by SJH, SurivalBlog

I’ve read many articles regarding “survival “ and “preparedness” topics, my conclusion is that an important area has been missed. Lots of planning seems to focus on food storage, water, supplies, and so on, yet I have not seen or read anything about “survival tools — how to be prepared for anything mechanically”. So after considering this topic for several years, I’ve decided to introduce my own topic as far as tools for the self-reliant individual. My background includes 30 years of mechanical equipment repair on automobiles and trucks/trailers to heavy construction equipment including dozers and cranes. Having been exposed to working independently while on the road performing field work, you soon develop a survival sense that allows you to think through repairs and situations, even before you actually arrive at the work site.

Planning as we all know is the key factor, when considering what tools and equipment are  necessary.

• What are you planning on keeping running, is it your vehicle/boat/plane/ATV/snow machine/camper?
• What maintenance is required for each of these pieces of machinery?
• What supplies will be required, what spares are necessary for repairs?

Lastly, yet most important of all, will be the tools necessary to keeping your equipment up and running. Transportation is critical as for preparedness situations, as we all know. Once you have determined your needs, your spares, supplies, think through what tools will be required.

For example, to replace disk brake pads, you need to remove the tire/wheel assembly, compress the caliper, unbolt the caliper, install the pads, and reverse the process to put it back together.

Just for a simple job like this, you will need a lug wrench for the lug nuts, a large C-clamp to compress the caliper and a wrench or socket to remove the caliper. You need to sit down and consider what will be required in whatever contingency or jobs may arise, and how to deal with it. I have a list of tools that, over the years, I have found will suffice for most basic repairs. These tools are carried in what I call my “road box”. This road box has been with me a long time. Even though the original box has long since rusted away, most of the tools have lasted.

This set of tools is my choice based on my needs as well as the fact that you may have to improvise to get the job done. Here is the list that we can call our “survival tool set”.

• Storage box, a two-tray nesting type box made of durable plastic, now many years old.
• ¼” drive socket set, used on small nuts/bolts in tight places.
• 3/8” drive socket set, handy for removing nuts/bolts.
• ½” drive set including 12pt short sockets as well as 6pt deep sockets, include a “breaker bar.”
• Assortment of pliers (slip-joint, locking, needle-nose, side-cutting and electrical crimp type).
• Wrench assortment, my favorite are the “ratcheting type” as well as adjustable type in different sizes.
• Screw drivers an assortment of straight, cross and whatever else you may need depending on your needs.
• 12 volt test light, extremely handy for troubleshooting 12v troubles.
• Good hammer, I carry a 16oz Ball-pein type which works wonders when you need it.
• Ignition wrench set, allen wrench set and a “feeler gauge set.”
• Lastly, I carry an assortment of what I call “goodies”, clamps, bulbs, fuses,  spare wire and connectors, nuts and bolts, electrical tape, duct tape, Teflon tape, silicone gasket material, rubber freeze out plugs, tire plugs.

As I mentioned before, this set of tools has been my choice over the years to keep things going. I’ve changed oil and filters with the addition of a universal-type filter wrench, replaced spark plugs, changed fuel filters, replaced brake pads, repaired broken wires, plugged leaks on everything from fuel to water and air as necessary. I’ve improvised wiring for a trailer to keep the lights going and replaced a busted heater hose a few times. The size of my tool box is approximately  9” x 15” x 13” tall and there is room for more inside. Another consideration should be the need for “metric” tools, depending on you individual needs. Many vehicles today are metric and will require you to adjust your tool inventory as such. This tool set will also cover a great deal of home/shelter/retreat repairs if you again plan what you may have to do. An example would be with the addition of a pipe wrench you would be able to tackle plumbing repairs such as cleaning a  water well pump strainer from debris. As mentioned in the beginning, plan for all sorts of mechanical problems, consider what tools are required and adjust your inventory accordingly. If you carefully think all situations out thoroughly, your tool supply should be able to handle most anything that happens to arise.

Now to really complete your tool supply , you need to consider what special requirements that you may need. How about jacks as a beginning point, you should have a hydraulic bottle jack  and/or what I call a “farm jack” included in your tool supply. The bottle jack depending on its lifting capacity can solve many “lifting” situations. It will raise a vehicle including trucks/trailers, jack up a building if necessary. The farm type jack is versatile because it can “push” or “pull” as well as lift/raise. So with the easy addition of these two items you have the ability to raise, jack, push, pull and even if necessary use in some sort of improvised rescue situation. As I mentioned before that a 12VDC test light can assist in 12V repairs but the ideal choice would be a “multi-meter”, they are available everywhere from the basic variety to the extravagant type. Let your budget guide you on this, bottom line is that they are indispensable for troubleshooting various electrical problems. These types of meters can test DC (low voltage) as well as AC (high voltage).The important thing  to remember is “know” how to use it and what you are working with. Obviously if you need electrical training check out your community college for a class on basic electrical skills/repairs. My personal favorite add on equipment would be an air compressor. With this addition to your tool “cache” you will be able to air up tires, perhaps inflatable boats, blow out wet items, run pneumatic tools and the possibilities go on and on. Compressors come in all types and sizes, my favorite is the small electric variety, I used this type for the above mentioned as well as to run pneumatic nailers for remodeling work. There are all types of tools available for drilling, grinding and cutting. Again think about your needs then plan out the tools required.

