Starting out at hopeless and moving toward better prepared

[dverna]

I believe most folks are disillusioned by YouTube videos. Vehicles will be of little use when the time comes as the roads will be jammed, fuel will be scarce and few people are in good enough shape to carry the bug out bag they have carefully prepared any amount of distance. If a person or group decides to set out on foot they better be prepared for challenges along they way as they pass through other peoples area.

For me, I am sheltering here. Nobody knows this area better then me and my neighbors. Folks who show up here better be on their best behavior because we will most likely be aware of them long before they are aware of us.

Exactly,

I am so rural there are only two ways in. One is a dead-end road and the other a two track. There are friends on the road leading to the entrance to the dead-end road who will call for help if someone is poking around.

We all help each other now. If things go south, we are used to providing mutual aid. I am the newest guy in the area and I have been here 9 years. Most have lived here all their lives. We have nicknames for areas of the road and woods so the DNR and other hunters do not know where we are when running bears or hunting elk.

Some of the names cannot be deciphered...the "cattle crossing" has not been used by cattle for over 30 years. The "Market field" is where the locals used to poach. The "Dip"...well there are a lot of dips in the road...we know the one we are talking about.

[JSnover]

The main problem I see with bugging out is that any long distance travel will be extremely dangerous.
You will be ambushed at some point. Bridges and tunnels are out of the question unless you're able to fight your way through or pay an extremely high toll - bring as much fuel as you can carry because you're going to take the 'scenic' route. In fact, the whole concept of LD travel should be a whole other facet of Prep Life. Have a plan and work out all of the details and logistics before you turn the key.
The cities will be the worst but if you survive the short term mayhem you'll probably make out ok in the long term.

[Wag]

This is a series of posts I read a few weeks ago that turns out to be a good eye-opener, at least for me.

https://lulz.com/surviving-a-year-of...m-thread-6265/

Some surprising things he says.

--Wag--

[BrassMagnet]

Better Prepared Step Two:

Arrive somewhere better!
I relocated to Colorado and I am now relocating to Missouri.
Why?
Western Colorado was way better than Los Angelos County. Colorado also has water issues. There is an irrigation ditch behind my Colorado house in a tract and a spring not too far away that I can walk to. However, you can't keep a useful tree alive here without irrigation water from some source. When you really need it, that irrigation ditch will be dry and the spring probably won't supply enough water for my HOA just for drinking water.
I am now retired, so I don't have to stay here. The current political situation here convinces me I don't want to stay.
So what does Missouri offer that I can't get in Colorado? A friendlier environment and water. Missouri has enough rainfall that once a tree is established it generally doesn't require watering to stay alive. Woods for firewood collection. Did I mention a friendlier environment? Missouri announced it was a sanctuary state a week before I found my place.
My new place: A few acres, small orchard, berry vines, private well, an area suitable for a large garden, stocked pond and a spring at the end of a county road. Mostly retired live there and they really scrutinize anyone on the road. Now to get out of the old and into the new!

[MrWolf]

I live in a rural area and am 3/4 mile from the main road. Our private roads are shale/dirt. There is an elderly gent near the road, a ranch 1/4 mile in and then me. Not many folks around so communities banding together is a bit tougher as folks would need to go to a common area to "band" together and defend. Finally got my furnace running last night after three weeks and they still need parts to finish but at least heat is on. I am seriously looking into a wood stove for heat/cooking (we do have a fireplace). I have a 500 gallon propane tank just for my whole house generator that should last a week or two easily with care. Guess I should look into more alarms further up my road. There is a driveway alarm near my garage but that is not far enough away for advance notice. Lots of things to consider but I am not going anywhere.

[BrassMagnet]

Better Prepared Step Three:

Get more and better gear and supplies. Be balanced on it, not just the fun stuff. Standardize! Learn and train!
So a sling for every rifle and shotgun. Holsters for every pistol. Backpacks, fanny packs, gear bags, range bags. Extra ammo and magazines, speed loaders, reloading gear and components. Food. Did I mention food?
Oh, my, I forgot clothing! Nekkid into the wilderness is not my idea of fun. Definitely not my idea of winter fun. Hunting clothes are fine, but the last long sneak I did in daylight florescent orange didn't work out too well. Red plaid was only a little better. Now where did I pack the camouflage from my Navy days? Can I even fit in them now?
Now for all of that cool black tactical stuff. It is so unnatural that is works like daylight florescent orange at night for anyone with night vision.
Now for training. Competition is good training and so is hunting, but neither is tactical training. In competition, I learned to shoot precisely with the rifle and pistol. In hunting, I learned the deer and elk just wander over the hill while you are preparing to shoot. I guess it takes some of both! I haven't managed any tactical training. I'll bet you could learn a lot from a former infantryman, SWAT Team member, or LEO.
I did say every didn't I? Surely friends and family will come to visit and stay. They will likely forget their favorite toys or their toys will be oddballs.
Food? My family are big eaters! I guess I need more! Lotsa family equals lotsa food and a much bigger garden and a lot more stored food. I clearly need more!
The more I think about this, the more I know I haven't even scratched the surface! More on Better Prepared Step Three later.
Hopefully, I at least made you think!

