The Survival Podcast's 13 in 13 Skills Challenge

While I was listening to Jack Spirko recently, he offered a challenge to everyone who is of the preparedness mindset.  In The Survival Podcast's 13 in 13 Skills Challenge, Jack wants all of us to learn new, usable skills that can make our lives better now and in the future.  He writes, "The skills can be primitive, traditional, mechanical or even technical.  It is all about restoring the ability to actually do things to our nation."

Reviving a Dead Vine

Hello all.  I know I have not posted since July 2011, so I want to revive this dead vine.  I believe it is more important to be prepared today than it has been in the past.  I will create new posts every so often dedicated to being an urban prepper.  Please check back often.

--PNWP

Overlooked Preparedness Item #1: Beer

You may think I am insane for claiming that beer should be considered a preparedness item, but I am not.  Here in the Pacific NW, beer is a HUGE part of life.  There are over 200 microbreweries in Cascadia and tens of thousands of homebrewers.  If there were ever a major natural disaster or economic distress the likes we have never seen, a common component of life that people in this part of the world will be unavailable or only available at prices that would make one have to choose between food and beer.  Unfortunately, I know quite a few people who would choose to have a beer rather than food in that situation (sad, I know).  Why not make beer a preparedness item?

Finding Funds to Prepare on a Limited Budget

I am just an average Joe.  I work a full-time job making less money than I should be paid.  Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to have a job in this terrible economy.  I just know that I am being paid less than what others are being paid in the same industry with the same job title.  I am also attending graduate school part-time in an effort to pursue the career path that I have been dreaming of for years.  I enjoy spending time in the beautiful outdoors of the Pacific Northwest and I rather enjoy discussing life and love among my close-knit group of friends over a great cup of coffee or a microbrewed beer.  The first major challenge I face as a prepper in this situation is having a limited budget.  I am looking for ways to prepare without having to go out and take another job to supplement my income.

Why I Have Chosen To Prepare

Greetings All:

My name is Pacific NW Preparer (or PNWP for short) and I am new to the preparedness community.  I have decided to start this blog to allow myself (and others) to follow my own journey in attempting to prepare for an unknown calamity that may or may not occur.  Let me state up-front that I do not believe in the whole "Planet X" thing, nor do I believe the end of the world will be when the Mayan calendar supposedly predicts it.  I also do not believe the end of the world will occur in October 2011, nor do I believe the US stock market will crash this year sending the whole world into a panic.  I do not fear anything or anyone (except God, and that's a different type of fear).  If any of these events were to actually come true (except the stock market crash), there would be no need to prepare as all human life would become extinct.

Why I have chosen to prepare is rather simple.  The earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011 shook me up a bit.  You see, I live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.  For those who do not know, the Pacific NW includes the states Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.  The most active fault line in the United States runs through the Pacific NW.  Some people may claim that the New Madrid fault in the Southeastern US is the most active.  It is not.  It is the most powerful fault in the US, but not the most active.  The most active faults run up the west coast of the US, with the San Andreas fault in California the most well-known of these.  The Cascadia Subduction Zone is the earthquake prone area I live in.  I was reading stories in the local papers that were claiming that the Pacific NW is wholly unprepared for a major earthquake and we are due for one in the next 50 years.

The Pacific NW also has the most number of active and dormant volcanoes in the US.  Everyone knows that Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 and created a lot of damage and havoc in Washington. What most people do not know is that two of the most popular skiing/winter  locations in the Pacific NW, Mount Rainier and Mount Hood, are also volcanoes.  

I saw how completely unprepared the Japanese were and how they are still suffering.  I saw how the government of that small nation was (and still is) overwhelmed by the earthquake and the ensuing aftermath.  How much more would the US government, not to mention the state and local governments of the affected areas, with a land mass dozens of times larger and over double the population, be overwhelmed?  I do not want to be a person who has to rely upon the government or the governments of foreign nations to provide for me when I could have prepared to provide for me and my loved ones.  Whether it be economic collapse, an act of "terrorism", or a natural disaster, I want to be prepared to survive the changes.  

I want to state in this first post that I do not have any sort of political agenda.  In fact, I am apolitical and do not even vote for people running for office.  I am also not a conspiracy theorist nor a member of any group.  I am who I am and I just want to be prepared for any problem that may befall the Pacific Northwest.  I have a lot of hindrances that those who are preppers in rural areas do not have in my urban setting.  I will blog more about these in the future.  

I hope you see why I have chosen to prepare.  I hope you choose to prepare, too.