The Great Calif Shake Out Pt III

It's over. All that's left now is to tot up the statistics. For my part after this mornings post, written in simulated panic, I was able to contact my wife and affirm she was safe at her place of employment. She stays there until I am ready for her to come home or go to a shelter. Since the house is uninhabitable shelters can be created from several sheets of 9x12ft 2mil plastic painters tarps I have since I'm painting the house. Parking the cars back to back with the tailgates open provides a basis for a 3-4 person shelter. City water works so toilets are in use however I am sticking to the 20+ liters of water that were in the cars for drinking. The dinner fixings I bought this morning before the quake were cooked on a propane BBQ, I think most of us have one and at least we eat well tonight. Tomorrow, we'll see about salvaging the kitchen and the food there. There is still no power. Entertainment is whatever I can play on my laptop or listen to in the car. I also have a couple of books in the car, Rock Climbs of Joshua Tree, a couple of light novels and of course several Desert Bandannas. Light is provided by a Coleman lantern, light sticks, and other battery operated lights. There are extra batteries in the car. Not necessarily for emergencies but because my GPS and handheld radios eat them. Bedding was salvaged from the bedroom, however there are emergency blankets in each car. Using my HAM, FRS/GMRS radios, Radio Shack scannerand listening to broadcast radio I was was able to stay in touch with what was going on around me. I would imagine that if shelter and evac point instructions had been issued I could have availed myself of them. Yet considering the panic at an evac point it's probably better to stay where I am for the moment.

After I saw to my own self and made sure the neighbors were OK I was able to take the time to enter the garage back door and was able to grab out tools, rock climbing gear including several hundred feet of rope and anchors and checked in again with the EOC making myself available for ant Search and Rescue work involving climbing and rigging. There aren't going to be enough of those kinds of people around.

Initial panic is going to be the first problem to deal with this you need to be proactive until your settled in for forst few days. That's the goal. The second problem is dealing with the boredom while waiting for emergency services to wind up to full capacity and for relief to come. That could be anywhere from 2 days to a week or more. That makes the immediate priority food and water. Water is not a problem since I can treat it from my survival gear or with some bleach or chlorine from the pool. Food is another problem, there is only a limited amount. A few days salvaged from the kitchen and maybe 3-5 days worth of whatever in the packs. On the other hand *evil grin* I do have a .22 rifle and could walk over to the wash to hunt small game. Maybe find one of Sarah Palin's moose ;) Just kidding. I borrowed a neighbors chainsaw (mine's electric) and with that an the axe form the jeep tomorrow I'll try to cut into the kitchen to see if I can rescue the food from the 'ol Frigidair. If successful I'll cook what I have smoking some of it to make it last longer. Any ice or cold packs left shall be transfered to a cooler along with everything I can put in there. Need to find more ice.

Does all this seem far fetched? Fiction? Man vs Wild or Survivorman? Beyond the abilities of most people? Not at all. I've had a charcoal smoker and a propane BBQ for years so cooking is not a problem. My existing household kit includes a basic cooking set kept in it's own pack. I am ready for disaster to strike, not prepared, but ready since no one can ever be prepared. As far as I know everything including communications at a basic level this is doable by everyone. Unless your severely injured or dead and as long as there are others nearby it shall work itself out. All you have to do is have a survival kit of some sort and take an active part in your survival. I figure we (three of us) are good to go until relief arrives.

The Great California Shakeout Pt II

The great California Shakeout on 13 Nov 08 10:00 am is a simulated 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shall strike the Palm Springs area near the Salton Sea about 50 miles from where I live. I let my wife, a writer for the Desert Sun Newspaper, tell me how much destruction there was to the house which includes the media and dining rooms as well as the kitchen. The Bedrooms, bath and garage are accessible although going into the house is risky. That leaves me with what is in the car and whatever I can salvage from the garage, the washing machine? Ready, set, go!

10:00AM the quake struck just as I was returning from morning errands. My shopping included the fixings for tonights dinner. Shock report: SHOCK!!... Make up your own feelings on the very bad scale. I sat in the car for 10 minutes and waited for aftershocks and until I stopped shaking from the adrenalin rush and thought it was safe to get out. There is no house, or kitchen but I do have dinner. Cell phones are down, no electricity, no nothing.

