Guest Article: Sea Salt–An Indispensable Commodity for Uncertain Times, by Roxanne Griswold

When we think about setting aside emergency supplies, most of us would agree that preserved food and purified water are the essentials and everything else is secondary to these. Some might even choose to incorporate things like a manual grain mill, a water purifier, a food dehydrator, a solar cook stove and so on. But who would ever consider something as simple and humble as sea salt as an indispensable necessity and commodity in the tumultuous days ahead? I would even go so far as to say if sea salt is not a part of your survival provisions, it’s time to tuck away this invaluable, hidden treasure.

In fact, salt was once valued as a form of currency – it was that scarce, and considered a luxury of few. The ancient Greeks used salt to trade for slaves and Roman soldiers were paid in “salt money” or “salarium argentum” where we derive the English word, “salary”. Homer called it “Divine”. Jesus calls His followers (which I’m honored to say I am) the “salt of the earth”. Wars have been fought and whole settlements turned into cities and nations over the pursuit of salt. Just as gold and silver have once again gained ground in this present economic meltdown, so also will sea salt be a valuable and tradable commodity, literally “worth its weight in gold.” It will be a supreme bartering tool.

Sea salt has a unique ability of drawing out the flavor in food like no other seasoning, but this is secondary to yet another one of its amazing values. Salt has long been known for its ability to preserve foods. If in the event of societal and economic collapse, refrigeration may be a thing of the past. Unless you plan to consume what you pick immediately, depend on your air dehydrator or live off your food storage, you will need salt for preserving food. During harvest time, there should be plenty of fresh food (assuming you thought ahead to plant a garden), but the long harsh winters will inevitably come and preserving food will be a crucial issue. Even hunting for game, chances are you will not be able to consume it all in one sitting – salt preservation will be key. And without power, your pressure canner or electric dehydrator will not get you very far, so salt can be the perfect alternate route. 

With salt’s same ability to retard spoilage, “mineral dense sea salt” will also aid in the disinfecting and healing of wounds. A simple salt paste or soaking a wound in a salt/water solution several times a day, should achieve positive results. Sea salt also rejuvenates the skin keeping a more youthful appearance while aiding in the healing of acne, psoriasis, eczema and other skin related problems. Did you ever wonder why your skin felt so tight, free and clear of irritation or blemishes after spending a day at the beach? Sea salt has miracle healing properties that are often overlooked. In fact, the Blue Lagoon in Iceland is world renown for its hot salt springs that people flock to with skin conditions. Dead Sea salts are another sought- after skin commodity.

But might I be quick to add that not just any salt will suffice when it comes to you and your precious loved ones, especially typical table salt (sodium chloride) and in some cases, certain brands of sea salt. Salt that is processed for vast human consumption while meeting the public’s demand for a product that is cheap and convenient, much is also sacrificed. According to Jacques De Langre, the author of the book Seasalt’s Hidden Powers, table salt has been stripped of all but two of its 84 trace minerals through a chemical process, dried at extreme temperatures, and oftentimes – for the sake of appearance – anti-caking, free-flowing, or conditioning agents are added along with iodine. But buyer beware of even some brands of so-called sea salt: It may be mechanically harvested from dirt or concrete basins and piped through metal conduits; artificially processed; heated to extreme temperatures to break the molecular structure; stripped of its essential minerals and further adulterated by chemical additives. In essence, many highly acclaimed “sea salts” are no different than plain ole table salt.

So where do you find pure, unadulterated salt – like God intended in nature? The best sea salt we have discovered on the market is Celtic Sea Salt. Dense with vital trace minerals along with its light gray hue from the pure clay soil that it’s harvested from, this sea salt is unmistakable in old world flavor and nutritious. (And taste may mean everything with a bland diet of survival foods!) Extracted from the natural evaporation of the sea and wind alone, the ocean brine is channeled from the sea to the pristine shallow clay ponds, surrounded by vegetation. It provides a natural habitat for the salt while the salt farmer gathers the dazzling white crystals with a long, shovel like tool then collects it daily by hand.

Celtic Sea Salt® can be a simple addition to any food storage plan that just makes sense. It not only stores indefinitely, it provides so many hidden health benefits to mention in this article, but here are just a few: Supplying well over 80 (24 of which are essential to life) minerals needed for proper metabolic functions and the assimilation of necessary nutrients in the body, natural sea salt is also an excellent immune booster and helps keep the body alkaline. It works synergistically with vitamins and other minerals for their bioavailability to the body. For instance, we know that calcium needs both magnesium and Vitamin D3 to be absorbed; Sodium and potassium need each other in the proper proportions to help maintain normal blood pressure and water distribution. Since natural sea salt contains a balance of minerals including sodium and potassium, the body is able to safely eliminate any excess sodium without the complications of typical table salt. This is a huge benefit for those who have to monitor their salt intake.

