Starting Fires Without Matches

The discovery of fire was one of the seminal moments in human history.   Fire gave man the ability to keep warm when he was cold, have light in the dark, cook food, and scare away predatory animals. Our long fascination with fire is carried over today in the tradition of campfires and fireplaces.  Most of the time we take fire pretty much for granted.  But it wasn't always so, and in fact, it isn't always so even today.  When fires are out of control or unavailable when needed we face significant danger.  Being able to avoid or escape a fire may save your life.  Likewise, being able to make a fire in a survival situation may be lifesaving too.

Being able to start a fire in a survival situation could literally mean the difference between life and death and certainly adds considerably to your comfort.  There is much folk lore and much is written about starting fires without matches.  Of course the easiest way to start a fire without matches is with a Bic-style lighter.  Many survivalists strongly recommend you include a lighter in your survival kit.  They are inexpensive, light weight, and easy to use.  Even after they run out of fuel the spark may be used to ignite tinder.

One of the most commonly promoted ways of starting a fire without matches is rubbing two sticks together.  I don't know about you, but the only way I want to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together is if one of them is a match!  Otherwise, rubbing two sticks together is a time-proven technique but is is very tedious and takes a lot of effort.   It has been said that when you cut your own wood it warms you twice.  The same might be said of starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together.  It takes a LOT of work!  The most efficient way is to make a bow drill.  For this you will need a a curved stick or a green stick that is flexible enough to be bent into a bow, a piece of string or other cordage long enough to string the bow, a dry stick about a foot and a half long for the "drill" (I'm told softwood works best), a wooden base plate, and a bearing block or hand piece.  The hand piece should fit comfortably in your hand and will serve as the upper pivot point for the drill.  It may be made of wood or stone or just about anything that will protect your hand from the top of the spinning drill.  The hand piece could be made of stone, bone, sea shell, or hardwood.  It needs be thick enough to protect your hand from heat as well as protecting you from direct abrasion. The base or hearth plate should be hardwood and you'll want to carve a small depression in the middle to hold the tip of the drill. Round the top of the spindle and lubricate it with oil (from your face, sometimes called "beak oil" off your nose, if you don't have anything else.  A drop of oil from a vehicle dipstick works really well if you have a vehicle nearby).  Sharpen the end that will drill into the hearth or base place.  Loop the bow string around the middle of the spindle (drill stick).  Place the bottom (sharp) end into the depression in the base plate and put some dry tinder near the point of contact.  Hold the hand piece in one hand (left hand if you're right handed, right hand if you're left handed) and put it on the top of the drill.  Then move the bow back in forth in a sawing motion to rotate the drill, using the hand guard to keep pressure on the drill so there is significant friction between the drill and the base plate.  When you start to generate smoke look for a glowing coal and be ready to put the tinder on the coal.  Blow gently to increase the temperature of the coal to ignite the tinder.  Take care not to blow so hard as to blow out the flames when the tinder begins to burn. If you don't have materials to make a bow, you can turn the drill by rubbing it between your hands.  Start with both hands at the top of the drill and rub them back and forth to rotate the drill, all the time pushing or pressing down to keep pressure on the drill.  This also helps reduce injuring your hands.   You can practice the "Isty Bitsy Spider" hand movement to get a feel for how your hands should work.  This "hand drill" technique an be really hard on your hands and can easily produce blisters.  Les Stroud (Survivorman) recommends slapping your hands together frequently hard enough so it hurts to stimulate blood flow and minimize blisters. Another way of starting a fire rubbing two sticks together is called a "fire plow".  In this case, instead of rotating a stick to generate friction, you simply push the point of one stick along a groove the base plate rapidly and repeatedly until you create enough heat to get your fire going. You might also use a vine or rope as if you were trying to saw through a piece of wood to create enough friction to light a fire.

Flint and steel is another age-old method for starting fires.  If you have flint and steel or can find stones that make sparks when struck together or against iron or steel, you can use the sparks to ignite your tinder.  I find this a LOT easier than rubbing two ticks together!   My first attempt at using flint and steel was very frustrating.  I didn't realize the brand new "flint" had a coating on it that I had to scrape away before I could get sparks.  But once it was gone, Wa-lah!  Nice big sparks -- once I learned the right angle and the right pressure. I like to use 100% cotton balls for tinder.  Add a little Vaseline if you have it to ignition and make the cotton ball burn longer, giving you more time to use it to get your fire going.  In the wild you can use punky wood, char cloth, or finely ground dry grass, pine needles, or bark for tinder.

The UST Sparkle Firestick is a very convenient flint an steel option.  Instead of striking the flint and steel together, they are combined in a  single hand held, spring-loaded, unit you can operate with one hand.  You just depress the plunger to create a spark 3 times as hot as a match.  You can find them on Amazon for about $10 and each one should last for at least 100 strikes.

Sunlight can be used to ignite tinder if you have a way to concentrate it.  The stereotypical tool is a magnifying glass, but you may be able to use spectacles or broken headlight lenses.  Sometimes the lens from a flashlight will work but many are flat.  If yours is completely flat don't waste you time.  I've even seen demonstrations of using a piece of ice, but most ice contains too many contaminates that cloud it so that it doesn't focus the sunlight as well as it needs to be.  An alternative is to polish the bottom of an aluminum can.  Soda and beer cans are often all too commonly found among the trash strewn in even surprisingly remote places.  Polish  the bottom of the can using some kind of rubbing compound (chocolate bars and tooth paste are two fairly common sources) until you can see your teeth or the whites of your eyes reflected in the parabolic surface of the bottom of the can.  When you aim the polished surface directly at the sun it will focus the suns rays at a point a few inches in front of the can.  Use a piece of wire or a stick to hold your tinder right at the focal point so you don' burn your fingers.  Here is a demonstration of how to do this.  Lacking chocolate or toothpaste your could use fine sand or even dirt to polish the can.

Steel wool and batteries can be used to start a fire.  Steel wool comes in different grades of coarseness.  You want 0000 steel wool.  Use clean steel wool.  Soap pads like Brillo and SOS are usually too coarse and the soap interferes with ignition.  6 and 12 volt car batteries, even when somewhat run down, can usually produce enough current to get steel wool going but even flashlight batteries can do the trick.  I've seen people start a fire by carefully breaking the bulb of a flashlight (take care not to damage the filament) and using the hot filament to light a fire.  Incandescent bulbs are about 10% efficient producing light and about 90% efficient making heat.  Another way to use batteries to start a fire is simply to create a spark by touching wires connected to the hot and ground sides of the battery together.  To get a good spark, strike one wire against the other rather than simply pressing them together.  Once they are connected they will no longer create a spark -- but the wires may get very hot and are likely to burn your fingers if they aren't protected.  If you have a vehicle battery, you might also have vehicle fuel that can be used as an accelerant to help get your fire going.  Always be careful working with flammable liquids.  Avoid spilling them on your hands or clothing.  Remember, it is the fumes that burn, not the liquid itself.  Tossing a matching into a gallon can filled to the top with gasoline will result in the match being doused by the gasoline.  Tossing one into a gallon can with a small amount of gasoline in the bottom (letting the remainder fill with fumes) will result in explosive ignition!  Acclerants tend to be very fluid.  In either liquid or even gaseous form, they can find their way into places you didn't expect, sometimes with dramatic and/or dangerous results.  I read about a fellow who poured a little gasoline on his fire, then, walked back to his van to get his matches.  He returned just in time to see his fire burst into flames as the fumes from the gasoline had slithered downhill to another camper's fire and then the flames had snaked back up the vapor trail to ignite his fire.  Very impressive and dramatic, but it could have been disasterous.  Think what might have happened if he'd spilled gas near his van!

