Murphy’s Laws of TEOTWAWKI

From Wikipedia:  Murphy’s Law is an adage that is typically stated as:  “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”.

1.  Food, you still don’t have enough

2.  People without back up shelters might be without shelter

3.  People with guns and no food are finding out that people with food have guns too

4.  Look hungry, they might leave you alone.

5.  Seed bank, the new source of wealth

6.  Insects, It’s what’s for dinner

7.  Gun shots, they attract unwanted attention

8.  Ask everyone if they have food or water, Jedi mind tricks might work on desperate people

9.  Wood burning stoves, they are like pots of gold

10. The less people you know, the better off you are

11.  Mormons, suddenly they have a lot of new friends

12.  Friendly hungry people…..aren’t

13.  People who thought they could make it with just a survival knife are finding out they can’t

14.  Satellite Dishes, they make great family dinner tables

15.  If invited to a dinner party and you can’t figure out what’s on the menu, it’s you

16.  Houses full of food attract the unwanted envy of hungry people

17.  Friends who show up without food are not good friends

18.  Electricity, the good old days

19.  Dog Food, who knew

20.  Cash, it’s a great way to start a fire

21.  Alternative energy, you’re kicking yourself now for not investing in it

22.  Watching your garden grow, the new Sunday afternoon sport

23.  The Government, it will feed itself first

24.  Large groups of people with guns make the rules

25.  Bad water & Montezuma’s Revenge, they have come to America

26.  People who thought the Government would save them, found out that it didn’t

27.  Hospitals, no longer a place of healing

28.  EMP, now everyone knows what it means

29.  Sandy dry soil, suddenly not such a cool place to live anymore

30.  If food is the new currency then fresh water is a hot commodity

31.  Gold coins, they don’t taste very good

32.  Toilet paper, should have bought more of that stuff

33.  Ham radio operators, who are the nerds now?

34.  Burning Green Wood = Smoke / Smoke = Attention / Attention = Bad

35.  Trying to start a fire with two sticks?  Should have stocked up on more matches

Time to shake the cobwebs off of your camping gear, air it out and get ready for yet another year of camping adventures.

Camping is fun but be prepared. Here are some helpful tips that we’ve learned (the hard way) through our “no husband” ” no “boyfriends” all girl camping trips (you can have kids if any).

1. Hang lantern in tree not at table. Otherwise every flying creature will emerge from the darkness and attack.

2. Arrive at campground before dark and start your campfire while it’s still light out. There is a special hell for campers who arrive after midnight and shine their headlights into your tent.

3. Bring wet wipes! You will find 101 uses for them, we promise.

4. Make sure everyone has their own flashlight and camping chair . If not, it will get ugly. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

5. Bring small hand broom to clean up tent and car. Or a hand vacuum if you’re really anal.

6. Try and avoid setting up camp next to stagnant water, which is home to biting insects.

7. Pack your clothes in garbage bags. It will keep your clothes dry if a sudden storm blows up and it can serve as a laundry basket at the end of your trip.

8. For ice to keep your food cold for a long period of time, fill either a gallon milk jug or a 2 liter pop container half full with water and freeze. Make sure you do not put the lid on the container when in the freezer.

9. Give kids camp chores and rotate them. Hahaha! No really.

10. Check in with campground host/ranger and ask them about the area. No flirting allowed…

11. Your good looks may be enough to get things sizzling when out on the town, but, unfortunately, in the woods they don’t count for much. Make sure at least one of you knows how to set up the tent and that someone has lit your stove to make sure it works.

12. Stock up on drinking water . This stuff is like liquid gold after the first few days of camping.

13. NEVER leave a campsite with a fire still burning.

14. During a thunderstorm, don’t take a shower or use a sink, including washing dishes.

15. Have car keys within reach at night so that you can press the alarm if an emergency arises. And no, a deflated air mattress is not an emergency.

16. Do not assume that every campsite still has their grill or that it will suit your cooking needs. Plan to bring a grate to put over the fire.

17. Meals that can be cooked ahead of time at home and travel well in a cooler will save a lot of time especially on the first night of your trip.

18. Relax and enjoy yourself!

Don’t leave home without these items:

1. Bug Spray/Benadryl (Homemade bee traps the girls invented)

2. Head Lamp or good Flashlights( not firefly)

3. Extra Batteries

4. Air Mattress/Sleeping mat

5. Hat for those bad hair days

6. Zip Lock and garbage bags

7. Bring a back-up or rainy-day activity

8. Camp chairs

9. Cooking Stove

10. Sunscreen!

11. S’mores

12. good socks

13. Hiking boots or a good pair of trail runners

14. I get tired very soon what tonics should I take?

15. Chapstick or chapstick with sunscreen

16. Bring internal tampons instead of external pads (you never know what happen and where it happens!)

17. zip-loc baggies(great help)

18. Your favorite pillow

19. EARPLUGS!!

20. DO NOT FORGET aluminum foil and marshmallows.

Leave home without these items:

1. Anything that uses electricity. Um yeah, that includes the hairdryer or hair straighter.

2. Try not to bring too many re-chargeable toys. That sounds -kind of bad, but think G rated.

3. No perfumed product (they attract mosquitoes)

4. Cell phones – Might not work anyway, or just leave them in the car.

5. Makeup – Ok, that’s a hard one with teenage girls. Save the foundation, as you are likely to sweat it all off.

6. Moodiness.

7. Your plaid shirts.

I can’t wait to go for camping this season. What about you?

