In this episode of Ready Radio, John Rush is joined by Bill Anderson to discuss the chilling events surrounding two young hunters who found themselves tragically lost in the Colorado wilderness. Despite their experience, a series of unfortunate decisions led to a fatal outcome. Dive deep into an analysis of the crucial missteps and learn from the lessons they present about preparedness and mindfulness in the great outdoors.
SPEAKER 11 :
This is Ready Radio, preparing you to be ready for anything, now.
SPEAKER 08 :
Here’s your survival guide for Ready Radio, John Rush. And it is Ready Radio, KLZ 560. Thanks for joining us today. It is a live program today on September the 19th. So had a lot going on the last couple of weeks. Bill Anderson with me today. Bill, welcome. Hey, John. How are you doing today? I’m doing very well. And it’s been, as you know, a whirlwind of really kind of a week and a half with everything that happened last week. And we spent a lot of time last show talking about, you know, just Charlie Kirk and all the different things involving in that. And unfortunately, there was another loss, I guess I should say, that happened in our Colorado mountains. I believe they found two 25-year-old hunters yesterday that had been missing for a few days. And I want to talk about that because… Frankly, Bill, that one in particular should not have happened.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, especially if they were avid hunters, you know, they should have known or whatever. But, you know, that’s what happens when we get complacent. And even, I’ll say this, even if you are not complacent and you’re prepared, you know, things can happen to you, you know, just because you… you know what to do. And even though you have all the things there and, you know, you can still be a victim of whatever it was that they were victims to.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. And in this case, and some of you may not have seen this story, I was kind of tracking it because, you know, I guess, you know, for me, Bill, I, you know, I’m an avid outdoors person. I love the outdoors, grew up, you know, hunting, fishing, doing all the things that, you know, my dad taught us to do. And so, especially when it comes to elk hunting season, I tend to, you know, watch some of these things. And when you see somebody that’s that’s lost and, you know, in this case were found, although not the outcome of the find we want. And it doesn’t matter what age. I mean, in this case, I think it’s even more of a tragedy because they’re, you know, 25-year-old, and I’ve seen pictures of them. I mean, these are two young, strapping, you know, healthy, you know, kids. I mean, this isn’t like this, you know, no offense, Bill, it’s not a 60-year-old overweight hunter from out of state that, you know, probably shouldn’t even be out on their own. This is a situation where it’s a pair of them. They’re 25 years old. They’re, again, they’re avid hunters from what I’ve read, and it’s not something that they weren’t used to. But here’s what happened and what, you know, Bill, you and I can discuss today. And by the way, they were missing for almost a week. They were missing last Friday, not today, but a week ago Friday. They were just found yesterday morning. Again, this is Friday, September the 19th. For those of you maybe listening to replay show and it took extra people to to try to find these two kids I’m gonna call them kids bill because they are to me and what apparently happened and this is from everything that I have read is they might have actually maybe you know seen some elk or maybe got into a herd or something they went back to their vehicle because here’s the catch the majority of their gear is was still in their vehicle, meaning they probably came back to the vehicle, thought, you know, we’ll just go out really quick, and maybe we got into a herd or something. So they said, you know what, we can leave this stuff behind. We’ll just go ahead and head on out. Well, in turn, weather came in, Bill, and you know the rest of the story, and it just didn’t turn out very well. And point being, to your point a moment ago, you just can’t do that. You cannot leave without all of your gear.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and even if you do, you got to know, you know, your position, if you will. Like, it’s in the middle of elk season, and so every Saturday I go up, you know, with Brandon, my son-in-law. He’s been on the program with us, and another friend of mine who listens to it quite regularly, listens to us quite regularly, Jeff, you know, and And sometimes we’ll park at the trailhead and, you know, we won’t take our full packs, but we have, like, what you call mini packs. And we’ll take those. But, you know, you also get to a point where, hey, we’re getting a little far from the truck. You know, you’ve got a choice right there. Do I keep going or do I know my limitations with the gear I happen to grab at that particular moment and go, you know, we better turn back. We’re getting too far from our reach right now. you know, of our vehicle. And I get that with elk hunting because, you know, when you do see something and let’s say you’re, you know, you’re now stalking something, man, I’m telling you what, you could, you can get all kinds of turnaround and, You know, get mono-focused on that elk and then get lost to where you are and what’s going on.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, no, it’s sort of the, you know, I don’t know how to describe it, Bill, other than saying you get sort of this fever, if you would. You sort of get so focused on that particular animal. In this case, I had read that they had gotten into some elk. They had found a bull elk. They had been in some inclement weather, came back to the vehicle, and Uh, change their clothing, I guess, put on some dry clothing and headed back out. But again, didn’t take as much with them as they probably needed to. And then, as you just said, you know, you get into that, that mode, maybe that’s the best way to say it. You know, you get in that hunt mode, I guess is maybe the best way. to describe that, Bill, unless you’ve been in that, it’s hard. I don’t know how else to describe it. You just get so hyper-focused on what you’re doing. To your point, you really kind of, you block out really everything else around you. You kind of start thinking, you know, you’re so focused on the animal that you can, if you’re not paying attention, you know, get all turned around, especially if weather comes in, heavy fog, rain, snow even. People think, well, it’s It’s fall. What are you guys talking about? It happens, guys. I’ve been up in the wilderness in the middle of July, Bill, and it can snow on you and the fog can come in and so on. So when you’re in the high country, all sorts of things happen. And again, on today’s program, Bill, I want to talk about some of those things that you just should have with you at all times, period. If you’re in the high country leaving your car, you need these things with you no matter what.