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Skill Development – Water, finding it and making it safe

As usual, one post leads to another, you saw me mention finding water in my last post, if you read it. So, today we talk about water. Water is the third of the 3’s, the only two more important are air and shelter. Here in the NW we tend to dismiss the importance of water due the usual abundance of it. But, let me tell you, from first hand experience, when you need it and can’t find clean water to drink, you will realize just how scarce it is. Now, I realize most of us are in either an urban or rural setting where potable water comes straight out of the faucet, so we spend little time thinking about the acquisition of water. We don’t think about how we will find water when the pipes run dry.

In the wilderness there are no artificial water pipes, but there is plenty of water, even in the desert. Nature has a way of finding water, it is the only way it can survive. So, keep your eyes open and look for the signs. Mother nature will show you where the water is, or at least where it usually is. Animals need water looks for signs of activity. Small birds that are grain eaters like finches will lead you there in the mornings.

In the forested wilderness that is most of the gorgeous NW, finding water can be as simple as traversing (moving laterally across the slope) a hillside or mountain. you will most assuredly find a stream or pond. In the desert you will want to look for what appears to be a stream bed or dry river. These will usually be found near strips of land that have larger vegetation growing, the greener and bigger the better.

If you find what looks like a dry stream bed there may still be water there. Just as in the desert, dry streambeds with green vegetation are good places to look for water if a readily available source has not been located. The greener the vegetation the better.

A Seep is going to be your go to method of getting water where there is naught.

  • In the dry stream bed, at a low spot or the outside of a bend, start by removing the bulk of any rocks lining the stream bed in the area you have decided to dig.
  • Now, dig your seep about one foot deep and two to three feet wide. Start by digging an exploratory hole. Look for the soil to start getting darker as you dig. Once you get to about a foot deep you should see either moist soil or if lucky you will see water starting to fill the hole. Sometimes you need to give it a few minutes, take a break and relax, come back to check in a few minutes. You may need to go deeper than a foot. If you don’t see signs of water, find yourself a better spot to look.
  • Once you have your seep dug, line it with the smaller rocks you cleared out earlier, this will reduce sediment from getting stirred up when using the seep.
  • Filter the water or boil it if you have the means, but in general this water should be fairly clean and safe to drink.
  • You can use a t-shirt, kerchief or any piece of fine knit material to filter out particulate.

A Seep or Egyptian well can be used to filter water from an active stream or river, if you find yourself without a filter or means to boil your water. Just dig it about a foot or so away from the water on the bank. The water from your active source will be filtered through the earth and you seep will gradually fill. When you have an active source of water the seep does not need to be as wide, but always go at least a foot down.

If you source of water is a lake or pond, it is best to add a secondary seep about a foot further away, in line with your first seep. Now, take your water from the second seep, it has been double filtered. Since the water in a lake or pond is static, it is more prone to bacteria and parasites.

Remember, it is always best to be prepared for these types of emergency and carry the appropriate tools to make your water safe to drink, whether a filter, tablets or a pot and fire source. Although, we don’t get to decide when bad things happen, we can choose to be versed in the skills that will get us through them. These are the basics, nothing replaces hands on experience. go out there and try it out before you need it to survive.

As alway,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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Skill Development – Basic Land Navigation

This is a very complex subject, but very simple in application, if you follow a few simple rules and have a basic understanding of how to read a map.

Map Terminology

  • Contour – Imaginary line on ground, all points of which are at the same elevation above or below a specific reference surface.
  • Coordinates – Linear and (or) angular quantities that designate the position of a point in relation to a given reference frame.
  • Declination – Magnetic declination is the angular difference between magnetic north and true (geographic) north at the point of observation; it is not constant but varies with time because of the “wandering” of the magnetic north pole.
  • Elevation – Vertical distance of a point above or below a reference surface.
  • Grid – Network of uniformly spaced parallel lines intersecting at right angles. When superimposed on a map, it usually carries the name of the projection used for the map, that is, Lambert grid, transverse Mercator grid, universal transverse Mercator grid.
  • Latitude – Angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds of a point north or south of the Equator.
  • Legend – explanatory table of symbols used on a map or chart.
  • Longitude – Angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds, of a point east or west of the Greenwich meridian.
  • Map – Graphic representation of the physical features (natural, artificial, or both) of a part or the whole of the Earth’s surface, by means of signs and symbols or photographic imagery, at an established scale, on a specified projection, and with the means of orientation indicated.
  • Orientation – Establishing correct relationship in direction with reference to points of the compass; the state of being in correct relationship in direction with reference to the points of the compass.
  • Overlay – Printing or drawing on a transparent or translucent medium intended to be placed in register on a map or other graphic and which shows details not appearing or requiring special emphasis on the base material.
  • Relief – Elevations and depressions of the land or sea bottom.
  • Relief shading – Technique for making topography on a map appear three-dimensional by the use of graded shadow effects. Generally, the features are shaded as though illuminated from the northwest.
  • Ridge – A spur of land that is higher than the land on either side.
  • Topography – Configuration (relief) of the land surface; the graphic delineation or portrayal of that configuration in map form, as by contour lines.
  • Triangulation – Method of extending horizontal position on the surface of the Earth by measuring the angles of triangles and the included sides of selected triangles.
  • Valley – A spur of land that is lower than the land on either side.

