Hog Hunt pt 3

The next stop after mine was Grandpa and my Daughter's stand.  They hadn't seen anything all morning.

It turned out that no one else had even seen a single hog, let alone the numbers that had stopped at my feeder.  At my feeder there'd been at least five hogs for over an hour, with several coming and going.

We drove back to the main camp, they took my hog to get gutted and cleaned.  I got on a another swamp buggy to go with Grandpa and my daughter and the other hunters with the dogs.  Grandpa wanted my daughter to see all of the hunt and they hadn't seen anything yet.  We drove around for a while we saw buffalo, deer, and a variety of birds before letting out the dogs.

We came across another group and decided to follow them since Grandpa decided not to get one.  This other group had already gotten a couple of hogs but they hadn't reached the limit yet.  It was a grand father, a father, and his two sons.  They had gotten two hogs, wounded another and never found it (despite the fact that they had found blood and large chunks of bone from the shoot), and were out to get two more.

Hunting with the dogs was interesting.  The dogs get the scent, chase the hog down, grab it by the ears and keep it pinned until the guides could get ahold of it.  The guides would grab the hind legs, pin it down, then the hunter would kill it.  I wasn't particularly interested in this part of the day, it didn't seem very sporting, but we wanted my Daughter to see it for herself, see how she would handle it.

The dogs grabbed a hog and the older of the two sons was volunteered to shoot it in the head with a 30-30.  He did so, my daughter covered her ears.  It was a good sized sow, they loaded it up with the others.  The guide came over and asked who had a decent knife.  I showed him mine and he said it would work, that he would need it at the next stop.

The next time the dogs got a hog, the guides pulled it out of the brush, and pinned it down.  The guide borrowed my knife and handed it to the father who used it to kill the hog.  Despite what I would have though, it was a surprisingly humane way to do it (assuming the person hits the right spot).

Grandpa hadn't gotten a hog and declined the opportunity to get one with the dogs.  It wasn't the kind of hunt that we were looking for.  If he didn't get one from the stand he didn't need to get one at all.  I'm not surprised that Grandpa didn't go for it, I'm not sure I would have either.

The guide's wife was along for the "hunt".  She was very interested in getting my daughter involved, if only to familiarize herself with the whole process.  She convinced my daughter to get a picture taken with the knifed hog, she's grinning ear to ear.  So much for worrying about how she would handle it.

Then it was back to camp.  My daughter was surprisingly interested in the skinning and butchering of the hogs.  Rather than being disturbed she was fascinated as the guides went about their job, getting the hogs ready for butchering.  She watched them being skinned, gutted, and cut up without a hesitation.  That's far more than I can say for myself at her age, I'd probably have been puking my guts out.

All in all, we all had a good time.  We got to drive around in cool buggies, I got a hog, we got to see a lot of animals and have a lot of stories to tell.  I guess it's time to break out the .22 and get her to the range, next time she probably won't be satisfied just tagging along for the hunt.

Hog Hunt pt 2

I'm not sure what I expected Hogs to sound like.  Honestly, I expected them to be pretty quiet.  What little experience I have in the woods has taught me that wild animals are usually far more quiet than people typically think.  I mean, a loud animal in the wild probably isn't going to live very long.  I guess hogs don't have very many predators to worry about (other than hunters, obviously), these hogs made plenty of noise.

It was still so dark that I couldn't see any of them, but I could hear plenty of grunting, snuffling, and squeals.

The sky slowly lightened.  First. I could just make out shadows moving in the shadows.  Then, slowly I could make out individual hogs.  There were four or five of them in a small clearing under the tree with the feeder.  They rooted around the base of the tree and the clearing, looking for food.  They were all black, or at least appeared black in the early dawn's light.  A couple were slightly larger but they were all pretty close to the same size, not that that helped me much.  Between the distance and the dim light I had no idea how big they actually were.  That might sound funny, but the last thing I wanted was to take Piglet on my first real hunt.

Finally, it got light enough that I thought I could make a good shot.  I put up the rifle, took off the safety... and with my next breath I fogged up the scope.  It went from a clear picture to trying to see through milk.  Well, crap.

I quickly realized that the wind was coming from exactly the wrong direction, every time I exhaled with the rifle at my shoulder the scope would fog up.  Then, it would take five minutes or so for it to clear enough to get a good site picture again.  The lenses were far enough inside the scope that I couldn't just wipe them off.  Eventually, I pulled the neck of my jacket up over my mouth and exhaled into my coat.  It was awkward but it worked.

Finally, I got myself situated enough that I felt I could make the shot.

I sighted in on a hog.  That's when I had a sudden thought.  Say I shoot and kill the hog, what then?