The key to starting any fire, and especially to getting a fire going without matches or a lighter, is having the right tinder.  Tinder must be easily ignited.  For my personal fire starting kit I carry some 100% cotton balls. And no, although the synthetic "cosmetic puff" may look the same, they don't work the same.   You may see many folks recommend dryer lint for tinder.  If its cotton lint, from denim, towels or underwear, it will probably work well, but lint from synthetic fabrics like nylon, rayon, and polyester are more likely to be melted than ignited by sparks.  In the wild, you may have to make your own tinder.  Dry bark from tress like cedar and juniper, fluff from seed pots like milkweed or cattails, sagebrush bark, or even dry grass (rub it between your hands to grind it up and make it easier to light) can all be used as tinder.  Another option in the wild is "punky" wood.  This is the partially rotten wood you find in fallen logs, tree stumps, and hollow trees.  It is usually a redish brown color and has a kind of alligator skin pattern.  Pine needles are usually too course to be used as tinder unless you grind them down into small particles or dust.  The shavings from something called "fat wood" makes excellent tinder.  Fat wood is found at the core of rotted pine trees or logs.  It smells like turpentine and conatins concentrated resin that makes it nicely flammable.  A favorite of survivalists and outdoorsmen is "char cloth".   It is easily ignited by sparks.  Essentially it is just charred cotton cloth.   Any old cotton, like an old T-shirt or denim will do, but a favorite is something called "monks cloth".  You can buy it at a fabric store by the yard.  It isn't expensive and a yard of monks cloth will most likely give you a enough char cloth for a lifetime for you and your friends.  You can see how to make your own here. Magnesium shavings are an excellent tinder and will light even when they are wet, but unless you have some in your survival kit, you're not going to find them in the wild.  In the old days you could break open a flash bulb and use the magnesium filaments but most modern flash cameras use LEDs these days.  Some OHVs have magnesium components and in an emergency you might be able to scrape some shavings off them to use as a fire starter. 

After tinder, the next important step will be your kindling bundle or "birds nest".  Most likely you will want to use dry grass, pine needles, or loose, stringy bark for your birds nest.  You should have a bundle that is a good double handful, slightly larger than a softball.  Once you have your tinder started you insert it into the birds nest and soon you should have a pretty good ball of fire ready to start your campfire.  A real birds nest would work but will probably be soiled with excrement and may give off an unpleasant odor.  Because the tinder bundle will be on fire and will get very hot, it is a good idea to have something to protect your hands when you hold it.  Mountain men used a piece of heavy leather.  You might get away with cutting a piece of vinyl upholstery from a disabled vehicle but exercise caution as vinyl may melt or catch fire.  In a wilderness survival situation where you have only natural resources, you might be able use some heavy green (not dry) leaves.

Always prepare your campfire before you start trying to ignite your tinder.  The last thing you want to be doing is running around looking for wood after you get your tinder started.  You can choose a teepee or log cabin style fire, depending on the size and quantity of fuel you have.  Make sure you leave a place to push your fire bundle or birds nest inside to get your fire going.  Build the fuel pile up starting with small sticks, the size of a pencil or less, then keep adding progressively larger fuel -- thumb sized sticks, then 1"-2" sticks, etc.  All the wood should be dry and well seasoned (not green!).  About the only green wood that burns well is sagebrush.  Most other trees and shrubs need to dry out before they will burn well, so gather dead wood rather than breaking branches off living plants.  Don't make your initial fuel pile too big.  You can always add more fuel if you need more heat, but getting too much going at once just wastes fuel.  Be sure to have a stack of fuel ready to use as you need it.

Of course you always want to properly prepare your fire site to avoid losing control.  While having a fire could be essential to your survival, allowing one to get out of control could spell disaster!  In addition to normal precautions like clearing the ground and building a fire ring, make sure you don't have anything on our person that will ignite easier than your tinder!  If your clothing is contaminated by fuel or oils the fumes may flash into flames and light you up instead of your fire bundle!  You wouldn't want to be making sparks or creating open flames anywhere near fuel tanks or containers.  And be aware that some things you might not normally consider as flammable can be extremely so in the right concentration.  Flour dust, for example, is so volatile a one cup can generate an explosion nearly equivalent to a stick of dynamite.  With that in mind, NEVER try to use flour to extinguish a kitchen fire!  Keep in mind that both flour and sugar are made of flammable carbon and hydrogen, which are also the primary components of gasoline!

Practice! Practice! Practice!  Starting a fire without matches isn't always easy.  If it were, why did we invent matches?  If you find yourself in a survival situation, it is unlikely you'll have the time or inclination to spend hours trying to get a fire started.  You will want -- or need -- it NOW!  Even striking a spark with a flint and steel takes a little practice, so take advantage of your camping trips to try out and practice various methods of starting your campfire without matches.  You might even want to try finding natural materials that will create sparks in case you find yourself in a situation without ANY supplies whatsoever.

Many modern wilderness survivalists agree you should never go out into the woods without a good lighter.  A simple, inexpensive BIC style lighter can light hundreds of fires and the spark can even be used after it runs out of fuel.  They are very small and light and you can easily tuck on in just about any pocket, pouch, or pack.  However, even with that in mind, you might find yourself in a survival situation without any matches or lighters, in which case the skills described above might be critical to your very survival.

Light 'em up!

Survival -- Make Do

Surviving  the effects of a natural or man made disaster or being lost or stranded in the wilderness often means making best use of available resources, whatever they may be.  Les Stroud (Suvivorman) frequently touts the value of examining your environment to see what you can find that you can use.  While Les often bewails the presence of man-made trash in the wilderness, he has found it is almost everywhere, and often yields things that can be used.  Explore both the natural resources and man made debris.  What is normally considered trash can be extremely valuable in a survival situation.  "One man's trash is another man's treasure".  Most of us throw out tin cans without giving them a second thought, but tin cans can be very useful and valuable in a survival situation.  You can make a very efficient rocket stove from a single one-gallon can and a few soup cans.  Tin cans can be used as cooking pots or to boil water to purify it for drinking, washing, or medical use.  They can be flattened to patch holes in roofs or other shelters.  They can be used to collect and store food when foraging. You might even use a tin can to dig a latrine if you don't have a shovel.  In a dire emergency you might be able to use the ragged edge of a tin can as a substitute for a knife -- be sure to sterilize it first.  The bottom of an aluminum beer or soda can can be polished (a little fine sand and a chocolate bar or tooth paste makes a good rubbing compound) and used as a parabolic reflector to focus sunlight to light a fire.  Sometimes a plastic water bottle (with clear water or even urine inside) can be used to focus sun's rays to start a fire.  Plastic bottles are always handy for storing and transporting water.  Believe it or not you might even be able to boil water in a plastic bottle!  As long as the melting point of the plastic is below 212F and there is water in the bottle, it should survive.

Les Stround (Survivorman) often laments the fact that just about anywhere you go, no matter how remote, you will find trash left behind by previous visitors.  In a survival situation that is both bad news and good news.  Bad news because trash is unsightly and may harm native plants and animals.  Good news because it may provide useful resources.  Trash can be a surprisingly good resource for survival tools.  Discarded tin cans from food make good pots for cooking or boiling water.  Larger cans might be used to build stoves that make cooking easier and more efficient or allow you to bring heat into a shelter where open fire would be too dangerous.  They might be used as digging tools or flattened to cover holes in your shelter.  You might be able to use them to make traps for edible insects and small animals.  Even those loathsome plastic bags that take hundreds of years to decay in landfills can be useful in a survival situation and can provide shelter from the elements. Discarded wire may be used as lashing to create shelter or furniture or snares.  You can sometimes find fishing line complete with hooks snagged in lakes and rivers or along the banks.

