Tweet

A convoluted story of climate change, melting arctic sea ice, a deranged polar vortex, unexpected Midwestern snowstorms and complacent Midwestern drivers is captured in a single Kentucky highway image and the many stories of stranded motorists going nowhere for a while. Some had been stranded in their cold vehicles for eighteen hours by mid-afternoon March 5, 2015, National Guardsmen on their way. They will help priority cases, first. Others will wait and wait, gasoline going, going, gone, chill compounding.

Ask yourself, What do the occupants of these vehicles wish they had with them and what would help them out while they wait for assistance? What else might they want for use in remote areas if assistance was not on the way, what basic stuff and technological options? Suggestions below are not comprehensive but hint at the many considerations and options available.

Mobile phone

Most motorists carry a mobile phone. A mobile phone is too obvious to mention but too important to not mention. A mobile phone charging adapter is essential, too. Stuck in a jam? Immediately call a loved one or reliable friend, tell just where you are, your vehicle description, your potential needs over hours and days, important safety & health exposures, etc. Include passengers’ names and needs. Arrange a schedule of contacts and updates. This is your advocate, your liaison with authorities working to get you out. Your mobile phone will help authorities locate you if you dial 911.

Smart phone apps

A mobile smart phone is a mobile library and more, use it. Most roadways offer reliable signal strength for accessing weather alerts and navigation apps with map views indicating your position. Download books about outdoor skills. Download apps, inexpensive or free, that will help you solve problems from knot tying to route-finding. There’s an app for that. Your mobile phone service provider will gladly help you find and load apps if you need help. Even in areas without reception, your phone can store important resources.  Load your phone today!

GPS receiver

A dashboard GPS or a handheld device will give you your accurate position for relay to home contacts or to emergency responders in the event that serious health concerns develop or if backcountry rescuers need to know just where you are located.

Satellite two-way communicator

This technology is affordable for many nowadays. If you frequent remote areas look into DeLorme’s inReach two-way satellite communicator and satellite messenger subscription services. This device reports your location to whom you wish whenever you wish and you can use it to “text” from remote locations. Other two-way options are available. Personal Locator Beacons (PLB’s), available in the USA since 2003, are affordable alternatives.

Solar charging and power storage

Extra batteries are a given, but long term challenges may require alternative power solutions to keep batteries charged for GPS, mobile phone, tablet, and other technologies after the vehicle battery is dead. If you frequent remote areas, check out light weight packable solar and storage solutions offered by GOALZERO.

Blankets and sleeping bags

Some motorists carry a blanket or two, not a lot of insulation but much better than nothing. Wool blankets are an excellent choice. At right, my winter kit choices; a surplus four pound wool blanket ($35.00) and a winter sleeping bag, Marmot’s Rockaway 0 ($150). The bright orange color is my choice for signalling in natural landscapes. How many of the stranded motorists above have warm sleeping bags for camping stowed away on a shelf in their basement or garage? Why not in the trunks of their vehicles?

Drinking water

How many of these motorists have ample drinking water for themselves and their passengers? A few bottles, probably. Flexible water containers holding a few liters of water and more would be welcome and needed after long hours waiting on the road. When frozen, water bags placed on the warm hood over the running hot engine parked in a jam will melt enough to give up water in the cold. Platypus brand water tanks and the Nalgene brand Cantene’s come to mind. Squeeze out air and leave room for ice expansion.

High energy foods

Those cold dry French fries in the bottom of that crumpled fast food sack start looking real good a few hours into an unexpected adventure. Think about always having some nutrition bars and hard candies in the vehicle. These may be essentials for persons afflicted by metabolic syndrome or worst, diabetes. Your vehicle first aid kit (a future post) should include glucose tabs or paste, too. If you frequent remote areas, consider carrying commercial emergency rations, too.

Toilet solutions

Eighteen hours without a toilet? There’s a hack for that. The Little John type portable toilet bottle with female adapter is a friendlier option than your typical trucker’s pee bottle. When a urinal is just not enough, no way, there’s a hack for that, too.

