Guest Article – Mobile Survivalist

MOBILE SURVIVALIST

The guy with a backpack heading off into the hills to survive by hunting and camping has long ago been discredited and dismissed. But it was an idea that had certain advantages. The disadvantage of course was that you would starve, freeze, get eaten by wild animals or a combination of all three. The advantage was that you saved money not needing to buy a retreat ( no small thing at today’s land prices ), you really got away from the crowds and there was a lot less competition for the available food supplies.

Down in settled country you need to trade for food, defend your crops, join a protective association and in general deal with people that don’t have your best interests in mind. Of course I would rather deal with feral people than wild critters such as lions and tigers and bears. If for no other reason than that they are a lot smaller and have no claws. It takes a certain aptitude to survive out in the wilds. Don’t delude yourself into thinking you are Grizzly Adams if you ain’t. You must deal with nature on its terms, not yours.

But if you choose to take to the mountains you become a lot safer, not from nature but at least from man. No one is going to mess with you up in the mountains or in the middle of a vast desert. Or, for that matter, in a sailboat in the ocean. You are mobile, and you are in a wilderness. Two good ways to avoid unreasonable people. Because lets face it, man is a predator and despite political correct brainwashing from our handlers, left outside of the safe confines of civilized society he will quickly kill you, then abuse your person then eat you. Perhaps in that order.

If you choose this route, again with realistic expectations of the difficulties you will encounter, you will need to make some preparations. You will need to build caches and stock supplies in the wilderness area you intend to inhabit. And besides supplies you need to build your skills. No GPS receivers, you must learn to use a map and compass. You must learn primitive wilderness skills in case your equipment is lost or stolen.

I would stash in small cans and/or PVC pipes to easily carry each cache into its location. While you are there on the weekend you can practice fire starting and snare building and other needed skills which are readily available taught in book form. You will want to stash as much as you can since you never know when the game will get scarce. Your containers should have the cheap stuff, as usual, grains and beans. A shelf stable fat such as lard or shortening, ammunition, matches, etc. Neither the caches nor hunting/trapping foraging by themselves are going to be sufficient to keep you alive and well. You will need both. Don’t start slacking on your stash containers and expect your largely untested skills to do the trick.

You want both grains and beans so as to get a complete protein in times where you can’t get animal flesh. The fats, which I would rotate no less than every five years, are going to be essential keeping you alive in the winters. Ammunition of course can’t be carried in bulk so must be stashed. Spare warm clothes such as thermals and caps and wool socks and sweaters. Matches and toothbrushes and entertainment items such as playing cards and books. Needles and thread, knives, shoelaces, iodized salt. You can’t forget those small critical items or you’ll be making dangerous visits into a settlement.

For weapons I would stick with my bolt action surplus rifle, a few knives and a pistol. You could do with just a .22 rifle and a 357 revolver. The 22 will harass humans that showed up and kill game. The revolver will be some protection against bears and other large dangerous animals. You could afford to stash thousands of rounds of 22 and several hundred revolver rounds. It is less than the ideal arsenal but it is light weight, affordable and long lasting.

In the winter you are going to need to shelter in a good cave or build yourself a small underground cabin. It is going to be cold and you are going to have to try to minimize your wood smoke. An underground shelter will allow you to survive with good clothes and no fire. And you need more than one winter shelter in case you are forced out of one. The same goes for your stashes, have more than one and in different areas. You really need to always assume the worse case scenario. It will save your life.

Don’t forget to really think this one out. Such as getting a metal thermos for “hay box cooking” to cut down on the needed cooking. Or the best longest lasting water filter. And try to have everything backed up as far as equipment. The store isn’t going to be available.

Remember, this isn’t for everyone. Know your limitations. And if we never suffer a collapse you can commit a crime and escape to the wilderness with your caches already there.

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Today’s article is from Jim over at

http://bisonsurvivalblog.blogspot.com