It wouldn't be possible or even feasible to list all of the ways you might use trash.  The most important lesson to learn is to examine everything with an eye to how it might be used.  Ask yourself "what can I do with this?"  Some things are fairly obvious: tarps and plastic sheeting (or plastic bags) for shelter, paper, cardboard, and scrap wood for fuel for warmth and cooking, corrugated sheet metal for shelter but there are many other resources you might make use of in a survival situation.  Tin cans have many, many uses.  There are many components of disabled or abandoned vehicles that might be salvaged.  Doors, hoods, etc., might be re-purposed for shelter; lubricants like transmission fluid and motor oil can be drained and used to lubricate other machinery or burned as fuel; upholstery and padding from seat cushions can be used for padding or insulation or sometimes to make shoes or clothing; wiring may be ripped out and used as cordage for building shelters; batteries, if they still have any charge, might be used with 0000 steel wool or with wires to create sparks for starting your fire.  In a long term scenario, you might devise a way to use wind, water, or pedal power (like a bicycle) to turn a salvaged vehicle alternator to produce electricity and charge batteries.  Pieces of glass headlight lenses might be used like a magnifying glass to concentrate sun's rays to light your fire or as scraping tools for cooking or preparing animal hides to make shelter or clothing.   Even old newspapers can be used  as insulation for a shelter or under your clothes or in your bed.  Old newspaper makes surprisingly good insulation for both shelters and for your body.  The only insulation in the walls of my grandfather's house in Idaho when I was growing up was old newspapers -- and winter temps got down as low as -26° but we never froze (and neither did the pipes in the house).  They sure made interesting reading when we remodeled the old place.

Not long ago, a young Boy Scout survived being separated from his troop in freezing overnight temperatures in the Utah mountains by building a debris hut.   A debris hut is very simple to build:  just pile up a bunch of leaves and grass or pine needles and burrow into the pile or just lay down and cover yourself over with them.   It will be a lot scratchier than a feather bed, but it could keep you warm enough to save your life.  Also, make sure the debris is dry and free from insects.  Hey, even a squirrel can build a debris hut!  A large cardboard box can provide a surprising amount of protection as long as it doesn't get wet.  I've seen winter survival sleeping bags made from trash bags and bubble wrap.
 
The most important concept is to take a careful inventory of ALL the resources you might have in a survival situation.  They might be discarded items (trash) that you can make use of or natural resources that can be adapted for food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and fuel.  You never know what might come in handy if you use your imagination and seek ways to make good use of anything you have available.  In winter even snow can be a valuable resource.  Not only can you melt it to get drinking water (as long as it isn't yellow or otherwise contaminated snow!), you can use it to build shelters to protect you from the elements.  Be creative.  You might even make snowballs to defend yourself from animals or other unwelcome intruders and perhaps you could even use them as weapon for hunting small game.  Practice looking at discarded items and asking your self  "What could I do with that?" instead of just turning away in revulsion thinking, "Ugh!  Trash!"  You will want to exercise some discretion.  Partially filled beer and soda bottles found along roadsides might deliver an unpleasant surprise.  Truckers have been know to use them as urinals to avoid stopping for a restroom break so that residual golden liquid in the Bud Light bottle might not be the left over brew you hope it is!

Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without!

In SURVIVAL mode that might read:  make do or die!

More Sharpening Your Camping and Survival Skills

No matter how long you've been a camper, you can still benefit from sharpening your skills.  I doubt if any of us get to go camping as often as we'd like, and, unlike cutting tools, which can become dull with use, our skills will become dull with non-use.  No matter how good you once were at making camp or starting a fire, if you haven't practiced it lately, you'll probably find you've lost your edge if you haven't done it for a while.  That can be frustrating and embarrassing and may delay dinner, getting warm, or getting out on the trails.

The best way to sharpen or maintain your skills is to be actively using them.  For many years my family went dirt biking and camping in the Mojave Desert just about every holiday weekend.  That meant going out about once a month and that gave us a pretty good opportunity to stay in practice.  Now that my wife and I are semi-retired and have moved to Utah, our outings are much fewer and farther between.  That means that when we do get a chance to take our RV out, we have to invest some time remembering all the routine preparations we used to take for granted.   Our old check lists come in very handy, but each time we discover a few things we used to do almost automatically and thus weren't on the written checklist that we don't think about now until it's too late. 

It is also good for machines (RVs and OHVs) to be exercised regularly.  Even if you can't schedule vacation time or even a weekend away, try to take a short trip or two at least once a month.  Seals in engines and running gear can dry out and crack.  Regular use keeps them functioning.  Driving also flexes the rubber in tires to bring out compounds that guard against cracking and sun-checking.  A simple overnight trip to a nearby campground now and then can help keep both you and your equipment in better shape.  If that doesn't work, take a drive around the block or at least start the engine and let it run for 10-20 minutes or so about once a month.  If your vehicle has an automatic transmission, set the brake securely and shift through all the gears a few times so the fluid circulates if you can't drive it.

Tent campers can hone their camp making skills in the back yard. Set up your tent to refresh your skills and verify its condition between camping trips.  Spend a night or two in your tent now and then to preserve your familiarity and comfort level with sleeping on the ground.

Fire starting skills can be practiced lighting fires in your home fireplace as well as lighting campfires.  If you don't have a fireplace, maybe you can build a campfire in your back yard.  Don't have a fire pit or anyplace to make one?  Locate an old washing machine tub.  They make excellent portable fire pits.  The perforations allow ample ventilation and air flow yet restrict sparks.  You can set the tub on some bricks or concrete blocks to minimize any damage to lawns or patios and allow good air flow through the bottom for efficient burning.  The raised fire box also makes for a good "toe toaster" to warm your feet on chilly evenings.

Practice your outdoor cooking skills on your home BBQ.  They may come in really handy if there is a disaster that takes out utilities.  We once had a power outage hit right at dinner time.  Since we have an all electric house with an electric range, that pretty much took out our normal cooking facilities until power was restored.  I went out to the back yard, brushed the snow off the BBQ, and transferred the meal in progress outside.  We barely lost a couple of minutes.  Your BBQ is good for much more than cooking burgers, chicken, or steaks.  You can heat water for hot drinks and cleanup.  You can prepare soups and stews.  With the addition of a camp stove oven, you can even bake on your BBQ or camp stove.

Dutch oven cooking is a fun and easy way to prepare wholesome and tasty meals, for both camping and everyday eating.  You can put your Dutch oven on a BBQ or set it directly on coals on the ground, then put the appropriate number of lighted briquettes on top for even cooking.  If you line your Dutch oven with aluminum foil, cleanup of even sticky things like "dump cakes" is really quick and easy.  It takes a little practice to get the heat and the timing down to produce the best results, so frequent practice is highly recommended.

If you enjoy shooting (guns or archery), you need practice to maintain your skills.

Keeping your skills tuned up can be lots of fun too!   The best way, of course, is to go camping as often as you can, but even camping at home between trips can be interesting and helpful.

If you simply CAN'T get out, do some "fantasy camping" in your mind.   Not only is it fun, but some studies have shown that mentally practicing a skill improves performance.  This has even been shown with athletes such as basketball players.