Tools of the Trade

Basic land navigation only requires three tools. A topographic map, a compass and a pencil or dry erase marker, if your map is laminated or sealed in plastic.

Finding your Grid Coordinates

All topographic maps have grid numbers listed on the top, bottom, and both sides. To find your grid coordinates you simply find the numbered line to the RIGHT of the grid square you are in. Then you find the numbered line on the BOTTOM of the grid square you are in and you can get the four digit grid coordinate which will give you the 1 km square area you are in. Remember you read the map RIGHT AND UP.

To get a more exact fix on your location you first break the two sides (from right to left and bottom to top) into ten equal parts each. To get the next set of numbers for your coordinates you first go from the right and figure out which of the ten parts you are in, then do the same from the bottom up. This will give you a six digit grid coordinate, which will give you your location within 100 meters. To get your coordinates within ten meters of your location you divide each of those ten square you mentally created in half, you would use either five for half way between those lines or zero for directly on a line. It takes practice, lots of practice to “eyeball” an eight digit grid coordinate but it can be done.

Orienting your map

To orient your map first lay your map on as level a surface as you can then find the North Declination line, usually located in or near the maps legend. Lay your compass on the map and line the edge of your compass up with the MAGNETIC NORTH line. Then simply turn your map until the North seeking arrow is pointing in the same direction as the Magnetic North Line on the map.

You can now use the compass to find a bearing to any terrain feature, road, building, or grid coordinates on the map.

Resection – finding where you are

First orient your map and look for a prominent terrain feature you can see to the LEFT of your location. Then find that terrain feature on your map. Place your compass on the map, with the edge of the compass running through the center of the terrain feature and draw a line back towards your vantage point.

Next find another terrain feature you can see to the RIGHT of your location. Find that terrain feature on the map, place your compass on the map with the edge running through the center of that terrain feature and draw another line backwards towards your vantage point.

Where the two lines cross is your location. You can now get the grid coordinates to your location.

Reading the Map – What does it all mean

The legend is going to tell you everything about the map except how to read it. Here are the two most important things to know.

Distance traveled – this is a huge one, as it is difficult to keep track of your location if you don’t know how far you have traveled. The best method that does not depend on anything battery operated is a pace count. You should know your pace count to distance traveled ratio, for example mine is 110 steps to 100 yards, walking normally. Now I can pace off 100 yards using 100 steps, learned this from golfing, but that is not my relaxed pace and that is what you need to know. Go to your local High school track and walk the 100 yards with a relaxed pace, now you know your number. Remember a mile is 1760 yards. A good practice is to carry a string of pace count beads, an easy way to manage your counts and you can make your own.

Contour lines – you know from the glossary what these are, and what they mean, but can you read them. The simplest way to look at it is, if the line curves toward a higher elevation, it is a valley. If the line curves toward a lower elevation, it’s a ridge. Best place to find water is in a valley. When contour lines are far apart, it is a gentle slope. When contour lines are very close it is a cliff or at least very steep. If the contour lines form a circle, it is either a peak or a pit, based on the elevation change.

Now that you have the basics, get out there and practice in a safe place, with limited risk. I found that going out to some local Orienteering events is a great way to become intimately familiar with a map and build your navigation skills.

as Always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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Skill Development – Building a one match fire

OK, Let’s build a fire!

The most common mistake when trying to build a one match fire is not having all your supplies gathered before you strike a match.

 

Supplies consist of three types of wood: tinder, kindling and fuel wood.