In an age of degenerative diseases and in the difficult times that may lie ahead, no doubt sea salt will be valuable to keep on hand. It’s not only essential for health and vitality, but clearly carries a vast array of benefits. Discover for yourself why sea salt should be an important part of not only your emergency storage plan, but to a healthier “you”.

“Sea water contains minerals such as ionized sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and selenium, plus many trace elements such as copper, iron, zinc, manganese, and chromium. The human body uses the minerals & trace elements in sea salt to create electrolytes, maintaining the “internal ocean” which is vital to the proper functioning of every system in the body.”

Roxanne Griswold, Ready Made Resources, LLC

Letter Re: Desert Water–Where is It?

James:
I live in Prescott, Arizona about 80 miles north of Phoenix. We are at over 5,000 ft. altitude, in the mountainous high desert, where the temperatures are usually about 20 degrees F lower than down in the valley. The local creeks still have some water flowing in them from the rain and snow we received this past winter, but the flow is now down to a trickle and they will cry up completely soon. We actually get some decent rain storms during the local monsoon season, usually around July, but we’re not allowed to trap it in reservoirs because it’s all spoken for. Like they say around here, “Whisky is for drinking; water is for fighting.”

Most of “our” water either flows down to the major population centers to the south, or sinks into the ground to recharge the local water table. We have an aquifer a few hundred feet down, but it has been slowly going down over the last few years as a result of population growth (that’s what we get for being one of those “best places to retire”). There are some farms with greenhouses in the area that are fed by wells, but they cannot produce enough to feed our local population. We get no water from outside like Phoenix does from the irrigation canals that have been built to carry water from the Colorado River.

Yesterday I drove my wife down to Phoenix to catch a plane, and we noticed a huge traffic jam on the northbound side of the I-17 where a small brush fire had briefly closed the highway to traffic the day before. This was on the part of the hill where the signs tell you to turn off your air conditioning to prevent overheating while going up a long, steep grade, and the semis move along at about 10 mph. We looked at each other and said, “Those people are all going to die when the Schumer hits the fan.” Down in Phoenix, the temperature was already in the 90s, and everyone had their AC cranked up to the max.

I used to live in Phoenix when I was a kid back in the 1950s, and can remember what 116 degrees in the shade feels like. Back then the population of the valley was about 10% of that it is now, and it was a pretty nice place to live. Our subdivision was in what had, until recently, been a lemon grove, and they’d open the gates from the local canal to flood our lawns twice a month to keep the grass green. The irrigation canals were originally built to bring water to feed the citrus groves and cotton fields that have been largely replaced by mile after mile of suburban sprawl. If the grid ever goes down for any length of time, millions of retirees are going to discover that the desert really is uninhabitable, and they aren’t going to be able to live there after the air conditioning and water pumps stop running. So, where are they all going to go?

Like you said in a previous post, towns like Prescott and Sedona will quickly become free-fire zones in a TEOTWAWKI situation. If the grid goes down we will have it marginally better than the hordes down in the low desert, but even this area can naturally support a population of only a few thousand, like it did back when Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday lived here. In the event of a mass exodus from Phoenix, we may have to put up road blocks at the strategic choke points on the few roads leading into town, and tell the golden horde to try to keep going on up to Flagstaff. Sorry, no vacancy…

If you go further north up towards Ash Fork and Williams and the other old railroad towns along old Route 66, they have to actually truck water in because they can’t even get it out of wells up there (this explains why the population density is so low in that area). If you’ve ever driven on I-40 between California and Texas, you’ll quickly realize that in a real TEOTWAWKI scenario most of the people who live in the Los Angeles area are going to be lucky to get through the Mojave Desert, let alone to the Colorado River.

Those who make it that far will still have to cross hundreds of miles of high desert in Arizona (before they get to even more desert in New Mexico…). It’s easy to imagine tens of thousands of broken down cars along the Interstate between Needles and Kingman and Seligman and Ash Fork. The southerly routes along I-10 and I-8 in the hot low desert will be even worse. Look at your road atlas and try to imagine how many suburbanites are going to end up dead before they get to a gas station that still has gas, let alone to any place that has enough water.

It’s almost enough to make you want to move back to Missouri or Minnesota or somewhere else where water actually falls from the sky on a regular basis. Regards, – Robert L.

