How to Pack

This posting from alt.survival, by Noodle, is posted to show the contrast between back packing in today's world, where shopping for granola bars and meeting fellows who are not desperate and starving, is the norm. Where good advice, it does not address the pole shift environment, which will be a different world.

How do I pack my backpack?

When packing a backpack, keep in mind weight distribution, comfort and organization. Most important is to keep weight evenly distributed from left to right. An off-kilter pack will throw your balance, your stride ~ and eventually your spine ~ out of whack.

When hiking on well-established trails, pack your heaviest gear at the top of the pack and close to your back. This centers the weight high over your body where it's easier to carry on easy terrain.

On rugged trails, pack heavy gear lower in the pack to lower your center of gravity and improve your balance for tricky sections.

Women have a naturally lower center of gravity, so shift weightier items a little lower in the pack.

Pack hard or sharp items, including cookset and tent stakes, toward the front of your pack (away from your back). Put softer gear like clothes next to your back for a more comfortable feel. Don't pad too much, though ~ remember, you want the heaviest items as close to your back as possible.

Keep rain gear, water bottle, camera, trail snack and other quick-access items at the top of the pack or in a side pocket.

For an especially well-organized pack, make or buy stuff-sacks in a variety of colors. Always keep certain items in a particular color of bag ~ toiletries in green and socks in blue, for example ~ to make it easier to find what you're looking for without tearing your pack apart.

If you anticipate a stream crossing or particularly wet weather, use stuff-sacks that are waterproof. That way, even if water gets into your pack, all of your gear won't get soaked.

The 3 primary reasons a person does not survive in a survival situation. The order in which you do things in a survival situation is most important. First is shelter, then water, then fire, and food. So it stands to reason that most people perish in a survival situation from lack of shelter. More people will die of exposure in a survival situation than from any other means, other than injury. Remember that exposure is not only to cold, but also to heat. Injury is another problem in survival. When in a survival situation one must become overcautious. A slight injury, like a cut hand, which would only be an inconvenience in civilization, could be a cause of death in the wilderness. Water, or lack thereof, is another cause of death. Either the person can not find water or drinks bad water. So, injury, lack of shelter, and lack of water are the three biggest killers in a survival situation.