A camp cooking at home solution...

One of the best and oldest camp cooking methods is with a Dutch oven.  Unfortunately understanding temperature control and timing for cooking in one is more art then science. To practice using a Dutch oven on a regular basis like you would in a camp site of in the field is rather difficult in a urban environment.  Since i wanted to become proficient at it, I had a problem, and unless I was willing to kill some grass and clear out a spot for a campfire in my yard, practicing my dutch oven cooking was going to be difficult.  

I looked at tables for Dutch ovens but they were 80 bucks.  Now, i'm not cheap, but I do have higher priorities and I want to spend my prepping dollars carefully.  Since it was my prepping budget that would have to take the hit for this expenditure, that nice 80 dollar dutch oven table would have to stay on the shelf at Gander Mountain and I needed another solution.

Then it came to me that with some scrap wood, and some sand for the charcoal bed to rest in, I could make one myself.  So half an hour later, I had a nice little table built, a peace of scrap tin drilled on top to reflect the heat, and wood trim to hold in some sand.  The perfect place for me to work out my Dutch over recipes.

Now I can practice cooking my breads, cakes, cobblers, stews, and infamous sticky buns, all at home just like i would if I were camping at a state park, all without upsetting the Condo Nazis that frown at me every time I pitch a tent or set up my crossbow target in my yard

What to wear to "the end of the world"?

I know its not a fashion show, and it may seem like a ridiculous and silly idea to be worried about what clothes you have on in a crisis, but its more than a valid idea.  In fact its a rather prudent thought.  If I said I was buying a suit for work, or tennis or some party, or something to wear riding my motor cycle, it wouldn't raise a eyebrow.  So why is it so strange to think about clothes for a crisis?

The cold hard fact is humans are a rather fragile species, and to be honest, clothing plays a big part in protecting us in our environment, and has allowed us to solve problems almost no amount of evolution ever could.  Part of what makes a crisis "a crisis" is the loss of some of the larger "protections" we have come to rely on.  Roofs, walls, vehicles, electricity, heat, all enhance our natural abilities and allow us to extend our reach beyond what we can achieve and endure with just or bodies, but the first extension is the clothes we put on.


So the first question is what we want our "end of the world" clothes to do?  Keep us warm, protects from sun, wind, and rain, dry fast, be tough and durable, comfortable, carry stuff, hide us, and enhance our abilities to cope with the situation. When I focused on form, function, appearance, and quality, I found several makers of outdoor gear that had clothing lines that fit my criteria.

Now I know I seem to over emphasize the camping and outdoor solution, but what is designed to work outside for recreation, will also work outside if you were forced into that environment.  Even if you still remain indoors or with some type of shelter, clothes being over designed for the situation wouldn't be a bad thing.


I'm not even going to get into the whole "tactical" vs "grey man" debate.  I guess its a matter of personal preference, but i tend to come down on the grey man side.  In a crisis i don't want some LEO or militia type with an overinflated ego trying to push me around to prove he is in charge.  I want to be underestimated and overlooked, not seen as a threat.  I do have some multicam and military gear, and more "tactical" looking clothing, but its stuff I have for specific purposes and for weapons training and range days, its not what I want to have on during a protracted crisis.

Ok, so I'll cut to the chase of what clothes I bought, and why, and how I keep them ready for a crisis.


My pants are 511 tactical pants in Tundra.  I specify the color because I have bunch of 511 pants but THESE are the ones I bought to go in my evac gear.   I have 2 pair I have worn and washed a half dozen times, then I treated them with water proofing and put them in my stash.  Being this color they are they don't look military or too tactical (honestly ALL 5.11s look somewhat tactical), they mainly look like brown cargo pants, the color is earth tone enough to blend and hide me, and they don't show mud and dirt.  They are tough as nails, comfortable, and flexible.  They have all the pockets I need for weapons and gear of full military BDUs but attract none of the attention.

I also managed to find some hiking boots by Columbia that are the exact same color.   Waterproof but breathable and light weight, they totally fit the bill for non tactical looking, but tactical function clothing.  I broke them in on hikes and campouts, then into the box they went.

I tossed a couple of compression fit long sleeve mock thermals and bottoms for a base layer if its cold, and a couple of tan hiking shirts from Gander Mountain and 3 pair of wool hiking socks in.

Now I packed all the clothes (minus the shoes) into a space saver bag, vacuum sealed and compressed it, then put it in one of my totes.  I also did similar packs for my wife, daughter and son.  I redo his every 6 months since he is only 12 and growing quickly.  I also put in one size taller pants in his.

