Letter Re: Lack of Large Animal Vets Even in Rural Areas–Be Prepared to Do It Yourself

Dear Mr. Rawles,
We are presently in the middle of lambing season here. The day following our shearing, one of our ewes looked quite ill. She was glassy eyed, was shaking, and unsteady on her feet. A quick consultation with our Merck Veterinary Manual made me think that it was likely milk fever. Merck said the stress of shearing and delayed feeding is a trigger. Death could result in as quickly as 6 hours without treatment. Therapy recommended was an injection of calcium. It was then I discovered that the availability of large animal vets does not go hand in hand with rural locations! We could not find a vet that had any injectable calcium within 70 miles! The nearest vet, 50 miles listed herself in the phone book as a “large and small animal” vet, but had no injectable calcium on hand! And no, the feed stores didn’t have any either! We finally reached a small animal vet 70 miles away, bless his heart, whom I only consulted by phone, and whom I had never met. We reached him just before he was leaving his office. He had some injectable calcium on hand. He could not come out to our place, but he was willing to leave it in his mail box for us to pick up. No charge!

The thought struck me: If things are like this now, then what will they be after things go bad? I am really going to rethink the vet supplies I keep on hand, and stock up! – LL

The Memsahib replies: ewes, mares, or cows can die of milk fever . It is most common in dairy cattle, but it does occur in sheep, horses, and even cats and dogs. It can occur both prepartum and postpartum. I recommend that any SurvivalBlog readers that plan to raise livestock learn how to do their own vetting, assemble a hard copy set of veterinary references, and lay in the needed supplies, in depth. When the grid goes down, we will be on our own.

Three Letters Re: Use of Force in Retreat Security–Planning for Rules of Engagement

Note from JWR: The discussion of use of force in retreat security (and “Less Than Lethal” means) has elicited large number of e-mails from readers. For the sake of brevity, and since so many letters covered the same ground, the following are just three of them. The first of these is from “FerFAL”. He is SurvivalBlog’s volunteer correspondent in Argentina.

 

Hi James,
I’m glad to see that you are advising people to have non lethal weapons [in addition to guns] and (when the situation allows it) deterrent approaches when dealing with trespassers.

Some situations require immediate lethal action, but that does not mean you’ll never require non lethal solutions on occasions. Life isn’t always black and white. On the contrary, most of the time it’s a plethora of shades of gray.

This is awful common in these parts, I’ve often seen people fire warning shots, fired a few myself on occasions when visiting my friend’s farm. On one occasion it was just kids stealing some fire wood. A few .22 LR shots sent them away.

Not long ago we saw some poachers well within my friend’s land, too close to the house. I shot a couple of .44 Magnum rounds and they got the message, changed direction immediately.

People, as James warns, this is a last resort, or almost last resort alterative. Be careful of the legal consequences! Over here it is common practice but it’s still serious business, be ready to explain the cause for such action.

I keep a couple of Less Than Lethal rubber pellet 12 ga shells in my Mossberg’s 500 stock shell holder, ready in case I need a Less Than Lethal alternative. As you explain, it portrays you as a humane person that cared enough to at least have the non lethal alternative, even if lethal action was required afterwards.

Another word of caution, “Less Than Lethal” 12 ga ammo [such as rubber pellets and beanbag rounds] can be lethal. The one I have is military ammo designed for riots and clearly states that it can be lethal if shot directly at the target at less than 10 meters.

The knock down power of these rounds, even against healthy, robust adults is pretty impressive.

God bless you and your family during these special days, take care. – FerFAL

 

Dear Jim:
As a proud 10Cent Challenge subscriber, I know that the recent subject of Levels of Force could be argued back and forth for a long time. What may help all your subscribers and readers are articles on the defensive use of firearms by Massad Ayoob. I found them at FindArticles.com, for example, and any internet search should come up with them. He gives excellent practical advice on gun situations, what to do, not do, as well as what to say and not say. The reader in Maine who fired a warning shot would know this is never done by law enforcement, too much liability. If one is involved in a shooting, tell law enforcement something like “…I was afraid for my life (or another’s) and had to fire my weapon to save a life, I want to clear this up as much as you do but I need to speak to an attorney first…” and then SHUT UP, which is exactly what they would do in the same circumstance.