Letter Re: Storage Options–Hidden in Plain Sight

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:
How do you conceal resources so an intruder won’t see them? Try storing things in plain sight.

An old soft drink machine, the kind that looks like a large refrigerator and dispenses cans, makes a great weapons locker. Anyone looking through your shop or garage would walk right past a machine like that, if it’s not plugged in and shows no sign of active use. The great thing about these is they are very difficult to break into and when all the can distribution stuff is removed, they can hold a lot of guns, ammo or food. A weapons safe can be encouragement for determined thieves to work harder or apply extreme measures to force the owner to open it.

How about a new plastic 500 gallon septic tank? They will hold a lot of supplies and few would ever think to pop the top of one of those to peek inside. (I borrowed this idea but it’s a good one.)

Many garages and shops have open-frame walls. A 2×6 wall can hold a lot of food supply if you caulk the seams well and cover it with something like OSB plywood to hang your tools on. The caulking will keep the bugs and rodents out.

An old washing machine can store items like food or propane cylinders. Few burglars will bother to remove the heavy “something” that’s sitting on the lid.

Even if your plan is to “bug in,” it’s a good idea to store much of your food in small caches. If you are robbed, they likely won’t get everything. – Tyler W.

Economics and Investing:

El Jefe Jeff E. spotted this: Bankruptcy talk spreads among California muni officials

Reader A.P. liked this article over at Fox Business: Is the World Broke? Entitlements, Spending May Spell Doom

Reader J.H. sent a link to a piece by Jim Jubak: Euro crisis is tip of the iceberg; What we see is scary enough, but the hidden part is something virtually every nation will have to navigate around during the next couple of decades

Items from The Economatrix:

Gulf Oil Spill Impact Will Be Long-Term

New, Giant Sea Plume Seen in Gulf

Storms Could Cross Massive Gulf Oil Spill

Odds ‘n Sods:

This isn’t news to most SurvivalBlog readers: American Family Farmers Feed 155 People Each – 2% of Americans Farm. (A hat tip to Josh for the link.)

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SurvivalBlog readers in the Pacific Northwest will find this of interest: A new store that specializes in survival gear, compact storage food, and bullion coins is opening today (June 1st, 2010) in Kalama, Washington: The Survival Bunker. They are located at 447 North First Street, Suite 110, Kalama, Washington 98625. (It is about 30 miles north of Portland, Oregon, just off I-5. The usual sales tax breaks for Oregon residents shopping in Washington apply.) Note that since the store is truly ready for “off grid” operation they do not take credit cards, so bring cash! This is great opportunity for you to buy your survival gear anonymously. Their phone number is: 830-822-1210

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Gray Wolves Rebound, to Neighbors’ Unease; Close Encounters, Animal Killings Worry Wisconsin Town; Federal Government Pushes to Allow Hunting, Trapping. (Thanks to Oxy for the link.)

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Some good news! Eighth state says guns beyond feds’ control; Alaska governor signs Firearms Freedom Act into law

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I know that [there is] no good in them, but for [a man] to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it [is] the gift of God.” – Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 (KJV)

Note from JWR:

Today we present the final entry for Round 28 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.), and D.) A 500 round case of Federal 5.56mm XM193 55 Grain FMJ ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $199 value, and includes free UPS shipping.

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 28 ends today, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry for the next round. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Un-Secret Garden–Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Grow my Garden, by Jason A.

For a lot of survival-minded folks, gardening is one of the first, most logical steps to take toward self-sufficiency.  Most of us agree that when the Schumer hits, the thin veneer of society will be removed so fast that in weeks we won’t even remember it was once there.  Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that during hard times, a garden could become a prime target for theft, destruction, raids or other attacks. 
The most discussed hypothetical garden raids include a Golden Horde or Mutant Zombie Bikers who, like locusts would descend upon your garden and rip it to shreds, leaving nothing more than a memory and bare dirt.  For a lot of us, we imagine fighting to the death with our battle rifles.  They can have my turnips when they pry them from my cold dead fingers and such.

The second scenario is much more chilling and difficult to deal with.  This scenario is the nearly feral child or the father stealing to provide for his children.  How do you defend your garden against desperate but opportunistic feeders?  Furthermore, should you?  Obviously harming any trespasser is a savage thing to think of, much less do.  Surplus garden harvests should be doled out as charity but in a controlled manner and at the owner’s discretion. 
There is but one real solution to both of the scenarios I mentioned.  That solution I call the Five C’s.  By following all of these steps, you can take a broad-spectrum approach toward garden safety.  The garden is not advertised except to those who can help, the risk is shared when possible, and defended when all else fails with less than lethal means.  These ways allow you keep your garden safe in some passive ways that don’t require a constant guard.

