How to Prep for Insurrection Act/Martial Law/Civil Unrest

From a Hiker with 20,000 Backcountry Miles and US Army Infantryman Veteran

Below are my thoughts on simple steps you can take to be prepared for the potential of martial law and/or civil unrest. Things are happening so quickly. I wrote and shot most of the video for this yesterday and already things have progressed to the point where I feel a need to flesh out a section talking about firearms, whereas in the video I shot JUST ONE DAY ago I said “that’s a unrealistic power fantasy.”

Well, with the constitutional crisis playing out with the trump regime openly defying supreme court orders I think we are at the point of crisis. This absolutely is a flash point and depending on how people react and how the government reacts this could lead to widespread violence and civil unrest and you need to be prepared.

The best time to prep was three months ago when the fascist wanna be king got elected. The next best time to prep is today.

These are my thoughts after having hiked over 20,000 miles and spent six years living in the backcountry along with six years of training as a US Army infantryman and surviving hazardous conditions fighting wildfires on a federal hotshot crew.

Anything you see that is missing please comment, I will add to the article.

This article contains affiliate links. I’m currently making basically no money because brands don’t want to work with a political activist. So if you could click the links when you purchase that would help me out a lot.

Big boulder steps on the Long Trail in Vermont

Food, Water, and Shelter

Firearms, night vision, and body armor are sexy but even on the battlefield lack of medicine, starvation, disease, and exposure have historically caused more casualties than guns and bullets.

Aside from these essentials community is the most important factor. Doesn’t matter if you have a dragon’s horde of supplies, if you’re alone you will be exponentially less safe than if you are with other like minded folks.

Food

Minimum 30 days of non-perishable food. Keep in mind you’ll need a way to cook this food if your power and gas go out.

• Rice and beans. Cheap, highly nutritious, easy to store. Store these in big plastic bins so rodents and other pests don’t get at them. Keep in mind you’ll need a way to cook these. Hiker pro-tip: soak rice and beans in cold water for 24+ hours and then they will take much less time to fully cook. In a pinch you could also eat cold soaked rice and beans but your body won’t be able to fully digest all the fiber so don’t eat too much in one sitting or you’ll be sitting on the toilet.

• Along with rice you could stock up on all your favorite grains and legumes. Lentils, buckwheat, oats, quinoa, etc. I lean in favor of lentils, oats, and quinoa simply because they are much faster to rehydrate and cook.

• Nuts and nut butters. Nuts have some of the best calories and nutrients per $ and weight/size for any food. When you’re talking about storing emergency food and potentially needing to travel with that food weight and size all come into play. Get big sealed cans of mixed nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, etc.

• Canned fish like tuna, sardines, anchovies, oysters can add variety to your meals and are a great source of protein. They also store well. Store enough to eat 1-2 cans/day.

• Ramen noodles and the like are quick and easy and a great morale boost. Hot noodle soup always makes my day better.

• Olive oil! One liter of olive oil has roughly 8,000 calories. If you stored 4 liters of oil you could add an additional 1,000 calories to your meals per day for 32 days. Peanut oil, vegetable oil etc. are also good options to store.

• Store some chocolate. This will be really important for morale if you’re having to hole up for days or weeks. Chocolate is also very dense in calories and a great survival food in general. The hard part is not eating all of it at once.

• Honey and sugar! Keeps forever, great source of calories, and morale boost.

• Alcohol - specifically strong liquor like vodka, whiskey, tequila, etc. It can be used as a disinfectant to treat wounds and also becomes a currency during times of strife and war.

• Vinegar - great disinfectant and cleaner, can clean cuts and scrapes with it, you can use it to pickle vegetables, and it can add flavor and variety to dishes.

• Salt - So simple and one I totally overlooked, but so important!

Water

If you have the space you should store 30 days of water. The average person drinks 1 gallon a day. Aside from being good practice the storage containers for all of that water will be extremely useful in a survival situation. You’ll need to collect greywater to shower, flush your toilets, etc. and having a container to hold it will be necessary.

