your back up breaks as well? If your husband is handy enough he will try making several other forms of power, as mine did. All systems challenged by nature and all failed at one point or another. The answer is this, learn to live without power. Set yourself up to live with none, and then add a little bit back into it. I had to come to the realization that I was not out here to sustain a life I already had, but to venture into a new way of life. I was having trouble making the adjustments.

When you are forced to boil water for bathing and are out in the cold September nights heating over a campfire to wash your children you will then be faced with the harsh reality that you live off-grid and life doesn’t get any tougher than this.

Don’t lie to yourself. If you tell yourself that you like camping, and this is just like a camping trip you are lying to yourself and you will be miserable. Consider this, what if your temporary situation becomes permanent? By that I specifically mean the bathroom. Yes, you better believe it, the toilet is a number one priority!  We have three children, one is a teenage girl. When the camper van toilet was no longer an option we had to go to a type of can privy thing. As if that wasn’t bad enough the area flooded and we had to wade through and jump on rocks to use the potty in the rain. Of course a new facility was built up on a deck and we felt spoiled for a while. Then the cold weather came. Can you mentally prepare yourself for no flushing toilet? Consider your alternatives now before you get into the situation.

Without water you will die. Mistakes were made here too. I brought two-liter bottles, lots of them. I would refill them at the laundry mat. All summer while we built our home with our own hands, I washed dishes in an outdoor kitchen. This took a toll on me. I always felt like everything was dirty. Then one day our super fantastic filters broke. I could no longer filter the water we drank. Think about the amount you have to boil for five people and animals too. We bought large holding tanks, but the rain was delayed. A four-wheeler and 35 gallon trash can were used to get water from the creek two miles away.

I will never forget the pastor's face when he came out to our cabin and saw the water collection system that was in place. It seemed that we never had enough time to get all the things done that needed doing. Our gutters were not up on the porch that was not built, so we had tarps that came down off the cabin to collect rain water into the tanks. Our tank was nearly empty. During his visit, it started to pour! He helped us push and pull the tarps to guide the water into the tank. We collected nearly 150 gallons every 20 minutes. It counted as our shower that day too!

Can you imagine our desperation of not having running water? I was not prepared for that mental challenge. In our community we are known as the modern day Ingalls. Today we have thousands of gallons of water on hand. Filtered and running freely. We know exactly how much we use each day.
Weather conditions; because we moved to a new area we were not completely knowledgeable about the summer or the winter weather.  Living in Alaska had prepared us for harsh below freezing temperatures if we drove in it or went outside, that is to say we knew about getting studs on our tires and dressing for -27? on a daily basis, and plugging in our vehicles so they would start in the morning, those types of things.

Where I made the mistake was that I did not take into consideration how I would actually heat the inside of the home. I took for granted that my warmth would be a readily available and come from a reliable source.

Our untested woodstove which was acquired in summer became a terrible distress in the winter. I never knew that a stove could be equivalent to a newborn baby.  It has needed feeding every two – three hours for months now. That adds up to a lot of sleepless nights.
Also, the insulation in our home never was completed. That is another thing I was not prepared for. I am not a carpenter. I am a stay at home mom that home schools the children. I can’t really build anything, well not something you can live in!  I was not prepared for the months of care my husband would need if or when he got hurt.

Another Mistake: normalcy bias. This is the mindset of “It can’t happen to me.”
This goes back to the first thing I mentioned about letting our husbands do everything. What will you do when the unthinkable happens?  If you are a team, then you need to do all the preparations as a team. Continue to be team minded. I did not know enough about what to do if my team member was out of commission. In my defense I would like to say that I am not a wimp either, we have had to super glue cut legs, from knife injuries and pull porcupine quills out of dogs, put animals down and more.
 You learn to do what is necessary, or worse things happen. However I did not even know where the hospital was located or which way to go when my husband had an accident with the circular saw. On a nice sunny day in November and he was outside working on the bathroom floor. Next thing I know he calmly says “I have to go to the hospital now." I am thinking "What?"
 “I am hurt real bad” he tells me. “I cut off my fingers” YIKES!
 “Do you have all the pieces?”

Now I am the prime care giver in every situation. He is gone for days. Who will turn on the solar? How will we actually get the things done that need doing? There are no light switches or plug receptacles. If you want power you need to know how to turn on the solar controller and the inverters, switch batteries over or start the generator etc.
You adapt and you learn.  I found out just what kind of metal I am made of.
 All was not lost; I didn’t quit and move into town. I snapped out of my comfort zone and I stepped up to the plate. Use whatever cliché you want, but my time came to step into my new identity forever and completely.
I can say that I am a prepper, and I can mean it. I have taken the steps of pulling the plug on a lifestyle that I was very comfortable in. My mental attitude now is that I can do this.

The greatest adversity you will ever overcome comes from what lies within you.
Yes, I can haul rocks and stack or chop the wood. I can gather water and have found new ways to get everyone and everything clean. I can cook with propane, campfires or on top of the wood stove.
 
I have made the best out of some of the worst things. I know that every time I climb my stairs I have victory over the trees that nearly crushed our cabin. We turned them into steps and wood flooring!

We live free of debt, because we paid cash for everything, we live free of the weight of society to have it all, because we know that we have what is really of value. We have each other and our time is our own.
We have become self- sufficient.  It came at a price, but it was worth the investment.

My simple steps to being mentally prepared:

1. Detox yourself from the Wal-Mart Super Center. It will close. You will not be able to go there WTSHTF. Can you accept that mental challenge? We started out waiting two weeks to shop, and then we worked our way up to six weeks. Can you stay away from the Super Center for six weeks?
2. Learn to do without. No one is coming to help you. If you do not take it with you, then you will need to know how to make it yourself or live without it.
3. Take the steps now to get your water harvesting system in place before you spend one night in your new off grid home. If you’re digging a well, have the proper documents taken care of and the well drilling done before you bring your family on site.
4. Learn to cook with little or no food. Seriously, try making some new dishes that are prepared from whatever you have before you go shopping. Try cooking on an open fire. That is a tough thing to learn but one of the joys I now have is making something delicious right outside on an open fire. Even in the rain. My family really appreciates my efforts all the more.
5. Have a back-up plan for the back-up plan. Trust your instincts because you cannot prepare for everything, no matter how much you prepare.
6.  Unplug now, why wait? When you could still step back into things if you wanted. Knowing that you’re doing this because it is your best decision for your family, that you took matters into your own hands is very empowering. Do you wait till you are forced to make the choice? Then it is no longer a choice and it becomes mandatory.
7. Let experience be your teacher. Get involved and learn some new trades. My little 6 year old can make fires using things like steel wool and parabolic lenses (supervised of course) My 8 year old can shoot a frog with his long bow, even in muddy water, and he can set snares too!
    My teenager is amazing, we especially like it that she makes fresh bread in the Dutch oven (and she taught herself through trial and error)
8. Do the “drastic” thing. We sold all of our real estate and most of our “stuff” (couches, furniture, appliances and extra baggage) we pooled our resources and made a budget to live off of and accomplish our goals. Do not expect your family or neighbors to understand; after all they are still addicted to the power grid.
9. This isn’t last by any means. We put God first in all that we do and know fully that He is the One that has given us strength and joy and peace in all our trials and our successes.

 My last question to you before I close is this, how will you even know you were prepared for TEOTWAWKI until it happens and you are in the midst of your new way of life? That day is the day you discover if you stocked enough food and ammo, should you have gotten a cow instead of the goat, bought gold instead of silver…etc. What I am saying is that you can never know if you built your house up high enough to avoid a flood, unless there is a flood. The difficulty then is that it is too late to do anything different.
I have the same mindset in my “prepping” tactics. Do what I can, and let the Lord do what I can’t.
 May I present this train of thought; the end is already here.
 Has there not been enough evidence that the world around us is different? What else needs to happen for us to wake up and take action?
Life around us is changing, a little each day.

If your being stirred to preparedness, then set your mind to that, go about it wholeheartedly without second guessing.  Everyone thought Noah was crazy too, but the rains came and they’re coming again. May The Lord Be With You.

If a disaster occurs next month, be it economic meltdown, war, or highly infectious pandemic, how prepared are you?
The end of the world as we know it has already occurred. One hundred years ago, the west was still being won. The automobile was still a novelty and a competitor for the horse. Orville and Wilbur Wright had created the three axis-control, giving controllable wings to man, making our big planet a little bit smaller. Fifty years ago, manned space flight was still dreamt about by young boys. The Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis were looming large in the national consciousness and nuclear war with Russia was a very scary probability. The end of the world as we know it has been with us in some shape or form since Adam got his butt kicked out of the garden.

