Ramblings of a Modern Day Mountain Man

Author: Brian T. Schultz

Edited by: Gladys Woodcock

Cover by: David Woodcock

Text copyright © 2012 Brian T. Schultz

All Rights Reserved

Acknowledgments

There have been many people who have influenced me, chief among those are my parents and my wife and son.  My parents started me down the road of self-reliance and my wife and son have continued the journey with me by my side.

About the Author

I have been many things in life, a welder, Pastor and I currently work in law enforcement and I also am a contract agent for the Feds.  Of the many fields that I have worked in my passion is survival.  I first began practicing a survival life style 30 years ago, growing up on my dad’s small ranch in Arizona.  When the other kids were playing ball I was out in the woods learning to hunt and learning skills from the “old timers” that would later help form me into the person that I am today.  Over the years I have learned that you never stop learning.  I have taken survival and made it a lifestyle so that is no longer survival but who I am.  I have many people to thank for who I am today God, my wife and son and my parents and the squad that I work with.

Introduction

I have long believed that a major problem with our country is that we have forgotten our roots.  In the old days people could not go to the local Super Center and buy what they needed often they had to make it or make do with what they had.

My goal for this book is to provide the reader with short tried and true chapters that will help them to be more self-reliant, so the next time a tragedy happens they will not be affected as bad simply because they will have been prepared.

The title of this book “Ramblings of a Modern Day Mountain Man” is named because I am a modern day mountain man.  Just like the Mountain Men of old I am linked to the outside world, however, also like the mountain men of old I do not have to count on that society for everything I need, one has to live the life to understand what I mean.

It is my belief that our fine country is headed down a dark road and only those people who are prepared will come out on top.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Modern Day Mountain Man

Chapter 2 How Primitive Living Can Benefit You

Chapter 3 Money Making Ideas

Chapter 4 Making Soap

Chapter 5 Clothing for The Modern Day Mountain Man

Chapter 6 Weapons of the Modern Day Mountain Man

Chapter 7 The Modern Day Mountain Man Kit

Chapter 8 Experimental Archeology

Chapter 9 Making Tooth Powder

Chapter 10 No Electricity No Problem

Chapter 11 Washing Your Clothes

Chapter 12 Faith

Chapter 13 Mindset

Conclusion

Chapter 1 The Modern Day Mountain Man

The modern day mountain man is torn between two worlds, in one world he is forced to work and make a living; it is the other world where he is truly at home, the wilderness.

The trick is to find a way to be comfortable in both worlds and in order to do that we need to look at the mountain man of old.

About 1750 the term Long Hunter came about, these were the explorers and hunters of the wild, men who had the desire to live apart from society and in many cases answering only to themselves.  The long hunters were also the men who were hired for expeditions as guides and hunters.  It was the long hunters who first started to make their way west.

In the early 1800’s when we started exploring west of the Rocky Mountains the term mountain men came about, often they would hire on with fur companies as trappers and as go a between with the Indians.

Later however, many of the mountain men realized that they were happier in the wilderness than in a city, so they made their home the wilderness only visiting civilization once or twice a year to trade furs and sell items that they traded with the Indians, because they lived so far from civilization they had to be so adept at providing for themselves, imagine only going to a store once or twice a year, it would be necessary to be able to barter and make your own things.

The mountain man of old was a product of his surroundings, much the same as the modern day mountain man.  We may not live in the wilderness full time, but you will find them there, more than you will in the city.

The modern day mountain man is the business owner or the person who owns a part time business, making and doing the things that they love.  The modern day mountain man may be the person you see at the swap meet selling items that they have traded for or it could be the vendor at a black powder shoot supplying people with the equipment that they will need to make it through another year.

As a modern day mountain man you try to forge your own way not demanding anything and also living by the rule that you will not have anything demanded of you, you are a survivor not because it is a fad but because it is a life style and that is the way you are happy living.

Rather than take part in the throwaway society that we live in your spending will change.  Because you will make as many of the products as you need, they will last longer and you will also be happy with less, but you will not have less because you will be rich.

The modern day mountain man is at his core a self-reliant person and to some it is not appealing, to others it is threatening.  You might ask why it would be threatening?  The answer is because there are some people who are scared of independence.  We as a people and a country have lost much of our will to be self-reliant, and our economy will bear testimony to that.  Recently our country has slipped into a recession like we have not seen in years and it is because our economy has become reliant on debt and spending.