Tools are just the beginning, you may need some type of mechanical training but common sense will cover most of the items that will need to be repaired. Shop manuals are really the key to preparedness, if you have the information required all should proceed according to your plan. Again as in all preparedness plans, look at all the “what if” scenarios, to determine what tools you will need to handle what needs to be repaired.

Good luck and head out for your local tool store to start “stocking up” your tool supply.

by Chuck Baldwin

One does not have to be a prophet to know that we are on the precipice of some potentially catastrophic–or at the very least, challenging–days. In fact, most of us are already in challenging days, and some are already enduring catastrophic events. That is, if one would call being out of work, losing one’s home, facing life-threatening medical conditions without any prospect of medical insurance, several families being forced to live in one house due to homes being foreclosed, etc., catastrophic.

The potential for an escalation of cataclysmic events, however, is very real. Only a “blooming idiot” would call someone who attempts to prepare for “the day of adversity” a Chicken Little now. Anyone who does not see the storm clouds on the horizon isn’t paying attention.

For example, can one imagine what would happen if terrorists nuked a major American city or cities? (Once again, I encourage readers to go get the videos of the CBS TV series “Jericho” to get an idea of how quickly life, and even civilization, could change.) Imagine if there was another 9/11-type event. What would happen if some form of Zimbabwe-style inflation hit the US? What would happen if anything disrupted the distribution of Welfare checks, or food to local grocers? Imagine a Hurricane Katrina-style natural disaster in your town. I think people everywhere are beginning to awaken to just how vulnerable we all really are.

As a result, people from virtually every walk of life have recently been asking my thoughts on how they should prepare. Therefore, I will attempt to share with my readers some of the counsel I have given these folks.

First, a disclaimer. I am not an economist; I am not a survival expert; I am not a firearms expert; I am not an attorney; I am not a physician. In fact, I am not an expert in anything! For several years, however, I have tried to learn from others. I am an avid reader. My work has allowed me to travel extensively. I have had the privilege of sitting at the feet of–and learning from–many of America’s most learned, most trained, and most qualified “experts” in a variety of fields. What I write today, I have learned from others. I’ve formed my own opinions and priorities, of course, but everything I’m sharing has been said, or written about, before. But if I can share something in today’s column that will help someone be better prepared for the days to come, then my goal will have been achieved.

Location:

First, analyze your living conditions. Where do you live? Do you live in an urban or rural environment? Is it a big city or small town? Do you live in an apartment or condominium? How close are your neighbors? Do you even know your neighbors? Would you trust them if the electricity was off and they were hungry? Could you grow your own food, if you had to? How easily could you secure your home? If you live in a cold weather environment, how long could you stay warm without electricity? These are the kinds of questions you need to ask yourself now.

Over the past several decades, masses of people have migrated into large metropolitan areas. More people live in urban areas than at any time in American history. While this may be well and good for times of prosperity, it is an absolute nightmare in any kind of disaster. Does anyone remember what New Orleans looked like after Hurricane Katrina came through? Can anyone recall what happened in downtown Los Angeles during the 1992 riots? Needless to say, any inner-city environment could become a powder keg almost instantaneously, given the right (or wrong) circumstances. And the bigger the city, the bigger the potential problems.

If you live in the inner city, I suggest you consider moving to a more rural location. Obviously, now is a very good time to buy property (especially rural property), but the downside is, selling property is not as favorable. If you can afford it, now is a great time to buy a “safe house” outside the city. If you are fortunate enough to have family or some true friends nearby, you might want to put your heads–and some resources–together in preparation for serious upheaval. Obviously, a team of prepared people is much better than being alone.

If you must stay in your urban location, have some commonsense plans in hand in the event of a major disaster. Get to know your neighbors: find out whom you can trust and whom you can’t. Keep some extra gasoline on hand, in case you need to get in your car quickly and leave. Have several exit routes planned ahead of time, in case roads are blocked. Have a “bug-out” bag containing essential ingredients to live on for 3 or 4 days. If leaving is not an option, have a plan to secure your home as best you can. You’ll need to think about things such as food, water, medicine, warmth, self-defense, etc. But at this point, to do nothing is absolute lunacy!