Again, and as usual, this is "field tested" gear we have been on weekend campouts in so i know the fit and function is what I would want, or better yet, need in a survival situation.  And I know its ready and packed if i had to evacuate.  I simply refuse to ever be standing around in front of some FEMA run camp waiting for help.   To that end, a small investment in time and money to have the right clothes prestaged and easily accessible could easily make the difference between getting out alive before a crisis vs getting caught by whatever force of nature is approaching, or it can mean survival over death while being bugged out after one.

My Barnett Panzer V crossbow

I wouldn't call this a product review. Heck, honestly I don't even know what I'm doing with the darn thing. Maybe I've been watching too much of "The Walking Dead".  All I can say is Archery was a bucket list item for years.  Not Archery like I did 35 years ago in summer camp, but real serious hunting type archery. What I do know is that after trying a standard compound bow, and a crossbow,  I prefer the crossbow and a lot of my firearms training transfers. So after playing with a few smaller ones, I jumped in with both feet last year.

Not knowing if this would be something I would really enjoy, I was reluctant to invest a large sum in equipment.  I though about used ones, heck you can find them on craigs list and ebay all day long right?  Well, after a crossbow lesson from a friend who works at Gander Mountain about the hazards of dry firing, and how many used ones they see with micro fractures, I decided new was the way to go.

With price still looming over my head, I began shopping.  The number of 800 dollar crossbows is staggering, and the options just overwhelmed me.  After much searching and researching, I picked an entry level Barnett Panzer V.  The brand  has a quality reputation but at just north of 200 dollars the price was not so staggering that I would be hurt if I didn't like the sport.

I won't go through all the tech details, but its a basic recurve bow with enough power and accuracy to hunt small game.  Thats my second target block in the pic.  I enjoy it so much I shot up my first target and had to replace it.  Also, while I now want a new and more powerful Barnett Quad 400, I have found there is a lot more strength and accuracy I can get this Panzer, and bolt choice has a lot to do it it.   I recently pick up 3 20" Victory Voodoo bolts, and my first shot literally blew straight through my target and the hay bail I had behind it.

Now these are not toys, they are serious weapons and dangerous with with just the practice tips on,  let alone a good set of broadheads.   Keeping in mind, this is both entertaining and a hunting tool I have chosen to use G5's Montec boradheads because they are one solid piece of metal with no moving pieces to break, thus the only maintenance is sharpening.   Contrary to the movies they have a audible and recognizable sound, and are not silent weapons.  They are also an addictive and entertaining hobby.

An Evacuation mock bugout drill

Sometimes I do little tests, sometimes I do big tests, but i'm always looking for ways to improve.  Thinking is nice, but all the thinking and simulations in the world can't replace a good old dry run as a learning experiance... and to do my last test I didn't even have to start my truck! 

 After several changes to my kits and gear in the last months, and some additions including creating my "chuck box",  I wanted to see how it would all work together.  I grabbed a couple of my kit totes and loaded them in my pick up just to check the weight.  (Its important that I can move all of them by myself in a crisis.)   I pulled my trailer and linked it to my truck and checked all my cables and safety chains.   I know my weapons and ammo will go, but in the spirit of OPSEC and being a good neighbor, I didn't want to be seen walking around with my firearms for no reason, so...  

"OK, I'm ready to go." My gear is packed for an evac.   Not in the 5 minutes to grab a BOB, but for the amount of gear, and the fact that I could be gone for 30 plus days under significantly more difficult conditions then I could ever face with a bag, i'm happy.   So what now?  Well, why drive, when all I really just want to test my gear in a real environment.  So I unhooked it and pulled it around into my back yard.  I could have driven to the nearest state park just to make it interesting, but I wanted to do a full dry run in one day by my self, so any road time is wasted time.

First, I got to test my new Camo paint job.  Since I pulled my trailer back to the woods behind my house, I was able to observe it at a distance and with natural foliage.   The new colors significantly reduces the visibility of the trailer compared to the original white paint.  If I had to stash it and come back later, I feel comfortable that now I can conceal it.  

I started by unpacking and setting up base camp.  First, I only put up the sleeping tents, and not my Coleman Weathermaster.  The Weathermaster is where the totes and gear would go and the screened room is a shaded area to purify water and perform other outside tasks without bugs.  I checked my inventories just like I was 100 miles from home and my life depended on just the gear I had...

