Economics and Investing:

Reader John S. spotted this: California is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief

I found an article linked in a piece by Dr. Gary North that illustrates just how deep a hole the Federal government is digging: $126.9 Billion and Counting.

The charts in Nathan’s recent blog piece tell a thousand words. This is no ordinary recession. We’ve fallen off a cliff.

George Gordon spotted this: Gold Hits Record High In Euros, Pound.

Items from The Economatrix:

Ron Paul Discusses Coming US Collapse

Jim Rogers: Pound Could Collapse Within Weeks

Housing Recovery Looking Shakier than Expected

Consumer Confidence Weakens in February

No Relief From Tax Agony (The Mogambo Guru)

Massive Bank Failures Due, Says Bank Oversight Panel

Commercial Mortgage Default Rate in US More than Doubles

More Merger Activity Helps Lift Stocks for Third Day

Postal Service’s Emerging Model: Never on Saturday

Bad Debts Hit Record High

Chilean Stocks Post World’s Biggest Drop as Quake Closes Roads

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Straycat” says: Don’t count on 911, and don’t be one of the Sheeple: Man Dies During Storm When 911 Calls Go Unheeded

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Devon yachtsman jailed for ‘piracy protection’ shotgun. (Thanks to Dane S. for the link.)

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Reader Steve K. found this: Backpack Hydroelectric Plant Gives You 500 Watts on the Move

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Bob G. sent this humorous short video clip of BHO addressing a US Navy audience. (BTW, more often that not, Navy “Corpsmen” end up with a surviving patient, rather than a corpse. So they get my heartfelt praise!)

Notes from JWR:

The news from Chile keeps getting worse. I’m now of the opinion that there wasn’t more extensive looting in Haiti simply because there were very few things of value available to loot. The country is that poor–desperately poor. But in Chile, there is some loot worth stealing, and my-oh-my has the thin veneer of civility been torn away! SurvivalBlog reader Bob G. sent this from The Daily Mail: Security concerns spread as Chile quake death toll rises. Bob’s comment: “Do you remember the docu-drama After Armageddon? The comment by one the people in that show was that “we are nine meals from anarchy.” Well, this interview subject [in Chile] was only six meals way.”

Josh sent me these news links: Chile Battles Lawlessness, Desperation After Massive Earthquake (VOA), Hundreds of looters detained in Chile (ABC Australia), and Chile earthquake news: Soldiers struggle to quell looting, president imposes curfew (New York Daily News). This was Josh’s summary comment: “Fire up the printing presses for aid money…inflation be damned! Even if it isn’t TEOTWAWKI, when the SHTF, we can expect 90% of the population to be ill-prepared, hungry mobs, looting, curfews, martial law, etc. It would be prudent to keep a low profile!”

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Today we present another entry for Round 27 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 HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $249 value.

Second Prize: 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 $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 27 ends on March 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.

Letter Re: Honeybees for Retreat Defense

Dear Jim,
I’m very sorry to hear about your recent loss! God Bless!

Thank you for all the work you put into your survival blog to get the much needed word out! It is much appreciated! My wife and I live in the mountains of Western Oregon and the following is one of the defensive strategies we use that may be of interest to your readers.

A good defense from mobs for a couple living alone is bee hives. A hive of bees tipped over will attack anything that moves within 50′ to 100′ of the hive day or night. (maybe further) We set hives along the driveway into our house and inside of the deer fence around our house which encloses about a half acre.

At night you can extend your bees attack area by placing electric lights some distance from the hives. The bees will always fly toward the light. The lights should be individual bulbs which can be turned on to illuminate a certain area. Only light up the area where the bees are needed.

Bees are very good for blockading roads or driveways. They are very persistent. You will need bee equipment to avoid being stung: bee suit, hat, veil, gloves and boots. And you will need the bee suit to put the hives back together.

Bee hives can easily be tipped over with a rope or wire attached around the top, if they are close enough to the house or defensive position. For longer distances a piece of heavy sheet metal can be leaned against a hive and shot into with a high powered rifle. (Being careful not to destroy the hive boxes.)

Bees normally begin flying when the temperature reaches 54 degrees F. At lower temperatures they soon drop dead. Bees will fly in any temperature if their hive is tipped over but the lower the degrees the more bees you will lose. In a survival situation bees will provide you with honey and a good non-lethal defense.