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, yeah, because you get into that zone or whatever you will, like you had talked about it. And it happens to all of us, you know, and, and here’s the other reality, you know, the statistics are, you’re probably only going to be 10% successful. So that means once out of every 10 years, you may get an elk, you know, and especially for out of staters who are paying, you know, man, I think it’s like, is it 500 or 800? It’s either $581 a tag or, or 850. I can’t remember offhand, but it’s one of those numbers. you know, for a tag. And it’s like, man, you know, I’ve got so much invested in this that, you know, hey, I’ve got to fill the freezer. Or, you know, if I’m trophy hunting, hey, I got to get that trophy bull there. And yeah, you can allow that to compromise your safety. And, you know, there’s a lesson there, John. It doesn’t matter whether you’re elk hunting or you’re going to go see somebody famous, like in a rally or whatever, you know, we can apply this same idea across the board. You know, I get so hyper-focused on, oh, I’m going to go to this event and see this person that I forget my personal safety, or I’m going to go to this whatever it may be, and I’m really excited, and I get hyper-focused, and I forget my safety. You know, and even this year, we’re going up there, and we get up there, you know, before dawn, and every time we’ve gone up, every Saturday we’ve gone up, it’s like, wow, it is – unusually foggy for this time of year like wow there’s and you can’t see you you cannot see you know and you get into that deep wood and uh you know every pine tree starts to look the same especially john if you’re not familiar with it if you if you haven’t grown up doing it i don’t know these guys’s history i don’t either you know and i think too you know i’ve got military training i it It’s kind of easy for me that as I’m walking, I kind of know where the truck is.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and let’s stop there for a moment, too. And this is not to be critical of anyone at all, Bill. And I’ll share a couple of stories along these lines. And I can do this. And even if, you know, I’m going to talk about my dad and my brother for a moment. My dad, who’s in memory care, my brother passed a few years ago. But even if they were listening, they wouldn’t mind me sharing this. And I will just tell you that love them both dearly. but they both could be not always but they could be directionally challenged when we would get in the woods and for some odd reason i tended to be the guy with with i guess just a sense of direction whereby they’d say you know which way is camp or where are we going or whatever and i kind of always was that guy to keep tabs of things and i will tell you the only time that we ever got turned around, and I’ll be straight up honest, I was having some family issues at that time. This is many, many, many years ago. This is, you know, 40 plus years ago, Bill, and I was having some issues going on, and I’ll just be straight up honest. I was not mentally where I needed to be. I was mentally distracted, wasn’t really paying attention. It’s the only time us being in the wilderness, you know, wilderness, I should say, where we got semi-loss because I wasn’t paying attention. My point is… Some, like you and I, you know what, you could just about drop me anywhere and I’d pretty much know where to get out. And I’m not exaggerating. I just have that sense of direction, especially if I’ve walked there from where I’ve come from. Pretty easy for me to know where we’re at. Even, you know, you see some of those, you know, the old Seinfeld episode of being in the parking garage and not knowing where your car is. I don’t really ever have those issues, although, Bill, there are a lot of folks out there that don’t have that same ability, and I don’t know where that comes from. That one, I cannot explain where directionally challenged people come from because I don’t understand it because it’s not me. But you need to know which one of those you are going into those situations. And even you and I, you know what? I’m still one where, all right, I look at this particular marker or this particular mountain peak or this particular bearing or whatever the case may be. You know, last but not least, get your compass out. And, of course, I learned all of that, Bill, before GPS existed. So I’m not sure even today that I would really get in the woods and use GPS because I don’t need that. Right. And I know Bill dropped, but he’ll be back here with us. So, you know, bottom line, Bill, you need to know what your challenges are before you start heading out and be able to overcome some of those. And then on the same token, if you’re really good at directions like you are, there’s still basic things you need to have with you at all times.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And even though I’m really good at my directions, even though this past couple of weeks or whatever, you know, there were times where it’s like, OK, let me look at let me let me double check. And you know what? I had veered off a little bit. It’s like, OK, I’m I’m heading off on a little bit different direction. of a tangent here that I need to be in, I readjust. And so, hey, use the tools. Lose the ego. Ego will cost you your life. And I’m not going to speculate here, but that could have played in a little bit. Hey, we’re young. We got this. We’re just going to run right over here. We’re good. And I’m not going to take my gear. I don’t need that gear. I’m good. I don’t know, John. Well, you know what?
SPEAKER 08 :
No, I think, Bill, I don’t think you’re too far off. And again, I’m not, you know, if this family is listening, I mean, my heart goes out to them. I would never want to see this happen to anyone. But I’ve seen… and witnessed what you just said with my own two eyes. I know, especially guys, no offense, but we guys are really big on this, Bill. We can get a little bit that way, especially when we’re with someone else. Oh, I know where I’m going. Oh, we’ll be okay. Oh, I don’t need that. Oh, it won’t matter. I mean, unfortunately, Bill, I think some of that is sort of in our DNA, and we can tend to be that way, and that’s what gets you killed.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, yeah. You know, when I was going through aviation school in the Army, That’s what I was. I was a helicopter crew chief slash gunner for the Cobras. And one thing they said was you are not allowed to memorize the maintenance manual, meaning that they wanted you to check that manual every time. They didn’t want you to count on your memory because your memory can fail you. And so they’re like, hey, check the book, check the book, check the book. I know what the book says. No, I don’t care. Go check the book. You know, and we need to develop that mindset, too, of, hey, I’ve done this a thousand times, but let me just, let me make sure. You know, and I think, John, again, we can apply this, you know, across the board in principle. You know, hey, I’m just running to the store. You know, I don’t, I can get complacent with what I take. You know, I get complacent at home. I don’t lock the door. I don’t, whatever, whatever it may be. You know, and that’s when we get in trouble. You know, I mean, I’m going to refer to the Bible as I often do, but that’s, You know, we’re told in Peter there that, you know, Satan is like that roaring lion just crouched in the grass waiting to count, I’m paraphrasing, those who he may devour. You know, and the lion is like waiting for the mistake, the weak, the ones that get left behind, the ones that aren’t paying attention, and then, wow, he nails you. You know, and that’s true for us, too. And we can even prepare ourselves. And have every box checked and have everything there and stuff can still happen.
SPEAKER 07 :
True.
