Category: Outdoor Survival

Life’s Lessons and the Foundations of Preparedness, by A.B.

We may soon depend on all of what we have learned over the years. Putting all of the threads of knowledge together into a tapestry of self-sufficiency, and survival capabilities, is part of the lifelong quest for our family’s security. We learn from many sources and experiences such as: family, church, friends, teachers, teammates, co-workers, reading books and SurvivalBlog, and hopefully from our mistakes. Preparedness Skills from our Grandmas and Grandpas The foundation for preparedness begins with my childhood in Michigan. We lived in Lansing where my great-grandmother was next door and my grandmother lived next door to her. My …


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. …


Letter Re: Handy Uses for Thermite

James: I followed a link from your site and ended up at the DBC Pyrotechnics site, looking at a lot of 10 Thermite “all weather fire starters”. It seems like a very handy tool to have – cold weather fire starters like that. I wonder if any other readers of your novel might find them useful. A lot of 100 of those might be just a very useful thing to add into someone’s retreat supplies. Now if I can just find a place that offers pre-mixed bulk thermite, I might build some nice #2 can-size thermite devices, in case I …


Field Gear on a Shoestring Budget: Ten Project Examples, by George S.

The following are some hopefully useful field expedients, substitutes and spares, all of which can be had for a buck to about ten bucks each: #1: Drywall Saw: if you don’t have one of those all-purpose $49.95 survival knives or field shovels from Gerber or Glock with the accessory root saw, or you’ve found that the finger-length saw blade on a Swiss Army folder leaves a lot to be desired when cutting a 2×6 [board] down to size? A bow saw or flexible survival kit saw are a couple of possible candidates that may be up to the task, but …


Letter Re: A Suggested Checklist for Preparedness Newbies

Here’s a beginner’s list I made for my [elderly] father today: Food {Brown pearl] rice does not store well. Neither does cooking oil so that needs to be fresh. No, Crisco doesn’t count. Coconut oil would be your best bet. Wheat berries – 400 pounds – bulk order at your local health food store Beans – 400 pounds – bulk order at your local health food store Mylar bags Spices Salt Country Living grain mill propane tanks, small stove and hoses to connect freeze dried fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat if you can find them. Water 500 gallons of water …


Letter Re: Holster, Sling, and Web Gear Recommendations

Howdy Mr. Rawles! Before I begin, I’d like to offer my congratulations on your fine novel being republished. I’ve read it once myself, then again to my family (I hate television, reading is good family entertainment) which should be considered high accolades in itself. Currently my copy is in the Pacific Northwest, bound for the midwest next, as it continues to travel the country within my circle of friends. I read the posted letter by R.P. on 26 August, and associated recommendations on holsters, slings, and web gear, and thought I’d offer some discussion on the matter: The main reason …


Letter Re: Ropes and Knot Tying

Mr. Rawles, I’m an avid reader of your blog, and have found it most helpful in a variety of ways. However, I have noticed a slight deficiency: there is little mention of ropes and knots. Rope is an incredibly useful thing, both in everyday life and in a SHTF situation: it can be used in combination with a tarp and two trees to construct a makeshift shelter, can lift or pull objects, can secure objects to prevent them from moving, it can make snares and traps to catch food, and so on. One can even tie their shoes! However, when …


Letter Re: Advice on Purchasing Priorities For a Tight Budget

Mr. Rawles, Hello again! Hope you and your family are doing well. I have had some questions on my mind lately, and was curious if you would mind helping me. (I know you must be tremendously busy with our “strong” economy!). My wife and I are both college students in Santa Cruz, California, and we have a very limited amount of storage space and limited income. Are there any tricks or pieces of advice you have for individuals like ourselves? I recently spent my tax refund on some firearms (which were from a federal firearms dealer :-[ ) and now …


My Seven Favorite North American Edible Wild Plants, by Paul C.

In light of the impending economic and social crisis, a knowledge of edible wild plants is essential. I have included a list of seven easily recognized plants in this discussion, but keep in mind there are hundreds of edible species. These seven are common throughout much of North America. When foraging, one must remember that if you need a field guide to identify a plant, you are not ready to eat that plant. However, field guides with color photographs are necessary for anyone interested in this activity. In my opinion, the best field guide on the market today is The …


Letter Re: Consider Volunteering at a Homeless Shelter

Jim, I read Doc’s article about volunteering in a homeless shelter and meeting some of the occupants. That brought back memories of when I was in my early teens. My Dad worked for the railroad and we lived near the railroad yards and I met a number of hobos in the woods behind our house. Most of them knew my Dad and had a lot of respect for him. He would sometimes give them spare change and cigarettes. The hobo’s slept in small dugout caves in the woods and would never steal from us. But they would steal chickens from …


Letter Re: Consider Volunteering at a Homeless Shelter

Sir; I once had an opportunity to volunteer at a homeless shelter in Denver, Colorado. What started as a chance to be of service, turned out to be a lesson in survival. I was surprised to learn that many of the “guests” at the shelter had become experts at existing comfortably, on a permanent basis, without benefit of a home. Here are some of the things I learned: 1) The first lesson is – The quality of your bags determines the quality of your life. If your possessions are contained in fragile garbage bags, you are limited in how much …


Letter Re: Survival Lessons from the Book “The Long Walk”

Jim, One of your blog readers suggested the book “The Long Walk”. Five minutes Googling around will satisfy you that “The Long Walk” is pure fiction masquerading as fact. I like a good yarn, but only when such stories are clearly labeled “fiction.” Nobody but the British author who made up this tall tale has ever met or interviewed or known anything about the supposed Polish prisoners who he claims walked across the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas with virtually no gear. There are many great true survival stories, but unfortunately this is not one of them. – Matt Bracken …


Letter Re: Survival Lessons from the Book “The Long Walk”

Dear Jim, The book “The Long Walk” by Slavomir Rawicz is the best book on the human spirit over the elements (both natural and man made) that I’ve ever read. The author and his group escaped from a Siberian Gulag in 1942, crossed the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas, and walked all the way to India. Over 4,000-miles! This was all without the aid of $10,000 worth of gear from the REI catalog, or for that matter, shoes. It’s a perfect combination of some of our standard topics! Government tyranny, survival, hope, ingenuity, teamwork. It was absolutely inspiring! – Frank …


Letter Re: The Recent Blizzard on I-90 in Wisconsin

JWR, I read the link that was submitted by Craig in Odds ‘n Sods. The Channel 3000 story couldn’t be farther from the truth. As a local first responder, I can attest that we are getting the short end of the stick. The State Patrol didn’t even acknowledge there was any problem on the interstate until hours after our crews were already on scene. They didn’t even know that Dane County had set up an incident command headquarters at the Highway 51 interchange. The first semi trucks started losing traction as early as 10 a.m.that day. Near blizzard conditions had …


Letter Re: Homemade and Expedient Vegetable Oil Lamps

Sir, I clicked on this link from your site, JOTW – Home Made Vegetable Oil Lamp. This got me to thinking about something I read about and tried once, some years ago. Take a tangerine, and using a knife, cut the nub off of the top, to expose the fruit, and using a spoon, separate the fruit from the peel and the segments from each other, leaving the sting like ” pith ” that runs from top to bottom, down the center of the segments, connected to the bottom. After letting the thing dry a bit, the pith is cut …