Earthquake kit/old heavy stuff

Check out the Red Cross disaster preparedness sites. They have this down. The key is water, food, and proper clothing/sleep kit. Your dehydrated food might keep reasonably well in a cool, dark place, but it will have to be vacuum sealed. And the stock must be rotated. Freeze dried food works better in this regard, as it has a great shelf life.

I keep a similiar kit ready at all times, even though we don't have many disasters here in Colorado. I have 6 one-gallon jugs of water, a week's worth of FD food, minimal kitchen setup, medical kit, flashlights/lithium batteries, canister stove and lantern and a bunch of 200 g canisters. I can choose from several sleeping bags and tents on the way out the door, as well as proper clothing for the season and altitude. My personal kit fits into a GoLite Pinnacle pack (not counting the water).

I suppose that I'm a gear-geek in many ways. This particular one relates to my Federal disaster medical response team activity. When we deploy (as for a hurricane), we need to carry gear and food to get us through at least the first 3 days at the disaster site. So that means MREs for self-contained meals (recommended, even though they get boring after a few days), and at least a day's worth of water (we can usually snag bottles of water when we get there). But don't forget to pack things like medicines, personal hygiene items, and also some version of entertainment (deck of cards, paperback books, etc.). Try to get into the habit of keeping your gas tank pretty full at all times, just in case you have to quickly bug out.

Just remember that in many disasters, including most earthquakes, you lose electricity. So don't pack any electrical devices, except perhaps your cell phone charger (in case you do have power). Speaking of cell phones, when disaster hits, the cell towers get innundated with local calls. It works best if you make your phone calls to another state, where you have a friend that can act as a clearing house and disseminate your information to others. You'll need to make sure that all of your local contacts, like immediate family members, know the out-of-state number to call. I know this sounds odd, but it somehow takes the pressure off the local cell matrix.

Unlike trying to pare your backpack down to the barest necessities, this exercise allows you to pack for certain insecurities. Providing there's enough room in your car to carry it all. I think of this like I do when car camping–have a succinct collection of gear and food/water that will allow you to get along OK for a few days. In this case, don't forget to take some disposable face masks. I'll bet there are hordes of Japanese living near the nuclear reactors that wish they had some.

Hope some of this helps…

For alky stove users — canister stove plus unused canisters can come in handy in a home earthquake kit.

But older/heavier gear aside, don't forget you can rotate trail food as well. I keep about 5 days' worth of energy bars and dehydrated dinners in my earthquake kit. Every time I buy more, the fresh ones go into the kit — rotating out the existing supply.

Thanks, those are some good ideas (I particularly like the one about face masks, wouldn't have thought of that). I'm familiar with the basic Red Cross info, but my main concern at this point is what items of our backpacking gear can safely be stored outside without moisture damage. I don't want any of the current stuff to get mildewy (packs, tents), but am not sure how to protect them. The outdoor cabinet is used now for gardening stuff, and while there isn't any rain seepage into it that I can tell, it's not airtight so during damp weather it's bound to get moist in there.

If I sealed home-dehydrated food in bags with a heat sealer (no vacuum), do you think that would be sufficient protection against moisture?

I'm thinking that the residual air in the bag would not be good for the food after a month or so. Colorado is desert dry, and I've found that my vacuum sealed dehydrated food lasts for 2+ years in my cool basement. But I bag them when we have the lowest humidity of the year, zero degrees in January. Your coastal humidity will almost certainly ensure that you have a bit of water vapor in those food bags when you heat seal them. But, Debbie, why don't you try it? Let them sit in the storage space for a month or two, then eat them. Then please report your findings to us.

Debbie:

Any place that doesn't protect well against moisture / dampness is a bad place for storing anything over the long term. It's best that you store tents, etc. in a Rubber Maid type box or cart inside your home. As for food, you can rotate them as I wrote above.

Yeah, I too wonder what's the good of an emergency kit if it's inside the house (or garage) that has collapsed right on top of it? My main kit is kept inside the house, with the more critical stuff inside a backpack for a quick "grab and go". I also have a smaller kit in the trunk of my car. Is the system 100% guaranteed accessible? No. But methinks it provides a "reasonable" degree of access and backup. YMMV. Get creative and report back. :)

We do keep the ziplocked dehydrated stuff in the garage for up to a couple of years, with no ill effects so far. Only beans/veg/rice dishes for the most part, no meat or eggs. But the garage is much drier than I think the cabinet is.

Maybe I'll try sealing small portions and leaving them for a couple of months before unwrapping and evaluating at home (won't take that stuff on a backpack trip, too risky).

I've thought it's too risky, too, to keep tents and packs outside, though the access will be questionable indoors after an earthquake. It sounds like I'm not the only one who feels that way, which confirms my gut feeling. Perhaps the backpacking closet is the best place for them, as it's in the only part of the house that doesn't have another floor above it.

Maybe the best use for the Dana Designs pack cover is as a guinea pig to see what sort of damage it incurs when stored outside!

You know, for long-term home storage, canned food keeps for a very long time. Just don't forget the can opener.

–B.G.–

I still have my Y2K survival kit

Sorry for posting on an unrelated subject, but debbie; regarding the Lunar duo and Double Rainbow tents, we were reading that back in 2007 you were trying to decide. Which did you end up choosing? How did it work out? Pros/cons? We are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail this year and looking for one that keeps the water out AND keeps the wind gusts out and pretty much nailed it down to these two. Any information is helpful. Please email me if you prefer to posting.

Thank you,
Erin

erinwrodgers@gmail.com

Well, I ended up getting neither. I did try out a Lunar Duo and decided that the footprint was too big for a lot of sites in the Sierra where we tend to backpack. Other than that it was nice and roomy. I would still like to try the Double Rainbow sometime but don't feel any urgency at this point. Our Cloudburst still works reasonably well, and I did get a silnylon Refuge on closeout last year, which I'm hoping to make "improvements" on.

There's a thread right now, as you've probably seen, with people commenting on the two tents. Good luck with your decision!

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