Getting Ready For the Long Walk-Part 2, by Lone Wolf and Cub

Yesterday, I introduced my public service announcement directed especially for city dwellers and provided details for Stage 1, which is “facing your fears”. You must recognize God and your Christian duty to provide first for your family. You should also focus every resource toward purchasing farmable land in your name so that you and your family don’t become part of the Golden Horde, trying to get out of a city that resembles one filled with zombies in the Walking Dead.

Stage 2 The Preparation.

Begin With Prayer

Begin with a routine of morning and nightly prayers. Only by the Providence of God will you “be at the right place, with the right people, and at the right time”. Next, remember this is your private time with God Almighty. Also, be specific to address your needs and concerns. Finally, ask and you shall receive. God is listening.

Act upon your prayers. God watches over us as well. If you still need to find a retreat property then visualize your property in your mind. Include this in your daily prayers.

Assemble A Bug Out Bag

Once you have done that, you will need to assemble your bug out bag. Remember the majority of your supplies should be stored at your retreat. Therefore, this retreat should be one you live in all year round. Until that occurs, you will have to act “as if”.

Carp Porter For Transporting Children

If your retreat is a three hour drive away by motor vehicle, this will amounts to 42 hours of walking. Be prepared that you may have to walk at least partly or the entire distance to your retreat. You may be fit enough to accomplish this task in four to ten days, depending on terrain. However, a child is not. You will also need  to invest  in something called a carp porter. This is a product widely used in Great Britain for carp anglers to transport their gear across long distances and across all types of terrain.  It is essentially a heavy duty wheelbarrow that can be pushed and comes with a variety of attachments, such as bags and large water containers, and puncture resistant Kevlar tires. I suggest the Big Boy Barrow.

Water

Your bug out bag should also consist of a portable survival water filter capable of eliminating viruses. Survival filter based out of Canada makes a hand-held one suitable for those needs. This is also an item that should be considered indispensable. Furthermore, this will allow you to draw from open sources of water and dramatically reduce the amount of weight you have to carry. Your bug out cart should also consist of at least 46 liters, or 12 gallons, of water as weight permits to provide extra insurance, should you not be able to find an available water source.

Food and Supplements

A bottle of multivitamins and a bottle of table salt to provide for lost electrolytes should also be included in your backpack. Compact foods that are energy dense should be included. Peanut butter is ideal, supplemented with sports nutritional bars. You may need as much as  a minimum of five jars of peanut butter, plus 30 energy bars to complete a 42 hour journey.

Clothing

Clothing appropriate to the weather and for your journey should be chosen and set aside. This should include long pants and shirts of lightweight material in the summer and fleece and a toque (wool hat) for the fall and winter months if you happen to live in a northern climate. Wide brim hats should be worn be all members. I use DPC hat that has a wire brim. Rain pants and tops for every member of your family are a must, and gore-Tex is the preferred material.  Understand hypothermia can occur in a variety of conditions. The head is extremely vascular and is a major source of the body’s heat loss if not addressed.

Sleeping Bags and Tent

A heavy duty sleeping bag is also needed for every member of your family.  A company from the USA called Wiley makes the Ultima Thule, which would be your best solution for sleeping bags. An all-weather tent, preferably an army surplus “arctic squad tent”, should be part of your bug out gear as well. Bring a camouflage tarp just in case. Any “shoot me” colors should be avoided in any of your fabrics. That includes personal clothing, tents, and sleeping bags.

Proper Footwear

Proper footwear must be observed. One of the most frequent injuries I have encountered as a medic is blisters to the feet. This is generally due to improperly sized footwear that was worn creating undue friction over time and resulting in heat blisters. Size your footwear appropriately so that you can use what is called the two sock system, which minimizes friction. One of the other reasons for heat blisters to the feet is the high incidence of what a friend coined “baby feet”. That is the high instance of individuals whose feet are not accustomed to walking distances longer than five kilometers due to feet having no calluses or the body’s natural adaptations to walking great distances. Although there are many capable military members, I have personally had to provide medical coverage to obese personnel  who could not walk two kilometers without severe foot blisters occurring.

Do not be one of them. Train, and let your feet and body adapt. Know your footwear, whether it be $50 hiking boots or $400 dollar military specialty boots.

A Collapsible 22 Caliber Rifle

A collapsible 22 caliber rifle that is able to fit into a backpack should be included in your bug out gear, along with at least 1000 rounds of high velocity, non corrosive ammunition. The 22 caliber LR is capable of producing a similar wound pattern as the 5.56/.223 NATO round of the AR-15, at a range of 25 meters. Combine that with a high velocity hollow point round and this  creates a very lethal stopping force with limited recoil. A pistol should be carried concealed in a belt holster. A 45 caliber Glock 30 would be a serious deterrent to most 4-legged predators. However, a basic Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm will stop most 2-legged predators. As always, shot placement is key. Train.

At least 200 rounds should be taken in your bug out bag or as weight permits. Have a cleaning kit for your weapons as well as a bore snake for your rifle. Include six extra magazines for every gun and a small ammo can capable of holding your ammunition and cleaning supplies. Remember your tactical vest that can hold six AR15 magazines.

Societal collapse will mean current laws will become meaningless and there will be no one to uphold them. It has been said, “It is better to have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have one.”

First Aid

A basic first aid kit should also be carried with you that includes a tourniquet, pressure dressing, such as an Olaes modular bandage, and Combat Gauze, which contains a quick clot solution. Although these may be expensive items, you must have at least two Olaes modular bandages and two Combat gauze packs in order to familiarize yourself with these products, and train with them. Disposable gloves and a portable barrier to allow for CPR should be brought if you need to dispense medical aid to strangers and prevent possible disease transmission. Remember also to bring band aids, butterfly strips, and an alcohol based sanitizer as well. Two emergency blankets should be present to prevent injured individuals from succumbing to hypothermia.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a further look into the final part of this series.

See Also:

• Getting Ready For the Long Walk-Part 1, by Lone Wolf and Cub
• Getting Ready For the Long Walk-Part 3, by Lone Wolf and Cub

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been part two of a three part entry for Round 72 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
5. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
7. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
8. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
2. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and

Round 72 ends on September 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.