A modern day mountain man is at heart an Experimental Archeologist, which means that he picks a particular time period and tries to learn the skills that were common practice during that time.  Many of these people home school their children, own their own businesses and try to provide as much for themselves as possible.  You will find them in the forests and often times exploring areas where they have never been before.  The first step to becoming a modern day mountain man is to step back and remember what truly made our country great and then try to emulate that.

You may say to yourself "I am not any of these things but I would like to be".  Well here is the good news; you can do anything you desire.  That is part of the pioneering spirit that made our country great.  If there isn't someone who can teach you then read books and practice what you learn.  Practice the skills until you can claim them as your own.  Once you learn, teach somebody else.  Together we can bring back that pioneering spirit that made our country great.

Chapter 2 How Primitive Living Can Benefit You

When was the last time that you were truly happy?  If you ask most people that question they are hard pressed to give you an answer, because they often cannot remember.

If you ask many people what living a primitive life style means, images of a buck skinned clad person or someone wearing a loin cloth pops into their mind.  Living a primitive life style is actually quite the opposite.  In today’s world it is almost impossible to live a 100 percent primitive life style but you can get close.  To live a primitive life style it is necessary to become an experimental archeologist.

An experimental archeologist is a person who not only studies about a particular time period and how they did things, the experimental archeologist also tries to recreate the way they did things.  Then they have a better understanding of the conditions that a culture faced in day to day life.

I believe the reason many are not happy in their lives is because they are continually trying to keep up with the person next door.  As a society we have become so driven by materialism that we have forgotten how to simply be happy with what we have.

If you choose to live a simple life style I must warn you it will not always be popular, but I can guarantee that the next time an emergency situation strikes your area you will be better prepared for it.

Economists are predicting that our country is heading for an economic collapse, what are the majority of Americans going to do if they cannot go to the store to buy the things that they need for day to day life?  The answer is simple they will be turning to you to show them how to live or they may become predators.

In the old days when people were forced to practice a primitive life style they had an understanding of what it meant to set food and other essentials aside for when they were in hard times.  If they needed soap to wash with they made it, if they needed food they foraged, hunted or grew it.  When they needed clothing they made it, traded for it or repaired what they had until they could get new clothes.

Please don't get me wrong I am not suggesting that you quit your job, get some animal skins and go live in a cave.  That is simply not the society that we live in today.  I once was told that for every one in the world to give up society and live the same as a primitive it would take six earths to be able to accomplish it, meaning that before long we would use up all of our resources.

However I do believe that you can comfortably combine the two worlds.  To understand my meaning you need to step back and look at what your basic needs are and in order:

1. Shelter

2. Water

3. Food

4. Clothing

These are the basic necessities of life.  In those needs you can add in heat, health considerations etc.  In today's world it is a given that in order to get by we need to work and if you think about it that is how it's always been.  In past times when a culture did not have money they used a barter system.  No matter what there has always been a price for the things that we need.

My favorite time period is 1755 to 1840 the long hunter and mountain men times.  These people took on many of the traits of the Indians whom they lived around and sometimes with.  If you study some of these tribes you will see that they were what is called "Hunter Gatherer Societies" and they moved around hunting, fishing and collecting the wild edibles that nature had to provide.

They built a shelter, created a fire, hunted, made clothing, made moccasins, made weapons, soap and had many other skills.  Now I don't believe everybody back then was a "Jack of All Trades" so they either had to trade for what they needed or bought it.  That is why it is important that we work.  Because even if you make a lot of your own needs, you still have to buy the material.  Now to truly be an experimental archeologist you can't just do something one time and call it good, you have to keep doing it until it becomes second nature to you.  Let me give you a good example, in the past it was necessary to make your own soap, well if you only do it once and never again you can't truly claim to own that skill.  In truth soap making is fun and it is something that not everyone can do.  How about clothing?  Let’s take moccasins as an example, I love to wear them not just at the Mountain Man Rendezvous, I love to hunt in them and generally wear them where ever I go.  You can buy a good pair of moccasins for about $120.00 and up.  If I buy the supplies and pattern to make my own they will only cost about $60.00 and another benefit is I don't have to rely on someone else to do it for me.