Today we conceptualize a TEOTWAWKI event as a global catastrophe that threatens to wipe out man himself. The scary thing is that it is not only possible, but given our current knowledge of natural disasters and cosmic calamities, it is highly probable. So the question is: what can we do to prepare for these potential events? Since you are reading this, I assume you have thought out various scenarios and are doing what you can for your own survival.

Imagine climbing a pyramid, you have to start at the bottom in order to reach the top. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs puts survival at the bottom of a pyramid, the next level is safety, followed by love, then esteem, and capped it off with self-actualization. Before one can move to the next level of this pyramid, one has to successfully navigate through the level he is currently on. The goal is to reach one’s full potential as a person. This goal often takes a lifetime to realize. For some it remains merely a dream. For many, it gets relegated to the subconscious and withers into a bothersome itch.

We live in a world that provides us with the resources and tools to climb this pyramid if we choose to; to become the best that we can be.  We also live in a world where we are only one misadventure from falling back to the bottom of the pyramid; to the desperation and violence of survival.

One of the unspoken reasons why you you read this blog, why you are reading this essay, is to ensure your survival in order that you may continue on with your journey to the top of the pyramid. Something in you knows that disaster may befall you at any moment. But if you pay attention, that something that tells you that catastrophe may strike, also tells you that there is the other side of survival.

Learning the art of fire craft, firearms training and farming are all part of your conscious desire to have the preparations you may need for a catastrophic event. Learning how to survive and having the resources, skills, and ability to actually survive are part of your subconscious desire to climb the pyramid to becoming all you can be with the time you have left; and pass this on to posterity.

Every survival course worth its salt teaches about the ‘will to live’. That without this ambiguous ingredient, your survival quotient drops significantly. The will to live requires that you nurture the hope that you will survive and facilitate your ability to eventually thrive. In other words, never give up hope and do whatever is needed to get out of a survival situation. This site is full of the tactics, techniques and procedures on how to survive – use it!

You recognize the validity of this concept; that is why you are here. You may be a young man in an urban setting with three weeks of stored food, a pocket knife and a Bic lighter. You may be a multi-millionaire that is watching a crew finish up work on his subterranean survival bunker; with off-grid power, food for a small country, and enough munitions and men to take it over. Wherever you fall in this compendium of ensuring your initial survival, one thing remains true: the need for an exit plan. In other words, what are you going to do after survival has been achieved?
An event that is large enough to usher in TEOTWAWKI is a not necessarily a deal breaker. If an asteroid the size of Australia slams into planet earth - ‘game over man’; but anything shy of complete annihilation offers us all a small ray of hope that we will survive as a species, persevere as a people, and hopefully, hold on to our humanity.

This blog as well as its advertisers have survival down to an art; that is why you are here. Learn from the vast repositories of knowledge and advice that lies at your fingertips. Prepare for the worst, but plan for what comes after. Once your preps have been achieved, have a strategy on what to do next. If the world goes to hell, have a plan on how you and yours will go through hell; and what to do once you come out on the other side.

At the prepping level, you may be thinking of how to retain and store all this knowledge. You could kill a few trees and print all the information out, start a survival library. You could also utilize current technology and keep all this information in a convenient medium that will improve your survival efficiency.

This actually works: take an old laptop and load it up with as much of the vital information as you can on how to kick start humanity after the Apocalypse. Throw in some other electronic items that you may need, such as batteries, walkie-talkies, DVDs, et cetera. Wrap the laptop with alternating layers of plastic bags and aluminum foil, stick it in an old microwave that has its cord cut, and voila! You now have a primitive Faraday cage that will protect your information from the elements as well as an EMP.

I personally have an old laptop, some DVDs, an old smart phone, and a foldable solar panel with power adapter stuffed inside a large microwave. Yeah, some of this gear is pricey; so set a goal and incrementally acquire whatever you think you will need to see yourself through TEOTWAWKI. If the SHTF, and you can no longer access this site to look up what you may need, the information you have prepared in your Faraday cage will be available until the internet gets back online (and given some of the scenarios known to us to be potential threats, this could take years).

I have a solar charger and power converter in my go bag. It doesn’t take much more room than a thick notebook, and is only 6.5 pounds of combined weight. If the SHTF while I’m away from home, I have a permanent energy source for my laptop and cell-phone. If communication is out and the grid is down, my laptop is still functional and I have apps loaded on my phone to ensure I can survive the interim. (Barring a nuclear airburst which causes EMP, then it is dead weight).  But once I get back home, I can open up my Faraday cage and be up and running with information, even if I cannot get online.

At the post-survival level, you will want to think about garnering other survivors to rebuild; think community and relationships. If the situation is bad enough, you will have to think about creating a new civilization. Create a new civilization? That is a tall order! That will take enormous resources, manpower and ambition. But this is where you have to go. You are already thinking about TEOTWAWKI, just take your thoughts out to the logical end conclusion and you either have a situation like that portrayed in the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, or you roll up your sleeves and get to work. In which case the world is now an unknown and you have to start over.

Reverting back to the Neolithic era is not necessary. Again, that is why you are prepping. Here is a useful exercise to think about in your spare time: What and who would you like to have with you if you were to be zapped back in time 500 years with no return ticket? Whatever you come up with may be something you would like to have or know how to develop when TEOTWAWKI occurs. (Hence the laptop with a solar power source).

Being able to survive and to survive well is not an end unto itself. Go beyond survival and envision what is going to be required of you materially, mentally, physically and spiritually if you are to thrive. For some, the art of prepping has been taken to an extreme that has had an unbalancing effect. For those who are unbalanced, the fix is simple: Begin the journey up the pyramid. (Who do you want to be? Start becoming that individual.)

Your preps are not going to disappear; in fact I assume and hope that they will continue on. Realize that if you are not the person you can be, a TEOTWAWKI event will not magically transform you into this person. The truth of it is that your life quotient will take a pretty severe hit if your survival quotient has not prepared you beyond material and skill.
My wife is a psychologist and has taught me numerous skills on how to not only cope, but to thrive in life. TEOTWAWKI events happen all the time. A healthy mind, body and spirit are key factors in enabling a person to survive everyday life. When grief, trauma or personal disaster hit, knowing how to best handle these intruders is as important when they strike, as knowing how foil countersurveillance in an urban environment or navigate by the stars in a rural survival situation.

I am a survival instructor. I teach our military’s elite on how to survive the worst this planet or its inhabitants can throw at them. They train for the worst case scenario, but they also live in the now. They have the skills and wherewithal to survive a TEOTWAWKI situation. And once they have these tools in their tool bag, the journey up the pyramid continues; they know that when the stuff hits the fan, they will be ready for it. Trust me when I tell you that a strong body, mind and spirit are essential not only for survival and harnessing the will to live, but also in everyday life. These three elements: body, mind and spirit are the keys to unlocking the doors that usher you to the next level of the pyramid, and set you up for not only survivability, but thrivability.

Mr. Rawles,
I'm a regular SurvivalBlog reader.  I have your books and own the archive (Kindle edition).  Every once in a while I come across a post so genuinely correct I must comment on it.  Mr. White is absolutely correct.   Often times people will spout such utter nonsense on this subject it would be funny if it weren't so dangerous.  And because so many aren't well versed in this area, they buy it hook, line and sinker.  
 
I can tell you from my own experiences; Mr. White’s advice is spot on.  I know this information to be factually correct.  This is how it’s done.  Kudos to Mr. White for taking the time and effort to bring this to the masses. Anyone following this advice will be better prepared, (Technically, Mentally, Legally and Morally) than 99% of the public, (to include LEO, Military etc…).
 
Lastly, my own comment is to seek competent training and then practice what you’ve learned.  Shooting on a static range won’t cut it.  Learn to shoot, reload and clear malfunctions on the move, (it should be automatic), under different environmental conditions, (dusk, dark, rain etc…).  IDPA, IPSC, USPSA shooting matches are great for this kind of thing.  There are enough competent schools of instruction that most anyone can take classes from.  That market is booming and the training available to the general public has never been better. - Rob C.

