Bears

Black bears and grizzly bears have many things in common. Both bears are highly intelligent and individualistic. Both sleep through most of the winter, and both eat many different foods, most of them plants. Through the course of a single year, both bears use a wide variety of habitats, from low valleys to high meadows. Both have good eyesight and an excellent sense of smell; they can detect scents miles away. Both are powerful, fast, and protective of their young. And both species vary greatly in the color of their coat - black bears are not always black and grizzly bears are not always grizzled - making it very difficult at times to distinguish between the two

Bears do not naturally associate people with food, but they are opportunistic feeders. A bear drawn to a camp by the smell of garbage in a fire pit may discover containers of food on a picnic table and learn that campgrounds and campsites provide easy meals. The bear will remember this lesson for the rest of its life and pass the knowledge on to its young. A bear may seek food at camps aggressively and repeatedly over a long period.

Bears are individuals, each behaving differently in different circumstances. There are no precise rules about what to do if you encounter a bear, but there are generally effective measures to be followed.

Always stay alert to your surroundings. Be especially wary in places where there is food favored by bears; for example, berries or carcasses of large animals.

Avoid startling a bear. Where sight distance is limited or flowing water is muffling sounds, make noise by talking, singing, shouting, or clapping your hands. Do not make shrill or high-pitched noises as these may attract bears. Some hikers use bells for noise, but talking carries better, and bells may arouse a bear's curiosity.

Be especially alert if hiking around dawn or dusk. Bears can be active at any time of the day or night but are more often encountered at those times.

Be watchful when traveling off trail. Bears rest and sleep in day beds; for example, next to a log, in dense brush, the depression of a fallen tree, or out in a grassy meadow.

If you see a bear, do not approach it. If the bear has not seen you, calmly leave the area while talking aloud to make it aware you are there and are moving away. Most bears will leave when they see or hear you.

Do not come between a bear and her cubs. Bears are very protective of their offspring.

A bear stands up to better identify what you are, not to threaten you.

If a bear approaches you, do not scream or run or make sudden motions.

Horns are unproven in their effectiveness. High pitched noises can arouse curiosity or anger in bears.

Offensive attacks by bears are very rare. It is difficult to generalize accurately about the reasons for attacks or what to do when they occur. Most attacks thought to have been predation involved black bears, while most attacks by grizzly bears have been defensive, especially by females with cubs. Every instance is different, and what works best cannot be known with certainty in advance.

Food Storage in Camp

Take at least 50 feet (15 meters) of parachute cord or rope on backcountry or boating trips. If the campground lacks a food storage box, place your food, cooking gear, and toiletries in a bag. Choose a tree at least 100 yards (90 meters) from your tent, if possible, and downwind. You want the food bag to be visible from a distance as you approach. Suspend the bag from a limb of the tree so that it is at least 10 feet (3 meters) from the ground and 4 feet (1.2 meters) from the trunk.

Avoid contaminating sleeping gear with food odors; do not use sleeping bag stuff sacks, tent sacks, or clothing bags for food storage.

Remember to hang empty food packaging, garbage, cooking pots and utensils, cosmetics, sunscreen, insect repellent, soap, toothpaste and any other fragrant item with your food.

Never cook or eat in your tent.

Never keep any food, or anything that held food, in your tent.

If you are attacked by a bear you may have to shoot it. Aim for the snout of a charging bear - a high shot goes into the upper skull or even over the top, into the neck or spine; and if the bear hops or you shoot low, you have a chance at the throat, chest, or even a shoulder or leg, all of which can stop the animal, if only long enough for you to aim and shoot again. However, remember that a charging bear is going to cover 40 meters in just about three seconds. This situation will require subconscious, high stress weapon manipulations on demand with the resulting 1 or 2 shots you do manage to squeeze off dictating your survival.

Using the Toilet in the Forest

When travelling and camping in the forest, sooner or later you are going to need to use the toilet. Urination has little, if any, adverse effect on the natural environment and when travelling through an area it is reasonable to step a bit off the trail and away from water sources and urinate as needed. Defecating in the forest will however leave a trace of your presence – a pile of poop. When you defecate in the forest it is best to first did a cat hole. A cat hole is just a hole about 15-20 cm deep and big enough in diameter for you to do your business in it. After defecating in the hole, you simply re-fill the hole with dirt, burying your poop, where it will decompose naturally. Biodegradable toilet tissue / wipes can also be buried in the cat hole. You may also choose to burn the toilet tissue in the cat hole before re-filling the cat hole with dirt.

