Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Nothing so cements and holds together all the parts of a society as faith or credit, which can never be kept up unless men are under some force or necessity of honestly paying what they owe to one another." – Cicero

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 30 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 30 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Facing Fears to G.O.O.D., by Prairie Chick

This article is my personal story of how some early childhood lessons helped me G.O.O.D. from Southern California in June of 1994.   I have added a few links using today’s technology, but advise you to plan on keeping things as low-tech as possible.   I traveled half way across the country in 1994.  I was a single woman with a ten year old child, no cell phone or gun.  W.T.S.H.T.F. you may not be able to get as far as we did as fast was we did, but by learning to face your fears, and being prepared, you will eventually get to where you need to be, even if it isn’t where you planned.

Growing up poor on the South Dakota prairie in the 1960s, I learned to survive with very little.  When my parents relocated to Orange County, California in 1972 it came in handy.  For the first time in my life, my parents had money.  Both my parents also worked for the first time and when I turned fifteen I began roaming the streets on my brand new 1977 Peugeot 103 moped.   I kept trying to find open sky and usually never stopped until I hit the beach.  There I learned from the Mexican fishermen and locals to forage for clams, fish off the pier, observe people and snorkel.  I put over 200,000 miles on that moped before it died three years later and I began practicing my mechanical skills on my 1966 Plymouth Belvedere with a slant six.  That car would never have had any issues with an EMP event.

A voracious reader with straight A grades, I was bored stiff, and soon after getting the moped I began ditching school.  When I turned sixteen I was finally able to get a job and with more spare change I began paying rent, and became really good friends with some of the panhandlers on the boardwalk.  They taught me who to watch out for, how to stay safe on the city streets and they watched my back because I watched theirs.  The streets in Southern California were much safer back in the seventies but very important lesson about fear, learned on the prairie kept me safer on the city streets than some of my peers. 

My father and grandfather taught me to hunt, fish, start and tend fires and to stay warm and dry even in a snow bank, by the time I was ten.   During summer stays at my grandparents’ house, chores and personal roaming taught me to recognize and avoid threatening situations and I soon learned who I could trust.  I was taught to walk like I had somewhere to go, but also to stay concealed when I had to.  I was also taught to not be afraid of people because they were different.  My grandfather had many Dakota friends who lived on the nearby reservation.  These experiences and learning not so show visible fear also helped convince others they could safely follow me into and out of trouble.  I had learned by example and experience to trust my gut, not to believe everything I was told or saw the first time and to ask myself how something worked the way it did.  That led to a great self-confidence, and even if I was afraid I would fail, I never allowed it to show. 

Learning at an early age the importance of never showing or allowing myself to be crippled by my fears, helped me gain respect.  I also know that it made me a much tougher prey.   Even in a small town I quickly learned that bullies control by fear and intimidation.  Several times I watched bullies back down when confronted by the perception that were not as are not as frightening to me as they thought they were.    That said, self defense classes also taught me how to fight dirty, move out of the way, or escape and hide if I had to. 

After I dropped out of high school, my filing, typing and bookkeeping skills and positive “I can do it or will figure it out” attitude got me a job as a receptionist.  Within two years I became the office manager of a union electrical contractor in a really bad part of town.   My boss, who was fourteen years old when the stock market crashed in 1929, began getting buckets of gold coins delivered to the office during the 1981 gold bull market. 

His explanation of how his personal wealth and ability to purchase physical gold, finally made it possible to manage his fear of another stock market crash, reinforced my grandfathers lessons and with the price of gold as high as it is today, I think about him often.  Like my grandfather, he was also never afraid to try something new and mastering that IBM 8080, the first ever PC, I talked him into purchasing gave me problem solving and employable skills I use today.  These lessons taught me that knowledge is my best tool over fear.  If I really know what is happening and why it is happening, it doesn’t seem like such an insurmountable task.

In 1983, to be as financially independent as possible, and wanting a bucket of gold of my own, I got my G.E.D.  With my boss’s blessing, I started my own bookkeeping business on the side and he helped me gain some clients.  I also talked to my grandfather about how he had earned extra cash to support his family.  He then told me the story of how he hunted skunks to earn a dollar a pelt to buy flour, clothes and other things they couldn’t grow or catch themselves.  

The earliest photograph I have of my father is of his parents and four siblings in front of a one-room tarpaper shack on a South Dakota slough in 1943.  This picture made such an impression on me when I first found it, after a trip back to visit my grandfather in 1989; I hung it on my office wall.  With a hammer, a saw, a few dollars, and supplies, my grandfather and his brothers and their skills built a one-room house.  That my grandparents and four children survived two South Dakota winters with no running water or electricity in that shack continues to amaze and inspire me to not be afraid of surviving wherever I find myself. 

After grandpa’s death in the winter of 1996, I asked my father if he remembered more about the skunk story.  My dad told me that at the age of six, he was the one who had to crawl inside of the culvert pipe to lay the traps.  Before and after school, in all kinds of weather, he would also have to pull the stake chain and traps out when they caught one.  According to my father, road culverts are prime trapping territory and the more he did it the less afraid he got.  My grandfather, his uncles and brothers, would get together and fry up the skunks and collect the rendered skunk oil.  They in turn would get another $1 for each gallon sold to the perfume makers as “civet cat” musk oil.   It is also very good to add to varnish for treating and preserving wood.

