ACTUALLY ECF what happened was the EMA was looking for a place to store the MRE's for a Shelter in our town. The city didn't have enough room to store that many boxes so they asked if Our Church wanted to store them as we are a shelter/warming station anyway. Additionally the Water is about to reach it's out of date limit (HOW does water go bad in sealed plastic bottles?) so we took that as well. Guess I better not try any more funnies. Patty always said I can't tell a joke.

Ok, here's our plan. The only REAL, MAJOR disaster (I am not counting Tornadoes in this, because thank GOD they are mostly localized)is the New Madrid fault breaks loose we intend to load up the truck and literally head for the hills. I am originally from about 10 miles north of here, and it is about another 2 miles to where Patty lived her entire childhood until she was in her 40's.

Her family has almost 80 acres that includes about a 4 or 5 acre lake that has a spring feeding into it. It has been stocked with channel and flathead catfish along with bass and perch. There are deer and other animals all over the place as the entire area for at least 3-4 miles in every direction is probably 85-90 percent woods. There is also a spring on my cousins place (that borders Patty's families place) and another on the 60 acres Dad used to own (wish he hadn't sold it back in the mid 80's) that also borders Patty's families property. It is as I said up in the hills and although a secondary highway runs right through the middle of it, it isn't that much traveled.

IF we bug out there my problem is there would be 8 of us. I am not worried about food and shelter, but Water for that many people. I'll admit I am cheap. But would it in a case like this be better to save up an extra month or so and go for the Katadyn Pocket filter instead of the hiker pro even though the springs are still used from time to time with no ill effects?

And YES, I know you can't save everyone, but family.... And I know THEY have not given thought to any type of disaster, manmade or nature and living through it and the aftermath.

Cleaning supplies have been miniaturized. These weigh next to nothing and take up as much room as a box of matches.

Trek and Travel soaps come in strip dispensers like Listerine strips.

I have also looked at "Natural" filters, combo of grass/dirt/sand and cloth.

Read that SERE manual I posted. It has a "how to" for a makeshift filter. Just about everything you can find in nature except the can. I bet if you had to, you could figure a way to make it with out a can. Hollow log maybe.