Always step one is to ensure the safety of those immediately around you even if it's a neighbor you don't like. Family at home? OK! Pets? Dogs are scared but the cats don't seem to care at all. Turn off the gas, circuit breakers and water. I have easy access to the the hot water tank so it is drained into as many buckets as I have. That's 50 gals of water right there in addition to the 10 liters in my car. Next is to assess what your going to have to do. For me it's getting into the garage. After inspection from the outside the garage is safe, with no signs of giving way. The problem is it's locked behind a steel roll-up door. Parked out front is my Jeep with it's off-road gear including 2 shovels, an axe, a bill hook, crow bar, jacks, rope etc. Getting into the garage presents no problem and if I don't knock it down getting in I should be safe once inside...

only the jeep keys are in the locked garage. No problem just break into the jeep to get the tools.

I'm not giving thought to food or water since I have both in my car along with my standard day pack. That's enough to keep me in the desert for a week and it's early in the day so I think signals first. I want to find out about She Who is My Wife. There are no cell phones or landlines. So I try her FRS/GMRS radio, the one she has in her car. No luck; it's probably in the car and she'll retrieve it eventually. Next dig out my amateur (HAM) radios. The antennas on the roof have all been knocked down and the radios are covered with years of dust from being in storage. An old antenna called a J-pole is in the pile of junk by the side of the house. Setting it up takes about 20 minutes. Getting the radios online takes the same with a battery from my sons motorcycle for power, plug everything in and dial in the repeater frequencies. Now check in with the Ham radio emergency teams located in various Emergency Operating Centers in the area. Once checked in I can now monitor the radios and find out what's going an. A lot of destruction and damage as I feared. More dead than was thought of. I the mean time the FM radio in my MP3 player had been providing me with news, music and Nathan Baca a local TV journalist. It is now 12:30, there have been hundreds of after shocks. I have comms so now it's time to sit, eat, take medications and contemplate the next step. I have to find out about Judi, my wife, and think about tonight. The radio reports lots of roads damaged between here and her office by the airport and despite the rule of Stay Put!On the other hand I have to find out. It's not really a problem and while my SUV will get me there over the damaged and cliogged roads a better choice is my Jeep, the wall climbing "Dirt Dog", now I can drive over debris, sand damaged roads, even cars if need be to get to Judi's office.

So time to get everything setup. Back in a few hours.

The Great Calif Shakeout Pt 1

Tomorrow, Thurs Nov 13 is the great Calif Shakeout. Purported to be the largest disaster simulation ever run. Locally here in Palm Springs, CA the local TV station KESQ.com has a reporter, Nathan Baca, going through a 3 day simuation living through the aftermath of 7.2 quake. At first I thought about doing nothing then decided to take part in my own way. At the time of the simulated earthquake tomorrow morning wherever I am I shall react andl take the steps I think I would have to in order to ensure the survival and safety of my family. I shall document this effort and blog it here so you can see what I am doing throughout the day.

"Wait!" you scream, how can you do that if you don't have power for electricity and the internet is down. I am an amateur radio operator and have a laptop computer, all kinds of radios most currently packed away in boxes and simulat access to SatPhone for the duration of the simulation. After all if they can simulate an all comms out disaster I can sim Sat Phones since my radio gear will do actually that. So I'll simulate comms using my laptop and Internet connection for that purpose only.

I'm curious as to what I'll do since like a real disaster I don't know what's coming and I don't know how I'll respond when I try to apply a sense of panic to the situation. I suppose that will depend on what I hear as disaster reports when I tune in to what ever's happening on the radio, broadcast or otherwise.

Hiker Hell.

Ever wonder what can happen to the average hiker? Wander over to Hiker Hell a blog given to the mistakes and mis-adventures of hikers around the world. See what can happen when Mother Nature does walk up and go "Tag, you're it!" Some are tragic in their ending others border on the comic like two hikers who had to buy cell phone minutes to finish their rescue call.

Closer to home I do find an outrageous number of people doing the foolish. June 1986: Temperatures are normally between 106F and 111F. One Saturday 3 (one in the car) people drove five miles down an more or less improved dirt road through the Wind Electric Generating facility where I was Director of Operations and out into the desert to be found by Security Chief Robert (white shirt) where they were wandering around half naked, drinking beer and buried in the sand. We assumed they were looking for the settling ponds belonging to the local water agency and drove in the wrong way, a common mistake. The ponds were a popular place to swim, windsurf, sail and play and as a result a lot of other rescues took place in the same general area due to people trying to get to the ponds through various wrong way entrances. Per SOP Robert called me on the radio interrupting my Saturday and I responded with a pick-up truck suitable for the task of yanking them out. During the rescue operation an unusually contrite group of people quietly stood by while the Porsche was pulled free and set back on the road. It was at that point Robert walked up gave me three business cards. These people were the CEO, VP and GM of the wind park, my employers. They had never been out to visit their investment and had decided on a whim to drive out from Thousand Oaks, CA (150+ miles) for a visit unannounced. The moral to this story? Even smart people do stupid things.