Was I supposed to do something with it?  Was I supposed to call the guides to come and pick it up?  I checked my phone, no service of course.  What if I got to my kill and it turned out to be some 20lb piglet?  When were the guides coming back?  Was I supposed to just sit there with my dead hog for two hours until they came back?

I had gotten into this thinking that Grandpa would be there to tell me what I was supposed to do.  The last thing I wanted to do was shoot a hog and then do something stupid and ruin the meat.  Or do something stupid and look like an idiot.

I seemed to remember somewhere that you were supposed to hang it by it's hind legs, cut it's throat, and let it bleed out.  There was something about the blood needing to be out to keep the meat from being ruined.  I really wished I had someone with me that knew what they were doing.  Do I shoot or not?  If I shoot then I didn't know what to do with it, if I don't than I won't learn anything from this experience.

All these thoughts raced through my head, with the cross hairs still on the hog, 70 yards away and oblivious to it's predicament.

I pulled the trigger.  The hog dropped to the ground, the others bolted for the woods and were gone in a fraction of a second.

I had just shot a living creature.  I sat there for a minute, looking down at the hog I'd shot.  I saw it kick it's legs a couple times then it stopped.  I wanted to go down and make sure it was dead and not suffering, but I waited for a while, knowing that there were other hogs in the brush.

I waited about 5 minutes, thinking that was long enough for the other hogs to leave, I came down and started walking down the dirt track toward the feeder.  The palmettos were chest high and incredibly thick, severely limiting my visibility.  There could have been dozens of huge hogs hiding in the brush a few feet away and I would never have seen them.

As I approached the clearing I could hear the distinct, and now familiar sound, of at least two hogs in the brush around the clearing.  They didn't like me approaching, they started grunting and thrashing the brush.  I got close enough to see my Hog was a decent size and wasn't breathing, then retreated back to the tree stand.

Yeah, I retreated.  That moment was a definite challenge to my conception of my manhood.  I tucked tail and went back up my tree.  At least two hogs, unknown size, in their element, definitely creeped me out.

So, I sat in my stand and looked down at my hog.

I'm not sure how long it was, or exactly what thoughts were running through my head.  I sat there and looked at my kill.  Every few minutes I would look through the scope to make sure it wasn't moving.  I kept wondering what I should do.  It seemed wrong to leave it there in the dirt and I still had no idea when the guides would be back.  I would check my watch, then wonder what i should be doing.

Imagine that, a pacifist, staring at his kill for twenty minutes.  It's almost funny.  Of course, there were other things to look at, but my eyes were inexorably drawn back to the black carcass.  It was like a magnet, always drawing the eyes back to it.

Eventually, I decided that I needed to do something, I couldn't just sit there staring at the hog any longer.  I went back down, intent on hanging and bleeding the pig.  I needed to justify the kill to ease my conscience, if the meat was ruined than it would have been for nothing.

So, I get to my hog and get my first real look at it.  He's probably a hundred pounds and covered in scars, an old warrior.  One of things that surprised me was the smell.  I'm not sure what I expected but he smelled intensely like sweet cranberries, like someone opened a can of thanksgiving cranberry sauce and held it under my nose.  I'll never forget it.

The other surprise?  The bullet hit him in the neck.  It was obviously a good shot, he dropped like someone flipped a switch, but that hadn't been where I was aiming.  I'll never know if he stepped back when I shot, or if I had pulled it (I have a history of that), but I had been aiming for a heart/lung shot, behind the shoulder, not for the neck.  If he had stepped forward, or I had pulled the other direction, then it would have been a gut shot and much, much worse for the both of us.

I heard a hog in the brush.  Only one this time, but it was definitely pissed off by my presence.  It made me nervous but I was determined to do something with my hog.

I pulled some 550 cord out of my pack to string my hog up.  I looked around for a reasonable branch but the only ones nearby were in the same tree as the feeder, which didn't seem like a good idea.  To hang it up I would need to drag it at least 100 yards.  I looped the cord around the hind legs and tugged a little, this was going to be awkward.

That's when I realized that my borrowed rifle didn't have a sling.  To pull my hog to a decent branch to hang it up I would need to set down my rifle and use both hands to drag the Hog.  I probably could have thrown the hog over my shoulder but he was an awkward size and quite literally dead weight.  There was at least one other hog in the brush, I didn't want to set my rifle down, but I had no other choice if I wanted to move it to somewhere I could put it up.

Whatever.  WTF.  I put the rifle against a berm, I figured I would take the trip in steps.  Move the hog, move the rifle, repeat, so that the rifle was never too far away from reach.

I set the rifle down and dragged the hog about five feet when the swamp buggy came around the corner.

They looped a cable around the hog's neck and lifted it.  I reached around the hog and got a quick pic.  It bled on my hand, which seemed strangely appropriate.  I hadn't gotten any blood on my hands up until that point.