• Sawyer Squeeze $45 - I’ve used these filters on all of my hiking trips. They are fantastic. They are rated for 100,000 gallons. Be sure to back-flush them regularly and one will last you through any emergency. I’d recommend getting two just in-case, three to five would be better because your neighbors will probably need one.

• The squeeze will filter out all protozoa and bacteria in the water. It will not filter out viruses which could be a concern if you are collecting water from a urban setting but for most use cases the squeeze will be more than enough water purification, especially for short-term emergencies.

• Your toilet tank and hot water heater will have reservoirs of water you can drink in an emergency. If you think the water will be shut off soon you can fill your bath-tub up.

• Recon your surroundings. Depending on where you live you might have a stream that is easily accessible that you can collect fresh running water from. All water collected like this should be filtered or boiled(you don’t need to do both unless you suspect heavy contamination with viruses).

• I’ve used these Sawyer filters to filter cow stock ponds that were half cow poop on the Arizona Trail. The filtered water was brown and tasted just like how cow poop smells, but it didn’t make me sick. They work. Trust them.

Shelter

• Get a 20 degree sleeping bag. For most climates 20 degrees should be enough because you’ll most likely be using these indoors just to stay warm while the power is off. Obviously if you live in a colder climate like Alaska, northern Maine, you’ll need a heavier bag.

• Kelty Cosmic Synthetic Fill 20 Degree Backpacking Sleeping Bag Apologies for the Amazon link. We should all boycott them but times like this getting the right gear to your door at a price you can afford is more important than sending a message.

• Decathalon also makes great bags, a bit more pricey but here they are.

• Widesea 400B Ultralight Quilt $44.46 40 degree quilt, cheaper and lighter option but only if you are in a warm climate.

• Women’s sleeping bags have more filling than men’s, so if you sleep cold get a woman’s bag vs a man’s. A man’s 20 degree sleeping bag will have less insulation than a woman’s with the same rating.

• Sleeping bags are generally rated for survival and not comfort, keep that in mind. A 20 degree bag will keep you from freezing to death in a 20 degree night but you might shiver all night and not be able to sleep.

• Naturehike makes decent cheap outdoor gear. Here’s their 2 person tent. A tent would be a lower priority on this gear list IMO as you will most likely have access to some sort of indoor space to sleep. Still, very valuable asset to have to be able to sleep anywhere outdoors and be protected from the elements.

• Decathalon 2 person tent. Get a 2 person over a one person, the extra room is nice and since you’re not hiking across the country weight and space matter less.

• Get a cheap inflatable sleeping pad. I suggest inflatable over a foam pad because inflatable takes up less room, and room will be at a premium if you have to leave your house via a vehicle or via foot. These cheaper ones generally will start to leak after 60+ days, but that should be plenty of lifespan for what you’ll need.

Other Gear

• Go to a local gas station and pick up a map for your state and a road map for the US. You never know, you might need this to plan your escape.

• Buy a big package of lighters. You can never have enough lighters.

• BRS Isobutane stove $12.96

  This thing is so tiny! 25g! You can find it on Amazon for ~$25, but you can find it for half that on Aliexpress. Literally the same product. This is another one that has been tested by many others and seems to work well. It’s loud. I think it probably wastes more gas, but, it works!

• Widesea Titanium 1300ML Pot $19.00

  This one I’m really excited about. You can’t really screw up titanium. Just a quick google search similar titanium pots are all above $50! I like this cause it’s got a lot of volume and it’s wide and fat so it’s easier to clean and easier to eat out of.

• The above cook-gear can live in your backpack, this can live in your house/car. Buy extra bottles of propane. Being able to cook with propane will be vital. And if you’re cooking things like rice and beans, lentils, etc pre-soak it all so that all you need to do is heat up water and boil for a few minutes to cook vs having to waste fuel boiling for longer periods of time.

• Nitecore NU25 400 Lumen Headlamp $26.72 - Headlamps are invaluable when the power is out and also when you have to walk through the dark woods at night. This Nitecore has served me on most of my thru-hikes and being rechargeable you don’t need to worry about extra batteries. If you are hiding from someone(as absurd as that sounds) never use your white light, only use a red light and sparingly.

