Category: Retreat Locales

Letter Re: The Coming Dark Age, by Roberto Vacca

Shalom, Jim Recently I read a quote on SurvivalBlog from the book The Coming Dark Age, written by an author named Roberto Vacca. I went to Amazon.com to research it and found out that it was written in 1986, and, surprisingly enough, there were no reviews on file from other readers. 1.) Do you recommend this book? 2.) If so, what do you like about it? Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Hodu l’Yahweh ke tov (Give thanks to Yahweh for He is good), – Dr. Sidney Zweibel JWR Replies: I first read Roberto Vacca’s short book The Coming …


Letter Re: From a USFS In-Holding in Colorado’s High Country–Snowed-In!

Mr. Rawles: I just wanted to send you a thank you note for your novel “Patriots”, your “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course and for SurvivalBlog.com. We’ve been having a winter weather adventure, which I’ve chronicled in this thread at The Claire Files. If I hadn’t found SurvivalBlog.com some time back in late 2005, it might have been a very different story than the mainly humorous tale I was able to relate. Catching up on some of your entries that I missed over time, I found one that was particularly pertinent to our situation. On February 14, you did a …


Two Letters Re: Kanban: America’s Ubiquitous “Just in Time” Inventory System–A Fragile House of Cards

Jim, I recently shared “Letter Re: Propane Shortage and Rationing in the Frigid U.S. Northeast” with several friends. Surprisingly, a new friend who does not know that I am into “Prepping”, sent back the following. – Douglas in C. in Connecticut Hi Douglas, I work in the grocery industry. I can tell you first-hand that this industry (as most others) has expended incredible amounts of time and energy over the last 20 years into streamlining the supply chain. More than anything else, this means reduction of inventory held within the system – starting with the raw materials on the manufacturing …


Letter Re: The “Third Way” Approach–A Forward Base En Route to a Remote Survival Retreat

Hi Jim, While I value your insights on location, I think you have overlooked one possibility. That is to have your final destination be some 300+ miles away from any major metropolitan areas as you so aptly describe, but then I would add for those people who feel that they need it, a forward base of operations. This would consist of a small cabin, rental unit, or lot with a trailer and a storage shed that would be used as a forward base of operations and a leaping off point to go to their final destination. It would be located …


Letter Re: Total Burden of State Taxes

Mr. Rawles, I reviewed the article from MSN Money regarding property taxes by state, mentioned by “J Eagle”. I could not help to look at Alabama because that is my home state. Unfortunately, I am not there now. However, property tax is low in Alabama but they have a 5% personal income tax and sales tax is charged on everything one purchases. This includes big ticket items such as cars and tractors (at a reduced rate from normal sales tax) to basic necessities (food, clothing, guns and ammunition at the normal sales tax rate). They also charge the pharmacies a …


Poll Results: Best Occupations for Both Before and After TEOTWAWKI

In no particular order, the following are the first batch of responses to my poll question on the best occupations or home businesses for both before and after TEOTWAWKI: Locksmith/Home security systems installer/repairman — Beekeeping Small scale vegetable gardening. Growing herbs (medicinal) — 1) Electricity: a. Recharge batteries for folks, rebuild the bad batteries, and lots of folks don’t know squat about electricity for lighting, etc. Got several methods: Solar, miscellaneous generators powered by hand, animal, wind and even the old one lung gas engine with that darn heavy flywheel. b. Also use the above for communications when there aren’t …


State and Federal Lands–Poor Choices for Short Term Retreat Locales

I often have people ask me if state or Federally-managed forest land or BLM land would be a viable place to take temporary or long term shelter in the event of of a societal collapse. There might be exceptions, but my blanket assertion is no, that is a bad idea for even a temporary retreat locale. Here is my rationale: Access: Access is a huge issue. Public lands are intended for visits, not residence.Odds are that if you make camp on state or Federal land, men with badges and guns will arrive within a couple of weeks and forcibly send …