I grabbed my rifle, brushed off the dirt, and loaded up.

Hog Hunt pt 1

When I was a kid my Dad was always trying to get me to go hunting.  I loved going to the range and shooting, but never got into the idea of shooting an animal.  I remember a story He told me one time about the sound of a bear when it draws it's last breath.  He appreciated the animal, made sure that it's life wasn't wasted.  I was more of a pacifist, I didn't like the idea of killing anything so I always kind of brushed him off.

Now a days I wish I hadn't.  When I decided to get into survival skills I realized that I needed to get comfortable with hunting.  All those lessons I could have learned about outdoors skills, hunting, and cleaning game that I missed as a kid...

So, when an opportunity presented itself to go for a hunt I jumped at the chance.  This is the story of what happened, it's not all flattering, some of it is funny, but it's all true.

We were headed to Florida to visit the grandparents.  Grandpa wanted to take my daughter with him on a Hog hunt and I basically invited myself along too.  Grandpa had always been big into hunting, I'd gone moose hunting with him once before but we hadn't even seen one.  This hunt was a guided one on ranch land that pretty much guaranteed we would get something.  We would start out at dawn in stands near feeders, then if we didn't get one we could go hunting with the dogs afterwards.

There was a surprising cold streak in Florida that week.  Temperatures in the mornings were down to 25-30 degrees.  The plan was to get up really early, drive halfway across the state, and get set up before dawn.

My daughter, seven years old, was all psyched to go.  She sat right up as soon as I said her name at 3 a.m., which is pretty amazing since she hates getting up early.  We bundled up in layers, grabbed the guns, some food and water, and set out.

We made it about a mile before we got pulled over.

Grandpa looked at me, I looked at him.  We hadn't been speeding.  I expected a fairly hyped up cop, hand on his gun, to walk up.  It was a little after three am, we were a couple of guys in full camo in a big truck... we were either headed out hunting (so we were armed) or we were drunks on our way home.

Instead, an incredibly attractive young female cop walked up, totally nonchalant, and told us we had a tail light out.  She gave us a verbal warning and let us go.  I'm not sure how wise it is to be an attractive cop, apparently alone, working the graveyard shift, but she seemed pretty comfortable.

We made it to the guide's store a little early so we took a little nap in the truck.  We left it running, it was about 33 degrees out.  The hunt was supposed to start at 6 am, about 10 minutes before 6 a truck pulled in behind us.  The driver walked up, asked us how we were doing, and said to follow him.  We went down the road a ways, onto a dirt track, and down further to the camp.  We didn't know it but the store had been bought out and we were supposed to meet at the camp in the first place.  As such, we missed the informational portion of the pre-hunt, we tossed on our jackets, loaded the rifles, and with barely a word we loaded up on the swamp buggy.

I messed around with the rifle a bit.  I'd wanted to bring one of my rifles, probably the Ruger Scout, but didn't want the hassle of traveling with a fire arm.  The rifle Grandpa lent me was an ancient Browning pump action 300 mag.  He'd zeroed the scope for me (we were supposed to go to the range the day before but everyone had been sick so we didn't get the chance).  It was a pretty nice little rifle, though I didn't like the location of the pump lock.  To rack a second round you had to find the lock next to the trigger, hold it down, and pump the rifle.  I'm sure if it was mine it would be second nature, but on a borrowed rifle I really hoped a fast follow up shot was not going to be needed.

It was at this point that my daughter asked where her rifle was (she'd been practicing a lot with her BB gun and has been getting pretty good).  She was very disappointed when we told her that she wasn't shooting this time, that this was just to show her how it went and see what she was comfortable with.  She'd never seen anything shot before so we weren't sure how she would deal with hunting.  When we first brought up the hunt she seemed fine, but who knew how she would actually do?

The swamp buggy thing was pretty cool, like a suped up truck.  Big tires, the bed was up about five feet and had all the seats up there for spotting game.  We BSed with a couple of guys that were in from out of state, bow hunting.

It was pitch black and freezing cold.  All we could see was the area illuminated by the head lights.  Calling it a road would be an insult to roads, it was basically two ruts worn through the forest from the constant buggy trips.  Branches whipped at our faces, a cold wind seeped through our layers.

We pulled in to our first stop.  The guide pointed at Grandpa and my Daughter.  He took them over to a stand and we set off again.  I was a little disappointed, I was kind of hoping to hang out with them, but I guess they wanted the shooters spread out.

I was next up.  We stopped and the guide pointed out a small tree stand.

"Feeders about a hundred yards that way", he said, pointing toward the dark woods.

I climbed the stand, the guide handed up my borrowed rifle.  Then they left me, alone in the dark.

