Eskimo Windproof Clothing Trick

Its 10 degrees below zero F (-23° C) this morning (December 18).

It gets much colder than that in these parts but I wanted to show you a wilderness winter survival trick you can use when it’s very cold, windy, and you do not have proper clothing.

As you may know from your survival schooling, in cold temperatures wind will rob your body of heat very quickly. Known as “wind chill”, even a relatively warm (in terms of true winter survival) +15° F (-9° C) with a brisk wind of 25 mph will actually feel like it is -4° F (-20° C).

With an ambient temperature of minus 20° F (-29° C) that number goes down to minus 51° F (-46° C)! At these low temperatures exposed flesh freezes within seconds. The wind cuts like a knife right through unprotected clothing and poses a threat to survival for those who are unprepared with proper gear and winter clothing.


Windproofing Wool Pants

Wind-chill during winter survival must be dealt with. If your smart and wind-chill is dipping into the -30° F (-34° C) and -50° F (-46° C) degree range you will seek shelter and build a fire for warmth. If not, you will have to adapt as best as you can in order to survive in the winter wilderness.

The best clothing system for winter survival is to dress in layers with the outer layer made of wind resistant materials like leather or a man-made outer shell. Without this outer layer high winds will cut right through ordinary fabrics and you will freeze very quickly.

But what do you do if you find yourself in extremely windy, cold conditions with no wind resistant materials? Perhaps your plane has crashed or your vehicle is stuck and you are trying to walk out to safety. Maybe you were just out for a day hike in beautiful weather when a sudden wintry gale takes you by surprise.


Blot With Snow

If the temperature is below 0° F (-18° C) and you have some extra clothing you’re in luck because nature can provide you with a wind proof outer shell at no cost. All you need is to know this Eskimo winter survival trick.

Find some unfrozen water. Parts of streams often stay open late into the winter. Chop a hole in the ice of a stream or pond if you have to, or melt some snow if you can.
Dip your shirt or pants into the water so that they are soaked through. Be very careful not to get wet yourself! (see first photo).
Blot out the excess water by rubbing the garment in snow. At these low temperatures snow is typically dry and powdery. It will readily absorb water. (second photo showing thermometer at -10° F).
Hang the article of clothing on a nearby bush to harden in the intense cold. It won't take long.


Survival Ice Wind Pants

Once frozen hard, you have yourself an armor shell virtually impervious to the wind. Because the temperature is so cold and you are wearing layers of clothing that keep your body warmth in, this outer shell will not melt while you are wearing it. Once you walk in them for a short way the thin ice will crack in all the right places; the fit and feel will be perfect and tailor made to your movements.

In the series of pictures you can see me standing next to the ice wind pants I made. They are so stiff I leaned them against a stack of firewood. Note the size of these wool pants, meant to be worn over one, two or even three layers of inner clothing as part of the cold weather layering system I advocate for winter survival.

I have often used this winter survival trick inadvertently while running survey lines in the mountains and Great North Woods of Maine during very cold winter days. As my body moisture migrated to the outer layer of clothing it would freeze into a thin, impenetrable coating of ice augmented by balls of snow clinging to the thick wool pants.

In high latitudes darkness and rapidly dropping temperatures come early. As the cold intensified, I felt like a knight in ice armor clanking back to the vehicle at the end of the workday. However hard the cold north winds blew, I was warm!

How to Make Emergency Socks

It's 25 degrees below zero F (minus 32 degrees C). Making your way along the edge of a stream in deep snow, the bank suddenly collapses and your foot plunges into ice cold water.

Or maybe you are walking on the thick ice of a pond, thinking it is safe, but an underground spring has made a thin section. You fall through.

Your winter survival training kicks in. You remember what Survival Topics has taught you.

You quickly extricate yourself from the ice cold water and immediately roll your leg in the powdery snow. The snow acts as a blotter, sopping up much of the water even as it soaks its way through your layers of clothing toward your skin. The less water that makes it through the better; the less water the more chances you have of making it out alive.


Winter Emergency

However good the snow is at capturing water, some gets in. It takes a little time for the water to penetrate your layers of clothing. You feel a trickle inside your boot as tendrils of icy water find their way in. The sudden intense cold is very painful as your boot fills, making your once warm socks worse than useless.

In a matter of minutes your painful wet foot becomes numb with cold. It feels blocky, not even a part of your body. You do not have spare socks (maybe the contents of your pack are wet), nor the means to build a fire for warmth. In the time it takes to gather materials for a fire it will be too late. It is too far to walk out in time to save yourself. You are in deep trouble.


FootBeing wet in these conditions can only lead to bad things. What you do next will make the difference whether you survive or perish – or maybe just loose your foot to frostbite.


Foot

Your Wilderness Survival Skills will Save You
This scenario is not far fetched. It could happen to you. It happens to some hapless outdoorsman every day in winter somewhere in the world. Often times this emergency leads to hypothermia, loss of limbs or even the demise of the individual.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Survival Topics has got you covered; With a little ingenuity you can save yourself where others with equal chances fail. Here is what you do:

Speed is of the essence.
Grab one of the inner layers of clothing you are wearing. A shirt, a wool sweater, fleece jacket or what have you.
If it is too cold to take off your outside covering, rip or cut the inner layer off your body.
Take off your wet boot and socks.
Place your bare foot facing a diagonal of the cloth as shown in the photo (this is my black capilene t-shirt).
Fold this diagonal section up over your toes toward your leg.
Take the right side of the cloth and fold over the top of your foot.
Take the left side of the cloth and fold over the the top of your foot also, tucking it into the cloth that is tight against your right.
You now have improvised a dry sock that will save your foot and perhaps your life. Insert the foot back into your boot (first making sure you have drained out as much water as possible) and quickly head for safety.

Keep moving to get the circulation of warm blood flowing through your cold limb. Along the way you may be able to find additional insulation that you can use to augment your handiwork or replace the inner layer of clothing you removed: for example dry leaves or cattail down.

You will survive another day.


Making the Sock

I'm not sure if I ever posted this here or not.

How to Make Fire Sticks

Because fire is so important to survival, it is always a good idea to have a fire starting aid in your survival kit. To this end many of us carry what is known as a “fire stick” as part of our standard survival gear.

In this article I will show you how to make your own fire sticks at home using commonly available materials.

Why Carry Fire Sticks?
Lightweight and waterproof, a fire stick can help kindle a blaze in even the worst conditions.

If you need to build a fire in a hurry, for example if you fall into a stream during cold weather, you can quickly gather combustible materials and use your firestick to start a fire even if the wood you are using is damp.

In fact, a properly made fire stick will burn even if it has been submerged in water. Anyone who has ever traveled in very wet conditions can appreciate the advantage to that.


Fire StickEven during non-emergency situations sometimes wood can be stubborn to kindle. A good firestick will burn for eight or ten minutes at least, providing plenty of heat to dry and ignite wet wood if used correctly.

Other uses for firesticks include being a quick source of heat. You could make a winter survival debris hut and light the firestick inside. By letting it burn completely before crawling in, the shelter would be pre-heated and much more comfortable.