You will need to study beekeeping which is very interesting. Bees can live and forage in almost any environment. The bees will also pollinate your survival garden and orchard and increase yields by 30 to 50%.

Every survivalist should be a beekeeper… for the honey and for defense… and for the fun of it. – Pete in Oregon

Two Letters Re: Cost-Effective Emergency Water Treatment

Jim,

Having been a small municipal water system operator in Upstate New York, I have some experience with basic water treatment. The link provided in ” Chris in West Virginia’s” article is sound in regard to using Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione. One would want to use a test kit to measure residual chlorine in the water and maintain the level between 0.3 and 1ppm after initial treatment. To treat water, chlorine is added until the level is at least 0.5ppm after an one hour contact time. It is critical that the chlorine have time to interact with the water and some method of stirring the water during treatment must be employed. Once the water has had time to interact with the chlorine, there will be levels of combined chlorine in the form of chlorides and “free” residual chlorine. Presence of residual chlorine indicates that the water is saturated enough with chlorine that any microbes/contaminants present will continue to be oxidized.

Having clean, filtered water to work with is important as bacteria and other nasties can adhere to microscopic particles in the water making chlorine treatment difficult. There is not a particular specification for the size of particles; however, a bit of research into water treatment will reveal that municipal authorities typically use a flocculant to cause microscopic particles to congeal and sink to the bottom of a clarification basin. They use this method to quickly clarify water. In a survival situation, a good gravity filter for dirty water could be employed prior to chlorination to ensure that most, if not all contaminants are removed from the water. After treatment, the water should be kept still and siphoned from the containing vessel to ensure that any remaining contaminants settle to the bottom of the container. Also, the chlorine level of the water should be maintained at all times to ensure continuous protection.

These methods of water treatment are for surface water as well water typically does not support bacteria growth if the well is in continuous use; however, during a survival situation, treatment of well water is recommended. The need to filter well water prior to treatment is not as important unless debris is drawn up from the well or the well is open to surface contamination.

It is worth mentioning that it is very difficult to remove giardia cysts from contaminated water. To be sure that these parasites are removed, the water must be boiled to kill the cysts or filtered to less than 1micron to remove the cysts. Chlorine does not have any significant effect on giardia cysts. Giardia can be present in the fecal matter of dogs, cats, beavers, cows, and sheep. Infection with giardia causes “beaver fever” in humans.

Also, one should note that ingesting water with chlorine levels above 4ppm can do damage to the digestive system up to the point of death depending on the level of chlorine ingested; therefore it is absolutely critical to be able to test the level of chlorine present in the water before drinking!!

Anyone curious about studying water treatment more in depth can visit www.usabluebook.com for some very good self-training and reference materials on all levels of water treatment.

Regards, – Drew in Thailand

 

Dear James,

I have only just rediscovered your blog last night and I am now soaking it up like a sponge.

I’d like to be the “someone with a chemistry degree” to respond to our brother in Christ, Chris’ information regarding use of pool chemicals for drinking water treatment, notably Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione. I am a degree qualified chemical engineer who has spent most of the past 15 years in selling industrial chemicals including for water treatment. One of my recent activities was packaging pool and spa chemicals.

The chemical name sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione is also known as isocyanuric acid. Details of this chemical may be found at this link and at Wikipedia.

It is particularly effective as a water treatment chemical for sterilizing purposes due to its high effective chlorine % (typically >50%) and ease of use due to its powdered or tablet form; when compared with other chlorine sterilizing agents such as sodium or calcium hypochlorite. The other advantage of the powdered isocyanuric acid is that it remains stable over long periods of time provided that the powder is not exposed to moisture or excessive heat. The liquid hypochlorite solutions will lose their activity over any long period of time even when stored in closed drums simply by converting back to chlorine gas and caustic soda. Powdered calcium hypochlorite does not have this same problem provided it is also protected from heat, light and moisture. Liquid sodium hypochlorite (e.g. Clorox) has only 5.7% available chlorine, so more is required per gallon of water treated.

The toxicity of the isocyanuric acid is not 100% known though it is generally thought to be of low toxicity. This link gives details of toxicity studies completed to date .

