Month: October 2025

Backpacks And Artificial Shoulders, Pt. 3

Following up on the original post and this post, I just did a quick mile ruck with an Osprey backpack (Aether 70) someone at Church has given me to try. It’s the same model I had tried out at the outfitters, though a different size frame and a few years old though unused.

To see how it did with some weight in it, I put a 20-pound barbell in the lower compartment, unsecured. About the worst place to put any weight; but, it was a quick way to test how much weight could get transferred to my shoulders. Especially since neither the hip belt or shoulder straps are fitted to me (yet).

I really like how the suspension system works, and know that if it were fitted to me it would be even better. The dealer can fit it to a person, even heat molding part of the hip belt system to give a custom fit. As it is, without any real adjustment to my frame, most of the weight (even when bouncing) stayed off my shoulders.

So, my next step is to see if the local outfitter will be willing to help me with this. If they are, first up will be making sure it is the right size frame for my body (person who bought it has a more slender frame) and that it can be adjusted to me. If it can, I’m likely to go with it for the trip. If not, I know what is needed and will work on getting it.

Onwards.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

More Medical Thoughts

In the comments to this post, GWB mentions his get-home bag. He was kind enough to e-mail me with more info, and I want to share what he sent:

“Container is a small bag I got with an Ammunition Depot order. I ordered another one, later, when I put together the second bag.

It has a shoulder strap you can disconnect on one end and stow in the open pocket on the back of the bag. It also has a velcro belt loop on the back, and a handle on the top. The main compartment is about 5x6x9. It has a zippered pouch on the front about 3x5x6. On the front of that is a zippered slit pouch. There are molle straps across the front and on the sides and a small bungee cord setup above that smaller pouch.

Outside is where I keep my flashlight (on/in a molle strap) (and which I need to replace).

On the other side, threaded through the molle straps is 100′ of parachute cord, held together at the bottom by a couple of small carabiners (not climbing rated).

Inside that zippered slit pouch are 2 emergency ponchos. Yes, the cheap kind. Useful for all sorts of things.

Inside the small zippered pouch are:

An all-weather 3×5 notebook

A pack of Grime Boss wipes

A Leatherman

A cyalume light stick

A little marker (fine point, bought at Home Depot)

There should also be a lighter/torch in there, but I can’t carry it onboard an airplane in my luggage… so looking for a better solution*

Inside the main compartment is:

A Trauma Pak from Adventure Medical Kits, containing Quik Clot, trauma pad, nitrile gloves, duct tape, triangular bandage, some gauze dressings, a “conforming gauze” bandage, antiseptic wipes, and the resealable bag can be used for sucking chest wounds

3 emergency water supply pouches (the ones for keeping on boats)**

An orange tourniquet (with the write-on label, hence the marker)

A baggie with some larger band-aid type bandages

3 Millennium energy bars (400 kcal each)

A paper bit on “Tips for Survival” by Marvin B Lark (that I can use to start a fire)

2 Burn-Fix 4×4 burn dressings

An un-sharpened carpenter’s pencil (red)

An emergency blanket

A roll-up splint

A large red or orange bandana

A pair of nomex gloves

* I do carry a book of paper matches when I fly, since that seems to be the only thing TSA will allow. Any other suggestions for a non-primitive method of fire-starting I could carry/pack on aircraft are welcome. (Somewhere I have one of those fire-starters that uses air compression to produce heat.)

** The water pouches serve two purposes: drinking and irrigation of wounds. If you cut a small enough corner off the pouch, you can get a decent stream of water when you squeeze it. Not for antiseptic purposes, but get dirt away from the wound and clear off some of the blood.

When I had a car, I had in it what I called a Bailout Bag, as it was intended to get me home or to safety in the event of an emergency. What GWB has put together here puts my old bag to shame, and is an excellent guide for those just thinking about such things.

It has some trauma gear; it has some boo-boo gear; multiple sources of light; the ability to make fire at need; food; and, water. All in a small, easy to store and carry package. There are any number of things that can happen that result in your having to leave your vehicle behind, and having something like this helps ensure you can get home or to safety at need.

All the gear in the world does you no good if it is not with you when you need it. Having smaller kits like this ensures you do have it/have access to it when needed.

Also, note that he has burn supplies in his bag. That’s something I need to add to my pouch and gear. When I did my embeds, the largest burn threat came from EFPs and all the burn cream in the world won’t do much for those. Need to get that back into the system as life today has many other sources where burn bandages and such would be very useful.

