I stashed a Monovault full of supplies and gear at the Beta Site ‘just in case’. Seems a reasonable thing to do, yes? When packing gear for something like that, I use the scenario “I’m dropped in the middle of nowhere, naked, at night, in the winter. What do I need?” And that pretty much covers the ‘worst case’. I mean, it may be a warm, sunny summer day when I have to beat feet with just the clothes on my back. Or I may have the luxury of rolling up with everything I need packed in the truck. But since I don’t know, I have to assume the worst case…the dark and stormy night.
As such, I was imagining the wet, cold, muddy scenario and it occurred to me that when you have a tightly packed stash of gear and goodies, the items you may need immediately might not be on the top. Since you dont know the circumstances under which you’ll be accessing this cache, you cant really predict what to put at the top of the pile. You may have to dig down through several layers of gear to get to what you need immediately. And, as your digging down through your stash of gear, where do you put the gear that you are digging down through? I mean, clearly the scene would be you huddled over your cache, pulling items out to get to the one you need immediately. And that gear youre pulling out…where are you putting it? Youre just putting it next to you on the ground…the wet, muddy, snowy, icy ground. Where it sits and gets snowed and rained on as your working your way through your cache.
Which got me to thinking that I need to re-arrange things so that the very first thing on top of the pile in the Monovault is either a rubberized poncho, or a waterproof backpack, so that as I pull stuff out I can keep it dry and protected as I unpack the Monovault to get to what I need in that moment. (well, that and a flashlight.)
And, as an aside, I packed an empty large backpack in there specifically because just because you’ve made it to your cache doesn’t mean youre going to be staying there. Might be a circumstance where you need to grab your gear and keep moving along…in which case being able to shove it all into a rugged bacpack will be a handy option….because trying to juggle all that gear in just your bare hands while running through the woods is no ones idea of a good time.
If you have to grab your gear and keep moving along , from your spot 25 miles up a bad road in a state like Montana .
Just where would you suppose is going to be “safe” or “better “? That you would keep moving toward on foot ?
I think at some point one has to stop worst case planning and say @ if I get here and it’s still bad I’m going to start shooting anyone I don’t know “
Just seems that you could make plans infinitely otherwise .
Last thing in, a waterproof backpack with a 10×10 camo tarp inside. As the cache unpacked you have choices. Spread the tarp to lay stuff on while you pack the pack.. Put the tarp over you and the cache to make a dry-ish spot to work in.
When is a small tarp not a handy thing to have? It’s a poncho, a work space, a shelter, a food gathering aid, keeps wood dry, even a fish trap funnel.
yep, definitely a tarp on top. for cover or a workplace. maybe a few contractor bags, they are handy for a lot of things and take up very little room.
If I were to cache supplies in a ‘waterproof’ container underground, everything inside of the cache tube would have its own waterproof packaging with desiccant.
Yes, because as your quotes imply, “waterproof” isn’t always so. I learned that the easy way.
I am fond of a MTM plastic ammo cases for storing items that need waterproof and can be incredibly good about “I need to find X that is two layers deep.”: just set layers 0 and 1 to the side….
Whatever is on the cache, a Glock and flashlight should be on top and first thing accessible. Everything else follows from that.
Not a flashlight – a headlamp. You will need both hands.
Makes sense. I’d have my stuff in a ready to go container inside.
Have you read John Mosby’s work on caches?
https://mountainguerrilla.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/resistance-s4-the-logistics-of-successful-re-supply-cache-planning/
John’s out living the primitive life. He sent me some pictures of a linen shirt he sewed by hand. Last elk season he was out riding in full mountain man kit and a flintlock.
Good for him living the dream.
I haven’t kept up with him for a few years. No particular reason, just life. Just remembered this article as relevant.
What about a smaller cache first, with only the backpack, overhead cover, complete set of clothing, digging tool, two gallons of water, and personal protection rifle. This would be a much smaller cache. Then you arrive at the primary cache with tool set ready.
I presume you have a food vac sealer….
I use these zip-lock bags for storage: https://tinyurl.com/yc4c3svu
They are like regular vac bags, with the addition of a tear off strip and a zipper lock. You seal them up as normal, and then if you need to open them they are still useful for storage – no longer fully water tight, but better than nothing. Very handy for medical supplies for me.
They also have the advantage of ‘inventory control’. Once closed they still have x number of y products in there, and you don’t need to open and unpack to check.
Also, I keep a cheap plastic painters drop cloth on top – small, light, totally disposable and waterproof.
Very good points. Prepare for the worst and you can only be pleasantly surprised.
As far as having to keep going? There could be a local issue you have to avoid (forest fire is the big one) or someone you are trying to reach to help out or rescue. Never assume your current location is your final one. And there could always be a situation where it’s better to run them fight, especially if the fight is on someone else’s terms.
A guy I know who does LOTS of hiking and wilderness activity suggests a tent footprint instead of a tarp – they are lighter, quieter, and are more durable.
It’s understandable to pack the cache in an “order of operations” manner. If it were me and my concern was having to pick things up and run, I would also consider more than one cache on a piece of land that’s 20 acres. To get to the β site and immediately have to be concerned with being mobile means you’re already down the creek without a paddle and you’re staring at the edge of a waterfall. Speculating on that is understandable to some degree with the understanding that we’re getting into the realm of “why not a tertiary site?”
Wouldn’t you need a flashlight to find the cache in the first place?
I take it it is not buried, else you would need to arrive with flashlight and shovel.
You could have an initial cache that includes flashlight and shovel to dig up the main cache…
I am thinking if I were to do it, I would go with some kind of small shelter with the basics and then expensive/lethal items cached nearby.