Category: Land Navigation & GPS

GPS for Day-to-Day Use and Survival, by Mike S.

Reading accounts of people who had evacuated the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita was a sobering experience. Evacuees who took to the interstate highways effectively ended up in giant parking lots. In contrast, those who used the back roads fared much better and were able to evacuate in a timely manner. I live sufficiently inland that hurricanes do not pose a serious threat to me, nor do other foreseeable regional natural disasters such as earthquakes pose a serious risk. However, I live in the middle of a major metropolitan area where man-made disasters and localized natural disasters …


Letter Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009

Dear James Regarding Matt R.’s letter, I have been a survivalist and self-sufficient minded person most of my adult life. I live at my retreat in a prime western state. I have been reading your site for the last 18 months. I have learned some new useful information (never too late to teach old dog new tricks) from your site. I have also purchased quite a few supplies from your advertisers. For most scenarios my home/retreat is a perfect place to be if the SHTF and I can just stay home. However I do not like to have all my …


Letter Re: Dealing With Local Building Inspectors

Mr. Rawles, [To follow up on TANSTAAFL’s letter,] I have worked for several engineering firms as a GIS technician, then manager. Counties will advertise when they will be re-flying parts or all of the county. Most county engineers, auditor, or Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) offices will tell you what the schedule for mapping is out a couple of years (usually the department in charge of tax assessments). A give away that it is happening is when you see large X’s painted in intersections with a metal spike sunk in the middle of the X (these are control points), with survey …


Two Letters Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009

Dear Jim:, All this recent discussion by SurvivalBlog readers about hot-wiring airplanes, and cutting fences and locks is missing some basic, well, let’s just say “applied ethics”. Recall the Golden Rule “Do unto others as they have done unto you”. Flip the situation around and look at it from the property owner’s view: How would you feel if you saw someone stealing your airplane? (Your life savings in an aircraft.) How would you feel upon noticing someone cutting the fence or gate that keeps your cattle off the road? Granted, in a life-threatening emergency you may morally take liberties with …


Letter Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009

Mr. Rawles, Concerning the article: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland, I would like to add to these comments. My 20 years experience driving the county roads and the farmer ranch roads with the Soil Conservation Service have given me a perspective of the potential for choice this road system presents. I have a considerable amount of experience driving cross country. I have driven from the Northern Texas panhandle across the Oklahoma Panhandle into southeastern Colorado and north to the Colorado Springs area on mostly gravel and dirt roads. Several times I have driven …


Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland

I think as a boy my favorite stories were always about epic journeys or quests. I always saw myself as the lone hero; bravely making his way through a barren landscape overcoming impossible obstacles and having fantastic adventures along the way. As preppers I think many of us still believe that WTSHTF our trip to “Get out of Dodge” will be an adventure such as those we read in books. I’m afraid however; the reality will be much grimmer than we can imagine. I fear that it will be more like The Road by Cormac McCarthy or the recent novel …


Letter Re: Free GPS Topographical Map Software and Adjuncts

JWR, I read the letter from Grant regarding free topographic maps and I have an even easier method [if you don’t need to download data into a GPS receiver.] You can go to the USGS web site and use the GoogleMap API to find the area that you want a map of. Once you find the area, just click the “MARK POINTS” Radio button and click on the map. The marker that shows up will have the option of ordering paper copies of the map for $6 or free download. You can download your standard 7.5 minute topographic map in …


Letter Re: Free GPS Topographical Map Software and Adjuncts

Jim, Maps are something I have a lot of fun with. I wrote up a blog post on free online mapping centered around topographical maps that if you haven’t already encountered these tools you might find it interesting. In a post at Gear Addicts, I cover how to acquire free topographical maps, as well as using the topo maps in conjuncture with programs like Google Earth, and NASA World Wind. Making a free and in some ways superior replacemnt for expensive software by National Geographic and Garmin. Regards, – Grant


Letter Re: Our Hurricane Rita Evac Proved a Point–Timing is Everything!

Dear Mr. Rawles, I was in Kingwood Texas, a suburb of Houston, and as keeping an eye on the Hurricane Rita projected tracks. When the “yellow cone of death” was centered squarely on Houston, I started to seriously access my situation. That Tuesday evening, everything still seemed sort of normal. The wife came home from work about 5 p.m. and we took the dog for a walk around 6 p.m. When we passed the local gas station that normally has 0-1 cars in it and there was a line 10 cars deep, I knew it was “time.” I told the …


Two Letters Re: Aids to Mapping Your G.O.O.D. Routes

Sir: We live at our retreat full time in a very rural county in Virginia. Without going into detail, I’ve had conversations with the locals and my sense is that the road signs will disappear if things where to go south. The locals don’t need them and don’t really care to have folks around that would need them. So if your plan is to go somewhere then you had better drive it before hand, in fact you should have several different ways. Make a notebook of your turns by intersection count and visible landmarks (that can not be moved). Or …


Aids to Mapping Your G.O.O.D. Routes

Mr. Rawles, I appreciate everything you do to keep everyone working toward preparing. To that end I would like to supplement your notes with a product I have been using for a few weeks now that have greatly improved my Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) plans. Along with US Geological maps I have used the excellent Delorme Atlas and Gazetteer to plan my back road escape routes. Recently I found that they now offer ($29.95 plus the cost of the software) an “all you can use” annual subscription to their entire map collection in digital format. Unfortunately you do need …



Letter Re: Gaining Situational Awareness and Old-Time Knowledge

Jim, Situational Awareness has a number of definitions, from the rather complex to the “simple”. They include: The process of recognizing a threat at an early stage and taking measures to avoid it. (Being observant of one’s surroundings and dangerous situations is more an attitude or mindset than it is a hard skill.) The ability to maintain a constant, clear mental picture of relevant information and the tactical situation including friendly and threat situations as well as terrain. Knowing what is going on so you can figure out what to do. What you need to know not to be surprised. …


Dress for Survival Success by George Haystack

”Wherever you go, there you are.” And hopefully so are your clothes. Therefore it is vital to think of your wardrobe as part of your survival gear on a daily basis. It’s not good enough to have a closet full of BDUs and a piles of high-tech gear if they aren’t near you when you need them. Most of the crises that people face do not rise to the level of TEOTWAWKI and these emergencies don’t come at convenient times. Events like building fires, car wrecks, or muggings come at you when your just out living your life. A firearms …


Letter Re: Some Technologies for Retreat Security

Jim I’ve put together a few ideas on retreat security that I haven’t seen on your great site. I may have missed them but I think they would bear repeating. I presently live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but will soon be moving to my 280 acre ranch in central Nevada. What got me to write this was a realization during my semiannual chore of servicing the emergency generator. Changing out the gas (It is also set up to run it on propane) changing the oil, and testing the circuitry, I realized that what I thought was a good setup was actually …