Survivalist

If I wasn't a survivalist today that would be a shocker. I grew up in the 50's & 60's deep in the heart of Florida. In elementary school and junior high school we had weekly survival drills. We lived under the perceived threat of Russian nuclear missiles aimed at us from nearby Cuba. There were signs all over with instructions on what to do. Don't look at the blast, stay away from the windows, turn your desk over and get behind it, learn where the underground shelters were located, have a family plan for reuniting with your family, keep several months of food and water where you can get to it and shelter safely, always carry survival gear, put your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye, and etcetera. There were bomb shelters behind many homes, those green grass domes with hooded pipes coming out the sides. My dad dreamed of converting an old school bus into a home on wheels, for protection and escape. The adults would talk about having to barricade themselves away from the unprepared folks expected to flock to those shelters after a disaster. What I learned was that you should prepare yourselves for disaster at all times. I thought this was perfectly normal. After all, you are what you live.

So, I live paranoid. Of course it isn't really paranoid if people really are out to get ya. All kidding aside, I will own my brand of healthy paranoia. It is the sixth sense that causes the hairs to rise on your neck when something doesn't feel right. It is at least planning your escape routes even if you are fairly certain you won't need them. It is being prepared, always. There is no use in having a bomb shelter all stocked and waiting for you if you can't reach it in a disaster. Any disaster at all. You could run out of gas during a snowstorm, or your car could break down. Planning ahead, using what you have and using your wits is what you need to survive just about any situation.

Over the years I've learned that you do need to have at the minimum several layers of survival gear that could mean the difference between life and death if you are cut off from civilization. With feelings of deja vu I watched the events of 9/11 unfold just 80 miles away from where I live now, and felt sadness for the folks trapped in New Orleans during Katrina. I don't own the feeling that "it can't happen to me" or that I would somehow survive better. But I do think about what I would need if caught in those types of situations. I have real experiences of being trapped in snow and ice storms, being stranded in a car in a desert and in a blizzard, being stranded within civilization yet still being unable to get to normal sources of food and water. In spite of the best planning, it can still happen to anyone.

By minimum layers of survival gear I mean the indispensable items that if all packed up in one place would do you no good if you were separated from them. In it's simplest analysis, picture having a fully stocked backpack on a three day hike into the wilderness, where you are totally prepared, have a plan, and the expertise to keep yourself out of danger, or so you think. Picture that backpack falling off the trail over a steep cliff into a river after just a moment's inattention. This time it's gone and you'd be an idiot to try and chase it down. If you have layered your survival gear, then you will have your compass, mirror, sturdy knife, dry matches, several plastic baggies, 3 feet of duct tape, antibiotic, chapstick, water purification tablets, candy tin, and a large trash bag in your pockets. With just those items in your pockets you could spend a fairly comfortable couple of nights on the mountain and try to get safely out if you had to. You could use those items and survive below freezing temperatures.

Survival is a list of priorities. Preparation comes first, meaning plan your route, memorize a map of your area, gather your material needs. Try not to get into the situation in the first place. Let people know where you will be, and have a plan for survival. First aid comes next, then shelter from the elements, then water for hydration, and communication, such as signaling for help. Survival sounds romantic. It isn't. You aren't going to need fishing line and a way to hunt food, unless you are so remote that civilization isn't a consideration ever again. You can go a couple of weeks without eating, a couple of days without water (at the most), and maybe 10 minutes in a blizzard, but only a minute or two if you can't breathe or are bleeding. So you work backwards. Eating is your last priority in a survival situation.

I sadly read about the family whose car was stranded in a snowstorm, the one where the father died of exposure trying to get help. The mother and children survived by staying in the car. I'll bet they wished, in this order, that: they weren't caught in the snowstorm, that they had blankets and warmer clothes with them, that someone knew exactly where they were, that they had the forsight to bring water and food, that they had a way to cook and eat in the car, and perhaps some books or games, extra gas, a place for the kids to potty, and an extra cell phone. I carry a solar charger, luggable loo, trash bags, blankets, Smart Mug (car cooking!), food, water, snacks, backpacking/camping gear, extra clothes, boots, trekking poles, money, maps, ID, keys, water purification systems (First Need, Katadyn, purification tables, extra filters, collapsible buckets and containers), tools, axe, and more.

I'm not saying that I could have done it better, but I've learned through experience to always carry all of these things with me in my car, rain or shine. I'm going on a hike in a few minutes, at Valley Forge Park. It will be a five mile hike relatively close to civilization. My cell phone is fully charged, the 1/2 gallon of water is icing up in the freezer, my survival gear is in my tummy pack, and I'll be taking some easy to eat fruit and nuts for energy. I checked the weather to be sure I won't get caught in rain or lightning, and I let my son know where I'll be. All that for a five mile hike. Hey, never leave home without your layers of survival gear. I will have my car key, ID, and an extra cell phone in my pockets, and will carry just a little bit of "mugger money" in my tummy pack. Paranoid? You betcha! >^;^< It may not "save me" in an unfortunate situation but I'm better prepared than 99% of the other hikers. I'm the one you want to be stranded with, not the bimbo in the pink jogging shorts....well, you know what I mean. I can be a bimbo, too. But not when it comes to survival.