  • Tinder is very brittle, dry wood that is roughly the diameter of pencil lead and about as long as the spread of your hand from thumb to pinkie. Longer is better than shorter. Get a good double handful – you know, when you put your hands together finger tips touching and thumbs touching, like when they are around your snoring partners neck – that much is perfect.
  • Kindling is dry wood that is roughly about the thickness of your thumb. Be sure to collect a double arm load, imagine you are hugging your mother, about that much will do nicely, but always err on the side of too much. You want long pieces, about the length of you forearm from your elbow to tip of your middle finger (a cubit). Be sure it is good and dry because you’ll want it to break rather than bend it.
  • Fuel wood is larger pieces of wood that are anywhere from the thickness of your wrist to the size of your thigh. It can be bigger but those tend to require tools for processing. It is simpler to get what you can process by hand. Try to get pieces that are about the same length as your kindling. The drier the better, but you can place fuel wood around your fire to help get it drier. You want to get a pile about knee-high ready before you start because you can always get more later.

Now that you have acquired all your supplies, you are ready to build your fire.

 

Building Your Fire

Always build your fires in a safe location, and on bare ground far from any structures or trees that may catch fire. You are trying to get warm and potentially cook food and boil water, not burn down the forest or your shelter. If you have rocks available, make a nice little fire ring about the same width as your forearm is long.

 

Start by placing your pile of tinder in the center of you fire ring (assuming you found some rocks). Fluff your tinder so that you have a little air underneath it. Now, you are ready for your match. Protect it from the wind and make sure the match is burning well before you move to the tinder. You can do this by holding the match with the head slightly below your fingers. Now push the match under the tinder and hold it there as long as you can. If your tinder was dry, it will readily start to burn. Once you have a flame, be sure to roll or fluff the tinder over the burning part so you get a good portion of it burning.

 

Now time for your kindling! Start with your smaller pieces and just slowly add them by laying them over the burning tinder. Try to add them in a reasonably symmetrical manner (balance is good but not required). You are going to get a lot of smoke during this part. This is a good thing because where there is smoke there is fire. Once you have a good fire going with your kindling, you’ll know this because the smoke will have died down significantly, you can start adding your fuel wood.

 

When you are adding fuel wood remember the triangle of fire; Fuel, Heat and Air. Be sure not to smother your beautiful fire, feed it slowly, and add any remaining kindling to aid it if you run into trouble.

 

If you follow these simple guidelines and practice you should have no trouble starting one match fires and being the hero of your group.

 

NW Tips

A couple of insights from here in the NW where it tends to be a tad wet…

 

If you are dependent on a fire every night, start your day by collecting some moss. There is almost always plenty to be found and be sure it is free from insects. Then place some under your hat and on top of your head. This makes great tinder and if you keep it under your hat all day it will be nice and dry by the time you build your fire.

 

Also, I have found that quite often it is difficult to find dry ground to build a fire. So you can use either a large flat rock or build a platform from wet deadfall. If you take a couple of large pieces of wet deadfall place them parallel about a foot apart, then place 4 or 5 pieces across these at a right angle. Add one more layer like this, again at a right angle. Build your fire, as normal, on top of this. Not only will your fire be easier to start, the platform you build will dry out from the heat and turn into fuel.

 

Now, get out there and do it!

 

 

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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Skill Development

Good afternoon,

We here at NW survival tend to spend a lot of time talking about all the things you need to have in order to survive an adverse or emergency situation, either in the city or the wild. That means actual skill development may end up taking a back seat. This week I want to talk a bit about the importance of skill development.

The truth of the matter is that no matter what you have with you during times of stress, they are useless to you if you do not know how to use them. Even something as simple as a first aid kit may go unused without the proper skill set. If we don’t take the time to learn what the appropriate response is to any given situation, our other preparation is for naught.

So, we are going to start a series of posts dedicated to Skill Development, not equipment. Starting with the basics, how to start a fire. I can already hear the grumbles… “I know how to start a fire!! You are wasting my time.” But let me ask you this, when is the last time you built a fire with one match? OR When was the last time you built a fire with no matches?

Then we will talk about knots, followed by land navigation (both urban and rural), and many other skills that I consider basic.

 

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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Back from the void

Good evening and happy Friday,

First I apologize for the recent lull in activity the last ten days have been very busy. We had three birthdays an anniversary and a birthday today and Sunday, not to mention Valentines day. So, you can see where I have been, where have you been? Have you been refreshing the supplies in your car kit? Look for an upcoming post on this. Updating your info and photos on your thumb drive? Another future post. What training have you scheduled for you and your family? We set a new record this year for the wettest winter on record here in the good old NW. It is worth mentioning that all this down time due to the weather can be used productively to get your gear in order as well as going out to enjoy it. What’s that I hear? You don’t enjoy going out in the rain? Maybe you just need to get the right gear, there is plenty to do in the rain. I have always enjoyed the forest in the rain, it is so fresh and alive. It is also a great time to go diving. So get prepared and get out there and enjoy the great NW at its finest.