People need to know the use of a gun is serious, life is not a movie, and shooting people, even those that deserve it, is not glorious. Folks will come back and get revenge, either with a civil or criminal complaint or violent ambush at a later date.

Living here close to the Mexican border, being once mugged at knife point by three illegal aliens (for $1.30 in my pocket), working all hours in these mean streets, I have never had to pull a gun on anyone, thank goodness, and survived many altercations none the worse for wear. My job with the power company for the last 30 years has me on occasion cut electrical service for non-payment at the pole or junction box when the tech’s cannot cut it at the meter because of access, dogs, etc. Having encountered angry biker gangs, meth labs, and all other sorts of bad people and bad situations, the use of a gun has always been kept as a last resort. My truck has reverse to get away from most problems and luckily I’m paid by the hour and not by how much work I do. (-:

The point is pulling a gun will get you in a lot of trouble, shooting a warning shot will get you arrested, shooting someone may very well cost you everything you have worked for up to now in your life. Your home, retreat, guns, food reserves, retirement account, everything. I would definitely shoot if my life or another’s life were in danger, but that is indeed very rare and most situations can be avoided with a little education, forethought and by setting aside one’s ego. Take Care and God Bless. – Cactus Jim

 

James;
I’m assuming that many patrons of this blog who read and digested the two letters referred to in the subject line have never served on active duty in a combat arms branch and/or never served as a law enforcement officer. Because of those two letters, many are possibly over thinking self defense reactions to would be criminals/trespassers/thieves? The effect on law abiding citizens who choose to possess firearms for defense is that they subconsciously and automatically hesitate to defend themselves because of all the legal discussion and, ‘it happened to me’ type cautionary statements. Police officers are guilty of the same thing because of legal double talk (i.e: I don’t want to get sued so I better wait as long as possible to …a real disaster for us cops since it’s either our lives or possible jail time). In order to clear the air, as I believe many readers are confused and probably have reached out to the closest friend or co-worker they trust for clarification. What and when to do something is not complicated. I hope to eliminate the ubiquitous ‘what if’ in so many people’s minds (including cops, former military who have returned to civilian living).
OBTW: I have been serving as a law enforcement officer for 18 years, and I served five years active duty with the US Army. Most of my army experience was as an Airborne Ranger and served in the Middle East for 13 months. No, I don’t know everything about the subject but have spent the majority of my working life considering all these issues pre 9-11 and post-9-11.

1. The cops are not your friends (see: letter by Gary B in Maine who shot off a warning shot with a 12 gauge). Cops are for one thing: to prosecute you. That’s it. They are resources for the state’s attorney, period. Sure, the other guy may be guilty, but until proven guilty, you are right there with bad guy facing charges involving firearms. Not good, especially with so many anti-Second Amendment types in office. So, in such scenarios, do you spill your guts to the first cop who shows up while other guy tells lies because as a criminal he knows what to say?
2. If you are threatened, you’re threatened. What else is there to know? (a threat is a situation where you ‘feared for your life or feared serious bodily injury’. Using lethal force because somebody stole/attempted to steal your XYZ isn’t justification for lethal force. However, read on…). If threatened, then immediately go to the next level and take care of business at that level. Make sure you can articulate that you were threatened. If in doubt as to how to articulate that, just do an Internet search engine on lethal force. As an 18 year officer, I tell you that if someone refuses to obey a legal and clear command to do something, they are resisting (and they know it). Because a subject resists, I know that I am permitted to take it to the next level. Said bad guy will continue to resist until you do something about it. If you don’t do something that gives you the upper hand, he’s got the upper hand. Better to maintain the upper hand and act from that position versus from the other. Waiting spells potential disaster. As a citizen just trying to protect themselves and their retreat, if it comes to that, it isn’t any different. In my mind the big difference is if you/me were in a survival times situation, are you really expecting some cops to respond? They’ll probably be more concerned with their own property, family, neighborhood, garden plot, et cetera.
3. The more training you have, the more your confidence will rise.
4. Sending your dogs after an intruder(s) who have entered your property is stupid. If your dogs were trained for such things, the intruders wouldn’t have intruded. Sending an aggressive untrained barking dog into the the field/yard where you feel intruders pose a threat (a real threat, after all, you have the guns, night vision, IR floodlights, ….) is an great way to get them killed. If the dogs barked while they were in the house, you were alerted. So why send them out? They did their job, [now] you do yours. If you have trained dogs in protection (and related skills), that’s a different scenario. Most people don’t have that kind of dog. If bad guy kills one or all of your dogs, now you have a less secure retreat than you did before. The only ‘threat’ to fear, is the one who poses a ‘real threat’. He’ll take those dogs out if they aren’t trained to threaten him. – Flhspete