It was only about 20 minutes later that I started to hear the sounds of Hogs sniffing around in the dark.

Homeopathic remedies

So, this is kind of weird story and it's a little embarrassing but I learned something that I figured I would pass on.  Not one of my proudest posts, but maybe the topic will make up for the content.

At some point during my travels over the past couple months I picked up a particularly stubborn fungus.  We're all familiar with athlete's food, jock itch, swimmers ear... we've all had it before, it's usually not a big deal.  However, this was something different.

This weird fungus I picked up was very specific and especially resistant to treatment.  It was only on the pads of my fingers and absolutely nothing I tried even slowed it down.  Within a week or so every finger tip had at least some peeling skin and it was getting pretty bad in places.  I tried every over the counter cream and powder I could find.  That over the counter stuff?  Two weeks of nothing other than watching it make mince meat out of my hands.

Finally, I got so frustrated that I googled anti-fungal homeopathic remedies.  I have nothing against homeopathic but I usually try the over the counter stuff first (when that takes care of the problem, I usually don't have to move on to the homeopathic stuff).   This was such a weird case, I wasn't sure what would work and what would just make it worse.

The most common advice I found?  Soak in vinegar.  The vinegar is so aggressive that it kills most of the fungus and creates a hazardous environment for the rest.  I soaked each hand for about 30 minutes a night.

Holy **** did that work.  Three nights of soaking my hands in vinegar made a drastic improvement.  Immediately, I could tell that it stopped progressing and the damage started to heal.  Three days!  I kept it up another couple days to make sure it was all gone, but it certainly did the trick.

Modern medicine fail, natural medicine win.  One more reason to get a natural remedies book or two to add to the library.

Now, it most survival situations people will be wearing boots or shoes or socks (and underwear) for long periods of time, questionable hygiene, fungus will be a problem.  With how common vinegar is, keeping it in mind as a remedy might just keep you whole in the long run.

I Think I Pulled it a Little...

I recently purchased a scout scope for my Ruger Gunsite Scout.  You might remember my previous posts on the GSS (Range Review, The Scout Rifle Concept, and Some Thoughts on Caliber).  I love my Gunsite Scout, it shoots great and it's pretty...  What more is there to ask for?

I got my new Leupold FX-II Scout 2.5x28mm today and simply had to go to the range.  I sighted it in, put a couple magazines through it at 50 yards, and eventually moved the target out to 100 yards.  As usual, I had a blast.

Well, when I did my post about Calibers I was really surprised when the .308 did less damage to my wooden target frame than .38sp.  I figured that the velocity of the .38 was lower and therefore it expanded quicker when it hit the wood (small entry, big exit), the .308 had so much more velocity that it passed through the wood before having time to expand (small entry, small exit).  (I'm sure there are some people with far more knowledge than me, there could be a completely different explanation)

Well, every once and a while we throw a shot.  It happens.  You pull the trigger and almost immediately you're thinking "Shit..."  You chamber another and keep going.

Well, this is the result of a shot I F'd up at 100 yards.  It might not do so much damage to wood but, yeah, .308 packs a punch.

I use four of these steel clamps to hold the cardboard target to the wooden frame.  One of the shots I threw caught one of them.

Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, that's four bucks down the drain.

The only complaint I have with this Leupold is that, for me, at longer ranges I would not mind a little more magnification.  At 100 yards the 2.5 magnification is better than iron sites but not by much.  I wouldn't want to try shots much further than that.  A scout scope with the option to dial in a little higher would be nice if those longer shots are necessary.

Other than that, the .308 is obviously enough lead for the job if you don't pull your shots.

You Know What Drives Me Nuts? Cell Phones

About a week ago I had to do a urine drug test as part of a job application.  These are annoying but I understand the necessity, so that morning I drank about a gallon of coffee and checked in to the medical center.  I sat down in the waiting area and waited for the coffee to kick in.  As I was the only person there, I started to wish I'd brought a book.

A couple minutes later a woman walked in, we did the nod at each in other greeting.   She checked in to the desk and sat down.  

As soon as she sat down she pulled out her phone and was instantly glued to the screen.

A little while later a guy came in.  We nodded at each other, he checked in, then he sat down and pulled out his phone.

Now, I'm not an old fashioned, anti-technology, kind of guy, but it really disturbed me that over the next half an hour not a word passed between the three of us.  I sat there, twiddling my thumbs, memorizing the health posters on the walls... and they were entirely occupied by "angry birds", or whatever it was they were doing, thumb-typing away.

Not that long ago, before "smart phones", we might have been chatting away, BS'ing about our bosses or work (or how hydrated we were).  These days though, as soon as there is a slow second, out come the phones.  We're becoming a nation of ADD cell phone addicts.

