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Just having great gear in your bug-out bag doesn't mean you're equipped to survive. You have to hone your skills and prove yourself in the real world. To that end, I went camping at Tuttle Creek lake over the Independence Day 2010 holiday, using nothing but the contents of my emergency preparedness pack.

It proved to be an interesting test. First, because I tried out hammock camping for the first time. Secondly, because it was rainy and windy! I'm pleased to say that I stayed dry and comfy.

Each thumbnail below links to a much larger image of about 1.2 MB in size.

 
Carnahan Creek Park Panorama
Carnahan Creek park, looking mostly East, across the Flint Hills. Find this location via Google Maps (look closely and you'll find an airliner captured in flight over the park) . Click through for a vastly larger version; look to the central horizon to see the Carnahan-Garrison cemetery.

 

A row of cottonwoods growing out of a streambed.
 
The lake was very high and Carnahan Creek park was partly flooded.
 
The copse of trees I chose for the campsite.
 

The trees inspired my to try out the hammock.
 
I had to rig up a suspension for both hammock and tarp on the fly.
 
It worked beautifully, despite wind and rain.
 

A close-up of the ENO RestNest hammock under the silnylon tarp.
 
Friday's supper cooking atop a Primus Gravity multi-fuel stove, using white gas.
 
The big picture of the completed camp. The rain set in early Saturday morning.
 

Saturday I scrounged for firewood and dry tinder to build a fire.
 
Firesteels require very dry tinder. Litter and dried-out hay make a second tier.
 
Previous campers abandoned some charcoal, so I used it.
 

Fire! I got to have a hot meal in Saturday night's drizzle.
 
Sunset over Carnahan Creek on Saturday night.
 
The clouds closed in and rain fell steadily the rest of the weekend.
 
 

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