On Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:26:29 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:11:51 -0800, the infamous Gunner Asch
scrawled the following:
I got stuck up on the top of the Grapevine Wed. when they closed
Interstate 5 when the rain turned to ice, then snow. Almost 24 hours in
a Jack in the Box parking lot at about 4800 feet elevation with winds
going as high as 50 mph.
I got really lucky coming home between storms last Tuesday. I ended up
at Weed in a 50-mile traffic jam on frozen I-5, but it was just
breaking up. I was only delayed a few minutes, then slowly crept up to
45mph over the next 5 miles. I only wish I could have slept an extra
couple hours and avoided that altogether. I brought a head cold home
from CA with me. Ugh!
http://www.zicam.com/
Works for me whenever I feel a cold coming on. And Ive not lost my sense
of smell. G
I had Carhart insulated coveralls, a down filled sleeping bag, my normal
BOB with water, SVEA stove, food, the usual. I was wearing work jeans
and a nice thick cable knit turtleneck sweater.
Sounds like "you silly survivalists" have it made in times like that.
Gee....arent we all crazy bunker dwellers?
In the aftermath of the 83 Coalinga earthquake, when I fed and sheltered
my neighbors...a couple admitted that they had thought me a bit "off"
for worrying about earthquakes..until they lost their homes to one.
Also had a 20 lb bag of dogfood for the two aussi pups I travel with.
No comment. sigh On second thought, WTF do you do with the dogs
while you're working those -long- days?
Many shops, they go in with me. The rest of the time, they spend it in
or under the truck. During the heat of the summer, they stay home if Im
going into a shop they cant go into...usually one of the big megacorps
that takes forever to pay their bills...
A number of my regulars look forwards to them visiting. After I lost my
original dog Opie 6 months ago (damn I still miss him!), I got about 15
condolences cards from clients.
As an exercise, I cooked 3 meals out of my BOB, romped with the dogs in
the snow, read a lot, rearrainged the sideboxes of my service truck etc
etc.
I didn't have time to break out my book, as I was busy watching all
the truckers put chains on. Then a Chippie drove down our side of the
freeway and used his megaphone to tell the truckers that the way had
been cleared and that chains were unnecessary but OK to leave on.
I hope you didnt jump right in..
The first wave out of the gate tends to get into accidents and slow
downs for a half hour or so. Wait a bit before joining the parade. Like
leaving an airplane or movie theater.
I didnt run the engine but a few hours, and then only to recharge the
battery as I was doing Stuff on the laptop, connected via inverter
through the cig lighter plug. Watched some DVDs, kept the cell phone
charged etc.
Ah, DVDs help pass the time, too.
I did however use the potty in the JITB, but had butt wipe, baby wipes
etc just in case of a real emergency. I hate taking a dump in the snow
when wearing coveralls. I tend to **** in the neck by not getting them
low enough and in a full parking lot...propriety and all that.
Oh, what a horrid picture that made...
Particularly when you dont realize it until after you pull up the
coveralls...and the warmness and stench hits you. in the back of the
neck.......
CHP came by a couple times, checked to make sure I was ok.... Comments
were made that they were tickled ****less when they pulled up, as I was
sitting in the falling snow on a tool box, cooking Spam and beans in my
East German cook set, the dogs stretched out on a piece of carpet,
reading a paperback and listening to talk radio, with the CB and police
scanner were running in the background, while most of the others in the
cars around me in the parking lot were freezing their asses off,
listening to whimpering kids sniveling bout being cold/bored/no tv etc
etc. I did loan a small am/fm/tv to a group who were clustered around
the back of a pickup truck in a semi state of panic/befuddlement.
Heh heh heh. I'll bet that tickled them.
Ayup..they said I was one they werent going to have to worry about
rescuing on the mountain during snow or rain.
When it was time to sleep, I simply laid the front bucket seat back,
crawled into my mummy bag. and nodded off. I woke up about 9 peaceful
hours later, with the dogs cuddled up to me, the inside of the truck
Only a two-dog night, eh?