How often do you like to go camping?  I love to go camping because I wake up and feel like all my burdens are temporarily erased.  I also love to take people with me because at some point they say the classic line "boy this is freedom" and you know they're right.  Most individual's take everything but the kitchen sink when they go camping.  I used to camp like that too, but it made camping so much work.  When you take part in Experimental Archeology it changes the camping experience because your definition of comfort and needs change.

To become a practicing primitive one needs to simply look inside themselves and ask, what is important?

Chapter 3 Money Making Ideas

Even though you have decided to live a less cluttered lifestyle, one thing is a certainty; you still have to have money.  Even if you went out and lived in a cave it would still be necessary to have supplies and other essentials that require money, however, there are some things that you can do so that you do not have to become a total slave to the economy, let’s explore some of those ideas now.

First before you decide what you want to do to help support your primitive life style, you should decide what you are working for.  To give you an example, I own a home; have a wife and a son, who will want to go to college in a couple years.  I have to pay taxes for my property and pay the occasional doctor bill.  To do all this it requires me to have a full time job.  It is because of this responsibility that I cannot live a totally primitive lifestyle; however, I can make my independent life style pay for itself.

Selling your crafts:

In chapter 4 I write about soap making, although soap making is a great skill to have it can also be a good money maker.  Once people found out that I made my own homemade soap they started placing orders.  There are other crafts that you can sell as well, such as moccasins, bows and arrows or anything that you make to support your primitive life style will usually be wanted by someone else.  Craft shows are another good place to sell your items as well as the Internet.

Recycling:

Recycling is a good way to make extra money and if you do it right it does not require a lot of work.  There are a lot of people who throw their cans and other recyclables away.  If you can ask your friends and neighbors to save them for you, you might be surprised at how much is given to you.  The best part about recyclables is that it is pretty much free money.

Doing yard work:

In the part of Arizona where I live there are not a lot of grass lawns but there are a lot of weeds, as you probably know if weeds are not kept up they will grow out of control and that is where you come in.

Start a cleaning business:

If you can clean your house you can clean another person’s house, we have done this in the past and made $40.00 for about two hours of work.  The trick to having a successful cleaning business is to always be honest and on time.  It is not difficult to pick-up at least two houses a day.

These are just a few ideas about how to make money.  Some of these can be used together to make a living or by themselves to make extra money.

Chapter 4 Making Soap

From here on out we will change direction and talk about skills that will help to keep you alive and less reliant on society.

Let's start by first asking ourselves why we would want to learn this skill?  After all if you run out of soap isn't it easier to just go to the local grocery store or a Wal-Mart and buy it?  The answer is yes but let’s look at the possibility of the chance that a grocery store may not be available due to a storm or an attack of some sort.

Many Americans have lost the spirit of self-sufficiency that once made us such a great country.  Instead we are used to others making everything for us.  Most families have become reliant on someone to do everything for them.  So how is soap going to make a difference to you?  The answer is simple; being self-sufficient is learning one skill at a time.

Let’s first look at the history of soap making:

This skill has been around for hundreds of years.  Except back then it wasn't considered skill or a hobby it was a necessity.  Our ancestors usually made soap in the fall after the fall butchering when they had plenty of fat from their hogs.  They cooked the fat down to make lard.  Then they added lye which was created from wood ash.  They kept cooking it until it reached the tracing stage (like pudding) and then they poured it into their soap molds to harden into soap.

Today how-ever we don't have to go to as much effort as our ancestors.  Lard, lye and water the main ingredients in soap can all be purchased for a small price.  Even after purchasing the ingredients you still save a lot of money making your own soap.  And it will be one more thing that you don't have to count on someone else for.  I can make three batches of soap and have enough for a family of three for a year for about $6.00.

About now you may be asking where you can find the ingredients for your soap.  Your grocery store will have the lard and the water; I say buy your water because you're going to want distilled water.  Most tap water is considered hard water and it will interfere with the chemical reaction that occurs when making soap.  When I buy lard I usually get it in the 1lb. container.  The lye needs to be 100% lye.  Red Devil used to be the brand that most soap makers used but it has been removed from shelves due to the fact that people were using it to make drugs.  I usually go to my local hardware store to find 100% lye; you will probably find it in the drain cleaner section.

Safety:

It is important to remember that lye is very caustic and will burn on contact.  That is why it is important to wear the proper clothing when making your soap.