Fire Stick

Buying Fire Sticks


Buying Fire Sticks
You may have seen or even used the commercially available firesticks or firestarters. These are typically made of pressed wood particles and wax. Coghlans markets these aids for “starting fires quickly and easily” in a variety of outdoor stores and online marketplaces.

Making Firesticks

Because the formula for making fire sticks is so basic, you can easily make your own at home using commonly available materials. This should satisfy the do-it-your-selfer who enjoys making his own survival equipment.


Fire Stick MaterialsWhat you will need:

Wax. Pretty much any candle wax will do. I like to recycle wax from leftover stubs and broken candles.
Corrugated cardboard.
String. Do not use man-made fibers as they often emit toxic fumes when burning. Cotton or other plant based fibers is what you want to use when making firestarters.
A double boiler to melt the wax in. If you do not have one you can easily make your own by using two pots of different sizes.
A means to cut the string.
A source of heat to melt the wax.


The most time consuming part of making firesticks is the melting of the wax but you can do this while working on the rest of the project.

Assuming you do not have a double boiler, make your own using two pots of different sizes. Partly fill the larger pot with water and put it onto your source of heat (stove, fire, or what have you). Next put your wax into the smaller pot and place it so that it is floating on the water in the larger pot. Put this combination on your source of heat so that as the water warms it melts the wax.


Homemade Fire StartersWhile the wax is melting you can prepare the fire starters. First obtain a piece of corrugated cardboard, preferably without the backing on one side. If all you have is cardboard boxes you can easily remove the paper backing from one side using a pair of needle nose pliers or similar tool. This is what I did and it worked very well.

Then cut the cardboard into strips about six or seven inches long and two inches wide as shown in the picture. Roll these strips up and tie them with a natural fiber cord.


Homemade Fire Starters

Carefully dip the cardboard rolls into the hot melted wax and let soak for several seconds. I like to use the pliers on my favorite survival tool, a Leatherman wave multi-tool, to hold the cardboard by the string as I dip it. Remember the wax is very hot and can burn you if it touches your skin.


Melting the WaxShake the cardboard a bit the help the wax penetrate into the spaces of the cardboard and then take out to cool.

Once cool the wax has hardened inside and around your home made firestarters you can quickly dip them into the hot wax again for an additional coating. This will cause your firestarters to burn even longer, though it possibly is not necessary and will add some extra weight.


Melting the Wax

Testing the Homemade Fire Sticks
As a test I used a match to light one of the home made fire starters. It caught fire very easily and burned with hot flame from one end to the other over a period of about 9-minutes. This is plenty of time to dry out even wet kindling so that you can build a fire.

I recommend carrying two or three of your fire starting sticks in your survival kit wherever you go. Though you may have a great amount of firemaking experience, an extra margin of safety could very well save your life in an emergency.
Melting the Wax

The Palm Stick for Self-Defense, by Kent
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The palm stick, sometimes called a Yawara stick, or Kubotan, is an excellent and highly effective tool for self-defense. The tactical folding knife and the concealed pistol typically dominate the self-defense culture, especially when weapons are discussed. However, the palm stick has several advantages and applications that firearms and knives cannot match.

Typically a palm stick measure around six inches in length, and about a half inch in diameter. Six inches is a good length, in my opinion. This combines concealment with a length that is still practical for offensive moves. A half inch may be a tad skinny, but too much thicker and one starts to get into concealment issues again, as well as weight and gripping ability. On the whole, I have found that the commercial off-the-shelf palm stick to be sufficient for the average citizen.

Since most of our palm sticks are going to be key chains, it pays to be aware of everything else that is in your pocket, and not to keep your keys in a place that is not readily accessible. One of the things I do is typically grab onto the kubotan and hold onto it loosely if I think there may be any sort of confrontation. It’s important to practice pulling the stick from its place of concealment, and practice with a purpose.

By "practice with a purpose", I mean simply bring the palm stick out and strike a target, real or imaginary. Do it with speed. One of the things I do, with a palm stick or folding knife, is bring it out and thrust it straight towards the chin area of an imagined opponent. This is good in either provoking a flinch, or hitting a target that can cause a great deal of pain, allowing for a successful escape.

Once you have practiced drawing the palm stick, it’s time to practice swinging it, stick part first. Obviously, its length precludes one from swinging the palm stick like a baton. However, there are a great variety of other techniques that are surprisingly effective.

For starters, grip the stick in the center, with a closed fist wrapped all the way around, making sure that there is a sufficient striking surface sticking out of both sides of the fist. One can grip off-center, and use the palm stick in a similar fashion as a knife, but that is not a technique I would recommend for beginners.

Next, practice a hammerfist technique, with the outside portion of your fist, or the part made up by the pinky finger. This is quite possibly one of the simplest strikes to learn and practice. Practice an overhead strike, a backhand hammerfist, a low hammerfist, and a palm-up hammer fist. Try striking in a variety of angles, with the hand in different positions. The length and hardness of the palm stick will turn this simple technique into one that becomes devastating when applied to nearly any part of the body. Imagine slipping this hammerfist into someone’s ribs, head, cheek, neck, hand, forearm, and you begin to see my point. It is a simple way to cause pain and damage to an attacker.

The next thing to do is practice with the inside of the fist, the part along the thumb. This strike may take a little more practice and finesse, but it also can be quicker, and just as painful. Practice strikes from top, bottom, left and right. Aim high, low, face, stomach, ribs, anywhere you can think of to strike. Later on, I will list some of my favorite targets. The forward portion of the fist also requires a little bit of coordination. If you find yourself having trouble, try to imagine a hook punch or a haymaker punch. In essence, this is what you are throwing, only not with the knuckles of the fist. Also, do not neglect a palm up strike.

Now, you already have formed a fist. Might as well take advantage of the fist and the natural inclination to punch someone, and practice a few jabs and crosses, with the palm stick. Punching with the palm stick has many advantages over having an empty hand. For starters, there is a little added weight to the hand, making a punch have more impact. Secondly, if the punch itself misses, the palm stick may graze the person, or the keys that may be attached to the stick. Last, and probably most important, the palm stick provides a measure of support and reinforcement for the knuckles and finger bones in the fist. Many people can easily break their own bones by punching someone in the head, which is an instinctive place to punch. A palm stick is one method of reinforcing these fragile bones and preventing serious injury.

Once again, a boxer’s delivery will help the most for punching. If you have no prior experience, simply try to remember a couple things. Always keep your hands up, bring your hands right back to your guard, and don’t rear back for the punch. Most likely if you have internet access, you can find a couple videos that can get you started on learning how to punch properly. At the end of this article I will provide a list of references for more information on punching and weapons for self-defense.
Now, in the case of a key-chain palm stick, the keys themselves have tremendous advantage over just a palm stick without keys. Keys are sharp, somewhat heavy, and can be swung by that palm stick with a decent amount of force. Practice swinging the keys in an X-pattern, known as ikis in Kali. Swing diagonally from upper right, then from upper left. The goal is to not only hit the person, but also convince them that you mean business so that they may run off and find easier prey. If they decide to rush in, imagine the consequence of taking a set of keys to the face. The psychological impact alone of having sharp metal objects swung at one’s face cannot be overlooked. If the attacker puts their hands up in attempt to ward off an attack, then any low-line targets such as the thigh, knee, or groin are open for some other attack.