In addition to the bailout bag, my car also had a full-sized first aid kit skewed towards use in traffic accidents. Having both gave me flexibility and options, including the ability to pull from the large kit into the small if I did have to bail out.

So, it’s not just one kit. It’s having different kits of different sizes to cover different needs. It’s making sure you have access to at least some first aid gear at all times.

One final thought for your bailout/get-home bag. Consider having some air-activated hand and toe warmers in it. If you have to leave the car behind in winter, such will help protect your hands and feet. If you have to stay in the car without heat, they will help you there too. Just a thought.

My thanks to GWB for sharing this. May it help you in your preparedness.

As always, be prepared. Keep your family and friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Dream Becoming Reality

Back in this post, I talked about my dream of doing a religious pilgrimage to Bulgaria and Mount Athos in Greece. After talking about it, things began to happen.

A very nice person stepped up and arranged a guide to assist me with visiting Mount Athos. They not only provided the introduction, but are covering the cost of having him assist and to travel with me to Athos and elsewhere in Greece. Another person stepped up and covered one leg of my airfare to get to Bulgaria.

At the funeral of my Godfather, the Bishop who presided over the service (who was a monk on Mount Athos) said he would be delighted to review my plans. This has now turned into him effectively being the spiritual guide for the trip, and he is also finding a contact for me in Sophia to take care of the practical details so I can concentrate on the spiritual.

A friend at Church heard of my interest in backpacks, and had a brand new back pack of the brand and style I was considering, that he had bought a couple of years ago and never used (tags are still on it). It and I are going on a hike tomorrow to see how it does. If it does, I have my “suitcase” for the trip.

My idea of a side trip to Romania has also gotten a push. The Priest at the Romanian Orthodox Church just got back from Romania and we are meeting so he can share information, including a Church I can attend while there. He’s also got lots of info on payment apps and other realities of modern travel. Hoping to meet with him soon.

The original plan of visiting a number of monasteries has changed to visiting just a few, spending more time at one in particular, and more time in Sophia for purposes of prayer and discernment. With prayer and guidance, things are shaking out and firming up.

I now have a brand-new passport (thankful I did expedited and got it before the shutdown). Which came in handy as I needed it today when I applied to the Greek government to visit Mount Athos.

As noted earlier, visiting Mount Athos requires advanced paperwork and permissions. First up, you have to get approval from the Greek government to visit, almost like a visa. Then, you have to get approval from Mount Athos and the individual monasteries you want to visit or stay at. Given the warnings about how long it can take to get the Greek government approval, I put in my request today via e-mail. Once that is approved, we can begin contacting the monasteries I’m interested in visiting to see if they will let me visit and/or stay the night there. If all goes well and my plan is approved, I will be staying three nights on Mount Athos at different monasteries.

I have one monastery that I particularly want to visit, which is the monastery where my Bishop was a monk. I have another I am drawn to, but for it and the third monastery I will rely on input from the Bishop and my guide. The latter has a reputation of suggesting the right place for those he guides.

There are some very good deals on airfare popping up, and I will likely be purchasing my tickets here later this week or early next week. The original plan to fly into Budapest may be out the window as some really good deals for a round-trip flight to Sophia have recently popped up. I’m going to pay a little more and get tickets that are both changeable and refundable just to be safe.

I’m starting to look at the cooking lessons in Romania, and have had a very interesting one pop up that would have me spending a day outside of Bucharest in the country learning some more rustic dishes. Dishes that frankly sound delicious. Between that and the steam train excursion into the Carpathian mountains, it would be quite a nice adventure.

Also, I’ve located some cooking instruction in Sophia. Someone I wasn’t sure was still doing such lessons has said she is most willing to do the day-long course for me while I’m there.

I’m actually considering upgrading my cell phone so I can do better photography and video to share with you here and on X. My plan had been to stay with my current phone until it totally dies (or I precede it); but, as things go along, if there are funds, I think it would be a good idea. I will also have to get an international plan while I’m there.

Thing is, I hope to have everything paid off before I go. I’m going to put in a bleg here for you to hit the tip jar in the upper right so I can do so. So far, I’ve been able to keep the costs low. I’m planning on renting an apartment in Sophia as it will be cheaper than a hotel. I will look at all options as I just need a bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen to get by. And, yes, I will be there a few weeks.

If past experience is any indicator, food (other than the cooking lessons) should not be a huge part of my trip. I almost always ate for less than the per-diem allowed when on government travel, and I’m quite content many evenings to find some good dry sausages and hard cheeses on which to dine. I will have to eat out some, but you would be amazed at how reasonable it can be in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe.