Let me begin with a brief history and a few insights into my journey towards being prepared for The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI.) I was born and raised, until the age of 7, in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States (the greater Los Angeles area). At which point my parents came to the realization that city life was no way to raise a family. So, they moved my sister and I to the Central San Joaquin Valley and began my education in rural life. At age 18 I joined the military and was able to witness rural life in Texas, Illinois and finally South Dakota (where I spent 4-1⁄2 years). While in South Dakota, I married a local girl, my wonderful wife of 25 plus years. As a result of that marriage, I was introduced to a deeper and somewhat more rudimentary rural lifestyle, by her and her family. As a city boy who was never comfortable with the city lifestyle; I had found my calling. After serving my Country, along with with my wife and then three children returned to the San Joaquin Valley to start the next chapter of our lives. As it turned out that was to be a very short chapter. We quickly realized that what I had believed to be a rural community was in reality very urban. Shortly before we headed back to the Valley her parents moved to the Northwestern portion of the American Redoubt, of course we didn’t know it would eventually be labeled as such at the time. During our brief stay in the Valley we had the opportunity to visit the in-laws and decided that was the place for us. We have now been living the very rural life of the American Redoubt for the past 20 years.

My education in the art of self sufficiency began at about age four when my Grandmother--who started her family before the Great Depression--began to teach me to garden, harvest fruit and to fish. Both of my parents have a love for fishing and continued where my grandmother left off. At the age of 8 my parents began to raise rabbits for butcher and made sure to involve their children in the raising and butchering. My mother continued to teach us the art of gardening, cooking and preserving the food that we produced until it was time for me to leave home. This was done in order to teach us the value of the food on our table along with the joy and sense of accomplishment that comes from putting it there. At about this same time I was blessed with the gift of a Red Ryder BB gun. I was taught the proper safety and use of the gun and after an acceptable amount of time under strict supervision I was allowed to practice with it, under minimal supervision, whenever I had free time. (At this time I would like to say that any of you who are attempting to prepare and either haven’t yet learned to properly handle a firearm or haven’t become proficient as of yet, get a BB gun and shoot thousands of rounds with it, then progress to the .22 Long Rifle and repeat. It is my opinion that the cost and intimidation level are such that you will comfortably progress to the more lethal calibers with much less trepidation). By age 13 I was hunting pheasants and working part time on the neighboring dairy. These things having been taught to me by my father or neighbor, respectively, who were both born in the 40s. While stationed in South Dakota I had the great privilege to get to know two of my wife’s Great Uncles, one of whom was born in the late 1920s and the other in the early 1930s. These two crusty old gentlemen decided that a 19 year old kid might be worth their time to teach a thing or two. They taught me to saddle and ride a horse, how to harness a team, the basics of putting up hay with a team of mules, and most importantly how to grind wheat and make delicious fresh bread from the resulting flour. Upon moving to the American Redoubt the revelation of my level of ignorance was astounding. I was soon learning to run a chainsaw, fell trees, build fence and do a lot of my own repairs on most anything. My father-in-law, a man born in the late 1930s and who lived the rural lifestyle his whole life, was the one to point me in the right direction for many of these tasks. My mother-in-law (whom I won’t date as that wouldn’t be proper) has continued to teach my wife and I food preservation methods. For the last 20 years we have been leasing a house on a 4,000 acre ranch. That lease payment is made by working for the owner of the ranch. The owner of the ranch is a man in his early 80s. He continues to work the ranch every day, mostly by himself. From this man I have learned most of what I know about farming and a lot of what I know about animal husbandry. During our 20 plus years of living here we have managed to befriend some of the families that have been here for forever and a day. From this corner of our lives we have been privileged to learn to properly slaughter, butcher and preserve large livestock and wild game. The man most responsible for our knowledge had been taught by his parents and they were of an age and background to know a bit about depression survival.
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As you have probably noticed, there is a theme to my little history lesson. Yes, I am giving the approximate age of almost every one of the mentors that I have listed. As I’ve been reading the blog and many of the archives, I haven’t come across a single mention of what I feel is one of the greatest assets that one can to tap into, in order to survive in the long term after TEOTWAWKI. I wish to admit that I haven’t read all of the archives and probably won’t find the time for all of them, but from what I can tell, no one has been preaching the value of our elderly. These people have either lived through the Great Depression or were a lot closer to it chronologically than most of us. They may not be able to perform many of the tasks of survival in the long term, but they can certainly pass on their knowledge of “How To”. In addition to their knowledge there are many tasks that they can perform with more knowledge, confidence and experience than those of us that may be stronger of body. Things like cooking, canning, repairing tack, maintaining firearms, watching children, snapping the beans, shucking the peas and on and on and on. With some of these chores removed from the shoulders of the younger generations, more can be accomplished in a day, making a better life for all. I realize that a lot of people out there are thinking of the elderly, but from what I have read it appears that they are only thinking of what they have to do in order to take on the burden of providing for them. I say that they are not a burden to be taken on, but an asset just like the thousand pounds of grain you have stockpiled, the medical supplies you have so carefully laid away or the guns and ammo that you will use to protect it all.

In this life my wife, my kids and I have reached the point where we provide most all of our own meat through our livestock. We can provide the hay to feed them. We grow most of our own vegetables and some of our own fruits. We have the ability to preserve our food. We cut the wood for 100% of the heat for our homes. We have the ability, wherewithal and fortitude to defend it all. Without the knowledge that was freely given, by those that came before, we would never be as prepared to provide the basic needs for ourselves and our extended family and friends WTSHTF, as we are right now. I would like to suggest to those who are planning to provide for the elderly members of their family to please rethink the asset vs. burden issue. I believe that if you are to take the asset side of the issue and treat them as such you will gain some valuable information and they will be more interested in helping where they can instead of sitting around just consuming the assets that you do have. No one wants to feel that they are useless and just a drain on those around them. If you make use of their knowledge and abilities, they will not feel that they are a burden and will truly be an asset to themselves and the group as a whole.

Many people remember the book Walden as the story of a hermit living in a hut who survived on twigs and berries in the Concord, Massachusetts woods. Its author, Henry David Thoreau, was no hermit, but a survivalist and philosopher who personified the best of American values of self-reliance, simplicity, love of the land, individualism and defense of personal liberty against governmental overreaching.
He lived simply on Walden Pond from 1845-1847 without a GPS, iPod, iPhone, laptop or wi-fi.. Long before we developed a dependence on electronic devices, Thoreau defined some first principles for personal autonomy and survival. We find them in Walden, his gift of essential life strategies that we ought to re-learn before stuffing our G.O.O.D. bags and thinking that we have prepared ourselves to meet the Black Swans ahead. He would warn us today that we must not bet our lives on electronic survival devices because others control them and can jam them by the flick of a switch.

Thoreau's EDC bag
This article lifts up seven of Thoreau's survival principles that we can rely upon; that each of us can own at no cost, and which no government or terrorist can destruct. Think of these principles as the fabric of an indestructible carry bag large enough to stuff with all our plans and tools for personal survival.
Many surprises await us in the 2000s. This we know, but none of us knows the timing. Thus, we create short-term and long-term survival strategies. Thoreau's principles are an overarching everyday strategy, holding that a life worth living depends upon remaining free and independent, living as autonomous men and women alert and able to confront, ignore, or go around obstacles in our way. The best survival strategy is to be always ready, but live well always.

The individual versus the world
"Simplify, simplify," Thoreau repeated, and be certain that you have the essentials for life--food, shelter, fuel and clothing--under your control. Thoreau's sojourn in Walden woods lasted two years, two months and two days in the cabin he built himself. It was no coincidence that his move-in date was the fourth of July. Thoreau explained, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

Writing four hours a day on the shore of Walden Pond, he pondered how an individual could maintain his autonomy against a mighty government, powerful business interests and a growing trend to materialism. Just as in 1845, our politicians continue to grab power by making thousands of promises. What they deliver is trillion dollar debts and more promises. It is said that each of us now owns $2 million of government debt. (Have you budgeted for that?) In a cozy relationship with politicians, business spends billions coaxing us to buy things we do not need, that rarely perform as advertised and that often drag us under a pile of debt. Thoreau saw a way for an individual to get around these growing influences, and he spelled it out in Walden.

What's essential; what's not
To emphasize his points, he often wrote in extremes. For example, Thoreau defined anything non-essential to life as a "luxury." While he succumbed to a few luxuries himself, Thoreau spent within his means by deciding his own balance of essentials and luxuries and then earned just enough to sustain it. He called this living "deliberately", and it was the centerpiece of his life strategy. If he lived deliberately, he would not get into debt and therefore, not become enslaved by work to pay it off. Debt is more than dollars and cents because it represents the amount of life we must trade in work to pay it off. Time is money, and Thoreau became rich by acquiring it.