Provisions:

During a major disaster, food will quickly disappear. Living for over 3 decades on the Gulf Coast, I can tell you with absolute certainty that whenever disaster strikes (usually an approaching hurricane, for us), food and provisions at the store sell completely out in a matter of a few hours. People panic, and within hours, you cannot find food, bottled water, ice, generators, batteries, candles, etc. In a matter of hours, every gas station in the area will be completely out of gas. Not days. Hours!

Furthermore, almost all disasters include a complete loss of electricity. The water supply is compromised. Bottled water becomes more valuable than bank accounts. Dehydration becomes a very real and present danger. I remember witnessing a man offer an ice vendor $100 for an extra bag of ice during Hurricane Ivan. My wife and I went 2 weeks (14 days) without electricity in the aftermath of that hurricane. Believe me, I got a taste of just how precious bottled water, ice, batteries, generators, fuel, etc., can become.

I suggest you have a supply of food and water to last at least 2 weeks. A month would be even better. Personally, I can live a long time on tuna fish or peanut butter. You can purchase MREs from a variety of sources, as well as “camp-style” packaged food from stores such as Academy Sports & Outdoors. Of course, bottled water is available everywhere during normal times. Stock up! Plus, I suggest you have some water purification tablets or a Katadyn water filter on hand. And, if you are able, prepare to grow your own food. Canning food is another very helpful hedge against deprivation. If your parents were like mine, this was standard operating procedure.

Get a generator. Keep a supply of fuel on hand. Stay stocked up on batteries, candles, portable lights, first aid supplies, and personal hygiene items–especially toilet paper. Trust me, during times of intense and prolonged disaster, toilet paper could become more valuable than money. I also suggest you never run out of lighters or matches. You never know when you’ll need to build a fire, and during a prolonged survival situation, fire could save your life. If you live in a cold weather climate, you probably already have some sort of wood stove or fireplace.

Obviously, you need to take stock of your clothing. Do you have clothes suitable for extended outdoor activity? What about boots? During a disaster, you would trade your best suit from Neiman Marcus for a good pair of boots. Do you have gloves? Insulated underwear? What about camouflage clothing? These could become essential outerwear in the right conditions. Plus, any “bug-out” bag will need to include spare clothing.

And one more suggestion, while we’re on this subject: the best resources in the world are of little use if one is physically incapable of making good use of them. In other words, GET IN SHAPE. During any kind of emergency situation, physical exertion and stamina become immensely important.

Commodities:

I suggest you have at least some cash on hand. Just about any and all disasters will result in banks being closed for extended periods of time. That also means credit card purchases being suspended. You need to have enough cash to be able to purchase essential goods (if they are even available) for an undetermined amount of time.

Of course, some survival gurus insist that during any cataclysmic climate, precious metals will become the only reliable currency. But when most of us are trying to feed our families and pay our bills, it is difficult to get excited about buying gold and silver. Obviously, I would never recommend that anyone jeopardize the present on the altar of the future. My parents made it through the Great Depression with canned goods and garden vegetables; gold and silver were certainly not a priority with them. And maybe it should not be with you, either?

In fact, in a disaster, what is considered a valuable commodity can change rather quickly, as the barter system takes a life of its own. What is valuable is determined by what you need and how badly you need it. In a prolonged disaster, simple things such as toilet paper, canned goods, ammunition, and clothing could become extremely valuable; while cars, video games, televisions, etc., could be reduced to junk status. In antiquity, wars were fought over things such as salt.

Speaking of cars, remember that during a prolonged “national emergency” that might involve some sort of nuclear attack or widespread civil unrest, an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) might be employed; in which case, most every late model vehicle would be completely inoperable. Accordingly, if one can keep an older, pre-computer-age vehicle in good working order, he or she might be driving the only non-government vehicle capable of going anywhere.

Self-Defense:

Needless to say, during any kind of disaster, your safety and protection will be completely up to you. If you really think that the police are going to be able to protect you during an upheaval, you are living in a dreamworld.

In both the New Orleans and Los Angeles disasters, police protection was non-existent. Lawless gangs quickly took control of the streets, and people were left to either defend themselves or swiftly become the helpless prey of violent marauders. In fact, in New Orleans, some of the policemen actually abandoned their oaths to uphold the law and joined with the criminals, turning their weapons upon the public.

Face it, folks: in any kind of disaster, you must be able to defend yourself, or you and your family will be meat for these animals of society that will quickly descend without mercy upon the unprepared, unsuspecting souls around them. This requires that you be armed! It also requires that you be skilled enough to be able to efficiently use your arms.