SPEAKER 03 :
But the more times than not that I prepare for it, you know, that’s the whole point of the ready radio that I’m getting myself ready for the what ifs of life. That’s right. Versus being complacent and trusting on my abilities.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, so let’s do this. Let’s take a quick break. Let’s come back. And what I want to cover is even somebody that might be just, you know, they’re listening. They’re maybe new to our area, Bill. They want to enjoy the wilderness. You know, the colors right now are pretty much in full. I think this is going to be one of our top weekends. Folks might be heading up even to the mountains this coming weekend. They might even want to do a little, you know, they might do some hiking, some things like that. When we come back, let’s talk about what some of the basic things are. You should have even in a day pack, even if you’re going to go off for just a two or three mile hike and you’re going to leave the car and whatever the parking lot is and you’re going to head up and maybe it’s a pretty well-known trail or maybe you’re not. Maybe you’re off someplace, you did a little bit of four-wheeling to get where you’re going and now you’re going to go ahead and do some hiking. And there’s a lot of guys out there right now probably that are either getting ready to go hunting or could even be hunting as these two kids were. We’ll talk about some of these things as soon as we come back. Don’t forget, you can find Bill, by the way, his website, prep2protectco.com. Our website, of course, ready-radio.com. And we’ll be right back. This is Ready Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 01 :
Tired of rushed appointments and cookie-cutter care? At Castle Rock Regenerative Health, Dr. Scott Faulkner offers true concierge medicine, personalized, unrushed, and on your schedule. Not the schedule of big health care, no crowded waiting rooms, no waiting weeks to be seen. Dr. Faulkner isn’t tied to the limitations of traditional practices, so he can focus on what matters most, you. He takes the time to really listen, understand your goals and customize care to fit your body and lifestyle. From regenerative therapies and IV nutrition to integrative whole body health solutions, you’ll get advanced options designed to help you truly heal and stay healthy. If weight loss is part of your journey, they offer medically guided plans tailored to you, helping you lose weight safely and sustainably with real support every step of the way. And for those experiencing changes in energy, Mood or vitality? Ask about our personalized hormone therapy. We’ll help you restore balance and feel your best at every stage of life. Ready for a different kind of health care? Visit CastleRockRegenerativeHealth.com or call 303-663-6990 and start your journey with Dr. Scott today. You can also find Dr. Scott at RushToReason.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
You’re driving down the road and out of nowhere comes a bang. A huge rock just hit your windshield and now you have a star in your windshield. Did you know that chip can be fixed? But who is the best? Who has the best resins that keep developing them to work with the newest windshields? That would be Novus Autoglass. Novus, which is the Latin word for innovate, invented windshield repair in 1972 and it still leads the industry in cutting edge technology backed by more patents than any other repair and replacement company. While other glass repair services offer limited warranties, or worse, none at all, you can trust the original Novus pros to stand behind their work with a full refund that you can use towards a windshield replacement for the life of your windshield. Find a Novus location near you by going to any of our websites, ready-radio.com, drive-radio.com, or fixitradio.com. Just click on the Novus link. That’s Novus Auto Glass.
SPEAKER 02 :
Homeowners in Colorado are getting letters from insurance companies dropping their coverage, all because their roof is getting old. Even if it isn’t leaking yet, insurance companies don’t want the risk. But there’s a smart solution that can help protect your home and your policy. RoofMax. Roof Savers of Colorado can apply RoofMax, a plant-based treatment that restores flexibility to aging shingles and extends the life of your roof for up to five more years at a fraction of the cost of replacement. It’s fast, affordable, and often helps homeowners meet insurance requirements without a full tear-off. Call Roof Savers of Colorado today at 303-710-6916 or visit RoofSaversCo.com for a free roof assessment and protect both your home and your insurance coverage. Roof Mags of South Aurora, giving old roofs a new lease on life.
SPEAKER 05 :
Looking to buy or sell a classic car? Need a reliable valuation you can trust? Look no further than BP Appraisals LLC. With over 20 years of experience in the appraisal industry, we provide fast, accurate, and professional appraisal services that you can count on. Did you know that an appraisal can also entail the forecasting of monetary earning power? An appraisal is a document with a valuation conclusion. It is not a pre-purchase inspection, a mechanical evaluation, or a recommendation to buy or sell your vehicle. It’s the actual value at that moment in time, which many need for things like estate planning, insurance, or investing. At BP Appraisals, we value your property like it’s our own. Make informed decisions with confidence. Don’t settle for less. Choose the experts at BP Appraisals LLC, where precision meets professionalism. Visit us today at bpappraisalsllc.com and schedule your appraisals in just minutes. BP Appraisals, LLC. We know what your property is worth. That’s bpappraisalsllc.com or call 720-295-0108.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, we are back. Ready Radio, KLZ 560, talking about, for some of you that may be heading out even over the weekend, we’ve got great fall colors here in Colorado. Some of you may be new to our area. Some of you might be even listening to this program, passing through, picking us up. And, Bill, what I want to cover is there are certain things that I feel you should just have with you, period, if you’re going to go off into the wilderness. And some would say, well, geez, John, it’s a hiking trail, and it’s well-known, and there’s lots of people on it. It’s not really the wilderness.