Thoreau enjoyed the work he did, but tried to work as little as possible. He believed that society had it all wrong about the role of work in life and said so in his Harvard graduation speech. People sat up in their seats as he declared that they had things backwards and that they should work just one day a week and have the other six to do what was important to them. This was no utopian dream. It is how he actually lived. Incidentally, I verified this with the Institute at Walden Woods.

Personal responsibility to do what's right
Thoreau believed that each of us has an intuitive sense of morality, what is right and wrong. He held that we have a personal responsibility to uphold higher moral laws when they come into conflict with manufactured laws. Consequently, he had a personal theory of "nullification" of government law when it conflicted with moral law. He maintained that no government has any "pure right over my person or property but what I concede to it.” Thus he was philosophically consistent that as a good neighbor, he would train with the Concord militia because he chose to. However, he chose not to pay a tax to a government waging an unjust war in Mexico, and that cost him a night in jail.

Thoreau's arrest inspired his world-famous essay Civil Disobedience where he proclaimed, "I heartily accept the motto, — 'That government is best which governs least'; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically." Many people mistakenly limit Thoreau's thinking to passive resistance. He railed against the government's hanging of John Brown who raided the arsenal at Harper's Ferry to arm slaves. Violence is not the preferred way to protest government policies, but as a last resort, Thoreau agreed with President Thomas Jefferson who wrote, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

TEOTWAWKI
Today few of us could replicate Thoreau's life in a 10 x 15 foot cabin a mile from his closest neighbor. What we can do whether we live in New York City, Los Angeles, or in between is to think of Walden as a state of mind.

Walden's principles and maxims are as relevant in 2012 as in 1853. In fact, times were remarkably similar to our world today. Global competition was common. Better quality German pencils nearly drove the Thoreau family pencil business under. The Panic of 1837 was as severe as our financial downturn today. A real estate bubble burst due to sub-prime lending, and real estate prices plummeted. Families lost jobs, spending power, and risked their savings as half the banks in America folded within weeks. The federal government, whose policies touched off the contagion, was growing in power and would continue piling on public debt. Even then, the U.S. government depended upon foreign countries to finance its operations.

As the nation entered the industrial revolution, Walden was Thoreau’s challenge to a society forgetting cultural values and practices of the first Americans such as self- reliance, thrift, and the importance of the family. Fortunately, those practices are coming back into style, as survivalists worldwide look to authentic sources such as Survival Blog to re-learn skills our consumer culture has forgotten. These tried and true skills together with the seven critical Thoreau principles taken from my book Walden Today combine to make us better prepared every day.

Thoreau’s Choices to Live Deliberately:

1. Be true to yourself.
In 1837, Thoreau was one of the first to identify societal pressure as the underlying motivation that drove people to consume more than they could pay for. As we know, Thoreau resisted pressure to conform; his brain thrummed to the beat of what he called a "different drummer.” He wrote, “No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof.” He urged us to think for ourselves-- to believe nothing told us by church bureaucracy, government or acquaintances without first checking it out and deciding for ourselves. Nor had he any confidence in advice from his elders: “Age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it has not profited so much as it has lost. One may almost doubt if the wisest man has learned anything of absolute value by living.”
In life, we alone have the job of choosing what to believe, and how to act upon what we determine. Any lifestyle or work, no matter how humble or unconventional is a success--as long as it works for you. Thoreau adds, “The life which men praise and regard as successful is but one kind...Why should we exaggerate any one kind at the expense of others?” In other words, Thoreau exhorts us to question society’s
norms because the herd may understand an issue exactly backwards, often due to the influence of media. There are no do-overs in life, so do not waste time living up to someone else's expectations.

2. Network to grow and thrive.
Thoreau had friends with diverse interests, and he networked well among them. His friends included some of America's best thinkers including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson and Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Walt Whitman. Thoreau tested his ideas and stood his own ground against these thoughtful minds.

Thoreau’s relationship with Emerson brought him paid work as a tutor, handyman, lecturer, schoolteacher, and more. His friends sent him referrals in his surveying business because of his reputation for honesty and competence--attributes which never go out of demand. His love of nature connected him with famous Harvard botanist Louis Agassiz for whom he collected botanical specimens never before catalogued.
Networking is also the source of our family's small business success. Former business associates provide almost all our new opportunities, while our church family remains a key source of Christian fellowship and education for our children.

3. Life is short, so enjoy it by living simply to stay free.
To live simply, Thoreau acquired the things that are “necessary to life.” He avoided most “luxuries,” those things that he perceived as constricting his freedom because of debt required to acquire them or the effort required to maintain them. He worried that collecting "stuff" would make him "a tool of his tools." He thought it foolish to keep up with the proverbial Joneses. Doing so would distract him from his more
important activities and goals. In the bargain he remained autonomous by exchanging as little life as possible for possessions.

4. Become self-reliant: do it yourself.
The Thoreau family’s main source of income was the manufacture of lead pencils. Their product quality slipped over time and by the 1840s there were four pencil manufacturers within a few miles of the Thoreau factory. In a crowded market, and with an inferior product, the outlook for Thoreau pencils was grim. Young Henry came to the family’s rescue. Harvard never taught him chemistry, engineering, operations management or marketing—expertise that would be necessary for the Thoreaus to regain their market position. He learned all these disciplines on his own, and thought outside the box to create the country's highest quality pencils. His innovations included a line of pencils new to the world numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 for hardness—including the iconic #2 pencil we use today.
With so many resources available, we can learn to become a do-it-yourselfer at almost anything. Just painting your own home, for example, is a great way to save money, gain self-reliance, and involve the whole family in a satisfying accomplishment no matter their age or intellectual disadvantage. Even young children or the elderly can carry cool water to refresh family painters just as the first Americans did. A do-it-yourself attitude is not so common anymore in America. However, with the millions of weekly hits on practical skills articles and videos on the Web, and the rising cost of tradesmen, self-reliance is definitely coming back.

5. Adapt to changes in life by continually learning and trying new ideas.
Thoreau's ideal was to remain autonomous and earn just enough to support himself.
Surveying and pencil making were his primary income sources; however he was flexible and humble enough to earn his living even by menial work. He wrote to a fellow graduate, “I am a Schoolmaster— a Private Tutor, a Surveyor--a Gardener, a Farmer—a Painter, I mean a House Painter, a Carpenter, a Mason, a Day-Laborer, a Pencil-Maker, a Glass-paper Maker, a Writer, and sometimes a Poetaster [an unskilled poet].” He was also a consultant, lecturer and book author.

When he moved into his Walden home, Thoreau hoped to earn income by farming the field behind his house. He learned quickly that the time required to tend acres of beans consumed too much of his free time. He changed his gardening plan for the next year to grow food only for himself. Ever pragmatic, Thoreau looked to earn more and work less as a self-taught surveyor. In the bargain, surveying gave him two full seasons and many interim weeks off for leisure. His advice to us is to learn continuously all our lives and stay alert to new income opportunities to guard our independence.

6. Take advantage of the conveniences and opportunities of the age.
The train and telegraph were technologies that fascinated Thoreau. I think he would have loved our Internet to bring him the cultural riches of the world. I am equally sure he would never have wasted hours surfing the net, texting, or checking his email every five minutes. He chose to be poor in terms of money, but poor is a relative term. What is scraping by to one person, can be a life of plenty to another. Thoreau found countless
opportunities for cultural enrichment, personal growth, and entertainment available at no cost to him. He explored the Merrimac River by canoe, attended lectures at the Lyceum, participated in Emerson’s discussion groups, climbed Mt. Katahdin and walked for hours in the woods each day enjoying the beauty of nature and being outdoors.

America still has vast tracts of public lands for our use, and the electronic age provides us with innumerable opportunities—also at little or no cost—for education, culture, entertainment and earning a living. Each of us has access the same information as a college professor. We can watch sporting events free and see better than those in $500 seats in the stadium. We can savor the world's most breathtaking scenery and treasures from our homes and hear beautiful music in Surround Sound. In Thoreau's day, the average person never heard a symphony orchestra. To do so would have been a considerable expense to travel for days to hear one of the few symphonies in America. We can learn practical skills and economic analysis from expert bloggers around the world and be as informed as any reporter on the planet can. Today there is no reason for anyone, regardless of income, to be bored if they use the virtually free conveniences of our age for entertainment and learning once reserved for only the wealthy.