1. Long sleeved shirt

2. Safety glasses

3. Rubber gloves (The dish-washing kind work good)

4. An apron

5. Shoes

Items needed for making soap:

1. Measuring spoons

2. Plastic or wood mixing spoon

3. A measuring cup

4. A plastic or glass mixing bowl

5. A small pot for melting your lard in

6. Some type of mold for your soap (NO ALUMINUM!!! plastic, glass or wood only.  When lye hits aluminum it makes poisonous fumes)

An electric mixer (This will cut your mixing time in half; you can use a spoon if you want but it adds an extra 45 minutes to your time)

The Recipe:

One (1) Lb. of Snowcap Lard

Two cups of distilled water

Four (4) tablespoons of lye crystals or flakes

Directions for making soap:

Take lard out of its container put it in the melting pot on medium heat.  Pour 2 cups of distilled water into a plastic or glass mixing bowl.  When your lard is about ¾ melted measure 4 table spoons of lye into your water stirring while you are mixing it in, always add lye to water not water to lye it is possible to get a caustic volcano and that you do not want.  It is important to have good ventilation when adding the lye to the water as the fumes can be pretty harsh.

Once the lard is totally melted take it off the heat and slowly pour it in to the lye water.  Begin stirring, this is where the mixer can really save you time.  If you use a mixer I have found it easiest to do short 3 round bursts and then stir for about 10 seconds and repeat.  I have also found the stick type mixers to work the best.  After a while you will notice the soap start to thicken.  If you take a spoon and allow some to drip on top of the soap it should make an indention or stack on top.  If this is the case pour it into your mold.

I like to use Rubbermaid muffin holders for small cakes of soap and small size food containers for the bars.

Once you have poured the soap into the molds cover with a couple of towels for 24 hours, at the end of 24 hours very carefully remove the soap from the mold.  Your cold process soap will need to cure for 3 weeks, you will find that homemade soap is harder and will last longer that store bought soap this is another beauty about making your own soap.

It takes a few tries to get the art of soap making mastered, usually because people try to rush the process.  Once you master it you will have learned a skill that will make you less reliant on others and you can teach to someone else.

You can also check on-line for soap making supplies and save money buying in quantity.

Chapter 5 Clothing for The Modern Day Mountain Man

When one thinks about mountain man clothing, they think about buck skins, however, that is not the world that we live in today.  Even though I prefer the outdoors and wild things of nature, I still have to live in the world and to be honest who is going to look at me seriously if I am wearing buckskin pants and a fur hat.  So let’s look at some clothing ideas that will allow you to exist in both worlds.

When I choose my clothing I use these parameters, first it has to be strong.  I often find myself taking prolonged excursions into the wilderness, if I am wearing dress clothes they will not last long.

Second they need to blend in, as a practicing survivalist it wouldn’t do me any good to wear clothes that stand out or give me away when I am foraging or hunting.

Third price is important; remember I am practicing independence not practicing breaking my bank account.

Taking those factors into account there are several choices, Dickies makes quality pants that can be worn almost anyplace and there are earthy colors that you can choose from.  A good pair of jeans will also serve you well and they will last when you are in the woods.  If you want to be more traditional you can go to a Mountain Man Rendezvous and purchase buckskin pants, however they will cost you about 300.00.  If you are going to go the traditional route then I would buy a pattern and make my own, mainly because it is a good skill to have if you cannot purchase the items necessary.

For foot wear I have two preferences, hiking shoes and moccasins.  The hiking shoes I buy at a sporting goods store usually once or twice a year for about 40.00 a pair.  The moccasins I make and repair once or twice a year.  I can make a pair of quality moccasins for around 40.00 where as if I were to buy handmade moccasins they might cost as much as 200.00.  If you plan to make your own foot well then Tandy Leather is a great place to buy patterns, Leather Unlimited is also a great place to find deals on leather and tooling.

I wear moccasins for hunting but even if you do not wear them while you are in the woods it is still a valuable skill to know how to make them.  Remember our goal is to not have to rely on a super store for what we need.  Being able to construct your own clothing could be an important skill if our society takes a turn for the worse and you can no longer buy the things that you need.

Chapter 6 Weapons of the Modern Day Mountain Man

A never ending argument among survivalists and primitive living people is weapons.  The only way to know what types of weapons are right for you is to first identify what you need them for.

