What was your prep for today?

Owen

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Bought a lot of the speciality tools for working on bikes and have been learning about maintaining my own.
I've got to get a new rear wheel if it turns out I'm able to mountain bike again, and mount up an old one with a 21mm IW rim in the meantime to try out. Not risking my back flaring up with backpacking trips right around the corner, but I'm hopeful about getting back into it. Most fun thing ever, IMO.

May regret selling off a new drivetrain for the mtb, and a bunch of tools, particularly the Park Tool rear derailleur hanger alignment gauge. Don't know what I was thinking selling that one, 'cause it's nice to have for any geared bike with a RD.
I prefer singlespeed for mountain biking the Appalachian foothills around here, though.
Makes every ride a HIIT workout. Doesn't keep your feet tough for hiking(as I discovered the hard way!), but fitness certainly ceases to be an issue when you're hitting the trails 3-5x per week.
 

Poppy

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Last year, the first time I mowed the lawn at this house, I discovered that the deck of my push mower started to rot out, and the right rear wheel was tilted and dragging on the side of the housing. That coupled with really tough zoysia grass, made pushing the mower through, more of a work-out than I wanted.

So my prep for mowing the grass the rest of the summers was.... buy a riding mower! :)
 

Owen

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They're a time saver, for sure! I had always used a (larger)pushmower, which took ~3hrs, for the exercise. ~3yrs ago, I realized that I could mow my grass with a riding mower, AND get in a couple laps of the local mtb trail that I've been using for training hikes in almost the same amount of time, and it was a done deal!
pvKelki.jpg
 

Poppy

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That's a nice looking machine. I had to get a smaller one with a 30 inch cut to fit through the gate so I can do both front and back yards. Yesterday, it was so hot and humid, that I worked up a sweat, turning the steering wheel :cry:

Last week, I saw my neighbor doing his lawn, he was drenched head to toe pushing his mower. He wasn't dogging it, so I think that he is appreciating the work-out. Yesterday, after doing my front lawn, I was tempted to do his front lawn, but didn't because I didn't want to be presumptive (thinking that I was being helpful).
 

Owen

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All I see in that pic is my Canfield Riot!:love:
Want to get that thing back out so bad it's killing me.
Building it cost quite a bit more than twice as much as the Husqvarna did, and I haven't been able to bring myself to sell or part it out.

More of the same for physical prep, but now I've got plane and rental car reservations for Utah, plus train(wilderness access) tickets and hotel reservations coming and going for Colorado
Shelling out the dinero being my least favorite part of prep, but you've gotta pay to play...
Starting to get really fired up, now!
 

bykfixer

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John 3:16
My prep today was hydrate for the upcoming week of August heat south of the Mason/Dixon line.

Nothing special, just make sure by Monday my output does not look like Mountain Dew, or gin but somewhere in between. Doc says straw color is best. I presume that to mean wheat straw, not the plastic bendy type.

During the week foods with electrolites are on the menu to suppliment water and low-to-no sugar sports drinks.
 

idleprocess

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I'm re-evaluating the contents of my bug-out bag and car kits. Started today by discarding the ... years ... expired bottled water within and replacing with fresh stock. The other contents will need additional consideration.

The bug-out bag will be something I can grab if I expect to leave the house under uncertain conditions - either by vehicle or on foot and should have enough to sustain me for 3 days - more if I can procure consumables.

The car kits will be for more mundane issues such as getting stuck somewhere, whatever roadside minor repairs I might attempt as a shade-tree-mechanic-in-training and possibly as a short-notice travel kit should I need to make a road trip to my aging parents' house NOW with but enough time to slap my work bag together then hit the road.

The present arrangement of both genre are kind of ... shopping list ... and have never been tested. The bug-out bag in particular is probably too heavy with some functional gaps in its contents.
 

Owen

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🎶🎺It's the Final Countdown!!🎺🎶🎸🥁
Guess since I found my favorite little Windstopper gloves, I won't have to call this whole thing off, after all!

