Great Post-Nice Pictures-Neat Idea~~~~
Let’s talk a minute about the one facet of this plan you have not mentioned---
WEIGHT!
Ahhh-the little bugger thing about weight.
Have you ever humped a 75Lb rucksack through the mountains, in the rain, when your dog tired, and there are a thousand and one reasons that you should
be in a tactical mode?
"Several pounds each of food supplies"?? WOW! You must have super-human endurance, or can hump 15-20 pounds of dried food, in addition to all that
gear. Impressive ~~!
Weapons and ammunition weighs many heavy pounds. And that will be in addition to all the other 'shtuff" your hauling around.
Let’s examine this plan a little closer in real terms:
1) Its midnight. The weather outside is snowing, and it's -20 degrees below zero.
2) You have five minutes to get out of the house, and away from population centers.
3) There's no utility services, and martial law has been declared.
4) You grab your BOB, guns, and head out to your "well rehearsed" survival/evacuation route-heading towards your own personal 'safe spot" several
miles distant.
5) The first mile through the deep snow (yeah-ya forgot the dang snowshoes and goggles) are tough as all get out. The swirling snow makes it hard to
see, and every step sinks you down a foot and a half. (It's all that weight you see)
6) You find yourself in a small clearing, tired, and taking a quick five minute break to rest your aching back; when suddenly there's the sounds of a
snowmobile coming at you. You look across the edge of the clearing, and see 4-5 headlights bobbing (at high speed) directly at you. They spread out to
form a skirmish line, and the riders behind the drivers are brandishing assault rifles, hastily leveled at your general direction.
7) You've been spotted by other 'survivalist" and perhaps you have stumbled into their AO (Area of Operation), and they want to find out who the
heck you are, and what you’re doing; say nothing about what your carrying...
8) You can’t hide in the snow, and you can't run with that heavy pack on either, and you sure as hell can't start engaging them all by yourself.
(Even though you like to think you’re like John Rourke), so what do you do?
The reality is simple my friend, your screwed....
Turn this scenario around and imagine that they have DOGS hunting you. A pack of Dobermans, or Rottweiler’s come charging at you. A very likely
scenario, given peoples propensities for protection these days. All that weight will surely bog you down.
The much simpler plan would dictate that you "ALREADY" have ample supplies tucked away in buried drums at a secret location.
Your Bob should contain enough supplies to carry you to the next “RP” (Resupply Point), which is nothing more than a plastic bucket with airtight
lid containing a small cache of supplies/gear to get you through the escape route to the next RP.
My thoughts are this.
I keep a “survival vest” filled with essential items, and enough grub to last 48 hours. In all, the vest weighs just over 8 pounds. I can survive
with these small items alone.
Each RP contains another 48 hours worth of supplies, and some extra gear. However far way you have to travel, should dictate the number of RP you
need.
I live approximately 30 miles North of Anchorage, Alaska. My retreat is about 100 miles away in the back country of Alaska interior. Walking that
distance in the summer months would take me about 10 days. Winter would double that. Being tactical would add another 5-6 days to that scenario.
So, worst case scenario tells me that walking a month in the winter would require a serious amount of tactical expertise, and a lot of weight.
Yes-I keep the ATV and Snow-machine all tanked up, and it awaits the moment that I will fire it up and haul outta here. But again, things happen, and
I may very well have to walk out of here.
A fifty year old wife, and a 14 year old daughter are some of the “misc stuff’ that I have to haul to my ‘secret spot in the woods”. Naw-that
just isn’t gonna work for me.
The solution is pretty simple; each of us keeps the survival vest ready, we have the machines to ride if we can, but we are prepared to huff & puff it
to the retreat if necessary. The going will be tough in the winter, but at least we don’t have to hump a lot of gear.
Gortex/Windproof/Waterproof (-150 rating and very costly) Extreme Cold Weather Parka double as sleeping bags when fitted with a pair of bibs. I can
lay down in the snow, (even at -65 below zero) pull the facemask across my face, tighten the fur lined snorkel hood, and go right to sleep without a
problem. I’ve done that a couple of time.
The next step is to actually rehearse the plan at least once…
Sadly the women folk in my family want nothing to do with walking 100 miles in the winter, but I have, and I am here to tell you that even under the
best conditions, it terrible, rugged, and at the end of the day, even though it feels like you just walked 50 miles, the sad fact is that you’re
lucky to cover 12-15 miles. Had I been forced to hump 75 pounds of gear on my back, it would have cost me about 6-7 miles.
There is a lesson from all of this:
K-I-S-S! [Keep It Simple Stupid! ]
Some things ya’ just learn the hard way, and during extreme circumstances, that’s the worse time to realize that your plans suck! [ Shed some
weight my friend. Cache some of that stuff. ]
Personally, though I admire your tenacity, the fact is that you never mentioned where you were going, or do you plan to just wander about carrying all
that gear around.