In my case I have many different types of weapons, for instance I work in law enforcement so I need weapons that are appropriate for that line of work, however I also am a modern day mountain man teaching and practicing a survival life style so I need weapons and tools that are appropriate as well.  For the benefit of this book I am going to discuss the weapons that I use for my primitive lifestyle.

Just like the mountain man of old I need to travel lightly so I cannot afford to have 10 firearms out in the woods I need one or two that can take care of my needs and those are: food procurement and self-defense.

If I could only take two fire arms my first choice would be the versatile single shot shotgun.  I call this a versatile weapon because I can do so much with it, I can load slugs and hunt deer or elk, if I want to hunt quail or rabbits I can load it for that too.

Another great thing about the single shot .12 gauge is that I can buy handgun adapters to shoot the same ammunition that I carry in my side arm, so that if my sidearm is lost or I am out of 12 gauge shells I can still use my shotgun at 25 or 30 yards.

Another great benefit to the single shot shotgun is that if I have black powder, BB’s, cloth, primers and some type of wax I can load my own shells, this is a great skill to learn because so many people leave discarded shells laying around in the forest.

Also one of our goals as a modern day mountain man is not to need as much money so it only makes sense to have a weapon with so many options.

My second choice is a handgun with the appropriate sized adapter to fit my shotgun; I have five rounds that I prefer .45, 9mm, .40 S&W, .22 LR and .357 magnum.

The .357 or .22 LR revolvers are probably my best choices for a wilderness sidearm simply because they are sturdier and have less moving parts than the semi auto hand guns.  That means less chance of anything breaking or malfunctioning when I am on a wilderness trek.

If someone were to tell me that they could only afford one sidearm I would probably suggest that they purchase a quality single or double action .357 revolver.  The first reason is that you can shoot .38 special ammunition in a .357 and the revolver is generally more accurate for defense or shooting small game.

Another reason to have a side arm in a wilderness or survival situation is that you can have it with you at all times.  Many times when you are doing camp chores it is necessary to set a long gun down because you need your arms to work with.

My next weapon or tool is a knife, in a wilderness trek or a survival situation a quality knife can be your most important possession.

With a quality knife I can build shelter, find food, make other weapons and do a lot of my camp chores.  If I were given a choice of one tool I could take to the woods with me it would be a knife.

There are a lot of quality blades out there that run from $60.00 and up.  My personal choice for a wilderness or survival knife is as follows:

A high carbon blade:

There are many quality stainless blades however I prefer carbon because it is easier to sharpen in the field.

A blade length of 5 or 6 inches:

Anything more is too long for normal chores and anything less is not long enough.

A full tang blade:

Full tang means that the blade metal runs all the way through the handle.  The reason for this is that it is stronger and less likely to break.  The hollow handled knives look cool but I would not want to count on one of them to save my life.

Earlier I mentioned a quality knife, there are many cheap knives on the market and the steel is weak and will not hold an edge.  This is the point when you have to ask yourself the question, how much is my life worth?

My next choice is a good recurve or traditional long bow, compound bows are nice looking but they are mechanical and require cables and wheels to work.

Another downside to a compound bow is that in an emergency situation I cannot make arrows or a string, with a recurve or long bow I can.

With practice a person could rely on a bow for their sole source of food procurement.

As always if you decide to stock your traditional supplies with weapons get quality instruction in their use, safety, and practice.

Chapter 7 The Modern Day Mountain Man Kit

When I was younger we had a camping kit we called a truck box, it was not like a truck tool box.  In this case the items inside were called truck and it referred to the items inside the wood box.  Whenever we needed something we went to the truck box to get it.

The mountain man of old had a similar kit which he usually carried on a pack mule or horse, in this kit he carried the things that he needed for day to day life.  Since we now have vehicles to carry our kit we have it much easier, some items in the kit may include, pots and pans, food, eating utensils, spices, extra ammunition, supplies for trading (if you are in a situation where barter is necessary) trapping supplies, etc.  It really depends on the needs of the person who is making the kit.

The nice thing about a kit like this is it can stay packed until you need it.  A good starting point for your kit is to start with priorities of wilderness survival or living.  The rest of this chapter will be devoted to those priorities and suggestions about what to stock.

