I am just as guilty as the next guy because I like to watch some reality shows. Now I think the majority are “made for tv” drama’s and I usually refrain from wasting my time with those but there are two that I will mention here as having some merit and maybe we could actually learn from.
The two that I am referring to are “Yukon Men” and “Alaska, the Last Frontier”. I have watched almost all of these episodes and I have alot of respect for how they live and their simplistic beliefs but I think we could learn alot from watching them and how they live.
We, as preppers, talk about how we will take care of things if a SHTF situation occurs but I am sure things wont go quite as planned. When I watch these folks their main concern seems to always lean toward food, and alot of it. Now granted, they are in Alaska, and living or surviving there is very much different than what many of us would experience. Everything in their lives is centered on being prepared for the brutally harsh winters and much of their time is spent gathering food and firewood.
We store our bulk foods and what not but the fact remains you may have to hunt and fish to provide meat to sustain your family. If you are planning to bug out to a pre-determined location that is well stocked with provisions then you are probably going to be in a rural or wilderness area where there should be opportunities to get the meat needed for long term survival. But even if you are able to gather fish and game the next skill you need to know is how to prepare it to store for later use such as jerking or drying. These skills should be learned and even practiced now rather than later.
For those who are planning to stay put and are not already in a rural location then hunting or fishing may pose a problem for you. I am referring to those that live in the city. Since you are in a different situation then your preps should be different because of your lack of fish and game. Protein is important and should be implemanted into your preps in a different manner and in larger quantities perhaps.
Those in the city who may live in an apartment, duplex, etc… will not be able to build a fire for warmth or even for cooking. If the grid was to fail, surviving in the winter would be much more hard for someone in the city than for those in a rural/wilderness locale. Not every house in the country has a fireplace though so it is just something to keep in mind.
Always have a contingency plan. Make sure that you have a backup for everything and try to think of any scenarios you may face.