I've been wondering what led people not only to this site but to their interest in preparedness in general. I'm guessing there are some good stories here, so if you'd like to share yours, please do!

As for me, there are really two reasons that I'm here. The first one is an interesting story. The second I probably share in common with most people here.

A couple of years ago, during the good ole dot-com boom, I decided to do something I've always dreamed of and go to Antarctica. There were a couple of companies that plan expeditions there, so some friends and I got together, spent a year planning, and then flew to Ushuia, Argentina, to board a boat that we had arranged for the trip. The trip was a total blast, we explored tiny islands, climbed glaciers, and sailed around the Antarctic Penisula. We were real Shackleton-wannabes. Sounds like fun, no? Well, it was until someone in our group fell off a glacier and was catastrophically injured. We were literally thousands of miles from a hospital, not near any of the scientific bases, and our satellite phone wasn't getting reception. One of our crew was an EMT who treated the victim for shock, but what we really needed was to find a doctor. We spent 3 days sailing to Palmer Station, the closest base with a physician but only the most basic medical facilities. They were wonderful to us, but of course, the doctor's advice was get this person to a hospital ASAP.

We had purchased Medivac insurance before we left. It's considered a necessity because an emergency rescue from Antarctica can easily run into the $100,000+ range. But, the weather was so bad, they couldn't fly a piper in from Chile. So, we had to sail back to Argentina in a storm, and she was eventually medivaced back to the US, hospitalized for the next month, and bed ridden for well over a year, having splintered most of the major bones in her left leg and foot, along with other assorted injuries.

What I can say about this trip is that there is nothing so awful as seeing someone you're very close with injured and not being able to do a damn thing about it. Aside from deciding to keep our adventures closer to home for the foreseeable future, I also decided to become a little more responsible and see what the experts had to say about being prepared, which led me here. I really thought that we had planned our expedition well, but the truth is, it was just a disaster waiting to happen.

I just realized how long this is -- sorry for that. The second reason I'm here is just that my way of dealing with 9/11 is making myself feel more prepared for the next round, which I think a lot of other people here will understand. I think there is a big psychological benefit to feeling prepared. I certainly feel like I've learned a tremendous amount reading the posts on this site, so thanks to all you guys for the free education!

When I was about nine years old I had a job that involved delivering sales books to houses in residential neighborhoods around town. The guy in charge told me to walk down this road until I got to the last house and he would be there to pick me up. What he failed to tell me was that there was a long gap between a group of houses. I got to the end of the first string of houses and could see no more houses for quite a long walk. I turned back and waited near the last house I had delivered to for about two hours before he found me. He said I didn't walk all the way down the roda and I explained to him that I had walk about a half mile and didn't see anything on the horizon so I went to the last house and waited. If you get lost don't get off the path. This was in the mid-70's and we didn't have cell phones back then, I had no water, food or communication with me so I had to wait. Besides that I was in an area that I had no clue about. Since then I would not go somewhere unless I knew about the area and had some form of preparations. Ever since I was born, as far back as I can remember I wanted to be in the Army. When I turned eighteen I enlisted in the Marines and learned about being prepared for anything and I have been hooked ever since. I enjoy learning new things about surviving in the wilderness and use many of things I've learned here in everyday life.

Outdoor skills and "being prepared" were engrained in me during my Boy Scout years. Since then I've always been a person who tries to be prepared for "whatever might happen".

I've camped just about all over the U.S., though my favorite places are the Teton/Yellowstone area and the Boundary Waters.

After I got married and we had kids, my time spent camping in remote areas was lessened dramatically. One weekend I took my kids to our local county fair, and we met people walking around with dogs who were part of a local search and rescue organization. I was intrigued by them and what they said, but nothing really changed.

A few months later we went to some kind of fun night at my kids' school. Once again they had people from a local SAR organization there, but this time they gave a more formal presentation. It wasn't the hug-a-tree program, but they did tell us that kids should always carry a plastic trash bag and a whistle, and they discussed what parents should do to prepare for a child being lost. THAT was what tripped the survival trigger.