Travel Well!

Maryam Naqvi

I hope that maybe you got a couple of useful tips out of there? I did and will be putting them to use when I start my “practice” camping trips

Until next time, be ready

I came across this old article on starting an emergency campfire that I found pretty interesting, as I do most articles from the past when they relate skills that we need today for surviving in an emergency or disaster situation. The drawings are from another work, but I felt them relevant so inserted them for art’s sake, by the way. I think one of the ways we fall short in our planning is to forget about how things were done before the advances of technology made things easy for us modern day outers. Oh, an outer was a term used in the late 19^th and early 20^th century to describe a fellow that loved to spend as much time roughing it in the woods as he could. But at any rate, my recommendation to you as you develop your emergency preparedness plans as to learn as much as you can about pre-technology ways. That way, when technology fails, you will still be able to continue on.

Your Emergency Camp Fire

By L. E. Eubanks
Indicating Ways and Means of Doing the Things Our Ancestors Had to Do

THERE is not a great deal of art in building a fire, either a stove fire or an open fire, if conditions are right and, the proper fuel at hand. Most readers of this magazine have read all about fire building in the ordinary camp, under the usual conditions.

Old campers know, and prospective campers should be warned, that very much of the pleasure and profit from an outing depend on the camper’s maintenance of a comfortable temperature in the cabin or tent. The novice should guard particularly against being misled by the bodily warmth he feels when he first returns to camp from a vigorous tramp. He will cool quickly; even after a nice day the evening often grows unexpectedly cool, and a fellow, particularly if not used to roughing it, may take a cold that will spoil his fun—if it does nothing more serious.

An old woodsman with a big streak of humor has said that the best way to dry matches is not to let them get wet. The best drying treatment for “the last match” when it is damp is to rub it in your hair. The best way I know of to increase the chances of getting a fire from the last match is to cut some splinters the size of a toothpick from a piece of dry pine, if such is procurable, and bind them, say six or eight, around the match—their points within about an eighth of an inch from the fulminating end of the match. Even if a wind is blowing, at least one of the sticks is quite certain to hold flame.

I believe the most certain way to get a fire when it is raining is to find a rotten stump, gouge a hole into its heart, and start your kindling in the cavity. If you have a cartridge, cut it open carefully, dampen the powder slightly, and sprinkle it on the tinder.

But how about the tinder, you may ask; suppose even it is not to be found in a dry condition? A good many outers, hunters, trappers, etc., have learned to provide against such a contingency as that by carrying some kind of fire-starter in the camp outfit. A small roll of birch bark is fine: even if it gets wet the dampness does not penetrate beyond the outer layer, because of the oil in the bark.

But I know of something for “pocket kindling” even better than birch-bark—and a little more dependable, since the latter is not easily procurable in all sections. I refer to celluloid, a few little pieces of which will start a dandy fire in jig time. It is not only very inflammable but waterproof, and much more compact than bark. A few pieces of an old celluloid comb or of the white composition used to cover some harness rings can be carried in one’s pocket without the slightest inconvenience.

When the fire has to be built on snow—and of course it is impracticable to scrape away three or four feet of snow for a hasty, temporary camp—the novice at such work may fail even when he has at hand plenty of good starting material. Nine times out of ten he will place his dry wood directly on the snow, and by the time he finds out his mistake he may not have any dry stuff left.

He should make a bed of green logs on which to build the fire. Small logs will do, six or eight inches in diameter; and balsam is good because it is very sappy. The fire that is to be kept all night ought to be self-feeding; there are several arrangements of logs that permit the fuel to slip down into the fire as that below it burns out, and any thoughtful camper can soon devise a plan.

Remember too that a fire-back—a ledge of rock, bank of earth, or a big green log—will greatly increase the effectiveness of a fire that is built for warmth, by reflecting the heat. So pitch your tent, with reference to the fire-back’s position, so that when you build the fire you will get its full force.

But without a match! In that case, the outer, if he has a gun and ammunition, can even yet start a fire, if he goes at it right.

Sprinkle a little powder on the dry leaves, then put in but a small charge and do not pack it. Do not poke the muzzle into the leaves and twigs, but hold the barrel flat on them.

