There are two main options, should the shit actually ever hit the fan: bugging in, or bugging out. Yes, there are variations to both of those, but that’s essentially your two choices in their most basic form. I’ve talked about bugging in a bit, and about hiding in forests and building shelters and such. But what about bugging out?
If you’ve decided (for whatever reason) to leave your home during an emergency, you have to address the issue of travel. Near as I can tell, you have a very limited number of methods to travel in the average bug out situation:
- your vehicle
- a non-motorized method of transport (ie a bicycle, unicycle, scooter, skateboard, etc.)
- riding an animal (horse, llama, sheep, yak, whatever)
- walking
Your vehicle, be it a car, truck, camper van, or motorcycle, is probably your first thought. I know it’s mine. My car already has a bug out bag in it, and in winter there’s always a 72 hour survival bucket stashed in the back, just in case. Your vehicle (other than the motorcycle, for the most part) is also a type of shelter, somewhere to be secure with doors locked, out of the rain and wind and snow, with at least somewhat comfortable sleeping arrangements. You can also cart things with you in a vehicle, such as food, clothing, emergency shelter like tents and tarps, first aid items, and weapons with ammo.
There’s a major drawback with vehicles, though. They run on fuel. If you run out of fuel, you stop. Now, if you carry a siphon kit (and I do recommend it, because sucking gas out of a tank without one is a very unpleasant thing indeed, and no I don’t want to talk about it), you can remove fuel from other vehicles. If the movies (and images of war torn countries) are reliable, you’ll probably find abandoned cars and trucks at the side of (or in the middle of) the roads. These can be checked for abandoned fuel, depending on your situation, and you can take from them if they have any.
You can carry extra fuel with you, though you may want to be careful about how you do that. You shouldn’t really carry fuel inside a vehicle, and if you have it on the outside, you’re advertising to everyone that you have fuel to spare. Whether it’s FEMA, desperate parents, or raiders, you could lose that extra fuel if you stop. Disguising it (fuel canisters inside empty suitcases?) might be your best bet, along with securing them with locks, and protecting yourself and your gear using firearms.
If there’s no fuel, or roads are blocked, you may not have the option to take your motorized vehicle. Time to look at the options available to you that don’t require gas. Bicycles are the most obvious choice, but most anything with wheels is going to be better than walking. You can go 10 to 20 miles an hour on a bike, and only 20 miles a day on foot. With a bike, you can also carry items. You can get baskets and saddle bags that will hold necessities. You can also get a trailer, and there are several inexpensive ones available. Bikes do have limits, though. Consider trying to get up a huge hill with a heavy trailer on the back of your bike. It’s not fun. If you plan to use a bicycle, you need to start practicing for that NOW. I guarantee, if you get on a bike at the last second during an emergency, you’ll give up on it about ten minutes later. You need to have muscle memory if you want to use a bike as a primary mode of transportation.
Bikes lack some of the features of cars and vans. They don’t have an inside space, and you can’t lie down inside them. They don’t provide any shelter or security. They can be stolen relatively easily. There’s a distinct limit to how much stuff you can carry with you. In the winter, or during bad weather, a bicycle is a miserable way to travel.
If you can find yourself an animal to ride, that’s a better option. Horses, mules, and donkeys are all pretty easy to take care of. While they do require fuel, you can find quite a bit of it on the ground in the warmer parts of the year. They can carry a lot of stuff, especially if you have properly made gear for them (saddlebags, panniers, etc.). I know a lot of people think, “Gee, I can just take off with that neighbor’s horse after the shit hits the fan…” Stop it. Leaving aside that it’s stealing (because if we’re dealing with an apocalypse, I’m more important than a neighbor), that horse knows who owns it and where it lives. If you try to steal it, you could get injured, and if you don’t know how to take care of it, I guarantee it will simply walk home the second your back is turned.
Animals are better for carrying than riding, quite honestly. If you walk and an animal carries gear in packs, you will have more than doubled your carrying capacity. Even dogs and cats can wear a level of gear, which is rather cool.
That brings us to walking. If we truly end up in an apocalyptic situation (or something bad happens, like the hurricane in the Carolinas), you’ll be walking. We’ll all be walking. It behooves us to get used to doing that now, and not wait until after the emergency happens. Start by walking around in your neighborhood, and work your way up to winter hikes that include miles of walking and a full pack on your back.
The biggest drawback to walking is that you can’t carry as much stuff with you. It limits the amount of food, water, and ammo you have. There’s just so much you can carry in a pack, and even if weight doesn’t do you in, the bulk might. My military sleep system does fit onto the top of my backpack, but it towers high over my head, and is awkward. I can hike with it, but only because I’ve practiced, and even then it’s uncomfortable. So how do you solve that problem?
There are actually a lot of ways to solve it. A simple litter comes to mind. Two poles with a jacket or sheet strung between them become a litter for you to stow your gear onto, and you can drag it behind you or share the weight with a fellow traveler. A better option, though, is to utilize wheels.
There are a few different and very cool ways to carry heavier or bulkier items while trekking. Here are my top five:
Some of them are more expensive than others, but if you are planning on walking a long distance, it may be worth it for you to have one of these neat little carts. Of course, if you’re poor like I am, you can also make your own. There are a bunch of tutorials online, so have a look around and find one that matches what you need.
All of this travel talk is useless unless you know where you’re going. Do not believe, as some have said to me, that you’re just going to hunker down in the woods in primitive overnight shelters, and wander aimlessly during the day. Not only is that impractical, it’s just stupid. Have a goal in mind. My own plan is to bug in, but I have three separate locations that I can go to, should I have to bug out. One is a closer area, and two are more remote.
Knowing where you’re going is more than just knowing your destination. We tend to rely heavily on GPS navigation these days, and if satellites are working, great. However, what if they’re not? Do you know how to reach your destination(s) using only your own knowledge, or with the help of paper maps? Do you HAVE any paper maps? Do you have a compass, and do you know how to use it? Being prepared for travel means not just knowing what means you’re going to use to get there, but also HOW to get there. Are the roads likely to be usable? Can you off-road if necessary? Do you know back routes to your destination(s)?
A few days of planning now may save your life in an emergency. Helene and Milton have taught us that we need not be dealing with the zombie apocalypse to need all this information. What plans do you have for if you need to bug out?
Leave a Reply