 

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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Superbowl Sunday

Good morning, It is Superbowl Sunday. I am sure half of you care and the other half couldn’t care less, this is for the latter. It is easy for us to let our guard down and have a great time when surrounded by friends and family with a common interest in the spectacle that is Superbowl Sunday.

I don’t want to rain on that parade, but this is when you are most vulnerable. I say have a great time, relax a little and enjoy yourself. Just remember, if your are out and drinking, you shouldn’t be armed, that just isn’t being responsible. So this puts you at greater risk, we must always be cognizant of our surroundings.

Here is an idea if you have a designated driver, which you should, make them your designated eyes and ears, they have already committed to protecting your welfare just expand their responsibilities. Remember the average response time for emergency services is 12 minutes, a lot can happen in 12 minutes.

 

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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There is No Promise of Tomorrow

Good evening,

I visited my fathers grave today, it is his birthday. I try to visit his grave every year on his birthday, rather then the day he died, that way we celebrate his life, not his death. So by now you are wondering, what does this have to do with survival. Well, it has everything to do with preparation, you see my father died suddenly, with absolutely no warning, in fact just 6 months before his death he had a complete physical and passed with flying colors. He was an athlete his entire life, went to college on a athletic scholarship, was drafted by the CFL, but decided to play pro golf, OK, you get the picture. He died when he was 54 years old, just died, like someone turned off a switch.

So, I guess where I am going with this is, when it comes to getting prepared, there is no tomorrow. you cannot predict what will happen or when. Will you have what you need when disaster strikes?, are you prepared?, do you have the training you need?

Live with purpose, say what needs to be said, love with all you are and live today likes it’s your last. Now is the time to act, there is no promise of tomorrow!

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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Morale and your B.O.B.

Attitude is everything

I think that food, especially comfort food is the most overlooked part of a B.O.B. let’s face it, in a situation that causes you to grab your B.O.B. and go, the single most important tool you will have is your attitude, it will carry you when others won’t or defeat you before your time.

For me, something yummy goes a long way toward a good attitude, especially when the norm is to go without. I can’t tell you how many times I would see disheartened troops do a 180 when I produced a John Wayne bar or a pack of freeze dried strawberries for them, it is a field proven motivator. Like it or not, we need to think more about morale.

For others, perhaps it will be a pair of dry socks or a clean cotton t-shirt. If you have never been in the field for an extended period, then you just don’t know how good a clean cotton t-shirt is at raising morale. Perhaps, a pair of ear muffs, is what you need to change everything for that one loved one.

So, I’m leaving you with this, spend some time thinking about, what one or two items, preferably small and light weight, could possibly be a game changer for you or yours in an otherwise terrible situation, they will be worth their weight in gold.

 

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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Trauma Kit – blood loss management

Good morning, we are constantly scouring the internet for information and better ways to do things or be prepared, so I can’t guarantee that our articles are filled only with original thought, in fact quite the opposite, they are collections.

Back on topic, today I want to talk about an often overlooked section of preparedness, especially concerning everyday urban carry, the trauma kit. Now this does not have to be some elaborate, full blown “Combat Ready”, tension pneumothorax, put in a chest tube, make an airway, kit. It just needs to provide an adequate method of managing two common conditions found in medical emergencies.

1 – Compressible arterial bleeding – arterial bleeding in the extremities, arms and legs, not your neck!

2 – Non-compressible arterial bleeding – arterial bleeding in the torso, like your armpit, your groin area or you neck.

If you or someone else are in an accident, and suffer from either of these injuries without  the proper tools to manage it, death is very likely. Help will probably not arrive in time, your survival may depend on it.

So, an urban trauma kit should have;

1 – A tourniquet

2 – An Israeli bandage

3 – A roll of 4″ gauze

4 – A 3″ elastic bandage

5 – A pair of nitrile gloves

Now, the proper application of these items and care of the mentioned injuries is another topic all together. We highly recommend you get these items, make yourself a trauma kit and learn how to use it. Here is a good article To bleed or Not to bleed, that is the question

All of these items will fit in a quart sized freezer bag and may just save your life, or that of a loved one, someday. We don’t get to chose when disaster strikes, but we do get to chose to be prepared for it.

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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A Civilized Act

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception, reason or force, that’s it. In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through reason. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some. When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force with impunity. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunken guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender. There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we’d be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger’s potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat— it has no validity when most of a mugger’s potential marks are armed.

People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that’s the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly. Then there’s the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser. People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don’t constitute lethal force, watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level. The gun is the only weapon that’s as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn’t work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn’t both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don’t do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I’m looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced with impunity, only persuaded. I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn’t limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation, and promotes reason, that is why carrying a gun is, a civilized act.

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared