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Showing posts from September, 2022

The Mountaineers Ten Essentials

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In the 1974, 3rd edition of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills the “Mountaineers Ten Essentials” was formalized into a list of recommended items everyone should carry when hiking or venturing into the backcountry. Although 1974 is accepted as the first time there was a formalized list of the Mountaineers Ten Essentials, the concept and idea of carrying basic items to allow you to prevent and respond to emergencies, and if necessary to spend a night in the outdoors, dates back to the mountaineering classes of the 1930s.   The classic Mountaineers Ten Essentials list included the following: 1.    Map 2.    Compass 3.    Sunglasses and sunscreen 4.    Extra clothing 5.    Headlamp/flashlight 6.    First-aid supplies 7.    Fire starter 8.    Matches 9.    Knife 10.    Extra food Over the years the ten essentials have evolved from a list of ten specific items to a list of ten essential systems. The 2017, 9th Edition of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills listed these ten essentia

Foraging in the Pacific Northwest

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Foraging on the West Coast https://northernbushcraft.com/   These online guides cover wild edibles on the west coast and Pacific Northwest, including California, Washington, and Oregon. Edible mushrooms of California Edible mushrooms of Washington Seashore edibles of Pacific Northwest Edible berries of Pacific Northwest Edible plants of Pacific Northwest The guides focus on wild edible plants that that are relatively easy to identify and have no deadly poisonous look-alikes. All plant parts described as being edible raw are also edible (and often more palatable) when cooked.

Postal Service Surveilled Protesters with Pro-gun, Anti-Biden Agendas

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According to records obtained by The Washington Times... The U.S. Postal Service monitored protesters across the country, snooping on Americans focused on issues involving guns and President Biden’s election. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/22/postal-service-surveilled-protesters-pro-guns-anti/ Postal inspectors tracked the actions of gun rights activists gathering in Richmond, Virginia; people preparing to demonstrate against police in Louisville, Kentucky, after an investigation into the police shooting of Breonna Taylor; and far-right groups headed to the District of Columbia after Mr. Biden’s election. Cato Institute senior fellow Patrick Eddington obtained the heavily redacted records detailing the postal inspectors’ spying from September 2020 through April 2021, including through covert social media surveillance called the Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP). A redacted situational awareness bulletin released in response to Mr. Eddington’s Freedom of Informati

Everyday Foods in War Time (1918)

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    “Everyday Foods in War Time” was written during the time of food rationing during the war years. This book gives the homemaker at the time a lot of good advice about saving money as well as providing good nutrition for her family. Download a free copy from the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/everydayfoodsin00rosegoog/mode/2up

Military Manuals

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Download military manuals... Basic Cold Weather Manual, FM 31-70 (April 1968) https://archive.org/details/FM_31-70_Basic_Cold_Weather_Manual/mode/2up Electronic Warfare Techniques (ATP 3-12.3) (July 2019) https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/dr_pubs/dr_a/pdf/web/arn18105_atp%203-12x3%20final%20web.pdf Field Hygiene and Sanitation, TC 4-02.3 (May 2015) https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/tc4_02x3.pdf First Aid, TC 4-02.1 (January 2016) https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN14135_TC%204-02x1%20C2%20INCL%20FINAL%20WEB.pdf Map Reading and Land Navigation, FM 3-25.26 (January 2005) https://irp.fas.org/doddir/army/fm3-25-26.pdf Marine Combat Water Survival, MCRP 3-02C (January 2003) https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil/Portals/207/Docs/TBS/MCRP%203-02C%20Marine%20Combat%20Water%20Survival.pdf Military Mountaineer Course Knot Guide https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/amws/content/pdf/Knot%20Guide.pdf Mountain Leader’s Guide to Winter Operations, MCRP 3-35.1B (

Government Agents at Your Door

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Over the past couple of months there have been several reports of agents of the BATF coming to private homes and asking individuals to verify their firearms purchases and/or to surrender legally purchased firearms related items. While these "visits" by the BATF are a recent concern; government targeting of lawful firearms owners and individuals in the survival and preparedness communities is nothing new. We previously wrote about the government calling survivalists and preppers "Homegrown Violent Extremists" https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/07/govt-calls-survivalists-and-preppers.html and surveillance of civilian communities by military anti-terrorism officers.  (Google, JBLM POLICE CORRUPTION INDYBAY to see multiple articles detailing unlawful surveillance of the civilian community by military anti-terrorism in the PNW.) We pointed out that you can't necessarily trust the government or law enforcement https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022