At your bug-out camp, or other location where you will be remaining for several days, digging a cat hole each time you use the toilet is not going to be effective, and over time you will have dozens of cat holes scattered around your camp. At a camp, you should build a latrine for disposing of human and camp waste. The following illustration shows a latrine from a Scouting manual. A hole filled with stones for urination and a slit trench for defecation, and a hand-washing station, help dispose of waste at your camp and maintain proper sanitation in the area.

Straddle Trench Latrine. The trench is dug 30-centimeters wide, 75-centimeters deep, and 120-centimeters long. Since there are no seats on this type of latrine, boards may be placed along both sides of the trench to provide sure footing. As the earth is removed, it is piled at one end of the trench, and a shovel or paddle is provided so that each user can promptly cover his excreta. Ensure that the latrine is at least 60 meters from any water source, and built downwind from your camp.

The latrine is burned out by adding sufficient fuel to the straddle trench to incinerate the fecal matter. If the contents are not rendered dry and odorless by one burning, they should be burned again. Any remaining ash should be buried when the latrine is filled in. The July 1913 issue of 'Boy's Life' magazine (pp. 13) recommended that latrines should be burned out daily, although this may not be necessary is there is only a couple people at your bug-out camp. Burning out the latrine does however reduce the number of insects that are likely to gather around it, so frequently burning out your latrine can help keep the area free of flies and other insects.

Toilet paper can be placed on suitable holders and protected from bad weather by a tin can or other covering at the latrine.  However, toilet paper is bulky and can be difficult to pack into a remote location in any quantity greater than a few rolls. One option for wipes that can be more easily carried into remote areas is Wysi Wipe Multi-Purpose Wipes. According to their advertisement: "Wysi Wipes are the preferred alternative to pre-moistened towelettes, facial tissue or paper towels. They are 100% natural, biodegradable and land-fill friendly. No chemicals and no artificial smelly scents. When you need a refreshing and durable wipe, you simply add a liquid. And it only takes a tablespoon full. Wysi Wipes, almost instantly, turn into a durable and reusable cloth."  I carry a few Wysi Wipes in my rucksack and find that they are a convenient and useful item for use in the forest.

In his 1917 book, "Household and Camp Insects" Ephraim Porter Felt recommended placing a few fly traps around latrines to reduce the number of flies in such places (pp.19). Modern fly traps are available from many sources, and can help reduce the flies in your camp and around your latrine.

The basic rule in the forest is ‘leave no trace’. Keep the area around your camp clean and avoid contaminating your water supply. A properly constructed latrine helps you do all of these things.

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Flip-Flop Winch

The flip-flop winch was a technique developed during the Great Patriotic War (Вели́кая Оте́чественная война́) (WWII), or perhaps earlier, and popularized in the survival community by Canadian bushcraft and wilderness survival instructor, naturalist and author, Mors Kochanski.  

Using a rope and two 10cm (4 inch) diameter poles, each about 2 - 2.5 meters in length, you can use the principle of leverage to recover a stuck vehicle or move other heavy objects such as boulders and fallen trees. The flip-flop winch is easy to set-up and use, but does require an open area to operate the winch, and an anchor point in line with your intended direction of pull.

A few videos that demonstrate the flip-flop winch are here:

• Kochanski Flip Flop Winch
• Flip Flop Winch
• Kochanski Flip-Flop Winch
• Flip Flop Winch Simple Machines  

The flip-flop winch is easy to use, but as with all of our fieldcraft and survival skills it must be practiced to develop and maintain proficiency.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

One of the best security procedures you can take to protect your on-line accounts is to enable two-factor authentication for websites that support it. With password breaches so common nowadays, it could be the one thing that keeps hackers from stealing your identity on-line.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds a second level of security to an on-line account log-in. When you have to enter only your username and one password, that's considered a single-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication requires the user to have two out of three types of credentials before being able to access an account. The three types are:

• Something you know, such as a personal identification number (PIN), password or a pattern
• Something you have, such as an ATM card, phone, or fob
• Something you are, such as a biometric like a fingerprint or voice print

One of the most common ways to use two-factor authentication is to receive a secondary PIN or password sent to your cell-phone by text message (SMS). Another popular method is to use an app on your cell-phone that generates a new PIN every 30-seconds. These apps include "Authy App" and "Google Authenticator" .