• Rain gear. Frogg Toggs $17 on Amazon Frogg Toggs are very effective, cheap, light. Lifesaving when it’s cold and wet outside.

• Get a couple of these rechargeable battery packs. Anker 20k MAH $29. When the power goes out you’ll want to keep your phone charged for communication, navigation, etc. If the cell towers are down put your phone on airplane mode to conserve battery. One 20k MAH generally will charge a modern smartphone 3-4x before it runs out of juice. I’d recommend at least two, and make sure to charge them every 2-3 months as they will lose battery over time. Not a bad idea to pick up a solar panel in this situation as well.

• Store 10-20 gallons of fuel incase the gas pumps are empty/crowded/not safe. Fuel goes bad so rotate this out every couple months.

• Have a go-bag ready with your sleeping bag, tent/tarp, cook gear, rain gear, headlamp, one battery pack, toiletries, medication, calorie dense food(I’d recommend mostly peanut butter and nuts).

• Anywhere from a 55L to 70L pack would be appropriate. You can find good deals on Facebook marketplace and 2nd hand gear stores for Osprey, Deuter, etc. Decathalon makes good packs at an affordable new price. I would spend the money on something like an Osprey, Deuter vs buying something like a Ozark Trail(walmart brand). You don’t want your pack to fail on you in the middle of a critical movement.

• 3F UL Gear QiDian Pro $86.33 This pack I used for 1800 miles on the Appalachian Trail. It’s a bit smaller volume so maybe not the best if you have larger/heavier gear, but can be a great option for those with a more dialed in gear list.

• First aid/medicine. I’m not too qualified on this topic. Here’s a guide from the American Red Cross and I’m sure there’s lots of great videos and guides out there. Just make sure to stock up on any essential medication you need incase supply lines go down.

Fitness!

Crossing into NH on my third thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail

This might be the most important section of all of this. Time and again fitness proves that it saves lives. Here’s an AMA from a combat medic volunteering in Ukraine right now: https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraineforeignlegion/comments/1jwm3ng/im_a_combat_medic_in_ukr_ama/

Obviously, if you're in great shape, you have a better chance of staying alive. One trend i can say I have noticed is that shorter people tend to avoid injury (because they're lower to the ground 😆) and can use cover better. The average age of the Ukr military is around 45 right now, so we do deal with a lot of people who aren't in the best fighting shape. A big difference in survivability rates is linked more to how quickly and how well immediate first aid is applied at the point of injury.

And you will have lost nothing and gained a better quality of health and life if this turns out to all be a nothingburger! Use this strong motivation to start getting in shape!!

• Walk or jog 3x a week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday to keep it simple. Your goal is to work up to be able to maintain a steady jog for the whole hour. Aim to keep your heartrate between 120-140bpm. Don’t exceed 150bpm. In the beginning maybe you can only jog for 5 mins before you need to walk for 55, that’s ok. Keep at it. If you want to know why google “80/20 running.”

• If you have the desire and energy finish off each session with 4 sets of 60/120s, sprint for 60s, walk for 120s, repeat 4x.

• Three times a week do this 10 minute circuit. Tues/Thurs/Sat for example. 5 push-ups, 10 air squats, 10 sit-ups. When you finish the sit-ups do 5 more push-ups, 10 more squats, 10 more sit-ups. Keep going until 10 minutes are up. Do this as fast as possible with as little rest as possible.

• As you progress you can increase both the number of reps each set and the total time you work.

That’s it. It’s that simple. If you want more complex plans I recommend building a running base of 10-15 miles/week and following a 5x5 weight lifting program.

Along with this having a mountain bike ready to go and make sure it’s well maintained along with a bike tool-kit and extra tubes for the tires. Bikes are considered the most reliable form of transportation if the grid goes down due to several reasons. Dead cars will clog the roads and lack of fuel availability to run your car.

Lose weight!

