Nothing Gold Can Stay

          Hello readers, I'm Kenneth Olson, and, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. For the past couple of months I have been actively writing and sharing ways to become self reliant in the outdoors or in everyday life. I hope I have helped my readers understand that being prepared in every situation is important. Thank you for listening and commenting, and I hoped my blog as helped in someway. I will no longer post new entry's every Wednesday, but If you have any questions or comments please leave them below, Thanks.

Extreme Weather

Weather Changes are the product of differences in atmospheric temperatures and pressure. Extreme weather results when these differences become larger than usual. Using data gathered from meteorologists helps detect or predict serious storms like tornadoes or hurricanes. Warnings can then be issued through the national weather service, and steps are then taken to minimize danger and prevent loss of life. Extreme weather is often seasonal, and may be confined to certain geographic regions. Knowing what to do during a storm is important, regardless where you are, who you are, or how old you are.

Tornado

A tornado develops when warm, low pressure air rises, the rising air then meets high winds and cool storm clouds. This creates a swirling vortex of wind forming a funnel cloud. If you're in a tornado warning seek shelter immediately! If you're outdoors take shelter in a cave, outdoor shelter, or lie in a ditch with your arms over your head. When in a car, run into a ditch, A car is not the safest place to be. Indoors, Close doors and windows, and get to the lowest floor of your house. A bathtub or the innermost wall. Most injuries associated with high winds are from flying debris, so remember to protect your head.

Hurricane

A hurricane is a tropical storm caused by hot air rising from the sea, creating low pressure and drawing high, spamming winds and thunderstorms together, much like a tornado. When severe hurricane warnings appear, board up your windows and doors, and move inland. For minor hurricanes treat it like a tornado, but stay on ground levels incase of flooding.

Flood

Floods can be caused by rivers and dams breaking, or heavy rainfall. They are normally the worst in dry areas, for loose topsoil can easily turned into mudslides or sinkholes. Most flooding is unexpected or occurs without warning. During a flood get to high ground fast. Don't be tempted to swim or walk across moving water or drive through watered down roads. If water seeps into your house before you can evacuate climb to the attic or roof of your home. If possible grab important necessities like food, clean water, matches, or bedding if possible.

Electrical Storm

When rising warm air meets cold air, static electricity is formed. Water droplets are created and start to descend from forming storm clouds. The charged clouds have enormously high voltage, flashing between water droplets, electricity strikes the closest object in encounters. In a thunderstorm warning, get inside and hunker down on the lowest level of the most inner wall of your home. Even if you're struck by lightning you may still live. To prevent from being struck by lightning, never take showers during lightning storm, and, if outside, lay on the ground. Like I said, lightning strikes the tallest object in its area, so don’t be the tallest object.

Thank you, and I hope this helps as we enter the storm seasons. Stay tuned and remember to always be prepared.

Please leave a comment, suggestion, or question down below, thank you.

Building A Raft

If you have a lot of supplies and equipment to transport across a river or if you want to travel downstream, but you don’t have a boat. A makeshift raft is the simplest way to go. The traditional materials used for raft building are logs, but you can use anything that floats or. Other materials like bamboo or tall grass can be used as well. The basic principle of construction is to make as little cuts as possible with what ever materials you're using. The point of a raft is to floats; If there isn't enough substance, or too many holes, your raft won't float. Making less cuts will also make the raft more stable when floating in the water. A makeshift raft should not be used on rivers with rapids. Rapids may break and tear up the raft or yourself. 

Know its time to build the raft. Making a raft is hard work and will take time. If you choose to build your raft out of logs, it’s best to cut down young trees. Smaller trees aren't heavy and are easy to find. This way you can accurately position and handle the logs without starving yourself. To make a stable raft, you need about twenty, eight foot logs, and they should be roughly four to six inches thick. You also need a large amounts of twine (rope) as well. If you don’t have enough twine, weaving vines, tall grasses, or even fabrics together will work as an improved rope.

Once the appropriate materials are collected, its time to build the raft. In an open area place four logs in a box shape, on the ground. Here you can lash the corners together by using the square lash, pictured below.

