FReepers, the basics of being prepared

Vanity | 06/13/2013 | 101stAirborneVet

[yorkiemom]

I'll be partially doing that all summer. I hike around the sierra's, not with a ruck sack but with a hiking pack around my waist. Taking it once step further wouldn't be that big a deal.

[yorkiemom]

The First Implement is your body. If you're out of shape, start getting in shape now, and practicing realistic physical challenges like strapping a pack on your back and moving out. Your goal should be to travel at least 12 miles as quickly as possible with a pack of basic gear on your back. (Work up to this, of course. The above linked web site has some tips on this.)

We will all need to be in the best possible shape, to be able to survive when TSHTF. Being physically fit is no guarantee, but not being fit is a guarantee you won't make it.

I have millions of acres of forest out my back door - so being able to have survival skills in the wilderness is a priority of mine.

[yorkiemom]

I am 80 and ...

I think you had a birthday recently then. Happy Belated Birthday!!!!!!

[yorkiemom]

If I'm at altitude, or going to be doing a lot of shank's mare transport, I slather on petroleum jelly, before I put on my socks. You get used to the squishy feel.

And it makes your feet as soft as a baby's bottom, if you keep doing it.

[editor-surveyor]

Back when my youngest son was in the second phase of Marine Corps boot camp at Pendleton they were hyping up a pack trip through the coastal dunes, and he wrote that he was a bit leery of it.

After the trip was over, he wrote back that it was “pussy,” and that the hikes that we went on through the local hills when he was younger were far more arduous, and that he had laughed at the platoon leaders all the way back to base.

[TEXOKIE]

LOL! Lovely theory!

um...Is that how the pants ended up on the roof???

[yorkiemom]

Personally, I recommend moleskin.

That's what I have in my hiking packs and bug out bags. Good stuff!

[TEXOKIE]

so if I use the petroleum jelly, does it even matter which kind of socks are worn??

(LOL! and ewwww re the axle grease!)

[TEXOKIE]

Thanks. In my case, typically it involves the area in the ball of my foot at the base of the 3 inner toes. Would I put moleskin on each side, or would I place moleskin over the whole ball? And I’ve also tried changing shoes, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference. My limit for tolerance seems at this time to be 2 miles. It’s weird.

[editor-surveyor]

>> “Why do all these Preppers think that they’re going to be in a very specific disaster type of scenario? Who said that the planet will be in a ‘MADMAX’ mode?” <<

.
Can we start with God’s word, and common sense for starters?

Does the phrase “after the tribulation of those days” suggest something other than the life of a couch potato to you?

[JRandomFreeper]

Above 7000ft ASL, in the high desert, my heels crack badly. Petroleum jelly on the heels and on the lips stops a lot of cracked skin.

If I'm not going more than about 4 or 5 miles on foot, cactus slime works ok, but it dries out pretty quickly.

/johnny

[TEXOKIE]

Oh wow! thanks for the links!

[TEXOKIE]

If I’m at altitude, or going to be doing a lot of shank’s mare transport, I slather on petroleum jelly, before I put on my socks. You get used to the squishy feel.

And it makes your feet as soft as a baby’s bottom, if you keep doing it.

I LIKE the idea of softer feet!

Thanks to both of you!

[editor-surveyor]

>> “If I’m at altitude, or going to be doing a lot of shank’s mare transport, I slather on petroleum jelly, before I put on my socks.” <<

.
Something that I have found to be even better is “vapo rub” which is the jelly with herbal oils added.

It controls fungi and bacteria quite well, which is good when you have to go days without changing socks or washing.

[yorkiemom]

I LIKE the idea of softer feet!

My feet are rock hard. And when they split, it is painful! I put Vaseline in old socks before going to bed when it gets that way -and it makes the skin soft enough to scrape off with one of those heel scrapers.

To all - sorry for the rather icky post....

[yorkiemom]

Is it the lack of humidity that causes it? I’m at 7200’, but don’t notice it any drier than the valley floor.

[TEXOKIE]

That is interesting about the vapo rub. Makes sense.

With the suggested sock changes, moleskin usage, petroleum jelly, and vapo rub suggestions, surely out of all of that I can find at least one that will solve my problem!

Very sincere thanks to all!

[JRandomFreeper]

I've been in the middle of friggin' nowhere, and got caught changing socks. It's like being an NCO in the field and being clean shaven when the troops are all sporting 5 o'clock shadows. Ya gotta cheat.

I don't EVER go days without changing socks.

In sporty times, I've been known to change socks 3 times a day.

If your feet don't work, about all you can do is a Thermopylae. And I'm not big on that.

/johnny

[yorkiemom]

Another thing to put on my shopping list and in my bags. Thanks!

[editor-surveyor]

Tex, I’m 68 years old, and spend at least three days a week carrying my surveying equipment up into steep wooded hills, sometimes 70 to 80 lbs of it at a time (plus the extra 100 lbs of body weight that I’ve added over the years), and have found that the vaporub really does the trick to control foot irritations.