There will be some train and bus expenses, but train prices in Bulgaria are not high, and even travel to Bucharest is quite reasonable. I will most likely have to take a bus to Greece, but it’s not a long ride and again the prices (now) seem reasonable. Once I have the airfare taken care of, plan to start buying train and bus tickets as I can. If I take small bites, it is easier to pay as I go.

For those who have been supportive of this, my thanks! To those who have helped me with this, my profound thanks! I hope to have lots to share, both in the planning and when the trip takes place. More soon.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Medical Resources, AKA Books!

Unless you are fortunate enough to have an EMT or other medical professional in your family, or have in your circle an 18D, you need one other thing besides as much training as you can get and good kits. That thing is knowledge resources, aka books that you can reference (before ideally) at need. This post is intended to follow up on this post on kits, and a bit on this post on the need to be aware and preparing.

For a true disaster (i.e. something that is lasting 30-days or longer), it won’t hurt to have things like Gray’s Anatomy and some basic diagnostic manuals around. For that matter, it wouldn’t hurt to have some basic public health guides (older ones likely to be much better) as they cover epidemic prevention, where to site and how to build outhouses, and other delights.

For more general use, one of the first books I bought back around 1970 was “Being Your Own Wilderness Doctor.” It was in my pack all through Boy Scouts and afterwards. No idea if my original copy is still intact, but glad to see it is being put out as a classsic, for it is. I used some of the information to treat myself (not sure about others) when we were out away from civilization.

While I’m not a fan of pain, I will admit to having even done some very minor surgery on myself at need. Things that needed a quick fix and could be patched up with bandaids or butterfly clips and (liberal) doses of antiseptic/anti-microbial ointment. Some of the knowing what I could do at need (and what I shouldn’t do) came from that book. Really need to get a new copy and review it to see how it holds up today.

There are a number of books out there now of a similar, but expanded take. Two I’ve seen are “Wilderness First Responder” and “Wilderness Medicine: Beyond First Aid.” Another is “Medicine for the Outdoors.” One of the key things is that they are not just about first aid. They are about prevention, identifying the (real) problem, and then treating. Remember that in any situation you need to accurately assess, stabilize, treat, and evacuate at need. Even better, you need to recognize and prevent potential problems as that is the best first aid you can give in any situation.

For the purposes of the Heads Up post, here are two books that we all (sadly) need to read: “Tactical Combat Care and Wound Treatment” and “Tactical Emergency Combat Care.” Getting and reading the books is a very good idea (adding to my wish list), and if you can get training along these lines, all the better.

Before I do anything else, I do think I need to repost my take on what constitutes an annoyance, an emergency, and a disaster. As I noted in the Preparedness Pays series, there are three types/levels of emergency and they are based on duration. The book-in-progress (sigh, still) breaks it down very nicely, but a rough idea is that 1- to 3-days is an annoyance; 3-days to 4-weeks (or so, forget the exact time frames I used) is an emergency; and anything beyond 4-weeks is a disaster.

A general knowledge of first aid and how to deal with boo-boos will get you through annoyances and even some emergencies. Knowing advanced first aid is essential for emergencies and/or dealing with a mass casualty situation. Having knowledge of (and better yet training in) emergency care and the books to go with it is essential for disasters.

While I mentioned the venerable Gray’s Anatomy earlier, here a few other potential resources: “The Ultimate Survival Medicine Guide,” “SOLO Wilderness First Responder” (would LOVE to take that course), and “The Complete Medicine Survival Handbook.”

One reason I keep pushing wilderness medical is that in a true disaster or emergency (as opposed to an annoyance), you may not have access to “normal” medical care even if in an urban area. I live a block away from a major medical center; but, in the event of an emergency or disaster, I don’t count on it being operational. Too many hospitals have adopted ‘just in time’ logistics which work very well when things are going great. When they’re not going great…

Books are always a good investment, and the right books in an emergency or disaster can make a world of difference on several levels. For the record, I don’t get anything off the links here — I want to be free to recommend what I like and for you to know I’m making recommendations off what I think is good, not what is good for my wallet. It’s why I depend on donations, as your gifts help me keep going and keep the blog going.

Feel free to chime in via the comments with books you recommend in regards emergency medicine. Share what’s worked for you, or even what hasn’t. For all the good books out there, there are a lot of junk books as well. It can be a very good thing to help people avoid them.

Meantime, be prepared. Keep your family and friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.