E-Mail 'An Old Boy Scout’s Journey - Part 1, by Rocket J. Squirrel' To A Friend

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1. Thank you, J. Squirrel, for sharing the story of your preparedness journey. We are looking forward to Part 2 of your article!

   From your article: “Another purpose in writing this article is to show that, at least in my case, getting prepared takes a while and it really never ends. Being prepared truly is a journey.”

   We have, over many years, found this to be especially true! As knowledge levels and skills advance, our understanding about what is needed (skills, tools and equipment, other supplies) are needed. Some supplies are consumed or wear out and must be replaced or refreshed. Needs also change with time and circumstances as well. Although there have been resting points (or moments of pause), our preparedness journey is ongoing — and will be for a lifetime.

2. Been trying to get my children ready for when the SHTF for a while, mostly with talks about preparedness and by going camping. One shies away from it — “eww there was a tick on you”. Well, we walked 100 feet away, and brushed it off. “It will come back.” My response was “no, that is 5 tick miles it would have to walk.”

3. Hey Rocket, lots of good points so far. Looking forward to Part II.

   “Avoid just collecting the latest gadgets and doodads. Instead, focus on knowledge, skills and training. Gear and equipment are required, but a well-trained person who has the correct mindset and is stranded somewhere without their equipment will likely fare much better than someone who has only collected gear without the knowledge and training to use it.”

   A big Amen to this paragraph. We all have different definitions of what “prepping” is all about. Since I live a minimalistic self-reliant lifestyle anyway, prepping for small disasters isn’t something I concern myself with. For me it’s about TEOTWAWKI. I define “gadgets” as those things which won’t work for long once the grid goes down permanently because they require batteries, are cheaply made, or are just unnecessary clutter that don’t serve a good enough purpose for me to own it. So I wholeheartedly agree with your advice on not collecting gadgets. Skills and training are going to be SO much more important as you point out. Yesterday’s article on Synthetic and Natural Fibers reminds me that I should be stocking up on more than jeans and socks. I can’t weave or spin and I don’t think my fig tree produces big enough leaves to cover more than my, well you know. So I should learn more about spinning and weaving, right now I just understand the basics of it. But I do have the skills to produce any equipment I may need.

   One other point, more than one person has posted here that they don’t have enough room to store much in their home. I’ve mentioned I did a Swedish Death Cleaning last year and it’s a great idea for anyone, not just those low on space. Anything you are going to give to your kids someday, give it to them now if they have their own homes. We have so much clutter in our homes that is so unnecessary. I got a kick out of the two different “10 Essentials” lists. I lived for backpacking and hiking in my younger days. I never took more than three of the items on those lists, deeming them unessential unlikely to ever be used. They used to call me The Billygoat because I could really burn up the trails and nobody could keep up. One day a buddy and I traded backpacks because I wanted to see how his $300 pack felt compared to mine. Holy cow, I just about got a hernia trying to pick the thing up. No wonder I was the Billygoat, my pack weighed only half of what his weighed. My backpacking buddies had so many non-essentials with them it took half the joy out of backpacking. Life is the same way, we don’t own stuff, it owns us and it can bog us down, clutter our homes, create mental stress, and take some of the joy out of our lives.

   “You are encouraged to investigate what is best for your situation and shop around for high quality gear at low prices.”

   Last Saturday 3AD Scout mentioned all the great buys he got at an auction for giveaway prices. Many of the older tools and household items were built so much better in the olden days before the concept of “planned obsolescence” was discovered by manufacturers. If they build stuff cheaply, we’ll have to buy it more frequently so they make more money. Not only do auctions, flea markets, and thrift stores offer these older items, the prices are amazingly cheap sometimes. High quality is going to last through TEOTWAWKI, cheap stuff won’t. I have a vegetable grater made in Sweden that I got at a thrift store for 50¢ that is infinitely better than anything I could find on the market today. I sleep better knowing that if the SHTF, I can still enjoy crispy hash browns with my eggs. 🙂

4. If worse comes to worse ticks will be the least of our problems.
   My kids were the same until the pLandemic, my granddaughter told my daughter, “grandma was right.”

5. Thank you for sharing your journey, Mister Squirrel. It is comforting to hear from another warm-climate suburbanite, and the reminder to take things a little at a time is a good one. We can so easily get overwhelmed if we allow ourselves. I too dream of a retreat someday, but I haven’t solved the logistical challenge of my son with special needs, and his continual need for access to therapies and medical care. An off-grid ranch in the hinterboonies sounds delightful to me, but I alone do not physically have enough hours in the day to do all of the food production/animal care/property upkeep/etc etc, whilst ALSO taking care of things inside the house like feeding this crew, and being hands-on therapist to an 11yo toddler for 8 structured hours a week plus constantly assisting him with toileting/feeding/washing/EVERYTHING…and oh yeah, little things like homeschooling the others, nursing the baby, etc. etc. I know all moms complain about not enough hours in the day, but I have seen how badly he has regressed since the lockdowns started (even though we’ve tried to do teletherapy), and I don’t know how to meet his needs without outside help. I know God has a plan for our family, and I just need to keep praying and seeking it.

   Looking forward to part 2 tomorrow!

   1. Coeur d’Alene has top notch medical facilities if you’d like to consider it as an option, and you don’t need to be a homesteader to be living in a safer area. I live in a small town in the redoubt, right in town with neighbors on both sides, due to my situational requirements. My earlier attempt at acreage and homesteading was too much for me. But I’m SO glad to be up here. Wishing you all the best with your busy life!

      1. Thank you Didi! Blessings to you too. That’s very true–there are safer locations without the acreage. We’re a little more than an hour outside the closest Really Big City, but there are still too many people around for my liking even if it is somewhat of a “red” area. My husband says he thinks we’re safe here. I wonder how long he’ll feel that way. In the meantime, I’ll continue stocking up where I’m at, and decluttering the house so it will be much easier to move if we ever can.

6. concerning 55gal water barrels. I bought two during the Y2K scare, filled them, sealed them, and put them in an outbuilding, and stacked stuff on top of them. Imagine my surprise recently when refreshing water in various barrels: those two were empty! The problem was both plastic barrels{walmart} had a small split in the bottom weld seam, very small but enough over time, especially in an out of the way location. Since the water tap still works all is not lost. I cut them in half to put plants in.

7. Hi Squirrel,

   Good choice of an alias! We critters have got to stick together.

   I also echo the need for knowledge and skills over things. Expedient and hasty are my middle name, but shoddy is not. I now live somewhat like one half of the family did scraping out a living on a farm during the Great Depression. Through my mother, I picked up many of the ways of doing things, and the necessary attitude without realizing it. If we have the basics, we can do without much of the modern stuff if we have the ability to repair and invent. Concentrate on acquiring the basics, and learn how to use it. The basics require less room to store, and in the end, that is what will become most important over time.

   Where ever there are people there are problems. Even this part of the Redoudt, NW Montana, the libtards in the smaller towns and cities are everywhere, and have ruined most of the younger generation. We will have to contend with them someday, but at least the numbers are low compared to the masses found around population centers. Land and taxes are much higher here than in the Ozarks. There are lots of God fearing people there, and inexpensive land and taxes. The Ozarks have mild winters, and longer growing seasons. I suspect the culture is in general more traditional America than in some parts of the Redoubt. I would check out Joel Skousen’s analysis of that and other regions in his soon to be, or already updated book, Strategic Relocation. If you are set on the Redoubt, occasionally places like this pop up. This one is only 97K:
   https://kalispell.craigslist.org/for/d/trego-20-small-cabin-off-grid-near-trego/7119612270.html

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