Category: Retreat Logistics

1803: The Preps of Lewis and Clark, by S.K.

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Prepping is many things to a great and growing number of people. Americans have been prepping since the entire European presence was behind a wall, back there in the Jamestown Colony.  As a people, we have this written in our DNA.  The long trek west and the adversarial relationship of native and non-native is a compelling story filled with survival lessons for everyone. And none is more spellbinding than the story of the Corps of Discovery.  How did Lewis and Clark do it, and what was in their “G.O.O.D. bags”? Thomas Jefferson had been interested in exploring the American West …


The Myth of Stored Food, by Pete Thorsen

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Many preppers think if they merely store food then they are done–that they have saved their family. And that might be true if they experience a natural disaster in their area which does not allow shopping for a week or so. They have their stored food and just use that during the emergency. Later–if they remember they buy replacements for the food they used–they made their family much more comfortable during that emergency by having that stored food. Plus one for the prepper family. But what about a long term nationwide disaster? What if it is a total economic collapse, …


Control Your Type 2 Diabetes or Die in TEOTWAWKI, by Scott M.

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I am a family physician and I have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is where you initially have enough insulin produced by your body but are resistant to the insulin, i.e.:  you don’t have enough receptors for the insulin to plug into to act on the sugar/carbohydrates you ingest. As time goes on if you don’t manage your diabetes your body will stop producing insulin and you will need to be on insulin shots for the rest of your life. Type 1 diabetes is where you don’t produce any or very limited insulin and have to be on insulin for your lifetime. …


Scavenging and the Law, by JRRT

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There’s a lot to criticize about survival-themed movies, to the point where the only value most of them have is just to get all of us thinking about “what if,” and to entertain us in the process. But the trope that bothers me more than any other is the portrayal of scavenging. In survival movies, the heroes find caches of cool stuff, help themselves to fully stocked but deserted grocery stores, and appropriate vehicles. Survival almost looks fun! Who hasn’t fantasized about being able to have free reign to grab whatever they want from store shelves? As enjoyable as it …


Food and Sundries Storage – Pt. 3, by Pete Thorsen

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(Note: This is the third and concluding part of this article.) Garden seeds should be included in your preparations. So in theory, unless you live in an apartment you can then grow at least some of your own food, in desperate times. Garden seeds are very inexpensive and take up very little storage space. And if you select non-hybrid (“heirloom”) seeds then you can harvest the seeds from so you have some to plant the next year again. At a dollar store, you can often buy four packages of seeds for a dollar. Growing a large garden takes a lot …


Food and Sundries Storage – Pt. 2, by Pete Thorsen

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(Continued from Part 1.) Keep in mind that if there is no grid power, there will be no refrigerator or freezer to store that meat. [JWR Adds: That is, unless you have an alternative power system.  A generator is only viable in a short term disaster.  For a situation lasting months to a decade or more, then photovoltaic power or perhaps a micro-hydro system is what you will need to provide power for refrigeration. An old-fashioned Spring House can also provide refrigeration, in some climates.] And how are you going to be cooking everything? Plan ahead. If you have an …


Budget Food and Sundries Storage – Pt. 1, by Pete Thorsen

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(This is the first part of a three part series.) Food storage is a very important part of any preparedness, and thoughts on food storage vary widely. Some people store buckets of wheat, corn, beans, and rice. For many people, they would only know what to do with maybe the rice. With the prepper/survivalist fad right now many companies are selling long term storage (LTS) food. Some of these LTS foods are just as is, so to speak, like beans or wheat. Some are dehydrated, and some are freeze dried. And of course, some is your standard canned goods. Advice …


Multi-Caliber Weapons for Survival, by A.B.S.

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When it comes to firearms for survival situations, you can find about as many opinions as models of weapons on the market about what is the best choice. To me, the ability to use multiple calibers in one platform will go a long way in extending the utility of these tools without breaking the bank. The popularity of newer caliber firearms, such as the .327 Federal Magnum has brought this into a new light. The. 327 Federal Magnum had been offered in revolvers for several years. In this form you can use .327 Federal Magnum, .32 H & R Mag, …


JWR’s View: Storage Space Planning for Your Stuff

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As a survivalist since age 14–and now 58–I’ve reached the stage of life where I’ve accumulated a deep larder and a lot of stuff. Just writing can’t help but remind me of the classic George Carlin stand-up comedy routine on “A Place For Your Stuff.” (Be forewarned of Carlin’s foul language.) But seriously, every well-prepared family has mountains of stuff. Storage space planning presents three major challenges: 1.) Where to fit it all. 2.) How to keep it safe from deterioration. 3.) Keeping it organized, so you can quickly find, retrieve, and replenish it. I will attempt to address all three …


Age-Adjusted Prepping, by Wandering Will

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It is said that prepping is not a movement or a philosophy. It is a way of life, and a way of life must accommodate changes in life. Having squarely arrived into my “Golden Years,” I was reluctantly forced to take a fresh look at my prepping agenda. Not exactly a newbie to the game. I’m still eating Year 2000 Problem (Y2K) food, I have accumulated food, gear, and training over the years and have reached a somewhat reasonable level of comfort. However, we all know what happens when we start feeling confident. After a few recent practice drills and …


Letter: A Recent Test of Stored 2008-Vintage MREs

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Dear Editor: I am always interested in the viability of stored supplies, and am amazed at how quickly expiration dates are reached when one becomes a prepper. I’m the fellow that sent in the report of long-frozen yeast some months ago, and recently conducted a taste-test of an MRE purchased in August, 2008. I thought our brother and sister readers may be interested in my findings. The MRE was packaged by the MRE Star company, out of Hollywood, Florida. It was purchased in a case lot from a Brigade Quartermaster “brick & mortar” store in August, 2008. Though I have …


Sundries For Survival, Part 2, by 3adScout

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Part 2 (Continued from Part 1, posted on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019.) With the many disaster and TEOTWAWKI scenarios, we can’t be 100% sure of everything that we will need in a post-event life. But the goal is to be as close to that 100% as possible. Another good saying to apply to prepping is that “necessity is the mother of invention.” Having a diverse on-hand stock of sundries can allow us to improvise and adapt those items to what we need. When at the hardware store I like to go down the aisles and look at items and think …


Sundries For Survival, Part 1, by 3adScout

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This article centers on logistics. This is not a list of what you need, but rather an inspiration to get us to think about a category of supplies that isn’t discussed a lot. Beans, bullets and band-aids are definitely key in survival but when you consider many of the items we will discuss in this article, they support our ability to raise, process or prepare food, ensure we can use our bullets if needed by having maintained and operational firearms and providing an ounce of prevention by supporting our health, safety and hygiene so we don’t have to use our …


Letter: Steel Job Site Boxes as a Valuables Storage Option

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Hugh and James: It’s often mentioned at Survival Blog that firearm magazines are a critical component. As Tamara K. of the View From the Porch blog has written: “The correct number of magazines to have is: ‘more.’” So, some of us buy magazines, especially lots of them when we find a very good price. But…as valuable as magazines are to us they’re just as valuable to anyone else, which is why we buy way more than we need, even considering that they are “wear items” that will eventually require replacement. Magazines have substantial value as trade or barter items. They’re …


Putting Together a Strategic Plan, by 3ADscout

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General Eisenhower is quoted as saying, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”  We can extrapolate that to preparedness and realize that the planning process is very valuable too. Strategic Planning for Bug Out Location or Homestead There are many types of plans and planning.  The focus of this article is on strategic planning. It’s strategic in the sense that a plan is to first identify an end state to the big picture, such as what capabilities we want our bug out location (BOL), retreat, homestead, or just plain home to …