But if a fellow has neither match nor gun!! Pretty bad, if the weather is cold or he has to cook something; but he mustn’t give up. If there are two watches in the party, and if the sun is shining, you can make a burning-glass that will ignite dry leaves, by removing the crystals and placing them together, enclosing a little water between them. According to the historian Pliny, the ancients used a sphere of rock crystal as a burning glass for collecting the sun’s rays to a focus.

Starting a fire with a piece of ice is not at all impossible; in fact, it is easy if one has clear, pure ice, and knows how to shape it into a double convex lens—a lens that bulges on both sides. Sometimes the ice lens will act on fine, inflammable material even more quickly than a glass.

Take a piece of ice shaped like a silver dollar but a little bigger and a little thicker, and so hold it between your warm palms as to melt off the edges and bring it to the desired convex shape. Now catch the sun through it right, and see how quickly you can make a bit of tissue paper smoke. When the fire appears, a little later, gently blow it into a flame. Have additional fine fuel handy.

Among primitive peoples, there were two principal methods of starting fire—both used yet when emergency cannot be met otherwise. They were, by striking two suitable mineral substances together, or secondly, by rubbing two pieces of wood against each other. The principle was the same in both—ignition by friction. Fine, dry material like grass or punk was ready and the spark transferred to it.

It is said that in some parts of Alaska the natives rub sulphur on two pieces of quartz and strike these together to produce flame. Eskimos sometimes strike a piece of quartz against a lump of iron pyrite, with the same result.

Friction of two pieces of wood is still being used in some parts of the world. It is not likely that you and I will ever have to revert to these methods, but if the necessity should —well, it can’t do any harm to remember them.

Surviving the Times is now available, and until September 30th you can save 10% on your purchase by going to my book page and click “Buy” and enter the code word  ‘ FOUND ‘ at the checkout stage. Click on the title below to go to my bookstore and a secure ordering site.

Surviving The Times Print: $24.95    Download: $12.00 Surviving the Times takes you through the steps to make your own preparedness planning binder. You’ll learn how to guage the level of various threats as the relate to your preparedness planning by using the three P’s of preparedness, the SaWaFo pyramid and more.

As a wilderness survival enthusiast I have come upon many questionable survival tips and half truths presented as fact. Unfortunately there is a great deal of survival related advice that does not actually work, or works poorly, when attempted in actual field conditions. Either the information is downright incorrect or there are vital pieces missing that put a successful outcome doubtful at best, and very dangerous at worst.

Many who relate their survival skills to others are more of the arm chair variety than real life doers. From the safety of ones home survival misinformation may seem harmless and few are the wiser. All too often these bad survival skills are merely passed on from one armchair enthusiast to another and over the years take on a mythical standing, so much so that most people consider them as facts.

Survival Myth

Even some of the most well known survival books and manuals are rife with bad survival information that the writers have obviously never tried for themselves but rather just rehashed from other survival books and manuals. Exchanging untrue ideas and bad information in this circular way does a great disservice to the public who may very well find themselves depending upon it in order to survive.

The problem is that bad survival information can turn ugly when someone tries it either experimentally or in an actual survival situation. Take for example a kid testing out something he read in a book, or someone in dire straights due to lack of water in the southwest.

One survival myth in particular that nearly everyone has heard is what I call the “cactus water myth”. As the story goes, if you are thirsty in a desert all you need to do is lop the top off a cactus to find plenty of sweet water to drink. The common association with this myth is that a cactus must be something like a spiny watermelon with plenty of cool refreshing water just waiting to be tapped into. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Surviving on water from a cactus is generally a very bad idea. First of all, the amount of water you are likely to obtain from a cactus is minimal – its inside is tough and fibrous. Indeed, it is possible to obtain some moisture from the inside of a cactus but it is not pure water. Often cactus water is slimy and highly acidic. The survival fact is that drinking cactus juice like this may only lead to further dehydration.

But it gets worse. Should you be unlucky enough to obtain and drink plenty of cactus juice you are likely to be further dehydrated by intense vomiting and diarrhea. Cactus juice may burn your mouth, throat, and the lining all the way into your intestines. So much for a cool refreshing drink.

As David Alloway, a well known desert survival expert states: “What about cacti and water? Different species of barrel cacti (mostly in the genera Ferocactus and Echinocactus) are often touted as virtual reservoirs of potable water. Some cacti do contain large amounts of potable water, while others have some harsh chemicals along with it. Some cacti can cause vomiting or diarrhea, both of which are disastrous to someone already dehydrated. Even if the cactus is not especially toxic, your body may not be familiar with its chemistry, which can also bring about vomiting and/or diarrhea in an effort to purge the system. I usually encourage people to try different plants before an emergency, but not so in the case of the barrel cactus. A mature plant may be over two hundred years old, and cutting the top off and mashing the pulp kills it only for the sake of experimentation. I have read that replacing the cap on the cactus will help it heal and survive. The whole point of this article, however, is not to believe everything you read. In dire straits it may be called for to try to extract water from barrel cacti, but be aware of the possible consequences.”

