Selecting A G.O.O.D. Cover Pic

Photo#1

Photo#2

Photo#3

Photo#4

So, over on The G.O.O.D. Plan Blog (http://thegoodplanblog.blogspot.ca/) I have posted that I am trying to narrow down which photo should be used for the cover artwork for the soft cover 8.5"x11" version of The G.O.O.D. Plan - Get Out Of Dodge. The four pics above are what I am working with and I would like some reader input. So, either reply to this post or fire me an e-mail at: thegoodplan @ hotmail dot ca
Let me know which picture would be an eye catching cover for my book. Of course, if none of these pictures work let me know that, too.

Hopefully, by late Spring of 2014 I will have the book ready with a full colour cover.

Thanks for your help,

Mountainman.

Exploring The Super Shelter

Shelter with Reflector in Place.

The Super Shelter. Have you heard of it? Have you ever built one? What are the advantages? What are the secrets?

The Super Shelter is the idea of Mors KOCHANSKI. An author and Wilderness Living Skills Instructor @ Karamat Wilderness Ways (www.karamat.com). You may have a copy of his book: Bush Craft - Outdoor Skills & Wilderness Survival or one of his many mini-manuals: Survival Kit Ideas or Tools Of Survival & Survival Training or The Two Kilogram Survival Kit Field Manual.

The Super Shelter is explained in great detail in the mini-manual: The Two Kilogram Survival Kit Field Manual. The basis of this cleaver shelter is understanding how infra-red wave energy is transmitted. The heat (infra-red energy) from a camp fire will pass through a sheet of clear plastic and reflect off the mylar space blanket to be absorbed by the person inside the shelter. The best $4 investment you can make is to purchase this mini-manaul, to learn all steps of the shelter's construction.

The biggest challenge, I found when constructing this shelter was attaching the mylar space blanket to the underside of my tarp. But I think I have found one of the solutions to this challenge. Duct tape might work, but in cold weather it would not work for long. Sewing the mylar would be tricky, and then it would probably just rip away from the stitches. But, clothes pegs, will work in the cold, in the wind, in the rain and in the snow. Best of all, you do not need to pack any with you. In a few minutes, I was able to whittle the required number of pegs to hold the mylar to my tarp.

However, I am getting ahead of myself. An opportunity presented itself to me, to test out some survival skills during a weekend campout. Although, I have been aware of the Super Shelter I had never tried to build one. Now that I have experienced this once, I would like to share what I learned.

First I better explain the components of the Super Shelter for those who have never heard of it before. This shelter consists of: A lean-to, a sleeping platform, clear plastic sheet to minamize heat loss, a small campfire and a reflector. 

The hardest part of this shelter system is keeping the reflector in place. But, as alluded to earlier, I believe the solution is in the use of clothes pegs you whittle onsite. They are free. I used the branches from Spruce Trees that had been drying since Christmas. The branches were still pliable, but dry enough not to get pitch or sap on everything. Not a concern in a survival situation, but this was a fun campout after all.

I did not employ the clear plastic sheet over the opening of my lean-to, as I was not expecting real cold temperatures. Further, in place of a campfire, I used a large candle. Think tea lights that are 3 1/2" in diameter and an 1 1/2" thick. They had a large wick and produced more heat than I was expecting. 

My sleeping gear was on the light-weight end. A bike & hike summer bag, a poncho-liner, 3/8" foam pad and a bivy bag. The campout took place at the end of September. It was not really cold, but a propper sleeping bag would have been smart planning.......but, this was a test.

How did it work? To my surprise and pleasure, I did not get cold. I had only the foam pad to insulate me from the ground, but had the weather been more wintery, I would have taken the time to construct a sleeping platform. And if it was more wintery, I would have used the clear plastic sheet to prevent the warmth from being stripped away by the wind and a campfire instead of my candle.

In conclusion, I recommend you learn more about Mors Kochanski's Super Shelter. This one skill could save your life, if you have to survive with an improvised shelter.

A note to those having to survive in an urban envrinoment without heat in your apartment or house. If you ever had to shelter-in-place, without an alternate heat source for your home, I recommend you have a few mylar space blankets on hand to build a reflector sleep chamber in your home. With just the heat from a few candles, you may survive while others perish. Just remember, to have a source of fresh air or you may perish by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Keep learning new ways to survive,

Mountainman.

Contest & The G.O.O.D. Plan e-Book Give-away

Howdy One & All,

For those who have just stopped by, welcome. To those who are returning, thank you for coming back for another visit.

Here are some sites to visit:

www.thegoodplanblog.blogspot.ca

www.americanpreppersnetwork.net

www.canampreppers.net

You may have visited the first site before, that is my blog dedicated to information about my book, The G.O.O.D. Plan - Get Out Of Dodge. The other two sites, I visit and support where and when I can. They both offer access to a wealth of knowledge about how to become more self-sufficient and to be prepared for those days when things just aren't going right.