28#, packed as if for CO with >10# food, 4.2# water. I'll actually be carrying at least 6-7# less in UT, as water is plentiful and it's split into 2 separate 3-4 day outings.
Probably way overpacked on food, either way, but if my feet and back cooperate, both trips will be higher mileage and much more strenuous than usual, so I'm carrying an extra 1600cal per day to be on the safe side.
There was some temptation to take my fair weather Hexamid tarp to shed weight. Decided the last two trips to the desert may have lulled me into a false sense of security, though.
Besides, that would be kind of stupid, since I'm going back to the very place whose violent weather changes prompted me to buy the MLD Solomid XL for my "bomb shelter" to begin with🙄
Still got it all in the 38L pack without needing the packlid!

SM5SNbK.png
 

Owen

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Yep, and horrible as that is, the people eating mostly sweets on a thru are even worse off.
That's something that gets less attention than it should, IMO. Sustaining unsustainable diet models deficient in macronutrients for months on end, and the repercussions of malnutrition, insulin resistance, and chronically elevated cortisol.
What's a shame is that even when they have a chance to every 3-5 days, thruhikers typically gorge on pizza and crap like that, rather than taking the opportunity to get some real food.
It's pretty much a given that your diet is going to suck when you're struggling to get enough calories, though.
 

idleprocess

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Pulled the bugout bag and conducted inventory. Not as heavy as I thought (with 2.8L of bottled water no less) at 32lb - sans some things that won't be going back - but still needs some re-engineering:
  • The survival rations had just expired (since replaced)
  • The bottled water had long expired (since replaced)
  • It seems that Polar Pure (crystalized iodine in a clever bottle) is no longer considered good water treatment - a shame since it has indefinite shelf life, but I've dealt with leakage from the bottle more than once now :/
  • I should consider clothing needs beyond skivvies, undershirt, socks
  • Outerwear should probably consist of more than a pretty basic rainsuit that will doubtlessly leave me as wet within as without should I have to do more than just ... stand ... in the rain
  • A Surefire G2 with extra cells and an extra lamp may well prove highly reliable, but the economy of operation less so
  • An extremely old-school Fenix 1xAA flashlight (likely their first model - with a Luxeon I) might also be a tad uneconomical despite the tailcap mod that allows for low-high operation
  • I'm not going to bother with glowsticks going forward
  • The first aid kit is kinda cr_p and the medicinal contents surely expired
  • I should swap the fireplace lighter for multiple plain Bic lighters
The Wirecutter has some reasonable ideas, but I think I'll be using The Prepared's guide instead aiming for at least a level 2 loadout. Even before reading the site I had some ideas about priority bag systems, mostly centering around priorities when packing a car if I needed to escape the region for some reason and bring the pets along.
 

orbital

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Thought about the whole bug out & prep thing many times over the years in CPF.
Never thought it was my plan.

If our grid & communications go down full stop & things change dramatically, worst case situation,,, I'm going to defend my home & everything I'v built over my lifetime.
This might sound like I'm trying to come across as a badass, I'm not.
Where the hell am I going to go?? Sit under a tree somewhere while a carload of loosers rip me off.
I'd never be able to sit there & think about it, it'd drive me nuts.

Then, I now have a house that's labeled as a easy target.. No f**ing way I would let that happen.

I have the means to fully defend & it be known I'm very much not an easy target. period.
(my friends would back me, as I'd back them)

edit: fixed a couple typos'
 
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idleprocess

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Thought about the whole bug out & prep thing many times over the years in CPF.
Never thought it was my plan.
It's not my main plan either. However there are numerous plausible scenarios where I might not have the choice. Ideally in any of those scenarios I've got at least day of warning that I need to leave - ideally days of warning - to pack up the vehicle and vacate the region and the BOB is merely the first thing that gets loaded. But there's also the possibility that I won't have that much warning and must walk out limited to what I can carry.

If our grid & communications go down full stop & things change dramatically, worst case situation,,, I'm going to defend my home & everything I'v built over my lifetime.
I don't know about your situation, but I live in a pretty typical patch of DFW suburbia : ⅛ acre lot, ~30' front setback ~20' between houses, partial wooden shared privacy fences between lots. In isolation, my property is hardly defensible if things get squiggly.

