Simulated bugout?

Let's simulate a bug-out!

You know where you want to go, and maybe you've planned how to get there.  Your route avoids the highways, sticks to the secondaries and includes stops to pick up your buried supply caches.  Or maybe it doesn't include any of those details.

I see preppers on YouTube all the time who put on their Bug-Out Bag and hike to their bug-out location.  They highlight their skills, talk about things to be on the lookout for, and offer a view of what it might be like to do this thing. 

What if you plan to drive.  It's not beyond the realm of possibility.  You might have a place to go, or at least an idea of the area you want to go toward.  So how might you simulate a trek from your home to this other spot. 

In a world where things operate normally it might be hard to get an idea of what a trip like this would be like.  But you can pretend. 

In the current world where everything works the way it should you have access to all of the things you need to execute a road trip.  Gas stations, restaurants, hotels.  Practicing your scavenging skills in this environment is a little frowned upon, since breaking into a house to look for canned goods could land you in jail.  Just like siphoning gas from cars in a parking lot.

To simulate a world where these things are flipped over, you need to establish some rules to play by.  And stick to them as much as you can.  Obviously there will need to be concessions made for practicality, but you might even be able to get around some of those.

Travel

You will probably drive.  If not, and you plan to walk, then most of these guidelines won't apply to you. 

Drive the route marked on your map.  You will obviously stick to secondary and back roads since the mains are likely to be clogged in a real SHTF situation.  If you have a plan to carry extra fuel, do so as you normally would.

Getting more fuel

Obviously in a bad situation there will not be open gas stations.  So we will simulate the task of getting fuel, probably through siphoning, by burning time.  Determine how long you think it will take you to siphon a gallon of gas from a car.  Depending on the equipment you have this might be a short time, or a long time.  Come up with a set amount of time as your average time to siphon a gallon of gas. After you fill up at the pump, keep track of how many gallons you got.  Then find a parking space and start walking around.  You want to use up the time it would have taken you to siphon that gas.  This could simulate stopping at every car you find on the side of the road, or pulling into a parking lot and siphoning there.  It's an average time, so it will be loose.  Once you've spent the required time, hit the road again.

Potty breaks

This isn't something you need to be elaborate about.  You can stop for toilet breaks anywhere that is convenient on the trip.  In a SHTF situation there will be no shortage of places to go potty in the great big world.  Just remember that you'd need to have your own toilet paper and hygiene items for that evolution.  And there wouldn't probably be running water to wash up with. 

Food

This is where the game rules can be a little tricky.  If you are bringing your own food stuffs then this might not be an issue.  Make a meal, enjoy.  If you think you might only be making this trip after you've consumed your supplies, then you will need to do a little pretend scavenging.

Decide on a cash budget.  We will use cash for this because it's easier to divide up.  This figure should be very modest, since it's to help simulate the scarcity of items.  Divide the cash into random amounts and place that amount in envelopes.  One envelope per day.  Mix up your envelopes, then number them for each day of the trip.

It's random to give things a little variety.  Then numbered because you can only use funds from a particular day on that day.  If you have some left over from Day # 1 you can't use it on Day # 2.

Stop to scavenge along the route.  You will probably use a grocery store, but you might use a gas station convenience store, or even the Dollar Store.  When you shop stick to canned goods or dry goods.  Skip fresh fruits and veggies, meat (that isn't in a can) anything that would stay edible for a long time.  This will represent items you could scavenge from houses, stores, abandoned cars, etc. 

If you are part of a team, and by team I mean any combination of people, try to get everyone involved based on their ability to participate.  Kids, bug-out buddies, spouses, roommates, everyone gets some of the cash and are sent off to shop.  This can help break up the items you get so you aren't getting everything knowing what goes together to make your mother's goulash.  Try to make your loot as random as you can.