Having packaged the product in its finely powdered form, one thing is clear – do not breath the dust as it will cause all kinds of acute (short term, intense) respiratory (breathing) problems. It literally feels like the air is being sucked out of your lungs.

There’s no doubt that the isocyanuric acid is more effective compared to hypochlorite in terms of gallons of water treated per pound of chemical used. I also know that the isocyanuric acid is way more expensive per pound to purchase – at least at the wholesale level. My preference would be to stick with hypochlorite since it’s a little safer to handle, more readily available (not every town has a pool and spa supply but almost every town has a supplier of Clorox brand bleach) and more well researched in terms of toxicity. I’m also concerned whenever I see chemical compounds that have “cyan” and “uric” as part of the chemical structure. Under the right conditions this chemical could break down to form hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as a decomposition product – toxic to humans as well as microbes in water.

It should also be noted that any individual or entity manufacturing or repackaging chemicals for sterilization or disinfection purposes must be registered with the [US] Federal EPA as a pesticide manufacturer. Retail pool and spa outlets would be exempt from this requirement as they are retailing products that should already comply with this. Consumers should inspect all packaging to look for a federal EPA registration number for any product that has a claim of disinfection. My bottle of Clorox clearly shows the ingredients and also the EPA Reg No 5813-50.

Your readers should also consider hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant, since its decomposition products are water and oxygen, though it also has problems with long term storage as it will decompose when exposed to moisture, heat and light. Other methods for disinfecting water include chlorine dioxide and ozone (small equipment systems can be purchased to make these and directly inject into the water being treated). Ozone injection is often used in bottled water filling operations for rinsing bottles and also for the water itself, as it decomposes back into oxygen in a few hours and adds no taste to the water once the ozone has depleted. Ozone can’t be stored and you need electricity (probably > 1,500 watts) to run an ozone generator.

As a general rule, I always prefer from a survival perspective to look at disinfection techniques that can be done using physical processes, rather than chemical processes. Filtration (Berkey and activated carbon), boiling and other physical processes can be used to treat water for drinking purposes and use of purification tablets as an additional safety precaution. No chemical disinfection process has shown itself to be 100% effective against all microbes and your readers should consider multiple processes for water treatment prior to use of chemicals.

As another rule of thumb, be careful when buying disinfecting chemicals from pool and spa outlets. The label ingredients are only required to declare the active ingredients that are responsible for the disinfection. You will often see “inert ingredients” listed on the label, sometimes not even these are listed. Typically in powdered and liquid pool chemicals there may be other ingredients included (such as anti-caking agents, stabilizers, surfactants) many of which you don’t want in your drinking water but are included in pool chemicals to enhance the performance in its intended application.

Sincerely, – Graham T.

Three Letters Re: The Art of Humping a Pack

Hi Jim,
In Section 2 – Packing, Blake in Arkansas talks about using 1 gallon Zip-Loc bags for packing items. This is an excellent idea which I have used over the years in my sea-kayaking camping trips. However, another way of evacuating the air from these bags is to use a straw.

Method: With bag ready for closure, insert a straw into the Zip-Loc bag. Zip the bag up to the straw. “Press” out as much air as possible (not smash). Then, use the straw to suck out the remaining air from the bag. Remove straw, and zip closed. Voila! A human powered vacuum bag sealer. Regards, – Douglas in Connecticut

Jim,

I’ve just found your site and love it! In response to the “humping a pack” letters, the best defense is a good offense regarding blisters.

I have very wide feet with a narrow heel so finding boots that fit well is a challenge. On long hunting trips and hikes, duct tape is my best friend.

Since most of my blister issues are on my heels/ankles the first thing I do is shave them. Yes shave them. Nothing like pulling tape off a sensitive area and giving yourself a Brazilian wax at the same time. Ouch! To protect my heel first I apply an 8″ strip of duct tape along the back of my heel, under my foot and extending up over the Achilles tendon. Be sure to stretch your toes/foot as far up towards your shin as possible when applying to get the best possible fit. Your foot has to be absolutely dry to get the tape to stick and a quick wipe with rubbing alcohol helps remove skin oils.