G At home in Taft..its usually a 4 dog night.
fairly warm from the body heat (only got down to about 15F outside,
probably 45F inside (Id turned the truck when it got dark, with the back
of the work shell facing the WIND! intentionally), stepped out, took a
**** next to the truck, the dogs doing the same, dug out the stove,
fired up coffee again, and fed and watered the pups, and finished the
book I was reading, then out of boredom, rearrainged the service shell,
organized my tools, ate another meal of Spam and rice and the leftover
baked beans. I didnt find out till a few minutes before they opened the
freeway again that there was a WIFI access point at the truckstop a 1/4
mile away, else Id have camped there, upwind of the idling big rigs and
spent my time farting around on the net. If you ever get stuck in the
cold in a truckstop...stay upwind of the trucks, else you will be
sniffing diesel fumes for the duration. Been there, done that. Uggg.
Ugh! Good tip. I ditto that when camping, to camp upwind of all the
other smoky, plastic-burning fires the idiots light and corrupt.
I did discover that Id been remiss when I packed my winter BOB...I
somehow misplaced my insulated gloves. So I had to wear a pair of lined
welding gloves as Ive a bit of arthritis in both hands and cold tends to
stiffen em up unless I stick em in my pockets.
Got checklists?
I used to. Mea culpa. I keep my winter/summer gear in rubbermaid tubs
and swap them out usually in late October, this time I didnt check for
the gloves. Already made right.
I figured I was good for another 3-5 days before Id have to seek out
resupply. I was not the only prepared individual, there were at least 5
more vehicles that apparently use good sense when traveling through the
mountains in the winter time...as they were also doing pretty much as I
was. Not counting those in motorhomes of course. Shrug.
I carry enough water and granola bars for a few days, and I have a
small BOB in the truck with tarp, survival blanket, compass, rope,
gloves, first aid kit, meds, survival whistle, mag fire starter, and
other goodies. I may start keeping the propane stove in the truck,
too, at least during winter trips...Then again, I don't think I'll try
that one again. I'd convinced my sister to drive her 4WD SUV up to my
house for Christmases but Mom didn't feel like it this year. $150
worth of chains later, I drove down between storms, with no ice or
snow on the freeway on the way down. I hit a massive rainstorm on 505
before hitting light fog and then the remnants of the snowstorm at
Weed and then the Siskiyous. Truckers have a rugged existence out
there.
You paid $150 for chains????? Crom! Check the second hand stores,
Salvation army etc during the spring and summer until you find the right
size for your rig. Ive never paid more than $5 for a brand new bag of
tire chains in the proper sizes. Ive got about 5 sets kicking around,
for vehicles I dont even own anymore.
And take the time to learn how to put them on!!! The morons were paying
$150 for chains, and $40 for some schmuck to put them on. Friday I
showed the owners of my favorite tavern how to put on the brand new pair
they had to buy coming back from Vegas..after paying $45 to have some
yutz put them on. Only takes 5 minutes if you have practiced
before,even in the snow.
The cable "chains" are usually good enough for the limited use you are
likely to get. They store well in a .50 cal ammo can in sizes up to 18"
truck tires. and easy to put up on the shelf or store in the trunk.
I keep 2 sets, a traction set of real chain and a steering set of cable.
I dont usually have deep snow, just black ice and with rear wheel
drive..something on the front helps steerage. Both fit in a 50 cal can.
Down sleeping bags are fragile and are miserable when wet, but crush
well and go into a very small package easy to tuck behind the seat. You
can get one rated down to about 20F in a 50 cal can easily enough. Ive
bags rated down to -40 I use for snow camping..but they tend to bulk up
and are harder to store in a service truck used daily. If you only put
one in when you are going someplace special...they work fine, but you
generally dont need one rated that low unless high high in the
mountains, when sleeping in a vehicle. Btw...a regular 8 hour plumbers
candle, will warm the inside of a vehicle really well, particularly if
you can get shelter from the wind, or buried in the snow. Just keep a
window cracked 3/8"..wind wing is best.