Letter Re: Choosing a State for Relocation

Dear Jim,
I found this article on the safest states to live in, based on major crime rates. Compare that to this article from “Parents” magazine, who[‘s author] seems to rate states by the number of socialist laws they have.

This is the [same] magazine whose solution to children fearing fire, after seeing the attacks of Sep 11 [2001], was “therapy.” I used the expedient of starting a small brush pile out back, dousing it with an extinguisher, and leaving a new extinguisher in their room. $30 is a lot cheaper and less stigmatizing than “therapy,” and had the practical benefit of teaching them how to control small fires.
Along the same lines, here’s an article from England.

I was being partly facetious when I suggested in my novel “The Weapon” that fire extinguishers would be banned like guns because “firefighting should be left to professionals.” It seems that I wasn’t too far off.

I am so very glad my parents made the decision to relocate from the UK to Canada, and then to the United States. Just keep in mind there’s nowhere left to retreat to at this point. Liberty must make its stand here. – Michael Z. Williamson

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

Reader “LG” sent us this: Fed’s rescue halted a derivatives Chernobyl. JWR’s comment: I think “delayed” would have been a more accurate word than “prevented”, for the headline

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KAF flagged this Reuters article: Cities grapple with surge in abandoned homes

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RBS found a piece that is probably already “old news” to most SurvivalBlog readers: Cell Phones–FBI Can Listen In, Even When Phone is Turned Off

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Bee plague worsening, anxious keepers say

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“[Recognition of] Peak Oil will never catch on in any major way, at least no more than the folks in the Tower of Babel economy ever caught on to the big flaw in their economic model. We’ve got 50 years invested in suburban buildout economy, 150 years invested in industrial living, and 500 years invested in the age of expansion to come to understand just what this means for us, at least in the aggregate.” – Matt Savinar, Editor of Life After The Oil Crash (LATOC)

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 15 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 15 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

My Seven Favorite North American Edible Wild Plants, by Paul C.

In light of the impending economic and social crisis, a knowledge of edible wild plants is essential. I have included a list of seven easily recognized plants in this discussion, but keep in mind there are hundreds of edible species. These seven are common throughout much of North America.

When foraging, one must remember that if you need a field guide to identify a plant, you are not ready to eat that plant. However, field guides with color photographs are necessary for anyone interested in this activity. In my opinion, the best field guide on the market today is The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer. Although it only covers 32 plants, it does so in amazing detail. Unlike other authors, Thayer has eaten all the plants he discusses. He also notes important errors found in other field guides.

Before listing my seven choices, please keep these facts in mind: (1) an individual may be allergic (or develop an allergy to) any of these plants. Initially consume them in moderation. (2) although a plant may be easily recognized during its flowering stage, this is often NOT the time they are collected for food. Use sources with color photos (not drawings) of a plant at various stages of its life cycle to aid identification. (3) In addition to field guides and on-line sources, consult a botany reference to become familiar with botanical terms.

At the end of this discussion, I have included both on-line references as well as field guides from my own personal collection. While you may not be initially familiar with some of the plants on this list, once you see color photographs of these wild edibles you will be able to recognize many of them on your front lawn.