It's almost like an insulation against the real world, against interacting with fellow human beings.  We don't talk to each other any more, we 'go online' and chat with like-minded people thousands of miles away, or we post/tweet about our day instead of actually talking to loved ones.

A while ago, I got an important phone call (about that job application previously mentioned) while I was waiting to get rung up at a UPS store.  I stepped away, conducted my conversation, and went to the back of the line.  When I eventually got to the front I apologized for the interruption to the cashier who had been helping me.  She said, "No big deal", and went on ringing me up.  I stopped her, told her that it was a pet peeve of mine when people were face to face and one answers their phone, ignoring the other.  She kept brushing me off, I kept telling her that it wasn't ok.  It seems that popular culture is adopting the attitude that a phone always takes priority over people in any situation.

Not only does it bother me when people are so rude, it bothers me that this is so common it is 'acceptable' behavior.  Seriously, look around when you're out in public, it's like everyone is buried in a phone screen.

When a society avoids face-to-face communication, how long can it last?  Right now, we are at a tipping point and leaning the wrong direction.  Think about that the next time you reach for your phone.

Tsunami Bug Out Pt 2

Alright, I'm going to go through the detailed plan/execution of my Tsunami bug out.

I previously mentioned how the tsunami bug out started.  It was basically a practice bug out to see how everything would work during a real bug out.  This post starts after I grabbed my BOB.

I planned on getting to the Pali Look Out.  It's one of the highest on the island that you can get to in a car.  If there weren't places at the Pali than I had two back up places to pull off the highway.  All those places have access to my favorite trail network, all were above the tsunami zone.  I was lucky to bug out earlier than most, and made it to the Look Out before it ran out of parking spaces.

Honestly, I figured the Pali would be full.  It was one of the highest places and I thought that most people leaving Honolulu would go there.  Luckily, that wasn't the case in this situation.  For me, the Pali was good for a multitude of reasons.  It was high, to get me away from tsunami waves, it had a clear view of the affected area, and it had direct access to the trail system that I planned on bugging out to.  The area is close to the mountains, good sources of water, and you can get away from more dense population areas.

These are a few things that I took note of during my "bug out":

• How few people bugged out to high ground.  I almost didn't, after all the false warnings we've had.  That Pali lookout is right above Honolulu, THE major population center, and yet it wasn't nearly as full as I thought it would be.  The actual parking lot was filled but there were still plenty of places along the road.
• How many people did not bring any supplies with them.  Out of all the people that made it to the Pali Look Out, I didn't see any that seemed remotely prepared for a large scale natural disaster.  There were families in their minivans, but few even thought to bring a sweat shirt or jacket (the Pali look out is one of the windiest places on the island and there were intermittent rains that night, lots of shivering people).  They would have survived the initial Tsunami, but few seemed prepared for anything more than an immediate emergency.  No extra food, water, or other supplies that I saw.
• How many people were drinking.  There were at least four groups I saw that were actively drinking in public during the emergency.  Having lived in Florida, through several hurricanes, I recognize this as something I call "The Jimmy Buffet Disaster Plan".  Drink as much as you can so that no matter what happens you're having a good time.  I hosted several "hurricane parties", so I am familiar with the concept (that was all before I started prepping).  
• Patience was a problem for most people.  The tsunami was predicted to hit at 22:38.  When nothing had happened by 23:00, a lot of people had already left the high ground.  It would have taken very little for the original prediction to be off, yet these people were already headed back into the danger zone.  I stayed at high ground for over an hour, which was still well within the "warning zone" of three hours, and yet when I left 2/3 of the people had already gone.  Our modern civilization has not prepared people for the patience necessary to survive a natural disaster.  These people waited an extremely short period of time and they could easily have been driving into a deadly tsunami wave.
• I realized I did not have any form of personal defense.  This being a short term natural disaster I didn't think it would be necessary, but after seeing that no one brought any supplies (and how many were drinking) I'm rethinking that.  (I bought some pepper spray and added that to my BOB, I think it's a better option than a gun for a short term bug out like a tsunami)

We were lucky that we had a three hour warning of this potential natural disaster, yet very few people responded to the threat.  I wouldn't have even known of the hazard if they hadn't used the air raid siren.  How good is prepping if you don't notice a warning or react when one is given?  A surprisingly few number of people left their homes for higher ground.  

I'm glad I decided to do this practice bug out, it gave me a lot of things to think about. 

Tsunami: Epic Bug-out Fail Pt 1

I'm going split this into two posts.  This one, the first, is kind of a lessons learned post.  The next will be more of an overall bug-out experience.

Alright, this post is going to be a bit more wordy than usual.

