Posts Tagged shtf
Three day trip to the camp
On July 30th, 2010 my family and I headed to the camp for 3 days for a little get away. One of the things that I like to do on these little “get aways” is to take notes, and figure out ways to improve – what went right, what went wrong, and what can we do differently.
One thing that I wanted to test on this trip was the Royal Berkey water filter from Directive21.com – this will be covered in another article, its just too much to go into right now.
One thing that happened, was while the guys were washing off the 4-wheelers, the water hose was left on and the well was drained. So we were without water for about 12 hours – 8pm, until a little after 8 am. By turning off the water pump, the well had time to fill back up.
The propane tank is down to about 40 percent, so it needs to be filled back up. If you wait until the winter to fill it up, your probably going to be put on a waiting list.
In all, there were 7 people staying at the camp – and everyone had a place to sleep with a little room for more.
We had a 128 quart ice chest in the kitchen that was helping keep the food cold – but we also have a refrigerator and freezer.
Dealing with weather conditions – One of the big issues was the heat – the day time high temps were in the high 90s and low 100s. Any time of physical activity in the direct sun light resulted in instant sweat and fatigue. After only a couple of hours of working in the sun, it felt like I had been working for 8 – 10 hours.
One of the projects was to work on the shed – water had been getting around the door jam for several years and the boards had rotted away. It just so happened and the door of the shed faces east – straight into the rising sun. Even though work was started around 8 – 9 am, it felt like I was working in an oven.
This brings up an interesting topic, lets say that some kind of long term SHTF situation occurs, a lot of people are not going to be up to the physical labor needed to start a working farm. Lets say that a family has access to a 2 acre field that they can plant crops on. First the land has to be cleared – which can take days, if not weeks. And what about the physical demands that its going to take to work the land? Can most people of this current generation work a field with hand tools – in the hot sun – for 8, 10, 12 or 14 hours a day?
Some of the common problems with using hand tools includes injuries to the hands and feet. Why the feet? Because people that do not know how to use hoes and rakes my hit their feet by accident. People who do not take foot safety seriously, may learn their lesson the hard way.
So here I am, on the lawn mower, cutting grass that is almost 2 feet deep, wondering “how” this would be going if this was a SHTF situation and not a relaxing trip to the camp. Would it be better to burn the grass, and put the fuel towards a tiller, or save it for the truck in case I needed to go somewhere.
Food for thought – Lets say that you have 2 – 3 weeks worth of food at the camp – SHTF – its going to take a few days to get the crops planted, and several weeks before anything starts to grow. So what do you do between the time your food preps run out, and your crops come in?
July and August are the worst months for the Texas heat. You step out of the door, and it feels like your stepping into an oven. The physiological and physical effects that can have one someone can be very profound. When you working outside, it feels like a weight has been attached to your body, and the heat feels like its sucking the life out of your body. Even with shade and plenty of water, expect very little relief.
Some of the big issues that I see:
Fresh food – within a few days people are going to be living out of cans. With eating a lot of canned goods also increases your sodium intake.
Keeping food good – even though you might have a freezer full of food, its going to do little good if the power is off and the food spoils.
Physical demands – most people today are not used to physical labor for 6, 8 or even 10 hours a day.
Transportation – your camp might only be 100 miles from your location, but its not doing you any good if you dont have fuel for your car or truck.
This video was posted to youtube on February 22, 2009. I think its related to the subject of this article.
Post your comments in this forum thread about survival retreats.
Barter items for post teotwawki
If SHTF tomorrow, 12 months later, what items would you have that you could use for barter? Is bartering even in your plans, have you even thought about it? The other day I was walking through wal-mart and was thinking about low cost, good quality trade items. There is a difference in good quality, medium quality and poor quality barter items.
Here are some examples of barter/trade items:
Gold and silver only have value when someone values money. Once society has broken down to where its a dog eat dog world, I’am willing to bet that food will have more value then gold and silver.
Solar panels, seeds, first aid supplies are a good quality trade items.
Clothing might have an “ok” trade value.
Hand tools might be a medium quality trade item. If your cars and trucks are not running, what value are hand tools.
Computers and other electronics would be a poor quality item – without electricity, what good are electronics.
When you start talking about matches, seeds, flashlights, batteries,,,,,, some of those are disposable items – you use them once and then its gone. In my opinion, the best trade items are ones that continue to give a return over and over. This gives the item a certain appeal that its not a once use item, or something that breaks easily.
I dont think food has very much of a trade value – unless the other person is starving. The thing with food, you eat it once and its gone, it does does not give a return on your investment.
Matches, they burn once, and its gone.
Batteries go dead, unless you have a way to charge them.
Seeds may not sprout, or might be a hybrid so the resulting seeds can not be saved.
In my opinion, one of the best trade items is hook, line and sinker. These 3 items provide a good return for all interested parties. When you open the package, you can still trade it. Right now I’am looking at a box of 50 eagle claw #2 hooks, Water Gremlin round split shot weights 124 pieces, zebco monofilament fishing line 12 pound test 700 yards.
Instead of trading for the whole box of hooks, trade for a certain amount.
Instead of trading for all of the weights, trade for a certain amount.
Instead of trading for all 700 yards of line, trade for 50 foot lengths.
Non of these items expire, rot, mold, mildew, spoil,,,,, unless you leave them in the water.
With the hooks, its a good idea to invest into stainless – that way they dont rust if stored for a long period of time.
The appeal with fishing gear – it allows someone to provide for themselves without a lot of work. Unlike crops, fishing can give an almost instant return. Instead of taking months to grow crops, people can go fishing when they want. Unlike farming, you do not have to clear a field, your not dependent on rain fall, fertilizer, pesticide,,,,,.
The draw back to fishing, you need access to a body of water. If your in the middle of a desert, fishing supplies might be the last thing on your mind.
Post your comments in this forum thread about barter items for post shtf.
Survivalist and Mental Conditioning
Survivalist should take time to condition themselves to better prepare for a disaster. Its easy to sit in a chair and watch videos, or read articles about survivalism. But that is not enough. To really prepare for a disaster, people need to actually do something and practice their skills.
Take the time to expose yourself to adverse conditions, but in a controlled situation. This will help with the mental and physical conditioning. So that when a disaster does happen, you may better prepared.
Post your comments in the Survivalist Mental Conditioning thread of the forums.
In case your wondering what pack that is in the video, its a Maxpedition Condor II.
Camping Video Collection
This video is a collection of different types of camping and hiking videos streamed from youtube. To scroll through the videos, click the buttons on the right and left hand side of the player.
If the video player shows an error that the video is no longer available, just click the button on the right hand side of the player to advance to the next video.