Letter Re: Questions on Multipurpose Home Shelters

Sir: I live in Georgia and we have more than our share of tornados. We usually go to the basement to my office during storms but I’ve decided that even though it’s underground on 3 sides, with only 3/4 plywood and sheet rock between us and the garage doors that it is no longer a viable option. I’ve looked at FEMA plans and I’ve scratched my head and come up with this idea but wanted to kind of say it out loud to someone to see if it sounds too crazy. The back part of the basement is almost completely …


Letter from Matt Bracken Re: Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option?, by CMC

Hi Jim, I read today’s offering with great interest. There is no point in trying to resolve the debate on boats vs. land retreats (“the army of maneuver vs. the army of the fortress”) as this is all a matter of personal conjecture and preferences. However, I would suggest that for those folks who live in a coastal area where if the balloon goes up their home location may be untenable, and their highway escape as well, a boat does provide at least a viable mid-term option. Many areas of our Atlantic and Gulf coasts have most of the people …


Letter Re: Planned NAFTA Superhighway Corridors

James, Your readers who are looking to evade “progress and mass population” need to pay particular attention to the proposed NAFTA [High Priority Corridor] super-highways. These linked pages will cover all projected builds in all 50 states [see details on the High Priority Corridor routes], many of which are planned for “remote” areas favored by survival-minded folks. This is seriously bad news. – Jay in Florida


Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option?, by CMC

1

Coming from a Southern family and having hunted as a child and adult, and having backpacked the Smokies, I would not want to depend on a mountain man scenario for survival during TEOTWAWKI. I want to walk a bit further with this. Most particularly consideration of a sailing vessel and the ocean as a way of survival. I seriously question the concept of mobility, particularly mobility at sea. I remember Sun Tzu said something to the effect that “when the army of maneuver meets the army of the fortress, the army of the fortress generally looses.” But I think that …


Letter Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change

James: While the pundits assure us that global warming, if real at all, won’t affect us in our lifetime, other scientific models suggest explosive climate shifts as ‘tipping points’ are reached. (See the movie The Day after Tomorrow regarding tipping points). Discoveries of animals flash frozen solid with fresh grass their stomachs points to the possibility of a very fast onset to global climate change. While suddenly finding yourself in an Arctic climate is likely not survivable, we must consider if we have the flexibility to survive in a radically different or highly volatile climate. Global warming can make warm …


Letter Re: Rural Retreat Matchmaking for Big City Dwellers

Dear Jim: Regarding retreats for big city dwellers, the more you read and think, the clearer it becomes: 1. Your retreat from the big city needs to be more than a distance than is convenient to travel on a weekly basis. 2. You really need someone there full time for security and maintenance. [JWR Adds: And to establish/develop gardens, fruit trees, nut trees, and livestock for self-sufficiency.] 3. One family (unless a humongous family by modern standards) is not enough folks to have a diversity of skills, keep good perimeter security, or defend in a TSHTF situation. 4. [Affording both] …


Letter Re: Urban Freeway Traffic Gridlock in a Disaster

Jim- Reading your excerpt from “Patriots” (I do have my own copy of the prior edition) reminded me of an episode in and around Seattle a few winters ago. Just before the afternoon commute, a rainstorm passed through and with the cold weather, created a black ice condition on the Interstate-5 freeway. Several fender benders clogged up the freeway in both directions and it took some time for tow trucks to make their way through the tie-up. Eventually they had to give up because people, sitting in their cars with heaters, wipers and radios on and engines idling, didn’t realize …


Letter Re: How to Reply to “When the SHTF, I’m Going Over to Your House”, by Rolf in the Northwest

Jim, I liked Rolf’s idea for a reply to the “I’m coming to your house” comments. I like to say: “If you got in a car wreck, you wouldn’t expect my car insurance to cover it would you? No, of course not, that’s what you have your own car insurance for. If your house burned down, you wouldn’t expect my house insurance to cover it would you? No, of course not, that’s what you have your own house insurance for. So, how would it be any different in a disaster. Do you think my disaster insurance should cover you in …