Somethng Stupid

Found New Years Eve 2005 with a broken front end.

I do things even I say don't do, like going into the desert alone. Last week it was a drive out to the Eagle Mining district to look for a few geocaches. My side trip was at the last second, in fact I didn't even know I was going until I turned off the main road onto a dirt track. Out of two-way radio and cell phone range and about 6 miles out into the basin to play. Click for map then zoom in to explore.

I drove as far as a wash I couldn't cross and sat there thinking. What if something went wrong and my car broke down or dug in. Nobody knew where I was and that meant walking out in 104F temps. Doing a six mile easy to moderate hike in the day (the road back) is not too bad, if you are accustomed to it. I've done much harder hikes in higher temps as a both a guide and a tribal ranger. Properly dressed with a couple of liters of water the smooth track to the main road would have taken about a 2 hours to walk. However when you consider the time of day better to wait until 5pm or so to avoid the heat of the day and direct exposure to the sun.

The question is how prepared was I? Despite the fact I had 6 liters of water, a fully equipped 5-day pack along with a jacket and hat, not well enough. Driving into the basin I was wearing a T-shirt, sandals and shorts. A walk out would call for protection, changing into long pants, heavy safari shirt and hiking boots. At least I had the boots. Fortunately Lexus makes a reliable little SUV even if it is 10 years old and the trip was made in air conditioned comfort. [He lies, the windows were open] :)

Yet I did something stupid. Why? I don't know it was just a whim and even though nothing went wrong it could have. The Lexus RX300 isn't my Jeep. It doesn't have any self rescue tools, no shovels, ropes or hi-lift jacks. It is an All-Wheel Drive street SUV with no lo-range gears. So driving into trouble doesn't necessarily mean you can drive out like the Jeep can with it's monstrous power and wall climbing drive train. Proper equipment also means a proper vehicle.

My point is we all tend to do dumb things. You just have to realize you are doing them and hope that you are prepared for them when things really do go wrong and even more that you are prepared for the consequences.

In the above photo this touron was found deep in a canyon 50 miles from rescue with a broken front end. We already had a Ford Bronco in tow and informed him we would call the park rangers when we could. That call was made 3 hours later. I eventually found out his rescue took another 6 hours after that call. Note that your rental car insurance does not cover this kind of tomfoolery. Off road tow charges in Calif are $125.00 per hour plus a drop fee.

I made some who watch Spike TV and Ultimate Fighting very angry over the death of their hero Evan Tanner (see my last post) . I was at the local pub with a friend for a pint and the discussion turned to Evan Tanner's demise in the Palo Verde Mountain area. I was accused of being cold and heartless with my views towards Mr. Tanners untimely demise in the desert where he could have been easily rescued. Very well, since you demand an apology you shall have it.

I apologize if I upset your attitudes towards fear and death. I apologize if the thought of Evan Tanner answering a challenge and dying for his efforts is more than you can cope with. I am saddened by every death in the desert whether it was done by accident, incident or stupidity. Yet it is the latter, stupidity, that seems to be the cause of most fatalities followed by a lack of common sense and thought. So instead of reviling me for his death take a lesson from it. Be a part of what happens here and never challenge the desert.

Look for the adventure, not the challenge.

The Darwin Award goes to Evan Tanner

In his blog Utimate Fighting Champion Evan Tanner wrote "I'm hoping that very soon I'll be sitting out in the quiet of the desert beneath a deep blue midnight sky, listening to the calm desert breeze. The idea going into the desert came to me soon after I moved to Oceanside. It was motivated by my friend Sara's talk of treasure hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite for adventure and exploration. I began to imagine what might be found in the deep reaches of the untracked desert. It became an obsession of sorts".