So many different strategies. I want to recommend to you intermittent fasting. Only do this if you are healthy enough to, so google intermittent fasting and read up on it more first before you begin and only do so if your health allows.

But basically all I do is skip breakfast, eat a small lunch of proteins/fats. That is usually a couple eggs and some fruit or bread or veggies. Then I’ll exercise in the afternoon and eat a big dinner after my exercise. That’s it. Intermittent fasting can help you shed a lot of weight without feeling deprived and without counting calories.

Different strategies work for different folks. Some people do really well eating small meals throughout the day and counting all of their calories. The strategy doesn’t matter. You need to just follow something that appeals to you. The more weight you lose the more your survivability goes up in the event of a crisis.

Firearms and Tactical Gear

Crazy how the world turns. Yesterday when I shot this I said “most people don’t need to worry about this. If you need firearms the world is already too far gone.” Well folks it truly looks like the world is going to be too far gone soon.

And for clarity sake this is a gear recommendation for folks to exercise their 2nd amendment rights in order to defend themselves. This is not advocating for violence, not advocating for any sort of unlawful behavior. We have the 2nd amendment in the US which allows civilians to own guns and tactical equipment and these are my recommendations for how to best arm yourself for self defense.

Buy an AR-15

If you only have the budget for one weapon, buy an AR-15.

• Ruger AR-556, S&W M&P 15, Palmetto State Armory, and Aero Precision all make reliable affordable AR-15s. Aero Precision is located in Tacoma, WA, so I’d rather my money go to them. If you have the budget for a Daniel Defense, Geissele or KAC go for it. I personally run a KAC SR-15 and that thing is sweet but that’s overkill for anyone who doesn’t want to light money on fire.

• If you do have a higher budget I recommend buying a full Geissele rifle because they come with upgraded triggers, upgraded stock and buffer system, and a solid upper receiver with a great BCG. Compared to a Daniel Defense which comes with mil-spec(not as good) trigger and worse furniture for the same price.

• Put a Holosun 510c red-dot on the rifle. If you live in more rural areas with longer sight-lines consider a 1-6 LVPO, a vortex viper is a good option. If you have higher budget put on a Eotech holographic sight or a Vortex Razor 1-6 LVPO. For most people a Holosun 510c will be more than sufficient.

• Buy a 2 point sling. Lots of people forget this simple item and then you run into the problem you have to drop your rifle anytime you need your hands free.

• Buy minimum 8 magazines. Load them all. You don’t want to be fumbling around loading magazines when you find you need your rifle.

• If you live in a state that restricts magazine capacity you can buy a .458 SOCOM 10rd magazine. These will hold 30rds of 5.56. It’s literally the same as a 30rd 5.56 mag but… yeah gun laws don’t make a lot of sense in a lot of places.

• Use M855 “green tip” ammo. It has a steel core, it’s not considered armor piercing but will penetrate further than regular 5.56 and it’s what the military uses.

• Buy a weapon light. Streamlight Pro Tac 1000 Lumen being able to positively identify a target in the dark is vital. You should never ever ever fire at anyone or anything you cannot positively identify.

• Buy a chest-rig that can hold at least 6 magazines. I’m out of the loop on the best options right now.

• If you have the funds buy a plate carrier and put in level IV NIJ plates. Hesco makes a good affordable reliable LVL IV plate. So level IV will stop a 30-06 round and will definitely stop 5.56 and 7.62x39(AK 47 rounds). Level 3+ plates will stop 5.56 and 7.62x39, but buy level IV to be safe especially in America. Lots of people with hunting rifles which will zip right through level 3+ armor plates.

Know your state and local laws. For most states you can have all of this gear shipped directly to your home aside from the firearms. Some states like California will have different restrictions on what firearm is legal and what ammo is legal.

If it comes to civil unrest violence you need to stay indoors at night. Understand that right wing militia types have bought night vision and thermal and they will dominate the night. You will not stand a chance in hell without NVGs and thermal at night. So stay put and hole up.

