"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Mar 2014 11:12:13 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
. ..
On Sat, 15 Mar 2014 00:52:20 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
"Larry Jaques" wrote in
message
m...
I'm looking to the post-SHTF scenarios. 12 lbs are certainly
carryable, if not likeable.
I don't think SHTF is likely, but BTDT.
Look at the vulnerability of our grid, its age, etc. and tell me
that
again. I dare ya. 
sigh
Ice storms destroy large areas of our grid but the power is back on
again in a week.
Were those overload cascade failures, as a coronal ejection, etc.
could cause?
Nope, ice-laden trees fall on the wires. Usually they pull the wires
loose, sometimes they take down poles. The sky flashes green or
purplish when the 19.9KV line on top arcs. I don't know the extent of
damage to transformers, and there seems to be a good stock of spares.
The power companies have become much more diligent about trimming
overhanging branches along the road so maybe the threat is less now.
Britain, Germany and Japan made a big show of operating as normally
as
possible despite the bombing. Only physical invasion in Germany and
the nukes in Japan halted the functioning of their societies.
Yabbut, when the entire society is bombed at one time...
Things are a whole lot different today, in most ways. JIT stocking
for the stores, complete indifference by most citizens (and most
gov'ts) about preparedness, and on and on.
In that extreme case I think we would revert to armed roving bands and
you might be better off joining one than being their prey. What
outdoorsman survival skills can you offer them?
Here in snow country the roads are impassable several times each
winter and people have learned to deal with it. A week without power
is just an annoyance. The towns and utilities have a lot of heavy
equipment to quickly reopen blocked or washed-out roads and repair the
infrastructure.
http://www.ccdx.org/scrapbook/SurryF...05/flood05.htm
My mountain hikes and wilderness canoe trips ran to a week or so,
limited by vacation time and the food I could carry.
Today, wouldn't you carry a different stock of food and necessities?
Tuna and granola bars now come in foil-lined packets, otherwise
there's not much difference. Mountain House packets were good enough
but expensive. I just didn't want empty non-biodegradable containers
rotting in my pack.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/
Suddenly Salad and its generic versions are a reasonable lower-cost
light-weight alternative that's not hard to clean from the pot if you
mix it with powdered creamer instead of mayonnaise packets. The
difficult cleanup without hot running water was why I didn't carry mac
and cheese, or eggs. There are boiling-bag instant meals but I don't
remember their names. Fortunately I eat to live instead of living to
eat, and liked what the Army fed us in the field.
That's precisely why keeping a couple week stock of food in the
vehicle is a potentially life-saving idea. Forget the 72-hr bag.
Make
it two weeks when possible, in case you simply can't -get- home.
In Germany I took my VW when sent on a repair mission in the middle of
the night. It had a winter sleeping bag and a case of C-rats on the
floor so I could live in it when necessary, sometimes more comfortably
than the accommodations the field site offered, or pull into the woods
for the night if I was falling asleep on the long drives home. I added
an outlet in the dash to plug in a 6VDC electric razor so I didn't
need hot water to pass inspection in the morning.
Around here food and water in the car freezes in winter and overheats
in summer. I stopped carrying a water bottle after one froze, cracked,
then melted and flooded the drawer under the seat.
You can survive for about 3 days without water, weather dependent, and
over a week without food. It's more critical to stay warm and dry.
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/s...-and-water.htm
"The fat goes next, which explains why people with more of it can
survive longer."
http://www.historynet.com/eddie-rick...ific-ocean.htm
jsw