Then apply three pieces of tape approximately 4-5″ long horizontally across the back of my heel and up my ankle. Keep the tape as smooth as you can and avoid any lumps or flaps. Cutting the tape where it bunches and laying the flaps down flat works well to avoid “grinders” or humps of tape that will rub a hole in your foot in short order.

After you finish armoring your soft spots with good duct tape, give your feet a healthy shot of unscented antiperspirant. Layer on a thin polypro sock (or other wicking synthetic) then a pair of quality wool socks. Cheap socks are the #2 cause of blisters behind poor fitting boots. I am frugal to say the least but will happily shell out $9 for 1 pair of quality wool socks with good elastic. To remove the tape, pull it off immediately after you finish your hike when your feet are still good and steamy, or wait until you get out of the shower and the adhesive is warm and soft. – David in TN.

 

Hi Mr. Rawles,

The initial article, as well as the feedback letters, are all great and provide a lot of material for the individual to take into consideration. People with special needs, or medical conditions such as diabetes, should certainly pay attention to blisters or other problems. As [SurvivalBlog reader] S.H. in Georgia pointed out, “stop and prevent” is your best course of action.

Our daughter (18 years old, adopted at age 4) is very small in stature, less than 5 feet, and of muscular build. She runs, bikes, shoots, plays softball and basketball, has run cross country, and is generally very active and has a unbelievable sense of balance. She’s also missing the lower part of one leg and uses a below-knee prosthesis full time. Her walking gait is so smooth you’d never know anything was ‘wrong’. The below-knee prosthesis she uses is very high tech with a brightly colored lightweight carbon-fiber socket, silicone liner, and dynamic response foot.
Basically, she gets around about as well as is possible- but a long hike
carrying a load will still cause problems.

This is where planning ahead really comes into play. Do you know where you will be going or what types of terrain you’ll be encountering? Have you practiced a trial run with your weighted pack and seen how it impacts your residual limb?
Our daughter’s limb loss is due to amniotic banding, thus her ‘little leg’ has a odd shape plus numerous surgical scars. Even with a very well fitted, custom-built, socket and silicon liner she gets chaffed along the sides and in the back of the knee after being on the trail for a long period of time.

Unfortunately, we have discovered that there is no hard and fast answer to these sorts of problems. There are approaches that help for amputees:
-Stop every now and then, remove the prosthesis and liner and dry everything out as well as let the leg cool off. A sweaty liner slides around and can bunch up and cause more problems. A sweaty residual limb and liner can allow the prosthesis to move out of position causing not only more chaffing but a increased danger of trips and falls. When running cross country in hot weather,
our daughter often had problems keeping the leg in it’s proper position.
-Keep a spare, dry, liner and/or prosthetic socks that you can change into.
-Amputees know that the size of the residual limb changes during the day. Fluid pools in the limb at night when the prosthesis is off, and is pushed back out when the limb is on. Thus the fit is slightly tighter in the morning than in the afternoon or evening. Keeping a supply of different thickness socks on hand to act as shims between the limb and the socket can help keep the proper fit.
-There are different balms that can help reduce chaffing. My wife and daughter actually cooked up a type of lip balm that works great for chaffing. We always try to have some on hand.

As if your pack isn’t big enough already: Don’t forget the spare leg, emergency repair materials, and crutches when you bug out. Our daughter has broken a socket wide open playing basketball before- what if we were bugging out and that happened? We repaired the socket with fiberglass casting tape, and subsequently do not leave home with having a roll or two in the vehicle’s
medical kit.

The previous leg might not fit very well anymore, but if it’ll work at all it’s worth having as a spare. Do the feet attach the same way? Are the pylon tubes and adapters the same so you can cannibalize a old prosthesis for spare part if needed? Are you carrying the proper size wrenches to tighten loose screws? If there are usable parts with common attachment fittings on old limbs, feet for example, it is probably worth your time to throw at least one in the repair kit.