Conceal—the best defense is to hide what you would otherwise need to defend. That’s not to say you don’t still defend your garden. If it’s hidden well and everyone in your cadre keeps tight lips, there is little chance that it will be found by opportunistic feeders or roving hordes.
The best way to hide your garden is to use land features. You want your garden to get plenty of sun from exposure to the southern sky (if you are in the northern hemisphere) so keep that in mind when deciding on position. Utilizing slopes is a permaculture practice. If you can find a nice south facing slope and you position garden beds down the slope (but stay away from the bottom where frost is a threat) you can potentially hide a garden in a way you could not if that garden was on the apex of that hill. The ideal position is a piece of land where the only approachable position is from the north and it would have a hill facing that direction.  The backside, which faces south, would be ideal land for a garden.  Be sure to terrace and add swales where appropriate to retain water that would normally run quickly down a hill and away from your plants. 
Permaculture can help us in another way by allowing us to use the high canopy at the edges to hide your food crops. Again, southern exposure is key but if you leave your large forest trees in place, they can hide your garden efforts from strangers.  This is a good technique for land without the hill I mentioned above.  The large canopy trees would serve as a living hill and would hide everything south.
If there is a lawn near the garden you can let the lawn grow up around the edges to keep it hidden.  In a SHTF scenario with no fuel or running mowers you may not have any choice in that matter.  You can also plant annual or perennial flowers nearby that grow tall to hide your garden.  As a welcome side effect, these flowers will sometimes bring in pollinating insects and repel bad ones.  Grow Echinacea (coneflowers) or Calendula (pot marigold) for a concealment effect and for effective herbal medicine.

Camouflage—this is not the same as concealing your garden. Concealing implies that something is positioned to prevent it from being seen. Camouflage implies that the thing you want hidden is in sight but just not apparent or conspicuous.  Placing something under a rock conceals it.  Making it look like a rock camouflages it.  In areas where your garden may be seen, grow ground-hugging crops that blend in. Tomatoes are tall and produce huge red fruit that can be seen from a long distance. Save them for your inconspicuous areas where they can be concealed. Instead, plant lettuce and carrots (which produce wispy leaves). Instead of planting pole beans and climbing peas, use the bush varieties that stay close to the ground.   Root crops are great for this purpose.  They never grow much more than a foot tall.  The greens are quite nondescript while nutritious.  You can cut them at opportune times for food and then still harvest the roots (that are almost completely covered) at a later date.  Don’t plant varieties or types of plants that are colored differently from the adjacent areas. If you lawn is bright green then red rhubarb is going to stand out like a sore thumb.  Don’t grow bright yellow crookneck squash.  Instead grow dark green zucchini squash.  You can even find tomatoes or peppers that are colored differently to prevent the contrast of red fruit on green foliage. 

Contribute—this is the most obvious thing that many people overlook. A sense of community is absolutely necessary for the self-sufficient life. Gardens tend to be a feast or famine activity. Unless you are the best planner in the world and nature works for you at every step you will have huge harvests and then suddenly nothing. Share your crop when you can. You will build community and gain guards. In my industry we have a term called buy-in. If your neighbors buy-in to your garden and relish what you share they will certainly help you guard the goods or weed or water. You get the point.  Sharing converts potential thieves (not that our neighbors aren’t honorable people) into partners.
If you get your neighbors involved, the food security of the neighborhood will also increase.  They won’t have reason to steal your food if they have their own.  Plus if one person’s garden gets raided and they have the only garden then all the eggs were in that one basket. 

Contain—this point goes along quite well with both camouflage and concealment. Your garden must be contained. This is accomplished in two ways: keeping it close to living areas and keeping it enclosed.
The first is obvious. Keep the garden as close to windows and your living areas as possible. Period.  You need to be close to your garden to provide proper care anyway.  Permaculturists call this a Zone 1 kitchen garden. 
The second is a little less obvious. Try to locate your garden in funnel areas. Make sure that if anyone wants to come into your garden they are funneled into a known route that can be watched, blocked or trapped. Utilize thorny bushes such as blackberries to close off your garden in vulnerable areas.
One bonus method: on fruit trees, prune branches so that they cannot be reached without a ladder. If you have a ladder and thieves do not, you have access and they do not. They risk being caught or injuring themselves climbing for fruit. Only desperate people will try this. If they are truly desperate then you should provide any help you can.