Could the neighborhood band together if things go pear-shaped? Sure, but a reality of suburbia is isolation - people tend not to know each other very well and like it that way. In an era where 'preparedness' is seen as having a car charger for your phone and a AAA membership and knocks on the door are seen as suspicious at best it's apt to be difficult to organize my neighbors.

I can harden my property to discourage those inclined to burgle the premises during normal times - add sufficient points to the time and noise metrics so as to make the calculus unfavorable. The same methods would be advantageous for some scenarios where order has broken down as well. But there are serious limits when the threat of the gendarmerie being summoned is empty and it's just me vs an organized group.
 
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orbital

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I should add this, daily my 'prep' is trying to keep organized.

..although, almost obsessively now, I'm thinking about energy.
 

Poppy

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My general plan is to stay in place. But there are scenarios that it might be more prudent to leave. One in particular is a dirty bomb. Or a blown up nuclear reactor.

Considering:
1. that the winds generally blow from West to East, and South West to North East,
2. that I live about 10 miles west of NYC
3. there is a nuclear plant about 60 miles South of me.
4. there are other nuclear plants maybe 30 miles from me but they are North East.

The prevailing winds should scatter radiation East of me, and I should be OK, but it might be prudent to "Go West my man!"
 

bignc

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With a family in tow or left at home, I usually focus on a Get Home Bag (always in the truck and supplemented by my laptop/ EDC bag) or a Stay home bag (out of town but with the whole family.) But, I do leave my actual backpacking pack full of alot of the camping items I rely on. In a "situation" I could repack the BOB with items from the GHB and EDC bag, add clothing items and food as needed and roll. 30 minutes? If it was a get out now scenario, I have the GHB in the truck already, and I can just grab my roll-out/ active shooter kit for my AR (s) and grab one or more firearm options.

Recently, I have been completely refurbishing all of our entry level Trek and Specialized mountain bikes. They needed new tires and wheels and cables and seats and handlebars. $250 of stuff and they work as good as new. (nothing like Owen's stuff but good to get away or whatever.)
 

orbital

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Having a small portable gas generator, one that's easy to carry~move around~throw in the car/truck,
is not a terrible thing to own.

If I absolutely had to split, it would be in the car.

_______________________________________________>
Guessing you all know this already, thought I'd say it again
 

scout24

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I'll add two cents: There's an old adage that says you only own what you can carry at a dead run. Having left the comfort of my home after waking from a deep sleep at 4:15am finding it on fire, I have to concur. It was literally 90 seconds from under the covers to standing in my driveway watching it go up in flames. Since that morning, I leave a bit more in my detached garage and both of our vehicles than I used to. Eggs, basket and all. A bag with the necessities for your envisioned situation tucked away outside of your dwelling is a very good plan regardless of your intentions. Life has a way of happening, like it or not. I still have the bulk of my "supplies" in my house, but have things ready to grab and go, as well as what's secured outside. Now's the time to inventory and update, we're coming into cooler weather so food shouldn't spoil as quickly. I leave a six pack of bottled water in my truck over the winter, never had one rupture. The bottles flex and expand with the freeze/thaw cycle. Try one or two in the freezer first but you should be good to go.
 

Owen

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Last minute prep for my next trip. After having a lot of foot issues over the past week, and pretty much every step hurting for ~80 miles of hiking(that would have otherwise been as much as 114), I waited until 3 days out to finalize my flight and hotel reservations for the first and last days, coming and going, and buy food for the trip.

Airfare was only ~$70 higher than if I'd paid weeks ago, and the hotel said I was on whatever rewards program after staying there twice before, so my room was $60 cheaper than expected for the 2 nights. Ok!

New puffy that I've held off on buying for several years was delivered to my parents' house while I was gone, and they brought it when picking me up from the airport on Wednesday.
New shoes arriving Monday, last available flight without paying a lot more flying out Tuesday morning, less than 3hrs after getting off work. Can't cut it much closer than that!
Good thing "barefoot" shoes don't need a breakin, and are good to go straight out of the box...
It's all come together really well.

Gotta love the Rockies. If I stick with plan A, I'll leave home at 699' elevation Tuesday, and be camped at 13,100' Wednesday😃
 
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