I know there are many aspects to this I haven’t even touched. Limb loss is so individualized there really aren’t many ‘catch all’ techniques. Thus, it is really important that the amputee know their bodies, their prostheses, and individual needs before hand and prepare to the best of your abilities. You don’t prepare for a marathon by putting on running shoes and warming up for the
first time at the starting line- you work on technique and equipment over time and work towards the the goal. Whether you have special needs or not, it’s exactly the same with bugging out. There’s no need for anyone to be left out or viewed as a burden and left behind. Yes, there is more planning involved, but our daughter has taught us that it’s all part of the adventure. The Lord created all of us with the same heart and soul and everyone has something to contribute. Even in the hardest of
times, that’s something I hope we never forget. – Jeff B. in Louisiana

Economics and Investing:

GG flagged this: WTO says global trade shrank 12 percent in 2009, biggest collapse since Second World War

From Brian B.: Head of IMF Proposes New Reserve Currency – ABC News

Another from GG: American reliance on government at all-time high

Items from The Economatrix:

Manufacturing Grows in February, Jobs Gauge Rises

January Spending Increases But Income Growth Slows

January Construction Spending Slides

IMF Says New Reserve Currency to Replace Dollar is Possible

Mish Shedlock: Short-Selling Restrictions “A Great Indicator of Imminent Market Crashes”

Temporary Hiring: A Different Kind of Signal

Jobless Benefits Begin Ending on Sunday

Odds ‘n Sods:

Garnet sent this one: Gun fans cheer Starbucks’ policy

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In case you missed it in the theater, the DVD of Roland Emmerich’s 2012 mega-disaster movie is scheduled to be released today.

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Ready Made Resources has launched a semi-annual 25% off sale on Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans. They are offering free shipping on full case lots. These foods are delicious, compact, and have a 30 year shelf life. There is now less than two weeks left for the sale, so order soon!

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Teresa F. sent us this: Utah Legislature: Rainwater could be legally yours

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Paper money was born with the seed of self-destruction within. This is why the Founding Fathers mandated that only gold and silver coin can pass as legal tender; and no bills of credit (promissory notes: i.e. Federal Reserve Notes). Our Constitution is quite clear on this issue.” – Douglas V. Gnazzo

Note from JWR:

I’ve received a lot of e-mails from readers about the big Richter 8.8 earthquake in Chile, and and the fears of subsequent tsunamis. The death toll is now above 700, and climbing. Here is a quote: “Chilean state television reported that 209 inmates had escaped from a prison in the city of Chillan after a fire broke out, while the president-elect, Sebastien Pinera, reported seeing some looting while flying over damaged areas. He vowed ‘to fight with maximum energy looting attempts that I saw with my own eyes’.”

Much like the recent earthquake Haiti, it illustrates that the world can occasionally be dangerous, and that it prudent to prepare for societal disruptions. If you aren’t ready to grab your G.O.O.D. bag and be out the door in less than a minute—regardless of where you live–then you’ve done your family a disservice.

Letter Re: Purchasing an Antique Firearms Battery

Jim,
In a previous post you mentioned that Chilean 1893 Mauser rifles were not safe to fire [standard commercially-loaded] .308 [Winchester] because of excessive chamber pressure, but that these were safe to fire 7.62x51mm NATO. In your Antique Firearms FAQ you reference antique Mausers that have been converted to .308 [Winchester]. Can you recommend some antique Mausers that are safe to re-barrel for .308? I ask because I’ve had a difficult time finding 7.62x51mm hunting rounds.
Thanks, – Dylan F.

JWR Replies: The rifles that I used for those .308 Winchester,. 6.5 x 55, and .257 Roberts conversions were Turkish contract Oberndorf Mauser Model 1893s, that had been deep re-heat treated, back when they were arsenal converted to 8×57 in the 1930s. That brought them up to higher pressure specifications. Around 1994, I bought 60 barreled actions or rifles with cracked stocks–most with dark bores–for between $29 and $59 each. The Turkish contract M1893 Mauser action is still one of the strongest and least expensive of the legally antique bolt actions available. They can often still be had for under $125 each. (Yes, I know that Model 1898s are much stronger, but just try to find a pre-production “German Army Trials” Model 1898 action that is of pre-1899 manufacture. Those are practically “Unobtainium.”)

The Turkish contract Model 1893s were marked with 1930s dates when they were re-arsenalized, but the ATF letter (with PDFs linked in my Pre-1899 Cartridge Guns FAQ ) confirms that they are still confirms that they are still antique even if rebarreled and/or sporterized.