When this is accomplished, lay enough logs on the frame to fill the large square hole. (Note: you should lay the logs parallel with the logs already on top). To secure these logs to the raft we will tie two presser bars on top. This is done by tying one log to the frame, sandwiching the placed logs together, pictured below.

Know you can take your new raft for a test float and fix or tighten any problems if necessary.

In many wilderness areas, overgrown vegetation, animals, and rocky terrain make rivers, lakes, and oceans hard to travel on. With countless unseen dangers below the surface, keep in mind traveling on water is extremely dangerous, especially when using an improved raft. To assure your safety, insure your raft is stable and know the water you're traveling on. Extra materials like paddles and PFD's (Personal Flotation Device - Life Jacket) are necessary materials to have. Regardless how well you can swim, always wear some form of life jacket. A long sticks works well to steer the raft like a gondola. Finally, you should never venture on to water unless you're experienced or have no other option. It might sound silly, but this could be the difference between life and death. Stay tuned and remember to always be prepared.

Thank you, and please leave a comment, suggestion, or question down below.



Pictures:
http://www.survivalebooks.com/fig17-07.gif
http://www.bsatroop780.org/skills/files/Lashing.pdf

Your Turn

For the past couple of weeks I wave informed you about life saving tips and ways to have fun outdoors safely. This week I ask you to take one of my posts and use it in some way. Think of it as practice, and remember what I have tough you. Practicing and sharpening your skills will help for when it really counts. Leave a comment below and let me know what you tried. As always, thank you, and normal blogs will continue next week. Please leave any questions or suggestions for next week below as well. Don't forget to always be prepared and have fun.

Checklists

Here are some checklists I found useful for preparing survival kits.

1 Personal Survival Kit Checklist

[  ] Bandana

[  ] Compass

[  ] Small, LED Flashlight

[  ] Garbage Bags

[  ] Lighter

[  ] Matches/Striker

[  ] Flint and Steel

[  ] Metal cup

[  ] Multi-tool

[  ] Painkillers

[  ] Rope

[  ] Gondola or Protein Bar

[  ] Sharp Knife

[  ] Emergency Blanket

[  ] Whistle

[  ] Ziploc Bags

[  ] Small tin (to place everything in)

2. Vehicle Survival Kit

[  ] Cell Phone

[  ] Warm Clothing

[  ] Cook Set

[  ] Cook Stove and Fuel

[  ] Drinking Water

[  ] Flares

[  ] Flashlight

[  ] Food (Just add water meals)

[  ] Road Map

[  ] Small Road Shovel

[  ] Tire Chain

[  ] Tarp

[  ] Toilet Paper

[  ] Tools

3 Other Useful Items to Keep at Home, Camp, or In The Car

[  ] Water Filter

[  ] Wash basin

[  ] Spare Gasoline for Vehicles

[  ] Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector

[  ] Extra Batteries

[  ] Rubber Hose

[  ] Recreational Items

[  ] Rain Ponchos

[  ] Portable Heaters

[  ] Pet-Care Items

[  ] Sticks

[  ] Generator with extension Cord

[  ] Fishing or Hunting Equipment

[  ] Emergency plans, Contact Lists, Meeting Place Information, Etc.

I hope this helps, stay tuned for next week and remember to always be prepared.

Thank you, and please leave a comment or question down below.

Choosing a Tent

Having a shelter is critical and a tent can be a simple solution. Most tents are lightweight, portable, and durable. Tents keep rain and wind out, while keeping warmth in. The outer rain-fly should be strong, watertight, and taught, keeping the heaviest rains and high winds out. The inner part of the tent should be loose, made of non water repellent materials (to minimize condensation build up), but retain heat, with air vents. These two layers of the tent must not touch each other. If they do heat may be lost, and condensation may form inside the tent. To prevent water seepage and tears on the bottom portion of the tent, a ground tarp should be placed down before the tent is set up. However, some tents have built in tarps, or don't require one. Do your research to know what type of tarp, if any, is best for the tent.