SPEAKER 03 :
bill you and i both know that that’s not necessarily the case is it no and one of the other things too is you know maybe you’re off on that trail and then all of a sudden you see something you know uh off the trail that you want to go look at and then you know you get off on for for lack of a better terms a rabbit trail and all of a sudden you’re you’re turned around because of your own you know exploring i know that when we went snowshoeing one year you know um The trail that we were on, because it was so busy, all the snow had been packed down and was kind of melting, and it was kind of hard to snowshoe on it. So me and Heidi and I’m like, hey, let’s go off-roading. Let’s go off the path here. And she was convinced we were lost. She was telling me, she was like, we’re going to make the news. And I’m like, no, the trail’s right there. And, you know, I knew exactly because, you know, I couldn’t have that sense of direction. I knew exactly where we were. I knew exactly where we were. And even though it looked like we were lost in the middle, she’s like, we’re going to make the news. And I’m like, no, it’s right there. And then we walked out, and she’s like, how did you know that? And I’m like, I don’t know. I just kind of know. But, you know, there’s that layering system, John, because here’s the pushback you’re going to get on it is, yeah, it’s just a day hike, or I’m just going – You know, driving up to the mountains to look at the colors. I’m going to get out of my car and just walk a little bit and check out the colors. You know, I’m not going to go on this grand adventure, you know. And so, you know, there’s those kind of different packs, if you will, or, you know, how much do I put on? Because, you know, the challenge is the real estate on the body. You know, do I just fill my pockets? Do I grab a little? Little backpack? Do I have a big backpack? You know, do I have a water bottle? Kind of a sling thing. I think I sent you my setup a couple of weeks ago, pictures of my little setup, that you can have some stuff in there, you know, and it’s just your sling water bottle container and you got some stuff in there. So, you know, when you’re considering the cost of real estate, when I say real estate, you know, what’s on the body and what I can carry and things like that, you’re looking for those multi-function uses. Does this one device cover two or three things? And I think that’s important. So you kind of got to start from there and build up. And again, my layering system of, hey, what’s on my body? What do I carry in my pockets every day? And then I go, what’s next? Okay, now I’ve got this particular bag. And I have a bunch of different bags. I have small, medium, and large bags. And they change depending on what I’m doing. And then what do I have in my car? And can I grab what I have in my car and take with me in a backpack? And that, by the way, is a great tip. You know, the things we store in our cars, put them in a bag that you can grab and go. You know, don’t make them where they’re locked in necessarily to your car and, you know, bolted in. Like a lot of people will use, like, totes and put all their stuff in a tote, which is a great idea. But, you know, if I need to grab that tote and carry it, well, how is that going to work out for me? I can’t really strap it on my back, if you will. But, you know, so you’ve got to start there. So if you follow, like, Dave Canterbury or any of those guys with the survival schools or whatever, they talk about, you know, the five C’s of survival. And maybe that’s a great place to start, John, you know, as far as what you’re going to carry.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, let’s do it. What are the five C’s?
SPEAKER 03 :
So you’ve got to have, you know, something to, first of all, lighting, you know, candle, if you will, some kind of a light, a flashlight, illumination device, something that, you know, you can go off on all kinds of different rabbit trails. On these two, by the way, okay, do we have a headlamp? Do we have a flashlight? Do I carry blow sticks? What do I carry? You know, the same thing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Nope, I lost you for a second, Bill. Well, we lost Bill. We’ll have him back really quick. The five C’s, by the way. I’ll just mention them. If, Bill, you’re still listening, I’ll mention them. They’re the cutting tool, combustion device, a container, cover, and cordage. Now, there’s other things that we’ll throw in. And, of course, Bill talking about having light. Yeah, I don’t care if you’re going out and it’s 11 o’clock. in the morning or frankly it’s six o’clock in the morning and lights just coming out and you don’t feel like well i’m not going to need a flashlight you know throughout the day i’m going out when it’s light well no that’s not necessarily the case and that’s not going to help you either because frankly you may get to the point where you’re you know you’re out like in this particular case with these two kids you may find yourself you know going back out again and Really quick, as I read more about this and Bill, I just read the five C’s really quick, just so you know it while you’re out. But I want to just add this, too. I think in this particular case, you know, there’s going to be more fact finding with these two young kids because this is what’s so odd. They actually had. satellite communication device through one of their Garmin devices. They were actually pinging their family, letting them know where they were, and then all of a sudden the pings ended, and I think that’s when they decided to just head back out, and maybe they didn’t take anything with them, including that communication device. But as I said a moment ago, the 5Cs, cutting tool, combustion device, container, Cover and cordage. And I’ve got a few more things that are on mine because I think there needs to be a few more than the five if you’re going to go out. And as I said a moment ago, you’re talking about flashlights. I don’t care, Bill, if you’re starting out at 7 a.m. and it’s as bright as daylight and there’s no weather in store and it looks like it’s going to be a great, beautiful day. You still got to have some sort of flashlight and lighting ability inside of your day pack. Otherwise, don’t leave.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, that’s why I started with the flashlight, and it’s not part of the 5Cs, because I use my flashlight, honestly, probably more than anything else I carry. Yeah, agreed. More than my cutting tool, more than my knife. Absolutely. More than anything. My flashlight is my number one thing. I mean, it’s as simple as I drop something in between the seats on the car. Thank you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I have a Garmin Phoenix watch that has a flashlight built into it, And, you know, I even use that pretty much every day when I get up early and, you know, I got to go to the restroom. And it may sound silly to some people, but not to my wife, who is like, stop turning on the lights. You know, and I’m using my watch as an illumination device there to go through my sock drawer and do all the things I need to do in the morning there. But that’s why I started off with that. And I agree with that. Because I think it’s most important.
SPEAKER 08 :
People probably would laugh at me, but even in my daily briefcase that I just go to and from the station with that, honestly, my wife at times picks up. She’s like, what all do you have in here? I’m like, you don’t want to know. There’s probably more in there than I’ll ever need, but you never know. Even inside of the city, Bill, there are just certain things that I carry with me, i.e. a couple of flashlights, not just one. I’ve got another device that allows me to even start a fire. I’ve got a Leatherman. I’ve got another knife. I mean, I kind of go through the things that I just carry back and forth, Bill Dale, and it’s like, what are you waiting for, the apocalypse? Well, maybe.