Look sharp!

Camping, Survival, and Emergency Sanitation

Dealing with human waste is usually not a topic for polite company, but it is essential to know what to do when camping, in a survival situation, or during an emergency at home.  Most people have no idea that cholera, is one of the leading causes of death in refugee camps worldwide, or that it is mostly caused by poor sanitation.   Many other diseases are also fomented by poor sanitation, especially when you are dealing with groups of people.  The larger the group, the greater the hazard!  Disease kills more people in a large scale disaster than all other causes combined.

If you're staying in campgrounds with toilet facilities when camping your needs are pretty much taken care of, as long as you take advantage of the facilities and exercise a reasonable amount of healthy precaution, such as thoroughly washing your hands or using hand sanitizer after using the toilet.  That doesn't mean just a quick rinse, but at lease 15-20 seconds of vigorous scrubbing or rubbing with soap and (preferably hot) water.  The primitive pit toilets in some remote campgrounds don't have water, so bring along some hand sanitizer.

If you're dry camping in an RV, you should be in pretty good shape as long  as you don't run out of water or overflow your holding tanks.  You will want to ration your water usage and filling of our holding tanks to ensure you can make it through the outing.  Be sure to use the right holding tank chemicals in the right amounts.  Then you must properly empty and flush your holding tanks at an approved facility.  Sloppy dumping can create a bio-hazard that could affect you directly and is likely to impact many subsequent users of the facility.  Make sure to flush any spillage in the dump basin into the drain.  Always do your best to avoid any spillage outside of the dump basin and should some occur, clean it up as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

When you're tent camping  in a remote location or in survival mode, you'll be dependent on more primitive methods.  You will want to locate or designate an area downwind and downhill from your camp site as the latrine area.  For short term camping you will probably just dig your own individual latrine pit for each need.  If you're staying in the same place for several days or have a large group of people you may want to dig a larger, multi-use latrine for convenience.  Either way, it must be at least 200' from any source of water (stream, well, spring, lake).  You will want to dig a deep enough pit so you can cover your deposits to prevent people from stepping in them and to discourage animals from digging them up.  Tent campers may take advantage of portable potty chairs for added convenience.  The are usually similar to folding camp stools or camp chairs that can be fitted with plastic bags to collect the waste for proper disposal.  What can you do if you don't have soap and water to wash with?   Bring along some hand sanitizer if you can.  It is inexpensive and comes in various sizes, including "travel" sizes that are suitable for pack, purse, or pocket.  I also suggest you explore the options that may be available in nature, especially to prepare for a survival situation.  For example, sagebrush has anti-bacterial properties.  Rub your hands with sage brush leaves or "wash" them in smoke from a sagebrush fire or boil some sagebrush leaves in water to make an effective cleaning solution.  Be sure to let it cool a bit before using it.  Dry sagebrush or sagebrush smoke won't remove dirt and grime but it will kill bacteria.  Some plants may make a suitable substitute for toilet paper, especially mullen, which is sometimes called "Desert Charmin".  Test any plants you plan to use on your arm and wait about an hour to check the results before using it on more sensitive parts of your body.

During a disaster or emergency situation at home normal utilities may be out for several days or more.  It may be possible to continue to use your residential toilet (as long as the sewer system is still in tact), even if your water is off, by manually filling the toilet tank.  You don't need potable water to fill the toilet tank.  Save that for drinking!  Even muddy or contaminated water from streams or lakes or even puddles will do.  By the way, this only works for gravity feed toilets.  You need good water pressure to operate below-grade toilets you find in some basements.  Lacking sufficient water to operate your toilet,  you'll have to make other arrangements like you might use for tent camping or in survival mode.  Some home survival kits include a toilet seat that fits on a 5 gallon bucket fitted with a plastic bag to create a fairly comfortable and reasonably sanitary toilet.  Just make sure to tightly seal and properly stow or dispose of the plastic bags after using them.  This is probably a more desirable solution than trying to dig a latrine in your back yard.   If you live in a rural area where you have plenty of raw land available, a pit latrine may be an option, but I wouldn't recommend it for an urban or suburban environment.  There is a product called "Wag Bags" that are designed for safe disposal of human waste.  These tough plastic bags have zip closures and are said to be puncture resistant.  They come with chemicals that convert the waste to a gel to minimize spillage and control odors.  You can buy a dozen for about $40 as places like REI, Camping World, and even Amazon.com.  In a pinch you can use ordinary heavy duty trash bags in a 5-gallon bucket as a makeshift toilet.  Be sure to tie them off tightly when you are done and be careful when moving them.

With a little knowledge, care, and planning, you should be able to manage human wastes without creating an unreasonable bio-hazard, whether you're camping for recreation, in a survival situation, or weathering out a disaster at home.

No crap!

Bug Out Vehicles

 Just what is a "bug out vehicle"?  The definition may differ depending on your strategy for dealing with emergency situations.  For some folks, who have ready access to stable roads, an RV may be a good bug out vehicle because it can be set up to contain everything you need for survival (food, shelter, water, first aid supplies, and sanitation facilities) just about anywhere.  But if you live where roads may become impassable during an emergency you may need something else, perhaps a 4WD or other off road vehicle -- or maybe even a horse or mule!  Your every day car might be used as a bug out vehicle if you don't have anything else available and the roads are useable.  In a rural area, you might even use a horse or other animal as your bug out "vehicle".

First of all, what does it mean to "bug out"?  "Bug out" is a popular term for abandoning your home in favor or a more viable location to survive a disaster.  Well prepared survivalists or "preppers" have usually pre-selected one or more possible destinations they could escape to if remaining at home were no longer safe.  In the most basic usage, you might "bug out" to a designated FEMA, Red Cross, or community emergency shelter, but is is usually used to describe traveling to a new personal safe haven for you and your family, often a rural location for primitive survival.  What kind of bug out vehicle you might need will depend entirely on what your bug out plans are.  If you're only going to be going to a local designated shelter, your family car or even a bicycle might be adequate, but if you have prepared a personal or family shelter in some remote location, you will need to consider a vehicle that is capable of getting you there even if roads are damaged or closed.  Fuel range is also a consideration.  In a disaster situation it is highly likely that gas stations will be inoperable due to power outages or sold out because deliveries are delayed.

The purpose of a "bug out vehicle" is to give you a way to evacuate your home during some kind of emergency.  If you have survival plans than include escaping to a remote mountain cabin or a cave, you need to have a vehicle capable of carrying you, your family, and your supplies to reach your bug out location.  That may mean adding extra fuel tanks or gas cans if your bug out location is far from home.  Since fuel is likely to be in high demand in a disaster, try to carry it where you don't advertise that it is there.  An alternative might be to cache fuel along the way if you can find  places where it will be safe until you need it.

You don't have to be heading to some secret, remote location for a bug out vehicle to be useful.  Even if you are only "bugging out" to to nearest Red Cross, FEMA, or other community relief shelter, having your own bug out vehicle can help you get there in relative comfort and with the supplies you need for your personal health, safety, and comfort.  Community shelters aren't likely to be stocked with your specific prescription medicines, preferred OTC medications, or any special dietary needs you or your family may have.  About all you can count on is having a roof over your head and basic protection from the elements.  If you're lucky you may get a cot or a least a blanket or two to sleep on and maybe some basic restroom facilities and some simple meals.  We had to evacuate our home in a suburban community in southern California when a careless forklift operator knocked the valve off a large chlorine bulk storage tank.  We used our 28' Class A motorhome.  One of the approved shelters a few miles upwind of the chlorine gas cloud was at a church we were familiar with.  We parked our motorhome in the church parking lot and had everything we needed to last out the time it took for the toxic cloud to dissipate, without the humiliation (or risk) of sharing living spaces with hundreds of strangers.