Tents

There are many different styles of tents, but most are constructed similarly. However, certain styles of tents are more suitable for a particular climate. For extreme snow and rain conditions, a dome tent is a smart choice. A dome tent can be stabilized with many stakes placed around the perimeter. With the rounded dome shape, this tent allows precipitation to runoff quickly and efficiently. These tents are small, and normally fit one person. A three-hooped tunnel tent, on the other hand, can be large enough for two or three people. This type of tent also fares well in heavy precipitation as well, due to the cylinder or tunnel shape of the tent. Because of the shape and size of the tent, it won’t fare well in extreme snowfall or wind. A traditional horizontal-ridge tent is the multi tool of the tent world, It can be set up almost anywhere. This is  also the cliché “A” frame tent most people think about. This style of tent can come in any size, from a one person tent to a five or six person tent. Overall, a ridge tent is very useful. A tunnel tent is a cross between a dome tent and a ridge tent. This is the classic one person backpacking tent. This tent is lightweight and easy to setup. They can also be set up on grass, rocky valleys, and can deflect high winds. The geodesic dome tent is great for family tenting. A geodesic dome tent is strong, lightweight, large, and easy to setup and teardown. Because of it’s design, This tent is large enough to stand comfortably in, and fit five to eight people. This tent won’t fare well in extreme weather or climate conditions. But with the open and airy design, it’s a great choice for camping in the yard, or at a camp site.

There are many different styles of tents, and you should take into consideration the weight and sizes of your tent, for you will have to transport it somehow. If you are not using a vehicle. I find you can never have too many tents. It might sound silly, but this could be the difference between life and death. Stay tuned for more next week and remember to always be prepared.

Thank you, and please leave a comment or suggestion below about what I should blog about next week.

Footwear

The human body weight was made to be spread over four feet rather that two, so our feet are under constant pressure. With the added weight of heavy backpacks, hiking through rocky terrain, or wet ground makes protecting your feet a difficult and strenuous task. Footwear must always be broken in before being used. Break in leather boots by wetting them, then wearing them until they are dry. When hiking, keep you feet clean, wash your feet and dry them out daily. Always wear clean, dry socks, and look out for signs of blisters like hot spots on your feet. To learn more about blister, and how to treat them; read my last blog, First-Aid Part Three, for more details.

1. Lightweight

There are two types of footwear, light and heavy. Lightweight footwear consists of: sneakers, desert boots, and fabric boots. Sneakers provide comfort for tired feet around camp, and are good for wearing around boats. However, while they are light and comfortable thats just about all they are good for. They don't have much protection and might induce injury rather than help. Desert boots have tough soles and lightweight leather wrapped around the ankle. Desert boots would most likely be worn, you guessed it, in the desert. Because they allow the feet to breathe while keeping sand out. The sturdy leather and high ankles provide support and durability. Unfortunately, these boots are pores and don’t fare well in wet conditions, so they take time to dry. Fabric boots are normally worn in the mountains and can be used for lightweight tracking. These boots are heavy and are normally made from molded plastic and rubber. Fabric boots focus less on protection, but more on stability. When wet, fabric boots do dry out quickly; which can not be said about heavy-duty footwear.

2. Heavy-Duty

Heavy-duty footwear consists of: hiking boots, jungle boots, and plastic snow boots. Hiking boots are the classic go to boot. These boots are a good compromise between lightweight, durability, and protection. This produces a strong well rounded boot with: cleated soles, water resistance, and ankle productions. Jungle boots, like desert boots, would normally be worn in the jungle. Since jungles are constantly wet, these boots are waterproof and have extreme ankle support extending past the ankle. These boots provide protection from sharp sticks, rocks, and animals. With rubber soles, these boots keeps out water, while allowing your feet to breath through the canvas upper half. Plastic snow boots are designed to hold the foot in a fixed position while using crampons, metal spikes, for gripping on the ice. These boots are heavily insulated for use in the coldest climates imaginable. Like snow boots, but awkward to walk in. They also have a thermal liner in the form of a separate boot. This is like a thick wool sock, witch could be worn separately or taken out to dry.

Shoes and boots are all meant to be worn with socks. This is to protect and cushion your feet when walking or standing. Picking out a good pair of boots is almost as important as looking after them. This includes: replacing shoestrings, cleaning, and properly drying them. It might sound silly, but this could be the difference between life and death. Stay tuned for more next week and remember to always be prepared.

Thank you, and please leave a comment or suggestion below about what I should blog about next week.