(1) Plantain- broadleaf plantain is found on lawns throughout the continent. It has broadly elliptical leaves that rise directly from the root in a formation known as a basal rosette; these leaves remain close to the ground. This plant can be eaten as a salad or boiled in soups (the latter is preferred when the plant gets older-at this point the leaves become stringy). Plantain leaves are rich in vitamins A and C, and minerals. Narrow-leaf plantain is also edible and is similar in appearance except for the shape of the leaves. Fresh leaves can also be mashed and applied to minor wounds.

(2) Common Purslane- Purslane is also found on lawns throughout North America. This plant barely reaches an inch off the ground. It has fleshy, jointed stems (purplish- green with a reddish tinge), and narrow, thick leaves about two inches long growing in opposite directions. The stems contain a clear fluid (Spurge, a poisonous plant that looks similar to Purslane, has milky sap). The best way to harvest this plant is to cut off only the leafy tips; it will rapidly sprout again and provide greens from May until the first frost. It can be used in soups or salads.

(3) White Oak Acorns- The leaves of a typical white oak have rounded lobes which are never bristle tipped (as opposed to red or black oak). After shelling acorns, they must be boiled to leech out tannins (in high concentrations, tannins damage the kidneys—tannins are also found in tea). The yellowish-brown water left over from leeching is a good topical remedy for poison ivy rashes; it is also styptic—it will stop bleeding. Leeching takes several hours—change the water each time it becomes yellowish-brown. After leeching, the acorns can be dried in a slow oven. They can be eaten or ground into a fine meal. This meal can be mixed with flour to extend your supply; acorn meal lacks gluten and will not make dough rise. The acorns of other oaks, while requiring a longer leeching period, are also edible.

(4) Maple Trees- people think of maple syrup, but the liquid extracted from a tapped maple tree is potable. The “keys” (winged seeds) can be boiled or roasted, while the leaves can be used in salads. In emergencies, the inner bark can also be consumed.

(5) Wild Rose- this plant is widely distributed throughout the continent. Few foods have a higher vitamin C content. The rose-hips (seed pods) can be used to make jams or dried and used for soups or teas. They remain on the plant throughout winter and can be picked when other food is not available. The seeds within rose-hips can be ground and boiled in water to provide a rich source of vitamin E. Rose flowers and leaves can also be used to make tea.

(6) Lamb’s Quarter- this plant, which thrives throughout most of the U.S., is regarded as among the most delicious of wild edibles (similar to spinach). It is available from
spring to the first frost. This plant is generally 3-5 feet tall with diamond shaped leaves; the leaves have irregular teeth or shallow lobes when mature (immature plants have spade
shaped, toothless leaves). The undersides of the leaves are often coated with a thick whitish-gray powder. Before cooking, water will not wet these leaves.

(7) Cattails- this is an easily recognizable plant of swamps and marshes throughout the world. It is a year round food source. The leaf bases can be harvested from mid spring to early summer. The immature spikes can be boiled and served with butter like corn on the cob during early and mid summer. Cattail pollen requires little processing once gathered (except for sifting) and can be combined with flour stores; it is collected during June and July. The cores of the underground rootstocks are a valuable source of starch (especially during winter)- waders or a wetsuit would be a good investment for winter harvesting. Finally, small sprouts begin to form at the tip of the rootstocks between early summer and early fall

Use the following listed sources for more information about these wild edibles. Also keep in mind that this is only the tip of the iceberg; there are hundreds of wild edibles waiting to be utilized—good luck!