What is the "ultimate bug out vehicle?"  You may see manufacturers make claims that they have the ultimate bug out vehicle, but as mentioned in the opening paragraph, the kind of vehicle you need will depend on where you live and where you need to or plan to bug out to.  Sure, it might be nice to have a $600,000 bullet-proof all-terrain expedition vehicle built to military specs and equipped with solar panels, elaborate water filtration systems, and a multi-fuel engine, but few of us could afford it and most most of us would never need it.  And having it might make you a target during an emergency situation.  Only YOU can determine what kind of vehicle is right for you.  I live in a rural area.  In addition to my motorhome I have an 11 1/2' camper and 1-ton 4WD pickup, plus dirt bikes and horses.  My first preference for evacuating my home should it be necessary, would be my motorhome.  Next would be my truck and camper, whose smaller size and 4WD would give me more places I could go.  If roads were impassable, I could go lots of places with my dirt bike, with my bug-out bag on my back.  If all else fails we could saddle up the horses and escape with whatever we could carry in our back packs and saddle bags.  If you live near a navigable lake or stream (or think you'll be crossing same to reach your destination) you might want to include some kind of marine transportation like a foldable or inflatable boat or raft or even a simple canoe.  I knew a guy who kept small airplane at a private airfield and a sail boat in a marina in the Los Angeles area in case he couldn't get out of town any other way.  That was in addition to a 4WD Landcruiser and some OHVs in his garage.

Security by obscurity is a valid concept that may help keep you safe from marauders in disaster situation.   Having a 10' razor wire fence around your compound may seem like a good idea but when things get desperate it screams "there's good stuff here" and may attract a lot of unwanted attention.  Likewise, a big fancy bug out vehicle may draw more attention than a beat up looking old 4x4 pickup.

Do an Internet search for "bug out vehicle" and you'll get tons of results ranging from a 10 wheel, all wheel drive behemoth RV with military ancestry to tricked out Jeeps and various tracked vehicles.   If nothing else, just looking at them is educational and entertaining!

Bug out and be safe!

Guide to Surviving Winter Kayaking (Guest Post)

                                          * * *   GUEST POST * * * 

"As the weather gets colder and winter approaches, many paddlers hang up their paddles until the water and air become more bearable in the spring. However, there are some paddling enthusiasts that consider winter a minor setback in their kayaking adventures. Depending on where you live, kayaking in the wintertime can be quite enjoyable, but it certainly poses some risks you may not encounter in warmer weather.

 

Before you put your kayak away for the season, take a look below at our tips for taking on winter kayaking.

How skilled are you?

Your kayaking skills play an important role in kayaking during the winter. You must be confident in your paddling. It’s important to be prepared on your course of action if you happen to fall out of your kayak. The chances of falling out of your kayak during winter paddling is not increased compared to any other season, but the consequences of it are much worse because of the cold temperatures of both the water and the air.

For those that use sit on top kayaks, this means being confident in your ability to climb back onto your kayak. For sit inside paddlers, this means developing a good bracing technique to keep your yak from flipping. Knowing a reliable roll technique is also important for worse case scenarios. Ideally, you’d want to perfect these techniques in warmer weather when your immersion doesn’t pose such a great risk. If you aren’t 100% confident in your abilities, seek help from experience kayaking friends, local instructors, or online resources.

Purchase Good Winter Gear

The purpose of winter kayaking gear should serve two purposes: to keep you warm and to keep you dry. Winter paddle gear is going to look completely different than your summer outing gear. You should be dressing for immersion in addition to dressing for general warmth in the chilly weather. It’s important to note that even if you don’t plan for a swim, it doesn’t mean you are not at risk of getting wet from splash or rain. Being prepared means a more enjoyable outing.

The exact items you need to wear for a wintertime water outing varies on several factors like personal comfort, water temperature, water conditions, and the type of water you are paddling in. Dressing in layers is a smart idea; if you get warm, you can easily remove a layer. Start with waterproof outer layers and warm inner layers.

In addition to dressing the part, it’s important to have emergency gear on you, no matter the season. Consider bringing along the following: extra set of warm clothing in a waterproof bag, emergency paddle, rescue stirrup, emergency blanket, fire starter, first aid kit, and a means of communication (cell phone, radio, etc.).

Put Safety First

The most important thing to remember while paddling in the wintertime is to always put your safety, and the safety of others, first. Don’t take any extra risks you don’t need to and always take precaution everywhere you go. Kayaking during the winter means there will be less people on the water, so you need to be able to rely on yourself and your paddling partner if something goes wrong. Tips to keep in mind are:

·         Always paddle with at least one partner

·         Make sure someone on land knows where you plan on kayaking and when you’re going out

·         Watch the weather forecasts for any unforeseen storms

·         While on the water, stay as close to the shoreline as you can to minimize the distance you would have to swim if something went awry.

·         ALWAYS wear a life jacket!

Winter kayaking definitely takes a lot of preparation and precaution, and is only recommended for advanced paddlers. There are plenty of resources and appropriate gear you can pick up at Austin Kayak!

 

Solar Panels -- Free Light and Power from the Sun

We all take advantage of free solar lighting every day.  Its called "daylight".  But did you know the whole world runs on solar power one way or another.  Even coal and petroleum originated from solar power millions of years ago.  And even nuclear power comes from the remnants of dead stars!  But with solar panels or solar powered lights and good batteries we can extend free lighting options well after dark.  Many pieces of gear, like lanterns and other lights, are available with their own built in or attached solar panels, eliminating any installation issues.

Solar energy may be free, but the equipment to use it definitely isn't.  Solar lanterns, solar battery chargers, and solar panels for boats and RVs will deliver lots of electrical power for free -- once you've made the initial investment in the technology.  Solar appliances are usually somewhat more expensive to buy than their simple battery powered counterparts, but you'll save money on batteries.  Also, you can recharge solar items anytime there is light so you don't need 12 volt or 120 volt power for recharging.  Most solar powered lights use LEDs which  means they use a lot less energy, making the solar charge last even longer.

Solar powered lanterns are becoming more readily available, more affordable, and more popular with campers.  I often see solar lanterns around $10 each.  Solar power means you don't have to carry messy or volatile, dangerous fuels, pack extra batteries, or run down your vehicle batteries to have adequate lighting in camp.  Solar powered lanterns are especially handy for tent campers who won't have the luxury of 12 volt lighting of RVs but are still useful when camping in an RV.  Solar powered chargers might even be powerful enough to recharge your cell phone or even your laptop. Some solar powered lanterns these days even have built-in USB ports to charge cell phones and other light usage devices.  Solar powered lights are getting more and more affordable.  You can even find them at dollar stores, usually in the form of pathway lights, but sometimes as little camping lanterns.

Solar panels are also becoming more common on RVs, collecting power to charge batteries during the day so you can use your RV lighting at night.  With a large solar panel system, a massive battery bank,and an inverter you may even be able to run many 120 volt appliances without needing to fire up the generator.  RV roofs are usually large enough to provide space for quite a lot of solar energy collecting surface.  Even many boats have enough roof space on the cabin for solar panels -- and they are a lot less weight than a generator!