A couple of years ago, a friend introduced the idea of holding the keys and swinging the palm stick. This is not my favorite method, but that does not mean it should not be trained. The advantages of this are that the palm stick typically has more solid mass than the keys, and can be swing a little harder due to leverage. I think that the keys are a bit trickier to get a grip on, but that may be my personal opinion. In any event, swinging the palm stick can be used just like swinging the keys. Describe an X pattern in the air in front of you. Ideally, this X should start at about the enemy’s collar bone, and cross about the solar plexus.

Care must be taking to balance striking power with control. Take care not to over-swing, and over-commit. W. Hock Hocheim describes the “window of combat”, a rectangle loosely bordered by mid thigh, to about shoulder height, no wider than the shoulders. If your swings start getting outside of this window, you are over-swinging, and opening yourself up to an enemy being able to defeat your defenses.

The palm stick can also be applied to a variety of pain points. The middle of the back of the hand, the notch at the bottom of the throat, under the nose, under the mouth, and behind the ear are some of the ones that come to mind immediately. A quick strike to the carotid artery, no matter how lightly, can have literally stunning results on an opponent. A strike to the temple can be potentially fatal, as can a strike to the trachea.

Using a palm stick, it can be possibly to break an attacker’s collarbone with a hammerfist attack. If you are grabbed, in addition to a releasing technique, a quick strike to either the offending limb or the person’s solar plexus will loosen their grip, making it easier to get away.

If you double the person over, a hammerfist to the back of the neck can have potentially fatal consequences, and will at least leave the attacker stunned and lying on the ground, unable to continue the attack. The palm stick can be thrust into either the groin or the solar plexus, with devastatingly painful results. [JWR Adds: In many law enforcement circles, baton strikes to the neck or head are considered potentially lethal, and reserved only for life-threatening situations that are comparable to firing a gun.] If the groin seems protected, the inside of the leg can be struck, as this can strike or come close to striking the femoral artery, a painful and potentially stunning blow. If the hands are high, aim for the ribs with either the inside or outside edge of the hammerfist. Ribs are always a good target for causing maximum pain and damage.

If you know any throws or takedowns, the palm stick can assist. One simple judo throw, o-soto gari, calls for the fist to apply pressure to the collarbone. That same pressure can be applied with the palm stick, to the collarbone or the throat area, making this simple foot sweep even more effective.

Against edged weapons, the palm stick has somewhat less usefulness. As always, the best chance of success against and edged weapon is to catch the weapon bearing limb, preferably after hitting the attacker with a chair, brick, or a car. Once you have caught the weapon bearing limb, you can beat on the wrist, the fragile bones of the hand, the elbow, and the inside of the biceps. All areas are vulnerable to strikes, and have numerous pain receptors. In the case of the inside of the biceps, there is a nerve cluster there that tends to send a shooting pain down the arm, sometimes making it go numb. It is not a strike to count on, but a possible and worthwhile target nevertheless.

A palm stick can be homemade quite easily. One merely has to select a thickness of dowel, preferable at least a half inch thick, measure out enough so that there is a striking surface of at least a quarter inch on each side of the fist, and cut it to fit. Added options include placing a weight in the center of the stick, drilling two holes in the stick and tying a cord [to make it into a Koppo stick], or making one end slightly sharper, or at least more pointed than the other.

At least one martial art that I’ve seen, Goju-Ryu Karate, which is an Okinawan style, has a kata that uses two palm sticks, although they are considerably smaller than what I’ve described here. Many Filipino systems cover the palm stick, if not in precise detail.

Many tactical folding knives can double as a palm stick, if the user is not able to deploy the blade right away. However, some State [and local] laws may prohibit carry of knives [or even palm sticks]. But keep in mind that several tactical flashlights, such as Surefire [and Mini-MagLite], can be used as a palm stick. Surefire and a couple other companies make flashlights with beveled front edges, specifically for this purpose. [JWR Adds: These are generally legal to carry. Ditto for beefy pens that run the gamut from the very inexpensive Cold Steel Pocket Shark to the very expensive Mont Blanc Meisterstuck. If you opt for the Pocket Shark (which, BTW, is what I carry when I fly on commercial airplane flights), then I recommend scraping off all of the pen's exterior markings. Be sure to consult the laws for wherever you will travel!]

There is a great deal of martial arts instructional material available on sites like YouTube if one does a simple search. [JWR Adds: Try doing searches at YouTube that include "palm stick ", "Kubotan", and even the very common misspelling: "Kubaton".] Much of my own instruction has come from W. Hock Hocheim, and guru Marc Halleck. Both individuals have first rate instructional DVDs.

In summary, the palm stick is an overlooked and easily used piece of self-defense equipment. Useful for striking and grappling, it can cause a great deal of pain with a reduced risk to the user. It’s easily concealed, easily employed. Overlooked by the majority of law enforcement officers and civilians alike, it can be hidden in plain sight. You’ll never have to leave it in your house while you go to the bank or a school board meeting. With a little elbow grease one can be custom made for every member of the family. The principles of the palm stick can be taught to children and adults. It is not a tool that depends on the use of the right hand or left hand. It may not have the range of some other more conventional self-defense tools, but it is much more versatile than the average citizen realizes.

About the Author: Kent is an 11-year veteran of the U.S. Army's Infantry Corps, now serving his third tour in Iraq. He has been studying Filipino Martial Arts (Kali, Arnis, and Silat), for about seven years. In addition, he has been training in various military and civilian combatives programs since joining the Army. He has taught combatives and martial arts to his fellow soldiers, and civilians.

JWR Adds: A full line of inexpensive yet very well-made high impact American-made plastic palm sticks is available from Alpha Innovations. They also make "Letter Openers", and other other high density injection-molded goodies. Their "Stylus Kubaton" variant is ideal for anyone that carries a touchscreen PDA or an iPhone. (Consult your local laws before ordering!) OBTW, they also make some amazing custom products and sell training DVDs.

Letter Re: More About CO2 for Extending Food Storage Life
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Hello,
Thank you so much for your books and Internet work. I have been storing food using the method of dry ice fumigation with five gallon buckets and mylar bags [as described in "How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It". and in the "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course]. My family and I enjoy using brown rice quite a bit and I have read many articles explaining the oxidation of the fatty acids which is what causes the brown rice to have a short shelf life. What I can't seem to find is an answer to whether the replacement of air in the mylar bags with carbon dioxide will slow down or stop the rice from going rancid. I thought that maybe you have run across the science behind this idea. Does the minimal amount of gas exchange from outside the container negate this affect?

I have a couple of other observations regarding this storage method as well. When preparing to package foods I always crank up the wood stove in my house so there isn't a lot of moisture in the air to get in the food. With that said, I still get quite a lot of ice crystals, that turn into water, forming on the outside of the dry ice chunks while they sublimate. I usually put a piece of paper under the dry ice so the residual water doesn't make it's way down into the food and get trapped there when I seal up the container. I am not sure if the moisture is originating from the air in my house or from the food that I am packaging. Either way this got me concerned about the advice, which I have seen on many web sites and in other books, that you can put the dry ice on the bottom the container and put the food on top of it. I would think that this would trap some water at the bottom of the container, which is not a good thing.

