The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 10, Issue 23
Hey folks, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. Soon after this sends out to everyone Wednesday morning, I’ll be headed to the hospital for outpatient surgery. If all goes as planned, I’ll be home the same day and back to work in a day or two at most. However, I’m disappointed that I’ll be missing the Bark River Grind-In this coming weekend.
For those not familiar with that event, twice a year Bark River Knives allows people to come to their facility and make their own knife, using their equipment and supplies. It is always great to see everyone and I try to get to as many of them as I can. I’ll miss this one, but I’ll be there for the one in September.
Fingers crossed all goes well with surgery and recovery. It is a very common procedure, so I’m not too concerned about it, other than the downtime.
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I don’t follow many YouTube channels, due to a lack of time more than anything else. However, I was thrilled to find out recently that City Prepping featured a couple of my books in one of their recent videos. You can see that video here.
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Father’s Day is coming up fast. That being the case, and me being a dad myself, I thought I’d put together a short list of possible gifts the dads in your life might like. Trust me, he doesn’t want a new tie.
None of these are affiliate links. None of these companies asked me to do this. I’m just hoping to pass along some suggestions.
DLT Trading Gift Card - DLT Trading is my dealer of choice for knives and such. Good prices, outstanding customer service, fastest shipping in the industry.
Shackleton EDC Satchel - Tuff Possum Gear is a great company putting out some outstanding gear.
Mudbug by Smith & Sons - This is a great folding knife, traditionally styled and made to last.
Exotac toolROLL - This is an awesome way to keep tools, knives, and other small items easily organized.
Travel Tray - I love PNW Bushcraft’s stuff. These little travel trays are really neat and work well to keep small items together on a table or dresser top.
EDC Hank - Every guy should have a good hank and these are some of the best in the business. Great patterns and exceptionally high-quality construction.
Introduction to Animal Tracking Pocket Field Guide - If the dad in your life has an interest in nature, this is an outstanding way for them to expand their knowledge.
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Earlier today, I saw a current sales report for THE URBAN PREPPER GUIDE. Man, that book really died on the vine. Sold fairly well out of the gate, then pretty much faded away. I’m a little bummed about that, as I thought it was a very well-designed book. Granted, the Kindle edition wasn’t done well, as the formatting wasn’t user-friendly, but I still thought the hard copy edition would sell better.
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Stumbled on this news story from late last year. The gist of it is that a guy named Jay Withey in Erie County, New York ventured out into that historic blizzard they had back in December to help a friend who was stranded. Along the way, he picked up another person named Mike who had been trying to walk through the snowstorm. Withey never made it to his friend, though, as his own truck got stuck.
With just a quarter tank of gas left, Withey knew he and Mike were in trouble. He went to every house on the street and asked for shelter for the night, and was turned away by every single person. He called the police and was told that due to the storm conditions, they weren’t sending anyone out. However, upon being asked, they did inform him that they’d rescued the friend he’d originally set out to find.
Eventually, Withey found a nearby school and broke in, shepherding Mike inside, as well as an elderly woman they’d saved along the way. He then went back out and found several other stranded motorists and brought them to the school. All told, he rescued about ten people, several of them elderly.
Once everyone was in the school, Withey managed to shut off the blaring alarm, scrounge up some cereal and apples for people to eat, and find mats for everyone to lay on to get some sleep. The next morning, they pulled snowblowers from the janitor’s closet and used those to dig out their vehicles.
Kudos to Jay Withey for not only thinking outside the box to find shelter, but for saving all of those people.
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Our hike this week was a nice, albeit warm, walk on a state forest trail. We left the pups at home, as it was a little too hot for them. We were both a sweaty mess by the time we got back to the car.
Survival Tip – Summer-Related Vehicle Tips
As the weather heats up, here are some things to keep in mind regarding your vehicle emergency kits/supplies.
Don’t keep clear glass or plastic bottles inside the car without covering them. If the angle is just right, they can act like a magnifying glass when sunlight hits them, potentially causing a fire.
It doesn’t take long for the car’s interior to heat up dramatically after it’s parked. If it’s 85°F outside, within 20 minutes the inside of that car can hit 114°F. What I recommend is keeping a cooler in your trunk and storing any temperature sensitive items in there. I’m not saying to add ice or cooling packs every day, though. Just the cooler alone will help keep the temperature a little more moderate, provided it is the trunk. Therefore, if you are keeping food on hand in case of emergencies, toss it in the cooler. You could even wrap it in a towel for added insulation.
Don’t go anywhere without bringing along some water, just in case. How you store it is up to you. Some people shy away from plastic bottles, and that’s fine. But find a solution that works for you. If you break down somewhere on a hot day, you’re going to want to have some water on hand as you might be there a while. True story – our SUV broke down on our way home from dropping our son off at college a couple of years ago. It was late August and pretty darn hot out. We have roadside assistance coverage with our car insurance, so we called them for a tow. It took seven hours for them to finally get a truck out there. To this day, I still haven’t received an adequate explanation as to why.
While we usually think of those reflective emergency blankets as a way to keep warm, they can also be used to keep you cool. If you’re stranded, put them over the car with the reflective side facing out. That way, the sun’s rays will bounce away, rather than heat up the inside of the vehicle. It won’t be like air conditioning, but it’ll help.
Stay safe this summer. Don’t get overheated, drink lots of water, and put on sunscreen.
Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide
For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for both Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide magazines. Here are the covers for the current issues that are available in stores right now.
You can find them just about anywhere magazines are sold, including:
Walmart
Sam's Club
Costco
Publix
Walgreens
Rite Aid
CVS
Tractor Supply
Fleet Farm
Barnes & Noble
At this time, there are no subscriptions available. Both magazines are newsstand only and print only, no electronic editions.
Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?
I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.