Practice was not the only reason he was not afraid to do this.  From the time he was able to walk, he was following his father around, watching, trying and learning how to do different things in all kinds of weather.  He was not sheltered and protected from everything by technology or his parents.  I have not needed to trap anything since I moved back, but I have a greased foothold trap in a cloth bag, in my T.E.O.T.W.A.W.K.I. storage closet and know how to use it, just in case. 

In 1986 I toyed with the idea of leaving Southern California but was afraid to think I couldn’t cut it in the big city.  I was afraid of what my peers and grandpa would think.  When I found a dog-eared copy of Calvin Rutstrum’s instruction book, The Wilderness Cabin at a yard sale, the summer before, seeds planted in from childhood stories began to sprout.

On the isolated South Dakota prairies, there aren’t very many trees and you have to learn about the weather and how to see bad storms coming.  If you are prepared, like my parents and grandparents and most rural South Dakotans are, you plant large trees to protect yourself from the north wind and your house has a storm/root cellar or basement to hang out in when things get dangerous.   In Southern California we didn’t have to worry about tornados but had an earthquake barrel with three days worth of supplies and knew how to duck, cover and shut off the gas lines. 

I began planning in earnest in 1992.   The spring morning I woke up to news that Los Angeles was on fire, I realized earthquakes were the least of my worries as a parent.  I watched the violence for six days before authorities got things under control.  I realized that the only way to protect myself and my daughter from man made storms like the Rodney King Riots was to G.O.O.D. and my fear of being thought a failure by my peers was not as important as survival. 

Most of my friends and relatives thought I was nuts.  One client, when he found out what I was doing, asked me if I was running away from the IRS.   A client who had turned me onto Atlas Shrugged the fall before the riots got it.  My grandfather and father understood, but not too many other people did.  Knowing it had to be done and showing no fear, I laid off the housekeeper.  Over the next two years I cut my expenses as far as I could, sold my business, house, furniture, business suits and other excess accoutrements of big city life. 

I put all my favorite books, heirlooms and what I thought I had to keep, in storage to be shipped the month after we arrived at my grandfather’s house.  He had died the winter before and I was planning on buying his house from the estate, when we got there.   We rented a bedroom from a lady for a couple of months before we packed our car and left for the prairies of South Dakota.  Two weeks before we were going to leave, I called the city office to get the water turned on and found out that one of my father’s brothers, unbeknownst to the executors of the estate had sold the house to pay off a business debt of his. Note to self:  Never give an open-dated, general power of attorney to someone you think can be trusted.   

Because I had a plan, and several backup plans, I wasn’t afraid.  We had money, we had time and knew I could get myself out of most situations I found myself in.  With six highway maps, campground information and several alternate routes planned and provided by the AAA Automobile Club, and double checked by me, we packed our car and left the day after my daughter finished 3rd grade. 

Even before I found SurvivalBlog and learned about B.O.B.s I had been taught to be sure I had all we needed to survive and to always have several contingency plans.  We had a tent, pillows, quilts, canned and dried food for a month, ten gallons of water, hermetically sealed milk, juice boxes, clothes, cooking utensils, rain gear, some small hand and car tools, Goldie the goldfish, fish flakes, traveler’s checks and cash.   The two gold coins I had first purchased back in 1982 from my boss, were in my blue jeans pocket and knew I had more stored away.  I left the fears I had about my daughter’s safety behind me and the family feud in the hands of my father and infuriated aunt. 

The trip was over 1,900 miles, and as my father had done it before, I knew it could be driven in less than 40 hours if need be.  I had done it in three days once when I drove back by myself.  We didn’t need to drive straight through and we stayed away from people as much as we could.  Taking it slow enabled me to begin my daughter’s survival lessons and to figure out how to deal with the housing situation.    We dealt with a deep shin cut at the Grand Canyon, foraged wood, tinder, and some wild strawberries in Utah, started fires and cooked in downpours, and 40 mph winds.  After talking with my great-uncle, one of my grandfather’s friends and the local mayor, I knew we would have a place to live before the snow flew.  The small community welcomed us home and even though we later relocated, we still keep in touch. 

My fondest memory of the experience happened the day after we arrived.  My daughter and I had walked the few blocks uptown from the city park where we had camped to get our forwarded mail.    When we got back I realized we had forgotten to get milk.  I handed my daughter a five and told her to go get a gallon of milk and a treat for herself at the store next to the post office while I cooked her lunch.  Never having been allowed to walk anywhere alone in ten years, with wide eyes she asked me, “By myself?”  She eventually learned many of the lessons my grandfather taught me and is now teaching my grandchildren to face and conquer their fears.   

