I recently attended a 60-hour, Search and Rescue (SAR) qualifying course. The class is required by both the SAR team I volunteer on, and as a member of the special operations team at my EMS day job. The class spent a couple days (and one night) in the woods. I though I would share a few training observations and campout lessons learned.
Hiking 101: How to Start Hiking
I absolutely love hiking. We live within the boundaries of a National Forest, and a short drive from two federally-designated wilderness areas. Our house is only an hour’s drive to another National Park. We see a lot of people in the woods, many of whom are grossly unprepared, and we’ve taken our fair share of newbies for their first “real” hike. Here is the advice I would give a beginner on how to start hiking.
Basics of Wilderness Survival Shelter Building
The ability to build a wilderness survival shelter is one of the most critical survival skills you can possess. Being stranded outdoors can be lethal without the ability to protect yourself from the elements. Shelter provides you protection from the elements: rain/snow, wind, cold, and beating sun. An effective shelter also provides a huge psychological boost and a sense of security.
Know a Knot: The Swiss Seat
Welcome back to Know a Knot! It’s been a while, but you asked for it! This time we’re talking about the Swiss seat. The Swiss seat is a knot that is tied around your body to form an expedient rappelling harness. It’s not exactly a knot, but knowing how to tie one is pretty important if you’re a serious outdoorsman. Let’s get into it.
Basic Skills: How To Change Your Own Oil
Knowing how to change your own oil is a very basic step in becoming more mechanically proficient. I’m not a mechanic by any means, but I have changed my own oil for a long time now. If your car’s hood is a sealed mystery box and you want to get a little more familiar, learning how to change your own oil is a really approachable first step.
First Aid: The Paramedic Jump Bag
A while back I wrote an article about my home first aid kit. One criticism I received really stuck with me. I was told my recommendations were “too EMT” for the average individual. Today I would like to put my little home first aid kit into perspective by showing you the contents of a paramedic jump bag.
Extreme Winter Weather Preparedness
Winter is no longer coming – it has arrived! Last weekend we woke up to over a foot of snow outside. I thought I would share a few of our preparations and lessons-learned from this event. There’s nothing new or ground-breaking, but hopefully some of our lessons can be helpful to your own winter weather preparedness plan.
Supply Chain Crisis Preparedness
The buzzword on everyone’s tongue lately is “supply chain crisis.” Due to a complex combination of lack of labor, shipping, and whatever else, the supply chain is experiencing some strain. This is causing shortages of certain items and rising prices on everything else. If you need a written invitation to start getting prepared, this is it. Before I talk about that, let’s put the “crisis” in perspective.
A Personal Financial Preparedness Methodology
This post is a guest post. The author is a friend who cares deeply about financial preparedness. I was more than happy to publish his thoughts here, and I believe you will enjoy this article. Above all, I hope it helps someone out there! The author would like to remain anonymous, but if you have feedback you can reach him through me. Let’s get into it!
2022: Goals for the Year Ahead
In what has is rapidly becoming something of a tradition here, I’m going to post my New Years’ Resolutions for 2022. Though it is unpopular to have New Years’ Resolutions, what should be unpopular is breaking them. I do a pretty decent job with mine. What are you going to do this year to make yourself better, stronger, smarter, healthier, and more capable than you are now?