Posted on 08/17/2015 5:05:14 PM PDT by SkyPilot
The plan seems simple doesn’t it? All you need for the best chance of survival for your family is a well-stocked bug out bag, a keen attention to your surroundings and careful monitoring of what is happening in the news. With these bases covered you will be a very informed prepper and will be able to get the jump on all of the clueless sheeple if something bad happens. You will load your family up with your bags and hike off into the sunset way ahead of the approaching death and destruction. You have a plan to bug out.
It sounds perfect, but in this article I am going to try and convince you how that might not be the best and first option you should consider. There are many reasons and situations I can think of why you do not want to bug out from your home. You may be asking yourself, how can I even say those words on a prepper blog such as this without getting struck by lightning? It’s true that hunkering down is not the option that gets the most press, but in my opinion during most (but not all) scenarios, it is the better choice. That is unless you are a combat trained Navy Seal. If you are like me, just an average guy with a family and a giant subterranean monster unleashed by nuclear experiments is not headed your way, you might want to stay put. Here are a few reasons why:
You live where your stuff is.
I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of these reasons are going to seem incredibly simple and obvious, but I think sometimes that is the best way to approach a problem. As a prepper you have probably started collecting some supplies to help you get through short and long term emergencies. Some of you have stored a TON of supplies because you have been doing this for a long time or else you are independently wealthy and you just blew up the Black Friday sales.
Even if you only have a week’s worth of food and water, that is nothing to sneeze at. Everything you have is stored probably in nicely organized bins for easy retrieval. You don’t have to carry it and the supplies aren’t subject to the elements. Leaving your home will make you potentially have to leave most, or all of your survival supplies at home. You could put them all in your best bug out vehicle, the diesel Ford F-250 with the trailer, right? Sure you could, but are you sure that truck will always be in your possession? It’s just better to stay at your home base because there are tons of advantages like… I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of these reasons are going to seem incredibly simple and obvious, but I think sometimes that is the best way to approach a problem. As a prepper you have probably started collecting some supplies to help you get through short and long term emergencies. Some of you have stored a TON of supplies because you have been doing this for a long time or else you are independently wealthy and you just blew up the Black Friday sales.
Even if you only have a week’s worth of food and water, that is nothing to sneeze at. Everything you have is stored probably in nicely organized bins for easy retrieval. You don’t have to carry it and the supplies aren’t subject to the elements. Leaving your home will make you potentially have to leave most, or all of your survival supplies at home. You could put them all in your best bug out vehicle, the diesel Ford F-250 with the trailer, right? Sure you could, but are you sure that truck will always be in your possession? It’s just better to stay at your home base because there are tons of advantages like…
Even your kitchen floor is more comfortable than sleeping in the woods
Yes, I know that some people sleep perfectly well in the woods and I can too, once I am exhausted from hiking all day. Honestly, you would have to agree that your old lumpy Serta Posturpedic mattress would be preferable to sleeping in the woods or an abandoned building or even a hammock. Why is that important?
Getting plenty of good sleep has a huge impact on our health. It not only affects your moods, but alertness and even immune system. In a disaster you will be stressed in ways you haven’t even considered. You may be working like a dog and having a comfortable and relatively safe place to rest your head, even if that is the living room floor will be an advantage that the people who think they can just bug out into the woods won’t have.
Built in Community whether you know it or not
In times of crisis, you can almost guarantee that communities will band together in some ways. You probably don’t consider your small neighborhood or dead end street a community but let some disaster happen and you will see humans come together for support, safety and to help each-other out. Being around even just a few neighbors who know you can give you advantages if you need assistance for things like a neighborhood security plan.
Even neighbors you don’t get along with will probably overcome grudges if the disaster is severe enough. Of course there is the potential that your neighbors could turn on you for being the lone prepper but I think in most cases, things won’t go Mad Max for a little while. If it does you will have to adjust, but I believe that most people would benefit by banding with their neighbors for support. You could have an opportunity for leadership here or compassion by helping out others who haven’t prepared. It is much better to strive for this kind of relationship with people than head out the door and face the world with only what is on your back.
Being Cold Sucks and it can kill you
I bet that most of you like to keep the thermostat somewhere in the upper 60’s to low 70’s during the winter. There might be some play in that range, but there are no thermostats outside. Whatever the temperature is outdoors is what you are going to be living with. Can you start a fire or wear warm layers to regulate your body temperature? Of course, but the last place I want to be on a cold winter night is huddled up in my sleeping bag under a tarp even if I did have a nice roasting fire beside me.
There are some situations where you wouldn’t be able to start a fire. Maybe if it was raining and you couldn’t find any dry wood or tinder, or there were people that didn’t look so friendly following you. Staying in your home, even without power can give you advantages of shelter that you won’t easily find outdoors. You can seal off rooms and even your body heat will generate a little warmth. You can black out your curtains with heavy gauge plastic sheeting and even the heat from a lantern or a couple of candles can put out an amazing amount of heat.
