Winter Vehicle Stay Put Kit

Well, I don’t live in the most dangerous environ for Winter travel unless I decide to venture up the Columbia R. Gorge during a Winter Blast affair. But, I do drive to the coast on wet, dark, foggy mornings or push down a few logging roads to gain access to a drift. At any point, I might lose the fog line or sight of the edge of the road and take an unexpected diversion off the side of the road.

In such a case, I might be ok to hike out for help, but I might be better served to stay with my rig until conditions (weather/lighting) improve (stats suggest you will live longer if you stay with your rig). We all know the basic first aid stuff we tend to carry, but do you really know how to use it and do you have enough materials to handle a laceration or fracture? Pain?

Basics Again: Does anyone know where you were headed and/or your scheduled return? The benefit of staying with your rig is that people know the general area of your outing so you will be found. Truly warm clothing and shelter for inside your rig with broken windows or while upside down? Extra clothing? Light? High Energy Food/Calories? Water? Do you really know where you are up that watershed? Maps? Plastic tarp? Waterproofed matches? Light sources?

That survival kit: where is it in your rig? In the back under the canopy or in the trunk? Can you reach into that section now? It might be better to always keep that Winter (or any season) Survival Kit in the passenger compartment where you can access it when out in the wilds. 

Many of you travel in serious Winter conditions and are confident that you can handle most anything, because you have over and over. What if’s become muted with the routine of no mishaps or close calls. Your rig can go anywhere. You know better.

The rest of us, have no excuse because we should know we are headed into conditions we are totally unaccustomed to….no excuses…be prepared. 

Driver Dies….Not Wearing Seat Belt

 

Vehicle Survival Kit (How’s Yours?)

I won’t go over the same common sense lists of materials one should have in their vehicle during Winter travel or anytime you venture off the roadways or deep away from others. These two sites provide those lists: Jungle Training & Safety One International.

No doubt you can provide a dependable cache of materials, but here, I wanted to simply remind you to have the equipment updated (batteries), reachable (not buried in back where you won’t reach it once in a ditch) and have it organized for a real life event. Oh, where in the hell is the duct tape and bungee’s on these lists? Re water containers, remember water containers my rupture in extreme cold, so use a container that can suffer the cold extremes. Extra clothing should be with you whenever you go fishing…right? Go under once and you will remember to have a change of clothing.

An additional thing: in extreme cold, ice in the guides, severe winds….all very cool to be out there waving the rod. But, do you really know how you function in these conditions? Do not waste your core body heat while outdoors. Dress with clothing that can handle the cold. Store the cotton hoodie and cheap cotton stocking cap. To start stumbling back toward your rig and feel that desperate, fumbling feeling is unsettling.

Be prepared once back to the rig to find your keys (what are you going to do if you lost them…a spare?), to open your rig up and start the engine and crank up the heat. You will know if you over did it if you stumble/fumble about in a panicked state. If so, assess then what to improve upon. Clothing, location, duration? Or, forgo the deep freeze times?

Hypothermia Signs

Animals & Hypothermia