Con—when all else fails use the practice of deception. “Did you hear about old man Gregor? He shot at some carrot-nabber last week.” Spread rumors and have your community spread them as well when the opportunity seems right. Just remember, the cobra strikes as a last resort. It puffs up and folds its hood out so it doesn’t have to strike.
Most people are unprepared to defend a garden by force.  Those who are prepared will avoid it at all costs. If you learn and hone the five C’s of protecting your garden you can make sure you never have to put yourself or even others in desperate situations in which there are few or no options.

Letter Re: Ammunition and Magazines for Barter

James Wesley:
The idea of using ammo as currency has been ridiculed by many. “It’ll never happen.” they say. “It would take an economic catastrophe for ammo to be used as money.” Not so. Today some friends of my wife came over (we were moving) and asked what we had for sale. One gentleman jokingly asked if I had any ammo (.22, .223 and .308) or magazines (Ruger 10/.22 or SKS) for sale. I looked at my wife and she nodded. Okay, she knows them well enough to feel comfortable with the exchange. I don’t need to sell any of it, so it’s a favor to him. I agreed to get him what he needs. It’s not that these items are illegal, or even expensive (although they have appreciated in value since I got them). Rather, the local stores never have any. They get it in once or twice a year and you can only get one box per person and it’s all gone the same day. It’s policy now for the mainland vendors not to ship here to Hawaii. We agreed on a partial sale and trade. He will bring over some venison for a big party and grill it up for us on premises [in exchange] for a few magazines and use FRNs to purchase some ammo. I told him it was all sealed up. I knew the caliber and the quantity per canister, but not necessarily whether it was hollow point or any other factors. He would have to commit to buying whatever I opened up, match grade or Wolf [brand, imported from Russia] at market prices, plus shipping. He agreed gratefully. My wife thanked me and told me I was doing them a service and that should we return, we will have additional good will to return to. If this is how it is now, imagine later? As long as the meat supply lasts, I should easily be able to trade ammo for meat with the local hunters and who knows what else. We’ll be gone in a few days so the OPSEC risk is minimal (having said that, I am packing until we’re gone). – Anonymous in Hawaii

Letter Re: I Thought that I Had a Clue

JWR:
Regarding livestock, I recommend long horned cattle. During the U.S. Civil War, cattle in Texas were left to fend for themselves. By the time the men came home from the end of the war there were over one million wild cattle taking care of business on their own. Many of these cattle were rounded up the next few years, making for the cattle drives north to Kansas and Missouri. If cattle are left feral and have access to water, they are pretty successful in foraging on their own. There is no comparison in maintaining cattle and goats, or sheep. Plus if you’re interested in keeping beef as part of your diet, someone, most likely you, will have to do the hard work in keeping the cattle contained, pasture at optimum, and fresh water available. Or if you’re ,blessed to have a nearby box canyon that is green most of the year round, drive them into it blocking the egress off. Otherwise you could develop fence rows of thick banks of thorn wood, ironwood, and various bushes as wild rose and holly to contain them. Being on a vegan or vegetarian diet after the fact of an infrastructure collapse is not my idea of well rounded diet when
we’re all most likely to see our level of living return to the 1800s era, if we’re lucky.

As to the horse, in the past the horse was the line between survival and death. The only Indians known for eating their horses, after they rode them to death, were the Apaches. I suspect the horse might regain his higher stature due to the fact he can be an efficient mode of transportation. Here again, the horse is a versatile animal, in what they eat. They’re more likely on their own to eat not just grass/hay, but the bark off trees, and the leaves off of various bushes.The Lakota [Sioux] would go in the evenings gathering up branches broken off of trees to feed their horses if they’d been rounded up.

Containing goats would mean having fencing they cannot penetrate, and this means either having non- climb before the meltdown, or building a Mexican fence which is posts positioned immediately next to each other…lots of heavy work, and intensive in cutting hundreds of posts, digging hundreds of holes, and then setting hundreds to have a fence that can contain the goats or sheep. The cattle can be maintained as they were before the country was fenced off, by having several pastures that can be rotated year round. This way the need for hay for the cattle is not needed, although it will be necessary for the horses. I’d recommend investing in scythes as well as fencing for hay stacks.

As to chickens, that is going to be a whole other story, the game chicken is a survivor, of course it’s a challenge in finding the eggs. Domesticated chickens can be kept by shutting them up at night. We free range our chickens now, they have a body guard, a Pyrenees. I believe the way the situation is handled by individuals will determine on what you have, keep, and develop. We now need, and will need when the fit hits the shan, is a can do attitude, no matter how hard the going gets. Being with like minded folks will make it more bearable, and maybe even joyous once we’ve adapted to the new living standards.

