D  e  s  e  r  t     E  x  p  o  s  u  r  e    July 2005

Just in Case

Emergency gadgets for day-tripping.

I've always kept a loaded handgun next to the bed, just in case, and I never gave much thought to it since it is only Jeri and me living in our house.

But we now have a rather curious and precocious two-year-old grandson who comes to visit, and he likes to explore, locking the bedroom door behind him to keep everyone else out.

Directly after his last visit, it suddenly occurred to my wife that we needed to do something about that gun, even though it was hidden. Whoa! That was a waker-upper!

So, a trip to the sporting-goods department at Wally-World was immediately in order to find a lockable gun case; they didn't have any.

That meant that I had to improvise and be inventive, and while perusing the luggage department of same store I discovered something else on a totally different subject.

I like the storage capacity of fanny packs; they're just the right size for day trips afield. But I never liked the style of wearing one around my waist, where it always seemed to stretch and hang.

A similar-capacity backpack seemed to me to be the way to go instead, but no manufacturer ever offered one—that is until now. I just found one hanging on a peg in the luggage aisle and it is better than I wanted.

The fanny-pack-sized backpack comes with padded shoulder straps and two separate zippered compartments. Inside the contraption are several open pockets for storage of all kinds of needed goodies. The pack is made of what looks like 1,000-denier black nylon and plastic zippers and is obviously called, what else, a daypack!

Once I got it home I immediately started filling it with emergency items that could prove useful if something unexpected arose. That got me to cogitating on the fact that it was time to update my emergency survival list that a person should take with him or herself on a day trip out there.

Formerly I carried a full-blown emergency first-aid kit, but it was bulky and took up too much room in my new pack, so I decided to pare it down to several sizes of cloth Band-Aids and a cloth Ace bandage kept in a plastic zip-top bag. The Ace bandage can double as an ankle wrap for a sprain or a splint wrap for a bone break or as a bandage itself for larger wounds.

Along with that I also carry 50 feet of one-eighth-inch nylon cord that can serve as a ridgepole for a shelter or as a splint wrap also. Of course, I carry one heavy-duty black plastic garbage bag to utilize as a poncho or a small ground cloth or even as a shelter. Along with that comes an emergency space blanket, a butane lighter, a compass, a whistle and a pair of latex gloves like the dentist wears.

In bug terrain I carry a handkerchief sprayed with Deet bug repellent and also stored in a plastic bag. In my humble opinion zip-top plastic bags are one of the greatest outdoor inventions ever! For some strange reason that I've never figured out, I have to carry a copious supply of toilet tissue on every excursion, and always keep the stash in a baggie, too. (Have you ever tried to use soaking wet toilet or facial tissue?)

Along those same lines, I've lately begun to carry several sheets of premoistened diaper wipes in a baggie, too. They can feel quite refreshing on a hot day with sweat running down into your eyes.

A spare baggie or two comes along if my trip will take me to a river. I stow my wallet inside one of them and matches or my lighter in the other. I've also been known to store a pocket novel or a snake/tree/bird guide in one, too.

Of course, I need liquids on my trip. They now make several containers for such, with nylon-insulated covers, although I prefer to carry an empty water-purifier bottle and fill at on-site sources (other than stock tanks—yuck!).

Except for the water bottle, everything mentioned fits neatly in this new pack and there is room to spare. In fact, there's enough room that I can even carry a spare pair of socks, and extra ammo for my sidearm or whatever.

Speaking of sidearms, yeah, I carry one with me everywhere, usually a small derringer or revolver, along with the ever-useful quality utility tool in a belt pouch. That utility tool has a knife blade, needle-nose pliers, screwdrivers, can openers, file and much more.

Those are the necessities. Options that may accompany me might include a GPS locator and attendant topo map, a small folding saw, a small 35mm camera and compact binoculars.

Lately I've also been wearing a quality pair of tight-fitting leather gloves for those times I use a stick for climbing, or if I'm scrabbling up a steep hill and need to get hand-holds. Good, fitted gloves are scarce to come by, but I found a pair at Andrews Custom Saddle Shop. They can be a godsend and Andrews has every size for both men and women.

Well, I think that just about covers the subject. Oh, and yes, don't worry—I did make that gun safe from our grandson, too.

As always, keep the sun forever at your back, the wind forever in your face, and may the Forever God bless your trips, too.

Larry Lightner writes Ramblin' Outdoors monthly for Desert Exposure.

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