The bottom line is that reading survival books and chatting on survival forums is not enough. You need to go out and practice survival skills in real life before the need arises during an actual emergency. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt and do your research. It may very well save your life!

By northwestwilderness

I thought I’d switch it up a little and post an article on the same topic from another resource. This is from a rainbow/hippie site, not a survivalist site:

From WelcomeHome.org

Shitting In the Woods

Ok, hang in here with me… You may not believe it, but how you shit is a major way to influence your health. This is because flies *love* shit, and after having themselves a little snack, they’ll then go land on your plate, and give you a little present from their dirty feet. This enables germs to spread from someone who is already sick, to you. Even if you are careful about eating in good, clean kitchens and drinking filtered water, you can still get nasty diseases from the flys. Never put your plate down on the ground without a cover for even a few minutes.

Cat Scratching

Cat scratching is when you shit in a little hole you’ve dug. While this is common for many camping trips, it is not appropriate for large group camping, unless you want to help all your friends get sick. This is because flies can dig through many feet of dirt to reach your shit, and then they spread the germs around.

There are many proper ways to cat scratch, but I’ll give you my version now. What I do first is to remove the debris like sticks, pine cones, etc.. off to the side. We’ll use this to naturalize the area when we are done. I also save the top soil in a little seperate pile too, cause as you dig, you’ll see there are layers in the dirt we want to preserve. I then scratch a hole using a stick, shovel, sharp rock, sheath knife, or ice ax. I make my hole at least 6 inches deep, and as big around as you need. (somewhere around 6-8 inches in diameter for me).

Once I’ve deposited the paper in the whole as I get done, I *always* burn the paper. This is for 2 reasons. One, paper can take an amazingly long time to decompose, and the look of white “paper flowers” is ugly, and can be seen from a distance, ruining ones senic view. The other reason is the small amount of ashes will help limit the fly->shit->food->me connection. I always carry a cheap Bix lighter, so I can burn the paper. Once the paper is done burning, it’s best to then pee directly on the ashes and the pile. This not only to make sure the ashes are tottally out, but it helps start breaking down the shit, and also peeing on it can make a recognizable pile look much like the rest of the dirt. And btw, a sister taught me that trick, so there is no excuse to not learn this useful technique.

Once this is done, I then replace the dirt, then the topsoil, and then I naturalize it with the debris I placed off to the side. While this process may seem time consuming, it is not. Both my kids learned how to do this when they were very little… To shit properly in the woods is the best way to not spread contagious disease to your friends, and a good way to help keep our impact on the earth light.

Latrines

A latrine is usually a slit trench, commonly called a a “shitter” at gatherings. Whenever you need to shit at a gathering, you should use a shitter. They are usually near large camps, and the trails are marked. If need be, I just ask around a kitchen, “excuse me, where’s the shitter ?” to find the nearest one. Some are somewhat public, but with a little exploring, it’s pretty easy to find the level of privacy you need.

Slit latrines were pretty much defined by the Army Corp of Engineers, who have a lot of practice at this too, to be 6 feet long, a foot wide, and several feet deep. Not that we need to measure our shitters to be army regulations, but you get the general idea. It should be as deep as you can sensibly make it, and not too wide, so children and us short people can squat over it without falling in (which I’ve done, and it is no fun).

All good shitters should have paper and hand wash. It does rain and snow, so the paper should be stored in a waterproof bag, or a coffee can. Wet toilet paper in the rain is no fun… Handwash is also a good thing, because washing ones hands after shitting is a great way to not spread disease. Handwash works good in 1 gallon containers with a *tiny* bit of bleach per gallon. Fancier setups have the water rigged so you can use foot levers to turn it on, but I’m always glad to at the least find an old milk jug.

Over the years I’ve seen all sorts of shitter covers. It’s best to cover your shitter, to keep flies out. One of my favorites was in Arizona, which was the deluxe box style. The box style ones aren’t as popular as I would like due to you’ve got to make the box, but for people that have problems squatting, for whatever health reason, they are nice to have. This particular one also never ran out of toilet paper or handwash the while time I was there, which was nice.
A more common variation on the box style, is this one from New Mexico. This size is more easily built, and transported to the site. This one had a really nice location in a secluded spot, but near a main trail. If you don’t have time to make a fancy cover, the long-time technique is to cut a hole in a sheet of plywood, and make a hinged flat on the board. This can also be made with boards and and tarp. The main idea is to keep the flies out.
If you have no shitter cover, you can then put a mix of fire ashes and if you have it, quick lime. Just fire ashes work ok, or a very thin layer of quick lime. If you have agricultural lime instead, this is much stronger, and it must be cut with ashes at about 1 tablepoon per 5 gallon bucket. Flies won’t go through ashesi or lime. If there are no ashes or quick lime by the shitter, about all you can do is scoop some dirt from the mound by the shitter, and cover things best you can, and hope somebody comes by with ashes later. The problem with just using dirt, is that flies will dig through an aweful lot of dirt to get your shit, so it’s not really that effective. But hey, anything helps.

