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Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland
I think as a boy my favorite stories were always about epic journeys or quests. I always saw myself as the lone hero; bravely making his way through a barren landscape overcoming impossible obstacles and having fantastic adventures along the way. As preppers I think many of us still believe that WTSHTF our trip to “Get out of Dodge” will be an adventure such as those we read in books. I’m afraid however; the reality will be much grimmer than we can imagine. I fear that it will be more like The Road by Cormac McCarthy or the recent novel One Second After by William R. Forstchen , than anything else. I live in the Chicago metropolitan area, yes far behind enemy lines so to speak, and have been a prepper for most of the last 10 years. Like many of us I must live in a big city because of my job. I need money to survive. Living here is no big deal if you learn to ignore the local politics. My kids are grown and I have no long-term attachments here. If the world falls to pieces I always felt I could leave in an instant. I have the requisite pick-up truck, keep it full of fuel, pre-positioned much of my supplies with my son at a relatively safe location in a small town (population 5,000) about 600 miles from here. I’ve got my G.O.O.D. bag packed and I’m ready to go when ever things go south. Or am I ready? Let’s review my bug-out plan. Wait a second, I have no plan! This blinding flash of the obvious hit me as I was stuck in rush-hour traffic last Friday evening on my way to my son’s. It took me nearly three hours to get from my apartment on the far north side of the city to I-80 on the far south side. This was the route I assumed I would take to skedaddle. Think about that; I was on Interstate highways the whole time, leaving at 8:00 PM, and it still took me nearly three hours to go less than 80 miles. What’s really scary is that I was thinking all along how light the traffic was. I had no alternative routes in mind. Yikes! Well, I’ve got to tell you this dear readers, that realization scared the bejeebus out of me. I was so unready to bug out. I had the stuff, the means, the mindset, etc., however, in a meltdown near-panic situation, I would’ve have been just one more member in a stream of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the big city. This experience got me off my duff and forced to review what I will do when the next shoe drops in our ongoing economic nightmare. I drew up a list of what was necessary to implement an action plan to “Escape from Chicago 2009” 1. Have a bug-out kit ready at all times a. No problem I have a bug-out bag packed and ready to go. No last minute packing required. However; I hadn’t checked it in quite some time and when I did I found plenty of things to replace and replenish. Batteries lost their charge. Foods had expired. So did many of the common medications I packed. BTW, I also now have a 72 hour bag with me whenever I leave the house. You can never be sure when the worst thing you can imagine will happen. 2. Bring as much as you can with you. a. Unlike many of you, I am not a man of any particular religious belief system. However, like most of you, I feel what makes us truly human beings is our compassion. I have to say that I don’t think while bugging out, I could look a frightened hungry child in the eyes and say no - nothing for you. Bring more than you need. If you don’t need to share then all the better; there’s more for you when you reach your destination. 3. No stopping to buy last minute items. a. If it’s so bad you need to be bugging-out do you really think others don’t know that and are at that very minute stripping the local Wal-Mart clean? During the Los Angeles riots in 1992 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the grocery stores were near impossible to get to and if you could, it didn't matter; they were closed, or had been looted, and were empty. Also, shop owners, for example, may attempt to defend their stores with firearms (a la the Los Angeles Riots) and you don’t want to be caught in the crossfire. <Sarcasm on> I know, I know, Chicago has very strict gun laws so there won’t be any shooting except by a few gun-toting NRA/survivalist types <Sarcasm off>. Finally, one interesting image comes to mind when I think of someone “liberating” goods from a Wal-Mart. During the Katrina emergency I recall seeing a video of a very obese woman wading through chest deep flood water, polluted with who knows what, holding a Dyson vacuum cleaner she had “liberated” over her head. No electricity, no home, no floor for that matter, but she had an expensive vacuum cleaner she had probably always wanted. Also, an interesting side note is the lack of bookstores looted. TA I WONDER WHY??? 4. Be sure to “Right size your bug-out vehicle a. Simply put, don’t try to put a 10 gallon load in a 5 gallon bucket. Have a big enough vehicle to accommodate what you need to bring. If you have too much