Solar powered "garden" or walkway lights can be used to mark tent pegs and guy ropes to prevent people from tripping over them in the dark.  I've found small solar walkway lights at my local dollar store, so they don't have to be expensive.  Sometimes you can adapt these small walkway lights for more general purposes like tent lighting.  Remove the ground stake (it usually pulls out easily) and add a bail to hang it with or make a base for the spike on the light from an old coffee can or similar container filled with sand, rice, or beans.

Solar panels and the associated controllers and regulators for powering RV systems are still relatively expensive.  A basic solar system for a boat or RV will likely cost $200-$300 plus installation.  A system capable of routinely running significant 120 volt appliances will be far more expensive -- plus the extra batteries you'll need to store your free solar energy.  An easy and inexpensive, though low power option, is a small solar panel that plugs into a vehicle cigarette lighter.  They're usually around $20-$30.  They are usually about twice the size of  smartphone.  They won't provide enough power to run appliances, but they are usually enough to maintain batteries while the RV is in storage when there is no load on the electrical system.  They may be enough to recharge cell phones and other small battery powered appliances.  They won't be able to keep up with power drain from lights or other 12-volt items in your RV.

Solar controllers may each have their own strengths and weaknesses.  Compare the capabilities of controllers and try to match yours to your particular needs.  The first controller I had with the solar panel on my boat supported keeping the battery charged even when the panel was under a green tarp over the winter.  I upgraded to a newer panel with more features but using the same panel and the same battery and the same tarp my battery went dead in a few months.  Haven't tried switching back yet as the new controller includes USB ports for charging our cell phones and it worked perfectly out on the lake.

Special solar battery chargers can be used to recharge any rechargable batteries.  This is a very versatile option since it can be used to recharge replaceable batteries for lanterns, flashlights, and many other battery powered devices.  For best results use only rechargeable batteries. Ordinary dry cell batteries are not designed to be recharged and attempting to do so may not be successful and may even be dangerous.  Non-rechargeable batteries may swell, leak, or even explode when you try to recharge them.  Fairly inexpensive solar powered chargers are also available to recharge cell phones, iPads, and notebook computers.

Solar powered lanterns are usually a little more costly than battery powered lanterns, but you will probably make up the difference fairly quickly in savings by not having to buy batteries again and again.  Rechargeable lanterns don't need new batteries regularly but they do need an outside source of power (12 volt or 120 volt) for periodic recharging.   With solar lights you will need to remember to put them out in direct light for a few hours every day to keep them charged.  Leaving them your tent or in a cabinet or closet in your RV will be very disappointing.  Sometimes the light inside a tent or vehicle is sufficient, but for faster and more complete charging, expose the solar panel to direct sunlight for several hours every day whenever possible.  I have found solar powered camping lanterns for as little as $10 and even bought a couple of very small solar lanterns at Dollar Tree a while back.  Some solar lanterns now include USB ports so you an use them to charge your cell phone too.

Because LEDs are far more efficient than incandescent bulbs, solar lights usually use LEDs.  Incandescent bulbs have wattage ratings based on the resistance of the filament, which in turn determines how much light (and heat) they will produce.  A 100 watt bulb will put out more light than a 60 watt bulb.  Higher output for LED applications is usually created by using multiple LEDs, so a 17 LED lantern will be brighter than a 9 LED light.  I have a 17 LED battery powered lantern it the shape of an old school kerosene lantern that provides pretty good general illumination for camping and for power outages at home.  Unfortunately, it is not solar powered.  It runs on 3 "D" cell batteries. The LEDs  are so energy efficient that I once left the lantern on over night and it didn't run down the batteries.  On the other hand, a guest once left a single incandescent 12-volt light on in the bathroom of my motorhome and the house batteries (two deep cycle 12-volt batteries) were completely drained in just an afternoon.  Incandescent flashlights and lanterns that run on dry cell batteries will run the batteries down even faster.  It makes sense.  Think about it.  An incandescent bulb is basically a dead short between the positive and negative poles of your battery.  It is resistance creates light by super-heating the filament.

Keep your eye open for sales on solar lights.   That is one way to help keep the cost down.  I've often seen solar walkway lights in my local dollar store.  These are perfect for marking tent pegs so you don't trip over them and with a little creative modification you can usually adapt them for more general use.  One simple adaptation is to make a holder for them using an old coffee can or similar sized container.  Make a hole in the top the size of the stake for the light, then fill the container with enough sand or other heavy material to hold the light securely.  Another option is removing the pegs or stakes and fashioning some kind of hook or bail to hang the lights.  I picked up a couple of small solar/LED lanterns at Family Dollar for $2 each.  They are just the right size for tent lights -- about 4" tall a 3" in diameter.

Remember to put your solar lights and other solar appliances out in the direct sun to keep them charged.  Some may get a little energy from artificial light sources, but for maximum benefit, put them in direct sunlight. A solar powered tent light is an ideal source of safe and economical illumination, but not if you leave it in the tent all the time!

Another handy solar application is a fan to cool the refrigerator coils.   It is really nice to not have to worry about running the batteries down running the fan all the time.  Since things generally cool off at night you don't have as much need of the fan when there is no sun to power it.  Solar fridge fans come an a variety of sizes and prices.  The larger, more expensive models cool better, but even a small fan improves air movement over the coils and helps to some extent.  Basically, the more air you can move, the better it will cool the fridge.  The most convenient ones I've seen have the fan and solar panel built into a replacement refrigerator roof  vent making installation a snap.

Solar panels are becoming popular options for boondocking.   About the only deterrent to using them is the rather high acquisition cost.  A solar system sufficient to maintain RV batteries will set you back several hundred dollars, but once you have it, you get free, quiet energy from the sun to run your RV electrical appliances.  Tie solar panels to a large battery bank and a high powered inverter and you can almost get by without running your on board generator.  The size of solar panels makes them less appealing for tent camping but if you have the room to transport them you could make them work.

Solar panels are a particularly good fit for sailboats, allowing you to charge your batteries without the need for a generator, running the auxiliary engine, or connecting to shore power.  Panels may be permanently mounted or installed on movable brackets so you can change alignment as needed to keep them aimed at the sun and move them out of the shadows of the sails.  I used 45-wall panel on a fixed mount on the forward slope of the cabin on our sailboat and it generally got enough sun to keep the Group 24 12-volt marine deep cycle battery charged.

If you like to park in the shade, you won't get full capacity out of your solar panels.  They work best in full sun and when oriented so they face the sun directly at right angles.  Properly installed solar panels should be adjustable so you can face them directly toward the sun regardless of vehicle position.  Portable solar panels allow you to put them just about anywhere and adjust the alignment as needed throughout the day.  I was, however, surprised that my solar panels still working under the green farm tarp I put over my boat in the winter.

Light up for free!

Grab-and-Go or Bug Out Bags

Also known as a 72-hour kit, grab-and-go or bug out bags are designed to give you the resources you need to survive the first 3 days of a disaster.  You can buy ready made 72-hour kits, but most people build their own.  Building your own ensures you have what YOU will need, not just what someone else thinks you will need.  A commercial 72-hour kit is a good starting point, but you'll need to augment it with your personal prescriptions and any over the counter medications you might use routinely.  You may also want to carefully review the meals that come in your store-bought kit and update the menu to fit your personal and family tastes.

Why would bug out bags be of interest to campers?  Well, you might use a camping trip to test your bug out bags to make sure you have what you will need and won't be carrying around a lot of excess weight from things you don't need.