The least expensive way to make 7.62x51mm NATO hunting rounds is to pull the bullets of military surplus rounds with a collet-type bullet puller, and re-seat spire point soft nose bullets of identical bullet weight, with a seating die. (Typically, these are around 150 grain bullets. Use a powder scale to weigh both the originals and their replacements, to be sure.) This “Mexican Match” process does not cause any significant change in chamber pressure, and will yield practical hunting loads. It is a process that even a novice handloader can handle.

Five Letters Re: The Art of Humping a Pack

Hello Mr. Rawles,
Blake’s recent post on the fine art of “humping a pack” is much appreciated. I’m a bit of a backpacker, but have never been subjected to the rigors of “forced humping” for Uncle Sam. I’ve found that I rapidly become an unhappy camper when my pack weight exceeds 45 pounds. Thanks go to Blake for his service to our Country!

The magic (but painful) blister remedy to which he referred is Tincture of Benzoin (sometimes abbreviated Tr. Benzoin). This mixture of specific tree resins in alcohol, and it’s cousin, Compound Tincture of Benzoin, are used in health care as a skin protectant when applying adhesive devices to skin. It has the added benefit of enhancing the tape’s adherence, so the bandage stays on longer. Some in the hiking community have used it as Blake described, when the blister has already formed ,and you have no choice but to keep going (other hardcore folks use duct tape. I guess that’s okay, until removal time!) As far as I can tell, there is little science available to confirm the “skin toughening” property that some attribute to Tr. Benzoin. Most probably it kills, or anesthetizes the superficial sensory nerves responsible for pain generation.

If you don’t have a drill sergeant breathing down your neck, the best way, by far, to deal with blisters on the trail is prevention. As soon as you feel a hot spot, sit down, take off the boot and sock(s), rub your feet, let them dry out, find the hot spot, and plaster it with moleskin or one of the transparent bandages like New Skin (Tegaderm will also work). It is also critically important to stop and remove any pebble or debris in your boot as soon as you feel it. I’ve pushed it just a few more hundred yards, only to be sorry when a blister or abrasion occurs.

Once a blister has formed (again, if you have the luxury of tending to it without being shot or court-martialed) your primary focus should be prevention of infection. Try to protect the skin over the blister – as long as it’s intact, bacteria have no access to the denuded dermis. A donut of moleskin covered with an adhesive bandage may help take the pressure off and preserve the skin. If there’s just too much fluid in the blister to stand, clean the blister with an antiseptic (you do have alcohol pads or povidone iodine in your med kit, don’t you?), insert a hypodermic needle near the edge (but still into the dead skin), and aspirate the fluid. Re-clean the blister and cover with a sterile bandage. Perhaps a little antibiotic ointment would help prevent infection and reduce friction.

At any rate, use your head. If you have the freedom to stop and prevent, then stop and prevent. If not, do the best you can, but always trying to prevent infection. One other thing that Blake said that bears repeating – sock liners are great! I like the thin, white ones that you can buy cheap at outdoor stores. When used with good hiking socks, the friction is reduced dramatically. They’re so light you can take multiple pairs and stretch the smelly expiration date of your hiking socks, while keeping something clean against your feet. They’re also easy to wash and dry quickly. I highly recommend them!

One more thought about on-the-trail foot care: be sure to trim (and file smooth) your toenails before a backpacking trip! I forgot this once, and a toenail attacked the adjacent toe! Trimming toenails with a survival knife is an adventure, at best! I now remember this prep duty, and have allocated 1 oz. in my pack for nail clippers (yes, I know I’m a weenie).

Best to all, and, as always, thank you for all you do Mr. Rawles. – Pharmacist S.H. in Georgia

 

James:
This is a well written article full of excellent information – my thanks to Blake!

I have never been in the military but have been backpacking most of my life. I agree that moleskin is a waste of time and will do more harm than good. But one item I always carry in my first aid kit is a Second Skin Moist Burn Pad. These not only work well on burns but blisters as well. To apply, first clean the area; cut out a section about twice as large as the blister; peel the covering off one side; apply the peeled side to the blister; then carefully tape it on. The pads are sterile, so they are fine on open blisters as well. Just make sure you put the remaining portion in a Ziploc and squeeze out the air so that it doesn’t dry out.

Blisters can incapacitate you quickly and lead to some nasty infections, so treat those feet with respect! Make sure you put on those boots and that pack and hit the trail at least once a week so that if the SHTF, your equipment and your body are ready. – C.W.B.

