Yes Jac?

I never discuss or even follow politics. And if I remember correctly Mr. Ritter also carries. A Glock 22 I think. And i seem to recall years ago, mention of an AR-15 in his planes gear. Though I could be wrong. I have looked at so many sites over the years. To me a firearm is simply another tool. I am not a gun nut, but I do enjoy them. If you wish to ban me, that is up to you and I encourage you to do what you feel is right or your duty. Respectfully, SD.

Um.. I do.

lol. Hardly surprising that you would.

For me, I just see it at 2:00 A.M: Now, where did I leave that dag blasted Altoids tin? I can't "go" until I find it... lol.

HJ

At my age I am happy to get my boots on without soiling myself. I wear a Scottevest windbreaker year 'round, using it as my outer shell in cold weather. I like that I can load it up with the essentials and not even have to think about grabbing anything else when I leave my tent.

The few times I've helped-out with SAR where the target had no gear were either starting-out unprepared (just going on a day hike/trip), getting turned-around answering the call of nature, or taking a wrong turn coming back from visiting another campsite. Discouragingly, alcohol was often involved in the latter case.

And you don't need to be in the middle of the back-country to get lost. The places where I've helped-out all had established trail systems and established, communal campsites. A few wrong turns without noticing and a lack of sufficient training or experience to stay put once you realize your lost can make for a cold, damp night under the stars.

I'll also admit that in my pre survival-minded days I managed to lose my tent after watering the flowers. The problem is that by the time you realize you are lost you can't even be sure which direction is which. I was fortunate that there was a stream nearby I could follow back to the trail and then from there found my way back to camp. Thereafter I never wander out of view of my tent to take care of business, unless I'm at a communal campsite with an established latrine. I figure 50' from my campsite might be smack in the middle of where the next fellow might setup camp, so why bother? The resident animals don't.

LOL!! A little OCD, I suspect.

I have a little fanny pack to trips away from camp...and now know to " leave a light on" in camp so I can find it at night.

Heres a real senario that happened to someone I know.

He was on a fishing trip with about 12 people. During that trip they were based out of a campsite accesible only by the boats down the lake from the launch. The other persons reffered to the campsite as being on an "island". However (unknown to him) the "island" was really a penninsula with connection to the main land. In the late evening he decided to explore the "island" and left camp, wanting to tour the shoreline of the island before dark.
He walked along the shore for longer than he though normal, never reaching his start point and darkness was now falling. He decided to cut back across the island away from the shore. At this time he had actually crossed onto the mainland, so when he thought he was cutting overland across the island he was actually headed away from the shoreline in the oppoosite direction and deeper inland. After about a half hour of walking he knew something was wrong and started to call for help. His calls went unanswered. At this point he was totally lost, and confused. He still believed he was on an island and even though he had estimated the size of the area to be fairly small he couldint figure out why he was totally lost. He realized he was just getting more lost.

Meanwhile it was now completely dark and everyone at camp realized he wasin't back and went into the woods to look for him. After a few minutes they called off the search, realizing that a search at night was a bad idea.

Meanwhile my friend had a pocket knife and a lighter and the clothes on his back. He may have had a few other items but definetly not a PSK. The clothes he was wearing were probably jeans and a hooded cotton sweatshirt (judging from what he usually wears). He made a fire to stay warm and he told me it was hard to keep going and he grew frightened being alone in the woods without a strong fire and no shelter.

In the morning he managed to find his way back to shore several KMs down the lake from the campsite and was spotted by members of the party on their boat. The whole incident lasted less than 16 hours and ended well, but goes to show how it is possible to get lost and seperated from your gear even when you had the best intentions. In this case my friend believed he was on an island of no more than a few hundered meters across and therefore had no reason to anticipate getting lost.