Letter Re: Lessons About Survival From Fiction

Hello,
I’ve been reading and enjoying SurvivalBlog for about one month now. First of all, thank you for the time and effort you put into this great resource!
I enjoy reading fiction and especially science-fiction, so a few of the references listed there were familiar. Many aren’t and have no chance of being available at the local library, here in France. However, most of those I did recognise were about dramatic SHTF scenarios, while you and many others have emphasised the likeliness of a “Slow Decline” situation.

Two novels that I have read describe precisely this kind of lifestyle: they are “Parable of the Sower ” from Octavia E. Butler, and to a lesser extend its sequel, “Parable of the Talents.” The first one focuses on many interesting themes such as: Neighbourhood small walled communities, unexpected food-gathering sources from local resources, getting friends to maintain a BOB, OPSEC while a refugee, high-priced utility services, corruption and ineffectiveness of public services, and so on. The second one could be a fine example of religious persecution (no matter what the religion in question is, even if the protagonists here have their own beliefs!), importance of keeping “useless” legal records, slow economy recovery, remote location farming, OPSEC and selling on local markets, etc.

A few examples come to mind:
– The community where the main character grew up attracts burglary after one of the neighbours decides to sell some of his rabbit meat outside the community.
– A large chain of high-priced stores sells everything you may need, literally beans, bullets, and Band-Aids, in facilities with stringent security measures in and around. Anyone who can lay out the cash can access, shop, and retreat in a large radius in peace.
– The farm has “reinforced natural fences” with many thorny bushes and extensive razor wire, but these are easily overcome once a well-armed and decided group takes over with fire and trucks. (A reader recently send an entry recommending bushes as a security measure, it obviously wouldn’t stand up to determined assailants. Fuel for trucks might not be available, but the Romans invented the Turtle formation thousands of years ago, and medieval castles were taken over with little more technology.)
– Acorn bread is a staple in the community, yet if it hadn’t been for one smart character with a book about local plants eaten by the natives, the oak trees would have been cut for wood and gardening.
– The protagonists try to get used and dirty items for BOB and travel bags, even using a pillowcase, to avoid attracting attention from on-road looters.
– despite the dire situation compared to ours, people don’t see and refuse to think about SHTF. They grow resentful about the person trying to get them prepared, and she can only try to get them to thing about “earthquake preparation kits.”

I was expecting this to be a small note, but it nearly turned into its own novel. – Frenchy

JWR Replies: Thanks for your comments. Your English is excellent. There can indeed be some useful information woven into fiction. It is noteworthy that there are a lot of people who refuse to read nonfiction survival manuals, but who eagerly read fiction, or that will at least watch a movie on DVD. That is one of the reasons why I wrote my novel “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse”. I recommend that you look for an original French edition of the novel Malevil, by Robert Merle. Malevil is a post-nuke science fiction novel that sold well in both French and English editions. OBTW, in addition to the book and movie recommendations at The SurvivalBlog Bookshelf page, please refer to this blog post from October, 2009: Poll Results: SurvivalBlog Reader’s Favorite Survivalist Fiction.

Two Letters Re: Solar Storms

Dear Jim,
Regarding the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that occurred this week that everyone is concerned about. I advise some caution in over-reacting to these types of events. While the CME itself was of a very high magnitude and is spectacular in images, it was never anticipated that it would cause us any problems. Predictions for auroral activity were only in the high latitudes, and auroral activity is a dead-giveaway as to how strong the impact on the ground will be.

The spectacular images we have all seen over the last week immediately told me we had nothing to be concerned about. The CME was silhouetted against dark space; meaning the majority of the CME was pointed away from earth out into space. It’s the less spectacular images we should be concerned about, when the CME occurs directly facing the earth with only the sun’s surface in the background.

The fact that we are still climbing out of solar minimum also saved us. 1. The normal background solar wind was low to begin with. 2. Flares around minimum occur at high latitudes on the sun, meaning there is a much greater change the bulk of the CME will miss us. As solar maximum increases sunspots and CMEs begin to concentrate around the sun’s equator, giving them a much high chance of being directed towards us.

If this particular CME had been pointing towards us we would have been in big trouble, there’s no doubt about that. But there has certainly been a big beat-up by the media over this event which has scared a lot of people. As we all know, you can’t rely on the media for accurate scientific or emergency information, and in this case they were mostly concerned about how good this event looked in print.

The next time there is a large CME most people are going to be saying “look at the last one, it was a flop”, however each event needs to be judged according to the facts. While it looked pretty, this was just a space storm in a teacup.

I advise anyone concerned about these issues to register for Space Weather Alerts with spaceweather.com. You can even have the alerts sent to your mobile, although there is usually a few day’s warning until the CME reaches Earth (could help if you are camping or overseas at the time). At the very least it will give you a heads-up when to watch for aurora. Where I come from (near Sydney, Australia) aurora are an extremely rare treat that you will only see if you have advanced warning and the CME was large enough and pointed directly at us. It’s those “low latitude” aurora events we need to be concerned about.

This event should be used as a warning to the unprepared. Space happens, do get ready for it. Regards, David R.

