Readiness Test

[just me]

1. Do you carry waterproof matches and some fat lighter in the woods when you plan to be there awhile?

2. Do you carry toiler paper with you when you are going fishing, hunting, riding your bikes, etc.?

3. Do you carry a sharp knife when you go somewhere?

4. Do you own nice rainwear or just carry an umbrella places?

5. Do you have rubber boots or waders for when it rains more than expected?

If you answered "no" to more than two of these, you may need to just get out and away from your life long enough to realize how small you are. If it is very cold, will your feet survive being soaked in water. How will you dry your shoes and socks? Can you place shelter for your loved ones? Can you feed them with no electricity? Can you kill, clean, and cook something as not to starve. Life is not strawberry fields forever. Go with someone with experience. Google most likely will not be available, and you will not be able to have food shipped or driven to your door. Water may be difficult to find. Have any? Have a compass? Lip balm? What will the wife think?

Owning a small boat powered by a motor is a great place to start. They have all these rules you should learn and try to obey. Mainly, they have a list of things to carry with you. Fire extinguisher is one. First Aid Kit another. Whistle. The list goes on. Flares. Life jackets and personal flotation devices.

If you answered "no" to all of these, look for smoke and go to it if it is safe to. Do you know how to protect yourself? Learn. Find a guide.

One thing I noticed studying WWII was how resilient we became, of one accord, when the poop hit the fan. War was the remedy to a lot of things, but sadly it was paid for with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. No, it is not time for a group hug.

 

[Asa]

Every time I go into the woods I carry a pack with a firestarter, flashlight, binoculars, multi-tool, compass, knife, whistle, first aid gear (bandages, quick clot, tourniquet, etc), pliers (good for removing porcupine quills), emergency blanket, a few paper towels, bug repellent, rope, plastic bags, a bandana, sunglasses, hat, extra leashes, sunscreen, lip balm, water bottle, dog food or treats, peanuts for ravens, a towel, and my 9mm.
Depending on the weather, I add extra weather gear like mittens, raincoat, ice spikes, etc.

My dogs wear GPS and the GPS units are more reliable for location than my phone.

The other thing I recommend is hiding a credit card, money, or some sort of way to pay for emergency medical expenses in your pack. This makes people a bigger target for theft, but the one time we faced an injury in the woods, we didn't have time to go home to get our wallets. Our gas tank was empty and we arrived at the medical center without any money.

We're also light preppers. We aren't hardcore about it, but we do have many 5-gallon water bottles, dry goods, canned goods, and other supplies, plus an outdoor grill*, many cords of firewood to heat and cook with, and a generator. Where I live, snowstorms and ice storms can cut people off from the world for weeks.

*My dad was stuck in a weeks-long ice storm once and was able to cook on his grill.


PS: When I lived in cities, I never went anywhere without a bag that contained a hoodie and a few overnight essentials and emergency items. (Fairly common for my peer group because we lived unpredictable lifestyles.)

PPS: If I were going out for more than a few hours, I'd carry either a hiking saw or a folding saw, a shovel, and perhaps a tarp or small tent.

 

[Wyote]

After this thread, I am ready

 

[John K]

England is too sanitised to need such contingencies. I take my mobile phone with me, and good shoes if I’m off road. My iphone has 1:25000 maps of the whole UK, and I can get emergency services within 30 minutes of wherever I happen to be. It’s sad really, but that’s small, overpopulated countries for you.

Mind you, it’s different in the wilds of Scotland. You need to carry gorgonosaurus repellent with you up there along with anti-midge spells.

 

[just me]

One goal in an assault can be communication satellites and electricity. If you live up north, you might want to keep plenty of firewood on hand. Watch for things out of the ordinary. Don't get worried, get prepared.
Thanks for all the help. Solar battery chargers, batteries, lights, walkie talkies, medicines, ibuprofen, medical cream, Therma-cells, and know how to safely use them.

 

[Verison]

I played and worked in the forests of New England most of my life. MOST of the time someone knew where I was working, just in case I didn't get home.

I carry a topo map and a GPS. Always - a compass, knife, matches and candles (great for making a fire if needed), a light lunch & snack, water. Depending on the time of year, bug juice (repellent) . Theses days a cell phone is included even though there my not be any towers to get a signal from. These items go into a bright orange "cruiser's vest". Depending what state I am in, a handgun. I have been within striking distance of black bears, packs of coyotes, wolves...... Oh my!

On the Harley I carry rain gear, water, snacks, map. Cell phone.

Survival at home includes enough food and water for a couple of weeks, a gas grill to cook on, just got a generator and will soon have the house wired to hook it up to. We normally have a spring running close to the house, there is a brook on the property.

I do have rubber boots that need to be replaced, it's drier on the outside of them.

 

[John K]

People had to be very careful if they went any distance from their base when I worked for the British Antarctic Survey in the early 1970s. I was on South Georgia island which wasn't quite as hazardous as those on the Antarctic Continent, but could still be pretty tricky. There was no chance in those days of anyone from off the island rescuing you if you got into trouble, especially in winter. The most detailed map we had was this one at 1:200,000, or c. 5 miles to the inch, so no use for any trekking other than to give you the general direction of the most major aspects of the terrain.

Spoiler

Almost no serious overland walking was done that wasn't in the Cumberland Bay area which is where our base was. There were field teams working in various places for a few weeks or months round the island in summer, but they were all dropped off and picked up by sea and kitted out with tents and piles of supplies, and they all had short wave radios and a fixed schedule for reporting in to our base radio operator.

On reflection, I think the isolation of the place meant that we were all acutely safety aware when we went out to explore the local countryside around the base. It wasn't all that conscious really, just part of our culture that grew naturally out of where we were. There was one guy who once got lost in the lower hills a few miles away - took a wrong turning and ended up in an unfamiliar bay. A search party went out looking for him and found him OK, but he was pretty knackered and shook up when they all got back - that made everyone more cautious about recording in a log book where we were going and what time we expected to be back, and -most importantly- sticking to it.

 

[just me]

We were gathering items to send to a small country in need a long time ago. People thought I was crazy when I showed up with my gifts. I brought 100 fish hooks, #6 Mustad-Aberdeen, and spools of 12# monofilament line.
A worm, cricket, grasshopper, minnow, and I would have fish if the water was not frozen. Should have taken them small axes. I'd rather have that than a can of pork'n beans. Discarded strong plus cataract lenses to start fires and such with on a sunny day. Waterproof matches. No, I do not think like most everyone else. Would like to have gone, but had too many ties.