Posted on 12/22/2011 9:11:03 PM PST by Kartographer
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico - Rescuers on Wednesday pulled a family from a sport utility vehicle that had been buried in a snowdrift on a rural highway in the southwestern state of New Mexico for nearly two days.
State police said rescuers had to dig through 4 feet of ice and snow to free the Higgins family, whose red GMC Yukon got stuck on the highway when a blizzard moved through the area Monday.
Rescuers found David and Yvonne Higgins and their 5-year-old daughter Hannah clinging to each other and lethargic early Wednesday morning. The family is recovering at Miners Colfax Medical Center in Raton.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Cord is definitely a good idea.
I hope no one misunderstood my suggestions to include actually burning sterno (or any flame) in a closed environment or an environment with restricted air flow. I assume people know better than that.
I bought a used Jeep Cherokee last year. It's a 1998, plain Jane with the 4.0, auto, and 4x4. It came shod with some cheap Chinese tires - I can't even think of the brand name right now, and I've been driving it for 18 months. We've had recent snow and icy roads here. In 4x4 mode, that Jeep has handled what's been thrown at it (snow, ice, mud, water, sand). I'm really impressed what those tires can actually handle. They're certainly not the best, but they haven't let me down yet.
That being said, after looking at several reviews, my next set will be some General Grabbers.
I hear you. We live in Central NY which is no stranger to snow and BAD driving conditions.
It's astounding the number of people even here who seem to think that SUV alone is enough. I have an SUV and put the best snow tires I could find on it. I don't expect to get stuck ANYWHERE this winter, but also know better than to tempt fate and go out when conditions are too bad. You respect the weather, not drive like you're invincible.
Heck, in parts of CNY, even the snow plows have gotten stuck. Up near Watertown when it has happened, they had to get a tank from Ft. Drumm to pull it out.
That's why I'm well stocked with anything. Just in case we have a bad winter, I'm not having to run out for toilet paper or bread.
You don't mess with bad weather.
They think along the lines that it's OK as long as it doesn't produce smoke.
The first of that family's mistakes was thinking they could ignore the bad weather. No yellow line, snow so deep it's stopping your vehicle and at some point you pass the snow plow or it leaves you. Buy a clue. They should have had the sense to turn back long before that or not even have left the hotel that morning.
Storing it in you car is not a problem but best to keep it in the truck. Also, you need to make sure it is not the type that is made with a methanol based alcohol. You have to keep in mind that each can will provide you no more than 45 minutes to an hour and a half cooking time depending on what size you select. That's better than nothing but there are better things to carry than Sterno.
Great idea on the survivors tape. I had never heard of that. I always dropped little pieces of bread as I walked but nobody every found me that way. I did notice quite a few animals following me though.
Seriously, the survivors tape is really a good tip. I would not have thought of it. Shows what I know.
Thank you, Ghost of Philip Marlowe! That is exactly what I will do. I have several old backpacks in the basement (from the kids) and can use them. Thanks!
My problem has always been driving through the creek, then the silt that gets deposited on this side and then the mud wallow at the end of the pasture closest to the house. My favorite has been the Kelly Safari AWR mud tires. I don’t think KelIy makes them now. If they’ll shed mud and not turn into slicks, they’ll do the same with snow. I always got decent life out of the Kellys.
They do make noise going down the road.
It's a Jeep. They'll just help to cover the other noises it makes going down the road.
I came up with that watching some surveyors in the woods. It doesn’t take up much space, doesn’t rely on “sticky” tape (you just tie it), and you can get it cheap at Wal-Mart.
Exactly. But people think with a big SUV they’re invincible.
They’re lucky to be alive.
“You have to keep in mind that each can will provide you no more than 45 minutes to an hour and a half cooking time depending on what size you select. That’s better than nothing but there are better things to carry than Sterno.”
I’m interested in your ideas. I have been meaning to get together a winter kit for the car. (There are always two 72 hours kits, with rations, matches, extra clothes, etc. anyway, but I have no formal vehicular kit). I have thought about getting some chaffing fuel from Sam’s club. It’s only a dollar or two per can, and the cans say they have a 6 hour burn time. I wouldn’t try to use them for heat, necessarily, but melting snow outside or such, maybe. Also, if you want to, you can make the toilet paper/paint can stove and use simple rubbing alcohol, but it has water in it, and eventually fills with water/gums up. It’s easy to turn 70% rubbing alcohol into the 90%+, or you can just buy the more expensive 90% rubbing alcohol to lessen the water problem.
Either way, if you could share some vehicle heating ideas, I’m interested. Thanks, and Merry Christmas!
“That’s why I’m well stocked with anything. Just in case we have a bad winter, I’m not having to run out for toilet paper or bread.”
Agreed. I have been blessed with God’s providence, and with life experiences and forsight to never have (in my adult life) to live in a situation where I could not afford the basic necessities of life. That having been said, I could never, ever, ever, imagine going throught life without having enough food to make it through a “storm.” In a vehicle is one thing, but in your own house!? I see the people on the news who rush to the store for a storm, and I don’t understand how they can be without food for a few days. Seriously? A ten dollar bag of rice (25 lbs), will easily feed a grown man for 10 days, and that’s if he’s eating a nearly 4000 calorie diet. Buy two, and add a bag beans for about the same cost, and you have a month worth of food for 30 dollars (4000 calories, mind you). It may not taste great, but spices aren’t much either.
