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1. An Emergency that
will limit commerce and keep a person from going to the store-short term(a
few days). For most emergencies of the first type, the excess food in your cupboard and water in your house will cover your needs. A person/family can live through almost anything for 1-3 nights in a house-no gas, heat, running water. For this type of emergency, there are already copious volumes of information available via every sort of media. Most of it is left over from the year 2000 or the Red Cross, anyone with $250 and an extra 10 minutes on the internet can prepare for it. My focus is #2 from above. Most of this may seem excessive to most people. But I view it as insurance, the same as my medical, car and life insurance. I have at most $5,000 tied up in the inventory necessary to live for at least 1 year without the systems of culture. This is nothing compared to the terror of unplanned survival. I have experienced that terror before in the wilderness. 15 miles in the back county with no food, no gear, no fire and a summer rain storm. I was on day 2 of a 14 day survival trip deep in the wilderness in summer conditions. I had built a temporary shelter, but too quickly and with too little attention to water proofing. When the rain came and I got in, I realized I would be in for a very long night. I went straight to panic. I wanted to hike out, even though this was not an option. Luckily my friend who was there with me helped me get focused and together we tore down and rebuilt the shelter to meet the demands of the weather. I successfully lived in that shelter made of found natural materials with no sleeping bag for over 10 days. If it had not been for my friend snapping me out of my terror with a calm plan, I would have made a decision that most certainly put my life in danger. Before I get into the specifics of what I have in each of my kits, there are a few must have items for long term survival: Nail clippers This specialized tool is most closely approximated by the mouth and teeth. However mouth and teeth don't work on toes. And broken nails can be a health hazard. I have lots of high quality clippers in my inventory. Knives and sharpeners A sharp knife is the second most essential tool next to healthy hands and feet. Get a few very good knives and sharpening implements. Know how to use both. I have knives in all of my kits, plus a couple that I plan to use as everyday tools. Cord Lighters/tinder The need for fire is self explanatory. Practice building a fire, figure out the materials necessary for a good fire and practice log cabin or tepee style. Leather Gloves Your hands are the first most important tool. Keep them safe. Avoid risk of injury, splinters, digit loss and wear gloves. Protein Tuna, chicken, beef jerky and other food that provides energy to meet the physical demands of survival. Rain Gear If you keep mostly dry a person can live for a long time. I have compiled the following survival kits base on years of thought and planning. I have 4 survival kits. # 1 is in my truck. The purpose is to get me from work/errands to my home by foot. It is good for 20 miles and 3 days. Knife, 50 ft of parachute cord, duct tape, water purification, lightweight rain gear, wind up flashlight and power bars. # 2 and 3 are hidden in my home. Home kit #2 is food, flashlights, wind up and battery powered, water and firewood. I can live for an extended amount of time (2-3 weeks) in my house without gas, electricity or other services. The purpose of staying in my home is to have other people meet there and gather information for the trek to kit #4, my cache. The purpose of kit #3 is to get me to my cache (Kit#4) in the wilderness. #3 is housed in a day pack. I have 2 mil spec knives, 3 water purification methods, Gore-Tex rain gear, headlamp and batteries, power bars and tuna, 9mm pistol with ammo, .22 rifle with ammo, 1st aid kit/meds and cash. This kit will last for 80 miles of walking. If the roads are clear and I have fuel, I will drive to kit #4, if not, I have 2 walking routes that will take between 4 and 6 nights to complete. Kit #4 is the long term wilderness survival kit. Its purpose is to help me survive for 1 snow bound winter and give me time to prepare a semi-permanent camp. This cache had been underground for 7 years, so I dug it up during the summer of 2008 to assess the contents. All of the food was still edible, the clothing was in perfect condition, but there was a tiny bit of mildew on the sleeping bag. So I washed everything down with soap and water or bleach water and reburied it. Ammo is contained in dry boxes. Items in this hidden cache are: Axe, fly reel and fishing gear. 9mm and .22 ammo, gun cleaning kit, Soups, beans, power bars for 90 days. 3 water filtration systems, axe/hatchet, 4 season tent, sleeping bag, silk liner, bivy sack, snow worthy outerwear, 1,000 feet of parachute cord,1,000 feet of hemp cord, cooking gear-pots and pans, leather gloves, Gore-Tex gloves and liners, sewing kit, cash, meds, shovel. There are 4 primary concerns in a survival situation. They are listed below in the order of importance: Shelter Water Tablets, filters, containers Fire Cord, lighters, tinder-cotton balls, tea lights Food Power bars, jerky, canned
tuna/chicken
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