When your shitter is full (10-12 inches from the top), it’s time to cap it off. First, make sure you have quick lime, not agricultural lime. Too much agricultural lime will screw up the PH of the soil for a long time, which will effect the plant growth somewhat, depending on the ecosystem. It is very strong, and must be cut with ashes before using.If all you have is agricultural lime, then it’s better to use no lime, than too much. With quick lime, make a thin layer to cap it off.

To cap it off with dirt, make a pretty good sized mound, cause it’ll settle. A level cap of dirt will leave a depression, as things settle. It’s pretty tough to pack the dirt as tight as it can be. The mound of dirt should be then covered with logs, sticks, and other local material until it is naturalized.

In the desert, or where it is hard to dig a hole, it’s usually best to put the paper in a bag, and burn it.

I’ve found the best tool for digging shitters to be a digging bar. A digging bar is a 5 or 6 foot length of inch thick iron bar, with a point on one end. I use this to loosen the dirt, and then a shovel to remove the dirt. This is much faster and easier than digging with a shovel, and it’s even better than a pickaxe. Plus, a digging bar is great for removing the rocks you inevitably will find. Ideally you should pile your dirt on a tarp and cover it, so you have some when you need to cap off the shitter. Sometimes, it you don’t do something with the dirt, it can wash away, making it difficult to have enough dirt to cap it.

Other info on Shitters

Plunker’s Shitter Rap

This is a great article on shitters that was on the 1999 All Ways Free, and written by Plunker, a veteran of many gatherings.

Mini Manual

For another opinion on shitters, here’s what the unofficial Rainbow document, has to say on latrines.

From Moral-Flexibility.net

Until next time, be ready

In this Survival Topic we will discuss why it is important that you consider ALL sources of drinking water as contaminated with disease causing organisms until you properly treat it. We will also touch upon the best method to make water safe to drink.

Water Born Disease Organisms

I want to hammer home to you the importance of always always always (did I say “always”?) treating any water before you use it for anything you will ingest into your body.

In short, before you use water for any purpose that ends up in your body including

• drinking water
• oral hygiene such as rinsing your mouth or brushing your teeth.
• cleaning of vegetables and other foods
• cleaning of cooking and eating utensils
• douching and enemas if you are into such things best left unsaid

the water must first be de-contaminated so that all water borne pathogens are destroyed or rendered inert. Otherwise you may become very sick indeed.

Contaminated Water

Think That Water is Clean? This, or worse, could be laying just upstream. Your best chance of survival depends upon proper treatment of ALL sources of water.

One of the most basic concepts you must completely understand in order to stay healthy in wilderness survival situations is that all sources of water are suspect.

Urban dwellers that we tend to be, we are usually accustomed to simply turning on the tap and drinking the water that comes from it.

It is important to note that tap water usually comes from protected sources and has been treated by municipal agencies to destroy disease causing organisms. This water is also frequently tested in order to insure it meets standards for potablility. In more rural areas tap water often comes from wells and springs where natural processes have purified the water.

Because we usually obtain our water so easily from the tap, the mindset to always consider water from untested sources as contaminated can be difficult to fully accept. Old habits die hard and many of you will be tempted to ignore my advice and drink any outdoor water source that appears to be fresh and clean. But I want you to drop any preconceived notion you many have on this subject and trust Survival Topics completely when it comes to treating your water. It could very well save your life.

Too many times to count people have told me that a certain stream or lake is safe to drink because it is clear, cold, and natural. I have some important information that could very well prevent you from becoming very sick:

That crystal clear mountain stream may seem clean enough to the eye, but invisible microorganisms are thriving in its waters by the millions.

Most of the tiny living things in water are harmless to humans, but all too often there are types that can make you very sick should you ingest them.

You Are Likely to be Drinking Feces

Many disease organisms contaminate water sources due to improper disposal of human wastes including feces. Another common natural source of water contamination comes from the local wildlife that often defecate in or near the water.

Birds and mammals that live in or near water think nothing of releasing their bodily wastes into it. But worse, many ignorant humans will improperly dispose of urine, feces, and kitchen wastes close to communal water supplies. No matter how remote you feel you are, I guarantee someone has been there before you. They may be swimming, washing up, or even have deposited a steaming pile of feces just upstream minutes before you filled your water container.

On a number of occasions while at established campsites I have visited the only available water supply, often a natural spring, only to find that someone had washed their dishes in it! Were it not for the odd bits of food items floating in the other wise clear water I may never had known ignorant humans had been there before me.