References:
Thayer, Samuel. The Forager’s Harvest. Ogema, Wisconsin: Forager’s Harvest, 2006
Angier, Bradford. Feasting Free on Wild Edibles. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 1969
Kinsey and Fernald. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, 1943
Peterson, Lee. Edible Wild Plants: Eastern/Central North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1977
Heyl and Burt. Edible and Poisonous Plants of the Eastern States. (A card deck with color photos!) Lake Oswego, Oregon: Plant Deck, Inc., 1973

Web Resources:
 EdiblePlants.com

Plants.usda.gov

WildmanSteveBrill.com

Letter Re: Deep Family Roots Versus “Ideal Location” When Considering Relocation

Good Evening,
I’ve recently become a reader of your web site – thank you for the excellent resource.
Having read through your information on Recommended Retreat Areas, I have an additional question or two. My husband, kids and I currently live in Utah. He has family here, within an hour drive. We also live in a heavily populated area, right on the Wasatch Fault. That is worrisome. My mother, many cousins and close friends live in rural coastal North Carolina. My mom lives alone and is aging. We have thought ahead to the possibility of needing to care for her. She has a large house that is paid for and will pass on to me when she leaves this life.
My family has very strong ties to North Carolina, having ancestors in the same county for 200+ years. My husband and I have lived there together – he felt most welcome and fit in very well. We were part of a close knit church group, in addition to family and neighbors that looked out for each other. I know that the East Coast is not high on your list of places to be, and my family is in a hurricane/flooding zone. On the other hand, it’s rural, the home is paid for, it’s on almost two acres that can be used for small scale homesteading, and there is a family/friends support system in place. Do you feel that these things are more important than having a retreat in a specific location, i.e. West of the Mississippi? Thank you, – Mary C.

JWR Replies: As I described in my book Rawles on Retreats and Relocation, you cannot put a price tag on having deep roots in a community! Even if you were not known personally, if you are related and share a distinct surname with “one of the pioneer families”, then you have an exceedingly valuable “in” in a rural area. This factor should weigh heavily in your choice of retreat locales.

My main objections to moving to the eastern United States are the generally higher population density, and the unfavorable downwind position of the eastern states in the event of a full scale nuclear exchange. You can fairly well mitigate both of of those drawbacks by:

1.) Building a home fallout/storm shelter (typically by upgrading an existing basement, or building a stand-alone shelter, such as those built by Safecastle), and

2.) By teaming up with contiguous neighbors or “doubling up” with another family that would share your house with you after TSHTF, to provide additional security for your retreat.

The only other significant limitation in your situation is owning less than two acres. Perhaps you could buy or lease some adjoining land. Good luck with your upcoming move!

Two Letters Re: Some Offshore Retreat Considerations, by P. Traveler

James,

I see a lot of letters concerning ‘re-locating’ out of the U.S. What are these people thinking? If there is one country that still has a modicum of privacy, freedom, and the ability to ‘disappear’ into the wilderness, then it is here in the U.S. Where in the world can you own the variety and quantity of firearms than here? [Where else can you] stockpile food, go off the grid et cetera? The legal system is still intact here as well, so you can win in court under most circumstances. I just cant figure Americans willing to give up this uniquely free country for some Third World gamble in some distant land completely removed from family, friends, heritage and culture. It boggles the mind. – Jason in N. Idaho

 

Jim,

I read with interest the article “Some Offshore Retreat Considerations”, by P. Traveler. There was much of value in the article. I hope I can add some information for your readers. My circumstances are that I work and live in a South East Asian country for an International NGO. My background is prior military (paratrooper), Police and Prison service, followed by working as an NGO security officer in Bosnia and Sudan before taking my current post. I have a degree in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management.

I am also married to a local woman which impacts my survival planning. In Asia you don’t just marry a wife. You marry the entire extended family which brings some strengths and weaknesses.

Personally I am in the Jerry Pournelle school of survivalism: Prepared for, but trying to prevent TEOTWAWKI. See [Pournelle’s] Foreword to the first edition of “Tappan on Survival“ which says, in part:
“‘[Mel Tappan] saw civilization as hopelessly doomed. Collapse was inevitable, and the only prudent thing to do was to be prepared for it. I didn’t agree then, and I don’t now. I think civilization can be saved. Can be. But I won’t guarantee it. Be Prepared is a pretty good motto for anybody, scouts or anyone else. And of course there are times when I think Mel was right.”

As Pournelle says, being prepared is a good and necessary thing. I would not call myself a retreater. That implies running away.