Shelter:

No matter if you are in an emergency situation or you are out on a wilderness trek, shelter is vital to protect you from the elements.  In my personal kit I stock one or two tarps and a wool blanket, I can use the tarps to make a lean-to or a tent and I use the wool blanket for warmth.  With a quality knife I can build a brush shelter that will keep me warm in very cold temperatures, however it is important to note that shelter is important in the heat since dehydration is a serious situation also.

Water:

No matter what time of year it is you have to have water, experts say that an adult needs a gallon of water a day.  A person can live for a long time without food however you can only go about 72 hours without water and even less depending how hot it is and how hard you are working.  Now even though I do not carry my water in my kit I do carry at least 3 different ways to treat water so that it is safe to drink.  The first is fire not only does fire warm your body but it can be used to boil water.  The second is iodine tablets and the third is a water filter.  We no longer live in a day when you can drink from an untreated water source, because there are too many contaminates in the water and you will get sick.

Fire:

Depending on your situation fire could come before shelter it just depends.  One of the things that will kill you in the wild is not regulating your body temperature.  It is important to carry at least three different ways of starting a fire.  My fire kit contains a lighter, matches and a ferrocerium rod (21st century flint and steel), the ferro rod is known as the 21st century flint and steel.  To accompany the ferro rod I also keep char cloth to hold the spark.

Food:

I keep at least 72 hour’s worth of food in my kit at all times, the type of food that you keep depends totally on your taste.  For long term storage I usually prefer to keep MRE’s or Meals Ready to Eat most have a five year shelf life and once you know the kind you like they can be quite tasty.  MRE’s are a great survival food because they are loaded with calories and survival is a calorie game because you expend so many in daily chores.  The important statement is survival because MRE’s are expensive I never keep more than 72 hours supply in my kit, if I have time to prepare I take other food that can be cooked over a fire.

Clothing:

Clothing depends on the time of year and where you are at, for instance where I live in Arizona my winter clothes will be different than someone that lives in a colder climate.  However I try to keep clothing for every situation close at hand, remember regulating your core body temperature is the goal, too cold and you will not function, too hot and you will not function.

Other Items:

Just like the mountain men of old as a modern day mountain man I like conveniences such as, spices for food, coffee, tomahawk or hatchet for splitting wood, eating utensils, pots and pans, lard for cooking, etc.

No matter what you put in your kit the important thing is that you make one, it is better to be prepared than to be a statistic.  I even carry a back pack sized kit in my vehicle since tragedy rarely hits at a convenient time.

Chapter 8 Experimental Archeology

Some of you may ask why I decided to talk about experimental archeology; the quick answer is that anyone who lives a more primitive or a basic lifestyle is an experimental archeologist.

To illustrate I will use the example of starting a fire, almost everyone can start a fire using a match or lighter, however how many people can start a fire with flint and steel?  The answer is not many.  Another great example is hunting or fishing, there are plenty of people out there that can hunt and fish with modern weapons and fishing equipment, but how many people can hunt with a black powder rifle or fish with a small fishing kit that they built themselves?  Again the answer is not many.

The experimental archeologist picks a time period that they are interested in and duplicates the way that culture lived.  I said earlier in the book that the 1750s through the fur trade era is my favorite time in history, so I try to learn the way they lived their lives and incorporate it into my life style by practicing it over and over

How can being an experimental archeologist help you?

First it makes you less reliant on the modern world.  Do not get me wrong I love using a microwave or a modern oven, however if we have a power outage or another emergency occurs I also know that I can cook without them.

Some people would say that I am paranoid; all that I can say is that I am absolutely certain that somewhere there is going to be an earthquake, flood, major power outage or some other type of tragedy the news proves that every year, and I know I will make it through it.

It can also be said that traditional hunting and foraging techniques are important, if you look at any disaster what is the first thing to go from the store?  Food and fresh water, however I know that if tragedy strikes my family and I won’t go hungry because I can provide for them.

I do not believe that a person can learn every skill that a group of people used in a particular time period, the long hunter and mountain man still had to rely on others at times.  But I believe we can learn the most important ones.

Chapter 9 Making Tooth Powder

In everyday life hygiene is important, both to those around us and for our general health.  In a survival situation hygiene is vital.  The reason hygiene is so important in survival is because disease is more likely to strike a dirty person than it is to affect a clean person, so in this chapter I will tell you how to make tooth powder so that you do not have to rely on the store to provide toothpaste for you, and you can save a ton of money also.