I recommend a visit to both of those sites. Currently, they are each running their own contests, and some of the prizes are copies of my e-Book in PDF. So, drop by those sites and have a look around. If you join and become a member and then post a comment on my G.O.O.D. Plan you could be the winner.

All the best,

Mountainman.

e-Readers, e-Textbooks Advantage for Educational Institutions

Technology, where would we be without it. Today, everything is either an i"Thingy" or a tablet or an e-Reader. Book, you know those things printed on paper, that you read..........they are so yesterday.

However, even with all this technology within our grasps, it is not being fully utilized. That is my point for today. Schools, Colleges, Universities and Technical Schools - need to embrace the technology advantage. What am I speaking about? Good question. e-Readers and e-Books; especially e-Textbooks. A large expense to any institution is the required textbooks and associated reference materials. Solution: e-Readers and e-Textbooks.

A good e-Reader is less than $200 per unit. A good science text book is $200. Text books are expensive because they are hard covered, colour printed, large format and have lots of pages. Oh, and the material changes every 3 to 5 years so they need to be replaced.

A good e-Reader, can be loaded with all the text books, they can be updated midway through the semester or school year, and even the reference books can be uploaded. If tablets are used, the e-Textbooks could be loaded AND the assignments can be completed and e-mailed to the instructor and the marked and graded "papers" can be e-mailed back tot he student. 

So, for the sake of the argument, using e-Textbooks on e-Readers + a tablet, a student could have EVERYTHING they need for academic courses that would fit in a medium sized briefcase. Currently, to carry all the textbooks, binders, pens, pencils, calculators, etc, etc. You need a large duffle bag and very strong arms and back to carry it all. 

This would be a win, win, win solution for all.

For the school/institution: Cost effective e-Readers and reduce expenses on textbooks. Not to mention the ability to have the most current source materials, and rapid updates.

For textbook industry: No longer need to focus on limiting the textbook, to keep it competitive. Now the best materials can be assembled, complete with colour photos and graphs/charts. Master copies would be loaded onto flashdrives and couriered to the schools. The schools would upload onto their e-Readers. Price per text book could be reduced and profits would still increase. And schools would be asking for updates.

For the students: The one who would benefit the most. Less stuff to carry. Information being provided in a format kids understand. It would make learning fun, again. 

So, before technology is used by somebody else, let's encourage the education system to get with the times and use the technology to make a positive difference instead of whining about how kids don't want to learn.

Keep learning and thinking,

Mountainman.

Flood Warning Index

This year's experience with the floods in Southern Alberta has confirmed a thought I once had, we need a Flood Warning Index or Code. It needs to be simple - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Violet or Not Bad, Bad, Really Bad, Really Really Bad or Kiss Your Ass Goodbye. 

If it makes sense to have the Richter Scale for Earthquakes, a Category System for Hurricanes, The F Class for Tornadoes; then it certainly makes sense to have some system for floods. 

The methodology to determine what flow of water on which river or stream goes with which colour is beyond the scope of my idea. If accepted, the correct folks with the engineering or scientific  backgrounds will assign the proper values. What is important is that everyday folks will understand a Yellow Flood situation will be bad in certain parts of town and a Violet Flood will probably erase the town.

For High River, AB, the 2008 flood may rate a orange level, where as the 1995 & 2005 may rate a red level. The 2013 flood is starting to look like a violet level event.

Being told that you are going to flood, without some value attached to the warning is almost useless. Being in a geographic area that has a huge water basin to collect rain water and snow pack in, it is conceivable that when conditions are right, all low-laying areas downstream will get wet at one point each year. Having an method to describe how wet and how fast you are going to get wet will help folks make an informed decision on whether to stay and sandbag or pack-up and head for higher ground.

I hope the folks at ESRD - Environment Sustainable Resource Development, will champion this idea to the province and maybe we can have this ready by next flood season.

Remember, have a plan, have good information and take action!

Til next time,

Mountainman.

LINK TO UPDATE: Flood Warning Index

Flood Damage in K-Country

Hwy #532 Closed at Indian Graves Campground

Hwy #532 Washed-out Beyond Road Closed Sign

 Time to go to the hills. Friday was the best weather day in a long time around here. Tried to get out to do a photo-shoot for my book - The G.O.O.D Plan - Get Out Of Dodge. Tougher than expected.