My other observation has been that after the dry ice is done sublimating and I seal up the mylar bags with my wife's hair straightener, within a couple of days I go back and check on the bags and they look like they have been vacuum sealed. Apparently there is some sort of chemical reaction with the carbon dioxide that creates a vacuum in the bag. The question about this would be if there are any long term consequences from this reaction regarding shelf life or food quality. Again, thank you so much for all that you do and feel free to post this if you find it to be helpful. Best Regards, - Jesse in Oregon

JWR Replies: Rancidity is caused by oxidation and hydrolysis. The time required for rancidity to occur varies, with temperature as one of the biggest factors. (The higher the temperature, the quicker the onset of rancidity.) Foods with high oil content are prone to what is called oxidative rancidity. This is where there is a degradation of long-chain fatty acids into various short-chain compounds. One of the byproducts is butyric acid, which creates the distinctive "gone rancid" smell. To make a long story short, to minimize the risk of rancidity, keep rice stored below 60 degrees (the ideal would be just above freezing, but avoid fluctuations in and out of freezing), and at the same time minimize exposure to oxygen. Hence, CO2 packaging inside a mylar barrier bag works quite well.

Letter Re: A Total Collapse of the Dollar?
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James,
Chris Wood, of CLSA and author of the Greed & Fear newsletter, was recently interviewed on CNBC and stated that the collapse of the Dollar would likely take place within five years. CNBC's Dennis Kneale, however, asserts that the Dollar is "self-healing", so that when the panic begins, "...suddenly people want to go into the Dollar, because the US Government is the most stable government on the planet". I had to rewind, because I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

This is precisely why looking to mainstream news sources as reliable conduits of factual information is so dangerous. If the US
government is the most stable government on the planet, then the world is in worse shape than I'd ever imagined. Cheers, - H.H.

How to Hide in Plain Sight


Avoid displaying your silhouette

In this short article I will show you step by step how to hide while in plain sight and within seconds of your wanting to disappear from view.

These simple techniques require no special gear and will work in nearly any situation as long as you know the basic principles and are dressed according to the environment in which you find yourself.

While looking at the following pictures, remember that you know I am featured in them. You will be looking for me in the very small area represented by the images.

However a real outdoor environment is very much larger and your eye will have a huge amount of area to cover that has many distractions. Also, you will likely not know I am in the area and so will not be actively looking for me. These factors will greatly lessen your ability to see me in a real world situation.

Now on to learning how to hide while in plain sight...

Your Silhouette will give you Away
As you draw your eye across a landscape, your subconscious brain will quickly alert you to regular shapes against solid backdrops. For example the shape of a human body against objects like the sky, a green meadow, a sand bar, or body of water.


Use background and shadows
As your eyes scan the first picture you will immediately pick out my basic body shape silhouetted against the bright sky. Even if I were wearing camouflaged clothing, humans and animals can easily discern this shape as being human. So if you want to hide from view while in plain sight, the first thing you want to be sure of is to not expose your complete silhouette in any way.


Use background and shadows

Shadows and Backgrounds Break Up Your Lines

In picture number two, while hardly camouflaged, I am not so easily seen as in the first picture. To greatly increase my invisibility I simply stepped down the embankment so that the lines of my silhouette are broken up by the natural objects and shadows behind me.

As in the first picture, I continue to face the entire shape of my body toward the camera. I am displaying the immediately recognizable human form – a trunk, a head, set of limbs hanging down from the sides, and another set of limbs planted on the ground.

If I were some distance away or you were pre-occupied you may not notice me even with this low level of camouflage. Once the eye detects my form, it is easy to make out the human being standing in the shadows. Upon seeing this shape, animals will typically flee. Humans will do what humans do to one another according to the situation.


Display a less-human shape
A key to good camoflauge is the breaking up of easily recognizable lines and shapes that make up a view of the human body. This can often be done quickly and efficiently in surprisingly simply ways.


Display a less-human shape

Avoid Displaying the Human Form

On a number of occasions I have accidentally stumbled upon people or wild animals that are unaware of my immediate presence. For example, while in the forest I've come upon hikers walking along a trail or animals such as bears noisily digging for grubs in rotten logs. The first thing I will do is turn sideways to them.

Why? Because animals and humans instantly recognize the unique shape of a human being.

In picture number three I have turned sideways to the camera. If I stand completely still in this position, oftentimes my form will not be seen by others as being human. I could be the trunk of a broken tree or other natural object. This stance is particularly effective with wild animals, which will often stare directly at me for long periods of time, cocking their heads at different angles while wondering what I am.

Note how the lighter colored skin of my arms and face continue to be a weak point in this simple type of camouflage. Simply by covering these lighter areas the ability for others to see me will be greatly dimiininshed.

Another problem is the exposure of my face to direct view. The human brain is keyed into facial recognition, so much so that even a casual glance by a passerby may be enough for them to lock onto your position by first seeing your face amongst the surrounding clutter. This may be one reason why you are often discovered when you stare directly at someone.


Alter the human form

Change Your Shape

The human shape can be further camouflaged by simply crouching, as shown in picture four. Hiding my face from direct view is an additional aid in hiding in plain sight.

A quick glance by animal or human eye may not be enough to discern my crouching shape from the natural elements of the landscape such as logs rocks, or splotches in the shadows. As long as I stay completely still, many animals and people would not notice me in this position.

Once again, in this crouching pose a weak point in my camouflage are small areas of light colored skin that reflect more light than my clothing and surroundings. The more I can hide these, the less chance there is that an animal or human will notice my being there.


Shape Shifting - what have I become?

Become Something Else

In picture number 5 I have camouflaged myself further by bringing my arms into my t-shirt, pulling the shirt up over my head, and crouching with my back to the camera. Even though the sun has changed position since the last pictures and I have lost the advantageous patchiness of sun and shadow, I am still well disguised. In this position, even placed as I am right out in the open and within 30-feet of the camera, I do not appear to look much different than the nearby rock.


Shape Shifting - what have I become?
If you didn't already know I was there, you would have a difficult time seeing my shape as being human. There is no discernible head or limb, my face is hidden, and the typical human trunk form has been morphed into a rounded and irregular shape.

I have essentially disappeared in plain view while wearing ordinary outdoor clothing. In this way there is an excellent chance that an animal or human would pass close by without noticing my presence.

This is just the beginning of what you can do at a moments notice to camouflage your body from view even in plain sight. For increased camouflage you can obtain specially made clothing or gear that will break up your outline using color, shape or a combination of both.

You can also utilize the natural materials around you including vegetation, dirt, or even urban debris. These will be the subjects of future Survival Topics.

Have fun with it, practice, and learn to hide in plain view at will. It could very well save your life.

Letter Re: Northeastern Colorado as a Retreat Locale
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Sir,
Having lived in the northeastern corner of the state for the past 16 years (retired from the Air Force in 1994), I can give you some accurate information about the area for your readers who are considering moving to a retreat area.

