Aftermath of a Panic Attack

Aftermath of a panic attack

Ok title sounds good. But it does have meaning. Tuesday night EVERY PREPPER SITE ON THE PLANET rushed to publish something about Iran and the possibility of a war. We were no different. It’s how you build a base. Today it’s something different. At least for us.

I have a question.

What did you learn from all the hubbub of Tuesday and Wednesday?

I can say that I learned that even though I prep and teach prepping, we were not 100%. And I bet 90% or more of our readers were not 100% either.

And that’s a good thing.

Why? First if a prepper says they are 100% ready, well then more than likely that is not a fully truthful statement. Some of the BEST in the business, I’ll use Daisy Luther of the Organic Prepper as an example. I can ask her, “Daisy are you 100% ready for anything?” And after she stops laughing at me I’ll bet she will say “No you idiot”.

Prepping is an ongoing thing. Like education. You NEVER stop learning. And you never stop improving your preps.

So keep on with us here at Pagan Preparedness and we’ll continue with the prepping 101 series.

What else did we learn from the last few days.

Me I learned that NONE of the media can be trusted. Fox news was calling on the president to blow up oil fields and their nuclear program. MSNBC was running state run Iranian television can saying how we are on the brink of war. CNN was blasting the same nonsense. OAN was also calling on the president to blow the oil fields. We depend on the media to keep us informed. The issue today is the media wants to educate indoctrinate and not just tell the story but tell THEIR story. And then to tell you WHAT TO THINK ABOUT THE STORY!!

Where does that leave preppers. Me. I normally believe a news story when I see it on Fox, NPR and CBS. When they agree then it may be true. This wouldn’t have worked Tuesday night. Every network was calling for war in their own fashion. Well then its time to sift the news and find the kernel of truth. It something we have to do as preppers.

Back at the Ranch.

Lat time I wrote about your EDC kit and what to do. Lets talk about on how to get home if/when something bad happens. First off do you have MAPS for your area? How about a compass? What? You are depending on Google Maps ™ or Waze ™ to get home? Well looks like it is time to talk about maps and compass.

The compass

The compass has been used for couple of thousand years. First invented in China about 20 BC. By the 9^th century it was in use by some Norse explorers and the 11^th it was used widely in shipping. Today they have fallen out of favor due to GPS. But even with the widespread use of GPS you still need to learn how to use one. Short of the magnetic poles turning off or flipping. Or you’re standing in a field of lodestone or Iron, they work. Period.

Maps

Maps. Now I could point you to the USGS and you can buy your maps. But to cover a large area, state sized, it gets expensive. But thanks to National Geographic you can download and print your maps. Take a look here. Nat Geo PDF Quads. You have to register your emal but its worth it. It takes some time and some work but they can be printed and placed in a binder. We printed our maps for New Mexico. (And left them with someone who needed them) We laminated them. Well not true lamination. Glad Press and Seal Lay out a sheet. About ¾ of an inch bigger than your page sized map sheet. Put a printed sheet down on top of the press and seal. Then cover it with another similarly sized sheet. We used a rolling pin to seal it. And viola! A “laminated” page.

These we stuck into a plastic protector and them set them in a binder. Use a ¼ sheet of a map is a bit tough to use. BUT. You can take the sheets out and with clear tape match them together for a full map. Yes it takes work. However you have a few things. 1 A lower cost map. 2. Knowledge now, of the map and its area. 3. a bit more money in the bank. Topo Maps are about 7-15 bucks each. Each one printed will cost about 2-3 bucks at the most.

How to read your map

We plan to get some on line and in person map reading classes up ASAP. But for right now lets take a look here. This is a bare basic introduction to a map. Map Reading for Beginners by Matt Rosenberg

How to use your compass

For a down and dirty over view on how to use your compass REI is a good spot. How to use your compass

Freya and I will be getting some on line stuff on land nav ASAP. As much as we want folks to take a class from us, right now it is much more important to get the stuff and get some basic instruction on using it.

Types of compasses.

I LOVE the old Military Lensatic Compass. They are tough accurate and with practice you can survey with them. A bit tough to learn but once mastered they are unbeatable.

This is mine.

It is about 40 years old but works perfect. It is a military lensatic compass. The tritium in mine is so old it barely glows any more.

This is a modern version of it. https://amzn.to/2TkhgUb

But this one will work well for those on a lighter budget. https://amzn.to/2QC0rlA

For folks that prefer the flat clear style compass The Silva Ranger Compass is hard to beat. Yes its pricey. But worth it. For a less expensive compass that is also good quality, the Silva Starter Compass. Both are waterproof shock and drop resistant and the needles do not bounce or jitter. GPS is fun and cool But can be shut down at any moment. A map and Compass can not be. We’ll pick this up later in more detail with some YouTube video and Webinars on how to do land navigation.

Look you may know each road to and from work, school the mall etc. You may know every Circle K or Dunkin Donuts. Sunaco gas station and every Walmart in the area. But what if you have to walk cross country to avoid trouble in town. And to deny intelligence to the enemy the government has shut down the GPS system, AND locked down the cell phone system. That map, compass and ham radio are looking pretty good now. We’ll continue this in more detail later.
Bjarni