 

Hi Jim,
Thanks for your note on solar storms on Tuesday. I definitely did an “oh shibitsk” and instead of spending the next 2 hours reading the Internet like I always do I stopped and jumped into action. I immediately took the opportunity to run a “what if” scenario in my head and realized I was no longer where I had been in my prepping. I spent the rest of the day running around town and getting my “stuff” back to where it should be.

In the last couple of months as I’ve read your blog I’ve taken notes of various people writing in with a story regarding running disaster scenarios or being put in brief situations where all of the sudden they are in a mini TEOTWAWKI. The writers would note that part of their discovery was that various elements in their GOOD bag or BOB bag were no longer there because they had dipped into them for whatever reason and found themselves having to run around and look for the item. This is exactly what happened to me yesterday, just in a larger scale than I had realized. It was a little alarming and drove home the need to get more serious with my discipline about my prep work and not dip into stuff. I had managed to unprep my prepping.

Although in my head it is a little understandable how I had gotten into this situation but it was still so not OK. I don’t know how many time yesterday I muttered at myself dumb dumb, stupid. If I had to go with where I was at yesterday morning I would have been in some serious trouble. The stupid part was that I had been in a good place with all the prep work but because I had become lax in my discipline I had wound up putting myself in danger. Fortunately your “heads up” yesterday woke me up and spurred me into action and I had the time to rectify the situation.

I got lax in my discipline because my life took a major turn in May. I was laid off from work after 12 years with the company (I got replaced by a $3 million computer system). Although I received almost a year’s worth of severance and pay outs and had savings to keep me “good” for almost 2 years it changed my daily routine and spending habits. This change then resulted in me dipping into my prep “stuff” and not keeping it as organized as it had been. I will take ya through my day yesterday so hopefully others can realize how easy it is to unprep yourself and how incredibly important it is to maintain our disciplines.

My first stop was the gas station. I had less than 1/4 tank in my truck and had been dipping into my stored gas for the last three months for various yard chores and projects. I had three more new gas cans still sitting empty since I had purchased them. I had shuffled them around for months always noting I need to fill them up but just hadn’t gotten around to it. Dumb! If this had been the real thing I would have been in a bad way. A lot of good it does to have a generator but no gas.

Next stop was the bank. I had less than a thousand dollars on hand. For months instead of going and getting more cash from the bank I just kept dipping into my “prep cash” until it had dwindled down to a lower level than I would have been comfortable with. Of note; the bank seemed “fussy” about withdrawing more than a thousand bucks. I wound up having to go inside instead of just going to the drive through. Seemed to take a while. Fortunately, since I am into Numismatics I have a lot of pre-1964 silver coins around the house.

Next was the hardware store. Again I had become really lax in my disciplines. My propane tanks were dangerously low because I just kept using them without getting them refilled in a timely manner. I had kept telling myself I would deal with it tomorrow. My white gas situation was the same. I picked up the lumber, wire and other tools I had been meaning to do for months.

Then I headed to Costco. This was one of my biggest dumb dumb of all. I had gotten into the bad habit of just “borrowing” a couple of the stored can goods and supplies with the intention that I would replace them “tomorrow”. Because I no longer had an income coming in and needed to change my spending habits I had made a point to stay away from the stores and get used to getting by on a lot less. Only partially successful, I got used to spending less but got dumb with the “borrowing” from my stores. Over three months I found I had “borrowed” myself almost to the state of being unprepped. This also helped me realize the items I had not stored enough of because if I had borrowed my way through them in 3 months where would I be at if TEOTWAWKI lasted for 6-12 months. I have a lot of freeze dried and MREs I had not touched and assumed with these I was in good shape. I reevaluated. Many carts and dollars latter I filled the back of my truck and headed to the next stop.

The sporting goods store. Although I had spent the summer off doing more training at the gun range and getting comfortable with my firearms I had not replaced the spent ammo. This wound up taking quite a few trips to various stores because its not like you can just walk in and buy the kind and quantities you want. Low inventories or no inventory of certain calibers. I had acquired my stores over a period of time and had not really taken note of the available inventory. I picked up mantles, fishing bait and more line, little propane bottles, and various other odds and ends I had used up.

Yesterday wound up being an expensive day but I was not done yet. When I got back to the house I continued running the “what if” scenario and found that I would not be ready to go if I need to. Too many things had gotten out of their original place. The GOOD bag was on the floor of the spare bed room with the items scattered here and there from the last time I dug into it to “borrow” whatever. Same with the medical kit. My truck was no longer packed and ready to go as it had been. As I wandered around the house and out buildings I found the same to be true in too many cases. I spent the rest of the day and am still repacking, inventorying, and resetting all my previous prep work, as well as, finishing doing all the little things I had meant to do but never quite got around to.

It was and is an awesome valuable lesson. Thanks for the heads up! On a good note…I have not spent the summer just sitting around using up stuff but have taken the opportunity to expand other forms of prepping. I finally had the time to explore and practice basic skills that some would take for granted but that I was lacking in. I’ve also spent the time simplifying my life and getting back to the “old ways” of doing things. It also gave me the time to spend in the garden and expand my self-reliance. I also spent the time exploring the area I live in on foot to take note of available resources such as all the wild plants that could be used for food or medicinal purposes. I live by a river and there is an abundance of naturally growing vegetation and I have been devouring books on identification and practical uses.