There are two books I recommend having and reading many times:

The Prairie Traveler: The 1859 Handbook for Westbound Pioneers by Randolph B. Marcy, Captain of the U.S. Army. Written in 1859.
Includes: Routes, First Aid, Recommended Clothing, Shelter Provisions, and much, much more. This is a daily dialogue of what was needed, and used. This book is being printed by Applewood Books, Bedford, MA. 01730

The other is Easy Game Cookery: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin.; This gives safe procedure for skinning and cooking critters listed from small game as rabbit to large game as bear with recipes. Printed by Storey Books, Pownai, Vermont, www.storey.com

Regards, – EMB

Economics and Investing:

The following recently ran in The Daily Bell, published in Appenzell, Switzerland: Euro Crisis to Set One World Currency? (OBTW, subscriptions and RSS feeds to The Daily Bell are free. I read it often, and recommend it.)

Reader “Two Dogs” sent this interesting analysis: ObamaCare’s Economic Dominoes

David R. sent us an op-ed by David Einhorn: Easy Money, Hard Truths. Here is a key quote: “According to the Bank for International Settlements, the United States’ structural deficit — the amount of our deficit adjusted for the economic cycle — has increased from 3.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2007 to 9.2 percent in 2010. This does not take into account the very large liabilities the government has taken on by socializing losses in the housing market. We have not seen the bills for bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and even more so the Federal Housing Administration, which is issuing government-guaranteed loans to non-creditworthy borrowers on terms easier than anything offered during the housing bubble.”

Items from The Economatrix:

Richard Russell: This Market Has Nowhere to Go But Down

US Plays Down European Crisis But China Worried

Six New Hurdles for Home Financing

Euro Currency To Set One World Currency?

Consumers More Cautious About Spending in April

Capital Gains Tax Rise to Punish Prudent Savers

Stocks Retreat as Fitch Downgrades Spain’s Debt

Clock Ticking On 100,000 Teacher Jobs

Ron Paul: Inside Sources Told Me Fed is Panicking at Mass Awakening

Odds ‘n Sods:

K.T. recommended this insightful piece over at the Western Rifle Shooters Assn. (WRSA) web page: Lessons From Lithuania

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Some of us may have watched a few too many old westerns. For those in the Cowboy Action Shooting fraternity, you’ve gotta check this book out from you library, or get your own copy: Packing Iron: Gun Leather of the Frontier West. The book has a whole chapter devoted to H.H. Heiser, one of my favorite gun leather makers that I discovered back in the days when I rented gun show tables.

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I’ve often mentioned the concept of Christian charity in my blog, but have you ever really studied it? This online book might be helpful.

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Trent H. sent this news from England: Identity cards scheme will be axed ‘within 100 days’

Note from JWR:

Today we present an entry for Round 28 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.), and D.) A 500 round case of Federal 5.56mm XM193 55 Grain FMJ ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $199 value, and includes free UPS shipping.

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 28 ends on May 31st, 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.

Desert Water — Where is It?, by Knun

Let’s all hope that the information contained within this article is never used. To put it simply, for most suburban type folks, we would be in a world of hurt if we actually had to use this information during a SHTF situation. Mitigating a basic need such as water should be at the forefront of our preparations. Since preventing ourselves from being in a situation that would require the skills I will describe is ten times better than using them. With that in mind I have also described techniques to minimize the need to utilize these skills.

If you live in or near a desert environment then preparedness is the best course of action with regards to water. Are there springs, pools, water holes, canals, or any other sources of water nearby? In this discussion nearby is a relative term. Do you plan on driving 100 miles through the desert on the interstate in a bug out situation? If so, 100 miles should be considered nearby. Plan and prepare accordingly. Be prepared to find water, when it’s over 100 degrees, with minimal disruption to your travels and your well being. Ask yourself how far you could travel, on foot, in order to obtain enough water to carry on with your task at hand. To put this in perspective, here’s a little story that goes along these lines. A close friend of mine moved to the desert. He and his wife went out for a night on the town shortly after arriving. When they decided to travel home the wife decided to drive while the husband slept in the passenger seat. The wife ended up traveling toward a distant town, which was actually in the opposite direction they needed to travel. She was driving towards the lights and ran out of gas. My friend hitchhiked towards the nearest settlement and after a few hours reached a gas station. He was able to procure a full three gallon gas can. He then hitchhiked back to his vehicle, put the three gallons into the tank and proceeded to run out of gas ten miles short of the gas station. A funny story but it transitions easily into a survival situation. Always know your limitations and prepare accordingly. Do not put yourself in a situation where you are ten miles short of the next source of water.