Therefore, I strongly suggest that you purchase firearms sufficient to keep you and your family safe, and also that you practice sufficiently to know how to proficiently use them.

Now, when it comes to a discussion of which firearms are preferable for self-defense, the suggestions are as varied as the people who proffer them. These are my suggestions:

I believe every man (along with his wife and children of adequate age) should be proficient with the following weapons: a handgun in .38 caliber or above, a .22 rifle, a center-fire hunting rifle, a semi-automatic battle rifle, and a shotgun.

My personal preference for a self-defense handgun is either a .45 ACP 1911 (either Colt or Kimber) or a .40 S&W. In the .40 caliber, my favorite is a Glock 23. In the 1911, I like the Commander size configuration. I also like the Glock 30 and 36 in .45 caliber. My wife prefers to carry a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver in the snub-nose, J-frame configuration. But this is primarily due to the reduced weight of these weapons for carry purposes. If needed, she could make a good accounting of herself with a Glock 19 in 9mm. If you are someone who has never owned and seldom fired a handgun, I recommend you buy a Glock. They are as simple as revolvers to operate, reliable, and almost indestructible. Plus, they provide increased magazine capacity, and are safe. They are also very easy to disassemble and clean.

For a .22 rifle, I really like the Ruger 10/22. For a hunting rifle, my suggestion is either a .270 or .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle. (If I had to pick one, I’d pick the .30-06.) I prefer the Remington Model 700 BDL, but there are several fine weapons in this configuration and caliber by numerous manufacturers. For a battle rifle, I suggest an AR-15-style weapon in .223 caliber. Here I prefer a Bushmaster. (Please, I don’t need to hear from all you .308 lovers out there. I love the Springfield M1A, too.) For a shotgun, I suggest a 12-gauge pump. Here I prefer a Winchester Model 1300, which is not made anymore. So, you’ll probably have to choose between Mossberg and Remington.

Whatever you choose, practice with it to the point that you are able to use it proficiently. And be sure you stock up on ammunition. A gun without ammo is reduced to being either an expensive club or a cumbersome paperweight.

Spiritual Power:

I firmly believe that man is created to have fellowship with his Creator-God. I really don’t know how people can face the uncertain future that we currently face without the spiritual knowledge, wisdom, comfort, and power that is made available through Jesus Christ. I believe the maxim is true: “Wise men still seek Him.” I strongly suggest that you seek to possess a personal relationship with God’s only begotten Son.

That we are facing challenging days is a certainty. Exactly what that means is yet to be determined. I trust that some of my suggestions will help you be better prepared for what lies before us.

by Massad Ayoob

Situation: A law-abiding armed citizen faces multiple armed robberies and murder attempts.

Lesson: Only the power of lawful force can answer the power of lawless criminal force.

A few years ago, the TV program Turning Point focused on private citizens who had used guns in self-defense. In refreshing contrast to much of the mainstream electronic media, the show for the most part gave a fair and balanced portrayal of ordinary people who had been forced to resort to defensive firearms in extraordinary circumstances. I wrote about it in this space at the time. Among the Turning Point shootings we discussed were the series of armed robberies and attempted murders defeated by Lance Thomas, the owner of a watch shop in Los Angeles.

In 2001, Paladin Press published one of the best “reads” of the year for people who follow the gun culture and understand the principles of self-protection. The author is Paul Kirchner, who has collaborated with Col. Jeff Cooper on previous books, and the title is The Deadliest Men: The World’s Deadliest Combatants Through the Ages. It covers figures as disparate as the French swordswoman known as La Maupin, such great American war heroes as Alvin York and Audie Murphy; gunfighters like Wild Bill Hickok and Bat Masterson, and a man named Lance Thomas.

Over a period of less than 3 years, Thomas was involved in four gun battles against a total of 11 known suspects. He shot six of them, killing five. The watch dealer himself was wounded on two of these occasions, taking a total of five rounds. There are many lessons that the rest of us can learn: Lessons of long-term strategy and short-term tactics; of gun selection and ammunition effectiveness; and, above all, of courage under fire in the moment, and of determination over the long haul.

August 10, 1989. Like so many storekeepers, Thomas feels his watch shop would be a safer place if he had a gun with which to fend off armed robbers. He has acquired a Model 36, a five-shot Smith & Wesson .38 Chief Special. He keeps the snubnose revolver where he can reach it easily. On this day, he’ll be glad he did.

Two men enter. One appears to have some sort of weapon, and the other pulls what Thomas recognizes as a 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Thomas knows he can just give the man his money and goods, but he also knows that to do so is to trust his life to the whim of a violent man unlawfully wielding a deadly weapon. Instead, Thomas chooses to fight.