SPEAKER 03 :
Maybe. I don’t know. Yeah, you never know what’s going to happen. Yeah, you just don’t know. And, you know, even on those five C’s there, you could be like, okay, what’s the order of importance here? You know, I mean, I just recently started carrying a little hank of
SPEAKER 08 :
And really quick for everybody listening, for me, I carry one with me constantly because even my Yeti, my water bottle that I have with me at all times, which, by the way, is typically full. I rarely run around with that empty. and years ago my marine son built me a paracord sort of handle that is all wound up braided meaning if i unwound this thing i’d probably have 15 or 20 feet of paracord that’s all on my water bottle at all times and for those of you listening we’re not talking about having to get super fancy bill that that’s not where we’re going with this you can be as minimalistic as you want not spending a lot of money and still having what you need
SPEAKER 03 :
Right, right. And now that you mention that, I’m looking at my water bottle going, oh, I’ve got that, too.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. And by the way, a lot do. And you don’t realize that you’ve even got it, but you do. Now, I will say this. I see lots of people carry around a water bottle that don’t have that on there. And I’m thinking, you know, it doesn’t take but three or four dollars, maybe ten at most, not even ten. It doesn’t take $3 or $4 to add one of those paracord things like what you and I have on our water bottle that you just loop around it, or mine goes through the handle. It doesn’t take much. By the way, the other reason why I do that, and I loop that handle, and Charlie’s made fun of me before, my water bottle, especially when it’s full of ice and water, Bill, if I had to use it as a weapon because it’s the large 60-ounce unit, if I had to swing that around like a weapon, you easily could with that paracord attached to it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, absolutely. And if you, whatever water bottle you have, actually, I’ve done this too, look on Amazon because they probably have a setup with a paracord handle for your water bottle. There’s a veteran company out there. I can’t think of what it is offhand, but he has these for water bottles. And to your point, you can totally use it. You know, hey, that’s the whole idea of, multi-functions right now now my water bottle which is the c for container right now also It serves dual purpose of, hey, I can use this if I need to hit somebody with it or whatever.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, and it’s got my paracord on it. It’s got, of course, water, which you’d also need, which, by the way, isn’t even in the three Cs. It needs to be in, again, that container. Again, it can mean all sorts of things. I would think of the container being that’s where I need my water and things like that. So I’m going to run through a few things, Bill, that I think should be in everybody’s day pack. You can add to my list here. as you want to. So again, for those of you that might even go out this weekend, you might do a little bit of four-wheeling. You might just do a day hike. Maybe you’re looking at the colors, whatever the case may be. First of all, you’ve got to have some sort of ability to start a fire. Lighter, matches, a fire starter. Again, Bill, I’m not going to be big on that. Pick your poison. I really don’t care at the end of the day. Just something that you can actually start a fire with if need be. I’m a big one on having a space blanket with you. And if you’ve got two of you going, then you need a couple of those. Those things can do wonders to keep hypothermia and things away. Water and food, of course, and food as in, no, folks, we’re not taking a five-course meal. You know, throw a Clif Bar, an Energy Bar, or even, by the way, the little cups of peanut butter. I mean, anything, Bill, that you can get some energy and some calories out of. A knife or a gun, and again, that’s going to be, in my case, it’s both. It’s not one or the other, Bill. It’s both. A cordage we’ve already talked about. First aid, I do think you need some small first aid kit. It doesn’t matter what you might run into. You might get a scrape. You might fall down. Any number of things could happen. I think you need some sort of a first aid kit. And then if you’ve got the ability to have a cell phone, and by the way, and we’ve talked about this in the past, there are lots of you listening where you’ve got even current technology, iPhone, or you’ve got T-Mobile service that includes SAT service and so on. I mean, there’s so many ways now with Starlink, Bill, that the ability to communicate from pretty much anywhere you want is there. And again, that’s not in these, these, you know, these C’s of survival, the five C’s of survival, but I think a communication device, which by the way, would be like the six C, I think you should have with you at all times as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. What’s one thing we do take with us is, you know, in, in all my vehicles, I have some cheap Balfang radios, GRMS radios, and it’s like, okay, Hey, you got one, you got one, you got one. And then we have another one in the truck and, that if somebody would get parted, somebody gets back to the truck, at least we can have, you know, a means of communication back to that, back to that point. But, um, you know, and, and, and sometimes even the Starlink thing, like, like I noticed we went up by, um, Mueller state park last time we went hunting and between there and central city, for some reason, it was a total dead zone, lost all internet, lost everything, you know, and, and even with the GRMS is, you know, when, when they went over the hill, It’s like, oh, now they’re out of range because they’re a line-of-sight radio. It’s like, oh, I can’t bring them in. So you’ve got some limitations with these. But I’ll tell you, here’s another communication device that a lot of people don’t realize. And by the way, I throw in some toilet paper or those expandable things. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 08 :
I’ve got to add that. Yeah, thank you. That’s a big one, yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it’s like, well, for obvious reasons, right? But, hey, listen, I can also start to maybe – take pieces of that and put them on tree limbs or whatever to give myself, leave in a little breadclumb trail, if you will. You know, there’s different uses for those things, for sure.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. All right. John from Cheyenne, you are on with us as well. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hey, so first thing is if you go on Amazon, you can get a lot of this stuff for a dirt cheap price. Like I have a poncho that’s lined with a Mylar blanket.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, nice.
SPEAKER 11 :
And I just looked it up right now. And they have a four-pack of them for $10. Wow. If you use it once, it’s going to save your life.
SPEAKER 07 :
Very true.
SPEAKER 11 :
You know, if you have to use it once. And you can make a semi-shelter out of that if you’ve got, like you said, the cordage. I always carry 20, 25 feet of parachute cord. Yep. I have a little three-liter Osprey waterproof bag. I call it my ditty bag. And it’s got all these little odds and ends in it. And it just goes from pack to pack to pack wherever we’re going. It’s got a small little, you know, little mini Swiss Army knife that you could put on your key chain.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s got a knife and a nail file and those little scissors. That’s perfect to throw in this bag. And if you forget to grab your knife or you don’t have your regular knife, you have at least a little sharp edge as long as you can sharpen the blade. Little things like that. But you were talking about water. My wife and I, we don’t even go on a day hike. without our water filter. Right now, the one that I recommend, there’s many out there. I recommend the Sawyer Squeeze. I’ve had good results with it for going on 15 years of hiking and backpacking since we moved here. Sawyer just entered into a contract with NOC. It’s C-N-O-C. It’s a brand of water containers. It comes with a two-liter squeeze bag. that you put the dirty water in and then you could squeeze through into your thing. It weighs, you know, and that’s what, God, if it weighs six ounces, it’s a lot. And that little peace of mind of having the ability, if you do get stuck, of filtering some water so you’re not taking the chance. I saw a survival guy one time. He said, if you think you’re going to make it out in the next five days and you can’t filter the water, drink it anyway because it takes about three to five days to hit you.
SPEAKER 08 :
At least you’re going to be out to safety at that point in time and you can at least get there.