The northeast is a very sparsely populated part of the state. I live in Washington county which has an area of some two million plus acres but only has about 5,000 or so people living here. The area is mainly in farming and ranching, and the far eastern part of this corner of the state is located on top of the Ogallala Aquifer. Wells are generally required for access to water, and land is readily available for purchase (dry land around $500 per acre, irrigated at around $750 per acre right now). The state is a "will issue" for concealed carry permits, and many of the residents are hunters.
The nearest large city in this area is Sterling (pop. about 15,000) and it does have a medium security prison on the edge of town. Otherwise, the only big cities are up on the front range (Denver, Greeley, etc).

Schools are small, teachers are always in demand (not sure of pay but it's not very high) and the general quality is high, especially compared to the front range. Employment is still fairly good out here but getting worse as we slip further into the Second Great Depression. Major employers are transportation (truck drivers) and agricultural. Game is fairly plentiful (pheasant, deer, some quail and turkey,) and the neighbors out here, while a bit clannish are friendly and helpful if you don't have a big city attitude!

The weather here can be a pain at times, but generally the winters are relatively mild (expect below zero weather for mid-winter, but not consistently) and the growing season extends from late April/early May (time for putting peas in the ground) to late September although snow has been known to fall as early as mid September. We've just recently come out of a 10 year drought, and precipitation is back to normal for the area (meaning dry land farming crops will generally work, but gardens need irrigation). Hope this might help a bit for your readers out there. Thanks and good luck! - S.C. in Washington County, Colorado

Letter Re: Some Notes on SCADA Software
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James:
I have been reading SurvivalBlog for some time and have read your novel "Patriots" and now reading "How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It". Great job and love your work. I work as a SCADA programmer for water, waste water and power plants and was wondering if you had some background on this. I know you are somewhat hard on the system as an overall and it is well aimed. Most of the programs and programmer I am around take much care as possible to keep the Windows based computer as a window into the system only. We use Industrial based control known as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). These are not based on the Windows platform and need a specialized programs to view and change them. I'm not saying some one can’t get into the system but it would be hard for anyone except with the software and a great deal of knowledge. We also make a special effort to always have a manual backup system that does not require the PLC to operate. Most of the Electrical Substations and power plants that I have been around the controls are so old that they are mostly "monitor only". When we program a new substation, the SCADA Computer does not make any decisions. Its only [made] by an operator interface and the trip and re-close is done be a relay, which is now electronic. (The old relays were magnetic, but with anything put in or changed in the 20 years would most likely be electronic.) There has been a move in the last few years to get away from the PLC and move to something we call Soft Logic. This is where the code is run on a Windows based computer. We have resisted because of the [inadequate] reliability of it and the threat of viruses and [the lack of] security of the Window- based platform.

I love your work and was just wondering where you knowledge came from on this subject? My family is buying into the survival thought process and it has made my road a lot easier to be prepared, I am a pastor of a small church and they sometimes look at me a little funny, but I have the family starting on the right track. Keep up the good work.

Luke 22:35-38 (NKJV)
35 And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing.”
36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”
38 So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

It is time to sell our Garment and buy a sword until Jesus tells us we have enough. - J.M., Pastor and SCADA Programmer

Letter Re: Considerations for Building and Equipping the Underground Room You Need
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Mr. Rawles,
I hope most readers that are considering building underground shelters that are 16' by 20' with a 6" cap or roof, hire the expertise of a registered structural engineer. The design of an underground structure that have a 6" cap or ceiling as proposed by Jim O., with 1/2" rebar is not to be considered heavily reinforced by any means, and would probably be not to any CRSI design standards, unless it is braced underneath with several columns. It does not really matter if a house sets on top or several feet of earth, when properly designed.

I am not an engineer but I did hired a reputable structural engineer to design my underground room which is not connected to the house, as any fire which could occur would have the possibility of evacuating any air in the structure.This potential exists even with ventilation. My room is approximately 12' by 18' and has an 8' ceiling. The roof or ceiling is composed of 12" concrete with two layers of 3/4" rebar at 9" on centers. Concrete is of five sack [per cubic yard] design mix. The walls are 10" thick with 1/2" rebar 9" on center, the floor is 12" with 5/8" rebar 12" on centers. The ceiling is freestanding without any interior support.

Any design with 3/8" steel or even 1/2" steel for an underground shelter to support any differential movement or possibly seismic activity would in my opinion be totally insufficient in design and to proceed would be negligent without professional design. Otherwise, the result could be none other than a large concrete coffin vault.

I am a retired commercial contractor with a degree in architectural engineering. I have closed my company this year after being in business for 62 years. People please, consult with a structural engineer. I stress "Structural" as not all engineers are the same, as doctors and lawyers. All have specialties.

Otherwise, article is excellent and informative. - O.T.

Your Survival Readiness Level--A True Self Assessment, by Gina W.

By definition survival preparedness means attaining the state of having been made ready to outlive another person, thing, or event. Years pass by reminding us that life is short and meant to be enjoyed. People concentrate on material items but often overlook factors involved in determining the comfort level of a new living situation. A true self assessment now will determine whether life is barely survivable or comfortable.

People forget how the mind body element affects lifestyle changes. It is important to assess your actions before a situation takes away your ability to feed the habits that control you. Reflect on the past week of your life. How much of your day do you sit? If you add up the time spent watching television, typing on a computer, reading, driving a vehicle, and sleeping, you will see that a lack of movement outweighs your time spent participating in physical activities.

Now imagine how long you would spend sitting in a survival situation? Could we chop enough wood to heat a house? When was the last time we walked several miles to reach our destination? Do we produce gardens without a motorized tiller, or tend to the weeds on a daily basis without experiencing back pain? Would working our muscles on a daily basis result in overstrained and dehydrated bodies? What about the other people we are sharing our lives with? Could they carry their weight in a survival situation or would we have to find a way to carry the weight for them?

Today should be the day that we start training our muscles for additional activity that our bodies may encounter in the future. Changing our sedentary lifestyle and keeping our bodies hydrated plays an important role in body performance and repair. The ability to perform tasks and awaken the next day feeling refreshed will increase our quality of life whether our living situation changes or stays the same.

Another fact that should encourage us to start moving deals with the medicines we put into our bodies. Diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol affect our health. Many times obesity and being unfit initiate the disease which invades our systems. In this day we depend on medicines to fix our broken parts. I have been fortunate to control my diabetes through diet and exercise, but I must consider the facts that medicines may not be as easily available in the future. Becoming physically fit now will help to ward off or slow down illnesses that require medication as treatment. We must realize that some medicines may not be available or may be too expensive to purchase in the days ahead.

Upon waking do you automatically reach for a cup of coffee, cigarette, or cup of tea? Throughout the day how many times do chocolate bars or sodas pass by your lips? An addiction to caffeinated items or nicotine wreaks havoc on the mind and body when abruptly cut from the system. Withdrawal symptoms cause even the strongest person to feel like they are losing their sanity if not ready to battle the changes attacking their body.