I started looking for relavent information on the web and quickly found Equipped.com and these forums. I've been hooked since. I read Cody Lundin's book and used his information along with information from Equipped.com and what I could find out about the Hug-a-Tree program on-line to have the boys and siblings in my Cub Scout den put together survival fanny packs.

My own focus is primarily on short-term survival when the unexpected happens while in remote areas. I don't really focus on urban survival or bug out bags since in my suburban area I know that local organizations will be there to help. Besides, as someone on this forum once mentioned, if it comes to bugging out, I'd be one of hundreds of thousands who will be hitting the roads at the same time. Routine moring drives are parking lots. I can only imagine what it would be like if people were fleeing the area in mass.

My most important suburban survival tool is my cell phone, OnStar, my seat belt, and an air bag, ... though I do carry some gear in a shoulder bag I carry to work (large trash bag, flashlight, lighter, compass, knife, basic first aid supplies, bandanna, etc...).

I am in a similar situation as you and the reason I prepare is to take some of the burden off of the organization that would be helping my family and I. I also do it so that when the excrement hits the air conditioning my children will be able to rely on me to help them get through this situation a little easier. When the ball drops, if it ever does I want to get through it with the kids going through as little trauma as possible. Worse case scenario for me would be nothing ever happens and I spent money to protect my family. Money well spent as far as I am concerned.
... though I do carry some gear in a shoulder bag I carry to work (large trash bag, flashlight, lighter, compass, knife, basic first aid supplies, bandanna, etc...). That's how I started out and now I have so much shizzle I have a spare room for it.

I do much the same, except for the large trash bag. I'm going to buy an "Emergency Bivvy Sack" I saw at EMS the last time I was there. Hopefully it will fit into the bag I take to work.

-- Craig

I've always been interested in preparedness, maybe I read Robinson Crusoe one too many times as a kid. It useful for me to carry a fair amount of gear with me, as I tend to be very spontaneous - If I'm on my off days and go out to pick up milk - there's a very good possibility that I'll end up 400 miles away in the woods.

My slide into preparedness began when I was a teenager experiencing headaches. The college nurse wasn't allowed to dispense anything without prior authorization in triplicate. I decided to become my own provider and began carrying Excedrin.

As I grew older, so did my headaches. I've since been diagnosed with CDH, which is Chronic Daily Headache. Hey, it's better than a heart attack, stroke, or cancer. I can live with it, and I see a neurologist regularly. Now I carry Fioricet, Midrin, Imitrex, and Amerge on my person.

Then I got married. We went to see an exhibit of Titanic artifacts in Atlantic City. My wife fell down while going up an escalator. I had nothing on me with which to help. We had to wait for some casino people to arrive. Her knee swelled up very nicely.

She had some mean punctures on her knee that are still visible years down the road. She had to get a tetanus shot. I vowed never to be be that helpless again.

Then came 9/11 and our world changed forever. Everything we take for granted was blown away that day.

Now I carry lots of stuff. My ordinary EDC includes an icepack, stuff that clots bleeding wounds, N-95 particulate masks, and leather driving gloves. My office EDC includes a small prybar, googles for eye protection, a SwissTool R/S, and an Inova XO3 (remember the blackout a few summers ago?).

I had to take some items from my everyday EDC and make them my office EDC. They were simply too heavy to carry while walking around a non-office environment, such as a mall.

-- Craig

I forget exactly how I found Doug's site, but I'm certain it was through something aviation related. My PSK was put together specifically for flying. Since then, I've branched out (ETS is the perfect justification for toys I would have bought anyway).

I have always enjoyed the outdoors, especially camping and hiking.

After reading about the "10 Essentials" somewhere, and putting together my own little pouch, it sat there for years in my backpack.

