As I was driving around today I was pondering just what would be in my rucksack next time I visit Cannon Beach and spend hours walking on the sand. I've always stayed in hotels right on the beach and savored walking the nine miles of wide beach - from sunrise to midnight if there's a full moon.

And like many Oregonians, I've enjoyed going to the beach during winter storms as much as rarer warm summer days.

Geologists now say that you may have just 15 minutes from the earthquake to a tsunami hitting the beach. Even in my heyday of youthful fitness, I would be hard-pressed to get to high enough ground to ensure safety from the worst tsunami scenarios. But one thing is for sure: if I'm anywhere on the Pacific Northwest coast and feel any kind of tremor, I'm hustling inland and up as fast as possible. My sister and friends may or may not be with me - the closest to Cannon Beach live in Portland, 80 miles away.

In the 9.0 quake-tsunami scenarios, if I stay in one of my usual hotels, my luggage in the room and my car will be lost. So I'll be stuck with what I'm wearing and carrying. Tourists will likely far outnumber local residents (population: 1600) -- who will have their own problems to contend with.

What I think I'll have in my rucksack there from now on, knowing I won't want to be terribly loaded down when at any given second there is a miniscule chance of a megaquake hitting during my vacation:


Cash (at least $300)
Petzl Zipka headlamp-wristlamp (+ extra batteries)
UCO 12-hour beeswax candle
Pocket radio (+ extra batteries)
Oregon folding map
compass
Bic lighter + REI stormproof matches + firesteel
cotton balls + Vaseline lip balm
Doug's Mk5 and Mk1 knives
Micropur water purification tablets
titanium sierra cup
Kleenex tissue packet
AMK heatsheet
mini-first aid kit
550 paracord (my dog walking neck lanyard has some incorporated)


I can put this all in the bottom of my rucksack without adding great gobs of weight or taking too much volume. Even in summer at Cannon Beach, I'm usually wearing a jacket of some sort. Would be bad news to be stuck with just shorts if a disaster hits that could entail being without shelter overnight on the Oregon coast - brrrrrr.

By the way, Cannon Beach is not a port, so supplying emergency provisions by ship would be a very tedious task.

Helicopters would be in huge demand throughout the affected region.