His hand flashes to the Chief Special, and he comes up shooting. The little revolver barks three times. Two of his bullets miss, but one smashes into the gunman’s face, putting him out of the fight.

The merchant swings toward the accomplice, but cannot see a weapon at the moment, and so, does not fire. Instead, he orders the suspect to leave. The now-compliant accomplice does so, dragging his wounded comrade with him.

The robber will survive. Lance Thomas is unhurt. His decision to be an armed citizen, to fight back, has been validated. The wounded robber will be charged, and the armed citizen has the sympathy of the authorities. Thomas has won in every respect.

In assessing the aftermath, the Rolex specialist analyzes what he has learned with the same precision he applies to the repair and adjustment of fine watches. It is not lost on him that he has expended 60 percent of his ammunition to neutralize 50 percent of his antagonists. It occurs to him that a single five-shot revolver might not be enough if there’s a next time, and that there won’t be much opportunity to reload.

And what if he had been caught out of reach of his Smith? Thomas expands his defensive strategy. The .38 is joined by a trio of .357 Magnum revolvers: a Colt Python, a Smith & Wesson Model 19 Combat Magnum, and a Ruger Security-Six. He arrays them a few feet apart within the small perimeter of his workspace so there will always be one within reach no matter where he’s standing.

If he runs dry, he won’t even think about reloading: he’ll simply drop the empty gun and grab another fully loaded one.

Professional Hit

November 27, 1989. This time, it’s the kind of professional hit that the NYPD Stakeout Squad warned you about– a five-man team of thugs who know what they’re doing. There’s seeded backup, a perpetrator ambling around on the sidewalk outside, pretending to be a passerby. The outrider is in the driver’s seat of the getaway car, at once a wheelman and a potential killer who can murderously interdict responding officers, or go inside with heavy weapons to rescue accomplices who are captured inside the premises. The remaining three perpetrators comprise the raid team.

It opens hot, fast and ugly. One of the perpetrators opens up on Lance Thomas without warning, firing a semiautomatic pistol, hitting him four times with eight rounds fired. Three of the .25 ACP bullets bite into Thomas’ right shoulder, a fourth into his neck. The watchmaker grabs the nearest revolver, the Ruger .357, missing with the first shot but scoring with the next five.

The gunman falls to the floor and so does the Security-Six: it has clicked empty. Thomas drops it, lunging for the next nearest weapon, the snubnose .38 that had saved him last time.

Read the rest at this link.

by David Edwards and Daniel Tencer

Some 100 new militia groups have formed since the election of President Barack Obama, says the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In a re-run of the phenomenon seen when President Bill Clinton took office, gun-rights advocates, libertarians, survivalists and others are forming militias as a symbol of their resistance to what they see as an administration that threatens to restrict their right to bear arms and expand government control over the lives of private citizens.

“The truth is that these groups are popping up like mushrooms after a spring rain,” said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a social-justice group that has been tracking the rise of militias over the past year.

Potok’s group put out a report earlier this year raising the alarm about the resurgence of armed militias. Since then, he told CNN, the group has counted about 100 new groups formed across the country.

“There really is this terrible fear mixed with fury about the idea that President Obama is somehow leading a socialistic takeover of America,” Potok said.

A CNN news crew that visited the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia found a group that sees itself as a “deterrent” to any attempts to restrict gun use, and otherwise sees itself as a place to learn survival skills.

“Just the simple fact that we are out here and we are doing this, will give somebody pause, will make them think twice,” said militia member Michael Lackomar, who added that he thought Obama “could be dangerous for the nation.”

“Anytime we get a Democratic president in the office, people become concerned, including myself, and we get a resurgence out here,” said one militia member, identified only as Brian.

But CNN’s Jim Acosta points out that gun control “is unrealistic in many ways, because the Obama administration and the Democrats know that it would be political suicide for them to go after gun control measures. Even the attorney general has indicated he won’t go back to the assault weapons ban enacted in the Clinton administration.”

In its report from August, the Southern Poverty Law Center pointed out that the most recent wave of militia groups differs slightly from the wave seen under President Clinton in one respect.

“A key difference this time is that the federal government — the entity that almost the entire radical right views as its primary enemy — is headed by a black man,” the report states. “That, coupled with high levels of non-white immigration and a decline in the percentage of whites overall in America, has helped to racialize the Patriot movement, which in the past was not primarily motivated by race hate.”

This video is from CNN’s American Morning, broadcast Nov. 16, 2009.

by Claire Wolfe

Earlier this year, the dogs and I got taxed out of Cabin Sweet Cabin. With a little help from our friends, we packed a small trailer with our dog bowls, our six-gallon superpails of lentils, and even a few clothes. And off we went.