Last Saturday night, I was watching a movie and noticed this strange sound.  I muted the TV and the sound was still there, almost sounded like one of those old air raid sirens.  So I pulled out the laptop and checked the local news.  Turns out Hawaii was under a tsunami warning.

I went back to watching the movie.  The last three times we had a warning you could have stood in the surf and not noticed the 'tsunami' when it arrived.

Then I thought about it a little more and decided to "bug out" to high ground for two reasons; 1) it would be a good practice run, and 2) I can just see my obituary "Newbie Prepper Dies, Surrounded By His Supplies, Because He Stayed In The Tsunami Zone".  With that irony I'd never be able to rest in peace.

Lets just say that this was an eye opening experience for me.  Here is a list of the many thoughts, lessons, and issues that I came up with during my two hours "bugging out" in my car.

• I need to have a radio on or something as an early warning system.  If they hadn't rung the air siren I wouldn't have known we were in a 'Tsunami warning'.
• I need to keep my bags bug-out ready.  I thought they were until I actually went to bug out, that's when I went through a mental checklist of my BOB and started coming up short.   I have all of the essential items for my BOB but I'm constantly putting in new things, taking out others, repacking it... and then when I needed my bag I had to run around my apartment piecing it all back together.  Things I realized were missing: food, water, an emergency radio (waiting on dehydrated meals, canteens, and radio from Amazon), ax, sheath knife, and a tarp.
• There were a bunch of things in the BOB that I didn't need: a stove without fuel, empty water bottles, and bedding (I could just sleep in my car)
• In this situation, a BOB was kind of over kill.  I already have a GHB in the car, which already has most of the essentials, adding the BOB meant I had three or four of everything I might need.  I'm now thinking that I might need to put together some kind of 'intermediate' bag, something for short-term natural disaster preparation.  It could be a small bag with extra clothes, water, and food.  Kind of an add-on to the GHB.
• BOB accessibility is an issue.  I have too many smaller bags inside my BOB, makes finding an individual item a pain in the butt.  I'll need to figure out a better way of organizing it.
• I realized during this 'emergency' that there were a lot of things that I should have been keeping in my car all along.  I mean, I've got a GHB but I don't have a general vehicle emergency kit?  Flares, tools, jumper cables, a spare set of clothes, a good jacket, Fix-A-Flat, spare vehicle fluids, a couple gallons of water, hatchet, folding shovel... there are a lot of practical things that I should have been kept in my trunk.
• I was lucky that my car was gassed up.  At the first whiff of an emergency the gas stations were packed.  I'm not very good about keeping it full, it was purely luck that I filled the tank the day before.  I need to be better about that in the future.
• My cellphone, kindle, and laptop were all at half a battery.  At the very least, I need to get a car charger for my phone to keep it going in an emergency.
• I need to eat food more regularly.  I'm sure that sounds odd, but I usually only eat two big meals a day.  When I heard the siren I had just been trying to figure out what to do for dinner.  So, I need to eat more often during the day.  It's always better to start an emergency with a full belly.
• I had about $20 in my wallet.  I don't usually keep much cash on hand (I spend it), I need to pull out some cash and either keep it in my car or in my GHB/BOB for emergencies.
• A motorcycle might be a good idea for an urban Bug Out Vehicle.  I saw a lot of people on motorcycles and the flexibility of a motorcycle over a car or truck.  In a real emergency they could get through stopped traffic and park pretty much anywhere.  It would limit the amount of gear, I can fit a lot in my car, but it would be really nice to have that flexibility if I need it.  Food for thought.
• My BOB is pretty big.  That didn't seem like an issue when it was sitting in the corner, but walking around my apartment building?  I got a lot of funny looks, it was the opposite of subtle.  Looking like an idiot on the average day isn't that big of a deal, standing out during an emergency could be.  Nothing screams "I have lots of supplies" like an over flowing back pack. 

This was a pretty good example of how planning will only get you so far, you need to actually practice.  You can only plan for so much, reality always throws us curve balls.  I packed my BOB for any Bug out situation, for this mini-disaster scenario a lot of that stuff wasn't really needed.  Especially considering that I already had half of the stuff in the Get Home Bag.  

Overall, my biggest frustration was that I wasn't set up to step-up or step-down my bug out, it was either take too little or too much.  I definitely need to figure out how to add more flexibility to my bug out supplies, that way I can adjust to the situation quicker and easier.

I'm really glad that I decided to run this little practice bug out instead of going back to watching TV.  One of the last things I grabbed was a note book and some pens.  I took notes through pretty much every step of this bug out and I ended up with over two pages of issues, problems, ideas, and things to think about.

Laugh at my slapstick bug out all you like, I hope my embarrassing mistakes can help some others in their own disaster preparations.


Stay tuned for a follow up post about some more Tsunami adventures and thoughts.