Quoting from Pournelle again:

“There’s only one problem: I don’t want to move. I like living in cities. The word ‘civilized’ originally meant those who can–and do–live in cities, and I happen to care a lot for my civilization. When challenged, I can make a reasoned defense of city life, but I shouldn’t have to. I like it here. I don’t intend to let the barbarians chase me out, and there’s an end to the discussion!”

I have been following survivalism since I read the book ‘Starman’s Son’ by Andre Norton. I did the usual bush survival stuff. I read Larry Dean Olson, Mel Tappan, Dr. Bruce Clayton, Soldier of Fortune [magazine] and American Survival Guide [magazine]. I always had my bugout bag and stores so I could go about my duties in law enforcement without having to worry about the home front. I note that since the 1980’s the world has been collapsing so plan for things to go right as well as for things to go wrong. I am alarmed by people (especially on the Peak Oil sites) who tell young people not to go to college because the world is doomed anyway. If I had followed that advice I would be unemployed instead of working in interesting countries around the world. Just study something that is useful in both a collapse situation and in good times.

In Asia the survival unit is the extended family. I am particularly fortunate that the family I have married into is reasonably well educated but still has [native] survival skills. My wife’s parents survived a period of auto-genocide despite the fact that my father in law had served on the opposing side during the war. It was family connections that kept him alive. My wife and her older brothers and sisters still know how to live off the land and farm. The younger ones are more of a concern and would have a more difficult time adjusting to a survival situation. They tend to be more interested in mobile phones and karaoke. Having said that, the bulk of the family accepts my arguments for survival precautions and things like food storage. The younger ones think I am a strange foreigner but the parents get it because they have lived survival. In a crisis the young ones still do what their parents tell them!

If you have family (or marry into one) it is almost certainly a bonus.

A few tips you might want to consider.

* In developing countries the medical care is not great. Consider doing a Wilderness EMT [W-EMT] First Responder course before you depart. The training will not be available locally.
* Get skills. They cannot take skills away. People have survived extreme situations with next to nothing.
* Asia is a great place to learn martial arts! [Although there are equally effective trainers in the US, Canada, Australasia and Europe. Still it is kind of fun training in Asia for someone who grew up watching ‘Kung Fu‘ on TV.]
* Get mentally prepared. I would share with your readers the view that religious belief is important. Unlike most of your readers I am a Buddhist, as is my wife. But I follow the warrior view of Buddhism—not aging hippy pacifism which I believe to be immoral (and not really Buddhist).

* Study how the indigenous people survived and how any guerrilla groups operated in the country. If coming to Asia there are some jungle survival schools. (Web search engines are your friend!)
* If coming to Asia read some books about how non-Asians functioned behind the lines [during World War II] against the Japanese such as the Coast Watchers and the OSS/SOE. ‘The Jungle is Neutral‘ By F. Spencer Chapman is a good book to start with.
* The book “The Sovereign Individual” by William Rees-Mogg and Basil Davidson has some strategies for protecting your wealth when overseas.
* Enjoy life. Take precautions, learn defensive skills, medical skills,and so forth. But try not to get a bunker mentality.
* Learn about urban permaculture and food production.
* When researching a country you might want to look at some books about Country Risk such as the ‘The J Curve‘ and spend some time looking around the Carlton University site ‘Country Indicators for Foreign Policy‘
* Finally, while aimed at NGO security personnel, there are some good resources for people living in developing countries at this web site.

Regards, – Felix D.

Odds ‘n Sods:

SF in Hawaii mentioned Wisemen Trading and Supply. Check out the “Picklemeister”, near the bottom of their crocks product page.

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Tonight’s season finale episode of the Jericho television series (Tuesday, March 25, 2008), titled “Patriots and Tyrants” looks like it will be good. The five minute teaser for the finale (on the CBS web site) shows a pro-Second Amendment message hat is most unusual for a network television show. No wonder that the show is now rumored to be doomed to cancellation. OBTW, all of the first and second seasons are now available for online viewing.