Biffy bags are portable toilet kits sealed in small packages, everything you need for going on the go. The results of your efforts are fully contained, absorbed by deodorizing media, and re-sealed for disposal in any trash bin.

Believe it or not, you can use this kit inside a vehicle, if necessary. This may require a bit of acrobatics though. Getting out of a vehicle to find a private spot for use will be easier (on everyone), but will expose you to other risks and discomforts. You might regret not pulling into that roadside rest a mile back!

Getting out of your vehicle…

Getting out of your stranded vehicle may not be advised but many motorists stuck for hours in one spot eventually get out into the storm out of boredom if not for another purpose such as digging out!

Snow bound traffic is not the only problem that can strand you in the snow. Perhaps you should have looked at the stormy weather forecast before going on that winter photography trip out in the big woods. Chances are, if you did not look at the weather, you also did not tell a loved one where you would be and for how long! Getting stuck in a roadside pull off way out in the National Forest during a snowstorm presents a new level of challenge. You’ve created a long-term wilderness survival situation.

Footwear for deep snow

Whether you are digging out your vehicle on an interstate or stuck in deep snow for days out in the wilds: Stay dry! Easier said than done. Start with your feet and legs. Chances are you’re wearing street shoes or fair weather trail shoes because you prepared for driving, not trekking. You need more, I carry overboots, NEOS Adventurers, just in case. NEOS makes other overboot models including ice traction designs. Other brands work, too. These boots fold down to a small package taking up little room in the kit. This leaves room for lots of old socks. My winter road kit is my old sock repository! I can use old thermal socks as emergency mittens, too.

Insulated footwear? I carry thick wool-felt shoepac liners that fit nicely inside my NEOS overboots. Two or three pairs of old heavy socks worn inside the liners; the liners strapped inside my NEOS overboots, make passable mukluks for survival tasks and for trekking out, if necessary.

Foot traction is always a winter season concern. Mechanical injuries from falls are a common winter problem in town, and far more seriously so in remote areas. I carry Yaktrax ice cleats. These stretch over my street shoes or trail shoes and provide excellent traction on icy roads.

Wind and water resistance

A knee length water resistant or waterproof cagoule with attached hood provides excellent protections, a must for your winter road kit. All the better if it opens up wide to ventilate heat generated shoveling snow. Breathable waterproof rain pants and rain jacket with attached hood, over-sized to allow for insulation layers, is another great choice. If you will be working hard in the snow, you must take along clothing layers adequate for the conditions.

Insulation layers

I always dress for travel as if I’m going to drive with my windows down. I often do just that, even in winter in the Midwest. I always carry a warm coat, at minimum. I retire old sweaters in my winter kits, old ski clothing and camp clothing, too. Warm hats and scarves, gloves and mittens, galore. I save them for passengers, too. Search for cheap surplus and items in second use shops for really inexpensive options–Choose bright colors you might not wear otherwise. Waterproof stuff sacks are a great way to store, protect, and organize clothing in your kit.

I carry remote area items all the time because I frequent remote areas. A chimney kettle kit with fire-starting materials goes with me. A comprehensive first aid kit, road emergency kit, and wilderness survival kit go with me, too (I carry the large bottle pack kit I offer for sale, see Sales Page.) . I carry more than most drivers because I prepare to help others.

A few of the additional items I carry in winter road kits follows (I use a moderate size duffel bag):

• snow shovel (collapsible quality aluminum mountain touring shovel for heavy snow removal)
• trench tool (for ice breaking and dirt-gravel digging to free my SUV from icy ruts)
• SVEN saw (folding saw for clearing brush and small trees from roadway)
• sheath knife
• tow strap (and I’ve used it)
• air compressor and other tire maintenance equipment
• battery cables
• basic tools
• etc….

Tom Bain, Outdoor Readiness