7. Work Deliberately.
Thoreau lived and worked "deliberately." He emphasized, “I make my own time. I make my own terms.” This is the key to freedom and independence. Controlling his time and terms, he would never lock himself in to a job that enslaved him with long hours, stress, and fear of losing the job. As a delightful side benefit, he would never have to bite his tongue when speaking to management, work for jerks or go to work every day if he could do the week’s work in a single day. When you work for yourself, you will never hear the words, "you're fired."

In 2012 with employment uncertainty in almost every field, many people hedge their bets by starting their own business on the side as they work their primary job. A well- employed client of ours bought a franchise business for his wife, and she is growing it to guarantee that the family will have income and independence no matter what happens to their primary source of income. Gaston Glock was a factory manager when he started a side business in his garage. In addition to planning for income redundancy, we advise friends to have savings stashed away to live for six months to a year. This is not easy to do. However, we have found that there are many things to cut back on if your primary goal is to remain free and independent.

Living "deliberately" belongs in every EDC bag.
Thoreau made his EDC bag from the principles of deliberate living. They guide my family today as in 1994 when we began to adopt them. Each of us must rely on his own effort to survive and truly live. The central decision--or non-decision is to "live deliberately" or not to. If you are reading this blog, you likely have made your decision already.

JWR Adds: Wayne M. Thomas is the Editor of Walden Today

As an international war correspondent, my work takes me to more than a dozen far-flung war zones every year. In my travels, I am often reminded just how thin the veneer of civilization really is, and get to meet many families caught in crisis and see the different ways they manage to survive.
A recent trip to Africa brought one of the most powerful examples, where I met a family of missionaries who have built their lives in one of the most harsh and inhospitable corners of the planet. While for most survivalists, prepping for “TEOTWAWKI” is a “what if” scenario, for these missionaries preparedness is an everyday, life-or-death reality.
They are what you could call "extreme missionaries;" Christian families who move far beyond the end of the pavement to bring the good news of God's love to people who have no concept of things like peace, forgiveness, redemption, grace or even civilization.

When my oldest son, Mason and I landed in Nairobi, we were picked up by the T. family. They've been working in Kenya for four generations, and live in the far northern part of the country on the shores of the world's largest desert lake - Lake Turkana.

When they moved there twenty years ago, the four tribes living in the area (Rendille, Samburu, Turkana and El Molo) were all at war with each other. They would often raid each others' villages and steal each others' camels, goats and women. There was little fresh water, (the lake is barely potable, since it has no outlet) and since the tribes considered fish to be unclean, food was also scarce. The ground is volcanic rock, and almost nothing grows in the infertile soil. Temperatures often top 130 degrees in summer, and rarely get below 100. To call it a hard, inhospitable place would be the height of understatement.
The trip to their home took 23 hours of driving from Nairobi - most of it on desert two-track and much of it requiring 4-wheel drive. We made the trip heavily armed, as Somali bandits are known to ambush vehicles in that area. Not long ago another mission family was ambushed and the wife shot in the leg. We kept a sentry posted on top of the truck at all times to keep an eye out for bandits and make them think twice when they saw a man with a shotgun. Jim has worked with the Kenyan government to be able to legally carry a firearm wherever he goes. This is necessary because of the large number of wild animals – both human and otherwise. Lions were the biggest danger, but during our drive to Loiyangalani, we enjoyed seeing camels, dik-dik, topi, and many others. Mason and the T.'s daughter spent most of the trip riding on the rack above the truck's cab, spotting wildlife. It occurred to me that such a thing would probably get a guy arrested back in the states, but here in Kenya, the nanny state was nowhere to be found. A refreshing feeling, to say the least.
After a grueling two-day trip, we arrived at the mission station. When the T.'s first moved to Lake Turkana, they lived in a shipping container and camped out in front of it. They cooked on three rocks, like the locals. Eventually Jim identified a spring near the only stand of palm trees in the area (which all the locals used as a bathroom since it afforded the only privacy for miles). He talked the local elders into allowing him to fence off the area and then dig out the spring. He installed a cistern once he hit bedrock and then put in underground piping to four water points - one for each tribe. The spring today pumps out 230 gallons a minute of water so pure you could bottle it, and serves almost 10,000 people. Without the spring to fight over, the four tribes now live in relative harmony together in the village, something which previously would have been unthinkable to them.  It's a great lesson on survival - working to make allies of one's neighbors, thereby making everyone safer.

Jim and his family must be completely self-sufficient for up to four months at at time.  They have a larder which can sustain them for over a year, but gardening is impossible due to the high temperatures, desert climate and volcanic soil. Camel meat is available from time to time in the village, but other than that, they must plan, and shop for only a few trips a year to the nearest grocery store – in Nairobi. Jim's wife, Barb, has become an expert at planning, cooking from scratch and coping with unexpected visitors from time to time. Jim and his sons supplement their the family's protein by fishing Lake Turkana for giant nile perch.  He says they have enough fishing tackle to survive on fish for "at least a thousand years."  They took Mason and I fishing during our visit. We spent two hours trolling the lake in a tiny john boat, which made me a little nervous since the lake is known for its giant salt-water crocodiles. Our afternoon on the lake yielded two “small” Nile perch, which fleshed out to about forty pounds of meat. We feasted on the succulent fish that night and Barb canned or froze what we couldn't eat.

An engineer by trade, Jim has built a very comfortable and secure fortress for his family in this desolate place. A year after moving to Loiyangalani, Jim identified a seam of limestone that protruded from the lava rock in an area near the village. He then taught two local men how to quarry the limestone and make building stones of it. He then agreed to purchase all the stones they could make until his home was built. Those men are today two of the most prosperous (and hardworking!) men in the village.
From these stones, Jim constructed a two-story home that is a model of a secure survival retreat. Built in the shape of a squared-off horseshoe, the main part of the house holds the sleeping quarters (upstairs), kitchen, bathroom, living and dining areas, and a large pantry. Beneath the larder is a large “panic room” accessed through a blast-proof metal trap door. Inside are supplies for at least six months, camping gear, etc. The air vents for the panic room are disguised around the house, and built such that if some Goblin were to get the bright idea to drop a grenade down one of them, a hidden trap at crotch-level would absolutely ruin his day.
The windows are secured with built-in iron bars, and the doors made from plywood laminated over plate steel thick enough to stop small arms fire, machetes, et cetera. The stones from which the home is built would stand up to anything up to rocket-propelled grenades.

The home is situated on a knoll above the village, and Jim has made use of an old bulldozer and backhoe to ensure that there is only one way into and out of his redoubt by vehicle. The third-floor rooftop of the home is constructed with four-foot crenellated walls with flip-up metal firing ports, commanding unobstructed fields of fire in every direction. The roof also holds two 1,000-gallon potable water tanks which gravity-feed the plumbing system in the house. Two more 1,000-gallon tanks sit in the back of his old Mercedes deuce-and-a-half truck, and every month or so he drives to the spring and pumps them full, then uses them to re-fill the tanks in his home. He keeps all four tanks full at all times. His plan is to eventually dig a well on his own property to further secure his water supply.

Jim has two wind turbines (Lake Turkana is one of the most consistently windy places on the planet) and a solar array, from which he generates his power. The battery bank sits in a small locking closet in the laundry/guest bedroom.

There is a garage attached to the house, fully stocked with tools and other supplies. Between that and the laundry on the other end of the main structure, a large raised concrete patio provides shaded outdoor living space with gorgeous views of Lake Turkana in the distance. A shortwave radio enables periodic communication with other missionaries around the country. A detached petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) shed holds drums of fuel, oil and other petroleum products, enough for at least a year of use for vehicles and back-up generators. Most of their local transportation is accomplished on the four Honda ATVs which are always kept in top running condition, and are customized with winches, spotlights and small air compressors.

The T.'s have worked hard over the years to improve the lives of the people to whom they minister, physically as well as spiritually. Jim recognized that security was an absolute must for the local populace before he could bring them the good news of God's love. So he set out to train and equip the men of the village to protect their families. By working with the Kenyan government, a local police force was established, and the men of the village were recruited into a kind of “neighborhood watch.” He taught them how to use the same limestone block he used on his own home to build stone huts for their families. For about the price of a camel, the villagers can replace their mud-and-stick huts, which are unsanitary, fire-prone and give no security, with stone huts that are much better in every way. He taught them about sanitation and convinced them that fish from the lake were safe to eat. Jim and his family are all trained in EMT and wilderness medicine, and his sons became the village ambulance service in their early teens. They constructed an ingenious “floating” litter trailer which is pulled behind the ATV that enables them to transport an injured or sick villager the six hours to the nearest clinic, run by fellow missionaries.