One of the areas I realized I had taken for granted was water. I have lived by a river for 22 years and have a well with the ground water just being 12 ft. down. I had in my previous prep work stored water for drinking because I’ve spent a lot of time in the back country and filtering pints of water day after day is not that fun. One of serious dumb dumb I discovered yesterday was that I had used a lot of my stored distilled drinking water for the aquarium because it was easier than having to deal with all the chemicals and expensive test strips needed to make tap water safe for aquarium fish. I’ll actually be semi-glad when the fish finally die on their own and I can shut down the aquariums. So, although I did spend the last 3 months seriously advancing some parts of my preparations I got a little too lax in other areas. It is so easy to just borrow or dip into, just this once, into our stores of goods while telling ourselves I’ll replace it tomorrow or the next time I go to town. I chose to take your “heads up” as a “what if” it were now–right this second. It seriously opened my eyes.

Thanks & Take care, – Skylar

Odds ‘n Sods:

Tamara at the View From The Porch blog had a link to a good article about low-light marksmanship training: A Shot in the Dark.

   o o o

“Robo” sent us a piece that illustrates how our privacy is shrinking: Hacker tries to read a radio identification tag from 29 floors up. Meanwhile, we read: The Web’s New Gold Mine: Your Secrets. (Thanks to AmEx, for the latter link.)

   o o o

Trent H. flagged this article in The Boston Globe: Popularity of farming soars in Massachusetts.

   o o o

E.M.B.sent us the link to this terrorism map. It certainly illustrates the wisdom of locating in lightly-populated rural areas.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” – Robert Woodruff (President Ronald Wilson Reagan had this quote posted on his desk at the White House)

Economics and Investing:

Chris G. mentioned: ACTA: The War on Progress, Freedom, and Human Civilization

An interesting piece over at The Daily Bell: Why Bankers Didn’t See Collapse.

Frequent contributor K.A.F. says: “States are taking on more debt. Here’s your state’s burden per capita“. JWR Adds: What I found amazing is Massachusetts. How can they tax their citizens so much, yet still end up short of funds?

Lee C. recommended a 25 minute long BBC Radio Interview on the Credit Crisis and the Risk of Another Crash.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 30 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 30 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Home Sweet Home on the Range–Bedroll Basics, by D.K.

When assembling your post-apocalyptic, biker zombie, total collapse of civilization kit (or just getting started in camping) one item you should consider as part of your kit is a classic bedroll.

History
A classic bedroll, not the stuff of Hollywood or television, but the kit of real working men is both comfortable and multipurpose.  They are not lightweight, small, or easy to backpack.

Please allow me to share the road I took to get to my current bedroll.  I will try to describe the attributes of a good bedroll, suggest the minimum bits for a good durable bedroll, and provide some links to historical information on military use of bedrolls.  Finally, there will be some links to sources of commercial bedrolls in case you wish to buy rather than roll your own.

I got my first bedroll when I started with the Scouts – the Troop I joined was led by combat Vets from both WWII and the Korea conflict – it really was a para-military uniformed youth training organization with a focus on ‘real’ military skills – just as Lt. Gen Robert Baden-Powell had first envisioned in 1907.  That early experience and training from these Vets has stayed with me.

Anyway, the bedroll was an old tarp, as an adult I now see it likely started life as a WWII or Korean vintage Jeep trailer cover.  This cover held a pair of Army-issue wool blankets – all given to me to ‘get started’.  The system worked to keep me warm at night, if not all too comfortable.

I used this setup until I started in serious backpacking.  Short of funds, I upgraded to a new system using a surplus Case, Water-repellent, for Bag, Sleeping and a home made wool blanket liner.  The liner was made out of the blankets on hand.  Mom (gotta love ’em) helped me to cut and sew them into a modified mummy style reaching to my armpits.  The blanket leftovers were made into a kind of cape.  I re-waterproofed the poplin case by soaking it in raw linseed oil.  It took the poplin fabric a while to dry completely in the AZ sun/heat, but when completely dry, was proven to be a waterproof and windproof cover.

When I landed a job as a staff member at the local Scout mountain camp, I purchased a ‘real’ (commercial) sleeping bag.  By the end of the summer, the bag was completely shot – sleeping every night in the bag for just under 90 days destroyed it – lesson learned.  I also had to carry a ground cover and tent when away from the main camp.  Later, I worked for a Geoexploration company while in college.  This job meant sleeping in the field for 4 or 5 days a week – with very limited space in the truck to carry personal gear.

That bedroll was made from my recycled Scout tarp, a pair of new surplus wool blankets and three commercial furniture pads obtained used from the local rental outfit.  When warm, the pads were a comfy mattress, when cold, they helped the wool to keep me toasty.  A second tarp was used in very rainy weather as a wedge tent to keep the water out of our faces.