• Solar panels & Goal Zero power gear
• Flashlights & comms gear
• Cables and power systems for the trailer power
• Propane heater, lanterns, trees and hoses
• White Gas & dual fuel lanterns
• Water filter and storage
• Personal hygiene, camp shower, towels, toilet
• Cooking equipment
• Security systems, perimeter defense equipment
• Tarps, ropes, pulleys, 
• Hunting, trapping, and fishing gear
• Camp and survival tools

Now bugging out is not my first response.  In fact, its something i would actively work to avoid. But if environmental conditions like a hurricane forced me to evacuate, i'm ready to do so.   I didn't find any significant gaps in my plan during this exercise, but in going through my camp kitchen I did find some excessive redundancies.  Camp oven, rocket stove, open fire grill, dutch oven, seems I'm a little heavy on the cooking systems, so i'll be making some changes to lighten that portion of my load.

Also, since this is my camping gear just stored in the trailer,  I have pulled out and "lived" with most of this gear on a bunch of weekend campouts, and one nine day camping trip this summer.  That has given me a lot of chances to sharpen my skills and fine tune my gear, but its all been piece work. This was specifically to see if setting it all up was truly viable.   We have been out in all my tents depending on the size of the group.   I have used my heater on a tent camping weekend with temps in the 40s.  I have used my sleeping bags on summer nights in the 80s and spring night in the 30s.   I have cooked on my propane stove, and used charcoal and my dutch oven on my deck just to get use to the speed of open flame and adjusting heat to bake.

I think its important to really see if you can do what you think you can, how you think you can, with what you have.   And the best way to know is to just go do it...  Even if its just for a day.

I don't know everything.

and one of the biggest favors I have done for myself is allow myself the luxury of ignorance.  By first recognizing my lack of expertise, I free myself up from any pride and hubris and allow myself to ask the dumb questions and look for answers.  Here are a few of the books i'm currently reading or recently finished in that quest for knowledge.

Since these are more reference then stories, there is no need to grind through cover to cover.  To make it easy, I typically scan the index and read through the chapters that interest me.  I mark and highlight points of interest, and treat them like text books. I try things that are shown and will come back and make notes in the margin.  I also keep some of them in with my gear just in case i was forced to evacuate, I would have them with me for reference and entertainment.

Perppers Long Term Survival guide - If i had to recommend only 1 book, it would be this one. Jim Cobb covers everything in just enough detail to get you started.   There is a reason why my copy is dog eared.

Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide  - Don't let the title fool you.  Max looks at zombie survival seriously in a real world context.  Replace the word zombie with hurricane or black out, and the lessons still apply. This is a classic edu-tainment book

When all hell breaks loose, by  Cody Lundin
This one ranks a close second on my list, but its actually a more well rounded book then the top one. Cody Lundin has done a great job of creating a book that gives you detail, yet highlights the critical points, and does so in bite size entertaining sections to keep you reading.  You can open to any page and not feel lost, and unless your a professional prepper, you will learn something before you flip the page.

Surviving the coming financial collapse - Fernando Aguirre lived through the 2001 economic collapse in Argentina.  The only thing bad I can say is I hate his font choice.  His lessons learned are priceless considering the biggest threat after a crisis is other people, its well worth the read.

It's a disaster! What are you going to do about it? - I picked this book up from my instructor  in a FEMA / CERT class I took.  Its more geared towards hurricanes and hail storms then SHTF.  Since the likelihood of these type of events happening on a daily basis is greater then a total collapse of society, it definitely has its place.


Navy SEAL survival handbook - This one is a bit techie and can be boring, but nobody does survival like SEALs

Camping for Dummies  - Unless you're an Eagle Scout, this one is a cover to cover read.  Its a plain spoken book full of lessons tip for the beginner.  Its also the one book I made my wife and kids read

Emergency war surgery  I actually have several medical books in this category.  It s a NEED, not a want.  This book (or one like it) and a military field surgery kit should be a part of any emergency cache.

Perppers home defense - Sheltering in place will require fortification in an urban or suburban setting.  While this was less helpful to me because of my extensive construction and security background, without question it focused on a hot topic.  anyone not in the industry will benefit from reading it

Emergency food storage and survival handbook - Geared much more for a shelter in place strategy.  This is my "go to" book when i work on my food plan.  With recipes, and storage planning guide, of all my books, this one focuses on the one thing you have to do every day, eat.


Now don't think i love just any book,  I have my share of duds sitting in a box waiting for an excuse to be gotten rid of, but these all have contributed and make great reference.  Feel free to recommend any great ones I didn't list or suggest more because like i said... I don't know everything.