They started a church by holding a family Bible study every morning in front of their home. Curious tribesmen and women would come and listen as they had their devotions, eventually asking questions and one by one being converted to the Christian faith. Today the church has nearly 100 members, who have pooled their resources to build a limestone church building, which Jim designed in such a way that it also serves as an emergency shelter for the villagers in case of attack. It is flame proof, highly secure and boasts a three-story tower with firing ports covering all angles of approach.

The first night of our visit with the family, I was jolted awake at 3am by the sound of gunfire in the village, about 300 yards from Jim's front door. I sat up in bed, but before I could react further, I heard Jim's voice booming out of the upstairs window, “Holton! Get inside quick!”

My sleeping teenage son was exhausted from our two-day trek to Loiyangalani. Tired enough that the gunfire failed to rouse him. I jumped up and dragged his limp form the fifteen yards or so to the main house. (we had been sleeping in the laundry room). By the time we got inside, he was awake, though may not have yet remembered what country we were in. He was further perplexed when Jim appeared at the bottom of the stairs dressed in level-III body armor, kevlar helmet and boxer shorts, carrying two pump shotguns. He tossed one to me and the other at Mason, and stationed each of us near windows overlooking the front and rear of the house. That cleared the cobwebs out of Mason's brain in a hurry.

Tense minutes passed as the sound of sporadic gunfire drifted up from the village below. Jim was back upstairs, calling the local police commander on his cellular telephone. I marveled that there was cell service this far from civilization. After a half hour or so, the firing had subsided and Jim was able to piece together what had happened: Somali bandits had raided the village intending to steal a herd of camels. To their credit, the men of the village had driven the bandits off with some well-controlled bursts of gunfire from their personal arsenals of aged AK-47s. Jim commented that several years ago, the men had no weapons other than spears and knives, and likely would have abandoned their camels, homes and families and run away. Jim's example of preparedness has led the villagers to be much more willing to stand up for themselves and protect their families. In so doing, he has made his own family that much more secure.

Loiyangalani is still a dangerous place to live. But Jim has done just about everything possible to safeguard not only his own family, but the entire community. In addition to that, the T. family has established a training center in North Carolina called “The Master's Mission,” where would-be missionaries spend eleven months learning skills like construction, alternative energy, animal husbandry, civil engineering, auto maintenance, personal protection and more. This enables them to survive and thrive in a third-world ministry field. But it's not just missionaries who need these skills. Anyone serious about being prepared for uncertain times could learn from the example of this intrepid missionary family.
For photos of our trip to Kenya, visit this Flickr page. I also made a news feature about our trip which aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). An extended version of this video is available here.

JWR Adds: You may recognize Chuck Holton's name from some of his reports on CBN (like this one), or from his web site Homesteading Today.

Disclaimer:
I am a novice enthusiast. I will no doubt get concepts, practices or terminology wrong, in spite of a fair amount of research.  Forgive this please…..

I blithely lived out 51 years of life with a gun phobia. I have no idea why they scared me so, but scare me they did, and so I spent the bulk of my life with a generalized “guns must be bad because I’m afraid of them; they hurt and kill people” mindset.  My darling husband wasn’t really into shooting, when we married and since. He had an old .22 rifle that  he traded for in 1976 that was used maybe once every 2-3 years to shoot at a “varmint“, and I remember 2 or 3 occasions of going out plinking with someone’s handgun, that I wouldn‘t (couldn’t!) participate in: that was as far as our household ever got with firearms. And of course with my phobia I was always insistent that the .22 stay in the garage, or the shed, or the barn. No dangerous guns in my house, no sir.

Then came March of 2008. My “awakening“, my “becoming aware”. It started with Chris Martenson’s Crash Course, wandered into SurvivalBlog, and soon I was on my way toward becoming a full fledged prepper. So with my reading, and my believing of what was is coming down the pike in terms of our sustainability and survivability, firearms became a subject I was going to have to address. The simplistic liberal teachings I had always believed, that “guns kill people”, therefore “less guns means less killing“, were teachings that I soon realized I needed to really think through. Was it just my phobia? Was I being rational with my gun bias? What did statistics say? Why do people keep guns in their households? What is this 2nd Amendment stuff I keep reading about, and why might it be important? How does one’s personal morality fit with gun ownership? So I started reading and I started thinking. It seems silly and redundant for me to go into all of what I learned/came to realize (preaching to the choir here, I know!), and would take too long; suffice it to say that I came to see that the use of firearms in defending oneself and one’s family against thieves and killers, or unconstitutional governments or gangs, is not an immoral choice. I came to see the truth in the saying (paraphrasing here) “when guns are illegal, only criminals will own guns”, and I came to see that guns can save a life in more-than-equal measure to taking one. Ultimately, embracing preparedness finally did what nothing else could do for me: I saw the need for not only having guns in the house, but for learning how to use and care for them myself.

How did I start? was deathly afraid of the things.  My first step was having my husband bring the .22 into the house. I looked at it and I lived with it, every day. It was never shot, but just having it in the house was a necessary first step for my phobic self. After a few weeks I felt ready (gingerly, very very gingerly) to handle the rifle, to have my husband explain to me how it worked, what it ate for fuel, what safe handling of the thing meant. I kept telling/reminding myself that I was committed to learning about firearms, committed to getting over this phobia. This would be a recurring thought-process throughout my entire journey: “mind over matter”. It became easier as time went by, as I discovered that shooting can actually be fun. But early on it was a struggle. I had to work through safe use of firearms = handling = familiarity = beginning acceptance. Handling and learning about the gun helped immensely.

After a few months I felt ready for some back-pasture plinking. Not so scary anymore, actually kind of fun. Familiarity with the gun was working. Feeling safer and more competent with what I was doing was working. But it was time to take things to the next level, a level I couldn’t achieve with my husband. So sorry, but husbands as a rule are not good gun-trainers with gun-newbie wives. They are not as concerned with safe practices as we are, and they have the “I’ve always done it this way so this is the way you do it” -  mentality. (Gotta love ‘em, but don’t always have to learn to shoot with ‘em.) And of course in my case, I have a husband who hans’t done a whole lot of shooting himself. It was a classic case of the blind leading the blind.

How to start some gun-education for me? I thought about seeking out area gun ranges or clubs to find professional training, but found none closer than 25 miles away, my work schedule was problematic, and really I still felt too intimidated with my lack of gun knowledge to try them for starter training. I don’t even know what gun(s) I should learn to shoot! What now? Hallelujah - Women On Target (WOT) days to the rescue! I don’t remember how we found out about them…..online?  (My journey towards firearms has been in conjunction with a woman friend), but we did indeed find out about this wonderful resource. WOT days, sponsored by the NRA, are an absolutely excellent resource for women wanting to learn about firearms. A full day of shooting, with caring and patient instructors, in all manner of firearms, with a fine lunch and an affordable price - this is a day not to be missed. The workshops are short and low-key, suitable for novices and more experienced shooters alike. They are set up to just allow women the experience of shooting a variety of guns with no performance pressure under safe and comfortable conditions.  Newbies are welcomed and coddled, and the instructors at all of the workshops I attended just wanted you to be successful at some manner of shooting. They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and safe and competent. And the women-only camaraderie makes the day way fun, everyone supports and cheers achievements, and there’s great swag at the end of the day too!

We shot all manner of guns: different high-powered rifles, various sizes/calibers of handguns, shotguns, black-powder rifles, and archery was included too. It is an opportunity to figure out just what kind of gun you/a woman is most comfortable with. I initially thought that while I had my bit of background with a .22 rifle, I needed to learn to shoot a handgun, as a handgun is obviously the best choice for women. I wanted to learn what was the best handgun for me. Well, surprise. After my first two WOT days (I have since attended a third), I realized that I am a shotgun woman. Can’t explain it, there is no reason for it, but out of all the shooting I did, the shotgun was the gun for me. It was the fun factor. Both workshops used both semi-autos and pumps, and I immediately gravitated to a pump action shotgun as a firearm I could actually have fun with. It was a defining moment. (A confession: pumping that action is downright sexy.) I had found a firearm that “spoke to me”, and therefore one that I was interested in learning about and becoming competent with. This, it seems to me, is where a newbie interest starts, with finding a firearm that has the fun factor.  My friend who has attended all the workshops with me is starting to become a high-powered rifle aficionado, against all odds. She, like me, had started this learning process thinking that a handgun was what she wanted to focus on, but her exposure to target rifles convinced her otherwise (and I see venison in my future as a result of her unexpected affinity for the hunting rifles. The woman is uncannily accurate for a newbie!) . Bottom line: a WOT day can start the process toward learning what firearm is the one a woman naturally gravitates to. The one she can have an interest in and wants to earn competence in. The one that has some fun factor. And that is the gun that the newbie woman should focus on, whatever it may be.