You may put yourself in a worse situation
The problem with most bug out plans are that you don’t have a destination. Where are you bugging out to? Do you think the National Forest is going to be reserved solely for you and your family? Do you think you will just set up a tent and start hunting for small game? In a large regional disaster, there could be millions of people leaving the cities. The concept is called the Golden Horde and they will be competing with you for natural resources. With even a few dozen hunters in the same area game will be depleted in days if not sooner. Then you will be stuck near a bunch of other hungry people who blame you for catching the last squirrel.
Being on the road makes you an easier target
One of the advantages of staying put at home is the home field or defenders advantage. When you go out, you do not know what you are walking or driving into. The best you can do is recon very deliberately which will only slow you down more. By staying put in your home, you can set up a neighborhood watch with your fellow neighbors and monitor who is coming in. This gives you the opportunity to set up defensive positions and plans that anyone walking in with thoughts of taking advantage of you, won’t be aware of.
If nobody knows you, you are a stranger
Have you ever been walking your dog and seen someone strange walking through your neighborhood? This was someone you didn’t know so obviously they fell under suspicion. Had they been one of your neighbors kids you would have recognized them, but this new person stuck out. That is what you will be faced with if you leave your home and go wandering through other towns and cities. In your home neighborhood you will be dealing with known people that you can grow a deeper relationship with. There is a built-in level of trust because they have lived near you for years. If you start walking into a strange town with your bug out bags and AR-15 slung over your bulletproof vest, you may not like the attention you receive.
Gear is heavy and a lot of gear is heavier.
Speaking of walking around in your bulletproof vest and gear, how many of you have walked for 3 days with your bug out bag? OK, now add a full complement of bullets and anything else you think you might need to defend yourself. It adds up quickly even when you try to reduce the weight of your bug out bag as much as possible. These weren’t meant to live for a long time out of. Your food will run out, possibly your ammo and that will help you with the weight, but in a disaster where you are walking out the door in full combat gear, do you think Walmart will be open when you run out of something?
In a grid down you won’t get to call AAA
Maybe you are one of the lucky ones that have a place to go up in the mountains. If you don’t get out before everyone else starts leaving, you could be stuck on the road. What if your old bug out vehicle breaks down? All those supplies you stored in the back of that trailer are either going to feed a lot of other people on the highway or you will most likely die defending them. If you aren’t already living at your retreat before the disaster happens, you will have to be incredibly fast to avoid getting stranded. Let’s say you are ready to go, do you know when you would actually leave? Do you know when the S has actually HTF and it’s time to leave or will you debate leaving with your wife and mother for two days because they think it will all blow over soon?
If you get hurt you want to be near a secure shelter not under a tarp
I have a decent first aid supply kit. I don’t have IV’s and a ton of medicine but I can take care of garden variety injuries pretty well. Imagine you somehow break your leg after the grid is down. Would you rather drag yourself into the house, or be stuck in the woods for weeks unable to move? Most hospitals don’t stick their patients out in the back yard for a reason so you will convalesce better with a good roof over your head that is hopefully providing some climate protections. If nothing else, it will be a relatively clean and safe place to get better that beats lying under a log.
So what does staying home mean?
I will write a post about reasons why you may have to bug out later, but staying home doesn’t guarantee you will be safe and secure either. I think each situation has to be taken into consideration as to what is the better option for you and your family. Naturally if there is a fire heading your way staying at home is stupid. It is something to think about that and that may help you begin to form different plans for different scenarios. What are your plans?
Lol. Yes, and for "snakebite" and "bartering" of course.
I think the article where I saw that backpack picture mentioned that the wine was essential because it "slows the effects of radiation poisoning."
If I am being poisoned by radiation, I think I might just hold up with Good Book and spend some time with my Lord before I go home.
“without getting into too much detail...” Just remember how the waterways were locked down by your friendly government after 9/11. I remember very well.
Dittos to that advice ‘6. I’m already prepped and living way ‘up and out’. I can’t imagine the nightmare the large cities will become within hours of ‘The Big Event’ happening.
Bugging out makes no sense unless you are currently in surroundings that would be threatening when the SHTF! And in that case, you need to have a well prepared destination. If not in such a threatening place, why bug out? Makes no sense unless absolutely necessary.
Perception vs. Reality. Amen!
And that’s the main thoroughfares. Even the side roads will be impassible, if not downright dangerous because of highwaymen.
No kidding on the traffic.
Before Y2K I was in the Chicago area. People were worried there would be roving bands of people scouring the countryside for everything. I thought it amusing as I was talking to a coworker who did not realize all those fields she was driving by in Illinois and Indiana were corn and soybean fields. If you cannot recognize raw food as food you won’t be able to make use of it. In fact, most people could have a rabbit in hand and not know what to do. But I digress.
I went to see a friend’s show and went out with the theater group after word. On my way back to Indiana at 2 A.M., I ran into a traffic jam that was about 5 miles long and painfully slow. When I got up to what was causing it, I saw they were repairing expansion joints and the road had narrowed from 3 to 1 lane. People were driving around the cones and into the wide deep pits dug for refill and into wet the wet cement of those refilled. I realized then, there is no way large numbers of people are getting out of that city quickly in a panic mode.