 

Mr. Rawles,

I wanted to make a few comments on this Blake’s Art of Humping a Pack. Having been in Special Forces I have spent more than enough time ‘humping’. Most things I read here I can only agree with, now I feel I have something to add.

Taking care of your feet, Blake is right on. Changing socks often is critical. Dry feet are happy feet. I have found problems with cotton socks, I recommend wool or synthetic. Always powder your feet when putting your socks on. If you feel a hot spot, stop and fix it before it becomes a blister. My worst blister came from a short ruck march when I didn’t want to stop and fix what I knew was becoming a blister.

With regards to Tincture of Benzoin, it really does work! If you are going add this to your kit be advised that most tincture of benzoin that you find at your local drug store has an aloe mix and does not work. You need to go to a medical supply store to get the pure tincture of benzoin! I have found that if you put a hole on one side of the blister, inject the tincture from the other side, until all the pus is flushed out, and then push the skin down to stick it together. “Painful” is an understatement but it does work. If you don’t have tincture of benzoin, another solution is to use needle and white thread (colored threads will cause infection) and run it through your blister leaving the thread in your blister. The thread will act as a wick to allow the pus to drain. With this method there is a higher risk of infection but if you have to get somewhere and you feet aren’t cooperating, this will work.

Waterproof bags in your pack is critical. Water is weight, the only water you want in your pack is the water you can drink. I have seen soldiers come out of a creek with their pack weighing much more than when they went in. Painful and unnecessary.

I recommend layering your equipment. I would always carry a survival kit (built out of a M16 Ammo Bandolier, under my shirt which contained some food, a water packet, small candle and matches, space blanket, simple medical kit, small knife and flashlight. Then I had my pistol belt with butt pack which is your fighting load which includes food, water, ammo, a couple pairs of socks and whatever basic cold weather gear might be needed. Last comes the pack with everything else; more water, more food, more socks, more ammo, … . That way if you have to dump your gear you can still get by.

Lastly, as much as good physical conditioning can allow you to carry a lot of gear the Marines did a study of the soldiers load and determined that 4/5ths of 1/3rd of your body weight is the optimum load for sustained load carrying. (The rule of thumb for pack animals I understand to be 1/3rd of body weight). So optimum load for a 200 lb male comes out to 53.3 lbs. Again, this is for optimum sustained load carrying.

Keep up the good work. – Steve T.

James Wesley;
I’ve only recently started reading your site. I’m enjoying both the current posts and the archives.

The article on humping a pack is consistent with my own experience. I’d like to add two points for your consideration.

First, the issue of how to carry a handgun when carrying a large pack. You get over 30 pounds pretty quickly when loading a pack. Any weight that high demands a good hip belt. You then carry most of the weight on your hips, not your shoulders. With both a hip belt and shoulder straps, all of the usual places to carry a hand gun are occupied. Neither belt holsters nor shoulder holsters work. You can do a thigh rig if you don’t mind open carry. I never liked them. I much prefer concealed carry wherever legal. The best solution is a thing called a Safepacker, which you can find at The Wilderness web site. It was designed and made by a guy who needed to carry a large handgun on mountain search and rescue operations. It pads and conceals most any size self defense handgun you might carry. I hang mine on my hip belt. Looks just like any other part of the pack, is quick to access, is very secure, lasts a long time. You can hang them most anywhere on the pack. They come in both left and right hand models and have room for spare ammo and a nice velcro pocket for paper or ID. One tip – go with a larger size if in doubt which one to get. In most jurisdictions, carry in a Safepacker is regarded as concealed, not open carry.