USMC Mountain Warfare Survival Course

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  In 2002 the USMC ran a survival course at the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California. The course consisted of a summer phase, a winter phase, and a wilderness medicine phase. The student handouts for each phase of training can be downloaded... Summer - https://archive.org/details/US_Marine_Corps_MWTC_Summer_Survival_Course_Handbook Winter - https://archive.org/details/US_Marine_Corps_MWTC_Winter_Survival_Course_Handbook Wilderness Medicine - https://archive.org/details/MMWildernessMedicineCourse2002/mode/2up Several additional courses are currently taught at the Mountain Warfare Training Center.   Current Training Programs at MCMWTC include: 1. Summer Mountain Leaders Course (SMLC) 2. Winter Mountain Leaders Course (WMLC) 3. Mountain Operations Staff Planners Course (MOSPC) 4. Mountain Medicine (MMED) 5. Cold Weather Medicine (CWM) 6. Mountain Survival (MSRV) 7. Mountain Scout Sniper Course (MSSC) 8. Mountain Command, Control, and Communications Course (MCCC)

OsmAnd Navigation App

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OsmAnd (OSM Automated Navigation Directions) ( https://osmand.net/ ) is an open source mapping and navigation application which uses OpenStreetMap (OSM) data for both online and offline use. It also includes a routing and navigation feature, with visual and voice guidance. OsmAnd has particularly strong privacy policies — it doesn't collect user data, and lets you decide exactly what information the app may access.  It is available in both free and paid versions; the latter unlocks the download limit for offline maps and provides access to Wikipedia points of interest (POIs) and their descriptions from within the app. Map data can be stored on the device for offline use. Carry highly detailed, fully offline maps of any region world wide on your device! Display your position and orientation on the map Optionally align the map according to compass or your direction of motion Save your most important places as Favorites Display POIs (points of interest) around you Can also display spe

Must Have References for the Survivalist

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Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) Operations, AF Handbook 10-644 (27 March 2017) https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a3/publication/afh10-644/afh10-644.pdf SERE: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Survival, Evasion, Resistance & Escape https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZB8PD22 - We highly recommend getting the above SERE supplement to AF Handbook 10-644.   This book was written by the moderators of the Remote, Austere, Wilderness and Third World Medicine Forum . Be sure to get the 3rd Edition, available from multiple sites on-line. The book aims to equip preppers & survivalists with the basic medical knowledge to succeed in the event of a large-scale, long-term disaster. https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/3b311a_6ef34fffc73447ce9a4d25a4d441b662.pdf           Also, download a copy of the Aerie 14th Edition Wilderness Medicine Manual - Aerie Backcountry Medicine provides a free downloadable copy of their 14th edition of the Wilderness Medicine text. This PDF

The Blackout (Full Movie)

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The Blackout tells the story of four college students, an expectant couple, and a lone survival expert who are confronted by a global blackout that forces them to endure the worst of human nature as society falls apart around them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx2Mac82RaQ   (Full Movie 1:31:32)

Military Tips, Tactics, and Techniques

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From the Standing Orders and Rules for Ranging of Major Robert Rogers in 1775, to the Tips of the Trade from Detachment B-52 (Project Delta) in Vietnam, to the B-720 Tips and Lessons Learned by the 1/7 Special Forces Group (Airborne) in the jungles of South America, to the Tactical Lessons Learned for today’s Navy SEALs; there are consistent tips, tactics, and techniques that keep special operations personnel alive in the field and help to ensure successful missions. This book brings together these tips, tactics, and techniques into a single reference.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDBB9KVQ

Grid Down Power Up

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The U.S. power grid is at grave risk of shutting down completely. An orchestrated physical attack, electromagnetic pulse attack (EMP), cyber-attack, or geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) could shut down our electricity grid for as long as one calendar year or longer. This documentary helps us understand the threat, why it has become a threat and demonstrates how we can fix this problem. The film is available for viewing at the link above from this website at ‘no cost’ (for some period of time?).  https://vimeo.com/742372251   (56:24 min)