If these people are dumb enough to wash filthy dishes in the only available water supply, who knows what else they may have done nearby. If I were less informed about the hazards of untested water I may have drank that water without treating it and become very sick.

Humans are veritible poop machines and wherever they have been you can be assured there is plenty of feces laying about. Historically, wastes and human fecal contamination of water supplies has resulted in large epidemics of cholera and other diseases that have ended the lives of millions. Do not let the actions of dumb people take you down: treat all water before you ingest it.

Disease Organisms Would Like You to Drink Them

Water can contain a range of nasty organisms you would do well to avoid. These include bacteria such as

• Giardia
• Escherichia coli (E. Coli)
• Salmonella

Protozoa, which also often come from human an animal feces:

• Microsporidia including
• Giarda
• Cryptosporidium
• Toxoplasma gondii
• Amoebae
• Ciliates
• flagellates,
• apicomplexans

and lets not forget helminth zoonoses such as:

• nematodes
• ascarids
• pinworms
• hookworms
• strongylids
• angiostrongylids
• capillarids
• guinea worms
• liver flukes
• tapeworms

But it’s not just fecal contamination from wildlife and ignorant humans you must worry about. I recall hiking up a crystal clear mountain stream in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. At the top of a high waterfall, below which people often swim, lay a huge rotting moose carcass that dammed up the entire stream. Unbeknownst to all, the whole water course filtered through eight hundred pounds of rotting meat on the way to that fine swimming hole downstream.

So much for crystal clear mountain streams being safe to drink from!

How to Make Water Safe to Drink

Now that I have convinced you to consider all sources of water as contaminated until treated, I would like to suggest the best way to make water safe to drink. Once again I am sure to be stirring up a hornets nest of dissent on this subject but I stand by what I write as proven beyond doubt. Try to release any preconceived notions you may have as you read what follows.

The miracle of modern advertising would have you believe that the portable water filters on the market today will remove nearly all pathogens and disease causing organisms from water. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is, studies have conclusively shown water filters vary a great deal in the types and amount of organisms they are able to filter. And that is when the water filters are functioning properly and users correctly operate and maintain them. A tall order indeed, especially in the field during adverse conditions.

Would you drink water from a filter that is removing only 85% of water borne disease organisms? Chances are the water filter you use isn’t even doing that well.

Various chemicals used to treat water also lack the ability to destroy 100% of disease causing organisms in water. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this article and will be covered in a future Survival Topic.

The manufacturers of chemicals and water filters don’t want you to know what the best way to make water safe to drink really is. That’s because its simple, inexpensive to operate, and they cannot sell it.

The fact is, the best way to make water safe for consumption will destroy or render inert 100% of disease causing organisms. What’s more, this process is readily available and nearly foolproof. It has been successfully used for centuries and remains hands down the best method of all: boiling.

How Long Does the Water Need to Boil?

Water does do not even have to reach the boiling point (about 212° F or 100° C at sea level) to be rendered safe to drink; Once the water temperature reaches 185° F (85° C) nearly all disease causing organisms have been destroyed. The only reason you typically get water up to the boiling point is you probably do not have a thermometer handy to measure the water temperature. Boiling is proof positive the water is hot enough to make it safe to drink.

You can also throw out the myth that you must boil water longer at higher elevations. The boiling point of water even on Mount Everest is still high enough to destroy all disease causing organisms even before the water has started to boil.

For more information on boiling water to make it safe to drink read the breakthrough Survival Topic “How Long Do you Need to Boil Water?”.

In conclusion

• Consider water from any source as contaminated with disease causing organisms.
• By far the best way to treat water is by boiling it.
• You only have to bring the water to a boil. Don’t waste fuel; there is no need to boil water for 10-minutes, 5-minutes, or even 1-minute. Once it is boiling all disease causing organisms have been destroyed or rendered inert some time earlier.
• Even on Mount Everest, the highest point on earth, once water reaches the boiling point it is safe to drink.

Until next time, be ready

A little known survival aid related to wilderness fire making skills is the Dakota Fire Hole, also known as the Dakota Fire Pit. This handy device is easy to construct and has marked advantages over other types of camp fire constructs. Once you make a Dakota fire hole and try it out, you may choose to use this method on a regular basis.

Making a Dakota Fire Hole is initially more labor intensive than simply building a fire on the surface of the ground. However the outlay in energy required to make a Dakota fire hole is more than offset by its efficient consumption of fuel; it greatly reduces the amount of firewood required to cook meals, treat water to destroy pathogens, or warm your body.

