Be Prepared

Even when Dad and I go out to play just for the day, with a group of people, we still take all our survival gear. It is better to be overly prepared than lost in the woods and no equipment. Maybe it's because Dad did Search and Rescue in his younger years, and both our boys gave 4 years to our local Search and Rescue team that I'm anal about being prepared.

   



We always carry with us:

1. Fire starting material:  flint and steel, wind proof matches, hatchet, and lint from our dryer ( works great as tender if you can't find anything near by. Some people I know use cotton balls dipped in wax)
2. First Aid Kit
3. Tarps for making shelter
4. Ropes 
5. 6 gallons of water. Water is good for drinking, cleansing, and putting out unwanted fires.
6. Water filtration system.
7. Food for several days per person. ( yes even if we are planning just a few hour trip I load the cooler up and toss it in) 
8. Hand and foot warmers
9. Several different weight jackets. I live in the Pacific Northwest. Weather can change quickly. 
10. Dry socks. 
11. Hat
12. If  Dad and I are going out alone we toss the chain saw in. We use this for clearing trails and for fire wood for the camp fire. 
13.  I NEVER leave home with out my Spot Locator device. I have the basic device with basic plan. Makes my family feel much better about Dad and I playing in the woods. 
14. Survival Knife
15. Shovel
16. and stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting several things that are always in the rigs

This list does not include tools and other such gear we carry all the time.

4 days of gear for 4 people

Another big thing is making sure someone knows where you are going to be. So if you are not home by X time or day they can send out the Calvary to find you.  Again Spot serves me well. I check in when I start my journey and it post on facebook we are OK and our location. I check in several times during the day and again one last time when we get home or back to camp for the night. That way there is always record of our last know GPS location.  Spot also has a 911 button so if we do have an emergency like being lost or injured so badly we can't make it out of the woods we can get help to us. I never want to have to look the SAR people in the face and say I'm sorry I wasn't prepared! I also don't want to be "that" story on the news. 

OH and NEVER rely 100% on your GPS. Get maps of the area. Look them over and get somewhat familiar with where you are and where you are going! 

Because we carry all that and more we can go to places like this and not worry so much about the what if's while we are there! We took care of the worrying while packing our bags! 

Play Safe and Tread Lightly
Mom