9mm Pistol

If you have the budget the second weapon you should buy is a 9mm pistol. I recommend a polymer frame striker fired pistol.

• Glock 17, Glock 19, CZ P10C, CZ P10F, Sig P320, Sig P365 are all great choices. It just depends on how they fit in your hand. And these different models mostly are how big they are. For example the Glock 17 has a longer barrel and bigger grip than the Glock 19, making the 17 easier to handle but the 19 easier to conceal. Go to a gun store and try a few out to see how they fit and if they have a range rent them and see which one shoots the best for you.

• Whatever you get, get it in 9mm.

• Get a IWB conceal and carry holster for the specific model of pistol that you buy.

• Have at least 3 extra magazines. Load them with 9mm hollow point +P ammo.

• Know your state and local laws. Some states have constitutional carry which means as long as you are legal to own a firearm you are legal to carry concealed without any further training or license.

• Some states require a license to carry concealed.

• Most states allow open carry without a license but I do not recommend open carry.

Train! Take Classes in Your Area.

First google “liberal gun training” in your area. If you can’t find anything like that then sign up for one of the other courses but be aware these courses right now are likely filled with right wingers. 2A people tend to skew heavily right wing.

You should take a defensive pistol course and a basic rifle course.

Above all else you need to zero your rifle and check the zero on your pistol(it most likely should be zeroed out of the box).

Train and meet like minded people. If I were given the choice between a $5,000 rifle and no training, or a $1,500 rifle(with all the accessories) and $3,500 worth of ammo/training I’d take the latter deal every single time.

Community!!!

This is the MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF THIS ARTICLE.

It doesn’t matter how much food and supplies and guns and ammo you have. It’s all meaningless if you’re alone and can’t adequately defend yourself.

Build community! These local protests are a fantastic way for you to meet other like minded local folks. You all should be just hanging out if nothing else. Discuss your plans.

Make a rally point. Where will you go if the power goes out and the cell towers go down and they declare martial law. Where will you go, where will you meet, what supplies will you need to bring? Who is in charge of generators, who is in charge of shelter, who is in charge of security, who is in charge of transportation, who is in charge of comms.

Discuss all of those specifics.

Meet people at the protest, get their information and message them on signal. You need to assume that all social media and unencrypted messaging is compromised. Any unencrypted message you send WILL be siphoned up by the mass surveillance network and rest assured they are using AI to put you into groups and lists and I fear at some point these lists will be handed over to their hateful white supremacist militias. Probably after they’re given legal authority by this regime.

They’ve already come out and said they’re monitoring the social media of immigrants and denying their visas based on what they post online. You think they’re not also doing that to citizens?

• https://indivisible.org/ Has a tool to search for local groups near you

• https://www.fiftyfifty.one/groups Search for protest groups near you

• https://www.mobilize.us/ Again search for protests and events near you

• Socialist Rifle Association SRA https://socialistra.org/

• Redneck Revolt https://www.redneckrevo

• John Brown Gun Club An associate of Redneck Revolt

• Hewey P. Newton Gun Club https://hueypnewtongunclub.org/Mainly African

• Pink Pistols http://www.pinkpistols.org/LGBTQ centered gun club

• National African American Gun Association https://naaga.co/

• Liberal Gun Club https://theliberalgunclub.com/

Mental Training

Below is an excerpt from a book I’m writing. I believe mental training is every bit as important as training your fitness and stocking up on food, water, and other essentials.

Training Mental Resilience

Training mental resilience can feel like a nebulous black box because we don’t have the same benchmarks and external cues as we do with training the physical body. So how do we know that our training is actually effective and how do we know that we’re making progress. How do we even know where to start? Where is our mental resilience muscle? How do we flex it, and how do we build it?

The process is actually quite simple. There are a few key skills that need to be developed: awareness, concentration, and equanimity or non-reactivity. To train your mind you must expose yourself to physical and mental stressors and then practice these skills of awareness, concentration, and equanimity while you stay with the physical and mental stress.

