The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 12, Issue 21
Hey folks, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. We’re running a bit late this time around. My wife and I spent the last several days camping in northern Wisconsin and exploring numerous waterfalls. It was loads of fun and we’re already planning our next trip. But without anything approximating a reliable internet signal, I’m woefully behind on email, social media messages, and this newsletter.
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The Walworth County Preparedness Expo is this Saturday, May 31st, 9AM-1PM, at Gateway Technical College, located at 400 County Highway H, Elkhorn, WI. This is a free event. We have a bunch of short classes lined up, as well as several vendors. All of the details can be found here.
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One of the more interesting experiences we had during our camping trip involved our sleep system, such as it was. It’s nearly June, so we figured we’d be okay with some blankets and an inflatable mattress. But it got down to about 34F each night, so it was quite a bit chillier than we’d anticipated. I mean, we had checked the forecast and knew intellectually what the low temp was going to be at night, but it didn’t really sink in until that first night. We both ended up in the van before morning, shivering and teeth chattering. The tent we had was inadequate for cold weather, same with our sleep gear.
Rather than go to a store and buy something more robust, we took it as a challenge to overcome. My wife had packed a small pop-up bird blind among our stuff. She suggested we use that to close off the space we needed to keep warm. We opened it halfway, so it was basically a large flat structure that folded in the middle to create something similar to a pup tent in shape. It was just big enough to stretch across the mattress, with the peak about 24 inches high in the middle. We snuggled in under that with our blankets and covered the open end with a sheet of plastic. It worked pretty well and we stayed warm enough each night for the remainder of our trip. It was far from ideal, but we made it through.
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Here are a few of my recent articles for GAT Daily. They are all free to read.
Tying One On – Cordage Options for Survival Kits
Keep It Discreet – Non-Permissive Environment Defense Options
Lumens vs. Candela – Understanding the Differences
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Someone once commented to me that prepping is fear. I asked him for clarification, but he never responded. Taking his comment at face value, I had to give it some thought. Is prepping based in fear?
I can see how an argument could be made that it is. The reasoning being that we’re afraid of what the future holds, so we take steps to mitigate negative potential experiences. I can see how some people would come to that conclusion.
I look at it differently. We acknowledge that the world isn’t always going to play fair and be nice, so we take precautions to reduce our risks of injury or loss. I mean, we don’t buy car insurance because we’re afraid we’ll be in an accident. We buy it because we know that’s always a risk when we go out on the road. Well, that and it’s required by law to have it, but that’s beside the point.
What I’m getting at it is this – don’t let fear dictate your preps. That’s no way to live. If anything, look at it as your preps giving you confidence to tackle the unknown future.
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As I mentioned at the outset of the newsletter, we did a lot of hiking over the weekend. We visited several parks and nature areas, including:
Copper Falls State Park
Pattison State Park
Amnicon Falls State Park
Interstate Falls Park
All of those are in northern Wisconsin. Here are a few photos from the hikes. I did not take photos of the approximately 86 bazillion stairs we had to take to get to a few of the waterfalls.
Survival Tip – Dealing with Responding Officers
If you’re present during a mass shooting or similar event, at some point law enforcement is going to arrive. It’s important to remember that while YOU know you’re not the shooter, THEY might not. Responding officers are going to be tense and have their adrenaline jacked up to 11. They haven’t seen or heard what you perhaps did and they’re coming in blind to a large degree.
Here are some tips on what to do and what to avoid doing.
If you make a call to 911, give them as much information as possible, including your location and a description of what you’re wearing. This way, officers will know where to look for you. Answer the dispatcher’s questions as best you can and stay on the line with them for as long you feel it’s safe to do so.
When you see officers on the scene, do not jump up and run at them unless you are explicitly told to do so. From the officers’ perspective, anything that looks remotely like a threat may be put down hard and fast. If you have a weapon, particularly a firearm, put it down before approach officers. Keep your hands empty and visible.
They are going to be moving quickly. Follow every instruction you are given immediately and to the best of your ability. Communicate with them clearly and share any information you have regarding the shooter and their potential location. Don’t get offended if you’re manhandled a bit throughout your extraction. They’re just wanting to get you to a safe location as quickly as possible. Little bumps and bruises, as well as your ego, will heal.
Backwoods Survival Guide Magazine
For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for Backwoods Survival Guide magazine. Here is the cover for the current issue available in stores right now.
You can find Backwoods Survival Guide just about anywhere magazines are sold, including:
Walmart
Publix
Walgreens
Rite Aid
CVS
Tractor Supply
Fleet Farm
Barnes & Noble
Subscriptions are available here.
Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?
I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.