To Connect to Prepping, You Must Disconnect
Dr. John Woods 07.24.20
The very best way to learn how to be a prepper is to be one. You can read all the books you want, watch all the how-to videos, and stroll the store aisles in search of gear to amass, but until you disconnect from your secure lifestyle, you’ll never know if you can really cut it during a SHTF or other disaster.
As a kid, I remember how tough it was to go camping with just bare bones gear, even though we had it pretty good with a nice tent. My brother and me both were Boy Scouts and had been on group overnight campouts many times, but when left alone for a week in the woods to our own resourcefulness was quite a trial. Today, my parents would probably be arrested for child abuse or some such nonsense.
So, if you really had to bug out tomorrow, where would you begin? Where would you go? What direction, what highways, or backroads would you use? Does the car have a full gas tank right now? Are your bug out bags packed, secured and ready to go? Are your personal defense weapons cleaned, loaded, and cased ready to dodge out the back door? Have you got food, water, medical supplies, clothing, shoes, and emergency gear ready to leave?
When it comes to skills development regardless of what it is from golf to shooting to camping, to subsistence living, it is best accomplished by practice. Start slow and go easy. If your bug out is to try tent camping, then pick a weekend and a close by state park to try things out. If you go up a level to a pop-up camper, trailer, or even a self-contained RV, then likewise pick a time to go to test everything out including yourself and the family. Find out before a catastrophe what works, what does not, and what needs tweaking.
Camping can be a good proving ground for prepping. This is the time to take all the gear to see what functions as it is supposed to and what in fact turns out to be junk. Does that propane stove light easily and work well? Do the gas lanterns light without issue and provide good camp illumination. Check out camp foods to see who likes what or not. How did the tent or trailer set up? All these things can be tested during a dry or wet practice run.
Prepping is best learned by being done. So get off the couch, start planning a trial run to check everything out. That way, you’ll be ready when a real SHTF hits the fan.