Check the second hand stores for tents. A dome tent with fly usually
costs less than $6. Toss your tarp over it, weight it down with snow
around the edges and it will keep you very very warm down to below zero
with a candle, etc. And most dome tents will hold up the weight of a
layer of snow, which simply adds exta insulation and makes it warmer.
Never ever set one up on the side of the freeway unless you are up close
to the fence. Other side of the fence is prefered. Less likely to be
hit by a truck skidding out of control or a plow missing the snow
stakes.
Course there were at least 80 cars in the parking lot.....talked to a
few people about winter preps when traveling, when they came by to chat
and smell the food cooking. Chuckle...though a few hinted..I didnt
offer any to anyone. Hunger is a good teacher. So is being cold and
wet.
Good man. LOL! I'll bet they all carry at least minimal BOBs from
now on.
Probably not. To most of them..its a once in a life time experince they
can tell their family about and then forget. Until the next time.
Apathy or stupidity...or both. Shrug
I gave a few dollars to a group of latinos and their kids to buy some
food at the JITB...Guatamalans. Probably illegal. They came from some
village way the **** up in the mountains in Guatamala, so the cold didnt
bother em, but they were caught unaware that it can snow in California.
Shrug.
JITB tacos are a staple for me, and at 2 for a buck, cheap enough to
feed a family.
Ayup, though the $1.29 Big Cheeseburger has more protein and calories,
which is more important when in the cold. Tuck in a bag of hard candies
from the 99c store as well.
You can outfit a decent bob for less than $15 from the 99c Only stores
btw. Food, first aid, batteries etc etc etc
A good trial run and one that I do every couple years or so. Nice to
keep the skills and preps up. Ive already found the gloves and added a
couple more books to the BOB and replaced the consumed foods. It was
time to recycle em anyways.
Yes, books in the BOB. I have a survival handbook. I'll add the SAS
book, too, and my LED book light. I have stainless camping silverware
but didn't put a metal pan in. I'll add a jar of instant coffee, a tin
of roast beast, a stainless mug,stainless pie plate, and 1qt stainless
pot to the new food BOB.
http://www.omahas.com/popup_image.php?pID=959&image=0
You can pick these up often for $5-10 dollars at gun shows, etc etc.
Work very well and will hold gear/batteries/needle and thread etc along
with some tri-ox tablets for the small Esbit stove that will also fit
inside of it. I prefer the Svea gasoline fuel stoves as I can always
find a pint of white gas or unleaded, unlike propane, butane etc. Even
the microstoves with the (expensive) butane cartridge will eventually
run out..often times at the wrong moment. I can fuel the Svea from the
bleeder valve on my trucks fuel rail as a last resort without resorting
to trying to siphon gas out of the tank. Very easy to make a screw on
adapter to bleed out gas from the Schrader fitting safely.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/...0&CS_010=82426
Ive never paid more than $15 for one, used. I keep a quart aluminum
bottle made to hold fuels with it, and the stove is always full. Summer
and winter. Filled with white gas, as naptha doesnt gum up over long
term like gasoline does. They dont leak and can be easily stored
in...50 cal can or a bit of 6" PVC pipe about 8" long. I wrap it up
with socks and stuff it into the PVC pipe, capped on one end and slip
fit cap on the other. I keep a large Samsonite "gym bag" with day pack,
and all the other goodies inside. Easy to move from vehicle to vehicle,
though each of my vehicles has their own Bob. My daily work truck has
the most complete one, as I never know where Im going to wind up each
week when I leave home for down south. and its nice to know I can get by
if I have to go to Arizona, or get trapped somewhere. And of course I
carry a long gun, couple short guns, and ammo in wearable pouches and
sometimes a small take down spinning rod and gear that fits in a 12"
long tube about 2" in diameter. More for fun than anything. Ultralight
fishing gear is handy as hell. Ive set up my gear for the worst case
that I may have to walk out of the woods, mountain or ghetto. Shrug.
Bad **** happens to nice people and unexpectedly.
Gunner
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
Maj. Gen. John Sedgewick, killed by a sniper in 1864 at the battle of Spotsylvania