What he found was death. His obsession became suicide by stupidity. Fox News Article The Imperial County sheriff says his death was by exposure which in their language means dehydration and heat stress. His body was found about 2 miles from his camp where his motorcycle was found with no gas in it. What happened? He probably ran out of water and tried to walk out in 115F temps. After hearing about this I found his blogs learned something about Evan Tanner. A sporting champion he had everything going for him with one exception, at least when it came to the desert; attitude. You can't challenge the desert, nor can you be obsessive. Passionate, yes. Obsessive certainly not. You could say his new found obsession drove him to his death.

It takes me an hour to prepare for a trip into the deep desert, out of cell phone and two-way radio range. Tanner took a month and a half to prepare for the desert by "reading books, studying the land, and researching gear", then presumed he would be all right. He was also in cell phone range. You cannot presume anything in the desert. What went wrong? I'm not going to try to answer that, Tanner fans would only get pissed off and while it's a shame that he died at 37 it's more of a shame that he did it to himself and in that I hope this points out how easy it is for things to go horribly wrong for you. After all Darwin does not reward stupidity and foolishness.

http://www.spike.com/profile/Evan_Tanner

Life is when you make plans.

Survival is when those plans change unexpectedly.

I wonder if a Desert Bandanna would have helped him?

Desert Bandanna eStore now online.

Blatant Advertising. The Desert Bandanna is an extra large (26"x26" 66x66cm) nature and survival guide printed in HiDef black on high quality unbleached muslin. Covering everything from Attitude to Zoology it is the knowledge that gives you the edge when things go wrong. Handmade in the USA Desert Bandannas are machine and river washable for years of use. Buy your's today. [/End of advertising] Two years in development and production. The Desert Bandannas are here and we are now open for business. It has been a long time, lot's of people have said they want one. Now we find out.

Riley Coyote says Leave no trace behind and never feed, touch or disturb wildlife.

It always starts with a challenge.

After a day of playing in the desert and ensconced over a brew at the now defunct Beatnik Cafe in Joshua Tree, a City-zen who had joined us for the morning asked, "Can you do what the guys on TV can?" "Like what?", I ask. The response; "Eat a raw dead zebra, make water...; and now I know this guys has been watching too much TV. So let's expose Man vs Wild and Survivorman as it has to do with us. Which is??? Nothing; meaning while everything they do is true, eating lizards and bugs, collect water and making shelter it's not a big deal. It is nothing more than proper training from military survival schools, various classes offered for the outdoors or even natural to someone who grew up hunting and fishing. Add to that there are number of excellent books on the subject including one of which was written by yours truly.

Now trying to explain to my new friend that what is manufactured entertainment for TV is not what I'm trying to teach. Start with Man vs Wild out on the African veldt. With a recently (presumably predator) killed zebra our host cuts off a piece, takes a bite then makes a comment while asking whether you would do this or not. Hell no! I'm not going to eat a piece of raw dead zebra or any other type of kill, predator or road. The main reason is there are not going to be a lot of fresh reasonable kills left behind in the desert. Desert predators and scavengers make sure of that in very short order. Another thing, he's got a knife to cut a piece of zebra off. Both of us have knives and are skilled in the outdoors. Shouldn't he be able to make a nice fire to cook that piece of zebra. Why eat raw meat unless you like sushi or steak tartar? That''s my preference BBQ'd snake, lizard or whatever.

Survivorman was even more rigged. He found (placed) himself in the desert where he easily found water and food. It wasn't until the second commercial that I realized he placed himself in the Mojave Desert near the western mountains in winter so he could find food and water. Let's move him to the Black Rock Desert in NV, or put him on top of Black Mesa in AZ during the summer and see how he fares. My point is don't expect to find food, water or shelter most desert environments. You are better being prepared with the proper gear in your car or day pack rather than trying to use a bunch of survival tricks meant for experts.

Myths Exposed: Solar Stills. I've always loved the theory of the solar still. Easy to build and they do work. Dig a pit about 2-3ft across and the same deep keeping the sides as verticle as possible. Fill the bottom 1/3-1/2 of the pit with fresh crushed green brush placing a catch container into the center of the brush. Broad leafed plants are best for this; not something you find in a desert. Cover the pit with a sheet of plastic and put a rock in the center so it is over the cup. As moisture evaporates from the plants it gathers on the plastic then drips down into the cup. Yield: ~4-8oz (120-240Ml) in ~8 hours. Energy expended to get that cup of water? Over a liter and getting heat stressed. The best place to conserve water is in your body. The best place to find water is in your car.

See ya.