Now, I’m not advocating to live off of beans and rice (Most of the world does!), but surely people could have a reserve even on little income. It’s about priorities for the most part. I realize this is a tough economic time, and that the cost of stuff is rising, but I find it hard to believe that a family who cooks their own meals could not have money to have a bit of a reserve. It’s not my place to tell someone how to live their life, but I certainly can see prudent choices, and advocate some guidelines.
That having been said, I’m with you. What’s a years worth of toilet paper cost? Not much. Our household uses about 2 rolls a week. Or, 100 rolls a year. 9-Packs of mega rolls, cost $6 this week at the store. So, about 75 dollars, I can buy a years worth of toilet paper, and then just spend 20 or so dollars every 3 months, and never have to worry about running out of toilet paper again, and at any given time, be ready for about a year if needed. I know that you’re well stocked, so I’m just saying for anyone out there, use your head. It may seem like there’s no money now, but you can usually find some place to cut back. You get the added bonus of not running out on the week that it’s 15 dollarsa package, or whatever it will be in the remainder of the depression.
I’m getting off on a tangent, but, for example, an internet phone, for instance, is 3 dollars per month. A phone number with it, can all be had for about 80 dollars per year. That’s one 80 dollar charge per year, with free long distance, sometimes to multiple countries. Most house phones cost over 35 dollars PER MONTH, with all of the federal taxes added on. I’m just encouraging people to be creative. Sure, it may be a little ding for the moment, but then you have a whole year of savings. I used to pay 60 dollars per month for a cell phone. I switched to prepaid, that has just texts (for convenience) and 10 cents per minute if I really have to use it (like for emergencies). Then I got an internet phone and paid 30 dollars for 3 months (it’s cheaper if you pay for a year). So I am able to have my cell, and a house phone for 25 dollars per month, and save 35 dollars a month, or 400 a year. That can be used for other things, etc. Anyway, metmom, I know you probably know all this, but I really hope that people start to be more self reliant. It’s important that people learn to live with an eye to tomorrow and not just fly by the seat of their pants. Take care, God bless, and have a very Merry Christmas.
Alcohol stoves are fine, but I prefer the Sterno for a situation like that. I’d only use it as you suggested, to melt snow/ice, maybe boil it for sterilization, and to warm soup or make hot chocolate. I like the fact that it is a gel so that it won’t spill. I just buy a couple of the two-packs and throw them in with the gear.
72-hour kits are fine, too. You just have to prepare for possibly very cold weather, being stuck in a vehicle bound by snow, etc. so you need wool blankets, maybe a couple of the space blankets (keeping in mind that space blankets do keep you warm while you’re inside, but they make you sweat quite a bit, which increases your need for water).
That’s good advice. I am originally from Vegas, where I onyl saw it snow 3-4 times, and I assure you, I was never worried about becoming snowbound. I now live in Zone 4, where it is currently 7º, and snows easily 8 months of the year (it can snow all month, but typically never past June, yippee!).
I have always kept an extra sweater, jacket, gloves and wool socks in the truck, and the emergency kits have some space blankets, but I should add a real one (wool, etc). You make good notes about them making you sweat. I never had that problem for long, because I’ve used a few (as a boy) in scouts and they always ripped/shredded. I have been worried about that ever since. I have had to build emergency shelters and sleep in them, and by no means care to do that, haha. Luckily I never travel far from home much, and the road I live off of is the one that gets from my very small town (1500 people) to the bigger town (50,000 people), that’s about 20 minutes away. Everyday people travel that road extensively, and home is only a few hours walk from anywhere in the valley. But the fear is always there!
Back on the subject of the emergency blankets, I have seen these in the stores that looks like bubble wrap and is mylar on the one side and red on the outside. They run about 15 dollars. I’m just curious if anyone has used that type, because they seem less likely to shred. They’re a bit more bulky, but I’d be less worried about it. I may take the money and just buy one, I suppose, but was curious if anyone had seen/used them.
Also, did flares become more regulated, because I have been unable to find any in the stores here, which seems very odd. They used to be in all the big box stores.
Yeah, I sure am aware of how to cut costs like that.
I constantly get ribbed about what I have in stock but when it’s not there, the whining commences.....
LOL. I hear ya. Luckily my dad came from pioneer stock, and although he just missed the depression (’44), his parents raised the first 4 though it (there were 14 kids in his family, he was numbe 5). He made sure there was always food in the house, and I got that from him. He once, after being married a year or two to mom, had to go out on New Years to buy my mom some horseradish. Ever after he made sure that if it was on the menu on a winter holiday, that it had better be in the house days in advance, lol. The stern warning came to mom, that “If you want it, you better tell me now.” No last minute trips for anything after that. Which ended up serving him well after he retired to the boonies of Ohio, where the nearest large store (Walmart type) is over 2 hours away. Now, last minute runs aren’t even an option!
I’m not familiar with the space blankets you describe. Go to REI or Amazon or Cabelas and see what the reviews are before you buy. I find that if you read 20 or so reviews, dump the extremes, and find the average, they’re usually pretty good guides to what is good and reliable and what is not.
As far as the flares, I have never had trouble getting them, so I don’t know if some states are restricting them. I get flares at the local True Value hardware store. They also sell them in the Pep Boys and Autozones. They are dirt cheap, and since they can be used for a variety of purposes (signal, flame source, scare a predator away) I consider them an easy add.
Good luck out there.
Hey. My IH Travelall has a Dana 60 on the back and a Dana 40 on the front. Were these known to have had a problem breaking, or was it the factory IH axles?
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