Rescue Me!

OK, did I create the Wilderness Ed Handy Pack for under $10? Not a chance, even if you give me credit for the "common" household items I had to go out and buy. I do have a survival pack that fits into a one quart ziplock bag, but that means it has to be carried in a backpack. If your survival pack has to be carried in a backpack, you might as well include bottles of champagne, caviar, and a two-way radio. Still I learned a lot for Wilderness Ed Handy Pack 2 which will include a little more, fit in a fanny pack, and, if I could just find a source of plutonium, would enable me to build an A-bomb. I'm sure both M40 and Macgyver can see the advantages of exploding a nuclear weapon instead of waiting for folks to see your smoke signals.

The Handy Pack 1 is based on meeting the needs in the Rule of Three. Remember-take care of injuries first. Cotton pads, needles, dental floss, and regular thread along with the universal solution, duct tape are in the pack to take care of open wounds. The duct tape is a five foot swatch of bright orange tape wrapped around a Sharpie. Pack 2 will include aspirin and Imodium. Another possibility is water purification tablets. Those tablets use iodine to purify water and in a more concentrated mix can serve as an antiseptic.

The next need was shelter and the Handy Pack is well supplied here with two 55 gallon trash bags and ten feet of polycord wrapped around the outside of the pack. The polycord has a failure weight of 288 pounds and in a long term survival situation can be unwound into smaller cables. I also included about 50 feet of 100 pound test fishing line  and 20 feet of 15 pound test monofilament wrapped around two nails. Rubber bands and scungi's complete the shelter building kit. I'm not going to detail how to build your shelter from this stuff, but like most things in the kit all the pieces have multiple uses. For example, the 55 gallon bags also can make a poncho and a rainwater collecting device. I would have liked to have found a survival blanket made out of mylar and costing $2, but no luck. I did include a six foot long piece of aluminum foil that can serve as a heat reflector once a fire is started, but the real reason for including it was to make cooking pots.

Fire starting equipment is well represented with a BIC lighter, lip balm, cotton balls, popsicle sticks and wooden skewers. I'd tried to fit in a magnesium firestarter into Pack 2 as a backup, but that adds $8 to the cost. I did include a small magnifier that I already had at home. If that fails as a backup to the BIC, there is enough in the kit to make a fire bow.

Water is the next need. I plan to boil water so making a bowl out of the aluminum foil is a priority. Once the water is prepared I have one and two and half gallon ziploc bags to serve as canteens. Food is the last priority, and I hope to get by without killing bunnies and squirrels. The fishing line can be used to make snares and I've also included five fish hooks for a passive fishing set up.  A pill bottle was used to hold the hooks, needles, thread, paperclips, and safety pins. A pencil and a plastic spoon complete the kit which will also include a one page version of M40s survival guide.

The costly items for the pack are mostly signaling items. I spent $5 for a whistle, compass, and thermometer combination and $4 for an LED flashlight. I would add a $15 mini leatherman and the $8 firestarter. Trying to keep the costs down I replaced the leatherman with $3 worth of large exacto blades not a fair trade at all!

So what kind of a kit would I make for the 8-11 year olds. I'm not sure about giving kids a lighter and sharp exacto blades, but I like the rest of the kit except for its size-definitely need a small fanny pack!

I expected to do an end of the year list about the five best things to happen in Easton town government this year, but when I sat down to do it I discovered that 2011 was a year of planning for good things that will come to fruition (hopefully) in 2012. Shovelshop, the Trustees of Reservations, lights at Prospect St, and a solar field at the landfill all progressed this year, but we'll have to wait til next year to see these benefits. We'll also have to wait til next year to see if the Five Corners project is a benefit at all. So, instead of giving up on a year end list completely you'll be seeing my views on the Five Cutest Animals at Sheep Pasture.