SPEAKER 11 :
And you get the antibiotics that clear up Giardio, though. I had a cousin who had it and it was miserable.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 11 :
He was miserable for 10 days.
SPEAKER 08 :
At least you’re alive. But at least you’re alive.
SPEAKER 11 :
He got it. Yep. Or if you don’t want to carry a water filter but you’re afraid, the tablets that will do it in like 30 minutes, they weigh nothing as a backup. You said a lighter. What I carry is Strike Anywhere matches in a pill bottle.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 11 :
A tall pill bottle.
SPEAKER 07 :
Great idea.
SPEAKER 11 :
You can dry and you can light it. In addition, I have a lighter, and one of the things I put around it is there’s a tape called Leuco tape, and it’s good for, like, if you get a hot spot on your foot or a cut or something, it’s not coming off if you get it wet, if you know what I mean. It’s not like, you know, first aid tape. And I rolled about two feet of it around my lighter. So you could do little things like that where you’re not carrying a whole roll of tape. You’re not carrying, you know, you’ve got to be carrying a lighter for safety. Same thing. I’ve got about five feet of Gorilla Tape, Duct Tape, whatever you want to use, wrapped around one of my trekking poles right at the thing because I always take my trekking poles because if you have a set of trekking poles, and I like using them for balance on the up and down hills, The other thing that comes in handy, though, if you have to make an overnight shelter, now you have two poles of the same length, say you want to make a lean-to or something. You can use that. So those are some of the little things. But the biggest thing is I carry a 25-liter day pack, and I got it on sale at Sierra Trading Post for like $69. It’s Mystery Ranch, which is a very good brand of equipment. But they had it. It was like a closeout. But So spending that money on that small day pack and knowing that I can survive the night out in the field makes me want to hike more, not worry. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep. No, it makes total sense. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 11 :
The other thing is I never go out, no matter what time of the year it is, because I used it in August, and I have a bag. I have a puffy jacket, a hat, and gloves. and a rain jacket usually in a separate but I have a little compression sack that a puffy jacket hat and gloves you can press it in there and God if you have to stay out all night at least you’ll be semi-warm so you won’t get hypothermia if you can put that on over whatever you’re hiking in.
SPEAKER 07 :
Great point.
SPEAKER 11 :
And then rain gear. And you could go to Walmart. Frog togs are big on the backpacking trail because they’re so cheap if they rip you, throw them away. You can get a set of rain gear. Frog togs is the brand at Walmart for $20.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, great point.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hey, guys, have a good day.
SPEAKER 08 :
As always, John, I appreciate it. And, Bill, you sent me a picture of your matches. You do exactly what John does.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, they’re just a little, and I’ve had these for so long, I don’t even know where these containers came from. But you can find all this stuff on Amazon. You can sort it. But little tiny companion containers, they’re probably about the size, well, I don’t know, about the size of a dime. And you can put matches in there. And I put Q-tips in mine, and then I carry a tube of Carmex with me. Because if you put the Carmex on the Q-tip, the petroleum oil will keep a light so that you can use it for getting around that. Also, if you’re able to identify a time park, It’s called Fatwood. You know, we actually have a lot of it in Colorado because we have pine trees all over the place. That’s right. And you go up to a damaged pine tree, and you look at the stuff that’s kind of bleeding out of the damaged area, and you pull a little of that, and that stuff will stay out of it for you as well. Yep. It would be nice if John sent a link to those ponchos he was talking about. I found them.
SPEAKER 08 :
I’ll put them up. I did find them as he was talking. I found them. He is correct, and I will grab those and put those up definitely.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And, you know, but again, this is the, the, the caution that we have to be careful of, you know, and I can appreciate everybody talking about their gear, but now, even as John was talking there, I’m thinking, oh my gosh, my pack’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, you know, and I, and I think how big is too big, you know, um, Does it get so big, John, that I have all this stuff, but, hey, I’m just running over here. I’m going to leave it in the truck. I imagine— Well, I know. You know what?
SPEAKER 08 :
You bring up a great point. I think that’s something that you have to be extremely cautious of and say, okay, you know what? This is a pack I’m going to take with me no matter what. I’ve got a small— like what John’s talking about. In fact, it’s the same exact size pack that I travel with. So in my case, I’ve got a couple of those. They’re the exact same size. They’re not very big, meaning, Bill, they’re hard to get, extremely heavy, meaning that you could wear one literally all day long without any issues because you just can’t overpack it, and it’s got plenty of pockets to stick stuff in, hide stuff in. It works out really well. Anyway, side note, I think you’re right. You’ve got to be careful that you don’t get such a large size
SPEAKER 03 :
pack that you end up filling it up with stuff that’s so heavy you just think oh geez that thing’s so heavy i don’t want to drag it with me right now i’ll just leave it behind you got to be careful of that absolutely yeah and i’ll go out to my hunting truck and i’ll take a picture of another thing that i carry it goes around my waist but then it drops down and straps to your legs so it’s you carry it alongside your leg and um you know that’s something that i’ll throw on real quick you know and this doesn’t hinder any of the back stuff because if you’re carrying it a backpack or if you’re carrying, you know, in my case, your, your bow and all this other stuff, you know, it can get really cumbersome in, in, you know, what you got on your back. And especially if you have a frame, cause now you got to haul out your, whatever you, you know, you, you shot that day. So there’s this little thing that goes on my side of my leg, which is actually pretty useful as well. One thing on the first aid, John, that I’d like to mention is that that splint, Because that’s probably a very likely thing. You’re out there hiking, maybe you don’t have the right shoes on, you twist your ankle, break your ankle, heaven forbid, and now it’s like, oh, I can’t get out. And if you don’t know the skill set to to grab the sticks and to make your own impromptu splint, then these SAM splints that we have, I think I’ve sent a picture of them to you before, are real helpful, and they don’t take up much room.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good to know. All right, let’s take our last break. We’ll come right back. Again, we’re talking about things that you should have with you at all times, no matter what. I don’t care how long you’re going to be out in the woods. These are things that you should have with you. We’ll be right back. Ready Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 02 :
Even in the age of AI, looking for the right insurance can be a huge hassle. Paul Leuenberger has you covered without the hassle. He works with the best in the business. Hartford, Travelers, Safeco, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Allstate, AIG, Chubb, Pure, Berkeley, Grundy, Hagerty, and more. He’s local, independent, and licensed in Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. and he’s expanding into more states soon. Paul’s mission is simple, to find the right coverage at the best value and to treat every client like family. So whether you’re shopping for home, auto, or something more unique, don’t shop online. Call Paul at 303-662-0789 today. That’s 303-662-0789. Paul Leuenberger, insurance made easy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Need new glasses fast? With Stack Optical’s on-site lab, you’ll get your prescription glasses in just three to four days. No long wait times. Hey, this is Scott Whatley, and I’ve trusted my eye care to Allen Stack and Stack Optical for the last 15 years. Eye exams are only $69. and that should be a part of your physical checkups each year. For over 50 years, Denver has trusted this family-owned boutique eye care center for premium vision care, custom eyewear, and expert repairs. See the Stack Optical difference today. Call 303-321-1578. That’s 303-321-1578, and tell them Scott sent you. Stack Optical. Since 1968, at Stack Optical, you’ll see the difference.