Developing Awareness and Concentration

A daily meditation practice is essential if you want to get serious about developing awareness and concentration. Think of a formal sitting meditation as the weight-lifting of the mindfulness world. You can develop these skills without it, just as you can develop strength without weights, but get faster and better results with a formal meditation practice than any other method. Once you’ve developed a strong foundation through formal practice you can bring it with you into your daily life and the trail to really supercharge your progress. I will relate the teachings as I have learned them from my teacher, S.N. Goenka.

Goenka popularized Vipassana meditation worldwide, and Anapana meditation is an integral part of his teachings. Anapana is the first step in the practice of Vipassana meditation and serves as a foundation by focusing on the breath. The practice is best learned directly from the Vipassana organization, if you have the time I highly recommend attending one of the free 10 day Vipassana courses held worldwide, and also to listen to this 20 minute audio instruction on how to perform Anapana meditation: https://www.dhamma.org/en/about/mini_anapana

Here is a basic guide to Anapana meditation:

Instructions for Anapana Meditation:

• Find a Quiet Place: Choose a quiet location where you won’t be disturbed. This could be a corner of your room, a dedicated meditation space, or any place where you feel calm and at ease. Goenka advises not to meditate outside in the beginning as there are too many distractions.

• Sitting Posture: Sit down in a comfortable position. This could be on a chair, cushion, or directly on the floor. The key is to ensure that your back is straight. This helps in keeping the mind alert.

• Eyes: Close your eyes gently. This reduces visual distractions and helps you focus inward.

• Focus on the Breath: Without trying to control or alter your natural breathing, simply observe the breath as it comes in and goes out. Be aware of every inhalation and exhalation.

• Area of Concentration: Focus your attention on the area below the nostrils and above the upper lip. Observe any sensations you feel in this area. It might be the touch of the air, the feeling of moisture or dryness, warmth, or coolness.

• Stay Objective: The idea is to observe objectively without reacting. If you notice your mind wandering, which it often will, gently bring it back to the sensation of the breath moving in and out of your nose.

• Duration: Beginners can start with 10 minutes daily and gradually increase the time as they become more comfortable with the practice.

• Daily Practice: For continuous benefits and progress, it's advisable to practice Anapana daily. Over time, as one becomes more adept, the mind becomes sharper, more focused, and less cluttered with distractions.

Anapana is about observation and not about controlling the breath. The key is to be a neutral observer, watching the natural rhythm of your breathing. By doing so, one begins to develop concentration and awareness, which are foundational skills for the deeper practice of Vipassana.

While these instructions provide an overview, attending a formal course or session by trained teachers from the tradition can offer a more comprehensive understanding and guided experience. The courses are all free of charge and run by volunteers. You can find a list of courses and locations here: https://www.dhamma.org/en-US/index

Bringing Awareness and Concentration With You On Trail

Mount Aoraki in New Zealand

Like meditation, thru-hiking offers an opportunity to connect deeply with ourselves and the present moment. In the wild, every step, every breath, and every sensation become avenues to deepening our awareness and concentration. But how do we transition the mindfulness cultivated during seated meditation to the dynamic and grueling world of thru-hiking?

Start with Intention: Before setting out each day establish your intention to be present with each step. Set an intention to hold mindfulness throughout your day and to hold it in a gentle, effortless manner. Your goal shouldn’t be to muscle your way to mindfulness - aside from being mentally exhausting it also simply doesn’t work.

Be present in your mind and your body and feel the sensations of your breath. Know when you are breathing in. Know when you are breathing out. Feel the sensations in your feet and legs. Know when you are taking a step. And when you notice your mind inevitably wandering simply bring your attention back to the breath, back to your body. Establish this intention firmly in your mind at the beginning of each day - you will walk with gentle mindfulness and bring your mind back to your breath and body when it wanders.

Walking Meditation: Focus on the sensation of your feet touching the ground and the sensation of breath moving in and out of your nose. There’s no need to focus too hard on any one meditation object. Allow your attention to move on its own, from breath to your feet to your legs to your arms.