I encountered the physical, psychological, and mental pains when we moved to a remote island in Alaska. Living 30 minutes from town by plane or three hours by boat meant groceries arrived once in a two week period. I decided that this would be the time to quit smoking. I flew in feeling confident. Bite the bullet, go cold turkey, dispose of a habit I hated but never conquered. In this situation failure would not be an option. How could I smoke if there were no cigarettes and no way to purchase a pack?

Less than 24 hours passed before the withdrawal effects began choking the confidence from me. Chest pains, headaches, dizziness attacked my body. Unfortunately for my family this was the least painful part of my experiment. The moodiness, irritability, and depression arrived. I turned from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde. No one was safe from my wrath. I hid in the house, flipping from a rabid dog to a tearful mess. I could not think, or focus on anything. I had become irrational over giving up a habit I hated because of the control it had on my body.

You may not smoke cigarettes, but it is time to assess the caffeine and other chemicals you put in your body on a daily basis. Try going one day without any exposure to your habit or addiction. Then take a good look at how it affects you physically, psychologically, and emotionally. If it were erased from your life without any warning could you live with yourself? Could other people live with you?

When it comes to entertainment how much of the digital age controls your pleasure? In survival, quality of life must be rediscovered. We must relearn to use our bodies and minds in ways that we either have not used in a long time, or as in our children’s cases, never had to use. If a family chose to turn off the television, computers, and radio for one week, they could learn a lot about themselves and the people they live with.

We must find ways to be entertained by low tech ways. Reading books, playing cards board games, or talking to each other can become alternate choices for entertainment. Our first month living in remote Alaska taught us that without television, evening hours seemed to increase. We found ourselves going to bed several hours earlier when there was no computer or television to occupy our minds. Spending those evenings without using technology we learned to entertain ourselves, and it revealed how much time we had to communicate with each other. We no longer whined about not having any time to talk; now we found ourselves sitting in silence searching for things to talk about.

A positive attitude and a curious nature can ease the shock if technology is removed from one’s lifestyle. Is your glass half full or half empty? Finding something good in negative or stressful situations can bring about some peace to help get you through. A curious nature can open up the world in unexpected ways. Learning something new can encourage you to want to learn more.

As a parent when my child would refuse to try something new I would ask them how they knew they disliked it if they had never tried it. As adults we need to remember that also. Sometimes stuck in a rut we forget that trying something we have never done may give us joys we never dreamed of experiencing.

The next time you look at a flower, or a butterfly, or ladybug; stop. Observe the movements, or colors, or the small parts that make up this living item. If we are lucky it will bring back the child-like side in us where our mouths drop open in awe at the beauty in front of us. Letting ourselves experience life through the eyes or our hidden child can make life a bit easier to handle. We have to remember to ask ourselves one question when stuck in a bad situation. If I died tomorrow would this have been worth getting upset over? If the answer is no then take a deep breath and move on.

Beauty brought out by our curious nature and positive attitude does bring us around to one more point that is important in keeping a strong mental outlook on lifestyle changes.

Faith
Practicing and studying your faith now will increase the level of comfort in a survival situation. Having a belief in a higher power can give people strength when all seems lost and will provide the hope needed to make life feel safe and secure.

These are the things we should force ourselves to look at when preparing for a survival situation. Could you survive days of physical labor, cooking from scratch, gardening for your food, chopping wood, carrying water, lack of entertainment from televisions, computers, and radios or walking for miles to get to your destination? Are you physically and psychologically strong enough to survive without being stopped by cramping muscles, irritable mood swings, or boredom and depression? Are you prepared to keep a positive outlook alive to survive in a world where most people of today would find it unbearable, and be strong enough to repeat the process tomorrow? These are some items we need to focus on and realize that accomplishing them are as much of a necessity as having enough food, water and protective shelter so that we not only stay alive but are able to live our lives. Making the most of each day whether in today’s world or tomorrows depends on us deciding the level of comfort we want to experience and how determined we are to change now for a comfortable quality of life in the future.

The three conventional survival necessities are water, food, and shelter. Preparing yourself mentally, physically and emotionally will allow you to use these three basics to give you a life worthy of living. I challenge everyone to take a true self assessment and add your own well being as a necessity in preparation.

Letter Re: Tsunami Evacuation, Kauai Style

Howzit J.R.,
I'm a newbie groupie to your site, now on a daily basis. I'm going through the archives, year by year, and am compiling useful info for my situation. I've realized that at some point, due to the number of visitors to your site, [voluntary] membership dues may be necessary, just to support the technical requirements of having it. No problemo. I've never seen anything like the SurvivalBlog site, so my dues are in-bound.

I've seen previous posts about the tsunami warning in Hawai‘i, but not from a local resident perspective. I'll give you mine.

I live on Kaua‘i, in a flood and tsunami inundation zone. I work in the County Planning Department, and am very familiar with the geographical issues of where I live. I also am a Hurricane Iniki survivor, so I know of what you speak. The service you provide, if taken seriously, can be a matter of life and death, comfort and survival...or not.

My son woke me up at 5.30 a.m. and told me about the warning sirens which were to go off at 6.00 a.m., and that if a tsunami did occur, it would be at 11.00. I immediately thought wow, I got plenty of time to pack the truck. I woke up the wife, gave her the scoops, and told her to start packing. For me, I already had bugout bags and containers already prepped based on when I first started into your SurvivalBlog columns several months ago. I told my 21 year-old son and wife back then that it would be a good idea to pack a bugout bag just in case. Of course, they laughed, and ignored me. No problem, I did my prep. My wife packs a carry-on suitcase with clothes and says she's going into L?hu‘e to her work place, which is centrally located on the island. Then I notice the size of her bugout bag, and ask "That's all you're taking?" She replies, if we lose the house, I'll just buy what I need.....I really did have to control my face muscles - I told her ok, I'll catch up with you once I secure the house. Yeah, I know, I know.

I didn't need to join the gas parade as my truck was fine, but my son did. That took him 45 minutes in line. He also filled up an extra 5 gallon container. I didn't need to join the parade at the food markets either, as I was already prepared. Ah, the luxuries of being prepared.

Once my wife is gone, the first thing I load onto my truck are my most prized possessions. You can probably tell by the picture, huh? My four best longboard surfboards, period. What can I say? I'm a surfer! OBTW, I did the same thing before Hurricane Iniki squatted on Kaua‘i in 1992 - I took my entire quiver of 8 surfboards and stashed them under my neighbors house which was a post and pier construction with a height of three feet off the ground, tying them together 2 at a time with strips of rubber cut from tire inner tubes, then rubberizing the gate. Of course I knew that if the house blew, my boards would also go, but I had no other place to secure them.

My long guns went into a hardcover travelling case for golf clubs. Those cases are really good, and they're weather proof. I was intending to have one pistol under the drivers seat, an M1 Garand and Mini-30 with scope behind the driver's seat, and 12 gauge shotgun besides me, covered by a jacket and towel. No one else would be travelling with me besides my dog. On the floor in the cab was 3 ammo cans of nickels (2), and metal valuables (1) (gold, junk silver, Rolex watch, and baht chains). On the passenger's seat was a waterproof container of important papers.