[Markopolo]

LOL at B.M. sir.... you could just bug out now and come to Alaska... I am pretty bugged out already. Or maybe its just that I am Bushy?

[Dukeconnor]

To get out of my city you will beed to go across bridges and through tunnels. A broken down car at rush hour can paralyze traffic for hours. Everyone evacuating at once and you aren't going anywhere.

I'll just be sitting on my porch with a jug and a shotgun. It will be in the lords hand at that point.

[SSGOldfart]

To get out of my city you will beed to go across bridges and through tunnels. A broken down car at rush hour can paralyze traffic for hours. Everyone evacuating at once and you aren't going anywhere.

I'll just be sitting on my porch with a jug and a shotgun. It will be in the lords hand at that point.

Sir you have the same plan I do. Why even try to evacuate where is everyone going???? If shtf here it's going to be just as bad over there?

[TyGuy]

Better Prepared Step Two:

Arrive somewhere better!
I relocated to Colorado and I am now relocating to Missouri.

As a refugee from the People’s Republic of Illinois myself, I understand. Welcome to one of the Free States. We’re glad to have you.

[BrassMagnet]

Better Prepared Step Four:

Get training and learn useful information.
When you buy books for the information inside, don't buy an electronic copy. Buy paper because the electronic copy can be bulk deleted by the seller from every electronic reading device in the country at once. If you must have the electronic for convenience, then at least buy paper and electronic.
Get training. Canning classes. Dehydrating classes. Casting and reloading classes. Marksmanship classes. First Aid training.
Get your mind readjusted. Read some fiction on the subject because even the lamest stories frequently have good info in them.
A very well written series on surviving an EMP attack is the Going Home series by A. American. Be ready for lots of good story with lots of good info! Spoiler warning: Not all of the main characters survive!
Another well written story on EMP survival is Lights Out by David Crawford.

[rancher1913]

if you are in a community that is bugging in so to speak, do not forget medical supplies. right now they are cheep and plentiful but when the hospital is gone what do you do. we have several doctors and nurses in the area so we stock things that are beyond our use but not beyond theirs.

[Markopolo]

i currently have a 5 year supply of meds and antibio's.. that is about as far as I go just because of expiration dates and such... things can be stretched but only sooo far... there are lotsa plants and fungi that can make up the difference...

[mexicanjoe]

I worked on a huge ranch where the nearest big city was 45 miles away.... Having lived that life I can walk across country and get by when most persons wouldnt make it. My father was an old farmer who was raised on the border. He taught us what to eat and not eat , how to find water, how to travel using less body energy and most importantly: develop the will to keep going under adversity.

I have waited 2 days on an oilfield location with minimal supplies, while working the oilfields. I taught young workers how to eat prickly pear, find purslane in the desert, trap small rabbits for food etc etc etc. If you condition yourself and practice what you know, its not that bad....

[Scrounge]

The grass is greener when you leave the desert, but there are other issues!

Ain't there just! You can spend decades wandering in the desert, or near-desert. Among other problems.

I read about a guy decades a go who moved to a better, safer place, back in the twenties or thirties of the last century. Found a nice quiet island to live on, happily ever after. The place was called "Midway" IIRC.

Bill

[Scrounge]

Bugging in around LA may not be a good option. In order to bug in, or fort up you need a water supply.

If the LA basin looses power in a few hours there is no water.

For getting out, think ocean. In good weather even a rowboat gives you better odds than the desert. Medium sized sailboat with solar + desalinator = much better odds. Also you don't have to carry every single thing you have. The boat carry's it. Even a canoe beats hiking.

Piracy is already a problem today. Got news for you, it won't be getting any better. And every boat anyone can find that will still sort of float will be out on the water with you. Bon Voyage!

Honestly, I actually liked the boat idea, until I had one, and though it all the way through. Do you know the definition of "boat"? It's a hole in the water you throw money into. Lots of money. I bought my boat in 1977. 16' Bowrider Trihull, with a 25HP (IIRC, was a long time ago) Mercruiser outboard motor that needed some work. I looked for a replacement for it. I'd paid $1700 for it. A new motor identical to the one I had would have been $8000 then. And a refuge on the water? Nope. With weapons and help might have been able to use it to take a better boat from someone else, but then what would I be? A pirate without even a parrot!