Because let’s face it, a modern life is a busy life. Full-time jobs, children and grandchildren, homemaking and caretaking: adding a new hobby/learning-experience can be a hard thing to fit into the day. So even though learning a firearm is serious business, finding one that she finds fun to shoot means that she will find/make the time to practice and learn. I think this is such an important point that it cannot be overstated: you have got to find a firearm that your woman can have fun with, before she can or will commit to learning and training.

As for me, deciding that I wanted to learn to shoot a shotgun ended up being the way around the last vestiges of my phobia, with it becoming something I so enjoyed doing. Yes, I should become familiar and proficient with handguns, and rifles, and other tools of self defense. But I have to start somewhere, and since I realized that I am never going to be a true gun freak, it made sense for me to focus my energies on the one gun I truly enjoy shooting. I must have my own shotgun. I want to learn about and become familiar with and practice with and become competent with my very own one gun. I looked around for recommendations. After extensive internet research and lots of  local “good ol boy” questioning,  I decided that the Remington 870 Youth Express 20 gauge pump action was the gun for me. Ease of use, affordability and reliability were all criteria that the Remington seemed to offer. And my research told me that a 20 gauge shotgun makes a decent home defense weapon.

And they were right. Oh, she’s a honey! I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying shooting this gun. I’m not yet terribly proficient in target-shooting (though I ain‘t half-bad, either) but I am at this point quite competent in proper shouldering and follow through (no bruises!), quick loading and safe carrying. My accuracy will improve as I practice more out in the pasture with the cheap manual clay-thrower we got for me, We are able to get out for practice about twice a month. I’m so far sticking to 2 ¾” field loads in it; later I want to branch out to practice with buckshot, which load I understand is more suitable for home defense - I will have to learn to switch out the choke tube. And we last month installed a sling on my shotgun, so that I could/can now tote my gun cross country or in the field easily, if a situation would require it. Perhaps later I could even be responsible for putting some meat on the table!

My gun phobia is all but gone. (I am, however, left with a very healthy respect for safe practices. I joke to my husband that there are none so safe with a gun as the formerly gun phobic. We know that all guns are always loaded, and always know exactly where that barrel is pointed.) And my beginner training continues. My friend and I this fall attended a three-day Becoming an Outdoor Woman (BOW) weekend that my state holds - another remarkable learning opportunity for women.  Three days of  3 and 4-hour workshops in all sorts of outdoor skills, with lodging and meals - it’s a kind of “summer camp for women“. I of course signed up for all of the beginner shotgun workshops, and learned so much more about my shooting stance, and sighting, and the classroom instruction on how a shotgun actually works was fascinating (go figure: that I could come to enjoy a classroom lecture on how a shotgun works!) I came away with a new appreciation, and new tools, for learning how to use my shotgun.  My goals for the coming year are to attend an Appleseed Weekend and a Hunter’s Safety Course.  Both seem basic and must-do in my newbie quest toward firearm learning, safety and competence. I have also now found a “mentor”, a friend of my husband who will help me learn disassembly, cleaning, and choke tube switching of my shotgun. And I am looking again at the gun clubs within driving distance, that I dream of perhaps setting up some more-professional one-on-one training for me. I'm learning all of this slowly but surely.

So, there is my little story. I understand that I am nowhere near ready to repel a home invasion, or to be asked to join the 673rd Shotgun Infantry Fighting Rebels (Hey, I can see it happening). Still, I am starting to feel empowered, and competent, and oh so much more self-sufficient. (And I’m having a lot of fun too!) It is a wonderful thing, this feeling of knowing that whatever may come in the months and years ahead that I am better prepared to defend myself, my family, my homestead. And my feelings of empowerment are something that I think any gun shy or gun phobic woman can come to embrace, with proper and patient exposure and instruction.

(An aside: At this point in time [December 2011], I really hope to be given the time to get more proficient with my gun, before I have a true need for it. I worry more and more that such time is running out. I wish that I had started earlier.)

In summary:

(1) Try to get her involved! Think of ways to get your newbie woman to see the wisdom of having shooting skills. Think of ways to expose her to firearms. Exposure can grow into acceptance. Acceptance can grow into enthusiasm.
(2) Consider WOT and BOW. See above, and Google for information on programs in your state.  Women-only workshops can help take the fear, the mystique, and the performance pressure out of shooting, and allow her to find the “fun factor”.
(3) Find the firearm she considers fun. It doesn’t matter which one or type, if she can find the fun in shooting it she will be more likely to want to learn. Any start is a good start toward learning shooting skills.

God bless, happy shooting, and may we never need to raise our guns in fear or anger.

James Wesley:
I often times read through the literature and blogs that speak of survival and the process of survival and one staggering issue is all too often neglected. The psychological and emotional aspects are all too often placed in the distant background or worst ignored altogether. I may not be a psychologist but I know from my own personal demons and experiences that stressful situations can slowly begin to affect the decision making process. In a survival situation a foolishly made decision can and most likely cost you dearly.

Any situation that requires that you begin to think about life in terms of life and death as such a survival situation a physiological and psychological response is made. This is the fight or flight response, while in most cases in survival it would not be usually seen as such; it would be view with “rose colored” glasses. In a survival situation fight or flight might be as simple as a decision to stay put (fight) or Bug out (flight). These and all seemingly small actions have a small guided effect from chemicals in the brain which will have been adjusted by the body due to a high stress situation.

In moments of extreme danger this response in magnified by a greater margin. Symptoms of this would include a rapid increase of heart rate and lung function, pupil dilation, and digestive tract upset. The major cause of this is the bodies’ release of biochemical known as adrenaline. Adrenaline is a special hormone that facilitate to body in performing rapid and violent muscle movements and aid the body in moments of danger (fight or flight).

Due to this you may suddenly freeze and be unable to react to the situation or you make a split second decision for the better or worse. In either case the reaction or lack of reaction may or may not directly affect you current goal of overall survival, but the hidden scars on your emotional well-being and psyche build. The lasting effects are what I’m trying to emphasize here. If in the split second decision you made, a life may have been cut short, you or another received a traumatic or crippling injury you could suffer from several different emotional and psychological traumas. The damage may manifest as survivors guilt, post-traumatic stress syndrome of any number of others, this can lead to depression and result in a greater number of issues as result.

Depression is a dangerous, emotional and psychological state to be in if even not in a survival situation. Depression can affect your ability to sleep properly leading to agitation and aggression, lethargy and even sleep deprivation. Any or all of these responses to improper rest can directly affect your chance of survival. Other reactions to depression can be a change in appetite, while not as quickly debilitating as sleep deprivation, a loss of appetite can slow your metabolism and cause health problems. On the flip side your appetite may increase which leads to a rapid depletion of food sources, a very dangerous problem in the fight for survival.
Depression can quickly turn deadly in facing seemingly insurmountable odds. When constantly faced with difficult situations as one would likely expect to find in a survival situation, suicide may seem to be the only solution. Suicide is never the answer. The state of an individual’s mental fortitude is limited and will become tested to the extreme in such tense and stressful situations. if in a group it is a good idea to just talk with everyone and get them to talk to help them and yourself cope. a simple pat on the back and a hug can go a long way to making a bleak situation better. Never try to escape the situation by using delusions such as daydreams, they may make you lose sight of the priorities.