Sleeping

Camping

In a real SHTF situation you will sleep where you can based on a lot of factors.  For this simulation, I recommend making reservation at campgrounds for a tent site.  This will give you a chance to practice your fire making skills to cook outdoors, or use your gas stove.  Pitch your tent, or set the car up as your shelter.  Whatever you think you might do, try to do.  We are at a campground, but avoid using the facilities (except the toilets) since this is to simulate you being on a bug-out so you might be camping just off the side of the road, or behind a Wal-Mart, or under an overpass.  But actually camping in those places in the normal world makes people grumpy.  If you want that deep immersive experience, by all means do what you are comfortable with and what you feel you can do safely.

Squatting

In a real SHTF situation you might decide to shelter in abandoned buildings/houses or the like on your bug-out.  This can be simulated in a number of ways.  Airbnb, couch surfing, staying in a hotel.  The key is to keep in mind the things you'd lack and try to make due.  It will never be an ideal simulation, but keep in mind what would be different.  Couch surfing or Airbnb might be like squatting in an abandoned house.  It's probably an unfamiliar environment, so you might not get the best night's rest.

If you have to stay in hotels because there are no campgrounds or other options along the way, try to keep the simulation working by not taking the elevators (ask for a room as close to the ground as you can) , skipping the ice machine and the mini-bar.  Don't use the room AC or heat.  As I've said, it will never be an ideal simulation, but while you're doing it keep thinking about the conditions as they might be and how you would deal with them.

Conclusion

This was a flight of fancy.  If you decide to do some bug-out simulations, make notes of what you did to simulate the potential crisis conditions.  Practice and refine your craft.  Like any skill, practice is how you improve. 

Keep your smart phone

Unless the end of the world is due to a massive EMP, there is a good chance your smart phone will be useful.

Handy Features

 Camera
Most smart phones have a camera, which is good for capturing useful information, maybe more than you want to write down, or something that only a picture can capture.

 Video Camera
Like the camera, but video allows you to record an event, or perhaps a message.  You might want to use the videos as a log of the events.  Capture a message to loved ones or your thoughts as you go about your struggle to survive.

Notes
Jot down some important notes, keep track of supplies, instructions to find a cache you've hidden perhaps or just a journal of events.

Manuals & Books
Electronic versions of books (stored locally on the phone) could be handy.  The Red Cross has some First-Aid Apps that are just digital versions of the manuals you might already have.  They have one for pets also.  Maybe your favorite book on survival in the wilderness, or a cook book for wild game.  Books are always handy.

Compass
It's probably not as reliable or easy to use as a good old fashioned compass, but it's better than nothing.  You're not going to be able to use your phones navigation apps if the networks are down, and even if you have the maps downloaded locally to the phone, the GPS system will become unreliable after a couple of weeks if no one is keeping it updated.  So depending on the nature of the end of the world, that might be a concern.

Music
Maybe you have some music on your phone.  Music can boost your spirits, and help make a boring situation more enjoyable. 

Alarm
Maybe you want to get a couple of hours of sleep, setting an alarm might be important.  And right with alarms is the time itself.  Maybe you need to know the time (although that might be the last thing you care about) Your smart phone can certainly do that.

Flashlight
It's not the best light source in the world, but if you need it a smart phone can either shed glow from it's screen or the flash (usually an LED) can be pressed into service as a flashlight.  You will probably need an app for this, but you should have one anyway.

These are just a few uses.  There is a good chance if you sit and think about it, you'll come up with some more on your own.

Power Saving

If you are using your smart phone, it's probably a good idea to take some steps to save power.  Many smart phones have assorted power saving settings you can access to maximize battery life.  Using those will extend the life span of your battery.  Another thing might be to put the phone in Airplane mode, which is to switch off all of it's transceivers.  Some smart phones have a dedicated setting just for this, others you might have to turn those functions off individually.

Turning the brightness of the screen down can save power as well, or setting it to adjust depending on the ambient light if your phone supports that.

Turn off some reminders.  No sense in letting your phone remind you of your coffee date with friends if it's the end of the world.  Unless these are new friends and coffee date is your code for scavenging run.  Anything you can do to conserve power will help.

Recharging

If the world comes to an end, the way you recharge your phone might need to change.  You might be someone who already lives on solar and battery power, so this isn't new to you.  For the majority of us though, we get the power for charging our phones out of the wall of our house.  And that might not be an option.