Pick a destination that makes you feel safe and comfortable. Off the road, but close enough to get there by dirt bike/atv/snow-go-whatever, but close
enough to hike into as well. Bury what you need at the location, and make your plans light enough to actually get there. THEN DO IT ONCE TO GET A FEEL
FOR IT! That’s right. Huff and puff your way, and remain out of sight or people, cars, planes, helicopters, and other hikers. No camp fires, no
light, no noise. Try to avoid leaving a marked trail, and start walking. Stay off the trails and roads. Keep away from barking dogs, and be prepared
to detour several miles around every lake/pond or house/cabin that you encounter.
BTW-I’m not sure where you live, or how the people in the area would react to some guy trespassing on their property, carrying loaded weapons, and
looking for all intents like a mini-terrorist, Are you pretty adept at running from Police Helicopters with spotlights and night vision. (HEHE HEH)
When you’ve accomplished this at least once. Post some pictures of this grand adventure, and then let’s see your BOB list, and its staple items. I
can almost bet your going to drop ½ of the stuff you mentioned.
Really though; I’m not trying to rain on your parade, but some of the posts that I read on here have me laughing until tears come to my eyes. The
guys that falsely believe, that having enough guns and ammo will aid their survival. These are the guys that forget a couple of things; It might be
winter, and there will be guys like me, that shoot back.
You also don’t have to actually own any property during bad times. Pick a spot, slide in there and drop your supplies into a well hid hole. Then
erase all your tracks and slide back out of there.
During a crisis, is there really going to be “land ownership” other than the places that we actually habitat? Of course not. Government land,
national forest, and parks will be filled with “amateur survivalists” all seeking to do the same thing. Escape and Elude~~!
Pick a spot during the summer months. Spend 24-hours watching it from a safe distance. See who comes and goes, and decide where you will place your
drums. Walk 20-30 paces north, and put another drum in the ground. Do this until you have ample supplies buried at the site. No matter what the
weather, you will always know where your “shtuff” is buried.
Take an afternoon road trip and drive to the site you have chosen. Every 12 miles bury a food grade 5-gallon bucket, 100 yards off the road, near a
natural landmark, sign, bridge; something that you can spot easy in the dark.
Cache extra ammunition, food, water, and some basic subsistence supplies. Round everything out with extra clothing in vacuum sealed bags.
Where I live there aren’t a lot of people. But, Anchorage is home to 300,000 city folks that will be streaming north. There are a couple of
inhabited areas/small towns that I will have to contend with, (on my way north) and many, many, miles of swamps, bogs, rivers, streams, steep
mountains, and deep ravines. It sure looks like a sportsman’s paradise when I send pictures to my family in the lower-48 states, but in reality,
each of these areas represents a potential “danger area” when viewed from a survival perspective. Let’s not forget the grizzly bears, wolves,
feral dogs, and “Wannabe Rambo’s” armed with assault rifles that will share my trek north.
I have no delusions about what it will take to get there; having done it once on foot. The first 3-days were alright, but each day after that became
difficult, at best. The mosquitoes snacked on me all day and night long. The blisters in my boots were killing me, and sweating profusely had me
drinking more water than I normally do. At night the temperature, even though it was summer time, dropped down into the 40’s, and sometimes lower.
The sunlight remained for 22 hours a day, with only a brief 1-hour of semi-darkness (like dusk in the states). As hard as I tried, there were still
people that spotted me. And time after time I was growled at by mountains dogs protecting somebody’s cabin.
Both variety of bears were a constant problem as well. That meant that I had to stay away from salmon streams. I was charged twice, and though it was
nice to carry that Ruger #77 chambered in the .338-magnum, and the 44-Mag on my hip; both got real heavy, not to mention having to maneuver the rifle
through the shrubs and vines, as well as always having to be able to keep it within elbows reach.
Sleeping on the ground without a campfire was the Pitts. My Tommy stove worked, but I could only carry so much fuel in the vest. Chewing on hard
biscuits, and washing it down with a cup of coffee was pure pleasure in itself………. But a warm meal was heaven on earth. I allowed myself a hot
meal every three days. Given that smoke flows across the land, and that firelight can be seen at night, and the mere fact that the smell of food
arouses various animals, it was a pleasure to have some hot spam, and instant rice.
But I was always mindful of the fact that if this was really a crisis, all of these elements would contribute to my being discovered.
Take a moment to consider your plan; learn something about what you will actually be facing. Do it for real, and then---Make The Plan-Work The Plan. A
simple mantra to remember