First, tried to get to K-Country via Highway #532 - Indian Graves to The Hump to The Forestry Trunk Road. Discovered a "Road Closed" barrier just after the intersection to the Indian Graves Campground. Found a good trail around, continued up Hwy #532. Only made it a few more klicks. Then found the culverts had been washed out. Totally. Had a little hike up creek. There is a possible ford through the creek. But, before attempting a crossing met with a local rancher. He said not to bother, as Hwy #532 was washed -out for at least 1/4 mile just pass Bear Lake parking area. 

So, I made tracks out of there. I dropped in to the MD of Ranchlands #66 Office at Chain Lakes. The road to The Gap is open but Hwy's 40 & 532 are closed at the junction. So, you have to double back if you go out there.

Bridge Out South of Mean Creek & Livingston River

 I am heading South. Beautiful sunny day. Why would I cut my day short??

Head South on Hwy #22 to Maycroft. Then head West on Hwy #517 to The Gap. Great scenery along the Oldman River, but too crowded for me. 

Arrive at the junction with Hwy #40 - The Forestry Trunk Road, head North. Pass Dutch Creek. Pass Oldman River. Pass Livingston Falls. Finally, traffic is starting to thinout. 

First Westward offshoot just South of the Mean Creek confluence with

Bridge Out North of Mean Creek & Livingston River

the Livingston River, bridge is out. In fact, one section of the bridge is missing, displaced downstream a few hundred meters. No going that way.

The next road to the West, was just North of the confluence of Mean Creek & the Livingston River. The road was great to the bridge. The bridge appeared to be in great shape. However, the Westend, the bridge approach and the road beyond were gone for at least 200 meters. 

Then, continuing North  to the junction of Hwy's 40 and 532. North of the triangle "Road Closed" signs on Hwy #40. And just East of the

Two Wash-outs Between The Hump and Trunk Road

triangle "Road Closed" signs on Hwy #532.  However, not too far East on Hwy #532, there are two washouts. Vehicles with low clearance are not crossing these. I bottomed out a time or two, but was able to drive beyond. I made it to The Hump, but decided against driving down to see the washout I had heard about earlier in the day. As it was, even here at The Hump, there were other folks. two driving a Nissan Titan crewcab and a couple of hikers who had parked their vehicles at the washouts. Too crowded for me.

The Hump Looking Down to Indian Graves (Hwy #532)

I headed back down towards Mean Creek, and spotted a skid trail into a logged block. Some very deep ruts where the flood waters washed away part of the track, but enough road to get away from the crowds.

Finally, some peace and quiet. Some great scenery to back-drop my photo-shoot. A very good day.

Remember, when you head to the hills, don't forget your camera!!

Mountainman.

More Flood 2013 Pictures

22 June 2013 - Highway #2 Looking SW

22 June 2013 - Highway #2 Looking South

22 June 2013 - Highway #2 Looking West

22 June 2013 - Buses & Tractors at Moody's Equipment

22 June 2013 - Northbound on Highway #2. Bridge Over the Highwood River. Down 6' from the 20th of June.

28 June 2013 - Pump House Across From HSA. Not Much Change From 22 June 2013.

04 July 2013 - Southbound on 5th Street, Looking Southeast Towards Sunrise and Hampton's.

04 July 2013 - The New Highwood Lake, From 5th Street Southbound.

04 July 2013 - Water, Water, Everywhere.......

04 July 2013 - Looking South Down 21 Street East.

04 July 2013 - Looking South Down 21 Street East.

04 July 2013 - Condo Complex in Sunrise Next to HSA.

04 July 2013 - HSA Staff Parking Area.

04 July 2013 - Pump House Across From HSA. Water is Still High!

12 July 2013 - Looking South Down 21 Street East. 500 Million Gallons Pumped and Still More To Go.

The recovery phase continues in High River. Folks are exhausted and frustrated. Thank God for the volunteers and their endless energy and patience. The folks in this town really do appreciate all you have done for all of us. THANK YOU!!

The government - at all levels - on the other hand, is proving to be as two faced as always. But thanks to facebook, personal blogs and twitter; the average person is keeping the world informed about things around here and holding the elected representatives' feet in  the fire, so's to speak. With such scrutiny, it is hard to be dishonest to folks and get away with it. Hopefully, the elected ones will start to work with the people and use co-operation, instead of confrontation to resolve future flood or other disaster mitigation. 

The insurance industry is also being held to a high standard around these parts. That is good to see. It will be interesting to see who renews their policy with whom, when all is said and done.

I believe this incident has brought the folks of High River closer together, and forged a stronger sense of community. We will get through this. To those outside, may you never have to go through a situation like this. And, if you do, may you at least have a bugout bag full of clothes, shaving gear and important documents to quickly carry out of your home with your 72 hour supply of water and food. And if you still have time, do not forget your important photographs or external hard-drive with copies of all your memories. 

Be Ever Vigilant,

Mountainman.