by Ron Foster
“I say we go ahead and use up the coke. Did you decide which weapon you’re carrying for a main battle rifle?” Lori asked thinking about the AR versus AK rifle discussion they had last night with Sam.
“I decided I am going with the AR that Smith and Wesson model I got is a good one and as close to military spec as I could afford when the economy and my money was good. That parkerized finish only needs to be wiped down with oil to get the rust off it and although that AK has a chrome lined barrel also its going to rust on the outside quicker than that AR. Besides that’s the weapon I know from the Army best plus the ammo is a lot lighter to carry. If it was just surviving in the woods I would be satisfied with that Henry AR 7 survival rifle but I want me some firepower if some idiots decide they want something I got. Course I am still arguing with myself over just carrying my Keltec Sub 2000 9mm carbine as being plenty adequate for tasks at hand. That shares the same mags and caliber as your TNW Aero Survival rifle. We got a bunch of 9mm ammo and it would make a lot of sense to match calibers and mags but it’s just too hard for me to not to carry “Smitty” the AR on this little adventure we got planned.” Sam said rubbing his head in aggravated confusion that he had to leave behind any of his valuable and beloved possessions, particularly ammo and guns.
Figure 2 TNW Firearms 9mm Aero Survival Rifle
Figure 3 Keltec Sub 2000
Figure 4 ASTRA A-100
“What did you decide you wanted to do on the shotguns?” Lori asked noticing the flinch of Sam’s shoulders at the thought of yet another quandary he had to think about that was making his head hurt.
“I am taking the camo Mossberg 500 12 gauge, that thing is my comfort as well as my game getting gun and I can’t imagine ever being without it. The camo finish on it keeps the rust off and I can think of a hundred reasons in certain circumstances why I would rather have a shotty than a rifle in my hands.’ Sam declared wondering if he was over doing it with the guns in his boat loading plan.
“So what happens to all the other guns? Are you going to leave them behind locked up in the safe or are going to try to count on them not being found left behind in the vans if we ever make it back to whatever place next to the boat landing we can find?” Lori asked wondering what in the world Sam had planned for a few extra pistols a shotgun or two and some rifles they had in their preps.
“I say we throw them in the vans and bring them with us. This is a really messed up situation us leaving out of here under pressure like this. I know we are doing the right thing but leaving here and a lot of our preps behind goes against everything I have been preaching about prepping or bugging out for years but it’s got to be done. Anyway the general plan is we find us the boat ramp if it’s not flooded out or we find somewhere else to put the Pod in at and stash the vans somewhere. We can camouflage them with brush as best we can and hopefully they will be unmolested if we ever make it back this way, if not nothing much we can do realistically except maybe bury the pistols in a watertight container and hope for the best. I doubt that we are going to ever see them again though, going down river is going to be hard enough let alone trying to come back against the current but you never know.” Sam said solemnly fully realizing this would most likely be the last time they would ever see Alabama or be near their home again. He took a long hard drink and tried to shrug the despondent feelings off. Leaving the guns stashed in back of them upstream by the river did give them an emergency cache of sorts though and if he had a good reason to head back this way perhaps they would be there waiting on them if needed to acquire them again.
“I thought you were going to try to tow some of that stuff in back of the boat and build a raft or something?” Lori asked.
“Well I am half ass still considering it, but you’re forgetting about my install house and home setup. I have been adding to my preps and increasing our survival for off grid living capabilities for years. I got that SUNRNR solar generator, a trash can size military immersion heater for hot water, a military tent heater, that icemaker, a food dehydrator etc. I am going to load all that in my van if I can find a way to fit it in somehow after I pull the seats out.” Sam said not wanting to leave any of his “treasures” behind.
Figure 5 SUNRNR SOLAR GENERATOR
“Dang Sam, you talk about me and my over packing! Look at you! How in the world are you going to try and load that 265 pound solar generator by yourself anyway? I could help you a little but I don’t see the point of trying to lug that heavy thing. I thought you said we are supposed to be going away from here with just our basic camping boat load out and a few other things?” Lori fumed thinking that Sam had started messing around with crap they might just be moving from point A to B for no reason and wanting another day to hang out here loading it.
“Well as far as the boat itself goes we are, as for the SUNRNR I can make it load itself in a jiffy with an electric winch and a couple boards for a ramp. It can power the winch no problem. But you are right, I need to forget about the big stuff for now and get back to thinking more on what goes on the boat. When it’s in trailer mode I have 27 square feet that I can fill up with gear but we are not making regular camp and only worried about taking the big tent and cooler out etc. before we go boating. I say we don’t put anything into the boat that doesn’t stay on the boat when we load the boat trailer for this trip. That will save on the confusion factor when we get ready to launch it and we can just hit it and get it and not look back. I want to move away from that landing kind of fast. Therein lies the crux, we can’t have a bunch of stuff cluttering up the bottom of the boat to trip over. I wish we had got started thinking more about building one of those gazillion Jon boat to bass boat do it yourself modification plan ideas they had on the internet all over the place but that can’t be helped. We will just make our own make do setup for now but nothing goes in cardboard boxes.” Sam said trying to visualize to himself what goes where and load displacements etc.
