Posted on 11/18/2014 8:09:58 PM PST by Kartographer
Oh, and a couple things I didn’t use but was glad I had along: a couple mini-rolls of toilet paper I got at Big 5, and a package of sanitary wipes. Just in case.
Three feet of snow in and near Buffalo...portions of the NY State Thruway closed...not a bad idea to throw a blanket and one or two other things in the car in October.
Bump! :)
Thank you for the reminder!
Great additional ideas too!
That is pretty close to what I carry, along with flares, flashlights, charcoal and a flat pan (for heating the oil pan when it is really cold (-30) out). Tinfoil, a shovel, spare cell phone battery, flashlights and spare batteries. A couple changes of clothes, extra (thinsulate) gloves, insulated coveralls, wool socks (2 pr), and a pair of pac boots round out the kit.
But then, I live and work in North Dakota and winter here is nothing to mess with.
Up thread someone suggested walking out. Not here. That just makes the body harder to find. Stay with the vehicle unless it is somewhere it absolutely cannot be seen. There is a lot of material in a modern vehicle that can be used for insulation or burned for heat/signal smoke in a pinch. If you set fire to your spare for a signal, make sure you let the air out first (cut the valve stem off).
I got caught in a snow induced traffic jam last winter. Spent several hours stuck in the center expressway lane.
What did I desperately need?
A pot to piss in. Really!
Don’t forget an empty container.
“I never needed it, but it sure did provide peace of mind knowing I could survive.”
Just saw “Rooster Cogburn” on tv the other day. He’s talking to Hepburn.
“Here let me put my rope around you while you sleep. It’ll keep the snakes and what-not away. Now I know you’re wondering if it really works.
Well - I ain’t saying it does. And I ain’t saying it doesn’t. But it sure is comforting.”
~Man I love my old mummy bag with the zipper down the front.~
I know that mummy bags by default has better insulation but the way they are arresting your movements is pretty much uncomfortable.
While you are traveling in a vehicle it’s size and weight is not so critical so I prefer heavier non-mummy bag for same performance.
Mine is SNSh-3 which is not recommended for use under -10 Celsius yet I’ve once quite comfortably lived a night in one at -28 to 32C in the open. Also had an Arctic class flight suit on, though.
Toilet paper is a necessity; I returned from my first backpacking trip with no socks in my combat boots. Not that I didn’t bring TP; I just didn’t bring enough (and 1980s MREs are murder).
I’ve also noticed that hand-cranked flashlights have come down in price; I got a free one renewing a AAA membership, and they were handy during the post-Sandy blackout here in NJ. I also had mini-Mags, and I was able to use their batteries in the radio.
“But then, I live and work in North Dakota and winter here is nothing to mess with.”
I’ve heard stories of back in the old days of tieing a rope between the house and the barn for snow and dust so you wouldn’t get lost on the way.
A few years ago in the hills of Oregon a couple got lost on a back road and a snow storm came in. After several days (maybe even a week?) the husband tried to walk out. Several days after he had left the weather broke, and somebody came across the car with the wife still in it and alive. They found the husband’s body in the spring, not too far from the car.
LOL...
She then related to me how a geophysical exploration crew had been caught in the same area and lost in the storm, following the bulldozer operator who was sure he knew the way. The crew stopped and waited in their suburban, were cold and miserable, but were located about 24 hours later and all lived. The bulldozer, which had continued, was located about a week later. The operator's remains were found by hunters in a draw two years later, somewhat the worse for wear from scavengers...
It is lot easier to find a vehicle under most circumstances than a lone human.
survival blankets can be bought cheap
My GS troop made minisurvival kits of long burning wax candles in an altoids tin, and a space blanket
I remember a blizzard in North Dakota many years ago where some folks froze to death in their ditched cars on a 4 lane highway on the 20 mile drive from base to town. One who had a candle and blanket in his car managed to survive 2 days until the crews could get out onto the highways. This was way before the age of cell phones
Space blankets will save you if you get stranded. I spent a night on a mountain once in 25 degree weather. A space blanket made it tolerable.
Exactly
1) if needed use to disinfect water for consumption AFTER boiling (see #2) the water to kill Cryptosporidium and Giardia
2) Start a fire by adding any Organic to some of the powder (Cola/oil/brake fluid) will cause the reaction and you can get pretty much anything burning for heat.
I’ll read the article in a minute but, I generally carry a windbreaker, snowboard jacket, one or two liners for my jacket, Chilly Willy’s (insulation for legs), two pair of gloves with removable liners and one pair of replacement liners for each pair, a snow balaclava for the face and one that doubles as insulation for the head/neck, 3 pair of snowboarding socks, my usual boots for short hike and work, one pair of snowboard pants, two-three rain parkas (cheap ones), hand amd feet warmers.
I switch my sleeping bag to a 0° bag and carry a Thermarest NeoAir® XLite air mattress.
I carry my usual G.O.O.D. bag.
I throw my snow shovel in the trunk, chains, etc.
I normally don’t carry much food but, during winter I pack high energy foods and junk such as peanut butter and jelly, nuts, Cheese that is vacuum packed and Bonbels used only in an emergency and a few other food stuffs that are dense and full of calories.
I also like summer sausages, salami and pepperoni. I’m a bit of a snob and purchase the expensive stuff that has never been refrigerated and the best flavors.
I also carry 6 individual rice cups and 1# of rice.
Also carry freeze dried soups.
6 Top Ramens.
I carry dried spicy pepper, white pepper, salt free bullion packs.
Now I’ll read the article.
Great addition! Especially for us guys over 50!!!
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