High desert was where we landed—because that’s where a welcoming mini-community awaited. But oh my goodness, this place is six thousand feet too high and more than 1,000 miles from all I once held dear. Sometimes I’m convinced it’s on another planet.

My idea of “country” is blue-green, dripping woods, tall trees, and earthy scents. Moving from my Pacific Northwest home to the brown, sharp, and pointy desert has required some serious adjustments.

Take altitude, for instance. Do you know the difference between sea level and more than a mile high? Feeling like an 80-year-old with emphysema, that’s what. Never mind the fact that everybody who moves here from a coast goes through it and eventually acclimates. No matter how much pride you take in your physical condition, moving to the high desert from low altitude will definitely humble you.

This is what the locals—with straight face—call a tree.

And how about terrain? Last Chance Gulch (what I call this place) is surrounded by miles of wide-open spaces and a surprising variety of wild landscapes. But they’re all…well, desert. And the local frame of reference is…unusual. My neighbors keep talking about the “trees.” I look around and don’t see a tree anywhere, all the way to the horizon. Not one. “You mean those stubby little bushes?” “Yeah. But they’re trees. They’re junipers.” “Oh. Coulda fooled me.”

Still, the vistas are sweeping, and offer their own gaunt sort of beauty. And I never know what new wonders I’ll find around the next corner. Late last summer, when an evening breeze made the temperature reasonable enough for the dogs to slouch out of their tiny patches of shade, I joined one of the human gulchers and a crowd of canines in a walk. My friend offered to show me a field of petrified wood. Then he stepped off the road.

Over a ridge and along a precarious deer-path of shale we went. Into an unexpected canyon swimming-hole went the dogs. We climbed and climbed and climbed some more. (Remember that gasping 80-year-old? Well, that was me.)

But finally…our reward. We emerged on a rock-paved plateau, littered with bits of petrified trees everywhere we looked. There were even trees embedded in thick slabs of sandstone—just to give you an idea how old that landscape is.

“You won’t find this in your precious Northwest,” my friend crowed. “And I’ll bet you never had a canyon in your front yard before, either.”

Then there’s water. Or rather, there isn’t. “Water, water everywhere” is just not a phrase you hear around these parts. You hear about the dangers of dehydration. And the costly depth of wells. And how some lucky so-and-so actually got drinkable water from his drilling (a thing that doesn’t happen often). And whether you should pump your well with solar power or a generator.

Where I used to live, all the water you ever wanted—and then some—fell from the sky, year-round. Not here. At Last Chance Gulch, the ghastly well water goes to dogs, trees, and dishwashing—and leaves lime and rust stains on anything it touches for more than a few minutes. We have two barrels that we trailer into town and fill up for drinking. Then we use a small electric pump to empty the barrels into portable drinking-water containers.

No water, right? But still, they have floods! It’s nuts. Back home, we had water. Here, perpetual drought. But back home a flood was a rare disaster. Here? Well, let me tell you: We have to cross five wide washes to get to town. And I don’t mean on bridges. The washes are part of the local dirt-road system. On the rare occasion it rains, those usually dry washes turn—in seconds—into torrents that can sweep away dogs, cows, and pickup trucks. Even after the flood recedes, you don’t go anywhere for 24 hours. Not unless you want to end up axle-deep in mud.

Homegrown power. I have three words for those of you who envision traipsing off to the backwoods (or back-desert) and living free and easy on solar or wind power. Those words are: HA HA HA. Or maybe: “Get a generator.” A big generator. You’re gonna need it.

Okay, it’s true I speak from a somewhat jaundiced perspective. The solar power system at Last Chance Gulch was set up about five years ago by (my friends learned later) a charlatan who would have cheated his own mother on her deathbed. So the system that was supposed to be sufficient to run a small village can barely creak its way through a sunny summer day without the inverter detecting a low-battery state and shutting everything down.

Furthermore, it’s guaranteed that this shut-down will come at the worst possible time. When you’re in the shower, for instance. (The propane water heater goes on working; the pressure tank giving you water says goodbye.) Or when you’re on the wifi network and the satellite Internet connection, meeting some vital Backwoods Home deadline.

At Cabin Sweet Cabin, I had grid power. Yeah, I was spoiled. But you know what? I liked being spoiled.

Now, maybe your solar power works like a charm. If so, I don’t want to hear about it, okay? Because here at Last Chance Gulch, the very mention of functional off-grid power causes blood-pressure to spike and people to run for their Prozac.

