Category: Retreat Logistics

Letter Re: A Carrington Event Space Storm–A Natural EMP Equivalent

Jim- New Scientist magazine article recently published an important article titled “Space storm alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe.” The article outlines possible scenarios for the risk of solar storms that could severely damage national grids and vital electrical and electronic systems. The effects would be catastrophic and devolve societies into a desperate survival situation for individuals. One quote from the article: “Over the last few decades, western civilisations have busily sown the seeds of their own destruction. Our modern way of life, with its reliance on technology, has unwittingly exposed us to an extraordinary danger: plasma balls spewed from the …


Letter Re: Barnyard Junk: The Things that You Do and Don’t Need for TEOTWAWKI

Jim Much has been written in all the various books, discussion groups and forums about acquiring the best G.O.O.D. bag, BOVs and medical kits. Much has been said about what garden seeds to get and the best lead delivery systems to have. There’s been endless discussions about setting up the most survivable retreat and packing the maps to help get you there. …But I recall very little talk about what you don’t need. I’ve lived on the family farm all my life. I’ve also spent a great deal of time delivering survival supplies to Indian Reservation all over the US. …


TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery–Part II: Skin Infections, by Dr. K.

Introduction The skin has three layers. 1. The epidermis is the outermost layer. It protects our bodies from the environment and has pigment cells. 2. The dermis is the middle layer, and it contains hair follicles, sweat glands, oil glands, and capillaries. 3. The hypodermis (or subcutaneous layer) is the inner layer, and it contains layers of fat that provides cushion and insulation for our body… some more than others. Any of these layers can become infected, in whole or in part. In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, that minor scratch could lead to a painful death. Knowledge is vitally important. Understanding …


TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery–Part I: Ingrown Toenails, by Dr. K.

Introduction Onychocryptosis (ON-ee-ko-krip-TOE-sis), an ingrown toenail, is a very common problem that usually affects the big toe. This occurs when the corner of the toenail grows into the soft tissue on the side of the toe. This can cause pain, redness, inflammation, and even an infection. Signs of an infection are warmth and drainage of pus. Prevention and treatment of an ingrown toenail is relatively basic, and it is a valuable skill to have at TEOTWAWKI. Causes An ingrown toenail is caused when the nail curves down and grows into the skin at the nail border. The most common causes …


Letter Re: Jared Diamond Predicts the End of Cheap Oil and an 85% Global Population Decline

Mr. Rawles, I found this article informative. A quote: “Cheap, plentiful fossil fuels discovered in the last hundred years (or so) spurred a food bubble, which led to a population bubble. Cheap oil, in other words, created the temporary conditions necessary to support a runaway population explosion that is, without question, unsustainable without cheap energy.” Here is another quote: “complex civilizations are quite fragile, and short-terming thinking can easily doom a society or civilization to irreversible collapse.” The author believes that world population will be reduced to 1/7th of its current size in a post-oil economy. BTW, there are lots …


Letter Re: Successfully Trolling Craig’s List

Mr. Rawles, At the risk of turning on my local competition to the positive aspects of the free section of Craig’s List, I thought I would mention a few of the things I’ve picked up in the past couple of weeks. These include: A new round oak dining table and four oak chairs Three boxes of canning jars with lids A commercial fishing net (40′ x 60′), to be used for keeping birds and other critters out of the garden 36 Concrete cinder blocks (approximate value $130) Remington electric chain saw (yes, it works!) 30+ wooden pallets (can be used …


Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse by Campcritter

As determined men and women of yesteryear made their way west to make for a better life, pioneer women often kept journals of their life on the great prairies or sent letters home to their sisters back East. In those letters they described the silence as the most unwelcome guest. These brave women wrote about being left for weeks on end alone, lost in an endless sea of grass with only the wind for company while the men hunted or went for supplies. In some cases the quiet was so severe that it became unbearable and the women developed mental …


Letter Re: A Test Load-Up Shows a G.O.O.D. Inadequacy

Hello Mr. Rawles; First and foremost, thanks for the site, the info is invaluable and a must read every morning I am writing to add a few simple thoughts (perhaps state the obvious) on the subject of survival vehicle – really just some comments on G.O.O.D. I recently sold my house and am in the process of trying to get into a better situation, and during the move decided to attempt a “live” exercise. I took the opportunity to see how quickly I could load up my truck and bug out. I wanted to time the load of my truck …


The 19th Century Home Retrofit, by Y. Cornelius

By now most SurvivalBlog readers have gone about your preparations for your ideal home or retreat cabin, all storage food and tools acquired, fuel stored, generators ready, PV panels carefully concealed and hooked up to the battery bank. You and your family or group are ready to handle the coming collapse, but are you really? Are you ready to do without? Without that generator when the fuel runs out, or a critical piece is worn out and a new one cannot be had? At some point your supplies will be used up, storage fuel consumed and there may not be …


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 …


Cold and Dark–An Account of an Ice Storm, by Steve S.

Preparations In January, 2008, the outlook for people in the United States appeared bleak. I told my wife that we needed to stock-up on food because I felt that the supply lines were thin and vulnerable. I began my preparations by Internet search. I found JWR’s SurvivalBlog and I bought a copy of his novel. In the meantime, I started buying cases of canned goods. I bought food that we generally ate. I looked at the expiration dates of every purchase. I tried to buy what would last through 2011. Not much would, so I bought with the idea of …


How Many Magazines is Enough?, by Cowboy

It’s nice to know how many guns you have to share amongst those mags, or better yet how many magazines do you have to share amongst multiple like model rifles or pistols for that matter. That’s how I count them to see if I feel like I have enough or not. Plus, I like to count in the possibility of adding another gun or two into that particular category at a later date since buying extra mags is always cheaper than adding a new gun. If nothing else, extra mags are a great investment for later sale or barter especially …


Selecting Retreat Properties–Pros and Cons of Buying Remote and Off Grid

I recently had a consulting client that hired me to do a search on his behalf for a rural retreat property in southwestern Oregon. In the early stages of the search, he asked about the pros and cons of buying undeveloped “off grid” properties that do not have utility power poles nearby. This summarizes my reply: From the standpoint of setting up a rural, self-sufficient retreat, an off-grid parcel is actually advantageous, for two reasons: 1.) They are generally more remote and away from natural “lines of drift” and hence are far less likely to be in the path of …


Burying a Shipping Container or CONEX, by Danny Papa

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Back during the first Gulf War we used excess shipping containers for underground storage and protection. Out first few attempts to make use of these containers met with disaster. Although they will support a huge amount of weight, in the range of 400,000 pounds directly on top, It must be place directly over the load-bearing corners. The sides and top are vulnerable to flexing, if they flex they can and will collapse. With all of this in mind let’s go through how to bury one the right way, so that it will be ready and usable when the time comes. …


Four Letters Re: 3-in-1 Home Workshop Machines

JWR, I agree with you on the machine tool issue. You end up with a lot of tooling and accessories by buying a shop. Things like rotary tables, angle plates and clamping stuff make this approach a bargain. A few grand goes a long way if you dig into [the replacement costs]. Like you say, [in the depth of the recession] there will be a lot of stuff out there. I have a good set of machinist tools but no machines and have been thinking the same thing. I have millwrighted machines for people from closed machine shops. I used …