In the military I used the issue bags, but I had my wife make another semi-mummy liner from a surplus wool blanket – on the really cold nights it made a difference.  I spent one of the most miserable Fall nights in my life sleeping in Death Valley using a pair of issue poncho liners and a poncho.  I think my wool ‘liner’ would have made a big difference, but the wool liner was left at home to save weight.  Never again.  I also added a shelter half to provide shade/wind protection in my ‘go kit’.

This brings me to describing the attributes of a good bedroll:

First, the bedroll must be durable – as in brick outhouse durable.  This means it must stand up to nightly use for weeks on end.  It must suffer and survive abuse like rocky ground, rubbing against other kit, heat, drenching rain, (well below) freezing cold and dirt.  It must be able to survive a soaking and be usable within a short period of time. 

Second, your bedroll should be a stand-alone item for use.  Your bedroll should not require an additional ground cloth or tent to be used.  As I mentioned earlier, a second tarp is nice, but should not be required.  If a second tarp is used, it may be lightweight as it will likely receive little abuse from day to day s use.

Third, the bedroll must be comfortable!  If you are forced from your home/primary shelter, you will spend up to 1/3 of your life in this bedroll.  That means you must be able to adjust to extremes in temperatures, ground conditions, humidity and rain.  After busting hump for 12 hours, a bad night’s sleep can make a tough job into one that is unbearable. 
Your bedroll should be easy to enter and exit – especially for that late night nature call or zombie attack.  The size you ultimately choose will depend on your style of sleeping.  I can no longer stand the confines of a mummy style system for long periods, for example, so mine is large and roomy.

Fourth, the bedroll must be easy to maintain.  Cleaning and maintenance of the bedroll components must be done without commercial washer/dryers or sewing machines – if you cannot take care of your bedroll in the field, you face some very bad nights indeed.

The bedroll should have room for some of your kit (small tool/sewing kit, extra socks, a clothing change and perhaps a hygiene kit) without compromising the waterproof nature of the bedroll.  At the very least you should certainly keep a set of loosely fitting polypro long johns, a poly baklava and a set of heavy (wool, of course) socks to sleep in during colder weather.  A pocket for a pillow is a nice touch.

The bedroll will not fit a stuff sack, so you must be able to roll it in such a manner as to allow the cover to keep rain, mud, dust and bugs out of the bedding.  That also means good solid roll straps, at least three, that are large enough to hold the roll and stay put.  You should consider a couple of additional straps to provide a means to attach the bedroll to your transportation – from a truck or a donkey to a hand cart.

The basics parts of a bedroll – you can add as you learn.
A sturdy bedroll is made of:
A cover or shell that is both waterproof and brick-outhouse durable.  This is the make or break item on a bedroll.
Bedding, warm, durable and with the ability to accommodate changing weather.  I have some pretty strong ideas of what works and that will be shared a bit later.
An insulator or mattress – both for comfort and to reduce loss of body heat into the ground.  A means to hold this mattress is a real plus.
A storage system to accommodate those few additional sleep related items you do not want in your ruck or haversack.
Straps to hold the bedroll, well, rolled.

Lets see how these mandates have worked out in the current edition of my latest bedroll.

Cover:
Made of Number 1 canvas duck, it was cut, washed in very hot water to shrink the weave and reduce shrinkage while in use.  Beginning with a large piece of canvas to reduce the number of seams, the material was cut into 3 pieces.  Using a local tent maker, the cover had webbing (tape) sown into the 1.5 inch edge seams, double stitched with heavy, waxed, UV stable thread.  An additional roll of thread was purchased for any future repairs that might be needed.  Sown with industrial machines, each corner was bar stitched and industrial brass grommets were placed across the ‘top’ and down the ‘open’ side to almost waist level.  All seams were sealed to stop water infiltration.

At the top, an additional piece, just under 4 feet in length, slightly more than the width of the ‘bag’ was attached at the time that seam was taped and edged.  The third piece was sewn to this flap to make a pocket prior to attachment to the cover.  This pocket has a slot (that may be laced shut) to allow access.  The entire piece of fabric was waterproofed.  This hood can serve as a mini-tent in bad weather.

A quick note here – how you waterproof the cover fabric matters.  Check the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for any waterproofing material used.  Some ‘classic’ methods may carry a health risk – for example, commercial “boiled linseed oil” may contain drying agents that pose a health hazard.  All linseed oil is both flammable and material may heat and burn spontaneously if not dried completely.  Commercial waterproofing products may not be compatible with your cover material.  Read the label completely – ask questions is you are not sure.  Always check the MSDS.

The actual size of your bedroll cover will be determined by how you sleep and the type of bedding / mattress chosen for your system.

Bedding:
If you have not figured it by now, I am quite partial to wool blankets as bedding. On the plus side – Wool is durable!  In researching the web for some additional data for this piece, I found several WWI Army Quartermaster Corps issue blankets for sale – and some still used by re-enactors.  Wool is naturally fire resistant; wool will offer insulation even when damp.  Wool can absorb almost 20% of its weight in water before reaching total saturation– that is defined as the point at which absorbed water begins leaking back out of the fabric – in other words, onto your skin. 