We are resolved to have this problem fixed by the time you read this article. It’s a resolve the Last Chance gulchers have made before. But this time we have real expert help. We really do. Our helper this time is somebody with an arm-length list of degrees from MIT. Seriously, after five years with a crippled system, we’re all convinced that’s what it takes to understand off-grid power. Electricity is complicated. And expensive.

Getting drinking water around here is a far cry from simply turning on a tap.

Then there’s the damn weather. It’s so hot you want to shove a dog out of the only patch of shade, dig a pit in the dirt, and snooze. Then—bazam!—It’s so cold you’re slamming windows shut, donning jackets, and stuffing old tee-shirts into cracks in the walls of your trailer. (Everybody here lives in trailers, though several houses are on the drawing board.)

And that’s summer.

Winter? Don’t even mention it. I’ve been here in the winter before. Winter means snow. It means metal trailer doors freezing shut. (You have to unfreeze them with a hair dryer—IF the inverter hasn’t shut the electricity down). Winter means valves on blackwater tanks freeze shut. It means that the stuff inside blackwater tanks freezes.

Yeah, like I said, don’t mention winter. My friends from the Pacific Northwest have fantasies about venturing down here in December or January for extended stays. I tell them, “Nooooooo, not really the best idea you’ve ever had.” But they think, “Desert. Sunshine. Warmth. A handy opportunity for snowbirding.” “But it’s more than a mile high,” I tell them. They still look at me with that “70 degrees in winter” gleam in their eyes.

I should let them come. Then they’ll see…

Predators. I knew Toto and I weren’t in Kansas anymore when one of my fellow gulchers came to me and said I should stay armed while he was away on a trip because “the coyotes are funny lately.” He didn’t mean they’ve been practicing comedy routines.

All Last-Chance gulchers go armed, at least with pistols and sometimes with bigger artillery, any time they leave their yards. It’s not something we do for fun, or to make a point about the Second Amendment (although that, too). It’s because at any time we might need to shoot something. Not anything cool like an elk or a mountain lion (though both are certainly around). But a pest, a varmint, a nuisance, or some deadly critter whose attitude is strike first and ask questions later.

We’ve got eight dogs at the gulch now, and most are remarkably good about avoiding the deadliest local varmints. But just a few days ago, the newest dog here stuck her lovely, city-bred snout right into a rattlesnake. And the nearest reachable vet is 45 minutes away. Uh oh. Poor pup had a head like a basketball by the time she got there. She was lucky, though; the snake got only one fang into her and apparently didn’t inject a huge dose of venom. A few antibiotics and steroids and she was fine again (though with maybe a bit of scarring, since rattlesnake venom causes nerve damage).

The truth is that when the gulchers go armed with their dogs, they’re more often defending the dogs than themselves. Dogs raised in the desert are predators too, and sometimes need to be protected from their own poor manners. If a pack of dogs corners an outraged varmint in a pile of gully rocks, you try to get the dogs away with no bloodshed on any side. But sometimes a dog-owner’s choice comes down to killing a poor, innocent critter or rushing a wounded dog to have its gashed muzzle or missing eye sewn up. Dogs are not always sensible creatures. Humans sometimes have to make unpopular choices.

And yet… This column isn’t about “Things I Hate About the High Desert.” I did say I was learning to love it.

And I am. Even some of the very same things you hear me grousing about.

Altitude, for example. The thin atmosphere makes for the most incredible sky. Step out on any clear night (and most nights are clear, unlike back home). Look up, and you will see a thing that will take your breath away. The Milky Way, as bright and distinct as anywhere on earth, is only the backdrop for all the wonder of the nighttime sky. If you’re used to living in cities (or cloudy places like my former Home Sweet Home) you barely pay attention to the phases of the moon, and can rarely even make out the constellations, let alone get to know them. Here, they’re constant companions and the moonrise is almost as significant as the rising of the sun. Night isn’t just a time to huddle indoors with the lights on.

The terrain is severe and gaunt, it’s true, and the plants are more likely to puncture the skin than delight the eye. The animal life is more likely to bear scales than fur and even the hoppy toads are deadly poisonous. But the desert is every bit as alive as the woods, and you feel the age and raw, primal violence of it everywhere you go. The constant cycle of life and death is everywhere evident. Life moves at a grander pace. To see signs that, millions of years ago, huge trees reigned on what is now a rocky plateau, died and were buried and turned to stone, well, like my friend said, how many people have that in their front yard?

On every morning’s dog walk, you can come around a corner and find evidence of a violent past and a violent present—tumbled rocks, igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary—water-worn cliffs—fanged, clawed, venomous hunting animals.

