Go Bag aka BOB

So I've been doing some thinking about the Bug Out Bag concept. I came across a thread where people listed the contents of their bags. Some were very military-esque, others looked more like camping gear. I'm not sure what category mine would fall into.

I believe a "Go Bag", or whatever you prefer to call it, is a very personal thing. I'm not saying this in a melodramatic way. I just feel it is an extension of the creator. The person that it will do the most for is the one that put it together. In order to know what to include, I think we have to analyze our lifestyle.

My particular life has the following factors. I have a 20 mile commute. I have an 8 month old boy. My funding is very limited. I'm in good enough shape to walk/hike cover several miles on foot, though I haven't found my limit... I'm strong both physically and mentally. I'm also a great problem solver with tons of creativity. Boiled down, this means I don't mind carrying a bunch of stuff, but if it's in my pack, it better have multiple uses.

Basic stuff I include in my bag are things that could transfer between any one's. I have a multi-tool, knife, basic first aid, water, lighter, change of clothes, flashlight, deck of cards, pencil and paper, compass. I also try to have redundancy with these, but I'll touch on that in a sec. These items are a great foundation for anyone.

Some of the personal items I include are a hatchet for dealing with wood. I also have a folding camp shovel to make digging easier. Toilet paper was thrown in when I realized how nice it would be to have a luxury item like that in a bad situation. Throwing in the TP made me toss in a few other luxuries. I now have 2 sawzall blades, second flashlight, baby wipes, zipties, ziplock bags, duct tape, figure 9's, carabiners, 550 cord, file, wet naps, chapstick, paper clips, sunscreen wipes, vapor rub inhaler, and aluminum foil (in case I need a hat lol).

All that stuff is great, and there are many things I use from it weekly. It's my man-purse. Bottom line though is it will help me get where I need to be. And because I have items for daily use in it, I'm more likely to have the bag with me at all times.

As for the redundancy part I said I'd get back to, my thought process goes something like this...
I have no idea what I'll need to be ready for, but I know what I need to survive most things that will come my way. I don't want to rely on my bag because there may come a time when it is unavailable to me. Many of the items in my pack serve a dual purpose. That way in case something is broken or lost, I have a back-up. The main thing I rely on are my survival skills. I'm not a hunter or Bear Grylls, but I'm confident I could make it back to my family, or stay put and await rescue if need be.

Entry 3 - How to make pickles

One thing I like about being prepared is being self sufficient. I'm proud of my skills, and love when I get the chance to learn new ones. Last year I decided to start my first garden (I'll detail this in another post). Making pickles from the cucumbers I grew was at the top of my list. Here's how I made the best pickles ever tasted by anyone.

You'll need a couple of supplies to get started. I used the following:
Qt sized Mason Jars
Cucumbers
Mandolin
Sugar
Salt
White Vinegar
Fresh garlic glove
Fresh Dillweed
Boiling pots

The cucumbers have a better taste when picked early in the morning (don't ask me why, I just read that somewhere). So pick a bunch when they range in size of 4-6 inches long and about 2 inches in diameter. It'll look something like this-



They need to be rinsed well and left out to slice. As I got ready to slice, I cleaned and sanitized the mandolin.



I used it to make varying slices of pickles. Most were sliced like chips, some were sliced lengthwise and some were ripple cut. Have fun with it, but watch your finger tips. Nobody wants a mess in their pickles... Here's how some turned out.



After slicing, I proceeded to create the pickle solution. Before I share the recipe I used, just know that I didn't follow it to the letter. It wasn't for lack of trying, but this thing is written like an ancient potion recipe. I kept wondering when I needed to drop in the eye of newt. Fortunately for me, it's just an Amish recipe my grandma shared with me. Unless you're a chef, these directions leave something to be desired. Here are the ingredients:



And here's the recipe:

Sweet Dill Pickles to Can
3c. white sugar
3c. vinegar
1c. water
2T. salt
Heat to melt sugar. Wash and slice pickles thin. Pack in jars ¾ full. Add and 1 good size dill head and 2 slice garlic. Put in canner, let come to boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat, let set in water till cool. Take out jars. This is enough juice for 3 qt.

-Alma Hershberger

Nice huh? I'm not sure what a "good size dill head" is either. After I made the "juice", I started preparing the canning supplies. Clean and sterile is the name of the game here. I started by rinsing the jars in hot water and letting the hot water warm them up so they didn't crack later.



While those sat, I sterilized anything that would come into contact with the jars by boiling them in a pot.



