So today I had a training session with my wife, getting ready for the unavoidable economic collapse which will start in USA and drag the rest of the world to a new dark age. For this training session we… you know what? I cant even joke about it. There’s so many people that would have believed I was being serious with the first line, its not even funny.
Today was a nice day and my wife and I went for a walk in a beautiful forest we have nearby. We go about three times a week walking for an hour and a half, sometimes two. I did take a 12 pound backpack with me as I would usually do. Maybe for running a few errands I sometimes go for a lighter satchel or messenger bag instead but I always have with me the basics I constantly nag everyone about. Other than that, really, there’s not much training or practice you can do for when your country’s economy down the drain. Trust me, I’ve been through one, and if my word isn’t good enough fly to Argentina, or maybe even Greece or Spain, and ask the millions of citizens in either country if being experienced backpackers helped them in any way when their salaries had devaluated throwing them below the poverty line.
Backpacking guys. Hiking and camping, building shelters in the forest or knowing how to start a fire with a chocolate bar will do you no good when banks close, you suddenly become poor and basically everything you knew so far goes to hell. Don’t get me wrong. Learning wilderness survival skills is a good idea, but do understand what scenario it applies to, and which ones it hasn’t got a thing in common.
The idea that when the economy collapses or the currency devaluates your first reaction should be to “bug out” across the woods with a backpack full of camping gear, oh, and a gun with another eight pounds of ammo, is ludicrous.
I can tell you that there was very little (make that none) camping and backing for me after 2001 in Argentina. As crime became more of a problem in was harder to find places where it would even be safe to do so. In fact, we get to do a lot of outdoors activities now because we are in a much safer, stable place.
Rather than training for the end of the world as some may want you to believe, hiking is something we do because we simply enjoy it and it have other real-world benefits:
1)Working out. Walking in a forest, more so when you go off the beaten path and get into some muddy and uneven terrain with a few fallen trees and streams in your way to navigate through turns out to be good exercise. You stretch a bit, work in your cardio and it sure beats staring at a wall in a stationary bike. Staying healthy and fit is the best thing you can do for yourself, end of the world around the corner or not.
2)We find that along with the exercise, it’s a good way of relaxing and clearing our head, get some fresh air and enjoy nature.
3)We get to spend some quality time as a couple which is always good.
4)Sure, if you ever have to walk back home or hurry away from danger its better if you are used to walking a few miles.
FerFAL
PS- Oh, and this is my dog Spike winking.