Bill

[BrassMagnet]

Piracy is already a problem today. Got news for you, it won't be getting any better. And every boat anyone can find that will still sort of float will be out on the water with you. Bon Voyage!

Honestly, I actually liked the boat idea, until I had one, and though it all the way through. Do you know the definition of "boat"? It's a hole in the water you throw money into. Lots of money. I bought my boat in 1977. 16' Bowrider Trihull, with a 25HP (IIRC, was a long time ago) Mercruiser outboard motor that needed some work. I looked for a replacement for it. I'd paid $1700 for it. A new motor identical to the one I had would have been $8000 then. And a refuge on the water? Nope. With weapons and help might have been able to use it to take a better boat from someone else, but then what would I be? A pirate without even a parrot!

Bill

I have Mom's Parrot and more than ten years afloat!



So what do I do now? Move inland!

[Baltimoreed]

I’ve always thought shelter in place unless you have a true safe place to bug out to and a safe way to get there. My son has bug out bags so I’m guessing he would have come to my much more rural house god forbid it was necessary. But hopefully before 2022 is out we will get to building on our rural 33 acre property. Of course if bugging out is needed then it becomes how ruthless we have to become to survive and our society becomes a mad max scenario. Not a good thing. I think I could kill to defend myself and family but don’t know if I could murder someone to steal their stuff.

[Scrounge]

Better Prepared Step Four:

Get training and learn useful information.
When you buy books for the information inside, don't buy an electronic copy. Buy paper because the electronic copy can be bulk deleted by the seller from every electronic reading device in the country at once. If you must have the electronic for convenience, then at least buy paper and electronic.
Get training. Canning classes. Dehydrating classes. Casting and reloading classes. Marksmanship classes. First Aid training.
Get your mind readjusted. Read some fiction on the subject because even the lamest stories frequently have good info in them.
A very well written series on surviving an EMP attack is the Going Home series by A. American. Be ready for lots of good story with lots of good info! Spoiler warning: Not all of the main characters survive!
Another well written story on EMP survival is Lights Out by David Crawford.

You can buy electronic. It's often cheaper, and the storage density is MUCH greater. You will need to protect it from EMP, search and seizure, moisture, rodents, and insects. At a minimum! Best place to store it is in your head, of course. I've been collecting info on metalworking, and machining, reloading of course! lots of other things, as well. I have literally a terabyte of data. I cannot possibly read it all and remember it. So get other to do so. Several others. If you can. Also, skills need to be practiced. Doesn't help to have metal, machine tools, and plans if no one can use them. Parts for the tractors and vehicles if no one is a mechanic, either. Or you to let people in who can do what you need done.

I've mentioned the Bob's Saucer Repair stories once or twice here on Cast Boolits, now and going to do it again. Jerry Boyd Bob and Nikki series, now 22 books. Before Bob met Nikki, he and his friend John were preppers. John has grounded steel ammo cans to protect spare parts for his EMP-sensitive vehicles. Some of the events in the story series have them planning a bugout, just in case. They work at figuring out a few places to go, and once they've got that dealt with, start pre-positioning stuff and people there to make it work well if they really have to do it. BSR's motto is something they repeat constantly: Murphy is our shepherd. They know things will go wrong. They do the best that they can planning for it, and don't get so invested in their plans that they can't change when things don't work out as they expected. They say Murphy loves us and wants us to be stronger and smarter. I have long been a believer in Murphy, but hadn't ever considered it that way. I do now!

Want a series of stories about a get home bag? Try Franklin Horton's Borrowed World series. 9 books, and the first one starts with Jim Powell and some of his coworkers more than a hundred miles from home during an EMP event. Pretty good stuff. He's got a couple of other series, some related, some not, all I've seen of his stuff so far is worth the read.

Both of those series are available to read free with Kindle Unlimited.

[Scrounge]

I have Mom's Parrot and more than ten years afloat!



So what do I do now? Move inland!

I remember reading, long, long ago, about a sailor who decided to quit the sea. His plan was to put an oar over his shoulder and walk inland until someone asked him what that was he was carrying, and there is where he'd settle. I don't remember if he actually did it, or how it worked out...

I didn't intentionally move inland, either. It just happened. That sounds a lot like "I didn't know it was loaded!" doesn't it? Though I like most of the folks I've met here, and mostly I have been happy here for very nearly 25 years. The longest I'd ever lived in any one place before that was nearly 5 years in Las Vegas in the late 70's/early 80's.

Bill