On the minus side, wool is a natural product that loses some strength or can break down when overheated – hot water is okay, steam is not – so drying via a campfire is best done carefully.  Wet wool also loses some strength – so, again, dry it carefully.  Dry wool can become quite brittle – usually not a problem when used as bedding – just use care in storage to avoid too dry of conditions.  Insects are also a consideration in storage.

I found that our local Army-Navy surplus store had some of the “Italian military” surplus blankets recently seen in various on-line outlets.  Reasonably priced, they weight over 5 pounds each, a good sign of quality in a woven wool blanket.  Initially compressed from long storage and reeking of insect repellant, after several washings they are now fit for duty.  Three of these blankets and a wool liner from a national outdoor supplier and we have almost all that is needed for a comfy set of bedding.  The liner, of Merino wool, allows me to keep the other blankets clean should I have to hit the rack while dirty.  There are liners made of linen, polypro, and fleece that will likely work as well – I just happen to like wool.

The mattress
Right now I am back to an interlaced pair of furniture pads, as I have used before.  This is a stopgap measure while looking for a suitable covered closed cell foam pad.  Several commercial products are offered by different outfitters, some with a cover for the pad to resist moisture accumulation.  My concerns lie with both the durability of any of these products as well as the finished width – all I have seen offered are relatively narrow – about 25 inches or so.  The Pacific Outdoor Equipment Mega Mat looks – at 32 x 78 inches – like it might be a good pick, I am trying to find a local source for some hands-on time – at $150 or so, not an instant choice.

Wrapping it all up
Keeping things tidy are a set of straps I talked the parachute shop into sewing up for me some years back.  Made from salvaged C-60 cargo parachute harnesses they are stout, to say the least.  Any surplus store should have these kind of heavy duty strap sets – ensure you have the buckles that match the webbing.  Too large and the strap will slip, too small and you cannot lace the webbing through the buckle.  If you can find some Capewell release type buckles, you will be pretty close to bombproof strap sets.  At least one pair of large/long straps will allow you to secure your bedroll to transport.  My bedroll rides in the truck or on my home-made cargo cart.

How well does this work?
Well for me, just fine.  I just finished a week-long gig at a remote camp here in Alaska and slept both cozy and warm, despite the cold and rainy nights.  In this case, I did nave an unheated shelter – open to the wind – but was as toasty as can be.  Getting out of bed in the morning was a bit of a challenge though.

Will this setup work in the dead of an Alaska winter?  To be honest, I hope to never find out, but it goes in the rig when traveling out of town in case an avalanche or bad accident closes the road.

If you plan on only ‘truck camping’ you may wish to consider a reproduction M-1935 Bedroll with blankets – designed for use with an issue cot, these are well thought out military ‘system’ and should provide good service for temperate climates.  Any good tent maker should be able to fabricate one from canvas goods on hand.  The so-called Auzzie swag bags are another possibility to consider.

Random thoughts:
A maintenance kit should have a sewing awl, thread, good size chunk of beeswax in a tin and a half a toothbrush to apply the wax.  A few large needles, heavy thread and a small set of scissors will help keep your blankets or clothing in good repair.  Learn to use a ‘blanket stitch” or “lock stitch”
A good way to keep the loose stuff in your bedroll less loosely is to cut up an old set of BDU or ACU pants.  Cut the leg just below the cargo pocket and sew the cut end shut.  Use this as stuff sack for socks, drawers, etc – using the drawstrings to close the sack.  This sack will allow you to roll loose items with fewer lumps.
A pair or two of very heavy wool socks will keep your toes warm, and may be used to fashion a neck or ear warmer and in a pinch,,or as as hand warmers/mittens.

 

Want to buy and not build? Try some of these links to see they have what you are looking for:

Letter Re: Archiving Downloaded Instructional Videos

Jim,

With all of the talk about the so-called Internet Kill Switch, and more and more people referencing online instructional videos, it might be time for people to start downloading these videos to their local computers. An easy way to do this is with the Firefox Fast Video Download plug-in. While watching an unlicensed video on YouTube and other sites, select the Tools menu, Fast video download, and then select the video you want to save. The videos may have the name of the video or a generic name like youtube_video. The extension may be .flv or .mp4, or there may be one or more of each. Select the format that you want (I personally prefer .mp4) and save the file, renaming it if you need to. To playback either of the files I recommend the VLC Media Player, which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The combination of the Fast Video Download plug-in and the VLC Media Player give you a free way to build up that survival video library and use it without an Internet connection, anywhere. – LVZ in Ohio

Letter Re: Solar Storms

Hi Jim,
Your note of last night regarding the pending solar storm was the strongest prep wake up call I’ve had yet. Especially as I finished reading One Second After Been just last night! I’ve been up all night making sure things are in order the best I can.

Now that I’ve done what I can, and still wound up on adrenaline, I spent some time digging through the Internet for more EMP information. I thought that this Huffington Post article really explains some of the real dangers quite well – such as how the transformers that are damaged by solar storms weigh over 100 tons, cannot be field repaired, and must be replaced – yet there is a 3 year waiting list for new ones right now! Yikes!