What does being prepared mean? The most obvious is having enough water with you to begin with. To me prepared means having in hand, or direct access to, enough water to provide one’s needs for a determined amount of time. We hear of a guideline of one gallon per day. But as with everything else in life a guideline is rarely the optimum. It will simply allow an average person to survive. If you’ve not spent time traveling across country, in the desert, when it’s hot, you may want to rethink the gallon per day idea. I know folks that could easily get by with a quarter of that amount while I actually need more. I was hiking with a friend and we both had a large quantity of water with us. We were fully hydrated but my friend started to develop heat stroke. It was quite hot and to maintain his temperature at a manageable level we had to use the water to wet him down. In that situation the amount of water we had was barely enough. I always carry as much water as is practical at the expense of other useful items. But there are a few other ways in which to prepare for desert travel. Here are some of those I have learned.

First and foremost find water prior to the emergency you are preparing for. Travel the route you are planning to use and determine where water is along your route. You may find that by doing this your route will need to be altered accordingly. Native Americans traveled based on access to water. Just as today we travel based on access to fuel for our vehicles the natives traveled based on access to fuel for their bodies which is water. Their trails were rarely in a straight line to their destination. One important resource on the road to discovery, which is often overlooked, is talking to people familiar with the area. As an example, I hiked a trail for years and did not realize that less than 100 yards off that trail was a grotto of at least a thousand gallons of water, until I hiked it with someone who knew of the grotto’s existence! No maps, contemporary or old, showed this liquid treasure trove. Is there a water distribution canal along your route? Would it be viable in an emergency? Are there livestock watering holes nearby? Would the owner allow access? A spring? Free standing pools? A seep? All of these could save your life when it’s 115 degrees out side and you find yourself without water. I would suggest looking for these areas in the fall. To illustrate, a water seep found in the spring may be dry in the late fall season. If you find water in late summer or in the fall chances are it will probably be there year round. Be aware of droughts since even those areas of water may dry up during a drought.

But there is an even better way to prepare, and people have been doing it for thousands of years. It is simply to cache a supply along your route. My friends and me sometimes hike in the desert nearby during the heat of summer. During the cooler months of the year we cache water all along the routes we travel. What better way to prepare for an emergency than to preposition water along your route? Be sure to cache more than you will need and in a usable sized container. I prefer a five gallon sized container for long term storage but know of thirty and even fifty-five gallon containers positioned throughout the desert nearby. Be sure to use a container that will survive the desert heat and no matter what the ecology folks say the common one-gallon “milk” jugs water is sold in will turn to dust quickly when exposed to the [harsh light and ] intense heat of the desert. Don’t forget about animals when hiding your water. The most dangerous of which is man. I have cached water in the most secure of places only to find that it was found by someone (or something) else. Another reason to hide much more than needed. But probably the most important thing about caching water is being able to find it when you need it. There is nothing worse than, being within fifty feet of your cache, not knowing exactly where it is. Use your GPS to mark your locations as well as a topo map. Take a picture from your cache spot of a prominent feature nearby, mark your topo with an arrow pointing in the direction of the photo then number the photo and the spot on your map. Be sure to print the photos directly and store them with your treasure map.

But let’s say Murphy’s Law has reared it’s ugly head. You have to find water to survive.

Look for signs of man in the area. A windmill, waterhole, or cistern could be nearby. Watch for smoke, fresh tracks, a well worn trail or even a trail cabin.

You can also follow washes since they eventually gather together in low areas where water would be more likely to be found. Two particular things to look for are, pools in a wash, or a canyon with steep sides (a narrow canyon is best) that is shaded from the south and west sun for much of or all of the day. Small pools of water will stay in these places the longest and water might be found just underground in a dry pool at these spots. Before drinking such water look for signs of poisoning by checking for signs of animals using the water. If you see lizard, rodent or other animal tracks leading to and from the pool, but don’t see any remains of small animals nearby, chances are the water is okay to drink. Small pockets of water may also be found in these areas between rocks. A small flexible drinking tube can be fished into these crevices and the water sucked out. Water is often located just below the surface trapped within the underlying rock layers. The key, in this regard, is to know where to dig. Water often collects beneath the surface in areas of the streambed where there are sharp bends. Dig near the outside of such bends. If you do find water it may not be in large quantities. When you dig down and find wet sand or gravel, keep scooping out this material until water gradually seeps into the hole. You can line the hole with grass or cloth to act as a filter. If there is not enough to dip out and drink you can sponge it up with a shirt or other article of clothing and squeeze it out into your mouth.

