Long cross country go bags over/through the rockies.

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Scott MacKie

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As above.
What will be in the survival go bag: camel back of water, water pure tabs, two ways to make fire, way to stay warm, shelter half, solar charger, 2000 calories a cay for 3 days, way to cut stuff.

What will be in the aircraft go bag: tie down ropes, gust locks, way to keep engine warm, (using above way to stay warm sleeping bag), extension cord, nuclear powered hair dryer (de-ice, warm engine), way to charge/battery back up for electronic wizardry.

What am I missing from either? I realize the survival go bag is a bit apocalyptic as I'll be fair weather flying primarily near interstates.

Scott
 
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Why would you need water pure tabs for the Rockies? Honest question not a criticism.
 
Have a look at what the Canadians and Alaskans carry and tailor from there.
 
Scott MacKie said:
As above.
What will be in the survival go bag: camel back of water, water pure tabs, two ways to make fire, way to stay warm, shelter half, solar charger, 2000 calories a cay for 3 days, way to cut stuff.

What will be in the aircraft go bag: tie down ropes, gust locks, way to keep engine warm, (using above way to stay warm sleeping bag), extension cord, nuclear powered hair dryer (de-ice, warm engine), way to charge/battery back up for electronic wizardry.

What am I missing from either? I realize the survival go bag is a bit apocalyptic as I'll be fair weather flying primarily near insterstates.

Scott
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If you stay over interstates you don’t really need a survival bag (never hurts though). Not sure where you are flying but when I fly Salt Lake - Denver I fly the entire thing over I-80 and I-25 while on FF. I bring water, snack food and sammich stuff, and sometimes a Gatorade.

To add to your go bag: tape, rope, compass/mirror, down booties/mitts/parka, good walking shoes, possibly a sewing and 1st aid kit (if not already in the plane).
 
woodchucker said:
If you stay over interstates you don’t really need a survival bag (never hurts though). Not sure where you are flying but when I fly Salt Lake - Denver I fly the entire thing over I-80 and I-25 while on FF. I bring water, snack food and sammich stuff, and sometimes a Gatorade.

To add to your go bag: tape, rope, compass/mirror, down booties/mitts/parka, good walking shoes, possibly a sewing and 1st aid kit (if not already in the plane).
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Don’t forget a hat. But really, the PLB is the most important.
 
Scott MacKie said:
As above.
What will be in the survival go bag: camel back of water, water pure tabs, two ways to make fire, way to stay warm, shelter half, solar charger, 2000 calories a cay for 3 days, way to cut stuff.

What will be in the aircraft go bag: tie down ropes, gust locks, way to keep engine warm, (using above way to stay warm sleeping bag), extension cord, nuclear powered hair dryer (de-ice, warm engine), way to charge/battery back up for electronic wizardry.

What am I missing from either? I realize the survival go bag is a bit apocalyptic as I'll be fair weather flying primarily near interstates.

Scott
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Will you really beyond reach of help, when you are near a highway or VOR fly way?
I can see the worry if you are in the north west territory or some place remote.
 
the most important thing about cross country flying is route planing.

don't go where you are not safe.
 
Tom-D said:
the most important thing about cross country flying is route planing.

don't go where you are not safe.
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Safety anywhere is an illusion, or at least, a matter of relativity.
 
Scott MacKie said:
Beaver Fever (Giardia).
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You are trying not to die in the first 3 days. Not survive for a month. Sure take them, but you will either be able to hike out, are in such bad shape that you won’t make it to water, or are rescued before your poop your brains out from a parasite.

Warm clothes are probably the most important. An ultralight 30 degree down sleeping bad and emergency waterproof bivy sack could be made to fit in a 1.5L bottle and under 2 pounds if you get the really nice stuff.
 
Matthew Rogers said:
You are trying not to die in the first 3 days. Not survive for a month. Sure take them, but you will either be able to hike out, are in such bad shape that you won’t make it to water, or are rescued before your poop your brains out from a parasite.
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Yeah, that too, but moving stream water in the mountains has parasites? Seems odd to me. Melted snow certainly wouldn't.
 