My primary bug out bag is on wheels.  I keep my motorhome stocked with food, clothing, medication, and sanitation supplies.  I call it my "DRV":  Disaster Recovery Vehicle.  During the summer I keep the fresh water tank full.  When I lived in southern California and didn't have to worry about freeze problems I kept the fresh water tank full year round.  But some disasters may make it impossible to use my motorhome in a bug out so I still try to keep a small 72-hour kit handy that I can grab-and-go.

A grab-and-go or bug out bag should be self contained and small enough that you can carry it with you if you have to evacuate on foot.  A back pack is a good format for a bug out bag.  It should contain everything you need to survive for at least 3 days:  food, water, first aid supplies, medications, extra clothing, sanitation items, gloves, some basic tools, a little emergency cash, and your bug out plan.  It isn't going to to you much good to have a bug out bag if you don't have someplace to bug out to.  You need to have a plan, know where you're going and how you're going to get there.  And you'll probably need alternate plans in case your primary route or destination is no longer functional.  You may be forced to evacuate to a FEMA emergency shelter and your bug out bag will ensure you will be more comfortable than folks who show up without anything but the clothes on their backs and what they have in their pockets.

Even if you are part of a government mandated and organized evacuation, having your own personal 72-hour kit can ensure you will be more comfortable than if you're simply hauled off to a FEMA camp or to the local high school gym and totally dependent on government emergency supplies.  Having recently experienced a level 3 evacuation first hand due to the Holiday Farm fire, I can assure you that you will be very hungry if you wait for FEMA to feed you! Locally organized relief centers appeared literally overnight to aid the victims of the fire, providing food, clothing, blankets, sanitation supplies, water, first aid supplies and even tents, sleeping bags and other camping essentials.  The response from nearby communities was so great that the county emergency preparedness agency had to ask people to hold off bringing donations for a while because they ran out of places to store and distribute them.

Keep your RV or your camping gear ready to go at a moment's notice.  Not only will  you be prepared in case there is an emergency that requires you to evacuate your home, you will have things ready to go for spontaneous outings.  There are times we need to escape the stress of everyday life to keep our sanity.  Having things ready to go gives you a chance for an occasional weekend getaway when you need a "mental health day".  If you're a tent camper, keep all your camping gear and supplies together and well organized into tubs or bins so you can hit the road quickly.  If you favor RVs for your outings, keep them ready to go:  motor fuel, propane, and fresh water full, holding tanks empty, basic food on board, medicine cabinets fully stocked, and some extra clothing in the closet.  Even if evacuation isn't necessary, being able to move out of a damaged home and into an RV or tent on your own property gives you an option to being hauled away into a refugee camp.  Being able to stay near your home may allow you to protect your property and have access to stored supplies.

Exercising your grab-and-go kits is a good way to practice your emergency survival skills -- and give you a chance for some spontaneous outings each year.  Doing a practice run lets you discover deficiencies in your kit and your planning BEFORE your life may depend on it.  If you come up short on a practice run you may be able to immediately supplement your kit or, if worse comes to worse, abandon your exercise and return home and try it again another day after correcting the problems.  If you wait until you are facing a real emergency to uncover the holes in your plan, it will be too late.  And spending a weekend living off your 72-hour kit might be fun, especially if you're well equipped.  Just be sure to replenish anything you use during your exercise.  Doing a practice run will let you determine if you do indeed have what you need and give you a chance to augment it as necessary.  Using food and water will let you rotate your supply to keep it fresh. 

Evacuation plans should take into consideration whether roads will be viable and what you will do if they're not.  When I lived in southern California I counted 133 freeway bridges on my normal route between home and work.  I am sure at least some of those would collapse during an earthquake, making the roads to get home impassable.  Having alternate means of transportation may be critical during a disaster.  Some options you might want to consider may include 4WD vehicles, ATVs, dirt bikes, bicycles, horses, and even "shanks mares" (your own two feet).  Yes, you may have to walk or hike, so make sure your emergency plan includes sturdy shoes and become familiar with the neighborhoods you may have to walk through.  Some neighborhoods may be more dangerous to cross than others and may require special planning and preparation.

I recently watched a Youtube video from Outdoor Boys where he tested his 72-hour kit on a weekend camping trip.  His 72-hour kit for is family of 5 comprised two duffle bags and included a tent, sleeping bags, food, and medical supplies.  Interestingly enough, his wife's "72 hour kit"was in the form of their 16-foot travel trailer and they each tested their own kits that weekend, with her "kit" coming out ahead when his tent proved inadequate for a sudden rain storm overnight.

What do you need in a bug-out bag?  Ultimately what you put in your bag will depend on your personal needs and preferences.  A friend of mine once said a single jar of peanut butter would last him a whole year -- because he hated peanut butter and wouldn't eat it.  However, here are some basic guidelines for you to use in building your bug out bag.  Consider your immediate needs:  food, water, clothing, and medical supplies.  Select foods you will eat, that have a long shelf life, and are compact.  Water is heavy so you may want to carry water filtration or purification systems in addition to a few pouches or bottles for immediate use.  Extra clothing may be essential as what you are wearing when disaster strikes may be inappropriate or inadequate for even a few days in survival mode.  Medical supplies should include a basic first aid kit and any special prescription drugs  you or someone in your family requires.  Beyond that, things like flashlights and extra batteries, fire starting tools (matches, lighters, flint and steel), a good knife or multi-tool will all come in very handy.  Here is a link to a FEMA guide for making your own 72-hour kit:  FEMA 72-hour kit.     

 It is a good idea to create personal bug out bags for each member of your along with a "family"bag that contains community items such as tents, stoves, food, and water.  Individual bags should definitely contain personal items such as clothing and preferred personal hygiene products but may also contain things for personal comfort, like teddy bears for younger children and equivalent things to help older kids and even adults.  Any time you have to use your bug out bag it is going to be a stressful situation and it behooves you to prepare for ways to make your life more pleasant during your evacuation.  Comfort is an underrated and often overlooked but necessary part of emergency preparedness, especially if you have children to care for.

Once you have created a bug out bag for each member of your household, be sure to inspect it and review its contents at least once a year to be sure it is up to date.  You may have old batteries or out-dated prescriptions or maybe your bug out clothes no longer fit.

Periodically inventory what you have in your bug-out-bags.  Discard and replace out dated or damaged items and make sure your medications are still applicable.  Once in a while it might be a good idea to check the sizes of any extra clothing in your survival kits.  As human beings our weight does tend to change over time and those pants a 29"waist that fit you when you were 20 aren't going to do you much good when you're 40 or 50 and have grown a few sizes!

Bug out!

It's Almost March -- Still Bored With Winter?

Its late February.  Although much of North America is still experiencing snowy winter weather, some parts of the continent are showing signs of spring:  snow melting, trees starting to bud, some brave grass trying to turn green, a few robins showing up in the yard.