SPEAKER 01 :
Tailored Services Real Estate is a unique real estate company that tailors services to each individual client. At Tailored Services Real Estate, we understand that your home is more than just a place. It’s your future. That’s why we offer a personalized, hands-on approach to buying and selling homes. From consultation services to full service real estate, you can choose the services you need at an affordable cost. We take the time to understand your needs, desires and goals. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or a seasoned investor looking to upgrade your existing home or ready to downsize, Julia will create a strategy just for you. No cookie-cutter solutions, only results that fit your unique lifestyle. Julia, with Tailored Services Real Estate, works hard to save you money without sacrificing expertise. And start your journey with a truly tailored experience.
SPEAKER 09 :
Running an auto repair business or any small business means dealing with technology every day. But when tech issues pop up, who do you turn to? Most IT people are impatient, unreliable, and let’s be honest, kind of condescending. At Ease My Pain IT Services, we do things differently. We provide patient, reliable, friendly, rock-solid IT support so you can focus on your customers and not computer or software issues. For one affordable monthly rate, you get unlimited IT support tailored to your business needs. No surprises, no stress, just solutions. Let us ease your IT pain today. Call 303-747-6767 or visit easemypain.biz today and see what our happy clients are saying.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, we are back. Ready Radio, KLZ 560, our website, ready-radio.com. And Bill Anderson with me today. And for those of you that maybe are tuning in for the first time, Bill, give a little bit of your background, if you would.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, sure. I’ve been a Calvary Chapel senior pastor for the past 15 years. That’s my primary focus in life. is having the church and teaching the Bible. We also have a small electrical and heating service type business. So a lot of repairs and replacements and things of that nature. We teach self-defense. I’ve been a Krav Maga instructor for going on like 12 years now. And we also teach gunfighting. And what I mean by gunfighting is don’t be a gunfighter, but be a fighter with a gun. And the whole idea is integrated defense strategies where we do talk about the reality of, hey, here’s what an actual fighter, you know, street altercation with a gun may look like, you know, and it may involve, you know, hands-on before you go to the gun. So that’s very, very important as well. So we do quite a bit, quite a bit in those types of areas. We have a little homestead out here in Elizabeth with meat rabbits and chickens and, you know, just trying to, put into our lifestyle the things we talk about.
SPEAKER 08 :
Awesome, and appreciate Bill’s involvement. We talk about a lot of things here on Ready Radio on a weekly basis, and we’ll get things tidied up here in the last, oh, got about eight minutes or so left of today’s show. Again, talking about things that you should have with you at all times as you head out into the wilderness. And a lot of people say, well, you know, I’m just going up and hiking the Flatirons. Well, Bill, I can tell you even from living here my entire life that There are rescues. There are things that happen. Weather can come in. People fall, get injured. Again, to your point, you could find yourself in an area where you think, oh, I’ll have good cell service. Will you? We have all sorts of spotty areas, Bill, as you know, and depending upon who your provider is. you may or may not have service going out. I mean, a lot of people think that that cell phone, Bill, and I think this is one of the things we have to always remember is, while it’s great to have that communication, and others around you might even have communication, reality is sometimes that communication won’t work, and I think there’s times where we rely too much on that modern technology thinking it’s going to save our life. Yeah, it’s getting… What do I have to worry about? I have my cell phone, in other words, Bill. Yeah, it doesn’t work that way all the time.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep, getting complacent and too comfortable on technology and also services. We’ve talked about that numerous times. You have to be your own first responder. You have to be in charge of your own communication because that’s one of the problems that we as Americans are in right now is we have lost the self-sufficiency. And what I mean by self-sufficiency is Hey, I’ve got cell phone. I don’t need to worry about anything else. You know, I’ve got my lighter. I don’t need to worry about anything else. I’ve got this. I don’t know how to… It goes on and on and on. One thing, John, I think we failed to mention that I think is really important is… having at least a paper map of where you are. Good point. In your pocket, in your backpack, whatever. And most of the time, if you go to a trailhead, especially in any of the national forests or parks, even the state parks, like when we went up to Mueller State Park right there at the pay station, they had maps that you could take. Grab it. Three maps of all the trailheads. Absolutely. Grab them, collect them, save them. But you can even get hiking map, a trails map of the state of Colorado or your particular area you’re in, always take that with you and have a compass and know how to use it. Know how to use it because the worst case scenario, everything goes down, at least you have the paper you know, technology that can get you somewhere. You can figure out where you are, locate yourself on that map, and then plot your path to getting out of there.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, you just brought up a great point. And for those of you that are listening that are probably a little bit more experienced in this, and you may be one of those individuals that’s going to go out and do some hunting and so on. And Bill, I’m with you. While modern technology is great, And there’s all sorts of even offline maps. You can put those on your phone. You can have, you know, extra battery even to where you’ve got them with you and so on. Personally, Bill, I wouldn’t hunt an area without a topo map, an actual printed topo map, period. That’s just me.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I’ve got one for the areas we’re working right now, for sure. In fact, we’ve got a couple different ones.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. Somebody also said that dryer, lint, and cardboard aid cartons and candles make great fire starters. Yes, they do, actually. You’re exactly right. In fact, a lot of you listening, there are so many ways to make fire starters. When I took Hunter Safety, gosh, Bill, some probably, I’m not exaggerating, 50 years ago, I think, when I did Hunter Safety. It might have even been a little more than 50 years ago. You know, one of the things they taught you in hunter safety was all you need is a little bit of double-aught steel wool and a battery, and you can start a fire. By the way, those of you listening have never taken a hunter safety course because you don’t plan on hunting and you just don’t see the need to do it. They teach you so much more, Bill, than just how to handle a gun or a bow and arrow or whatever the case may be. The reality is there’s so many things they teach you in hunter safety that, frankly, I think anybody that goes into the woods should have that class.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and maybe they should, you know, rename that just outdoor safety or something because, to your point, you know, that’s really what it is. It’s more than, hey, make sure you’ve got your orange on. Right. Make sure you don’t trespass. Correct. Which a lot of people think the hunter safety class is. Or going and actually, I think when I did it, I think I had to actually shoot.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, we did too. Back when I did it, we had to, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I think it was just a .22 or whatnot, but we’re talking a long time ago. I don’t know. really remember. But, um, but yeah, yeah. Take that class. And here’s another point. I just said in the middle of failure point, Hey, John, I took that so long ago. I don’t really remember what was in the class. Nothing wrong with taking it again, you know, to reeducate yourself. Hey, I already have my hunter safety, but you know what? There’s some things I want to pick up again. I’m in a different place in my life. It’s probably going to speak to me differently.
