If you could have been a Frontiersman/woman, what modern provisions would you have taken with you. And what route would you have taken from New York to San Fransisco. Mode of transportation? Weapons? Clothing?
Caveat: there are no gas stations, electric outlets, only indigenous peoples and the whole U.S. of A. Frontier.
I’d have taken several horses, a couple pack mules and no wagon.
I’d have a .38 special with 1000 rounds. A 270 Weatherby 1000 rounds.
Two sets Binoculars.
Magnifying glass.
Nylon rope (think climbing rope) 500 ft.
Butcher set.
North Face weather gear, or Helly Hansen. (cold/rain gear)
Brush jeans 3 pair.
Chippewa or Leighigh boots. And two pair trail walkers.
I go south to D.C area then straight across. Basically, follow present day I-70.
[ul]
[li]Wagon- usual Conestoga wagon of the period, along with horses to pull it. [/li][li]Saddle- in case I want to go away from the wagon.[/li][li].357 magnum (probably 686 w/8" barrel) and 100 rounds[/li][li]FN-FAL w/scope, 3000 rounds. Semi-auto useful vs. hostile Indians, and 308 good for hunting![/li][li]Potable Aqua tablets - a whole bunch.[/li][li]Katadyn water filter [/li][li]Clear plastic sheeting[/li][li]Military BDU pants - 3 pair[/li][li]Good hiking boots w/Gore-tex liner, well broken in. 3 pair.[/li][li]Insulated pac boots 1 pair.[/li][li]Heavy wool sweater[/li][li]Camouflage parka[/li][li]Wool watch cap[/li][li]Good long underwear- polypropylene or some other synthetic[/li][li]Cowboy hat[/li][li]Good sunglasses[/li][li]large sheath knife[/li][li]Modern compass[/li][li]Modern maps - several sets, in case one gets lost[/li][li]Shirts, pants, socks, etc…[/li][li]Toothbrushes, dental floss & toothpaste[/li][li]Several sets of eyeglasses, since contacts aren’t a good plan.[/li][li]Rope[/li][li]Butchering tools[/li][li]Hardtack[/li][li]Salt meat[/li][li]Freeze dried meals (for variety)[/li][li]2 sets good binoculars (think high-end Nikons or Leicas)[/li][li]Large first aid kit along with equipment for rudimentary surgery & stitching[/li][li]Antibiotics[/li][li]Antihistamines[/li][/ul]
I could go for a cruise ship of the modern line, no problem. I’ll use my GPS and head to Sutters Mill since it hasn’t been mined out. Set up my modern materials campsite, load up on gold and file the claim. I’ll take the cruise ship back to Europe since they will have internet and infrastucture. I’ll piss around with the rich of Europe. I’d head to Australia for the vacation I’d like there.
Yeah, with Harmonious Discord here, though I’d bet that most modern cruise liners run on diesel, which would be hard to come by without gas stations, so I’ll take a coal-fired freighter, loaded up with canned food, fresh water, and coal for the boilers, and sail from New York to San Fransisco, via whichever waterways are available (Panama Canal if it exists, Cape Horn or Cape of Good Hope otherwise).
Ooh, alternately, I’d take a nuclear submarine, cruise through the Northwest Passage, and then put in at San Fransisco. No need to carry all that coal this way.
First I’d review Lazarus Long’s account of how he and Dora prepared to go homesteading on New Beginnings, in Heinlein’s Time Enough for Love. (The passage mentions no technologies not existing IRL at time of publication.)
I’m going to cheat a little, but not outside the spirit of the OP, I think.
A Hummer H1 pulling a tanker of gasoline. You only stated that there are no gas stations. You didn’t say you couldn’t bring it with you. The first trans-continental car expedition made it from San Francisco to New York in 1903 by Horatio Nelson Jackson. I don’t see why I could’t do the same with an H1.
Considering the H1’s pathetic fuel economy it may not be possible. You may have to pull more weight than the vehicle is capable of towing, and the more you bring along the more you need - just like a rocket. Anyone care to figure it out? Could it be done?
Take a semi truck and carry a tanker trailer full of diesel fuel for it. Either rig up the big tank to the semi’s gas tanks, or just pull over to refuel periodically.
It could be done…I’d have to work out the math, but I seem to remember asking our moving truck guys how much times they fueled up going from CT to AZ, and they made it in 5 days and filled up their twin 250 gallon tanks 3 times. IIRC.
I’ve got a solar charger for my iPod that someone gave me at a trade show.
So, I’d pretty much bring everything you guys said and have tunes for the road. I bet it would be interesting to see if I could make it cross-country in the tanker truck before listening to every song on my iPod at least once.
Look, if I can drive on the highways in Oklahoma, I can drive off-road in the Rockies. It’d probably be a smoother driving surface.
If you’re gonna fly, why take a dopey little Cessna? Get a nice Boeing long-distance jetliner, dump the extra seats and get it rigged out not entirely unlike Austin Powers’ jumbo jet. Hell, take the rest of us from this thread, we’ll bring beers.
I thought of that. Where would you proposed I take off and land a jumbo jet? TheCessna Caravanis the biggest plane I know of that can operate off of floats and has the speed and range to make the flight.
It’s 12 passenger, so I can take a few of you along. You’ll still have to bring the beer though.