DuckHunt wrote:I wish we had enough woodlands around here to make survival an issue.
I understand what you're thinking, Duckhunt, but what we all need to remember is that our trips into the woods aren't the only situation that can put us in unexpected peril.
In fact, our daily driving is probably far more likely to put us into that sort of situation. You can get into a life-or-death survival issue just about anywhere you drive, especially in an area with hills n' hollers!
Here's just one representative example, from the UK, but could (and does) happen anywhere:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... crash.html
Just google "trapped in car for days", and you'll see that it's not even uncommon.
We should all remember that almost any day's normal activities can throw us into an unexpected survival scenario. Lost in the woods isn't the only one!
As to what we carry, well, that's the tough one!
It's wise to customize your kit to your area. As for driving around here, I'd say flotation gear of some sort is wise.
For instance, in a normal drive to the outer Banks last night, I crossed many miles of bridges coming and going (including the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge, 5.2 miles long, tenth longest in the nation), and probably seven miles of causeway, along with riding alongside two canals deep enough to submerge a car for probably thirty miles.
I know from experience that every year, without fail, some tourist or tourists will run off the road and drown because they couldn't get to shore. More rarely, a local will die that way.
It was a nasty, rainy night with very wet roads and hydro-planing hazards last night ... but did I have any flotation gear?
No. And that's the conundrum we all face:
Will we have what we need when we need it?
It's not an easy thing to plan for, but we all should.
