world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices or topographical
maps. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers emplaced by other
geocachers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences
online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a
strong sense of community and support for the environment. It is the basic
principle of geocaching that presents multiple opportunities for survival.
Geocache sites often have containers that may contain items that can
be used for survival. Before you go raiding geocache sites, go to the
official website http://www.geocaching.com/ where you can look over
a map of your neighborhood to locate close medium sized cache sites.
Do not destroy these sites please, just make mental notes as to their location.
These sites can be used later as reference or rally points or to be used as
larger cache sites.
Taking a lesson from geocaching, you can place survival items in a container
made water tight and buried or hidden at a designated personal/group/family
rendezvous point. This method, though it runs the risk of being located and
raided by strangers ( unless it is buried ) allows you/friends/family members
to not rely on having a G.O.O.D. bag on hand at all times as you can stash
a grab bag of survival essentials at your rally point. Ensure that all those who
are relevant to your disaster plan know of the location and the exact spot of
the cache or use a phrase or clue word to help them locate the cache. For
example, based on a book title one clue is the cache's title itself, 'Where the
Green Fern Grows', the cache was a bucket with a water tight gamma seal
lid buried with a fake green fern plant attached to the top of the bucket. Other
examples my be 'On a wire', or 'In the fishing hole' for a water proof container
under water but tied to an anchor point or simple as just 'stump' for a container
camouflaged and placed inside a dead tree or stump.
Also use prominent/noticeable terrain features either man made or natural as visual reference cache markers to help with relocating the caches, especially since the landscape tends to change dramatically following natural disasters such as a flood or hurricane. A simple survival cache need not be much, a standard is such but feel free to add to the list:
1)A Knife (can get a simple lock blade from Wal-mart for $1 in the camping section)
2)A Radio with spare batteries in a ziplock bag, do not keep batteries in the radio as they may corrode (can get a simple kids handheld radio for $3 at the Dollar General or for a $1 at specific Dollar Tree stores)
3)Waterproof matches in a water tight container or a flint striker or a lighter
or a combo of these (you can get water proof matches in a water tight container
with a flint strip on the bottom combo at Wal-mart in the camping section for a
$1)
4)Food, usually isn't much just enough to curb hunger and contained in metal to prevent critter infestation such as 2 cans of tweet meat in a can for about $1.25
a can. The high fat and sodium content make tweet meat an excellent choice for
survival just not healthy for anything else :)
5)Plastic sheeting for shelter which you can get at the Dollar Tree for a dollar or just add an extra 30 gallon trash bag per person to save on space.
6)Sewing needles (once again for a $1 at the dollar tree)
7)Dental floss (115 yards at the dollar tree for a $1)
8)Fishing hooks (you can get 20 medium hooks at wal-mart for about $1)
9)Hygiene kit = Bar Soap in a ziplock bag, one toothbrush per person and one tube of toothpaste
10)2 x 30 gallon trash bags per person in order to make hobo sleeping bags
11)A small led flashlight
12)Sealable container (can get one of sufficient size from the dollar tree for a $1)
NOTE: Ensure that everything is individually stored in ziplock bags then all of it is stored in a trash bag to ensure all remains water proof for years if need be. You may also want to place some tealight candles or an emergency space blanket or two in there. Here is one I just got done making and is quite large to hide so I will probably bury it in several trash bags:
Now the one above is for a family and on the large side, there is a simple smaller one for the individual that will fit in a Dollar Tree water bottle or gatorade bottle. Below are the contents:
1)a 30 gallon trash bag,
2)a $1 lock blabe knife from Wal-Mart,
3)a water proof container with matches from Wal-mart for a $1,
4)a spool of 115 yards of dental floss from the Dollar Tree,
5)a packet of small fishing hooks from Wal-mart for $1,
6)a small LED keychain flashlight from the Dollar Tree,
7)(optional)a couple of tea light candles from the Dollar Tree,
8)a couple of sewing needles from the Dollar Tree,
9)a miniture travel kit of toothbrush and toothpaste,
10)(optional)a small bar of soap,
10)and some home made hardtack as food double ziplock bagged, or about 20 individually wrapped hard candies in a ziplock bag,
11) optionally you can place a miniture am/fm radio with extra batteries in there as well which you can get on ebay or at the Dollar General for around $3,
NOTE: With either cache use a plastic bag or wrap over the container opening and place the lid on over it and screw in on to help ensure a more water tight seal.
Tracking down geocache sites around your home may lead to discovering
new rally points, become familiar with your surroundings and learn of resources
your area may hold. Such as water sources, edible plants, wild life, sheltering
spots and vantage points.
Geocaching has been around alot longer then most know. You may be
surprised by how many geocaches there actually are around your home
or in your town, maybe hundreds or even thousands. Discover the immediate
world around you, it may save your life, and above all else, have fun while doing
it.
