I scattered my Get Home Bag all over the damn table late last week and then like the idiot I am, went for a two hour one way drive without it over the weekend.
I wasn't too worried about it, I was in cell phone distance from both ends if the truck broke down and I always have at the very least two pocket knives, a small Snap On crescent wrench and at least two ways to make fire.
If nothing else, it was an Interstate highway and the cops would have taken me somewhere just to get me off the highway.
Damn, I just rearranged that thing and it doesn't have a lick of fresh clothes in it and I bet it still weighs twenty five pounds.
I do have a couple of things in it that I have not seen mentioned, it is compartmentalized in case of a real damn emergency so that I can dump the main bag, grab a few separate items, and get down the fucking road and still be able to expect to get by for at least two days.
If I can't hitch a ride or get where I am going, take my word, I am a VERY resourceful guy. Several years in the Boy Scouts and a lifetime of hardscrabble living has taught me things that ninety percent of my contemporaries would have no fucking clue about how to survive in this particular area.
One thing I haven't seen was anyone carrying a fishing vest.
They have tons of pockets and if you get creative enough, you can stuff enough crap in one of those by it's self to get by for at least four days. Just make sure some of those pockets have some kind of food in them, dehydrated, preferably, and a way to carry water. Even a condom or a plastic bag will work.
Another item is a prepackaged , cheapie water bottle that has a space blanket, water tablets, a lighter, a poncho and several other handy little items I got from my folks for Christmas a couple years ago. Re arrange the damn thing and you can get by with one of those by it's self. Put a good knife, some tin foil, tea bags and some bullion cubes in it and you can get by for several days if ya can find some water.
Around here in the Columbia Gorge, you would have to be hurt so bad you couldn't crawl and not find water.
Either way, make damn sure every thing is water proof and that at the very least, you have an extra heavy duty , size large garbage bag, a Bic lighter and a good knife. That alone can save your skin around here.