I would pull out the SAK to cut my sandwich or the sunscreen for a day's hike. While the basic gear was there, I hadn't really given much thought to practicing with it, and certainly not to modifying or updating it.

Then I discovered ETS.

Although my friends & family probably think I'm over-prepared, it's nice to have a safety net when you're in the middle of nowhere. Travel for work also takes me to lots of remote areas, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I'd have nearly nothing if I was stranded.

So now it's kits galore, reference books, and practice whenever I can. I've also taken on the task of trying to equip family members, despite their jokes and goofy looks. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I was looking for a source for 2oz tabbacco tins that (a) didn't have drug stuff painted on them, and (b) didn't have to be imported from the UK. Somehow, I was led here.

I grew up in and around the woods, but that was because my grandfather played a very large role in my upbringing. He was one of the last true renisance men; even though I try, I'm not to his level yet. I discovered that even though I couldn't buy tins here, there was a group of like minded persons. I stuck around for that.

I"ve since given up on trying to find the tobbaco tins, btw.

I cant remember when it started. At a very young age for sure. Maybe around 7 years old. I grew up spending all my free time in the woods with no parental supervision. I have always been far more interested in skills than gear and have always only carried the most basic gear, at least until a little over a year ago. I still maintain a very significant interest in studying and practicing "primitive" skills first and foremost, though I rarely discuss it here since it is off topic for most threads.

Anyway, a little over a year ago I decided that I needed to increase the amount of gear I carry on my "primtive" hiking and camping trips and starting researching pocket-sized kits. This is how I found ETS. I've studied every thread and every word of every article Doug has written and placed on the website. I have read every book that Doug has recommended in the past year and I have asked lots of questions in the forum in that time as well.

In addition to gaining much more information than I orginally needed (or thought I needed at that time) on pocket kits for wilderness use, I have also learned much about being prepared for natural or man-made disasters that may effect myself and my family at home. Sure, it's nice to know that federal, state and local governments and many non-profit orgs like ARC do a lot to try to help the masses in disaster situations but I would never bet my life or well being or that of my family on expecting them to be there for me in a time of need. At least not now that I have gained at least some of the knowledge needed to take responsibility to my own survival and that of my family as well. Don't get me wrong... I'm no isolationist. I would not turn down outside aid by any means but I don't want to be forced to rely on it either. The information I have aquired here has helped me to significantly increase my ability to take an active role in my family's survival in the event that we should ever encounter one of those situations. Sure, this is not what I was looking for when I first found ETS as a mature, responsible venue for aquiring information about wilderness PSKs but it's a heck of a great added bonus IMHO.

Guess for me, my upbringing predestined me to end up here. Was fascinated at a young age by the occasional stories my dad told of his experiences as a B-26 pilot in WWII. My interest really piqued, though, in the mid-50s when, as a SAC pilot (under the venerable Curtis E. Lemay), he went through the AF Survival School at Stead AFB, Nevada. As an eleven-year-old, I thought that was as cool as it gets, and I pumped him for the smallest of details (They really have schools to teach you that stuff? Huh, dad?).

About that same time, I first read Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island. A great tale of long-term survival on an island off the Atlantic coast during the Civil War. Awesome book. I was hooked. Involvement in the Boy Scouts came next.

After concluding my own “good times” in the military, I rekindled an interest in hiking and backpacking. My early “survival kits” 30 years ago were – to me anyway – a logical part of those outdoor activities. Eventually, I realized that preparedness had broader applications, in everyday life, not just my treks to the hills. Probably more so today than ever.

At some point in my ‘net surfing, stumbled across ETS site; lurked for a long time, enjoyed the forum, the folks, and benefited from the info, so decided to make it official. Besides, what a convenient rationalization for the acquisition of new “stuff.”

Dan

And if I may briefly drift off-topic: my greatest preparedness coup has to be finally getting my wife to carry a Photon and small SAK on her keychain. She whose concept of a PSK was a broken-nail repair kit.

