72 Hour Kits

I personally think that a 72 hour kit can be a deadly thing if used the wrong way. Let me explain; if you do not understand how to use your 72 hour kit you can be lulled into a false sense of security. The mere fact that you have a 72 hour kit does not mean that you are safe or that you will survive a natural disaster. It merely means that you have enough sense to think ahead and plan for the worst hoping that you will not need to use it. Let me ask have you ever tried to live off of just your 72 hour kit for 72 hours? Of course not! First off it is expensive, secondly who has time to do such a thing? So instead, we buy a kit from someone else and trust that they know what we like to eat, what our individual needs are. They also assume that we will all be living in the same climate and environment. Well that is a lot of assuming. So why do we have a 72 hour kit? What should I put in my 72 hour kit? How often should I go through my 72 hour kit? Lets talk about each one of these questions and see if we can come up with some good answers.


Okay so on to question 1:  So why do we have a 72 hour kit?  A lot of people have a 72 hour kit because that is what they have heard the government say we should have.  Some people have a 72 hour kit because their religious leaders advise them to have one, and others have one because it just sounds like good sound advice to have one. Well good for all of us that want to be prepared and have a plan. Now here is something to think about; it takes a minimum of 72 hours just to activate a federal entity.  That does not even take into account the time that it will take them to reach you.  So in reality if you want a kit that will keep you alive until help arrives you will need enough supplies for 3 weeks at least. 

Question 2:  What should I put in my 72 hour kit?  The answer to this question is as different as their are people.  However there are 6 categories that you should always consider at a minimum when packing for any outdoor adventure / disaster.  They are Water, Fire, Shelter, Food, First Aid, and The Will to Live.  Now in every situation you will have to prioritize these categories, because their importance will very with the conditions that you are in.  Another thing to think about is the climate that you live in and the time of year.  This will have a large impact on the type of clothing you pack. 

Water:  A commercial water purifier for backpacking will work great, as long as the water source you are using is not contaminated with oil, fuel, or antifreeze.

Fire:  A Fulsome Rod will work great even in wet conditions.  These rods are also called "Hot Sparks", "Permanent Match", or have been mistaken for Flint and Steel.

Shelter:  A tent that will fit you and your family, or a tarp.  You can make several different types of shelters with a simple tarp and it can be much litter then a tent.

Food:  This is where you have to really get creative.  If you go out and buy frees dried meals that you are not femilyour with then when it comes time to eat them you might not like them.  you also might not know how to prepare them.  So the simple rule is "Store what you eat and eat what you store."  This way you are fimilyour with it and it won't feel like an inconvenience when you have to depend on it.

First Aid:  A good first aid kit will cost you some money.  However this is something that you do not want to skimp on.  Find one that will accommodate 8-15 people and is meant for trauma not just cuts and scrapes.  This way you will have enough to treat everyone in the family and it will have more then just band-aids and neosporin.

The Will to Live:  This is a state of mind more then anything.  It is a mental toughness that prepares you to be able to live at all cost.  It prepares you for the worst and allows you to do your best. 

Here is a Shameless Plug You can find all of this on our web site at http://www.wildjakes.com/wj/Store.aspx

Question 3:  How often should I go through my 72 hour kit?  If you are rotating your food by living off what you are storing then you are doing the right thing.  If you also go through your kit when the seasons change then you are doing the right thing.  This will allow you to prep your clothes for each season and check expiration dates on the other things in your kit.  It will also keep you familiar with what you have and where it is in your kit. 

This brings me to the last two things that I want to cover.  The first is that there is a big difference between a go bag and a kit.  Your go bag will need to meet these same principles but on a much smaller scale.  It should be a bag that you have with you at all times.  By this I mean that you should get in the habit of putting it in your car when you leave the house, and taking it indoors again with you.  This way when you need it you will have it.  Your kit however will be much larger and you will need to have some time to move it.  Be careful where you store it, i.e. if you are in a flood zone then the basement is probably not the best place to keep it.  The second thing that I want to talk about is knowledge, spicificly primitive survival skills.  The more you know about this the better prepared you will be.  You will learn how to live so that you can use the land and your enviorment to your advantage.  This will give you the confidence that you need to Survive in any situation.

You can sign up for these types of experiences at www.wildjakes.com.  We teach Primitive Survival Skills through Experiential Education.

 

October Club Meeting

The 26th of October will be our next Wild Jake's Club meeting. The topic will be "food preservation in the outdoors". Bring you foil dinner and a date to Canyon Glen Park up Provo canyon starting at 1800 to have a good time. We will be at the fire rings on the farthest East side of the park, past the amphitheater.

Things to eat on the GO!

The trick to eating on the go is to remember that you are burning a lot of energy. So that means that you will need to replace it quickly. This means that you will need to eat things that your body can process into sugar. The best things are natural sugars like apples, raisins, and other fruits. One of the best ways to prepare them is by drying them. This makes them light and less sticky. However if this is all you are eating then you will feel a huge crash in your energy about half an hour after your meal. Your body needs something that is more sustaining. This comes in the form of protein and fat. The best way to get this is through nuts and jerky. Having this ready to go and in a place that you can reach it easily allows you to be able to snack on it as needed. You will find that if you snack though out the hike you will not be as hungry at the end of the day when you sit down to that camp fire dinner.

You can also purchase commercial energy bars and there are some that are really tasty. Some of them have a good amount of protein in them. Most of them are loaded with refined sugar though. Grain bars that are made from oats and other grains are really good and easy to carry.

There are a lot of good products out there. The real trick is to really think about what you are going to be doing, how much time you want to devote to meals, and what kind of resources you will have. Personally I like making trail mix out of the things that I like. This way I know exactly what I am getting and I can usually buy it in bulk. In my opinion this is the best way to go.

Good times. Sorry we missed you.

 

 

This one is hard to see. It is a piece of Black para cord hanging above the log and rock.

Even the little ones are invited.

Poison Ive. Notice the 3 leaves and how glossy they look and the white berries.

 Thanks to every one that came to the club meeting. It is always fun to sit and learn with friends. Especially when their is food. We learned how to set 2 dead fall traps and 2 snares. We identified 4 plants 2 poisonous and 2 edible and got to learn how to read some animal signs. A big Thanks to Robin Dexter for helping with the traps, and to Arnold Young for helping the younger club members with their metal match fires. We were also able to meet some new club members. All in all it was a really good night.

July club meeting Location change.

Change to this weeks club meeting, the sit cor. are 40* 19.800 N , 111* 37.234 W Canyon Glen park in Provo canyon. Bring your foil dinner, water, knife, light, and a friend. Look for the Wild Jake's logo on a white flag. I cant wait to see you there. We will be learning how to set 4 simple traps, 2 dead falls and 2 snares. We will learn where, when, and how to set them. we will also talk about how many you should be setting to be successful.

July Club Meeting

Our next club meeting will be the 27 of this month. It is going to be fun. We will be instructed on how to make and set traps. The four Traps that will be covered are a fig. 4, a Paiute, and 2 drag snares. Don't forget to bring your knife, water, flash light your foil dinner and a date our you family. Big Springs Trail head up South Fork Canyon from 1800 to 2100. I can't wait to see you there.

3 weeks lost in the desert

 

 Autistic man’s 3 weeks lost in the desert was a ‘spiritual experience’


Check out this link and tell us what your think about this man's experience. What did he do right and what did he do wrong?