Lessons learned from last backpacking trip

This last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go backpacking in the Coyote Gulch area of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  As an aspiring recreation professional, and as a prepper, there were a few lessons that I picked up over the course of the trip that I wanted to pass on.

1. Know where you are going.  Our instructor had never been to the location, but he did his homework and had the appropriate selection of maps and literature about the area.  One thing that he had done was make a few photocopies from the guide books about the area, so he didn't have to pack the full book.  This was an advantage both weight wise as well as serving as a disposable resource.  If the copies got wet or ruined some other way, he would not ruin the book.

2. The difference between personal and professional responsibility.  When hiking, backpacking, bugging out, you need to understand the difference in responsibility.  When by yourself, you can take the risks that you want, take as much or as little gear as you want.  But with a group, especially if you are leading one as a professional, you have a commitment to the people you are with.  Things like group first aid kits and training, cooking and sanitation equipment, and the experience to share what works best for different areas, climates, weather.

3. Make sure you have the right gear. Period.  I messed up.  Everyone forgets something every trip, and I forgot two things; camp shoes, and hand sanitizer.  It got tiring to ask for some every time I had to visit a tree privately.  The camp shoes would have been nice to have do to the large number of stream/river crossings.  Waddling around camp barefoot with wet feet was not too fun.  Dry socks and dry footwear would have been wonderful.  At the same time, having gore-tex boots, while not able to keep the contents of an entire river out of my boots, were quite dry after a day without any river crossings.  Another foot saver was my pair of sock liners.  My last big hike, I got blisters galore without them, and this time I returned after a four day trip without a single blister.

Remember, we can learn from all sorts of venues, so apply what you learn everyday to how you can be more prepared.

This Morning

This morning I headed out to the yard.  While not the most untypical activity of a Saturday morning, I knelt down and began gathering the product of our last producing plant of the year.   Walnuts.  As I gathered to nuts, some still had the husks covering the cases, others were clean down to the shells.  Some had been split open, and during the course of my recovery, I found the cause why.  Birds.  A few small patches under the tree left the evidence that they were there, a few feathers and bird droppings.  This made me think about my old BB gun, in a long term grid down situation, adding some birds to the stew pot would be nice, and my .22 might be too loud, especially in the city.  I gathered about 2/3rds of a bucket full, and plenty more are on the tree.  While our production was limited this year, mostly due to our own inexperience, I have been glad to have had this experience this year.  I wanted to plant a fall garden this year, but by the time I got around to planning it, it was too late to plant before the next frost and snowfall.

If I Wanted To Save America

One of my favorite resources for preparedness is the Survival Podcast by Jack Spirko.  It is a level headed approach of what to do 'if times get tough, or even if they don't'.  A while back, there was a video going around the internet titled, 'If I wanted America to fail' and it was, frankly, a downer.  The attached video is Mr. Spirko's response, how we all can work to save America.  Please take a look, and see what you can do in your life to make yourself a person with more personal liberty.  Someone who is more free today than you were yesterday.  This is not one party vs. another, or left vs. right, but where to stand to see for yourself the landscape and to be able to choose the direction that you want for yourself, your family, and 'help you live the life you want to live'.

If I Wanted To Save America

Zombies and Preparedness

This video describes the growing movement and progression of Zombie themes within the Gun and Self Defense communities.  Zombies have been used also by the preparedness community as a metaphor for those who are unprepared, wandering, staggering souls determined to destroy you for merely being alive, because if you are alive, then you must have resources to keep you that way.  While in a disaster there are those who are looking to loot, steal, and destroy for their own carnal pleasures, I tend to think of them as wolves instead.  While there are dumb wolves out there, many wolves don't charge down their prey until they find the prey distracted, hurt, or otherwise compromised.  They are patient, and lurk in the shadows, waiting for an opportune moment.

There are many schools of thought of what will come to pass during a total collapse scenario, so I will try not to venture into speculation in this post.  I have lived in areas prone to natural disasters and have experienced my share, so my thoughts will tend to lean towards that aspect.  I like to think that living simply is one key to hiding from wolves or zombies, don't make your self a target.  This starts in peace time, or when you don't have disaster changing the status quo.  Keep your blinds closed or block the view through your windows in some way, so people outside can't see your valuables.  If they don't know you have anything valuable, they will go elsewhere, where they know they can find stuff.  Next, protect your home by installing good doors with good locks.  Growing up, one of my neighbors had a glass front door. While they haven't had a break in, probably because they follow the first rule by keeping fancy stuff out of the front room, if someone wanted to, they could get in very easily by breaking the glass in the door.  Also, if you live in storm country, weather could do the same thing to your door.  If you like animals, a dog is a nice zombie/wolf deterrent.  Even small yappy dogs will make enough noise to scare off many criminals, because they don't want you to respond. 

Some things not to do:
Don't buy the fake security alarm signs for your house or yard, thieves know which ones are fake.
Don't buy a gun just to scare off a burglar; if you have one be ready to use it.  You never know if they will call your bluff.
Don't give up.  Even if you have to send  a family member running to a neighbors house to call 911, keep trying.
Don't advertise being away from home on facebook.  Wait until you get home to tell everyone about your trip.  Thieves love reading that you are going on vacation, that means they will have "x" number of days to empty out your place.
Don't keep everything in one location.  That nice jewelry that you only use for special occasions, best not to have is on display in your master bedroom.  Get a nice safe and lock it away in a hard to reach location. 

Below is the link to some of my favorite youtubers about guns (and zombies):

http://youtu.be/fRz9aIpwpoM