Here are a few of my favorite things...

Here are a few of my FAVO-RITE things...  You have to say it in that sing-song voice, just like the line from the song.  If you don't have a sense of humor, what else is worth the effort?

I'm a bit of a knife guy, I've said that before.  Pretty much anything with a blade I'm fascinated by.  In a way, the knife is the most fundamental and most basic tool ever created.  A good knife can be used to make other tools, shelter, and most importantly, open DVD cases.

That's only half a joke.

The truth is, as cool as a 12" Rambo knife is, the unsung hero of the knife world is the small, folding, pocket knife.  How many times does the Rambo knife get used?  Not very often.  But that little folder that you keep in your back pocket gets used on a daily basis.  These knives can do almost anything that Rambo can but they're at hand and a whole lot more portable.  So, there's something to say about the pocket knives out there.

In no particular order, here are my three favorite pocket knives (other than the CRKT, which was previously posted):

 The Buck Paperstone Vantage, $35.  Who's got a negative thing to say about Buck knives?  They're a classic.  This one is a little over a three inch blade and it comes very sharp.  This one, I took off the belt clip because I didn't really like the way it affected the grip, otherwise it's a great knife.

What I like about this Buck is the blade thickness.  I swear, this blade is twice as thick as most pocket knives.  The blade has a great shape, a great edge, and because of it's thickness it's ready for some heavy duty work.  This is a very handy blade.  I keep it on my coffee table and it gets used frequently.

Second up is the knife I keep in my pocket at work.  This is the Leatherman Crater, $35.  I think the version shown here is discontinued, it has the blackened blade that's half serrated.  There is a current version I found online, but it doesn't have the paint job or the serration.

The reason I love this knife is it has a full size phillips and a full size flat head screwdriver.  Most multi tools have a phillips head, but it's too thin or too small to actually use.  Not a problem with the full sized heads on the Crater, very usable.  It also has a clip/bottle opener (though I don't use that as often at work).  Even with the added tools, the handle is only about a 1/4 inch thicker than a normal pocket knife.  For it's size and weight this is quite the handy little tool.  I love Leatherman multi-tools but they can be bulky and heavy, so I don't usually carry one unless I know I need the extra tools.  For the average person, this Leatherman Crater is a lighter, smaller, more handy option.

Next up is the Kershaw Scallion, $30.  I just picked this one up recently.  I like Kershaw blades but they tend toward the expensive and I didn't have much experience with them.  Many of them also have the "Speed Safe Assisted Opening" system, which is basically a spring system that makes the blade extremely easy to open.

I had a somewhat bad experience with an 'assisted opening' system one time.  A couple years ago, I bought a CRKT My Tighe Spring, an extremely cool looking knife.  I'm pretty sure this knife is Klingon standard issue.

Anyway, because the My Tighe was spring assisted the blade opened extremely easily.  One day it came open in my backpack.  I stuck my hand in my pack and felt something funny.  I kept reaching around in there, wondering what that was.  Well, the knife was so sharp that I cut myself three times before realizing that I was being cut.  After that I kept a rubber band tightly wrapped around the closed knife to keep it closed.  What's the point of having a spring assist if you're too nervous to use it?

That made me very tentative when it came to buying assisted knives.

This Kershaw, though, was a pleasant surprise.

The spring assist works great, the blade is excellent quality and extremely sharp.  And you know what else it has?  A safety lock.

You see that sliding screw on the bottom of the handle?  It's very easy to use and doesn't slow down one-handed operation.  Simply push the screw down with a pinkie, push the knob on the back of the blade, and out it pops.  Slide the screw up and the blade cannot be opened.  Safe, and easy to use.  All in all, it's a very nice little blade.


So, that's three cool blades, all under $40.  All handy, all have their purposes, and they are definitely more practical than their larger, more expensive, Rambo versions.  Enjoy.

Gear Review: CRKT knives

I have to say, I love CRKT (Colorado River Knives and Tools) knives.  I've bought quite a few knives over the years and universally I've found that CRKT knives are sharp, they're efficient, and they do the job as advertised, no questions asked.  I've never had a problem with them (other than having the shell out the retail price).

A couple years ago I was in Japan, at an Airforce base, where these knives were easily purchased at the exchange in the 'tactical' section.  Over my time there I bought several CRKT knives (I'm a bit of a knife fanatic).  I picked up a "Mt. Rainier" for $50.  I was hesitant to get the "Mt. Rainier", despite it's awesome looks, as it was $50+ dollars and I hate putting that much money down on a knife before I check it out.  Thankfully, I had the money and decided to go for it based on how much I liked the brand.