The instructions to make tooth powder are simple:

Three (3) parts baking soda

One (1) part sea salt

I usually do not make large quantities of this at one time, if you use three teaspoons of baking soda and one teaspoon of sea salt that will give you enough to last awhile.

The baking soda is the cleaner and the sea salt gives the tooth powder the abrasive ability to clean the plaque from your teeth.

If you desire you can always research how to give tooth powder flavor, however I do not add flavoring to mine.

Additionally I keep a small container of tooth powder in my kit.  It is important to remember that even if you still use store bought tooth paste this can be a valuable skill since you may have to show a friend or a family member how to make it.

Chapter 10 No Electricity No Problem

As I sit and write, certain areas of the United States have been bombarded by storms which have knocked out electricity to millions of homes.  The first reaction is no problem right?  Wrong, usually if the power goes out because of storms it takes a long time to get running again.  Now to a person like myself who is in fairly good condition the power being out may seem like an inconvenience, however to an elderly person who needs a breathing machine the power outage could be an emergency.

That is why I have always been a believer in being prepared; if I required a breathing machine you can bet that I would have a back-up power system to operate it.  Although if you think about it how did our grandparents and great grandparents make it with-out electricity?  The answer is they were used to it, I remember a story that an old cowboy told me when I was a teenager about when he and his family moved to Phoenix AZ. in the early 1900’s.  You see back then they did not have air-conditioning or good electrical power so in the summertime they would hang wet burlap over the windows and that cooled the house down.  The point is they had to overcome the heat without the modern conveniences that we have today.

The power grid that we have today is a fragile thing, and if a person knows what they are doing they can damage it to the point of keeping millions with-out power indefinitely, that is why it is so important to have a back-up and ask ourselves exactly what we have to have to live.  Let’s look at some items that we can stock so that if we ever lose power we can continue living a normal life.

Propane Camp Stove:

In the United States many homes have electric stoves, however when the electricity goes out so do all the electric appliances.  You can spend about $20.00 to $30.00 dollars and buy a camp stove that runs on 1 gallon propane tanks.  When I am camping one tank will last me about 3 days.  I can make anything on my camp stove that I can on my kitchen stove.  Additionally I can cook outside over a camp fire and I can bake also if I make a pit oven, however I realize that some people are limited by the area that they live in.

Candles:

Candles are an inexpensive form of light, I can stock a large amount of candles for a small price.  If you prefer you can purchase a propane lantern for about 20.00 but it really is not necessary.  I also keep a flashlight in all of my 3 day kits, flash lights are great but only initially because they run out of juice pretty quick.

Heating:

Heating is a big one, where I am at in Arizona if I lose power I can bundle up with blankets and just have a cool night.  In some parts of the country it can be deadly.  In my opinion and depending where you live wood heat is your best option.  However, if you cannot use wood heat then you can buy a portable propane heater that runs on the one gallon tanks that I described above, be warned though if you use this method you should open a window so that you do not use up all the air in your room or house.

Coffee Pot:

Ok I love my coffee so when the power is out I make coffee in my percolating coffee pot.  The point is that life seems a lot nicer if you have some of the pleasantries that you normally enjoy.

These are just a few suggestions to make life a little easier, the best thing to do is to make a list of what you use in your day to day life and then come up with a back-up.  Let’s look at some food that we can keep on hand that does not require refrigeration.

It is important to remember that in the old days they did not have a lot of leftovers, so if you lost your utilities you would be thrown back to that time period almost overnight.  When it comes to stocking food anything that you stock that does not require refrigeration or a lot of resources to prepare is good, here are a few suggestions.

Cornmeal:

With cornmeal and a small pot of melted lard I can make cornmeal biscuits, these are very filling on the trail and a good survival food.

Rice:

One cup of rice will make roughly three servings; rice is filling by itself or as a side dish.

Canned Food:

Canned food is a great option because it lasts a long time and does not take a lot of space to store.  The most important thing to remember about canned food is to buy what you enjoy eating.

Beans:

Beans are filling and full of protein, they also store for a long period of time.  You have two choices, dried pinto beans or canned beans.  I like to have both on hand.

Oatmeal:

Great for a filling meal and it does not take a lot of water to make also it is not very expensive.

Flour:

Great for making bread and other cooking chores, also if you buy self-rising flour it makes life much easier.

Dried Meat:

I love jerky and if you keep your eyes open for deals on roast you can make your own and season it the way you like, to save money.