The truth of the matter is there is no simple answer to the issue of psychological heath in such a situation. One would have to constantly keep themselves aware of their limits and allow them to cope in whatever method suits them. This is even more important to individual with clinical depression or individuals with bi-polar disorder as medications may not be readily available if at all. The moral of this article is keep a positive outlook and do what you can to assure yourself that the situation you find yourself in could always be worse. a good laugh or even a good crying session can be a very Therapeutic way to cope with your situation. support form others is another way of coping by sharing your thoughts and feelings. With a little hope and maybe a prayer, your emotional well-being as well as your chances of survival may take a sudden and unexpected turn for the better. - A.A. in the Northwoods

From all appearances we are a typical family in our white trash, low rent neighborhood in the suburbs. Normal for our family of 9 has been living the last twenty-odd years on much more love than money. Scraping by, scrounging, bartering, repairing and repurposing things constantly in order to keep the home fires burning, gas in the tank, peanut butter and jelly on the table. Good times were relishing the pure gold of fat laughing babies, silly kids, and slow paced days when everyone was reasonably content at the same time.
What even our blatant survivalist solar panel/gun collecting/FedEx-bringing-cases-of- MREs- neighbor doesn’t even know is…

Ten years ago we found a parcel of raw land for sale in Central Oregon, in a heavily forested area of lodge pole pine trees, and purchased it at 100 dollars a month on a 10 year land sale contract. Near, but not on, a major highway that could be accessed by six routes from our hometown. Untamed, untouched, unimproved, 200 long miles away, worth every kid whimper and dog sick hour to get us there to pure freedom. The off-grid land is totally secluded, with a nearby canal that supplies sand and recreation, and at the business end, sports an artesian well with fresh drinking water. A place where seven kids and any size dog could run and play and scream and bark as loud as they wanted, without fear of the neighbors complaining or threatening our loud but harmless tribe of six daughters and one very active son.

Over the next few summers our little campground gained a driveway (Each tree pulled out with the truck and a chain or cut down and the roots painstakingly dug up with a discount-store shovel. We gathered huge pumice rocks and mortared them together into an outdoor oven. Handmade log benches ring the fire pit, and a distant forest neighbor sold us a tiny (18 ft.)  Travel trailer for $250. Garage sales and off-price surplus stores made it possible to outfit our camp on a free-school-lunch-eligible salary.
 Though summer was the busy season for his boat repair job, my husband joined us on the weekends and used a small chainsaw to cut a supply of 12 and 14 ft. poles that kept the kids and I busy making tipis and a very interesting outdoor kitchen shelter. This all happened mostly before I discovered the internet, so I patterned things after what I had seen on Gilligan’s Island and read about in The Mother Earth News back in the 1970s. It was a labor of love and a comedy of errors, but all ours.

Sadly, my husband passed away five years ago and with him the security of having a mechanic and someone to teach the kids more about hunting, fishing and driving. Lessons that began when they were small have prompted a competition between us to gather information and test our survival skills in real life scenarios on many occasions. The world has become a place where even a self-absorbed teenage girl can see the future need for a safe sustainable place away from the city. During our trips to the property, we have become familiar with the lay of the land, exploring all the forest service and BLM roads and trails with in a 20 mile radius. We know the locations of the nearest hiking/ATV/snowmobile trails, truck stops, restrooms, outhouses, creeks, lakes, wells, wetlands, ranches,  orchards, trailers, campgrounds, cabins, farms, hunting blinds, country stores, boat landings, public dumpsites, quarries, sawmills, railroad sidings, caves, ghost towns, mining camps and resorts. Escape routes and secure hiding places are entered in our handheld GPS. A mental list is forming of places we may be able to barter our winter salad greens and summer vegetable crops.

Driving into the mountains on our spring and summer vacations has not always been easy. One year an early snowstorm delayed us a week before I could dig the car out enough to get us back to school and work. The master cylinder in our old truck went out one trip while I was driving with 4 of the kids over the Cascade mountain pass, leaving me with no brakes in the middle of nowhere, (no cell phone signal). I coasted to the nearest town, not taking a breath, and thankfully we lived to tell the tale. Reliable, safe transport will always be our biggest hurdle if we need to get to our location in a hurry. We are also all aware of the route from the nearest Amtrak station within a day’s walk of the property. Aside from car repair issues, we have overcome many of the obstacles to living off the grid.
We have discovered that the batteries in our cheap solar garden lights can power our FRS radios and GPS. A bouquet of solar lights in a vase makes a perfect off-grid reading lamp. Our 1,000 watt Honda generator is used only for recharging 18 volt tool batteries and while that is happening, we can enjoy a DVD, crank up some tunes or play on the computer. For emergency backup we have a small inverter I can use with the car battery.
 
To amuse ourselves without wattage, along with reading, we use the bounty of branches and small trees to carve walking sticks, make log benches, small chairs and plant stands, and log furniture for dolls. We have discovered volcanic pumice rocks carve easily into self-watering planters, ashtrays and candle lanterns. These are used as gifts and/or for Saturday market sales whenever we have a good selection.
For heat we have a tiny wood stove in one of the tipis. We have always been able to keep warm even when night temps have been below freezing. The tipi frame is covered with chicken wire and stucco (ferro cement). Everyone sleeps with a down comforter. Washable duvet covers make everything easier to keep clean. These were purchased for a few dollars each at a Goodwill Outlet store, where clothing and most merchandise is sold by weight.
 
We have mastered the art of baking awesome biscuits, cupcakes and muffins at high altitude with a solar oven made of Mylar emergency blankets and an old storm window. Yeast bread gets baked (occasionally, as it’s a day-long task) in the outdoor stone oven, after a fire has been built in it. The sun tea jar is always brewing with a tea ball full of home grown Stevia leaves for sweetening. We can covertly cook baked beans and soups in a fire pit underground, and hot rocks cook foil wrapped chicken in our backpack while we work or explore. We also have a couple of propane backpack stoves and the adapter fitting to enable us to re-fill the small green canisters from a larger 20 pound cylinder.

For hygiene, we decided (after trying several options) five-gallon bucket toilets with cheap snap on seats are easier to maintain than the expensive flushable chemical camping toilets; as long as you have a supply of peat moss, saw dust, pine needles, sand or soil to bury waste in the bucket. For washing up, two milk jugs of warm water make a quick easy shower, one for washing, one for rinsing. We leave a line of filled jugs to warm on the sunny side of the gravel floor shower hut, or simmer a few minutes in the big pot while the dish washing water is warming. A fancier shower can be enjoyed with an air pump type garden sprayer tank. We have one handy for guests.   Obviously, you will want to use one that has not ever had any chemicals, fertilizer or pesticides in it.
 
During the school year in suburbia I teach indoor gardening classes, the kids attend school and in our spare time we do our research. We experiment with new Survival Log recipes (a high calorie/protein packed candy/cereal dough we invented made with storage foods that have a hundred delicious variations. (See my master recipe below). We plan new experiments and projects, plant seedlings, dehydrate foods and pack useful items that will be taken on our next trip. I read SurvivalBlog faithfully now and take notes from all the wonderful knowledge shared. We watch Survivor Man type man shows and laugh until we cry as they dramatize the obvious and almost die of hypothermia each day. If we are lucky we pick up a few useful hints that will be tried until true. We wrestle with our conscience whether or not to buy real rabbit fur hats and mittens, because someday our summer at the campground could last into the snowy days of winter. We decided the rabbits would be honored to save us from hypothermia.
 We have practiced and studied and experimented and now have the campground well supplied with caches of food, a well hidden root cellar/panic room, durable clothing, weapons, survival tools and gardening, medical and veterinary supplies.  Instead of being scared of an uncertain future we are continuing to prepare.

For now, my daughters (now high school and college girls) wear camouflage just for fashion. Not many people outside our family know that each and every one of them can make their own snowshoes, siphon gas, transform volcanic rock into a hydroponic garden, repair a bike, bake bread, shoot a wild turkey, sprout a salad, make a duct tape hammock, milk a goat, service a generator, purify water three different ways, catch fish with a bed sheet, navigate by the sun, disable an intruder, and start a fire 14 ways without a match.
Their Dad would have been so proud…

Addenda: Survival Logs Recipe
1 cup peanut, almond, cashew or other “nut butter”
1/2 to 3/4 cup honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, or homemade sugar syrup
2-3 cups crushed corn flakes, granola, crispy rice cereal, cookie, dry bread, pretzel, cracker or cake crumbs
Optional flavorings—dried milk powder, chopped dried fruits, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, gumdrops, m&ms, candy sprinkles, chopped nuts, coconut

1 .In a saucepan, heat syrup to boiling, remove from heat.
2. Add nut butter, stir until melted and blend well.
3. Stir in enough cereal or crumbs to form a stiff dry dough
4. Knead in optional flavorings; form into candy bar size logs.
5. Roll in additional crumbs, coconut or sprinkles as desired. Wrap individually in wax paper or foil for travel or hiking food. Makes 10 logs.