The Dakota fire hole is a valuable wilderness survival aid because it burns fuel more efficiently, producing hotter fires with less wood. In many areas firewood is scarce or requires a large amount of time and expenditure of energy in foraging to obtain it. Once you build a fire, efforts are better spent attending to your other wilderness survival needs rather than in the constant gathering of firewood

Dakota Firehole

Other advantages of the Dakota fire hole are that it creates a kind of woodstove with a stable platform that is very convenient to cook over.

Should you need to conceal your fire, the fire hole will limit the amount of visible smoke that rises from the fire, since the fuel wood is burning hotter and more efficiently. The pit will also help conceal the light emitted from your fire, especially at night when even a single candle flame can be seen from miles away.

Where to Build a Dakota Fire Hole

Before you start to dig your Dakota fire hole you should scout out an area where soil conditions are conducive to its proper construction. You will want to avoid areas

• that are rocky and difficult to dig.
• with thick tree roots that require cutting.
• that are wet or where a dug hole will fill with water.
• With soil conditions such as dry loose sand that will not hold shape as it is dug into.

Making a Dakota Fire Hole To make a Dakota Fire Hole first remove a plug of soil about 12 inches in diameter and dig down one foot.

The usual requirements related to general fire craft and care always apply. As always, treat the wilderness areas you enjoy and count on to survive with respect. Be sure you do not make a Dakota Fire Hole in conditions where out of control wild fires are a possibility and avoid ecologically sensitive areas. Try not to injure the roots of trees and plants.

Follow local ordinances regarding the making of fires; these rules are in place for good reason.

Making a Dakota Fire Hole

Now that we have the introduction taken care of, we can make a Dakota Fire Hole. As shown in the picture, I am using an army folding shovel to dig with. Many wilderness survivors carry a small hand trowel for the burying of human wastes and this also works well. A strong stick or part from your mess kit can also be utilized for digging holes in a pinch; survival experts are experts at innovation so use whatever means you have available.

Making the Fire Pit Chamber

Having selected a likely area in which to dig the fire hole, first remove a plug of soil and plant roots in the form of a circle about 10 or 12 inches in diameter. Continue digging straight down to a depth of about one-foot being sure to save the plug and the soil you removed for replacement later on.

This part of the Dakota fire hole will serve as the main chamber that contains the fire. I prefer to extend the base of the fire chamber outward a couple of inches in all directions so that it can accommodate longer pieces of firewood. This saves time and energy in breaking up firewood into suitable lengths, and also has the effect of allowing larger and therefore hotter fires.

Making the Airway Starting about one-foot away from the edge of the fire pit, dig a 6-inch diameter air tunnel at an angle so that it intersects with the base of the fire pit. The prevailing wind is moving from in back back of me in the upper left corner of the picture.

The effect is a jug-shaped hole at the base of which you place firewood. The neck of the jug will serve as a chimney of sorts the function of which is to increase the draft and concentrate the heat of the fire into the small opening.

Making the Fire Hole Airway

Now comes the key component of the Dakota hole that makes this fire making method so effective; the airway.

Before you start on the airway tunnel, determine the general direction of the wind. If the wind is too light to easily ascertain its direction you can often lick a finger and hold it up, being sure it is away from any obstructions. Evaporative cooling on one side or the other of your appendage will be felt from which direction the wind, however light, is blowing. That is the side of the fire hole on which to construct the airway.

Dig a 6-inch diameter airway tunnel starting about one foot away from the edge of the fire hole. Angle its construction so that the tunnel intersects with the base of the fire chamber as shown in the diagram and picture. As when you made the fire hole section, be sure to save the plug containing the vegetation and roots as well as the loose soil you remove.

Using the Dakota Fire Hole

Now that the Dakota Fire Hole is properly constructed, you can partially fill the fire pit chamber with dry combustible kindling materials and light the fire.

To start the fire I am using a FireSteel, the kind Survival Topics highly recommends to be included in every survival kit. These firesteels from FireSteel.com work even when wet and will literally light thousands of fires before wearing out – try doing that with matches or a lighter! We sell high quality Firesteels at the lowest prices in the Survival Supplies section of this website. Help support this website and buy them here – I guarantee a quality product.

Light the Fire Using a Survival Topics firesteel I am lighting the fire. These firesteels always work, no matter how wet the conditions. Able to start thousands of fires, you can buy your own firesteels at the Survival Topics Survival Supply store.

Once the flame is going strong, drop it into the fire pit so that it catches the kindling on fire; gradually add sticks so that a strong hot fire is maintained.

How a Dakota Fire Hole Works

The accompanying diagram shows the secret of what makes the Dakota Firehole so effective. As the fire burns, the hot air that is created goes up through the fire hole “chimney”. This creates a suction action that forcefully draws air down through the tunnel and into the base of the fire. The draft is increased even more by your having constructed the tunnel on the side from which the prevailing wind is coming.