In the bed of my truck: MREs; a container of all the canned foods in the kitchen; cooler of containers of water; bag of rice; 2 pots for cooking; the golf travelling case; containers of ammo (7.62x30, 30-06, .308, and various pistol calibers); a bugout container of tarps, ropes, bungie cords, candles, matches, propane containers and stoves, etc; a bugout bag of clothes, jackets, boots, socks, blanket, slippers, gloves, etc. (Yes, I had an extra set for the son and wife.); my spearfishing/diving bag, including 2 riffe spearguns; a container of dog food with water and food bowls.

In my sons truck were two bugout containers of tools, more tarps, tents, ropes, MREs, etc. He carried his .30-30 and 20 gauge with ammo. He also packed his Kawasaki dirt bike for alternative transportation, with extra gas and oil.

It took 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete the loading. We backed up the vehicles and positioned them towards the street, ready to go....we checked our neighbors to see what their choices and status was, and it was now 8.00 a.m. Those who were gone, were gone. There were three families that were going to remain - two of us were watching the television reports - we knew if anything hit Hilo on the Big Island, it would take [another] 30 minutes to hit Kaua‘i - so we had the cushion. I changed my plans - rather than an immediate evac (which the low lying coastal communities were doing in full force), I was going to stay to the very last minute because I knew there would be a potential for looting of evacuated communities (which the news began reporting several hours later), and because we had access to real time intel (the tvs and radios), and I did not want to join that evac parade if I didn't have to. My son was hesitant at first, but then realized the logic. Of course my mom and dad, daughter, and wife, who were all in safe zones, were texting and calling asking where we were. I just stopped answering the cell phone.

About 10.00, I decided to cook a steak and eggs breakfast for my son and I, on the premise we may as well eat a good one because if it gets hectic at around 11.00, we may as well not be hungry too. That was a great meal!

From the projected impact time, to 12.00, we had the television and radio on. And thank the Lord, nothing happened, this time around. The volume of traffic coming from the mountain back to the coastline was bumper to bumper for 1-2 hours. I'm so glad I wasn't in that parade.

Lessons learned: 1) the ammo cans of nickels are not a survival necessity. 2) There are different evac scenarios that may require different items 3) I've got to get my load and evac time down considerably. Under 30 minutes means an earthquake closer to home. This means I've got to better centralize those bugout containers in one or two areas of the house and garage. At least my son is aware of these containers.

I've just scored two army cots - these will be essential items for the next time. My immediate needs are basically water purification and replacement filters.

Sensei, you rock! - Longboards Rule

Two Letters Re: The Palm Stick for Self-Defense

James Wesley:
On the palm stick topic -- I might add that a mountaineering carabiner -- the genuine load bearing kind, not the cheap copies -- would also work [as a self defense adjunct]. I routinely carry one -- and, when asked, say "Oh, I found that it makes carrying all those [full] plastic bags from the grocery store much easier. They don't bite into my hand." People see this as clever and never consider it has some alternative purpose [serving as a brass knuckle or palm stick type device]. And BTW, it also does make a great all purpose handle -- the weight rating is something like 4,000 pounds. Keep up the great work! - Karl B.



Jim,
Here are a few more references for the Koppo stick:

The Martialist on Pocket Sticks
The Martialist on Koppo Wraps
The Martialist - More Comments on Koppo Wraps
The FMA Blog on Pasaks

BTW, with a koppo, I recommend that you put both loose ends of the cord through the loop going in opposite directions to better hide the knot.

I carry my LED "flashlight" in a belt sheath on my weak side for easy access. - Rick H.

Now You See It, Now You Don't -- The Value of Concealment, by Joe M.
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Unless you’re lucky enough to actually live at your retreat in case of a TEOTWAWKI event, you are probably a little concerned with theft at your home away from home. Even if your primary home is your retreat, in the event of a break-in is your cache of “goodies” safe? Sure you might keep your supply of rifles, handguns, and shotguns locked in a gun vault the size of Grandma Shirley’s casket, but if thieves are given enough time they will haul the vault and anything else they find off into the night, leaving you empty handed and even worse, unprepared.

Vandals or thieves can do considerable amount of monetary damage and preparedness damage to your haven in very little time. Food items would probably just be destroyed by vandals and guns would be gone and sold probably before the police finished their reports. The likelihood of ever getting all of your supplies back and in useful condition is extremely slim.

For these reasons, when I built my retreat cabin I built in a number of “insurance” features that lessened the chance of a total loss. My retreat, chosen for its remote location is a prime example of the need to introduce safety features into your preparedness plan. The location of my retreat while remote, does not mean an occasionally person might not wander by. If this person decides to fire up a chainsaw and cut my metal front door right out of the framing, it is doubtful anyone would hear or notice for months. Like I said it is remote, but not a desert island.

So to give myself a bit of insurance against vandals/thieves, when I built the cabin I made one entire wall a “fake” wall. If you measured the width of my retreat on the exterior you would note that it is 16’ wide. However, an interior measure would yield around 14’ wide. The missing two feet is my insurance. Actual useable space is less than two feet. You must subtract the width of the actual exterior wall (about 4 inches) and the width of the fake interior wall (about 3 inches). Then you are left with 17 inches of great storage space. Be careful not to go overboard when allocating storage space. If your retreat cabin is 20 feet wide on the outside but only 15 feet wide on the inside, somebody will start wondering why.

I installed shelves in my storage space, just the metal rack types that restaurants use. They are extremely adjustable, durable, and can hold a lot of weight. I found some that were 16 inches wide, which meant they fit perfectly into my hiding place. Since the shelves are adjustable in two inch height increments, it was extremely easy to adjust them to fit my particular gear needs.

But enough about shelving let’s look at the actual construction of the wall. If you use Google, Bing, or Yahoo with the search phrase “hidden wall safe” you will find a lot of links to various types of construction methods. So I would suggest you do some research before you remodel or construct your hidey hole. Since I was constructing my retreat adding the false wall was an easy task as I could plan for window and door placement to account for the hidden wall. If you remodel your retreat to install a hidden wall make sure it makes the room look natural. For example if you add a wall and now the wall is two inches away from a window, it might look odd and cause someone to examine it closer (which is bad!). But by using new construction I was able to “center” my windows on their wall between the front wall and the fake wall, thus creating a very natural and normal look.

For my construction I chose to make my fake wall look like a normal wall, and to further conceal it we would place various items of furniture against the wall. Doing some research I noted that a few people chose to cover their wall entirely by using book cases in front of the fake wall. This really helped hide the wall completely and at the same time gave you more storage area for your “bait” items (more on that in a minute). You might be thinking that if you completely cover your wall with bookcases and then fill the bookcases with books or other supplies that this would be a huge impediment in getting to the supplies behind the hidden wall. You would be correct. However, I am more concerned with the preserving my supplies during, for lack of a better word, “normal” times and during my trip to my retreat during TEOTWAWKI times. Once I establish myself at my retreat you can rearrange furniture to make the hidden wall more accessible. A word of warning though, be careful of making it too accessible. In case of an attack my raiders or whatever, you don’t want them to walk in and find the hidden wall wide open with all your goods shining in all their readiness glory.