Picking one's poisons is always a challenge.
In 2004 Hurricane Ivan knocked all the power out for nearly 2 weeks.
Not having power really gets old but there was never any worry about actual survival. My 85 year old Father lived only 5 miles away and I did worry about him. I would check in on him every day and I was surprised how well he did.
The main trouble was the heat. It could have been worse but in the middle of September it still gets really hot in the Florida Panhandle.
We were fortunate that some of the large stores (the Wal-Mart Supercenter) stayed open part time using generators. After a few days the government began handing out MREs but there were so many people waiting that I never did get any.
It sure was a relief when the power came back on but no one was dying.
On the other hand if power had been off permanently, it would have been much worse.
I am an avid back packer and love bugging out for leisure.
However I would not recommend the only preparation someone makes is to grab a small bag full of stuff and hit the road. Everyone else is going to have the same idea. You will, in time, just be a refuge.
There are few situations where it would make sense to abandon ‘home’ for the road. Speaking for my own location there are only a few things that would force me out of here. We have a major rail line through town. One of those care could tip and release a toxic cloud causing me to leave for a couple days. We have long cold winters but we have nice warm summers in which to prepare. Maybe the power goes out and cash is unavailable for a while. Do you know your neighbors? Is it realistic to plan for an invasion a-la REd Dawn? Are we all in such great shape we can hike in to the wilderness, where no one else is in a country of 350,000,000 people? Are you likely to find someone who can fix your car, stitch a wound, or slaughter a goat with whom you can barter? Is it more likely you can farm an acre of food and kill a few elk before a truck load of food arrived at an empty grocery store?
The bugging out model has a certain romance to it. However, I would venture to say a great many are not able to make it more than a couple days. Staying put makes the most sense in all but the most extreme situation.
I am not saying don’t have a BOB ready to go. I keep one in my office, one in my house, and a bin in the car. I am not too worried about the Canadian Mounties invading, but some day, a train may crash and we have to bug out of town. Cash, booze, bullets, a few barter guns. If it really gets bad I could barter a very specialized skill, machinist mechanic. I’m not likely to carry a 2000 pound mill nad 500 pound toolbox on my back.
For some realistic advice check out Ferfal’s blog, Alpharubican, and (his name escapes me) a blog written by a Bosnia who survived in that war.
If your home is your survival platform is a sailboat, bugging out is just going cruising.
BTW people can’t figure out my name. I went Galt aboard a sailboat so I’ve “Gone Salt”.
I think it became a popular notion because people want to have a sense of control in their lives, especially in the fearful and lawless times we now find ourselves living in. Moreover, in a disaster, where things are logarithimcally worse, people want to believe they can take charge and not be a lamb led to slaughter.
But, as mentioned, so much of the "bugging out" culture does not consider the hard cold facts of reality. Some people say they are going to "stash" food, water, and medicines in the woods. Really? Where exactly? Are they sure they can get to them in a true disaster? How can they ensure their "stash" is safe?
One thing that has been mentioned by former military who have been out there, lugging their equipement around: stuff is HEAVY!
Also, if you have small children, and older person with medical issues, or a pregnant wife, all this talk about "living off the land" becomes even more unrealistic. I am not saying it could not be accomplished, only that it would encounter great difficulty.
That is why in many disaster, people turn up in shelters.
They tried it on their own, and many didn't last but a few hours before they headed to the nearest designated shelter area.
I saw a few of those during Katrina. Not......Fun....Places.
Also, I heard that Zombies can't swim!
I may not have much of a choice, depending upon the disaster. There’s a large percentage of the local populace just waiting for ‘the man’ to turn his back - instant zombie apocalypse.
True, it’ll be a target-rich environment, but even a fun thing gets old after a while.
The downside to “Bugging in” where “all your stuff is”, is that any zombies/members of the FSA in your vicinity know (in a general way) where all “your stuff” is, and are already half-convinced that what you have is owed to them; that’ll go double when their EBT cards fail.
No, you can’t carry “everything you need” with you, but you can carry enough to get someplace safe (note, you need to have this “someplace safe” identified and ready for you to arrive prior to the emergency).
Also, it is true that refugees fare very poorly, and that becoming a refugee should be a last choice. However, as noted above, there’s a big element of “it depends” mixed in. If some faction of the FSA overruns your AO, being a refugee is likely very preferable to becoming a martyr, or worse, a “toy” for the FSA.
A: "How about Mexican?"
People will be very surprised at how little they can carry, for such a little distance. And how fast they get wiped out tired.
Mobile stash is not your entire hoseold prep considering moving to another location permanently.
Ding. Sky-Pilot brings up a good point. However, IMHO a Bug out vehicle has got to be bare-bones simple. These new UTV's are cool, but look @ the price tags. A 4 seat sandrail ( VW Based ) Corvair powered, dual ignition, one being old fashion points and a dual fuel carb ( nat gas / propane tank aboard as well ) is what I envision as the ultimate bug out sled. Kinda of a hi-po version of the "Chentworth" buggy our spec-op guys had a while back.
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