Acting as a kind of bellows, the flames are continuously fanned and the fire burns hotter and more efficiently than a fire that is simply made on the surface to the ground. Hotter fires mean less smoke. In addition, the heat of the fire is concentrated into an upward direction where you can better capture it for use. This allows you to do more with less wood – an excellent survival fire by any measure.

Fire Hole Improvements

Once you have made the Dakota fire hole you can easily set up a cooking surface for pots and pans by laying several parallel green sticks across the fire pit as show in the picture. Lacking camp cooking gear you can also find a flat rock that only partially covers the hole – and use it as a sort of hobo frying pan.

It is also an easy matter to set a “Y” shaped stick into the ground onto which is rested a green pole with bannock dough, fish, or other outdoor meal. For more information on the wilderness survival staple known as bannock read the Survival Topic on How to Make Bannock.

Dakota Fire Pit Diagram This is how a Dakota Fire Hole works. As hot air from the fire exits through the top of the fire pit, a suction is created that draws fresh air down through the tunnel and into the base of the fire. This brings in plenty of fresh oxygen for combustion. A cycle develops: The hotter the fire gets, the more air is drawn down into the fire pit – making the fire hotter.

Campfire Cleanup

When it is time to leave the area, be a responsible wilderness survivor who values the land you need for survival. Fill in the Dakota fire hole with the dirt you removed and saved when you were constructing it. Then replace the cap of vegetation. Doing so serves the double purpose of extinguishing the fire and leaving as little trace of your visit as possible.

In summary, the main advantages of using a Dakota Fire Hole include:

• burns hotter
• with less fuel
• producing less smoke
• less light visible to those you do not want to find you
• providing a stable cooking surface
• easy extinguishing of the fire
• and removal of evidence you have been there when you are preparing to leave.

There can be no doubt, making the Dakota Fire Hole one of the best types of survival fires you can make when surviving in the wilderness.

Pioneer Living is currently accepting articles for those of you who wish to share stories

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News and up-dates

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Back To Basics

*  Pioneer Essentials

Even if cash-poor, ranchers of the Old West coveted a rack of shiny pots and pans,

preparation standards of the day didn’t allow fixing a meal with anything but the

most basic cookware.

*  Building an Open Fire Pit for Cooking

*  Soap Making Soap for good and vibrant health is a vital item in any home.

Without soap we would not be able to have clean bodies or clean clothes.

*  Making Charcoal Why Charcoal?  The many uses of charcoal is very important to your survival.

*  Tanning Hides The Indians tanned hides in several ways and by different substances according to the tribe.

Hides were used for clothing and blankets.

*  How to Wash on a Washboard

*  Rendering Lard While lard isn’t considered a food, it was vital to the cooking process for many years.

Food

*  Preparedness

Pioneer Living’s No. 1 Investment Pick For 2009

And Still Our No. 1 Investment Pick for 2010!

Number 1 investment for 2009? Your answer should be….. ”Food”. Millions of Americans

and people around the world lost their jobs these past few years. Are you prepared if you

suddenly lost your job?

* Recipes Chuckwagon Chow With all the modern conveniences we have today it seems we have little

appreciation for our early ancesters’ efforts to make even the most basic foods interesting.

Despite our capacity to bake in the world’s most advanced and well-equipped home kitchens, we

often do less than a pioneer did with just a campfire.

*  Food Storage The storage environment, storage containers, root cellars, rotating your stored foods

are all important to ensure your family is fed year round.

*  Canning and Preserving Canning 101

* Food Storage (Grains) Storing grains and preserving

* Return of the Root Cellar

Gardening

*  Gardening Basics Ok, maybe you have dreamed it but now it is time to get

educated and learn a few basics of gardening, your life may depend on it.

*  Organic Soil Prep In the fall you can relax? Wrong! Now you must prep your

soil for next years garden.

* Superfoods Power packed nutritional food

*  Composting Composting is the single most important item in Organic gardening.

It is nature’s continuous recycling process.

*  Bug Control

*  Companion Planting

*  Solutions for City Dwellers, Suburbanites

Homesteading

*  Homesteading\Stories
*  Basic Animals Before buying animals, learn as much as you can about them, but don’t expect to become

an expert just by reading

*  Equipment/Tools/Utensils

*  Use and Re-Use

*  Basic Property Layouts

THE HAVE-MORE PLAN…More
“A Little Land – A Lot of Living.”  We can learn a lot from older generations.

Those who went before were just as interested then as you are now in fresh air, sunshine,

green grass and wholesome food. Ed and Carolyn Robinson were one of the few that took the

time to lay down a blueprint for making it all happen.  A Classic 1940’s Must Read!

Survival

* Foraging For Food Food is a very important part of life that you must have to survive.

In an extreme situation you must do what ever it takes to keep you and your family alive.

*  Beating The Cold Did you ever wonder why the Indians could travel so light without freezing to death?

Or why they only built a small fire?

*  Shelters

*  Water Survival

*  Survival Info Downloads