Outdoor Life Prepare for Anything Survival Manual (57 page)

The eyes and ears of your defensive perimeter, observation posts are places where guards can see people trying to breach your boundary. Stop trouble before it starts with the following tips.

Outside corners of the neighborhood are good spots for observation posts, as they can allow you up to a 270-degree field of vision.

A bird’s-eye view of the area can allow you to see and hear many things. A balcony can create a ready-made OP, as can a window. A kid’s tree house could be the best of all.

The observation post should be both defensible and escapable. Utilize existing structures as much as possible to allow the OP guard to take cover if he or she is fired upon or threatened. If your guard is up in a tree that is difficult to climb, how well can he or she climb down if needed? Pick OPs that allow for a safe, quick exit.

Communications are a must. The observation post is useless if the guard can’t communicate what he or she is seeing. If two-way radios or cell phones work, great. Otherwise, be prepared to yell!

If you have a basement, this humble and musty part of your home could be a refuge in the event of tornadoes, robbery, and other life-threatening events. However, it has to be modified for this kind of use. Here is some work to consider doing before it’s too late.

REINFORCE
Install steel doors with multiple locks and reinforced steel doorframes to be able to seal off the basement from the inside.

CALL THE PLUMBER
If the plumbing doesn’t exist already, install a toilet and sink in the basement. One notable exception, however, is if you are the lowest house on your street and all the houses are on a city sewage system. A power outage, line blockage, or waste-water treatment plant malfunction could allow all of your uphill neighbors’ sewage to back up into your basement.

COVER UP
Create window covers for any basement windows—ideally one for each window exterior. The best covers are tough, steel shutters that can be locked in place during an emergency.

GET STOCKED
Unless you live in a flood-prone area, store a large percentage of your food, water, and supplies down in the basement bunker so that it is well stocked if the need arises. Make sure your things are packed in watertight containers in case of minor flooding.

A 5-gallon (19-liter) bucket (or two) with a tight-fitting lid, a box of small trash bags, a case of TP, and some sawdust are all you need to put together an emergency port-a-potty if your basement bunker lacks a functional toilet. Is it pleasant? From experience, I can tell you that it most assuredly is not. But it gets the job done. For optimal use, consider a “pee bucket” and “#2 bucket” for easier cleanup. The pee bucket can be the friendly receptacle for urine, which can be easily poured out somewhere and put back into service. There’s no need for a liner or bag, but a swish of bleach water can work wonders. The #2 bucket can be lined with a trash bag and used for solid waste and toilet paper. If a little pee does end up in there, it’s not going to be a deal breaker. Just sprinkle a little sawdust, cat litter, or other absorbent material after each use. Some baking soda or some other deodorizer to add could be a lifesaver, too. Tie the bag shut after several uses, and escort it off-site for a proper burial.

Your basement bunker door should be your last line of defense, not your first. Build in layers of defensive obstacles outside your home to keep out rogues. Install defenses in your home that an intruder would have to tackle to get to the basement. Locks on interior doors are a good place to start, and an attack dog roaming the halls couldn’t hurt. More advanced tricks could include the concealment of the basement door and other acts of in-home camouflage. Remember to reinforce the walls, as well—that steel-bolted door won’t do you any good if the thief can punch through the drywall next to it.

The air quality in a bunker can drop quickly if numerous folks are seeking refuge there. Low air quality, over time, can lead to a condition called hypoxia, which is characterized by irritability, poor judgment, memory loss, inattentiveness, and a loss of motor skills and coordination. Grab some of these easy fixes to keep your bunker air breathable.

Houseplants in the basement windows will enrich the air—and even if the windows are boarded up, keeping the plants down there will swap some of the unwanted carbon dioxide for much-needed oxygen.

Air filters can remove a lot of the dust particles and mold spores, provided you have electricity to run them, and oxygen tanks are available from medical-supply companies. You can periodically crack the valve, if there are no open flames in the bunker, and help everybody breathe a little easier. Just remember that even a little flame like a pilot light on a water heater can turn your whiff of pure oxygen into a lethal fireball.

If you are going to invest in bunker upgrades, communication equipment should be high on your list. CBs, a spare cell phone, or a ham radio can provide vital communication during an emergency. If these are out of your price range, an old stereo tuner or some other radio in your basement can at least keep you informed of outside events. Being out of the loop is one of the hazards of hunkering in a bunker, and communications equipment will be a step in the right direction.

Mold and mildew tend to flourish in moist basement environments. Try these different approaches to achieve basement bunker dryness.

DEHUMIDIFIER
An electric dehumidifier is your best insurance against a damp basement. It can be run year-round and is capable of pulling large amounts of water out of the air in a 24-hour period.

DESSICANT
This product is usually some variety of silica gel or crystals, which absorb water from the air and diminish moisture. These work fine in the average basement, and they can even be used to prolong the life of seeds by adding them to your seed vault.

SUMP PUMP
If your basement is prone to wet floors, install a sump pump. This device makes a “well” in the basement floor to draw in water so that it doesn’t seep up through the concrete. Sump pumps are emptied by an electric pump, but in the event of a power outage, the lid can be removed and the water can be dipped with a bucket to be poured outside.

My poor fishing skills when I first moved to California were not helped by the fact that my only how-to sources were a dossier on coastal fishing dated 1932 and the half-forgotten conversations I’d had as a child with my fish-crazy grandfather. I spent every Sunday crawling around on rocks, casting out into the waves, and fruitlessly attempting to catch my dinner.

Six months after the move, I had a sum total of five minuscule surf perch to show for my efforts, and, what’s worse, I had virtually carpeted the floor of the Pacific Ocean with fouled line, hooks, and lead sinkers. No one had prepared me for how many snags I would get fishing along the California coast.

And then one foggy Sunday in June, as I stood defiantly atop a giant boulder just outside the Golden Gate, I spied a middle-aged Asian guy scrambling along in the tide pools like a human shore crab—with a long bamboo stick in his hands. I was initially far less interested in what he was doing than in the size of the burlap sack—which was teeming with fish—that was slung over his shoulder. He made his way over toward me, and I was then forced to suffer the indignity of watching as this salty sea dog pulled one fish after another from under the rock I was standing on. Six months of casting as far as I could from a rock, and the fish had been right under my feet.

Now the happy part. I climbed down from my high perch above the ocean and introduced myself to the fisherman. He introduced himself to me as “Cambodian Stan.” To this day, he occupies a special place in my personal pantheon of great fishermen. He told me that the method he was using was called “poke poling” and that despite the fact that he had a full sack, his main quarry had eluded him that day. Stan was speaking of the flavorful and strangely named monkey face eel. He then patiently explained his technique, showed me how to make a poke pole, shook my hand, and stepped out of my life.

Since that day twenty years ago, I have caught a lot of coastal fish, including the state record monkey face eel, thanks to Stan’s technique. And I haven’t experienced a fishless fishing trip since.

Poke poling (also called “sniggling”) is the best way to catch coastal species like rockfish, cabezon, and eels. It’s also quite possibly the simplest method of fishing, requiring only a stick, a short line or wire, and a hook. If you were on your own or in dire circumstances and had to get your own protein from the ocean, poke poling would be the best way to go. And you might set a record in the meantime.