Random DYI Jon Boat Mods
“Well it is too late for us to say we would of, could of, should of as you say and get’er done. You’re the one that is usually trying to convince me to do your version of minimalist camping; this trip shouldn’t be all that different now except for bringing the extra clothes and extra food.” Lori said making Sam flinch at the thought.
“Oh hell, not the great unresolved clothes question!” Sam thought with a shudder not really having that fully calculated in his packing attempts. He also hadn’t approached it from a woman’s point of view.
Sam was lucky though that Lori understood the need to leave most of their civilian type clothing behind and settled on them sharing one army surplus duffle bag for the both of them for regular clothes and extra shoes. One smaller duffle held their field web gear and some wet weather jackets. The main duffle had winter jackets taking up a lot of room but Sam insisted he didn’t want to get into a position later to have to scavenge for such in Florida. Bugging out and being ready for all kinds of weather conditions was problematic enough but nothing he hadn’t already thought about and they had what they needed for hunting and fishing clothes as well as beach wear. There were also plenty of beach wear tourist stores around where they were going that they might be able to pilfer later for some shorts or something but no Burlington coat factory outlets and such within miles of the front or back beach roads that he knew of to find a good winter coat in.
Sam still thought forlornly and anxiously about all the clothes, flashlights , packs and knives and other cool prepper and survival gear he had extras of after upgrading his equipment over many years being left behind as well as all of his gardening and wood cutting tools that he would have to scrounge for later, but hopefully not for long. They would have to find a place they were going to be around long enough to start another garden after establishing base camp and that was not a task he looked forward to.
He hadn’t had his amazingly cool Tetra-POD boat all that long so he hadn’t gotten around to tricking it out as much as his imagination and his wallet would
allow him but he still beamed with pride that he had it barebones and it was already pretty much functionally packed and ready to go with pretty much everything you can think of and most of that stuff in there was multi tasked for lots of uses.
Sam smiled as he remembered the conversation well that he had with Lori when he first convinced her that they needed to get themselves a little boat. He had came up with quite an array of convincing reasons that they should buy one and why he thought it would be a good investment in themselves and their future. First he talked about maybe them getting a little sailboat to sail on the lake and then he got on the recreational jag of a Jon boat for its stability and low draft for fishing. Besides, Jon boats can go out when the wind is down so they wouldn’t be tied to the weather. Then he slowly and carefully began convincing her that the added expense of a Tetra-POD trailer boat was worth it rather than buying an old used Aluminum Jon boat. That’s what they needed and it could double as a survival or camping trailer! This line of convincing was a different matter though but Sam eventually persuaded her it was not only practical for all the recreational uses they would ever need, it was also the ultimate bug out vehicle for them if they wanted to consider using rivers as a route!
Lori was a prepper oriented sort of person the same as Sam was but she was not quite as experienced as he was so she relied on him some when they had talked about bugging out and where to go if they were ever forced by forest fire or marauders to leave their beloved well stocked “Prepper Shack” behind.
Lori didn’t take very long at all to agree with Sam that if they had a boat to help carry all that gear and ammo in their backpacks it was a pretty smart idea. Those loads could even be added to and would now be carried by the WATER and not be a burden on their backs and it was usually WATER that they could readily just scoop up and can treat to have themselves a drink. This was a far better way to deal with their number one survival need then having to be carrying heavy canteens or containers around while looking for a source for them to be filled from. Being able to transport things by trailer and boat allowed them a lot of flexibility in the choice of their bug out locations or escape routes. Just by looking at their state map of rivers it became obvious that having a boat opened up for them all kinds of unique possibilities and safer routes to take they had not considered before.
The conversation between them got even livelier as they realized many of these waterways emptied into the gulf. How fantastic to be able to take a river ride all the way to the ocean! They had been to a few state parks in the vicinity of many fishing piers during camping trips and they also knew of many boat ramps that were close to their house that they could get to in a short period of time. Lori didn’t have a chance saying no after that and Sam could be pretty convincing painting a picture of all the fun they could have with the boat of his choice.
Sam’s list of persuasive boat buying arguments he presented went sort of like this.
(1) Choosing the Tetra-POD as their survival trailer just made plain sense. Lori agreed with Sam that there was a certain higher level of preparedness comfort in knowing that we can have a fully outfitted camper/bug out boat survival trailer sitting in our garage or backyard. All we had to do was just get to our home, hook up, and get out of town either to enjoy a fun weekend camping and fishing or to haul boogee and bug out in case of an emergency.
(2) A Tetra-POD is a fun and practical way to go camping or boating. It has less risk of getting broken into or stolen when its out parked in public all day or left all night at a job or campsite like a fully loaded camper/truck/jeep/SUV would be. Hell this thing was the only bear and human resistant boat they knew of, it shut tighter than a clam! Most people wouldn’t even know what it is and mistake it for some type of cargo trailer or maybe a mini pop up camper.
