Year: 2026


Preparedness Notes — June 23, 2026

This Week in History: On June 23, 1810, John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor) organized the Pacific Fur Company in Astoria, Oregon. — 1931: American pilot Wiley Post and Australian navigator Harold Gatty took off from Roosevelt Field, New York, to attempt to set a new record circumnavigating the Earth. They successfully complete their series of flights in 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes. — And on June 25, 1798, US President John Adams signed into law the Alien Friends Act, authorizing the president to deport any foreigner deemed “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United …


Health, Fitness, and The End Of The World, by D.F.

In this article, I’ll describe how medicine and society will change, and why you should become a fitness nut and not just a prepper. There’s a stereotype of preppers, and it’s not kind: A middle aged or older man with a BMI that passed 30 before he was 30 and grew by 1% every year, a ton of guns, canned food, and a half-hearted vegetable garden. I know because I resemble that. As I’ve been struggling to recover my health, I’ve had a few realizations that have kept me on the path to fitness. Health is something money can’t buy. …


Dark Mountain Arms StowAway Rifle in 5.7x28mm, by Thomas Christianson

Chambered in 5.7x28mm or in 9mm, the Dark Arms StowAway Rifle packs more punch than similar survival rifles chambered in .22LR or .22WMR. The StowAway is a single-shot, bolt-action rifle. It has a detachable, 16-inch, threaded barrel. It is 31.78 inches long when fully assembled. I found the rifle to be simple, reliable, and reasonably accurate during my testing. The rifle is light at only 2.8 pounds, easily breaks down into less than 17 inches in length, but is ruggedly built in spite of its feathery weight. A hollow pistol grip provides enough space to store many rounds of 5.7X28mm …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

This week’s graphic is a map that shows the population density of U.S. counties, as of 2026.  Every  prepper knows that in a crisis, fewer people generally means fewer problems. Note the low population density in the American Redoubt. There is only one county in the entire American Redoubt region that is shaded dark green. That is Ada County, Idaho, with 519,000 people. For perspective, that is just a bit more than Raleigh, North Carolina. Ada County’s population includes the roughly 236,000 residents inside the city limits of Boise. – JWR The thumbnail image below is click-expandable. (Graphic courtesy of …


Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Economics & Investing Links of Interest The on-again, off-again war in Iran may be on again, as Israel continues to hit Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. And ipso facto, the markets continue in turmoil. A recent headline:  Vance lands in Switzerland as Iran says Strait of Hormuz is closed over ceasefire violations.  Pictured above in the ancient fortress of Hormuz. JWR’s Comment: Unless the Iranian government stops treating the Lebanese Hezbollah Shiites as their kin, then there …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, some more technological advances with negative consequences. An AI Camera Put Another Wrong Man in Jail Over at The Liberty Daily: How a Bad AI Camera Hit Put …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — In anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson recommended this insightful essay at Holly’s Substack: To Boss Ourselves. Here is a brief excerpt: “I was raised in a culture, if not a family, that taught me my dignity came from somewhere higher than any …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. The photo above is courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service. Redoubt News Links Going-to-the-Sun Road expected to fully open on Monday for the 2026 season. Video: Political refugees explain why they fled Washington state for Idaho. Buzz kill: Bee truck overturns, resulting in a honey-covered Highway 191, near Big Sky. Quite impressive, for a small-town airshow: Moses Lake airshow 2026 highlights. Federal judge blocks Idaho’s ‘transgender bathroom law’ …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: The U.S. Treasury Secretary Has Devised a New Tax That Will Balance The Federal Budget A Tax Of Five Cents On Each Personal Pronoun In Every Contemporary Christian Praise Chorus. Note From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.



Preparedness Notes: June 16, 2026

This Week in History: On June 16, 1779 US General Anthony Wayne (pictured) captured Stony Point, New York, inflicting heavy losses on the British. — June, 1462: Vlad III the Impaler (the inspiration for “Dracula”) attempted to assassinate Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in a night attack at Târgoviște. But the failure of that attack forced him to retreat from Wallachia. — And in 1873: US President Ulysses Grant declared a portion of Wallowa Valley, Oregon are a reservation for the Nez Perce Native American tribe. But the order was rescinded two years later and the tribe was forcibly re-located to …


Saving Western Civilization, by Single Farmer

Editor’s Introductory Note: This young man is prayerfully seeking a wife. He is offering an after-marriage gift of up to $50,000 to whoever introduces him to his bride with $18,000 after their marriage and another $16,000 to the individual who provided the introduction after the first two births of healthy children born to him and his wife, for a total potential gift of $50,000. For further details, see his article posted on July 13th, 2025: My Quest for a Wife: I’m Willing to Move, and in his May 6, 2026 article on rural migration starting at the bold section on …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Mock Soylent Green Hardtack Crackers is from SurvivalBlog reader L.E., who notes: “You can also experiment with making Soylent Yellow and substitute orange juice for the beer, and use yellow split pea powder and yellow lentil powder, and substitute mushroom powder for the seaweed, and sugar and cinnamon/nutmeg for the spices.” Ingredients 1 cup cornmeal 1/2 cup green lentil powder 1/4 cup split pea powder 1/4 cup powdered seaweed 1/2 cup beer (adjust for consistency) 1 tablespoon onion powder and/or garlic powder Soy sauce, to taste (about 1 teaspoon) Directions Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large …