Of course there are attacks that can be run against two-factor authentication, but using two-factor authentication offers more protection than logging in without it. When you make an attack harder, you're disabling a certain subset of adversaries that may want to target you.

Some popular sites that allow you to set up two factor authentication include:

• Facebook
• Gmail
• Google+
• Hushmail
• Mail.Ru
• Snapchat
• Telegram
• Tumblr
• Twitter
• VK
• WhatsApp
• WordPress

A list of many other web-sites and services that offer two-factor authentication can be found at: https://twofactorauth.org/

Using two-factor authentication increases the security of your on-line accounts. Where possible, I recommend that you use Authy or Google Authenticator in place of text / SMS so that you don’t have to rely on having cell-service in order to use two-factor authentication.

Long-Term Food Storage

Properly packaged, low-moisture foods stored at room temperature or cooler (24°C/75°F or lower) remain nutritious and edible much longer than previously thought, according to findings of recent scientific studies. Estimated shelf life for many products has increased to 30 years or more.  Previous estimates of longevity were based on "best-if-used-by" recommendations and experience.

While there is a decline in nutritional quality and taste over time, depending on the original quality of food and how it was processed, packaged, and stored, the studies show that even after being stored long-term, the food will help sustain life in an emergency.

Research suggests that the following food items will last several years if kept in a cool and dry environment. Storing dry food in Mylar Bags with Oxygen Absorbers, and in 5 Gallon Food Grade Buckets with Gamma Seal Lids can help maintain log shelf-life. It is important to ensure that you use food grade plastic to store foods over long periods of time.

Proper food storage is important to keeping it safe to eat. Eating food that has been improperly stored has the potential to make a person sick, particularly if that storage container is a plastic that contains dangerous chemicals. All plastic is made from chemicals that have the potential to harm a person's health. The chemicals that make up plastic include BPA and DEHA. Storing food in plastic containers - designed only for that purpose - is vital to keeping food safe.

Though not studied, sugar, salt, baking soda (essential for soaking beans), and vitamin C in tablet form also store well long-term. Some of these items, like salt, will store indefinitely, while other items, such as coconut oil, may only store well for a few years. A good practice is to store foods that you like and that you currently eat, and rotate your food supplies, eating food that you have stored and replacing the stored food with newly purchased items. In this way, your freshest items are in your stored food supply if it becomes your sole food supply.

Food Items with Long Shelf-Life

• Baking Soda
• Beans (Dried) - A B.Y.U. study reveals that more than 80 percent of a consumer taste panel deemed retail-packaged pinto beans up to 30 years old as acceptable for emergency use (samples were stored for years in #10 cans with the oxygen removed). Dried beans can last almost indefinitely in the absence of oxygen and light, but gradual moisture loss will affect its taste and texture. Older beans may need longer soaking and cooking times; try adding acidic ingredients or salt toward the end of the recipe to avoid toughening up the skin.
• Bouillon
• Coconut Oil - Coconut oil! Unrefined coconut oil is also called virgin coconut oil. This type of coconut oil has the most nutritional benefits and the shelf life has been documented as anywhere from 2-5 years to "indefinite".
• Coffee, Coca Powders, Teas
• Corn (Dried)
• Corn Starch
• Corn Syrup
• Ghee
• Hardtack (Flour, Salt, Water)
• Honey (Raw)
• Liquor, Hard (i.e. Vodka)
• Maple Syrup (100%)
• Oats (Rolled)
• Pasta
• Pemmican
• Popcorn kernels (not microwave popcorn)
• Powdered Milk (in nitrogen packed cans)
• Rice (White Rice) (Brown rice, on the other hand, has a short shelf life of generally 6 to 12 months because of its higher oil content which causes it to go rancid more quickly.)
• Salt
• Sardines (small bristling) and fresh water salmon are LOW in mercury, but are high in protein, micro-nutrients, and minerals. A little goes a long way to curbing hunger and sustaining optimum health and are very reasonably priced for the nutritional value. 
• Soy Sauce
• Sugar (White Sugar)
• Vanilla Extract (Pure)
• Vinegar (Apple Cider Vinegar)
• Vinegar (White Vinegar)