SPEAKER 08 :
I’ll tell you with me, maybe it’s because I was such a young age and was so much a sponge, maybe is a way to say it, Bill, at that time, that I’ll be honest, there’s not a whole lot of my course I don’t remember. And again, I think just because of the age I took it at and I wanted to hunt so bad and I wanted to be able to have that because you had to to get a license. And I was still a few years away from actually buying a hunting license because in Colorado you’ve got to be 14 to actually get a hunting license. At least it was at that time. I haven’t looked lately to see what it is now, but back then it was. And so I remember taking that course. I was like 11 or 12 years old, Bill. And I can still picture the gentleman actually leading the course, who, by the way, was just a fantastic guy. And as much of an outdoorsman – this is something else for all of you listening, all you dads. As much of an outdoorsman as my dad was – He dropped us off and picked us up. We had like a two, I think it was a two-night course, I want to say, Bill, and it was up at Bureau Standards in Boulder. And my dad dropped us off, picked us back up. Even though my dad was a great outdoorsman and probably could have taught the class, I think he realized that my brother and I would learn more from someone other than him. And you know what? He was correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, you often can’t teach your own. You know, Jesus says, hey, who listens to the prophet in their own town, you know, in his own hometown? So it’s definitely something of value there. You know, people learn differently. You know, I can’t teach my kids. I mean, I do. Don’t get me wrong. We all do.
SPEAKER 08 :
But in that particular setting, that formal setting, my dad did the right thing in just dropping my brother and I off.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, yeah, nothing. Don’t lose the ego again. We’re back to that. You know, to the dryer lint and the steel wool and the battery. And, yeah, those things are all great. But remember what I said. They all take up real estate. Am I going to carry a special little baggie of dryer lint? Granted, it doesn’t take up any space. It smashes flat, whatever, whatever. Or am I going to take things like the Carmex that I can use for my lips and I can use it as a fire starter?
SPEAKER 07 :
Great point.
SPEAKER 03 :
I got the Q-tips in there. I can use the Q-tips for a little mini torch. If I’ve got a first aid situation where I’ve got messy hands and I’ve got to put a little ointment on a cut and I don’t want to you know, put more junk in it with my nasty fingers. I can put the little ointment on the Q-tips. There’s multiple purposes to this. So that real estate is very, very valuable. So you want to try to use things that you can accomplish more than one task with. I don’t know what else you could use, dryer, lit up and starter fires. To my point, nothing wrong with it, just for your consideration.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. And somebody mentioned to trekking poles, as John mentioned, those can also be used as splints. Absolutely. Again, you can double up on a lot of these things. And even even John talking about wrapping some duct tape, which, again, you could use in a survival situation around your trekking pole. There’s a lot of trekking poles, by the way, that have a hollow handle where some of the stuff we’re talking about matches, things like that. You could literally put in one of those hollow handles. Point being, get it, you know, get. Get your brain in gear, I guess you could say, Bill. Be thinking about, okay, what can I use and what could double up in certain instances, which at the end of the day may very well save my life. And we hear these stories. And again, what started this all today, folks, for all of you listening that maybe are catching us at the end here, there were two young hunters, 25 years old each. They were out of state here in Colorado. They passed away while hunting, and we don’t know exactly why, but they were having good contact with their – with their family. They were using a Garmin satellite device, pinging their family. Everything was good. Then all of a sudden, it disappeared, and so did they. And we don’t know exactly why and what happened. I haven’t read anything that says there’s any kind of foul play. I think bottom line, Bill, at least for me and from what I’ve read, is they most likely got careless. And when you’re in the wilderness and you get careless, it’ll bite you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, yeah, getting complacent and careless. And, John, we can kind of end on that note because that applies across the board with wherever you’re going, with your event, getting in your car, you fill in the blank. Good point.
SPEAKER 08 :
Bill, as always, I appreciate a fast hour today. Have a fabulous week, sir. All right, you as well. All right, man, we’ll talk to you next week. And yes, those of you listening, check out our websites. Ours here, ready-radio.com. Bill’s website is also listed there. Bill’s website directly is prep, the number two, prep2protectco.com, prep2protectco.com. And some of the things we mentioned today, I’ll have producer Ann get up on our website so you can look at those there as well. All right, guys, thank you very much. Another episode of Ready Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 04 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