Updated the website today to improve the flow and look of things. The only thing left is to work out the pay pal integration. For those of you who have never messed with web programming let me say that WYSIWYG web page editors aren't and the best way is still to write in old fashion HTML. Wanna see what it looks like. Just right click on most web pages and select View Source.

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But this blog is supposed to be about the desert and what happens here. Being in a drought for pretty much the last ten years has brought more and more animals, particularly predators, down from the mountains. Lately in the news there's been lot of talk about "A coyote just came up and ate my Fifi" or "That creature attacked my child" There are two reasons for those attacks. First brother coyote's hungry and has little ones to feed. Fifi being about the size of a large rat makes a nice meal for a critter that usually lives on rodents and anything else he can get. As for attacking your child, most coyote attacks on people come from either a little one wanting to feed the cute doggie a biscuit or people leaving food out where it can be found. Even the raccoons now found in our area are smart enough to come in a dog door and have done so. Never heard of a coyote doing that but raccoons habituate to people easier than "cute doggies do" Nonetheless keeping an eye pets and food inside along with teaching your children not to feed the animals is a key point in preventing animal attacks.

Did you know that owls eat cats? Since owls can't digest fur and bones the spit up what are known as owl pellets. A number of years ago I found more than a few in my backyard where a great horned owl perched from time to time. Breaking one of them open revealed the remains of a cat.

"Never try to kill a snake. It's a tough to do and all you do is piss 'em off". - The Desert Bandanna

Something about shipping

Desert Bandanna Stuff


The final art proof is in my hands and I approved it's printing today. Delivery date I hope before 20 Sept.

You can always check here for the latest information on weird things like actually buying more than one or having it sent overseas or even to Canada or Mexico. This is one of those DIY web sites projects and that also means DIY integrating with Paypal and the post office. Which means learning a lot of stuff I don't know anything about coupled with the inability of Paypal to do what I actually want to do vis-a-vis shipping rates.

Here's how it's supposed to work. Priority mail 2-3 day delivery for a flat rate. Off the top of my head, $4.80US, $9.85US Canada, Mexico, and ~$13.00US everywhere else. Add in 40.65US for tracking. This covers a 4lb(<2kg) If you're confused or have any questions please feel free to email me and we can arrange something with payment through Paypal.

FAQ I suppose these shall be the first ones answered.

How well does the printing hold up; does it wash off? There are Desert Bandannas ten years old that are still readable.

How do I care for my bandanna? The Desert Bandanna is machine and river washable.

Is it Bandanna or Bandana. The Merriam-Webster (US) and the Concise Oxford (UK) dictionaries say both spellings are correct.

RANT: I remember as a teen all of the popular SciFi depicting two kinds of worlds. One where no one had any pockets in their clothes. No way to carry stuff. Everything was clean, neat, pretty and at their command, sort of like Star Trek. I guess this represented the 21st Century as seen from the early sixties. The other world is one seen frm the 70's. One of pockets and dirt where everything you need is carried with you. In the pulp fiction of the that time this included rayguns and light sabers, an assortment of futuristic tools,and credit crystals which are akin to todays swipe and gripe cards and the ever present and required ID card. This is more reminicesnt of a utilitarian world like Star Wars or Blade Runner. A place where we have to be prepared for whatever. A place where if you don't wear a badge saying who you are then you are nobody. In the late 70s there was a saying, "If you don't get an education you'll wind up wearing your name on badge at McDonalds" In buying new uniforms for the upcoming tour season I found my self with a pair of pants having ten pockets and a shirt having five along with a place for my name badge. What does that say? Do we all now work at McDonalds?

Uncorrected. That means I didn't spell check or grammar check it.

Promises to keep

It's been awhile since the last post and there is no guarantee there will be another post at least until the end of Sept.

So what news Desert Rats and City-zens. Here we go.

In last couple of posts I asked about what you might carry with you. There are after all Ten Basic Essentials that all hikers should carr. They are. Water, knives, whistle, matches, compass and map/GPS, food, first aid kit, ponchos, solar blanket and rope. Ten items that can spell the difference between life and death. No BS. So what do you do with those items, those Ten Basic Essentials. You add an Eleventh Essential.

DesertBandanna.com

The Desert Bandanna - Third Edition. First introduced ten years ago it is a very large survival bandanna with a lot of tips and tricks to help you out when you get into trouble. This year is the 10th anniversary so here is the Third Edition. Hugely expanded to give you the edge with the knowledge you need to get through the one time when things go wrong. The Desert Bandanna is basic nature and survival guide printed on an extra large 26"x26" (66x66cm) high quality muslin in HiDef Black, whatever HiDef black is. The release date is in late September.