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Thanks to D.C. for finding this: Dow up 187; can the rally hold? The “Rah-rah” market mavens never know when to quit, do they? CD’s comment: “Is the proper word fib or is it just a cover up? The insiders say cover up since their whole underwriting staff and commercial department just we sold to HSBC Global of New York and their hedging team is now working for Smith Barney.”

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Jason in northern Idaho mentioned a web pages that describes the health effects of various fats and oils.

Note from JWR:

One way that you can help increase the readership of SurvivalBlog is by e-mailing the Permalinks of blog articles and letters that you think would be of interest to your friends and relatives. Just click on "Permalink" beneath any blog entry. Then you can copy and paste the URL from the displayed Permalinked page into an e-mail. Many thanks!

Two Letters Re: Using Natural Caves on Private Property

Greetings Jim, Memsahib, and Readers,
I wanted to mention a couple things regarding caves for shelter or storage. Many years ago, in my youth, I became interested in Spelunking (Caving) and was lucky enough to explore caves in Tennessee with seasoned Spelunkers with fifteen years experience. Depending on your climate you will not only get a ‘wet season’ where you have to deal with a lot of dampness but you may actually face the cave being almost totally under water. We found this out the hard way when on one trip the cave we were going to explore a lower chamber we found was totally submerged from the previous week’s rains. We did manage to explore a upper chamber that was well above the water line. Even though the cave we explored was well hidden, as the one Linda H mentioned, others had used the entrance chamber because of discarded beer cans and trash left behind. And, yes, we packed out other’s trash. Once we left the entrance chamber signs of others having frequented the other chambers faded away. But if you are curious about a cave, you can bet someone else has been curious also. After our trek of nearly six hours into the mountain we thought we found the end of the chamber’s run. As all humans like to put their mark wherever they go I found a name, that was not very legible, and a date of 1784 carved (heavily scratched) into the rock. After looking around we located another chamber through a very small opening that had remnants of an old hemp rope leading through what would have been the ceiling of the extended chamber below us. Yep, we were reluctant to go farther or look to closely into the chamber just in case we found the remains of the person who explored before us.

To safely utilize a cave you have to have a very good knowledge of yearly rainfall patterns, and it is best to have a compilation of several years to give you a baseline of rainfall, and have a good knowledge of the variations of the water table in the area. Using a cave for shelter or storage in its natural state is one way to utilize a cave. However if the size of the chamber is large enough you may want to expend a bit more energy and expense if you intend to pass on the property to family later on. The perfect example of the best utilization of a cave for long term shelter and or storage is the old NORAD Cheyenne Mountain [Command and Control] Complex. Within the natural cavern is built a shelter system with all the comforts of home, and a few I wish I had. Of course our tax dollars built it and to go to those lengths would be problematic at best. But the basic concept of a shelter within a cave is not a far stretch and would provide a lot of comfort and protection for the occupants provided the cave is deemed habitable for the long term after compiling the climatic data. You would have to weigh such construction against not only costs but also to factors such as:

1. Would enlarging the entrance to accommodate construction materials, tooling, and manpower (even immediate family only) compromise the location?
2. Would the cave/constructed shelter be susceptible to flooding during prolonged rainy seasons?
3. Would the cave provide a source of water, or is there a close source of water that could provide the needed water or water storage for the shelter?
4. What type of power could be provided? The cave we explored could potentially provide hydropower if properly set up.
5. What are the range of temperatures through the seasons, and would prevailing winds impact the cave’s temperature ranges; especially during winter months? You would have to consider ways of mitigating winter winds whipping through the cave.
6. Will the cave need a ventilation system to make sure that you don’t have a buildup of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide when occupied full time?
7. Does the cave, consistently or periodically, capture and retain any gases such as methane or other harmful gases that can be emitted from deeper in the earth from the geologic formation? And it would be a good idea to know the basic geology of the area so you know the stability of the cave. A cave in even with a constructed shelter within the cave could still pose a serious danger. And you may want to reinforce the cave ceiling just in case the geology slightly active (small tremors).
8. Is there an alternate or secondary entrance that could be utilized as an emergency exit or could it prove to be an access point for others to enter during a crisis.
9. If there is no other entrance or exit point, is it possible to construct one as an emergency exit? I would be reluctant to have a single entrance and exit point. If you have to dig an emergency exit you will need some very specialized equipment and skills to prevent a cave in, or suddenly finding yourself flooding the cave by hitting an underground spring or other high volume water source. It would be too easy for an adversary to simply block a single entrance and either starve you out or to fire on your position and use the rock walls to ricochet around until they hit someone, or to build a fire at the entrance to smoke you out. And a worse scenario would be for an adversary to cave in the entrance and seal you in until you died of suffocation.
10. Could the shelter or the cave provide any method of hydroponic gardening? If your shelter is the cave proper you will have to have access to an area where you can garden if you intend to occupy the shelter over a protracted period of time as the result of a nuke exchange or protracted pandemic.

