UNPREPARED? Wake up!!!

G

Gatekeeper

Joined
Aug 31, 2001
Messages
232
Many many moons ago...there once was this guy. He was not prepared to be out in the freezing cold winter when his apartment building burned. The only time he had was enough to get dressed. Angry at himself he was, and vowed to never allow this situation to unfold again. Never again would he be left at the mercy of others. He read, researched, and purchased an array of tools and other items. Today he sits at the keyboard and tells the story of how he was irrevocably altered that fateful night. (Do you know who it is yet?...Yeah, it's me.)

I'm curious to know if anyone else has ever been affected in this way. Were you once a "clueless" as I was? If so, what changed your thinking? These days I'm well prepared and much more aware of the everchanging surroundings that I move through. In a way, I'm very thankful for the wakeup call that I was given.
 
Yes. I know what you mean. I have four sons and I can't get any of them to listen
to me on this subject. They all think I'm paranoid. Such is the folly of the young.
I learned real fast in S.E. Asia that the unprepared were the dead.
 
Who went hunting after a few special smokes about 10 years ago.
It was wilderness canada in the winter.

I got separated from the group. the wind kicked up the sun set and it was sleeting. NO BS!

luckily I knew a little bit I had a bunch of power bars and I had my srk which I cut up some limbs and built a little shelter till the wind and rain died down. I had no fire buiding supplies.no rain gear no flashlight.


after a few hours when the winds died down I let out some shots form my shot gun and It was heard and responded to by their gun shots.

I B-lined through the woods heard some large animal movements going away from me but I still charged forth in pitch blackness. finally met my friends.


now I don't smoke anything, I always have flashlight and rain gear and almost always have fire. it also started me off on big knives.

changed man now!


I am lucky I didn't get hypothermia, though I can't stand being cold.
 
who went walking in the Arizona desert in the Winer time. It was a nice sunny day when it started so he walked out on the trail with nothing more then the cloths on his back.

He walked until the sun was setting. Noticing that it was getting cold out he decides that it's time to head back. Because he was clueless, he did not pay too much attention to the trail and got lost.

Of course out of panic he got more lost and now it was dark. He had no supplies, no training no skills.

He spent the night freezing, wandering, getting cut and brused by the trees and bushes he ran into in the dark trying to find is way out of the woods. He thought he might not make it through the night so he kept moving and trying to keep warm.

He survived that night, never telling anyone of the story.

Now he never goes out into the woods without carrying anything he needs to spend the night. His friends and family think he is strange to buy and carry "all that gear" but he doesn't care what they say because he can never forget that cold night that he thought might be his last.

S.
 
I do a lot of backpacking and a lot of solo backpacking. I just want to emphasize the importance of good planning and preparation of both you and your equipment. The best trips of all go real smooth and you do not need your survival skills or equipment. However, it only takes one mistake in the backcountry to make it your last. I've survived stupidity, falls, dehydration, hypothermia and frostbite... and am not proud to speak about any of it. I am proud when I go on a good trip and never get into any trouble or have any problems. Funny... the older I get, the more I pride myself on that.

PS: And damn... I shudder and scold those I come across in the backcountry who are unprepared (you've seen them... cotton t-shirts, shorts, sandles and a bottle of avion).
 
I whole heartedly agree

Back in Seattle:
sometimes people look at me cause I have a (1700cubes) day pack on a short 5 mile hike.
:rolleyes:


so many times I'll see a family, all they have is a diaper bag and 1 water bottle. I think this is the kind of father that sees his kid become lunch for a mountain lion.(it happens!)

oh well!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top