Out of the many, many, practical knives that I've owned, this is my absolute favorite.  It's so well engineered that it doesn't need a spring assist, it pops open with barely a flick of the thumb.  It's sharp, it opens easily, it's heavy duty, it's perfect for anything that needs a knife.  Once open there is no wiggle in the blade, it's solid.  Once locked it's as good as a sheath knife.

Put simply, this is my go-to knife for any circumstance.  I love it.  If someone said I had to choose one knife for any scenario, this would be it.  If they were available here I would buy a second, just to have a back up.  Can't say enough good things about it.

It has a dual safety system, you can see the knob just below the joint of the blade and the handle in this pic.  You can flick open the blade with almost no effort, but closing it on your fingers takes real effort.  There's the internal safety and the knob safety system.  You have to move the knob before you can close the knife.  Easy to open, hard to hurt yourself, it's a nice combination.

The blade is half serrated, half razor blade.  The blade is the only part I've ever needed to use, though having a serrated edge is never a bad thing (think cutting a seat belt in an emergency).  I've never had to sharpen it, it was good enough to shave with out of the box and is still sharp enough to shave today, almost two years of use later.

These blades are awesome.  For the price, you could buy a 'fancy' Gerber, but take it from me, the quality of a CRKT knife is way, way better than Gerber.  I've bought Gerbers for around the same price that couldn't cut paper out of the box.  CRKT comes with an edge, holds an edge, and it works.  You could pay 50$ for a paper weight, or you could pay 50$ for a really nice knife.

Hands down, no argument, I would take CRKT over any other comparatively priced knife, whatever brand.   I would even take a CRKT folding knife over most available sheath knives.  There are a dozen different varieties of CRKT knives, every one I've tried has been awesome.

I had one folder, small, money clip style, CRKT that cut two (powered) 20 gauge copper wires in one slice.  The resulting electrical arc was enough to blind anyone within 10 feet and arc-weld the blade, but even afterwards it was still sharp enough to use.  I still have that knife, if I can find the pics of the arc welded blade than I will post them.

I love these knives, can't say enough good things about them.  If you can go CRKT, then there is no reason to go anywhere else in my humble opinion.  Awesome blades for the price, and enough variety to please even the pickiest knife buyer.

Seriously, check them out:
http://www.crkt.com/

550 Cord Bracelet Story

This is a photo of three varieties of 550 Bracelets I've made.

550 Cord Bracelets have become popular over the past couple years for Outdoors men, Military, and the general public.  I'm not sure who invented them but it's an easy way to have 8-10 feet of very strong cordage where ever you go.  They're fun to make and not too difficult, YouTube has dozens of videos that will walk you through the steps if you are interested.

For those of you wondering about the usefulness of something like a 550 cord bracelet, or having other supplies at hand, I've got a quick story for you.

Last year I took my daughter out Geocaching.  For those that don't know, Geocaching is like modern treasure hunting.  A person will hide a cache and post the GPS coordinates online, sometimes with clues or word games.  They are usually little trinkets and you're supposed to take an item from the cache, log your visit in the log book, and put some tricket in for the next visitor.  It's cheap, easy, and fun.  There are levels of difficulty which means it can be a good activity for families, a fun way to spend time outdoors.

http://www.geocaching.com/

So, I chose an 'easy' cache for me and my daughter and we set out.  It wasn't our first treasure hunt and we were pretty confident as we set out on the trail.

Unfortunately, when we got close we realized the coordinates led to the top of a very large hill.  We had to go off trail climb a long, steep incline.  Half way up the ground got unstable and it got treacherous.  My daughter found a tiny little opening through shrubbery and scampered ahead.

Going back down the hill seemed as treacherous as continuing on, I hoped when we got to the top we could see an easier way back down.

When we reached the top we saw a switch back trail leading back down.  Unfortunately it was still very steep and incredibly muddy.  I sat there and scratched my head for a good 20 minutes.  If I went down first, I would have to walk backwards down the steep, slippery hill.  If I went second, or walked forward in front of her, I couldn't help my six year old daughter if she slipped.

How was I going to get the two of us down safely?  And quickly, we only had two hours until it started getting dark and we were still a good five miles out on the trail away from the car.  We thought this would be a quick, easy cache (like the internet never lies?), so I had brought very little with me.

Then I looked down and noticed the 550 cord bracelet on my wrist.  For fun, I'd been making them for a while and was wearing it only by happenstance. 

I untied the bracelet and made a make-shift harness for my daughter and a short line that I tied to my belt.  This way she could go down first and if she slipped I could just dig in my heels to keep her from falling down the hill.  

It wasn't a perfect solution but we made it safely down.  If I hadn't had that ten feet of cord I'm not sure what we would have done.

Something to keep in mind about having a few supplies around, even just for those little emergencies that pop up on a day to day basis.  Having something as convenient as a bracelet might not be a bad idea.