[SkyPilot]

The article is from last January, but I just ran across it and am posting it for interest.

Hurricane season is upon us, and you never know what other dangers might befall you or your family.

I think the proverbial "bugging out" is totally situational. I was in the Florida panhandle when Hurricane Ivan came in and tried to kill me. I left, thank you very much.

It is always good to follow the old Boy Scout motto and "Be Prepared."

However, this term of "Bugging Out" has gotten a little out of hand in recent years. I swear, I think some people think that surviving in a true disaster is going to be "fun" and that things are going to be like some script from a television show or movie. It won't.

Related article:

The Top 4 Reasons Why You’re Not Going to Survive Bugging Out to the Woods

The article (correctly) points out that you might not find paradise out in those "abandoned" woods. You might find roving bands of other families, surivors, and people who will be competing for the same resources as you (food, shelter, water, game, etc).

The veneer of civilization is very, very thin. In bad situations, people can get ugly - quick.

Again, it is all situation dependent. It a tsunami is headed your way - then you probably want to get out. However, in even the worst situation, the average home still has tools, water, food, matches, flashlights, clothing, shelter, knives, rope, sterno, etc.

Stay safe!

[Georgia Girl 2]

Yep. If you don’t have a retreat to bug out to don’t do it.

[SVTCobra03]

We live out in the country and all our neighbors have vegetable gardens and are heavily armed. We are bugging in.

[TADSLOS]

Ping.

[BenLurkin]

No AAA after s hits?

No fire department either.

So if an out control fire starts torching your housing tract -- you better be ready to go.

[stickandrudder]

Prepper ping

[cripplecreek]

I always say to stay secure at home if at all possible.

It also helps to have good neighbors with a prepper streak for security in numbers.

[rey]

Good piece. Realistic.

Having been an infantry Marine, I know of what he speaks. Carrying everything you need (and you can’t) on your back is a pain most of us cannot handle. Most people won’t even carry their own golfs clubs while they are allegedly exercising yet they think they will carry all they need in a pack.

Another thing about being in the field is we were resupplied often; I do not see that happening in this instance. If you are not being resupplied you spend a significant amount of time feeding, housing, and clothing yourself or stealing all you need.

Most people who talk of living after an apocalyptic event haven’t really thought things through.

[TADSLOS]

Totally situational. What if you are travelling anyway or just out shopping across town when the SHTF? Being more than just a couple of miles away from home could be life threatening. Having a mobile stash of essentials could save your life.

[ASA Vet]

It is always good to follow the old Boy Scout motto and "Be Prepared."

The new Boy Scout motto is, "Who's your Daddy?"

[Eagles6]

The best time to bug out is now. If you live in a city move to a rural area.

[outofsalt]

Good stuff, SkyPilot. Kartographer is our freeprepper pinglist master and as you can see, several folks have ping’d your article to share with like minded freepers.

It’s good to have plans a-d,e,f... I would head to sea as my bugout location, unless I was fleeing a hurricane. Then I might head for the hills, unless there was a wildfire sweeping down. It’s good to think in terms of improvising.

Oh, and instead of three wee bottles of Gallo wine I’d stick to Everclear. For medicinal purposes and as a firestarter, of course.

[yarddog]

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.

[Organic Panic]

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.

[GoneSalt]

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”.

[PLMerite]

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.

[Little Pig]

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.

[JoeProBono]

[SkyPilot]

Kartographer,

I didn't know you a had a ping list. Can you add me?

One of things I saw during Katrina was the problem of pets.

Shelters would not accept them. For some people, the dilemma of pets vs. humans sounds trivial. But I will tell you it was a real problem and situation for many, many people.

People were told, flat out, to leave their pets if they were evacuated (sometimes forcibly). To many folks, their pets are family. They might as well be asked to leave their infant behind. Again, some people might think this is a stupid issue, but it was real.

When people stock food, they should also consider their beloved animals. The grocery shelves might not just be out of bread and milk - if they are not looted or functioning at all.

[Nervous Tick]

Too late! We already done bugged out.

(City => country)

[Teflonic]

I think the best option is to have a secret fortified room in the center of your house or attic. Make the house look deserted but retain the ability to wipe out a gang that stays too long. Mount peepholes and firing ports from your secret room ideally positioned so that all the areas in the house are be covered.