Salt. Does anyone have any good ideas how to obtain salt in the PAW?

[Davar]

Hello all. I was thinking today if there is a way to collect salt when the rations run out. Short of a salt mine, I'm stumped. I guess salt water from the coast could be evaporated and the salt collected, but inland is a different story. Our bodies need sodium, thus this is an important part of PAW planning.

Thanks,
Davar

[Monel]

If you dont have a natural local source the best bet would be to store a bunch. You could try researching if there are any local deposits. I think you can use water softener salt. Salt blocks for livestock would do also.
You can buy Morton table salt in 25# bags at Sams Club for less than $4.00

[Matt In Oklahoma]

For them Okies in my AO and I'm sure there are resourses around your area

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/S/SA010.html

http://www.stateparks.com/great_salt_plains.html

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/saltplains/history.html

"The salt making process was fairly simple. Oftentimes, hollowed logs were used to pipe the saline water from the springs to rows of enormous kettles, where the water was boiled, leaving the salt. The finished product would be taken to a salt house. "

[RyanMac]

I am storing up as much as I can. Also I am stocking up on Multi Vitamins.
@ Matt - I will have to look at that and copy/paste it somehow to a Word document so that I can use it if EVER needed.

Good stuff.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I am storing up as much as I can. Also I am stocking up on Multi Vitamins.
@ Matt - I will have to look at that and copy/paste it somehow to a Word document so that I can use it if EVER needed. Good stuff.

The hard part would be security, getting there, setting a perimeter while working and getting back, post SHTF. I'm always looking for closer resourses while moving around like natural springs etc. but there are no close salt springs around here ot where I hunt they are all fresh water. I know of some sulpher springs but I don't think they are useful for anything I am capable of.

[Cimarron]

The hard part would be security, getting there, setting a perimeter while working and getting back, post SHTF. I'm always looking for closer resourses while moving around like natural springs etc. but there are no close salt springs around here ot where I hunt they are all fresh water. I know of some sulpher springs but I don't think they are useful for anything I am capable of.

I wonder if the Cimarron river (Where I get my title cause I live near it) would be a source. It has a small salt content because it travels through the salt flats.
Something to think about...

[crossbow]

Hello all. I was thinking today if there is a way to collect salt when the rations run out. Short of a salt mine, I'm stumped. I guess salt water from the coast could be evaporated and the salt collected, but inland is a different story. Our bodies need sodium, thus this is an important part of PAW planning.

Thanks,
Davar

why not just fill five plastic pails lined with mylar with loose salt from the feed store, it's cheap and will never go bad.

[Davar]

I guess what I am getting at is that we have no idea how long the PAW will last. American christians (not all, most think they are going to go sailing away in the sky....) seem to think that as soon as destruction hits America it's the beginning of the trib. However, that may not be true. We could be living in a war ravaged country for years and years, as many other countries have been and still are as I am writing this. With that in mind, it would be more prudent to have the knowledge and the skill needed to obtain things like salt, so when the five gallon buckets are empty you are not left unprepared. I'll be the first to admit that I've got a lot to learn still.
Now concerning salt, I read that you can obtain sodium chloride in your diet by certain plants and roots. I read that carrots and beets are sources of sodium. I also read that you can boil the roots of a Hickory tree and can harvest sodium from that as well. This isn't going to produce salt for uses like preserving meats per say, but it will help you from being sodium deficient.
I am curious if the brine from a oil well can be boiled and the salt collected? I'm not sure if it's noxious, but the deer love to like the brine they pump out of the oil wells cause of the salt content. Hmmm

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I wonder if the Cimarron river (Where I get my title cause I live near it) would be a source. It has a small salt content because it travels through the salt flats.Something to think about...

That would be a real good project to try one day soon! I'd like to be a part of that, and if not and you ever do it post it and let us know how it worked please.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I guess what I am getting at is that we have no idea how long the PAW will last. American christians (not all, most think they are going to go sailing away in the sky....) seem to think that as soon as destruction hits America it's the beginning of the trib. However, that may not be true.

This was a real good thinking folks post.
I disagree with the Christian thoughts however. The destruction or reorganization of America is not mentioned in the tribulation anywhere as far as I know. There are mentions of events in the middle east but not here.
I don't know that I would mess with oil well stuff because of other chemicals involved. Deer are tougher (and dumber) than we are.

[Davar]

This was a real good thinking folks post.
I disagree with the Christian thoughts however. The destruction or reorganization of America is not mentioned in the tribulation anywhere as far as I know. There are mentions of events in the middle east but not here.
I don't know that I would mess with oil well stuff because of other chemicals involved. Deer are tougher (and dumber) than we are.

I just know alot of Christians who seem to think that when THEIR world comes crashing down it MUST be the begining of the tribulation, or otherwise known as Jacob's trouble. I guess my point was that a lot of people are preparing for the "end times" but not thinking that they may be living in a PAW for a long time before those times get here. I should have said "some" and not "Most" as I know some, but not most :)

There is an oil well next to my property that pumps brine out into two large ponds, then pumps it back into another deeper well. I was just looking at my options.

[monkeybird]

Salt was an extremely valuable commodity in ancient times. With the exception of making salt from sea water, most salt is mined.

As the main ingredient in edible salt, it has long been used as a food seasoning and preservative. In its latter capacity, it reduced human dependence on the seasonal availability of food and allowed travel over long distances. In this manner, it served as a foundation for the spread of civilization.
It is currently available quite inexpensively and in large quantities. Historically, however, it was difficult to obtain and was a highly valued trade item. Until the 1900s, it was one of the prime movers of national economies and wars. It was controlled by governments and taxed as far back as the twentieth century B.C.E. in China.

The above quote should tell you something. Taxes, wars, the spread of civilization - all caused by the need for salt? Salt is precious and essential to life. Imagine it's value in the
PAW!

[Matt In Oklahoma]

No one else knows of methods or places in their areas?

[Tofu]

Matt: From searching on the web it seems that salt is either mined or harvested. One source of harvested salt could come from blood. Just need to figure a way to break it down...

[Benn Gleck]

The hard part would be security, getting there, setting a perimeter while working and getting back, post SHTF. I'm always looking for closer resourses while moving around like natural springs etc. but there are no close salt springs around here ot where I hunt they are all fresh water. I know of some sulpher springs but I don't think they are useful for anything I am capable of.

I know of some salt licks about a weeks hike from my BOL. They were used by Daniel Boone and like you said Matt security is an issue, thats how the indians captured Dan'l. He led a party from Boonesboro to boil salt and was ambushed by Indians at the salt lick, he was a prisoner for quite a while.