Xcel Energy Takes Control of Smart Thermostats in Private Homes

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According to a news report from ABC station Contact Denver 7, 22,000 Xcel customers were locked out of thermostats during 'energy emergency' on Tuesday, August 30, 2022. When thousands of Xcel customers in Colorado tried adjusting their thermostats Tuesday, they learned they had no control over the temperatures in their own homes.  Xcel confirmed to Contact Denver7 that 22,000 customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours on Tuesday. The "energy emergency" was due to an unexpected outage in Pueblo combined with hot weather and heavy air conditioner usage. While there may or may not be advantages to customers who sign up for programs like Colorado AC Rewards (customers who signed up received a $100 credit on their bills), it must be understood that from a survival and preparedness viewpoint anytime you give up control of your environment to another, you put yourself at the mercy of the person or age

Pistol Shooting at 100 Meters Plus

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Shooting a full size or compact handgun in a common defensive caliber (9mm, .40, .45 etc.) accurately at 100 meters is not difficulty if the shooter knows how to shoot properly. If they have a proper grip, stance/position, sight picture and trigger pull they will hit the target. Unless of course they are poorly trained or handicapped in some way. When shooting at 100 meters plus the bullets your firing will drop, and you will need to aim above your intended point on impact on the target. This is called aiming off. Different calibers, weights of bullets and brands have different drop rates. Below is a generic table I put together that can be used as a guide for bullet drop at 100 meters. You will need to learn how your pistols shoot with your carry ammunition as results can very due to the makes and models of guns and the ammo being used.  Today we would like to share an article from our friend and instructor, Orlando Wilson... https://www.risks-incorporated.com/post/close-protection-fi

Wartime Cooking and Food Preservation

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Many readers of the Cascadia Survivalist Blog seem to enjoy our posts about wartime cooking and food preservation. Below are our top 10 posts along that line... What to Eat and How to Cook It (1874)   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/08/what-to-eat-and-how-to-cook-it-1874.html Canning for the Home - Food Needed for One Year   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/08/canning-for-home-food-needed-for-one.html Self Help Wartime Cooking Suggestions   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/07/self-help-wartime-cooking-suggestions.html The Fireless Cook Book   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-fireless-cook-book.html Tips from the 1918 War Cook Book for American Women   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/06/tips-from-1918-war-cook-book-for.html How to Keep Well in Wartime   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/06/how-to-keep-well-in-wartime.html Wartime Economy Recipes   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/05/wartim

A Communications Guide for Remote, Isolated and Off-Grid Areas

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Signals Handbook: A Communications Guide for Remote, Sparsely Populated, Isolated and Off-Grid Areas -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD3VYMRF The Cascadia Radio Reconnaissance Group provides low-level signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection and communications support for public-safety and security missions in remote, sparsely populated, coastal and isolated areas of Cascadia, areas that cannot be conveniently or economically covered by other more conventional agencies or organizations. This is the United States Version of the Cascadia Radio Reconnaissance Group's Signals Handbook: A Communications Guide for Remote, Sparsely Populated, Isolated and Off-Grid Areas. -- * A very useful reference for anyone wanting to communicate in the field, from remote areas, or in hostile and non-permissive environments. The handbook could benefit from a good index, but is still a "must have" reference for any radio operator.   Some (but not all) of the sections in the book include:  http

Rejuvelac

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  Rejuvelac is a kind of grain water that was invented and promoted by Ann Wigmore, born in Cropos, Lithuania. The beverage is closely related to a traditional Romanian drink, called borș, a fermented wheat bran that can be used to make a sour soup called ciorbă or as the basis for Vegan cheeses. Rejuvelac is a raw food made by soaking a grain or pseudocereal (usually sprouted) in water for about two days at room temperature and then reserving the liquid. A second batch can be made from the grain/pseudocereal, this time requiring only about one day to ferment. A third batch is possible but the flavor may be disagreeable. The spent grain/pseudocereal is usually discarded afterward.

National Preparedness Month

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National Preparedness Month  is an observance each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. Local Resources & Information   British Columbia https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/guides-and-resources Cascadia Radio Reconnaissance  https://radioreconnaissance.blogspot.com/ Oregon   https://www.oregon.gov/oem/hazardsprep/Pages/Individual-Preparedness.aspx Washington   https://mil.wa.gov/preparedness Some of our previous blog posts that list resources to help you prepare... Survivalist and Preparedness Blogs, YouTube Channels, and Downloads  https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/04/survivalist-and-preparedness-blogs.html First Aid and Beyond   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/03/first-aid-and- beyond.html Communications for Survivalists   https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/02/communications-for-survivalists.html