survival « Robin Writes

Yeah, yeah. Late again. Story of my life.

A group of us went camping this past weekend—and no, I’m NOT still recovering, thankyouverymuch—and we had a blast!

We set up camp on Friday afternoon; slight glitch with a stuck tailgate on the truck, but nothing we couldn’t work around. Setting up the tent in 25 mph winds was interesting. Then the RV arrived, for the “city folk.”

Had a great dinner: campfire stew, cornbread, and Dutch oven blueberry pie. And beer. Of course. Temps in the 60s, in spite of that wind . . .

Saturday morning, the temp had dropped to 37. Hey, I might be roughing it, but I still had my IPhone! So I set up my little stove to start the coffee water while I built up the fire, watching the sunrise. Beautiful! It warmed up pretty quickly, but I was still thinking I should have worn those long johns to bed . . . and I missed sleeping with the lid off. Er, the fly on the tent. Lid. Fly. Whatever.

Since we couldn’t decide between hashbrowns and bacon or oatmeal and bacon, we cooked both. Oatmeal—with dried cherries—was done first. Second breakfast, hashbrowns and bacon. And then the “city folk” wandered over to the fire and made breakfast burritos!

Mostly we hung out around the fire, or close by, played with a parachute—and turned it into a drinking game because, hey, we could! So much for hiking, whiffle ball, Frisbee, etc. But it was great just being outside under all the trees . . .

Dutch oven roast with all the trimmings for dinner—and a pizza for an afternoon snack—and a late-ish night with friends around the fire. AWESOME!

The wind had died down and the temps stayed in the mid-50s until about 3:00 a.m. Until.

Good thing I wore the long johns.

At 3:00 a.m. I woke up to 30 degrees and howling winds, about 35 mph. Those lovely trees were swaying and bending—which I thankfully didn’t notice until I finally got up around 4:00 a.m. And yes, I was freezing. And yes, I climbed into my truck and ran the heat for about ten minutes. Don’t judge me!

In between warm-ups, I hauled stuff from my tent to the truck. VERY thankful we’d pre-loaded the kitchen and cooking stuff the night before! Finally, around 6:00 or so when it was light enough to see, I decided to de-tent.

And it started sleeting.

Lovely.

My point?

I do not like the cold. Not. Like.

So, once again, I’m really hoping that SHTF doesn’t hit until say, spring. Or early summer. Or something like that. Of course, then I’ll be griping about the heat . . .

My second point, the main one even, is that you MUST be prepared. Layers. Blankets. Shelter. Don’t skimp on any of these. You’ll not only be miserable, but cold can wear you out and use up all your energy. Don’t take that chance.

How do you prep for the cold? The usual ways, I imagine: heat sources, warm, layered clothing, adequate food and hydration, shelter from the elements.

What about toughening up a little?

First, of course, you should be in shape—and NOT the round shape so often touted. Strength and endurance are, and will be in a SHTF situation, imperative. But, second, you need to suck it up, Cupcake!

Sure, some of you undoubtedly turn down your thermostats to arctic levels, from time to time or on a regular basis. But some of you also may conveniently nudge that dial when things get a bit chilly. Or throw another log on the fire. Or grab an extra quilt.

But what if you can’t?

No thermostat. Firewood used for cooking and to keep you from actually freezing to death—not to provide a certain comfort level. Oh, the quilt? Maybe someone else is using it, maybe you cut it up for bandages, maybe it’s part of your shelter.

Now what?

If you’re in shape, if you have adequate clothing and food and shelter and water, you have a much better chance of resisting cold. If you limit your activity away from fire and shelter to shorter bursts, you can also resist the cold more easily—think about how, if you’re cold at home, you might step outside to grab a couple logs for the fireplace. It’s not so bad, right? But if you had to walk for a while, then chop those logs, then carry them back to the house, the cold digs right into you. And stays for a while.

Believe it or not, some of it is mind over matter. Don’t you feel warmer when the sun’s out? I know I do—the thermometer says it’s 11, but looking outside at my neighbor, shoveling his driveway, I can see pavement. I won’t say it makes me feel toasty, exactly, but it certainly LOOKS warmer out there.

Cold is painful, yes? Other things, like medical procedures, are painful too. You know how those docs always tell you “just relax” and you’re thinking, “oh, sure, right, no problem?”

Just do it. Seriously. It works for cold, too. Take a deep breath, relax your muscles, and embrace the cold. Remember, though, to breathe through your nose; this warms the air you’re taking into your lungs and is less of a shock to the system.

Cold weather, like any other survival situation, can be tolerated. Notice I’m not saying “enjoyed.” There’s cold, and then there’s Canadian cold . . . But you CAN prepare for and adjust to almost any type of weather. It’s just another component of prepping.