The web site is there. At least enough to give you a preview yet still needs to be finished and fine tuned. As of today most links are turned off until I sort out error pages, paypal buttons, security and the rest. You can reach us at iwantone@desertbandanna.com for preorders and bulk sales.

As for mt experience designing a website. Go daddy says it's easy using their Website tonight. It's a big help but I still have to code a lot of this for myself and that's something I could live with out.

Ja~ne

Did you ever figure out what those four items were? Water, a cell phone, knife and a lighter. If you're hiking I would suggest a whistle instead of a cell phone.

"OK", sez you, "but why do I need water in the city"? You ever go to work without a latte or its equivalent? I sure don't. Latte's are made with water and that most life saving of all elixers, coffee.

Last weekend a few of us went to Mt San Jancinto State Park. I met Ranger Cher and we spoke of training and response for the people who get into trouble. It occurred to me that all too often in the past 25 years I've been the first responder in many instances. True to form less than an hour after leaving the ranger station I responded to an incident with a heat stressed boy whose father pushed him up the steep trail to Mtn Station and then allowed his son to drink a fair amount of cold water. As a result the boy vomited and collapsed. Of the 8-10 people standing around no one had any idea what to do. Despite first aid training my friends couldn't handle a retching puking boy who needed help while Dad and co just stood there trying to macho the kid to his feet. With no one doing anything I just did my job, one I don't even get paid for anymore.

Later I was asked, "How did I know it was heat stress"? Easy enough. The boys head was very hot, so was his neck by the carotid artery. The answer is simple cool him down. A wet bandanna around the neck on the artery, a strip of cool water down the middle of his back and on his head. Get him into the shade and wait for him to cool down, naturally in this case. These people didn't wait. The hustled him into the Tram car headed to the bottom of the mountain 6,000 ft below. A sick kid in a hot tram car. I'm thinking that good 'ol dad there had a very sick kid on his hands for awhile there.

If you, the guy or gal reading this, ever have to respond you should know that the area is going to be covered in blood, puke and only the lord knows what else. You are going to have to go in there and get dirty. One of my friends tried to help that boy but told me the smell drove him away. He asked me how I did it. I dunno, I just do. What about you; how will you respond when the time comes?

Tonights post written because I was bored while watching a silent movie starring Lon Chaney.

Who am I. An engineer in the past, a guide with a short time spent as a Tribal Ranger. Today I do eco-tours and adventure day trips in the Mojave and Sonora deserts. "A guide, huh; what can you do"? Drop me into the desert in summer. Allow me my pack and only the water in my car and I'll walk out sit down and wait for rescue. I'll also practice what I preach, that is what I wrote in the "Quick and Alive Tourist Guide to the Desert - Survival and you" out of print, new version soon.

What is this blog about. I dunno really. It's here at the request of a few friends and people who email wanting to know more about the desert and the "fascinating" a quote by others not me DeRanger" Steve.

To which I respond, "Okaaay!!!!"

So after thinking it over between the last paragraph and this one (about 2 weeks) I've decided to do at least the following:

• Write about the desert in general, history, geology, and some of my favorite true stories.
• Post old magazine articles starting with #1 as soon as I figure out how to do it.
• Pass on the lessons that have kept me alive when things went terribly wrong. Which they have more than once.
• Try to sell you "DeRanger" Steve certified stuff we'll get to that another time. That is the crap I use that works under extreme duress.
  
• And a healthy dose of opinion "occasionally even based in fact" as said by Bulldog.
  

So who knows what shall come of this, we'll find out over time.


OK, put your books away it's time for a quiz.

There are Ten Essential items to survival whether in the the desert or elsewhere. Kept in a day pack there are as many different mixes to this list as there are grains of sand. Only one provides the best protection from the desert. Of these Ten Essentials 4 are a must have wherever you go, from your desk at work to BFN; you do know where that is don't you?

Question 1. In order of importance what are those first four items?

Question 2. What are the remaining 6 items. specific list with no particular order

Question 3. Where are these items kept when not in use.

Bonus question. (T/F) This is stupid and I don't really need to pay attention to survival info.

No cheating, no using Google to search for an answer because *pointing* out there, there are no books** or search engines.



**Except one, The Desert Bandanna coming soon.

Je~ne {see ya}