If you look past the notion that what the locals call a “meadow” is a few patches of dry grass on a clay plain, you see evidence of life everywhere in it. Fresh sign of elk and deer, rabbits bounding away from the enthusiastic dogs, wild coyotes and wild cats disappearing over that rise over there. It’s wonderful, and it’s ennobling to stand with it.

This is a wild place. This is a place that can’t be tamed by concrete and electric lights. People sometimes build big houses here, bringing a bit of suburbia to the wild. And that’s fine, but the wild remains and will never be, can never be, banished. Humans have a place here, but only if we make it ourselves, and only if we fit ourselves to what the desert permits.

Starbucks and McDonalds will never intrude; I’ve the sense that they’d sink right into the ground if they tried. Or maybe they’d be carried off by coyotes.

I stand on a tall ridge and feel both humbled and ennobled by the grandeur around me: Grandeur that I must adapt myself to live with. The nobility comes from the fact that, as a homo sapien, I can adapt.

Even the water, which is so difficult to get and which seems like such a limiting factor, is that same sort of ennobling influence. One very young neighbor recently finished installing the solar-powered pump, cistern, and piping that brings water out of his well. It’s such a commonplace thing anywhere else: Open a spigot and water spills out. It seems like nothing unless you see what it takes to make it happen. Here you see all the work, all the ingenuity, all the study and expense and labor that went into that simple miracle of opening a valve and having cool, clear, sweet water spill over your hands, or through pipes that bring the water to an actual faucet over an actual sink inside the house that this young man is also building. Such a marvel he’s creating, at such a tender age! Anywhere else it would only be a faucet in a house. Here, it’s a man-made miracle.

The floods are harder. I don’t like being trapped in my yard by what, anywhere else, would just be a rain shower. It didn’t help that my first flash flood happened only days after my arrival here, when I was still stressed out and shellshocked, wondering whether I’d made a terrible mistake. I went out with the others to watch the water flow in the wash that virtually surrounds Last Chance Gulch, feeling imprisoned.

A few of the former denizens of Last Chance Gulch

Then one of the others pointed at a seemingly insignificant grotto across the wash: Just a pile of rocks, really. “See, Claire!” he said. And I looked, and I saw a waterfall! A cascade gushing from rock that had been arid only minutes before. The cascade was gone in minutes, too. But it was wonderful. That little gully has been cut over centuries by such brief spasms, mostly unobserved by humans. But now I had this privilege of seeing it happen. And I understood that the most obvious result of the floods—that I couldn’t use the roads for a day—was insignificant.

Off-grid living can be taken as a perennial nuisance—which it is because something always needs tweaking or maintaining, even on a better system than ours. But it can also be an opportunity to shine. Because convenient as the great centrally-controlled power grid can be, it infantilizes us. Grid power lies beneath the surface of every moment of most people’s lives, encouraging us to put our trust in unseen others for the things we need. That’s fine as far as it goes. But what happens when that grid goes? Mostly, as we see all too often on the news, people whine like babies when all that nice power—provided by somebody else—goes away, even for a little while.

The beauty of a home electrical system, when it works and even when it doesn’t work all that well is that you built it. (Or, in my case, my friends did and I get to help solve its puzzles.) It only works if you stand on your feet and do something about it, ignoring a lifetime’s indoctrination that you shouldn’t worry your little head because this is a job for the big boys. That, to me, is more precious than electric lights at night. Er, well, almost as precious. I really do like those lights.

Sure the nearest decent small-animal vet is 45 miles away and so swamped you might have to sit outside his front door for an hour, waiting for your appointment. But you can buy a big bottle of penicillin over the counter for less than ten bucks at the feed store, and they’ll throw in a handful of syringes and order pretty much any other vet supplies you want, including things that would give a government-approved people-doctor the vapors.

You can walk down the sidewalk in the nearest town with a firearm on your hip, and it’s a rare day when anybody will even bother to notice.

If you’re the sort of person who pulls building permits, you can get pointers on how to quietly and cheaply avoid problems with the building inspector—from the building inspector himself. This just isn’t the sort of place where nannies carry much weight. After my all-too-recent experience with the government tax-o-crats, that is a blessing indeed.

Even the unfriendly animal life is a blessing of sorts. Life and death are close to the surface here, and unlike in cities, you can’t ignore the fact that you’re a participant. They are real and solid things, not the fuzzy hypotheticals that “civilization” makes of them. Here there are eaters, and there are the eaten. Sometimes they switch places without notice, but they never stand outside the drama. Here, the wolf can literally be at the door, and he’ll want to know what you’re prepared to do about it.

There is something terrible about that. There is something beautiful about that. You can move to the desert, but that’s not the end of the story. Next you have to earn the right to live here.

Whether I can earn it still remains to be seen. But with a little help from my friends, I’m glad to be trying it.