In general, most canned foods have a long shelf life, and when properly stored, can be eaten for several years:

• Low-acid canned goods -  two to five years (canned meat and poultry, stews, soups except tomato, pasta products, potatoes, corn, carrots, spinach, beans, beets, peas and pumpkin).
• High-acid canned goods - 12 to 18 months (tomato products, fruits, sauerkraut and foods in vinegar-based sauces or dressings).

While these guidelines ensure the best taste and nutritional content of canned food, as long as the cans are not damaged; canned food can be eaten for much longer than the times listed here. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted shelf life tests on food that was canned 100-years ago and found that although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, there was no detected no microbial growth and the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. (The FDA article about the study can be found here.)

Canned Fish and Meats that Have the Long Shelf-Life

Spam - Spam has an excellent source of protein and sodium and it will typically last about 5 years, with a long life-span.

Canned Alaskan Wild Salmon - Alaskan salmon is extremely rich in protein and healthy fats like omega 3s. If you look for Alaskan Wild Salmon, you will get salmon with no environmental contaminants that sometimes show up in other canned fish. You can even eat Alaskan salmon right out of the can without cooking.

Corned Beef Hash - This salt cured beef will give you comfort during rough times in a disaster. You may even find it packed with potato bits to save you time and energy.

Pink Salmon - Not only rich in protein and omega -3 fatty acids, it’s actually better than fresh salmon because the bones are still intact meaning there’s more calcium.

Sardines - Like Salmon, Sardines are very rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. It is often packed in a sweet tomato sauce, which is great for its lycopene content but often contains a high level of sodium. Try going for a low-sodium option that is packed in water. Sardines are sustainable and fairly inexpensive. They also contain high amounts of vitamin b12.

Vienna Sausages - Vienna sausage is very ingredient wise so this means fewer preservatives. They are easy to carry and a great staple food when in a disaster. These guys last about 5 years or more.

Freeze-Dried Food (Mountain House)

According to the Mountain House web-site their freeze-dried food pouches have a 30-year shelf-life. The web-site states "Based on our ongoing sensory and nutrition testing of actual Mountain House products, we’ve raised the shelf-life on our pouches to 30 years! Remember that we recommend storing your pouches unopened and avoid prolonged exposure to temperatures above 75° (24°C) to maximize shelf life."

While Mountain House food may be a bit more expensive than items on your regular grocery list, the light weight, very long shelf-life, and ease of preparation (just add water) makes this type of freeze-dried food an important addition to your survival and preparedness supplies.  This also makes these food pouches excellent additions to a bug-out bag, assuming of course that you have a clean water supply so that you can prepare the meals while on the move.

There are a number of different information resources for preparing a long-term food storage program. You will find that not all of these resources agree on the best way to store food, what foods should be stored, or how long stored food will last. However, each of the following resources provides some guidance that is worth reviewing as you plan your food storage program:

A Guide to Food Storage for Emergencies (Utah State University)

Preparing an Emergency Food Supply, Long Term Food Storage

Food and Water in an Emergency

Home Emergency Supplies

Food - Ready.Gov

Water, Water, Everywhere… but not a drop to drink

In any survival situation, water is going to be one of your priority needs. Many survival manuals quote the “rule of 3s”, saying that a person can only live three days without water. While this may vary a bit from one person to the next, after three days without any water most people will be in a downward spiral that will soon result in death unless a source of drinking water is obtained.

We get some water from food, and water is contained in other beverages such as juice and milk, but drinking water itself is your main, and best source, of water. Depending on where in the world you are, finding a source of water may be quite easy, or quite difficult, but finding that source of water is only the first step in having a supply of drinkable water. After finding a source of water you must purify it to make it safe for drinking. In a remote area, water from natural sources might be just fine, or it might contain parasites that will make you very ill. The basic rule is to purify all water from unproven sources.