stuff, try to pre-position the bulkiest and heaviest items ahead of time. Be sure to leave enough room in your vehicle for people and pets. If you can’t pre-position the bulkiest stuff at the far end; consider renting storage space in some small town along your intended bug-out route. If necessary, keep a small trailer at the midpoint as well. Also remember that unexpected things may/can/will happen and you will need to change your plans accordingly. Therefore, only the non-essential “nice to have things”, not the essential for survival things, should be stored at waypoints along the way. 5. Don’t oversize your bug-out vehicle a. A corollary to the above is having a vehicle that is too big. Big is not always better. We’ve all seen in footage of the highways during the Hurricane Katrina and Rita emergencies. Massive Gridlock. If/when you need to get off the highway onto a secondary road you’ll need to know if your Jumbo Superbago or SUV with the extra-long Airfoil trailer can negotiate any tight turns and/or low clearances on your Plan B, C, and D routes. I don’t even want to discuss how much fuel bigger vehicles consume. 6. Expect no fuel to be available along the way a. My Dodge pickup gets 18 mpg fully loaded and I have a 22 gal fuel tank. For those of us who are lacking the math gene; that works out to 396 miles per tank and my destination is 600 miles away. Hmmm. That means I need an additional 10 gallons or so. Three options present themselves; get a larger fuel tank, carry gas cans, preposition fuel along the way. b. Option one is too pricey $1,000 plus in my case. c. Option two means using three 5 gallon gas cans. The problem here is that in order to be prepared to leave at any moment; I’d need to keep them all full. My biggest problem here is where to store them. As I mentioned, I live in an apartment so that’s really not an option I’d use except in the direst circumstances and I’d hate to leave them in my truck either. I’ll have to figure this one out. d. Finally, Option three requires storing them at waypoints along the route. This is a so-so solution. The primary route may change and you can’t count on being able to get to it before you run out of fuel. Secondly, most storage faculties have a serious prohibition on the storage of flammable, toxic, or explosive items. 7. Enough cash or “realistic” barter goods for a few weeks a. This is one area that I can’t really give any solid advice. Who knows what’ll be acceptable legal tender or barterable goods. You always read in the “Survival Canons” that certain barter goods will be useful. Honestly, I can’t imagine some 7-11 or Wal-Mart clerk accepting pre-1965 silver or ammo for the loaf of bread or gallon of gas I want to buy. Not in the first few days first anyway. I’d suggest that initially, good old greenbacks will do. How many to bring is the big question ($500 $1,000? Fives, Tens, or Twenties?). I can almost bet that by the time the Schumer hits the fan, most, if not all, banks will be shuttered for a "Short term-bank holiday” and ATMs will likewise be shut down . “No checks please.” Inflation may be rampant and gouging will be the name of the game. Remember Dan and TK's trip in "Patriots" ? $50 a gallon for gas may not be too farfetched. 8. Route selection a. Take your time starting tomorrow and carefully route the best escape route you can. Note that best doesn’t always equate with fastest. If the shortest route takes you through, or by, a major urban center, you’re just jumping from one frying pan into another. Use your GPS en-rote to see what other routes are nearby. Use on-line mapping software, on-line (Google or MapQuest) or a PC or Mac-based routing program. Test different routes and compare times and distances. Most of better routing software also shows gas stations, food, Wal-Mart’s, etc., along your route. Learn to use the software now; not when it’s crunch time. Again, Dan and TKs trip in "Patriots" . Parallel routes to the Interstates perhaps? 9. Expect Societal Breakdown a. Don’t count on your neighbor’s good intentions. Yep, you know which neighbors I mean. They’re the ones down the block with all of the expensive toys who had nothing put aside for an emergency and now are demanding you provide them food, water, and even transportation. Be prepared for incidents of aggression, attempted assault, and theft of supplies. You may need to resort to serious means to defend yourself and your loved ones traveling with you. (I hate to keep referring to "Patriots" but the description of the Laytons' harrowing trip out of Chicago will be much truer than we care to think. ) b. Be especially wary en route. When you stop for whatever reason, you may be approached by others wanting food, or fuel, or other essentials. Help those you feel are truly desperate to the best of your ability. However, you may have to be rather aggressive to deter insistent requests by overly aggressive fellow refugees. This is a good time to be traveling with like-minded, security-conscious friends, so that all concerned can provide mutual security and back-up. 10. Trust but verify a. I was originally going to title this section “Trust no one”, however, I feel that is just a bit to cynical. There will be those you meet along the way who are true Samaritans. But, there are also those may have few if any compunction related to “liberating” a few of your items as a donation for their efforts. Or, in the worst case, there will be some full-blown predators out there masquerading as shepherds waiting for the sheep to come to them. Be wary of all help; including that from our friends in the government. 