But even as the weather starts to warm, most climates in North America, February and March still isn't camping weather.  You won't want to dewinterize your RVs until all danger of freezing temperatures is past.  So what do you do if you've got the camping bug?  One option is to explore the possibilities of winter camping, but not everyone is up for being out in the cold and not RVs can be made winter friendly.  A friend of mine recently said the difference between camping in winter and camping in summer is that in winter you will be cold and wet -- and that if you prepare for that, winter camping is OK.  No one likes to be cold and wet so why would you CHOOSE an activity where you will be cold and wet?  It is not my intent to offend skiers and snowboarders, who routinely brave severe winter weather and are able to handle it well, but most campers will usually avoid nasty weather if they can.  However, if you have a proper shelter and dress appropriately, winter camping can be enjoyable.  So what constitutes proper shelter?  An RV with a furnace will obviously be warmer than a tent but even snow camping in a tent can be made fairly comfortable.  I've been snow camping in a tent on an 8' snow base in temperatures down into the low 20s F and have slept warm.  We started out with a heavy ground cloth underneath the tent, then put a second one inside.  I unzipped a couple of extra sleeping bags and laid one down on top of our sleeping pads, then used the second one like a quilt over the top of both our personal sleeping bags.  We stayed toasty warm all night.  Dressing appropriately in layers will keep you comfortable for daytime activities. Guard against over exertion and working up a sweat, because then you will get really cold.  My boys and I were once caught in a winter storm during a dirt bike ride.  It started off with drizzle that turned to rain, then sleet, then snow.  No doubt a raging campfire would have been a welcome sight when we got back to camp but being able to dash into a comfortable warm RV and trade our wet and frozen clothes for warm dry ones was heavenly!  A tent might have done the job, if it survived the storm.  I had a 10x14 tent I had set up as a garage for the dirt bikes but when we got back to camp it had blown flat in the storm and was holding several inches of cold rain water.  I was sure glad I didn't have to rescue the tent before we had shelter.

What to do if you just aren't in to winter camping or don't have the right equipment and clothing for it?  Not everyone is ready to brave severe weather when we can cozy up in front of the fire at home.  There are still lots of camping related things you can do.  For one thing, it is an excellent time to inspect your gear and clothing and make any necessary repairs.  If you have an RV, you can take your time going through cabinets, cupboards, closets, and drawers, sorting out the non-essentials and organizing the good stuff for your next season. If its cold you can warm things up with the furnace or bring in an electric heater to take the chill off.  Make a list of items that need to be repaired, replaced, or updated.  Pay special attention to items that might have an expiration date or may have deteriorated in storage. Spray lubricants and spray cleaners seem to be especially susceptible to failure when left alone for too long.   Test spray them to make sure they still work.  You may have to toss them out even if they still feel full if they won't spray anymore.  Sometimes the problem is in the spray nozzle and can be cleaned but often it is deeper with in the can where there is nothing you can do about it.  Research new destinations.  Talk to friends and other campers about their favorite spots and activities and look them up on the Internet for even more details.  Gather photos from last year's camping trips and organize them into a scrapbook that records your adventures to share with family and friends.  Be sure to jot down what you remember about each photo -- who is in it, where it was taken, when it was taken, and any interesting or amusing anecdotes.  Today's digital photography and electronic albums make organizing and preserving photos a snap.  Think back over last year's outings.  Which ones went well?  Which ones not so well?  What made the difference?  What do you need to do to make next year's outings even more successful?  Go over your checklists and update them as necessary.  You may find things you no longer need to do because your situation has changed (different vehicles or equipment, changes in family size, changes in planned activities and destinations).  You may also remember things you need to add to your checklist to ensure better experiences on each trip. While you're at it, go through each checklist and make sure everything is ready for the upcoming season.  By discovering items that need attention now you will have plenty of time to take care of them before your next trip.  And you will probably find that working on your camping stuff is kind of fun and helps satisfy those camping urges you are feeling.  I find it quite fun going through and organizing my stuff, knowing how easy it will be to find and use things when I need them next season.  Sometimes I come across things that have been buried in the bottom of a drawer or the back of a cabinet long enough that I've kind of forgotten they were even there.  Of course, these are prime candidates to be left out to lighten the load, but sometimes refreshing our memory of what we have will encourage us to take advantage of our resources more fully next year and add fun to many an outing.  It was surprising how much pleasure we got out of rediscovering and then using even some simple kitchen gadgets that had been squirreled away for too long.  More than once we've come across something and thought "Gee, I wish I had remembered I had that last summer!"  We originally acquired most of those arcane items for a good reason but they're of little value if you don't remember you have them or can't find them when you need them.  It is pretty easy to forget new things since you're not in the habit of using them.

If you have an RV that has been winterized, you might start working on preparing it for the new season.  You probably won't want to de-winterize the water systems just yet, but you can start on some of the other tasks.  Wait until all danger of freezing has past before restoring the water systems.   You can begin inspection of lights, tires, caulking, and appliances about any time.  You'll probably want to wait until the weather warms up a bit to give a good wash and polish.  Waxing and polishing a motorhome or trailer is a big job, but well worth the effort.  Your rig will look better and you will protect the surfaces to preserve paint and decals.  A good wax will make it easier to remove bugs and will minimize black streaks from runoff from roofs and awnings etc.  Now is also a good time to install new equipment or make any needed or wanted renovations and repairs.

In many places February is still too cold to work on or in your RV, but by March things are usually getting mild enough to start thinking of getting things ready. You can usually fire up the furnace or plug in an electric heater to warm it up enough inside for interior projects, but you'll want to wait for a warm, sunny day to wash and wax, even though you have to keep it in the shade to avoid streaking.  If you wait much longer than March, you're likely to keep postponing preparations until it is time for your first trip and then you'll rush through so you can hit the road.  Rushing usually results in things being skipped or missed or you end up with a lot of repairs to do or provisions to buy all at once.  Get started early so you can take your time and do it right!  Waiting until the last minute also results in lots to do and often means having to shell out a bunch of hard earned cash all at once for a bunch of repairs and/or provisions.  Getting an early start lets you spread out the load, both labor and out of pocket costs and gets the work out of the way before its time to go camping.

Arm chair camping.  You may be able to relive some of your favorite camping experiences from the comfort of you favorite chair.    Pull that chair up to a sizzling fire in the fireplace and pretend you're at your favorite campground.  Toast some S'mores over a fire in the fireplace or a BBQ on the patio or back porch for additional ambiance and flavor.  Have a favorite camping dinner?  Why not whip it up at home and "camp out" in the living room or family room and enjoy?

If the weather still prevents you from going tent camping you might set up your dome tent in your garage.  You will get a chance to renew your knowledge of how to set it up and a chance to check for any damage that needs to be repaired.  Sleeping on the concrete floor might not be the most comfortable place you've ever slept, but at least it will be flat and level.   And being in the garage you'll be free from wind and precipitation.

Make plans for the upcoming season.  Review the places you've been and would like to revisit.  Consider and research some new destinations.  If you don't already have a list of potential locations, talk to fellow campers and/or do some research on the Internet to find some tantalizing new sites.  Don't know where to start?  Try your local county, state, and federal parks.  Do you have an interest in a particular activity or bit of history or geology?  I'll bet you'll find more places listed on the Internet than you can possible visit.  You might find it interesting to research some of the places you've already been to find out more about the human and natural history of the area.  You can often learn the hidden history of landmarks you are used to seeing or learn of new micro-side trips to explore during your next visit.  I learned that the old rail road water tower that was a traditional landmark for many of our OHV rides marked the site of long gone little community that once serviced the famous 20 Mule Teams hauling borax out of death valley and that not far away, near some of our regular riding trails was a monument marking the site of an X-15 crash early in the US space program.  Nothing of the air/space craft remains, but an enterprising Eagle scout erected a small monument on the site.  Another popular destination, the unusual and spectacular spires of the Trona Pinnacles have been used in many movies and were even part of the training program for the lunar landings.  One popular riding area we go to in Utah straddles the old Pony Express route and isn't far from Camp Floyd, a 19th century Army post that once housed about 1/3 of the U.S. Army prior to the Civil War.  The camp was commanded by General Albert Sidney Johnson, who went on to be a prominent Confederate General when the Civil War began.  Researching things like that add value to your next outing.

Make the most of March!