As you walk your attention will be naturally drawn around your body as different parts of your body make contact with the ground, with the sun, with the breeze. Use this gentle walking meditation throughout your day - the goal isn’t to develop deep concentration like you do with formal Anapana meditation practice, but rather to maintain awareness throughout your body throughout the entire day. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the breath and sensations in your body.

Embrace Discomfort: It’s inevitable that you will face physical challenges on the trail. Whether it’s the burn of a steep climb, the icy sting of cold rain running down your spine, or the gnaw of hunger. See these sensations as opportunities to practice. Don’t push the discomfort away. Turn toward it.

There is a very subtle strain and agitation in the mind when you are attempting to push away discomfort. Use your mindfulness practice to become aware of when you are turning away from discomfort and consciously relax yourself. Feel the tension in your shoulders if you’re bunched up bracing against the cold. Feel the tightness in your chest and the burning in your legs on a long climb. Feel those sensations and then consciously relax those tight muscles.

Take a moment and just breathe into those tight muscles. Relax your mind. Release the tension that you’re holding onto. The tension created from trying to make reality different than what it is. Is it raining and cold? Good. Relax into it. Release the need to change the weather.

Observe that the feeling of cold rain on your skin really isn’t so bad. Observe your sensations without judgment. Over time with practice this will become a super-power. You will be able to face any external condition with a calm and peaceful interior. Heat, cold, rain, snow, hunger, climbs. With mindful awareness and equanimity you will be able to effortlessly move through these varied changing phenomena without mental anguish.

Cultivate Positive Thoughts and Attitudes: When I first started my meditation practice I noticed that my mind was full of negative thoughts. Lots of anger. Lots of resentment and frustration. You might experience similar states on trail. We live such busy lives that often your time on trail is the first time you’ve truly had to yourself for years and that can open a floodgate of thoughts and emotions. Don’t suppress them! Don’t push them away.

Allow them to bubble to the surface and feel and notice what arises. If anger arises, feel the anger. If sadness arises, feel the sadness. But don’t linger on them. There’s a difference between feeling and being present with anger and then adding onto the story.

You don’t have to go down the habit pattern of ruminating on why a person made you so angry, and what you should have said or done, and why they’re so wrong, etc. Just feel the sensation, note that anger is arising, feel how it manifests in your body(my anger manifests as a feeling of heat in my head and chest) and then observe it pass away.

Then when the emotion/sensation/feeling has passed, direct your consciousness toward something positive - a beautiful stream, a cheeky chipmunk, a beautiful tree. There’s no shortage of beautiful amazing sights along the trail and with practice you can train your mind to focus on your positive surroundings and not dwell on habitual negative thought patterns.

Daily Check-ins: At the end of each day, take a few minutes to check in with yourself. How did you feel physically and mentally? Were there moments of particular challenge or joy? By reflecting on your experiences, you integrate the lessons of the trail and deepen your mindfulness practice. Particularly check in about big climbs or adverse weather or a difficult hitch, things that brought up difficulties in the mind. Maybe you were dreading a climb or hitch or hiking out into the cold rain. At the end of the day note what the actual experience was vs what you had built up in your mind, and note that you made it through whatever difficulty or challenges in the day. This is a very powerful practice that builds upon itself. With each new challenge that you overcome it gives you confidence to face future challenges.

Doing this as a journaling practice can be extremely beneficial and allow you to see your progress from week to week where day to day it could feel like you’re not making any progress or even regressing.

Seek Silence: While it’s tempting to distract ourselves with music or podcasts, consider dedicating portions of your hike to silence. I set aside the hours before lunch for silence. After that I allow myself to listen to music and podcasts but having a solid block of uninterrupted silence is so crucial for deepening your practice and truly developing awareness, concentration, mindfulness, and equanimity on the trail.

Be Courageous

Have courage. Keep speaking up. Letting your neighbors know that you stand with them makes all the difference during times of tyranny.

Know that we out number the hateful tyrants and their thugs 1,000 to 1. We just need to get better organized. So find your local friends and start your local anti-tyrant organizations. America is depending on you.