Some dramatic meteorologist at Environment Canada used a sound bite - "Stormageddon" - and now it is all over the wires. I would like to add to this sound bite. I believe that the Mother of All Stromageddons is on the way. Actually, I bet we get about 10 cm of snow and that it melts by Sunday. We'll see. I'm not a meteorologist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
My Christmas holidays don't start until next week, so I'll be driving to work tomorrow and Friday. I drive about 15 minutes to work on the busiest highway in North America (or so I have heard), so I don't need to worry about getting lost somewhere in a storm. But in case I need to drive somewhere north (and this did happen 1 year ago in the middle of the worst storm of the year), I need to be prepared in my car with equipment to last me a night or two. About 15 years ago I went camping in Algonquin Park in the middle of February. It was good and cold and full of snow. On my way back my timing belt broke while I was in a fairly remote stretch of road off of a highway. Luckily I got picked up by a young couple who drove me 45 minutes out into the country and gave me a bed for the night.
One time about 20 years ago I was in a car accident in the mountains in Quebec, and the car my friend and I was in launched off of a mountain highway, and dropped about 30 feet into a snow-filled culvert. We did a full spin and landed right-side-up. Folks saw us, a towing crew got us out and everything worked out okay.
But consider what could have happened if it had been late at night in a far more remote area.
A thorough risk-assessement would dictate that you be prepared for the worst. I guess there is a part of me hoping for an exciting survival experience. But hey, I live in Toronto.
Bottom line, here's what I carry in the trunk of my car:
- MSR Dragonfly Stove with a full cannister of Naptha white-gas fuel
- Alcohol-gel heating tins
- Candles
- Cooking pot and mugs
- Cutlery
- Kettle
- 2 Nalgene Bottles
- 5 litres of water in expandable plastic containers (in case of freezing)
- Stainless Steel hobo stove which can use wood as a fuel
- Gransfors-Bruks Small Forest Axe
- Bucking saw
- Mora knives (x3)
- 4 wool blankets
- Down sleeping bag
- 2 MRE meal packs
- Beef jerky
- Pepperoni - large
- 2 Freeze Dried Entrees
- 4 tins Spam
- Instant Rice
- Instant soup mixes
- Hot chocolate packages
- Powdered milk
- Heavy Tarpaulin
- Light Guide Tarp
- 2 man tent
- Thermo-Lite II Bivy Sack
- Sleeping pad
- Firestarting kit - matches in a matchcase, ferrocerium rods (2), fatwood slivers, cotton wool with vaseline
- First-Aid Kit
- Toiletries kit
- Knapsack
- Wool pants
- Wool sweater
- Wool socks
- Winter jacket
- Winter gloves
- Wool hat
- Book
- Radio with extra batteries
- Headlamp with extra batteries
- Flares
- Bag of salt
- Rope
- Foldable shovel
- And a partridge in a pear tree.
Cheers,
Mungo
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