11. Be wary of Government help. a. I don’t know what will happen if I need to bug-out; but one thing I can be sure of is that if you should stop for help at any government facility; the first thing they will do is ask if you have any weapons with you. This is pretty much standard police procedure in any case. The second thing they will do is take any weapons you have from you. It’s as simple as that. They will claim they are doing it for your own protection but you can be certain you will NEVER see your weapons again. Confiscating weapons was illegally done in New Orleans and few of the confiscated weapons were ever recovered. As unconstitutional as it was, they still to this day, justify taking the weapons as being in the best interest of the public. Forgetting of course that they were seizing the weapons of people least likely to use them against the forces of law and order an all the while never venturing near the danger zones in New Orleans where the actual goblins with illegal weapons resided. Additionally, you can probably also be sure that they will also take whatever food, or other goods you have that they deem necessary, to redistribute it among others who weren’t quite so well prepared as you. How dare you greedy selfish people who prepared have more than others who didn’t? I hope that you will think about what I have presented here and do your best to be prepared. I hope you all make it to your destinations safe and sound. http://www.survivalblog.com/ |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
Jeez, with all those hurdles, I'd say you have a snowball's chance in Hell of getting out. You better get out now - it's the only sure way.:565:
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Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
I bugged into Houston when SHTF with IKE. I had to bring preps into town for my ill prepared family.
There was NO GAS on the way out there. From Austin to Houston. Luckly I had already bought them a Berky. It was nerve wracking!... but I got it done and drove back to Austin the same day. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
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Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
Repeat after me:
You will not make it out. You will not make it out. You will NOT make it out. If you live in a city, GET OUT NOW. If you stay, and disaster strikes suddenly, you simply will not get out. "Bug out bags" and such and a "plan" won't mean shit. At best, you will shelter in place, and hope for the best...and will need to be ready to kiss your ass good bye. At worst, you will attempt to leave, get caught amidst the masses, and die. I just cannot fathom why anyone who is a member of GIM (or so many survival-oriented fora) would stay in a city after becoming enlightened. For your job? Family? What is more valuable than your life? |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
Brother Shasta
Starting over is not a simple deal just because you became "enlightened" Of all folks on this forum. .........Im in the position where I only have to look after myself and I can tell you it is no easy feat just pack up and walk out the door. Income and employment are not as replaceable as they once were ( everybody cant do farmhard work for a place to stay) Who can sell there present house in a market like this(credit drying up by the hour) to packup and "go tribal"? Not too many. My Dad is less then 5 miles from me you think I am not going to see after him?? My Pops?? I value my skin .......BUT I VALUE MY FAMILY EVEN MORE. I wont even touch on the aspect if one has kids, spouse and how complex there lives have become. At the end of the day The raw truth is. When the hammer falls. The odds are very high you will be making your stand where your feet are ...........LITERALLY. Prepare as best we can with the resources that are made available. Thats pretty much the whole of it. T |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
If a true SHTF scenario really hits then IMO no place is really safe. For people (such as myself) that are living in the city, then they will have to defend themselves. Sure GIM might have enlightened me but that does not mean I will quit my job in the middle of an economic crisis and move somewhere out in the boonies. I could move from my city if I wanted to because I do not have a wife and children to worry about but that does not mean that I want to.