These are just a few suggestions for food storage, it does not have to be expensive to stock food and as you can see you probably already have some of this stuff in your cabinet.  The so called experts in the government suggest a three day supply of food and water, I suggest a three month supply of food and that you know where at least two sources of water can be found.

It is also important to remember that it is not a matter of if something will happen but when something will happen.  Do you live in an area where earthquakes are frequent?  Do you live in an area that has a tornado season?  Do you live where there are violent storms?  Could you have an economic collapse?  Anything is possible.

Chapter 11 Washing Your Clothes

I’m not sure about you but in my home there is usually one day of the week that is dedicated to laundry and like you I use a washing machine.  But what do you do if a situation happens that takes away all of your modern conveniences?  Remember you are now on the way to becoming a modern day mountain man, so you have to adapt to your situation and overcome and do your laundry by hand.

The trick to this is to do it without using a lot of water, now if you live in a part of the country or world where there is a lot of rain that may not be a big deal but here in Arizona it is, so there are some tricks that can help you to have clean clothes without using all of your resources to do it.

Items needed:

One plastic tub dedicated to clothes and dish washing and a bar of the home made soap that I taught you how to make earlier in the book.

Put your pants, socks, shirts and underwear into the tub and rub the bar soap all over, if any of them are sweat stained pay special attention to those areas and agitate by hand until your clothes are clean.  Make sure you agitate out as much soap as possible in the first round and then pour that water into another container to use for something else and put fresh water in and rinse.

Once you have rinsed thoroughly hang them to dry, now put your dishes in and do them also.

You will notice that I said dump out the other water to be used later on, often when I tell people this they turn their nose up and say they could never do that.  Remember in a situation where resources are limited you are going to have to work hard for that water why waste it.  If necessary you can filter it and clean it or wash more clothes in it.  The frontier people understood what it meant to manage their resources, we need to get back to that mentality and realize that we cannot continue to live in a throwaway society.

Chapter 12 Faith

Without getting overly preachy we need to talk about faith for a minute and the reason is that without faith in something greater than yourself there is little to survive for.  Without faith that there is a power greater than you with a set of rules to guide you then you have no blueprint for the way you treat others, in a survival or minimalist living situation that could be fatal.

Why?  The easy answer can be found in tragedies such as recent earthquakes or floods, if you observe the crowds, what were the majority doing?  Many were looting and taking advantage of those weaker than themselves.  The leaders and those who understood what it meant to be self-reliant were gathering the few and surviving in some cases thriving, they were leaders.

The question to you is which one are you?  If you don’t have faith in a greater power than yourself then you will be a part of the crowd.  As a modern day mountain man your skills may be necessary to lead a group of people and you cannot be a moral guide if you do not have faith.

Chapter 13 Mindset

Mindset should really be the first rule of survival, if you do not have faith that you will survive then you will not.  I always go back to what are past triadic events, how many do you see as survivors compared to those that are statistics.

I can take two people out to the forest to an area that they are unfamiliar with give them each a knife and tell them to survive for seven days.  The one who has the survival or winning mindset will be the one to come out at the end of the seven days, the one who does not will die or be begging for help.

Do you have that mindset?  Do you have the courage to change your life and become a modern day mountain man?  Not many do, it sounds romantic but when it comes to changing for the better of ourselves, our community and the world many just do not have what it takes.

Are you a leader?  A leader takes what he or she has and gets the job done; a leader has to have a survivalist mindset.  This book is a starting point for a different lifestyle it is your choice to begin the journey or not, you first must lead yourself before you can lead others.

My hope is that you take this book and learn what it has to teach you, and then start studying other material.  If you do read this and you are an expert at your trade then maybe one day I can learn from you.  We all have something to show each other.

Conclusion

As I sit here and write the conclusion to my book I am watching a storm come in.  On one hand it is exciting and on the other it reminds me that there is so much more that I could write about.

As I said before my goal was to hopefully give you a starting point or a glimpse into a world where there are fewer constraints.

I like to believe that the mountain man spirit is still alive, although with every passing generation there are fewer of us.

Whether or not you study a minimalist or modern type of survival or both, as I do, the important thing is that you do something to prepare.  It’s like the old saying goes; it’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.  Well I’m going to sit here and watch the rain.

If you have questions or comments you can e-mail me at preparedblog@gmail.com .