Another particular thing to always look for is vegetation. Cottonwood and sycamore trees will tap into underground water and grow quite large. These trees can be seen from quite a distance due to their size but their roots can go down 100 feet to get to that water. Two plants that have shallow root systems are a tree called desert willow (mulefat) and the desert cane. If you see them green in dry weather there is always water within a foot or so of the surface. These plants grow in washes or canyons with cottonwood and sycamore sometimes nearby. Mountain Laurel is also a good tree to look for if it is in a grove and is of a very unnatural green color and especially growing in a ravine or coming down off the side of a mountain or hill leading to a canyon bottom. Another technique near the large trees is to find rock outcroppings in the washes and to dig before after or in the bedrock outcropping. Many times the bedrock in these locations have depressions or bowls carved over time that will hold water.

Of course the best way to find water in the desert when there are few clues to vegetation is to find a good trail with lots of tracks of animals like javelina, coyote and deer. Usually these animals know where the water is and if the trail and tracks are numerous and the trail is used constantly, follow it and eventually it will lead you to the only water source in the area. Sometimes these trails go for miles but these animals need water on a daily basis so following these trails could save your life.

Also, doves and quail always go to water just before sunset and roosting for the night. Watch for flights of these birds and which direction they are flying about sundown and go in that direction. They always travel in groups to water but will return from drinking one or two at a time. So always look for groups of birds and note which direction the large groups are all traveling.

Watch for insects such as bees or flies. They do not venture far from water. Sometimes you can actually see lines of these insects flying to surface water. Bees and wasps will protect their water supply so be very careful. Approaching these locations at night, when they are dormant, would be wise.

Obviously, some desert vegetation such as certain species of cactus contains water. The barrel cactus is one example. If you can cut open the cacti to get to the pulpy inside, you can obtain some water out of them. But the structure of this cactus makes this a difficult task and the small amount of fluid you obtain almost prohibitive. Besides the spines you will also have to cut through the wooden skeleton which surrounds the pulp. Unless you have an ax the work involved would far exceed the amount of water you obtain. A cousin of the barrel cactus is far more suited to fluid recovery. It is the hedgehog cactus. With a knife you can easily cut off the top of these small cacti. Holding the top stable with your finger or a stick cut the spines and skin off like peeling a cucumber. You can then slice off a chuck. Eat the soft pulp or squeeze out the water in a bandanna. You won’t get much moisture from a cactus, it’s more like slime than water, and the taste is pretty bad. But it’s something, none the less. An even more productive part of the cactus to harvest is the fruit. Barrel, saguaro and prickly pear all produce edible fruit, which will provide juices. In fact, all cactus fruit is edible but some are not palatable. The barrel is somewhat unique since the fruit will survive for up to a year on the cacti. Another nice feature of the barrel fruit is the lack of spines. With all of the others you will have to remove the small, almost invisible prickers, by rolling them in the dirt for a bit. Cactus produce fruit in the spring and it matures into the summer so they are a viable source to look for. The taste is usually tart and the texture is rather slimy. Another technique is to place many small pieces of edible cactus into a plastic bag, place it in the sun, and let moisture collect inside. Obviously, the bags of cactus pulp are also transportable.

Animals, reptiles, and insects are another source of water. Of course the water is a part of the creature so is not easily obtained. Sucking the blood of a rabbit or chewing the abdomen of a tarantula may not sound appealing but could allow you to survive if you could handle the experience. Many folks could not and it possibly could cost them their lives. Having never done this I doubt I could get far with a large spider but I could chew on a raw rabbit.

Another possibility for very short term survival is your own urine. If you absolutely have to you could drink your urine to survive. But there is a trick to it. You have to drink it immediately, you cannot carry it in a canteen for later use. The natural bacteria will overcome the ammonia very quickly and become toxic in an hour or so. Urine as it is passed from the body is 100% sterile and if drank within a few minutes contains no bacteria and other than a bad ammonia taste and a mild upsetting of the stomach, will keep you going for another day.

The most important thing to remember if you are in a desert without water is to not give up. Don’t die of thirst when water may be just a few meters beneath your feet or nearby in a hidden rock outcrop. If there are animals and plants living in the desert in which you are located, then there is water as well, if you know how to find it.