(3) The Tetra Pod can be stored as a camping/survival trailer in our backyard chained to the power pole or we can leave it standing alone with the ball hitch padlocked convenient for leaving out at a moment’s notice or we can begin personalizing it the way we want and stowing our survival gear and some food in it maybe and keep it ready for long term survival if we feel a certain threat warrants it. We might do that anyway just to be on the safe side. I want a dry run to see how much food we can put in it or on it though in case I ever have to consider it, but I won’t store any food long term there. We could however free up the spare bedroom that always gets the bed piled with gear when we come back from camping trips, that we can orderly store in it for the next trip and not have to load it up again.
(4) Having all that gear stowed in the trailer facilitates quick movements by us and allows us more evasive tactics that will allow us to distance ourselves from the chaos, pollution, fires and them hungry clueless city zombies that want our stuff. We could instead of trying to live in the woods be off happily sailing to offshore skinny water keys and visiting sandy islets. Places where the water and environment is cleaner and the risks of intrusion into our fishing or hunting grounds or a possible attack on us are much further reduced.
(5) Sam had figured out how to propel it alternatively by the wind, by hand cranked propeller, by oars or paddles and if we were living small and conserving our trolling motor a solar system could provide adequate electricity to get us quite a distance, plus, a small outboard kicker that sips gas would greatly expand our range and capabilities, like that Honda motor.
(6) When Sam and Lori went to the lake or the river for normal recreation they could consider scouting locations for our bug out base camp. Sam informed Lori maybe they could do something like the early Florida pioneers did when colonizing the area. They would ferry hogs, chickens, and seeds to a local key and have a remote, self-sustaining “larder” waiting on them next time they came by. If Sam and Lori wanted to they could be prepping their route or proposed bug out area now. On one of their boating trips they could plant several “Guerrilla Gardens”, small, and remote that only they knew about as living emergency caches. They could just get out and “Johnny Appleseed Johnny Appleseed” the devil out of seeds and watch them grow at least a season to see what performed and what didn’t.
EDITORS NOTE OF READER INTEREST
I always like to give you a little history lesson in my books as well as a preppers perspective on how people angle for jobs during hard times,Johnny Appleseed was unique in this.
From Wikiemdia
Chapman was born in Massachusetts in 1774, and by the time he was twenty had already moved “West.” West in 1794 meant Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where he began his career as a somewhat successful nurseryman and unsuccessful land speculator. Disney portrayed Chapman as someone who picks apples, but what Chapman really did was grow apple trees. Chapman’s business model was simple: go where you think the next wave of settlers will be, and set up a small apple orchard nearby, usually just a few acres surrounded by a fence to keep livestock out. As the Frontier moved westward, Appleseed moved with it, living most of his long life (he died at age 70) in Ohio, before making it as far as Illinois.
Apple trees were not quite currency in the frontier lands of Ohio, but they were necessary for most homesteaders. The U.S Government required settlers to plant (apple and pear) trees on their property to prove they weren’t land speculators. That requirement is how Chapman made his living.
He was rather unconcerned with clothes, tending to walk around barefoot (even in the winter) and wearing whatever scraps he could find for clothing. He turned burlap bags into pants. The cooking pot that often appears on Chapman’s head in paintings and drawings is surprisingly accurate, though later in life his head-ware became even stranger. Some observers recalled him wearing three hats at the same time; a brim, the cooking pot, and then a crown on top.
If it sounds like Appleseed was a bit disturbed, you might be right. There are unconfirmed stories claiming that he was kicked in the head by a horse in his mid-20’s and was never quite the same again. His eccentric nature might have also been the result of a broken heart. Allegedly the object of his affection a
ccepted a competing suitor’s marriage proposal just one day before Chapman was going to pop the question, this resulted in him becoming rather bitter. Observers of the real life Appleseed recalled him getting extremely angry when recounting the tale. After the rejection Chapman never pursued another woman, but did claim to have two spirits waiting for him in heaven committed to being his wives.
There is, of course, one VERY big difference between the myth and the truth: The apples trees that John Chapman planted were not for producing delicious crisp apples for eating. No. At the time, apple’s main purpose was to form the hard cider that was the most common drink at the time. Youknow… instead of water. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a time where you just drank hard cider all the time?
A lot of people don’t even realize if you plant five apple seeds from the same tree you’re liable to get five kinds of apples and most of them would remind you of crabapples, no matter what you started with. By the way, the ones Johnny Appleseed planted the most of were called “Spitters” something you would probably like to do if you bit into one but they made great hard cider. There is still a tree he planted alive at 176 years old that is still used for rootstock to this day available. Those red delicious apple varieties etc that you might think of are made from grafting. If you are going to Johnny Appleseed something know about it and pick something tough like butternut squash or Seminole squash that climbs and meanders over weeds. They also can get volunteers the following year where one of their fruits has rotted and taken hold of the soil.