Salty said:
Yeah, that too, but moving stream water in the mountains has parasites? Seems odd to me. Melted snow certainly wouldn't.
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Oh yeah, there is no more clean water in this country. If there is a mountain above you, chances are that at least some human has improperly pooped there, in addition to all the animals. You may not get infected the first time, but can’t think of any pristine stream anywhere that would be totally safe to drink from in the lower 48.

But if I didn’t think I was going to be rescued in the next 2 days, drinking the water is more important and just get anti-parasite/bacterial/virus/god knows what else treatments when the helo drops you at the hospital.
 
Does "I've arrived at Podunk late, with no hotel room, and the FBO is closed" count as an emergency? If so: do you have room in the plane for a proper tent and sleeping bag/pad?

First aid kit. <--essential, and didn't see it on your list, and those pure water tabs take up very little space/weight and so I see no need to omit them. (Why suffer, or worry?)
Instant coffee, and/or something like gatorade powder.
A small hatchet for chopping firewood.
 
When are you traveling?
What airplane?
What route?

As long as you don’t crash, or even of you do but the fuselage is still intact, and no fuel leaking, staying in the airplane and setting off the PLB is your best bet.
If you are injured, the PLB.
Flight following.
Bright orange tarp or other large orange device, visible to the sky is second item to carry, after the PLB.
 
kath said:
and those pure water tabs take up very little space/weight and so I see no need to omit them. (Why suffer, or worry?)
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True
 
Stick a 737 in your go bag and you are good for the long haul.
 
First aid kit is an interesting one. Most contain things that don’t help in an emergency and are better used treating a child’s scrape or boo boo. Band-aid? Tape and a piece of gauze. Large wound? Steel-strips, tape and gauze. Amputation? Gauze, a shirt, more tape.

So we have tape, gauze, steri-strips, Benadryl, opiates (if you can get them).

What else will actually save you in a real emergency that is first aid, not survival equipment? Possibly a foam and aluminum splint if you need to walk out. Needle and thread to see you back up (wife got me a practice kit of silicone wounds and suture needles for Father’s Day).
 
Dress to egress not impress. Carry lots of crew dur cards and post pics
 
Walking out of the crash site, unless it's VERY close to a highway or some other concentration of humanity, is a bad idea. There have been plenty of airplanes found, with nobody there, and they never find those people. I remember one that went down in a meadow, forced down in bad weather, less than a half-mile from a highway. The pilot was wearing a business suit and street shoes. There was a few inches of snow on the ground. SAR found the airplane a day or two later, when the fog lifted and found the footprints leading away from it. Lost them in the bush, never found the guy.

Dressing properly is imortant. Most crash victiims die of hypothermia, if they're not killed on impact. If they're injured enough they're not going to be getting stuff out of the baggage compartment.

Good article from AOPA on Canadian survival kit minimum contents: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media...-for-pilots-canada-survival-in-the-wilderness
 
Scott MacKie said:
As above.
What will be in the survival go bag: camel back of water, water pure tabs, two ways to make fire, way to stay warm, shelter half, solar charger, 2000 calories a cay for 3 days, way to cut stuff.

What will be in the aircraft go bag: tie down ropes, gust locks, way to keep engine warm, (using above way to stay warm sleeping bag), extension cord, nuclear powered hair dryer (de-ice, warm engine), way to charge/battery back up for electronic wizardry.

What am I missing from either? I realize the survival go bag is a bit apocalyptic as I'll be fair weather flying primarily near interstates.

Scott
Click to expand...

You pretty well have it in the list above.
I fly in the Rockies. Because I have a twin I tend to go up high and straight line (if the weather is nice I sometimes still fly VFR so I can meander a bit and sightsee). I always carry survival gear - not sure down south where you're flying, but where I am the mountain weather can change violently even in the middle of summer; cold rain, snow squalls, high winds, thunderstorms, hypothermia weather, even in July.