So keep the wall closed and concealed at all times unless you are removing or adding items to your storage. Don’t treat the storage as a daily access area. Pull a few days worth of supplies out at a time and then conceal the wall with your furniture. The wall is not meant to be something you should open in the event of an emergency. If you hear an unknown person outside of your retreat and you feel you need a weapon handy, that is not the time to open the wall and obtain a self-defense weapon. Those items should be much handier (in TEOTWAWKI times I would suggest a holster.)

Construction for the wall is rather easy. I am not a carpenter, but I managed to build a nice looking concealed wall with basic carpentry skills. In a nut shell, I simply framed an interior wall using standard 2x4 framing (16 inches on center). I ensured the base plate was firmly attached to the floor joists using lag screws instead of typical nailing. I did the same on the cap plate (top of the wall), securing the top of the wall to the ceiling joists again with lag screws. This gave my wall some extra stability. You don’t really want a bad guy to lean on your wall and feel it “give.”

I have paneled the interior of my retreat with a rough looking wood panel, often called a v-groove plank panel. This comes in 4x8 foot sheets (just like plywood). In fact if the material you wish to use is thin you can mount it to a panel of plywood using construction grade adhesive.

I framed the back side of my wood panel to give it stability and a place for the hardware. Basically this means I screwed 2x2 strips along the perimeter of the panel and horizontally every 16 inches. Then using a piano hinge I screwed the hinge to the 2x4 wall stud and to the 2x2 strip on the wood panel. This gives me a door. I built 3 of these doors and installed them side by side so I have a 12 foot-wide wall made up of three hidden doors.

There are various types of closure devices out there that you “push” to close and then “push” to open. I first used these and then realized that if someone were to lean on the wall the wall would “click and open a fraction. That was not good! So I settled on an extremely simple solution, screws. I screw my wall shut, every time. I use the same screw holes every time I close the door and I am careful not to over tighten the screws. Furthermore I replace the screws I use to secure the door when the head of the screw starts getting noticeably worn.

To conceal the seams I “finished” the cabin with vertical pieces of 1x2 strips of wood. These go at two foot intervals all around the cabin. Conveniently this covers the seams on my hidden wall. You screw this strip onto one side of the door, centering the strip over the edge of the door then when the door is closed it covers the seam and a portion of the wall next to it. Probably a design flaw on my part but when construction was finished and since I had put three of these doors side by side, I discovered the strip of wood covering the seam prevented me from opening the doors in any order I chose. Since the wood strip was attached to the left edge of the first door it covered the seam of the right edge of the next door. Therefore I could not open the second door without damaging the wood strip. So I must open the far right door first, then the middle and finally the far right door. Not a big problem, just a mild inconvenience. I arranged the gear inside the hidden wall so that the items I am most likely to need are behind the first door. If I had it to do over again I would leave some empty wall between the doors so that I could open the doors independently.

If your door is a bit heavier then you expected and sags some, you could put a support wheel on the opening side. Just be careful that the wheel doesn’t leave a track on your floor. As far as closing and locking your hidden door, look into magnetic locks, or other forms of closure such as screwing etc. Just be sure that the locking and closing mechanisms are hidden and won’t pop open at the wrong time. If some kids rough housing cause your door to come open, change the locking mechanism.

Now some personal notes on use of your hidden stash. Just like any other important secret, don’t talk about your hidden stash with anyone you don’t entrust your life and your loved ones lives too. Your drinking buddy at the lodge might seem like a good friend now but when TSHTF he might run up to the first place he knows that is fully stocked and ready to go. My wife and kids know about my hidden area and they are all, period.

I had mentioned having some “bait” items out. I built a second concealed area, not nearly as big and not nearly as well concealed. My thought process being is that if I pull a few days’ supply out of the main area, I transfer it to this secondary area. Then if someone catches us off guard and demands supplies we can open this secondary area and give it to them, all the while begging and pleading that this is all we have left and please don’t take are last few days of supplies. It might work, or it might not. I just want to have the option. So I have the “bait” goods ready to go. If the bad guys take the bait and leave, then we have only lost a few days’ supply and not the mother lode.

Next I would build some other hidden areas to house your quick access items. This can be the picture frame on a hinge that hides a hole in a wall (not your fake wall). In the hole can be a firearm or other quick access item you deem necessary. I am not suggesting you have your entire arsenal in quick access hidey holes. But a portion of your weapons need to be quick access. Your other weapons that are only used at certain times, like hunting should be hidden behind your fake wall. Again if someone “bad” comes to visit they will most likely take your guns and ammo. Don’t leave it all just lying around, but then again don’t leave it all put away where you can’t get it when you need it.

You can get very creative with your hidden areas. If your retreat does not have a concrete floor it is very easy to cut a hole between the floor joists, attach a hinge and you have another hiding spot. You can do the same thing in the ceiling, just cut between the ceiling joists. Seam concealment, hinge, and closing mechanisms are the big challenges. Before you breakout your saws and start cutting holes, plan on how you will hide your hinge, seam, and closing device. Usually this is done with some form of furring strip. But if your seams are a “natural” part of the wall, floor, or ceiling you may not need to conceal them. Clearly you can’t leave a big hinge out in the open. Piano hinges can be mounted on the inside, they come in various lengths and you can always use more than one to run the full length of your hinge.

Remember that you don’t have to make all of your hiding areas completely invisible. If your hiding area is for daily use items hidden in the floor, then perhaps you can get by with just a throw rug covering the seams. However, if it is for the mother lode, then invisibility is required. Get creative and go hide. - Joe M.

Letter Re: Some Notes About SCADA Software
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James

The pastor/programmer is somewhat correct about SCADA and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), and his resistance of Windows based and “soft logic” is admirable. However, many SCADA systems installed out there recently have been implemented just as their name implies “SUPERVISORY CONTROL and Data Acquisition” in order to save labor costs by minimizing operator and maintenance training requirements on multiple different in- plant control systems. Most major power, refining, waste treatment systems etc. in recent years have utilized a DCS (distributed control system) as a SCADA base for overall and/or supervisory control often also monitoring or commanding smaller PLC systems operating auxiliary systems ( compressors, large blowers etc.). And although “manual back-up” is often available on “critical” functions it typically is limited to safety shut down and control transfers, not operation maintainability. Almost all major control systems built in the past 30 years are DDC (direct digital control) DCS, PLC, electric analog, or some type of microprocessor based controls. Even if the controls are old pneumatic analog they rely on compressed air controlled by a PLC. This basically makes almost all major plant control systems out there vulnerable to EMP effects. And although some of the hardware utilized may have been specified with EMI (electro magnetic interference) and RFI (radio frequency interference), this typically will only help with 5 watt communication radios and 220 or 440 power interferences. Certainly nothing as devastating as a large nuclear EMP blast as described in the novel "One Second After" or even a large solar flare.

I’d suggest the pastor, and many others, read the 2008 Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack. It speaks in great lengths of the susceptibility to damage of various types of plant control systems in a wealth of industrial applications.

Hopefully none of this will ever become a problem, but the pastor is wise to follow your advice to prepare. “Plan for the worst, hope for the best” - G.S. (A Senior Control Systems Engineer with 40 years of experience in SCADA)