I guess I am not a real GIMer since I live in the city. :111: |
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Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
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1) you don't really believe "the shit is going to hit the fan." 2) you accept that it will, but you are prepared to die right where you are. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
That article is inclined towards the "Shit has totally hit the fan" scenario, and good for it. Carrying a 72-hour bug-out bag at all times makes you a paranoid prick at best, in these times - wise, in much worse times. "Yeah honey, just going to pop round the corner to the 7-11 to get a gallon of milk - got my bag and all".
My BO place is 100 miles away, and there are plenty of routes to it I've found using the joy that is a TomTom. The TomTom may not work if it goes really bad, but my memory will. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
:553: Escape rule #1: Assume the entire population of the US has went stark raving mad.
Escape rule #2: See rule #1 A nation of brain dead zombie sheep suddenly cut off from ATM's,food,cell phones,TV,and police protection ? Not to mention being grossly unarmed or outgunned to deal with gang bangers,rogue cops,druggies,nutters,and just plain old typical J6P types who become mentally deranged when the neighbor's cat poops in their yard. Dude...you won't make it 10 blocks with that optimistic Mary Poppins attitude. Reevaluate your version of reality or panic now and avoid the rush. :yes::bear_w00t::yes: |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
The coming manditory flu "vaccine" has rabbies proteins in it, so the zombie situation may soon be apon us.
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Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
I have regularly traveled in, through and around Chicago for many years.
Knowing what traffic can be like on any semi-ordinary day, I can't even imagine what would happen in a SHTF scenario. Face it, you either have to get a head start or stay put until things improve or until others are out of gas and off the road. The worst thing would be to get caught on a road miles from home surrounded by thousands of desperate people. They are all going to be looking at you and your stuff like you are the lunch wagon. I think you need to re-consider your plans. Maybe you have a friend nearby with a house [think basement] who would take you in? Hopefully somebody with a similar mindset. Two men stand a much better chance than one man alone. Just a thought. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
"I live in the Chicago metropolitan area, yes far behind enemy lines so to speak, and have been a prepper for most of the last 10 years. Like many of us I must live in a big city because of my job."
Time to change jobs. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
WHY I DO NOT LIVE IN A METROPOLITAN AREA,
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This would actually make a lot of sense if they wanted to create a reason for marshal law. |
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Wife and I have decided to shelter in place if SHTF. We have weeks worth of canned foods, MRE's, some dehydrated, some freeze dried. Our basement is totally below grade, no windows, and is completely finished (carpet, bar, sofa, etc.)
We have 80 gallons of stored water, plus a Berkey with extra filters. Lots of guns and plenty of ammo. We have hundreds of plastic bags to "go poo" if city water is shut off. Have kerosene heaters and 60 gallons of fuel stored out in the shed. If it's cold, we can stay warm. If it hot and there is no electricity, we will be hot since I don't have a generator (yet). But, the basement stays fairly cool even on hot days. Also have huge rolls of plastic sheeting and lots of duct tape. Who knows, may be of some use. Keep several thousand in cash on hand. Also several hundred ounces of silver 1 ounce bars. Many more items on my buy list including battery operated short wave. Buying little at a time. Much more to list, but signing off for now. |
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Sounds like the Post Oil Man Do ya thing baby!!!! :ok: |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
QWAK,I lived in Chicago --just a block away from the "BIOGRAPH" theater in new town befor I moved to the DUCK NEST in 88 -- bought the DUCK NEST 40 achers of rocks and trees with a 15'x30' shell of a cabin in 81 and worked two jobs to make the rent and 10% contract payments on the land.:yes:
Things NEVER go as you IMAGIN or PLAN :452: I had to move to the DUCK NEST in 88 because First I got crushed under my truck and then the building I lived in had a fire and became UNINHABITABLE!:yes: I moved to the cabin to SURVIVE:yes: I had $800.00 a mo. disability to live on and almost HALF was to make the CONTRACT payment each month! My point IS -- people even my self tend NOT to make MAJOR life changes untill the HAVE TO:yes: and more often than NOT it seems the ONLY VIABLE choice.:wink: IF you have any OPTIONS other than major change -- most likely YOU will chose thoes options RATHER than what LONG TERM you plan/hope to do ONE DAY or SOME DAY!:thinkey::yes: the DUCK |
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Trying to survive and hunker down in a large city is going to be hard.