God bless, and praying this storm is only a wake up call and not the full deal! – Steve C

Two Letters Re: TEOTWAWKI: Getting Folks to Recognize the Possibility

Sir,

As a recent “convert” to Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy, I very much identify with the author of “TEOTWAWKI: Getting Folks to Recognize the Possibility.” I did, however, take issue with his conclusion regarding
his treatment of family members in a Schumeresque world.

Having recently presented my “list of lists” to my wife, she made the comment to me that my quantities were off. As a future pastor (I am currently serving in the Navy and preparing to enter seminary) she made the point that if the SHTF we would undoubtedly be taking in strays from my congregation who did not heed the warning signs. I thought this was an excellent point, and I think that all preppers should take this in consideration and consider expanding things like stored food quantities to allow for family members and friends who may show up at your door.

One of the biggest things I have respected about your philosophy is that it has a perspective firmly centered on Christ, and the truth of His Word to us. I believe that in a case WTSHTF, we will have an immense opportunity to see the way that God may bless us and bless others by association. But more importantly, I believe that we have to cling to right principles of doctrine. Though the author of this recent article makes a very fair case for turning aside even lazy family members, I believe we must adhere to the words of 1 Timothy 5:8: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an
unbeliever.” James 1:27 and Matthew 25:34-40 are other good verses to help us call to mind that Christian preppers are preparing for the Kingdom as well, and part of that means putting our faith in Him and following His instructions to us. I believe that if we were to find ourselves in a situation where we feel we would be endangering our stockpile (and our immediate family) by taking in strays, we must remember to approach such a situation prayerfully and even make the hard decision to trust beyond our own understanding, where God may be providing in ways we have yet to see unfold. Regardless of circumstances, I believe we cannot fail where we exercise faith and follow the Lord’s lead.

In closing, thank you for all your work, and especially for the highly excellent read that “Patriots” is. I look forward to reading your further work in the series.

Very Respectfully, – Michael W.

Dear J.W.R.:
I thought that I would share a quick note of how I overcame a similar situation of warning those that I love. I have been a long time preparedness minded person, and it has become a passion in my later years. I have five brothers and sisters, and my wife has the same. The family knows of our preparedness, and all think that I will have enough for everyone when the SHTF. With that in mind, I have tried my hardest to get them involved. The best thing that I have found is to apply to their strengths. I tried the just warning them path and met with resistance. After a lot of prayer and pondering, it came to my mind that if I used the strengths they each had, they would become excited and want to help. For example. I have a sister-in-law who has thought about food storage, but has never been motivated enough to do it, and certainly did not do anything past that. So in getting my medical supplies in order and to obtain things that are not common to Wal-Mart, I sat her down and told her what I was doing and what I wanted it for. I explained how critical the medical supplies are for a situation that I feel is right around the corner. With her being a home care nurse she took to it like a duck to water. We created a spreadsheet for what we have, what we need, what cost are involved, and what training we need. I have some supplies, and she has some. She thinks it is awesome. If she comes to the table with her food, and the best medical supply kit ever, she is more than welcome in my group. We have done the same with those who have auto skills on getting our travel vehicles ready. We have an engineer who took to ham radio, mother-in-law that took to the garden. I still have those who think that I am crazy and laugh, but I have been able to focus on the strengths of others and have got some great help. The best part is, we are getting experts is each field. This allows me more time to focus on other factors that I have been put in charge of and not have the stress and the worry of having to carry all of the weight. Keep up the great work and God bless. Thanks, – S.C.L

Economics and Investing:

B.B. was the first of several readers that sent us this: Commodities – Wheat Soars; Rogers Sees ‘Much Higher’ Food Prices. Got your wheat yet? Stop dawdling!

L.J. in England sent this: Food prices to soar 10% in time for the New Year.

Reader J.C. sent this: Global Wheat Shortage Feared.

“Boosters” spotted this: Is the End Game Hyperinflation or Debt Implosion?

James Altucher: 7 Reasons Not to Send Your Kid to College. (A hat tip to L.L. for the link.)

Allen E. forwarded a news item: A Run on Spanish Banks?

K.A.F. sent this: World oil prices approach $82

S.M. kindly sent us a whole raft of economic articles:

Faltering US recovery trips dollar

China Seeks to Widen Gold Market

Superman Comic Saves Family Home From Foreclosure

Pending Home Sales Hit Record Low

Cash Strapped California Consider Legalizing Sports Gambling

Stimulus Slammed: Republican Senators Release Report Alleging Waste (Really, government waste? It couldn’t be.)

Odds ‘n Sods:

K.A.F. sent an item for the “Surely, you jest” Department: EPA to Crack Down on Farm Dust. Perhaps cattle could be tranquilized or trained to not raise dust. They should commission a study.

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This is His Grandfather’s Bug, But Now It’s Electric. (Thanks to Len for the link,)

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Reader Susan Z. sent this: Arizona Sheriff: ‘Our Own Government Has Become Our Enemy’

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F.G. sent this: Rabid dogs kill at least 78 people in Bali, Indonesia.

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K.A.F. sent the link to this web page: The Sun as You’ve Never Seen It Before. 16 slides of the sun and the CME.