Why am I here? I think I stumbled across this site. I'll admit that I am a "survivalist", but I'm also a good boy scout. I try and be prepared for any situation. Yes, I prepare if I happen to get lost, but I also prepare should TEOTWAWKI happen. I look for good information wherever I can find it. People here have good ideas and I learn from them. I also try and share what I have learned. That's why I'm here.

Charles

Since I can remember I wore a vest and fanny pack. I packed what ever cool stuff in my fanny pack mostly to entertain myself on car rides. One summer my family camped for almost a whole summer. Naturally over that summer a pocket knife snuck its way into my EDC fanny pack. When school started the knife was left at home but I kept my fanny pack hat and vest.
Some were between 2nd and 4th grades I started leavening the fanny pack and vest at home. In Junior High (7th grade) I had a strong feeling to be older and carry and folding knife. It took off from there; by high school I had a full blown man-purse.
I found ETS about 8 months ago and helped me give some of my items names like PSK, EDC, BOB, etc...

IIRC I was looking for road flares, to add to a car kit. I could not (and still have not ..) found any in France, so I broadened the Google search with words like rescue, survival,etc.. And i came upon ETS.
I have learned much more than I initially was looking for....
Thanks to you all...

I like to find out about new ideas and products and see how they perform. Many here have had great ideas and links to help me spend money on more stuff! Thanks all! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The reason I'm here has to do with knowledge. When I was 12 yrs. old I spent my first night out in the woods with nothing on me. No food, water, shelter, or protection. When I was 14 I hiked 26 miles to a beaver pond in the middle of nowhere and spent 7 days living off the land. I hunted with a .22 rifle, Ate fish from the beaver pond each morning. And had a ball doing it. The only problem was that my Kelty external frame pack weighed more than 70 pounds. So in 2 years I went from nothing to 70 pounds of chit in a sack so I could live in the outdoors. Since then I've been able to wittle that down to a little over 10 pounds plus my .17 HMR. That's for a week in the woods. No food or water. I can get it down to less but I like to be comfortable. However, you girls and boys are feeding me more info about traveling light and I think, that with your help, I will be able to live in light comfort. As far as a true survival situation goes I haven't really given it much thought. I'm not in a high risk area. But things that I've read are still in the back of my mind. I'm very impressed with the amount of info on this site. Doug does good work.

I forget exactly how I stumbled onto ETS...I believe it was after talking with a friend about possibly going to one of the survival schools - I think he was talking about BOSS...I THINK it was in about 2000, but I can't be sure (we never did go to BOSS).

Well, I was doing some surfing for similar sites...and found ETS. I got hooked pretty quickly (and from here, found links to ledmuseum and then candlepowerforums - so all my favorite stuff on the Web is really inextricably linked for me).

I was a contented lurker for a long time...after 9/11, I began to find a great road map on how to tackle things, one step at a time, from the folks here at ETS. I think the first thing I did was make a "fire grab bag" - and while my wife thought it was funny, it made me feel good. And so has each step I've taken since.

I remained a lurker until the blackout of '03, mainly because I didn't feel I had anything to offer/add to what was being discussed - but then I wrote in to talk about the part of the blackout that I saw, and what things I'd learned from ETS that served me well, and what I needed to improve.

I've always been a combination of gadget oriented and outdoors oriented. I grew up in a semi-rural area and our summers were always spent car camping and canoeing, so in the back of my mind I'm convinced I'm quite an outdoorsman, although my daily reality puts that more in line with Rainman's assessment of his driving skills ("I'm an excellent driver. Excellent.")

So, ETS for me is a great place to see other peoples' kits, get fantastic advice on how to prepare for the various potential problems, and see how a group of smart, mature-acting (well, mostly) folks tackle what we see as common problems. It also give my deskbound Walter Mitty side an outlet.

So thanks to all the great folks here at ETS, and especially Doug and Chris.

Dave

I'm here because so far it isn't illegal to be.