These are just a few questions that come to mind and there are others that must be answered depending on how you want to utilize the cave. If you want to really kick your ‘creative engine’ into overdrive and see how mankind has utilized natural and man made underground structures then watch the History Channel program “Cities of the Underworld”. It is absolutely amazing how people through the centuries utilized natural underground formations, and expanded them or built and utilized underground spaces. Mankind has covered over entire cities over the centuries as new construction has been built over old. Some of these underground areas have been done as far back as the Celtics of Ireland and Scotland as well as through the Middle Ages and Renaissance as well as the modern eras. There is one common thread, of different iterations but a singular concept, which runs through all of the construction techniques from the beginning; whether utilizing natural features or new construction over old cities. And this thread is utilized today. But I’ll leave that to you to discover for yourself. – The Rabid One

 

Hi Jim,
The best way I know of to camouflage stuff (entrances, equipment, traps, etc.) with respect to its environment is to paint it with spray-on adhesive, the same kind that automotive upholsterers use, then simply take dry dirt and sprinkle it all over the painted areas (some moving parts, etc. you would of course want to mask-off, just like regular painting).

This provides an excellent base coat, even for things attached to trees, buildings, etc.

I still think the best book on the subject is the US Army “Camouflage” field manual (FM 5-20) from 1969: Regards, – Jerry E.

Letter Re: Advice on Gold and Silver Coins as a US Dollar Inflation Hedge

Jim,
You recommended that I use Swiss America for some gold purchases, which I did. What would you recommend for bartering purposes exactly, as far as gold and precious metals are concerned? I’m confused by all the “collectors” coins and such which are more expensive. Do you have any specific types of coins that you think would be ideal for trading? I purchased some collector 1 ounce coins for their easy-liquidation (and no tax paper trail on gains) as a hedge against inflation, but I’m looking to get some good barter gold for long-term post-SHTF security (especially now that gold is correcting a little)! Thanks, – Rob A.

JWR Replies: First, I must re-iterate: Get your food storage, water filtration, non-hybrid gardening seed, defensive firearms, and other key logistics squared away before you consider investing any extra funds in precious metals.

As I’ve written before in both my novel (“Patriots”) and in this blog, I consider gold coins too compact a store of wealth to be practical for barter in a post-collapse economy. Circulated pre-1965 mint date US dimes and quarters are both more widely recognized and a more realistic unit of value for day-to-day barter. The current silver-to-gold value ratio is around 54 to 1 (It presently takes 54 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold). So there are very few barter transactions for which even 1/10th-ounce gold coins would be appropriate. So I recommend that you budget first for one full $1,000 face value bag of pre-’65 “junk” silver coins for each family member. After you have that in hand, then you might consider buying some 1/2 ounce or 1 ounce gold coins as a long term inflation hedge.

While your silver coins will be useful for barter, the gold coins would be your long term store of wealth, designed to parlay back into tangibles (or perhaps a new specie-backed redeemable currency) on the far side of an economic crisis. As I’ve written before, I think that the risk of another Federal gold confiscation–like that in the 1930s–is low, so there is no need to buy numismatic coins. Instead, buy low dealer premium Krugerrands, American Eagles, or Canadian Maples Leafs.