Solar Panels & Batteries

Portable solar panels are pretty common, and they can be pressed into service to charge a phone.  What I find works better is using the solar panel to charge a battery that you then use to charge the phone.  It makes it so that you can use the phone during the day (when you will likely need to) and charge a battery with your solar so that you can charge the phone at night using the battery.

Manual Chargers

There are a few hand crank chargers on the market, and assorted devices that turn physical labor into electricity you can use to charge devices.  My experience with these has been varied, but I don't find many of them to be super effective.  It might just be the models I've used, your mileage may vary.

Plan Ahead

This is all about planning ahead and being prepared.  Make sure to examine your options for Apps, chargers, external battery packs, and all of that now while you have the electricity and infrastructure to do it.  That way, if the world comes to an end, you'll have the tools you need to continue using your smart phone as an effective tool.

Until next time, keep prepping!

Situational skills....Which is all of them.

You have begun to seriously dig into the Prepper thing.  You have started training with firearms, working on your wilderness survival skills, you've got good gear, but not too much because you know skills are more valuable than gear.

Can you knit, or crochet, or sew a shirt, or mend a sock, or weave fabric?  There are skills that probably have not crossed your mind.  Most of us don't think about where we're going to get shoes after a SHTF situation, and I mean well after.  Day to day wear and tear I go through a pair of combat boots in about two years.  Those are good quality boots and I'm not living in them, putting miles and miles on them like I might need to in a SHTF type of situation.

You might think that it's not going to be a problem, and that might be the case.  But, what about your shirts and pants.  If you have a plan to wash your clothing then you can certainly extend it's lifespan.  for how long though, I mean eventually people will need new cloths and shoes and those skills are going to be as important as any others.

Like everything skills are situational.  When you are cold and need to start a fire being able to cut fabric, mark a seam, sew a seam, and so on will not be all that important.  But when someone needs some clothing mended, or made from scratch, those skills will be important.

It's obvious that some skills will stop being useful, at least for a time.  Computer programming, probably not very useful in a SHTF situation.  Maybe ten years later, but not likely 2 years later.

Obviously you can't have every possible skill.  There is a limit to how self-sufficient you can actually be.  This is another one of those points when we bring up how important it is to become part of a community.  Pooling resources, and skills are a resource.

Take stock of your non-survival skills.  Are you good with engines, or maybe you know how to frame a house, or perhaps you can make a quilt.  where are you weak, and where are you strong.  It will help you figure out what you might need when SHTF happens.

The ultimate bug out vehicle

There are a ton of posts about the ultimate bug out vehicle.  Campers, trucks, jeeps, you name it and someone has a blog post or video about their version of the ultimate bug out vehicle.

Like everything else in the TEOTWAWKI world, this is a personal choice.  What is your current situation, are you an urban dweller who lives without a car or are you perched on your little slice of heaven and have to drive to the mailbox. 

Look at your situation.  Can you afford a fully tricked out four-wheel drive road warrior vehicle, or should you just invest in a good pair of boots?

Buy the boots.  Even if you buy the off-road beast, buy the boots.  Things happen and you might just end up having to rely on Plan B.  If Plan B is a good pair of boots at least you'll have them.  Well, if things go right you'll have them.

When you do buy the boots, make sure they fit well, then put some miles on them.  You do not want to have to rely on a brand new pair of boots if you can avoid it.  Make sure to break them in with some walking.  Maybe put on your best 'Gray Man' outfit with your new boots and take a walk in your natural habitat. 

You want to make sure you can walk comfortably in the boots, at least as comfortably as anyone can be under whatever unpleasant circumstances have put you on the move.  Even a couple of miles at a stretch is better than nothing.  Maybe take a friend or your special other and play Pokemon Go while you walk.  What's more Gray Man than walking and staring at your phone right?

In the end, a good pair of boots might end up being your ultimate bug out vehicle.  Maybe not by choice, but simply because you have no other option.  Do your homework and make sure you get a solid pair that will last.  They might be your last pair of boots for a while, and you don't want to skimp on them.

Remember, think critically, act decisively, and never stop learning.