FWIW, my gear includes:
  • Warm clothing, including waterproof outer rain gear, a hat, extra socks (they get wet first) and gloves (they get wet second);
  • Lace-up hiking boots, in winter insulated;
  • Sleeping bag;
  • Food rations for a 3-4 days;
  • Bottled water + purification tablets (yes, there are parasites in the mountain streams);
  • Matches and some candles in a waterproof container;
  • Bug repellent;
  • Signalling mirror;
  • A good, sharp knife and a small hatchet;
  • Polypropylene rope;
  • Lightweight, waterproof tarp from which I can make a shelter;
  • Garmin InReach tracker and messaging device (this is running all the time I am flying);
  • cell phone with an extra battery.
Some of this is probably overkill for your specific mission/flight.
 
I would recommend a firearm ... large caliber pistol, seriously. Would hate to survive a crash in the mountains and get eaten by a bear ...
 
Many good suggestions here but eliminate the “like to have but not really necessary in an emergency” items. The real limiting factor in all this is how much is the weight of that bag, so that you can live with it robbing your payload. On balance, it is however the best insurance you could bring with you.

One of the important factors is whether it’s reachable on your way out of the aircraft. It does little good in your baggage area if you can’t bring it with you. For that reason many advocate wearing a vest with as many important goodies on you when you deplane if you can’t grab your bag with you.
 
My brother and I flew his RV9A to Pocatello, ID from Oklahoma City and bought a Rans S6S. We flew out I40 to Moriarty, NM then headed NNW toward SLC via Provo Pass. We never had to go higher than 9500' to stay at a safe altitude. We came back just in reverse. Almost all the time we had a highway in sight. There was only one stretch, between Moriarty and Cal Black, of about 350 miles that it was pretty sparse.
 
My kit is geared more towards being found rather than spending a week in the woods. PLB, fire starter, signal mirror, whistle, hi-vis international orange safety vest, multi-tool, handheld VHF, water and most of that is on me in a fishing vest I wear in-flight.
 
Streams in the rockies can have parasites. And some have no parasites, but will kill you just the same. They go by the names such as "Bitter creek" or "Alum creek". Bitter creek has no living organism at all in it, that I know of. It's full of arsenic though.
 
Sleeping bag and satellite messenger. Honestly. There’s a lot of nice-to-haves, but what you need is a way to signal for help and not die of hypothermia. Giardia is the least of your concerns.
 
I base out of the west central mountains of Colorado, KGWS. I routinely fly east over the big stuff, my routes usually do not require going above 12,500. Occasionally I go to 14,500 but only briefly. Even crossing the divide, its rare you are more than 10 miles from some kind of road.
I carry the basics all the time, iodine pills, extra jacket, gloves, socks, fire starter, first aid kit, wool hat, extra sweatshirt, rain jacket, and inreach.
I’m comfortable flying the mountains, but I’m also constantly looking for an escape route and a place to set down.
 
woodchucker said:
If you stay over interstates you don’t really need a survival bag (never hurts though). Not sure where you are flying but when I fly Salt Lake - Denver I fly the entire thing over I-80 and I-25 while on FF. I bring water, snack food and sammich stuff, and sometimes a Gatorade.
Click to expand...

This.

If you follow the interstate and cross the divide between ABQ and SAF, then you aren’t going to be anywhere inhospitable, aside from being cold.

Dress warmly. Have snacks and water. Have a USB portable battery pack to recharge phone if stranded.

I wouldn’t fly a brand new to me airplane like what you are suggesting over anywhere I might need survivalist accessories.
 
kath said:
Does "I've arrived at Podunk late, with no hotel room, and the FBO is closed" count as an emergency? If so: do you have room in the plane for a proper tent and sleeping bag/pad?
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OP is flying a brand new to him Cessna 120.

If it were me (and I used to ferry planes like that across the country), I wouldn’t be planning any after sunset arrivals.

The key to a trip like OP is suggesting is planning and making arrangements before you get to your stop so you don’t get stranded.
 
Sleeeeeeeeping bag. I can’t believe how many of these lists don’t include a sleeping bag. Have fun with your extra jacket spending a night out in the snow. :)
 
It’s not that heavy. This is less than what a backer packer would carry and the goal there is to be under 30 lbs, definitely under 50 for long treks. As long as you don’t weigh 300 lbs, you’re well under gross. I would advise something like a Scott vest or molle vest and wear as much as possible.

the bigger question in my mind is about climb performance.
 
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