Second a large pack makes you an unsteady bipod. In anything but swamp, a walking stick or two is a great tool. It makes you more stable, is handy for discouraging dogs and snakes, allows you to rig an effective bipod to steady a rifle or use as a monopod for the rifle if you give some thought to the handle end of the thing, gives you a handy way to poke at anything suspect, and gets your arms working a bit, defeating the dreaded “sausage fingers” that happens when you hump a pack with your arms dangling down for a few hours. The only down side is that you cannot do this if conditions demand you carry a rifle or shotgun at the ready. You can take your pick of many available walking sticks marketed for backpackers. Look for light weight. You don’t need or want ones with built in spring shock absorbers. Too noisy. You do want to be able to pick your “basket” so you can get a big one if needed to stop from sinking deeply into snow or mud. You can get ones that telescope into small sizes so you can strap them to your pack. You can get ultra light carbon fiber ones that are maybe too fragile for most folks to use. You can get a rubber tip to use the sticks on pavement. You can also forgo commercial ones in favor of something more stout you can make yourself out of wood or metal – makes for a better weapon, but ounces count, so I like light ones. When I first saw walking sticks, I scorned them as trash for urban tree huggers. Then, I sprained an ankle and learned to love the things. On ice or scree, they can save your life. – JEJ

 

Greetings Jim,
I hope this Email finds you well. I would like to respond to the art of “Humping a pack”. Some regard me as a bit of an expert, I have been backpacking the Northwest Cascades and the Pacific Crest trail for the last 20 years, including climbing a few of the more well known Mountains and have week-long excursions down to a science in terms of needs and weight. One of the misconceptions that people have with regards to backpacking is focusing on the military as a general guideline for equipment. Things like ALICE packs, MREs and camelback hydration systems work fine when you are backed up by [logistical] support, But these Items will only prevent you from truly being totally sufficient in a time when there is no support.

High quality internal frame backpacks with compression straps and gear are designed specifically for the task of self sufficiency and comfort, this includes climbing mountains, rock scrambles, and traversing uneven ground and doing this while hauling enough food for a week, plus gear.

MREs – Fine for a few days, but if you won’t be around a food source for a week or longer, Lightweight Mountain House is a much better choice you can haul a weeks worth of food, and perhaps more if you are willing to eat late, and small, with their pro-paks.

Camelbak hydration systems – Guesswork is your only option here as to how much water is left, because you cannot see your consumption level because it is buried in your pack. Not a good thing when water is a primary concern. a better choice is two common water bottles, one packed inside at center-pack close to your back, the other rides topside for convenience.

Clothing, and this includes Socks – Clothes with any cotton are a giant no-no. We have a couple of sayings in the backpacking world, “Wool is worse” and “Cotton Kills!” all clothing should be synthetic, and wool blends only if you have to, with wool being around 35 to 40%. you only need two pair of socks: one to wear while the other is drying, synthetics dry fast, cotton absorbs, takes a long time to dry and clings to skin. Wool takes forever to dry. The objectives are to wick the moisture away from your skin, evaporation, and fast drying. Backpacking outlets carry clothing that is designed to keep you warm/cool, and wick moisture, soaking wet clothes can dry in minutes.

Moleskin – Only works in conjunction with rubbing alcohol, the area must be thoroughly free from oils and dirt before applying. if done correctly Moleskin can last for up to four days with a single application. if you have been fitted with right boots, moleskin probably wont be needed

Foot powder – We avoid it, as it only makes a mess of your feet, socks, and boots. The right socks make foot powder un necessary. Clip your toe nails short to avoid problems with the added weight and to save your socks from holes.

Boots – Spend the money. (Do web searches on Asolo and Vasque,) All feet may be different, but if you have to backpack across the country, or just across town, in the rain, snow, or blistering heat, these two companies make the boots that can do it.

Packing – Heavy items go center-pack against your back.

Packing enough gear goes hand in hand with packing the right gear, and knowing how to use what you pack. If you do it properly, some Items can serve more then one purpose, and you can be self sufficient for seven days or longer with as little as a 38 pound pack, this includes tent and sleeping bag, food, clothes, with rainwear, water filtration, stove. – Larry

Odds ‘n Sods:

NPR reports: Solar Storms Could Be Earth’s Next Katrina. (Kudos for R.T.K. for sending the link.)

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The folks at Medical Corps are holding another one of their excellent three-day Combat/Field Medicine School courses, April 30th through May 2nd. The class will be held near Caldwell, Ohio at the Ohio State University Extension building. Contact: Chuck Fenwick at 740-783-8009 for details.

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Former New Orleans Detective Pleads Guilty in Katrina Shooting Cover-up. That investigation is just scratching the surface. I’m not sure if all of the bodies that were buried after Hurricane Katrina were checked for bullet holes or blunt trauma. There might have been quite a few “shoot shovel, and shut up” incidents.