As all that sat getting ready, I started my canning pot outside. It uses a propane burner, and I love it. It keeps a constant temperature, and gets extremely hot with a quickness. I highly recommend one.



Since everything was ready to go at this point, I put the pickles in their new homes, and got them ready to take outside to bake.



The lids were put on and the rings were tightened down snug. All the jars were carefully placed in the basket and lowered into the hot water bath.



This caused the pot to stop boiling for a few seconds...



But it quickly came back.



Five agonizing minutes later they were ready to be removed. They need to rest a bit before going into storage, and I waited about a week before I opened one to let the flavors meld together.



These pickles didn't last very long. They were amazing. My uber-picky wife who HATES pickles reluctantly tried one and loved them. (If you knew my wife, that says a lot). If you try to make these, I hope you have the same results. I was really looking forward to making them again this year, but my cucumbers just never did very well this year. Thanks for reading.

Entry 2 - Baseline

Anytime in life a person wants to analyze change, a baseline must be established. It is the only way to accurately determine whether conditions have improved or declined. For me, trying to get a baseline of my life is key to improving it. In order to do this, I'll have to divide my life into categories and probably subcategories. Here's an initial list of all the areas I want improvement in (not in any order):

Finances
Health
Security
Preparedness
Basic Skill Sets
Being a dad
Being a husband
Self-reliance
Home-life

Ummm.... on second thought, maybe I need to just focus on these. I realized I could keep making this list longer and longer, but I feel these are some good areas to start with.

One thing that has been on my mind today is security. After watching an episode of The Colony, I started to think about how secure my home is. I noticed quite a few holes in my plan. Since I rent, I am somewhat limited by what I can do to secure my home. I think the area I'm lacking in most is awareness. I need to find a way to know when someone approaches my house, and to alert me if there's a break in. I'd like to be able to rely on my dog, but she's just as good at sleeping as I am. Even though my place is lacking in some areas, I feel my home security is above average for my area.

I have a ranch style house made out of brick with a basement. This basically limits entry to a few areas; windows, front door, back door, and garage. I'm not too worried about the windows because they are the old crank style. Although they are single pane, the frame design would limit entry to someone built like an Ethiopian. I would like to install alarms on the glass, as well as ballistic film. The front door is also a poor point of entry for intruders because it is completely solid and has no glass. The only thing I'm concerned of with this area is the huge glass window next to the door. The back door is a major concern to me. This seems to be the weakest entry point. I need to think of some way to fortify this area... maybe a force field. As for the garage, well, I'd probably feel sorry for them. It's a mess. I can barely get through it sometimes so there's no worries of them surprising me from that angle. Just to err on the side of caution though, I've installed a wireless camera that watches the driveway. There are details I am with-holding for obvious reasons, but I think I've made my point.

Understand that I'm not paranoid. I know the black helicopters aren't out to get me. I'm not naive either. Cincinnati has had riots in the past, and I've had things stolen from vehicles quite a few times. There are bad people in the world that mean others harm. I want to be ready for them. Invading my house is a great way to die from "lead poisoning"...

Entry 1 - Blogging Noob

I have often been told I write well. Writing has never been my fancy to be honest, but I feel like I should try my hand at blogging because I am a long-winded talker. That's why I started this. Now I'm not sure what I should blog about, so I'm going to try a few different areas of interest and see what happens.

One major thing I see me focusing on is improving my life. I am far from perfect, and strive to make improvements in every area of my life. Certain aspects of my life get more focus then others, but I do try to give time to all things that are important to me.

For instance, I have a huge interest in being prepared. You could call me a "Risk Management Professional". I don't have the time or money to accomplish everything I'd like to, but I am able to sneak improvements in here and there. I have a budget I make due with during the week. It pays for my gas, food for lunch and breakfast, and I use what's left for my preps. I'll go to the grocery after I've planned out my meals, and buy what's needed for the week. Then I'll stock up on a few items here and there that are good for storing. I can't get much, but it slowly adds up.

I don't wear a tinfoil hat though. I want to be ready for the stuff that's most likely to happen to me and my family. I tend to refer to a mental probability matrix when I plan for things:

This ensures I don't waste time and money on stuff that won't matter.

Right now, and for the foreseeable future, my main concern is stocking up on food. My family is ready for something little, but that's it. It's a great feeling though when my wife needs something she thinks we're out of, and I reach in the pantry and get it for her.

Thanks for reading, I'll post again soon...