Common global water-related diseases caused by parasites include guinea worm, schistosomiasis, amebiasis, cryptosporidiosis (Crypto), and giardiasis. People become infected with these diseases when they swallow or have contact with water that has been contaminated by certain parasites. For example, individuals drinking water contaminated with fecal matter containing the ameba Entamoeba histolytica can get amebic dysentery (amebiasis). An individual can get guinea worm disease when they drink water that contains the parasite dracunculus medinensis.

Boiling can be used as a pathogen reduction method that should kill all pathogens. Water should be brought to a rolling boil for 1 minute. At altitudes greater than 2000 meters (6,562 feet), you should boil water for 3 minutes. Boiling is the best method for killing pathogens in water, and is the preferred method to use whenever possible.

Filtration can be used as a pathogen reduction method against most microorganisms, depending on the pore size of the filter, amount of the contaminant, particle size of the contaminant, and charge of the contaminant particle. When choosing a water filter, look for any of the four messages below on a package label; indicating that the filter should be able to remove microorganisms such as cryptosporidium:

• Reverse osmosis (with or without NSF 53 or NSF 58 labeling)
• Absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller (with or without NSF 53 or NSF 58 labeling)
• Tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 or NSF/ANSI Standard 58 for cyst removal
• Tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 or NSF/ANSI Standard 58 for cyst reduction

Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System

The Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System is my preferred filter for survival use. Concerning their water filters, the Sawyer web-site states: "Our filters are certified for ABSOLUTE microns making it impossible for harmful bacteria, protozoa, or cysts like E. coli, Giardia, Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella typhi (which cause Cholera and Typhoid) to pass through."

Another popular choice for filtering water in the field is the LifeStraw Personal Water Filter. With the LifeStraw you can drink water directly from a stream, pond, or swamp by sucking the questionable water through the filter like you were drinking with a straw. When you first start to use the LifeStraw you must suck enough water into it to fill the filter, so it can take a few second for the water to begin to flow for drinking. The LifeStraw is good for filtering questionable water sources for drinking, but does not allow that clean water to be stored after filtering (you suck the water through the filter directly into your mouth for drinking). Still, as long as you are always willing to drink your water through the LifeStraw it is a good filter to keep in your survival gear.

While filtration is effective against microorganisms; filtration is not effective in removing viruses. Disinfection with iodine or chlorine however has a high effectiveness in killing viruses. Disinfection with iodine or chlorine is not effective in killing Cryptosporidium. Disinfection with iodine or chlorine has a low to moderate effectiveness in killing Giardia.  Against Cryptosporidium and Giardia you must either boil your water, or use a water filter meeting the filtration standards listed above.

My preferred chemical purification method for water is the Polar Pure Iodine Water Purifier. Polar Pure has an indefinite shelf-life, and a single bottle will purify 1875 liters (2000 quarts) of water.

If boiling water is not possible, a combination of filtration and chemical disinfection is the most effective pathogen reduction method in drinking water for backcountry or travel use.

Keep both a Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System and Polar Pure Iodine Water Purifier in your bug-out bag along with a stainless steel water bottle, such as the 40 ounce Klean Kanteen, allowing you to boil water, and you are prepared to purify most any water source for drinking.

Once you have purified your water, you will need a way to store and carry it. For this I recommend a water bladder such as the 3 liter (100 ounce) Aquatic Way Hydration Bladder Water Reservoir.

The three-liter (100 ounce) is the largest commonly available, and you will want to be able to carry as much fresh drinking water as possible in a survival situation.

Many survival manuals show the construction of a homemade water filter. While these types of homemade filters will help remove dirt and sediment from the water, they do nothing to remove microorganisms from the water.  That being said, this type of filtration can still be valuable to remove sediment from water sources before boiling or using a filter, like the Sawyer Mini Water Filter or LifeStraw, to purify it for drinking.

A source of fresh drinking water is essential in any survival situation. Keep your water bladder and canteens filled with fresh water, so that you have an initial supply if you have to grab your gear and go. Be sure that you have a plan for obtaining more water, and a means to purify it for drinking once you get it. If you can’t maintain a source of clean drinking water, your survival situation is likely to be over - permanently - about three days after your water runs out!