You'll have plenty of opportunities to get out before people start going desperate and realize that they're screwed. |
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Once it hits, it's OVER. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
Follow up Letter and comentary on OP.
Letter Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009 Mr. Rawles, Concerning the article: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland, I would like to add to these comments. My 20 years experience driving the county roads and the farmer ranch roads with the Soil Conservation Service have given me a perspective of the potential for choice this road system presents. I have a considerable amount of experience driving cross country. I have driven from the Northern Texas panhandle across the Oklahoma Panhandle into southeastern Colorado and north to the Colorado Springs area on mostly gravel and dirt roads. Several times I have driven the 250+ miles from Denver Colorado to Salina Kansas mainly on dirt/gravel roads or county blacktop roads. This particular trip is paralleling the major river valleys throughout this area. The interstate roads basically follow the uplands/highlands avoiding the river/creek valley bottoms. That portion of the drainage system between rivers called the upland or divide area. Up on these area you have minimum drainage systems to cross. Only when the rivers and major creeks make a jog south or southeast do you find a major drainage system to cross. Why are drainage systems death to bugging out? You can cross them only on bridges, and bridges are [logical ambush sites and hence potentially] death traps. Here is an example: West of Oklahoma City, you'll see that I-40 strikes out to the west. Now, let's clarify something. [Even in most plains states,] there are no paralleling roads to interstates that extend for extensive distances. Yes, there are some that may parallel for 20 to 30 miles. But as soon as the interstate jogs you get the paralleling road intersecting the interstate or its diverting away in a direction you may not want. If you do not know your area well, you can get boxed in quickly. West of Oklahoma City striking in a southeasterly direction is the Canadian River. The interstate crosses the Canadian river in the Hinton/Geary area. That is some 35 miles west of Oklahoma City. The next Canadian river crossing on the north side of the interstate is just northeast of Thomas. That is 23 miles west and 13 miles north of the interstate. So�you come barreling out of Oklahoma City and find the interstate clogged. Look again at the map. The city of Oklahoma City has a major river running through it. The North Canadian River. You cannot get on the Interstate. The bridges going over the North Canadian River south are filled with traffic. You opt to set out west through Oklahoma City on a street that will take you west to El Reno and then on to points west following the Interstate. But you cannot do this on the north side of the interstate. And the south side of the Interstate is closed off because of the bridges across the North Canadian River are jammed full. The road system on the north side is a maze of closed roads, dead end roads that all end up down in the Canadian River valley. And in the 60 miles west of Oklahoma City only one bridge crosses the Canadian River on the north that can keep you on any kind of westerly tract. That�s at Thomas. The closer bridge only gets you down to the interstate and it will be clogged full at that point. So you make it to Thomas overland on the secondary roads. What now? You now have a dozen or more large creeks all running southerly into the Washita River. You have to cross them if you continue cross country. Yes, you can get on Highway 33 west but I would guess that many others will have the same idea. You also have Foss Lake complex and its National Wildlife Refuge area to get around. Another major obstruction. Going west now on secondary roads you will notice the interstate drifting in a SW direction. You are getting further away all the time. Backtrack: What did you miss on the map? By the way, what map am I now looking at? A copy of a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer [Get one for your state, and contiguous states]. You missed the railroad bridge. Where? Find Bridgeport between Hinton and Geary. See the railroad track symbol where it crosses the river. Now, the following separates the men from the boys. When I was 16 my buddy�s father was the Missouri Pacific�s depot agent in Larned, Kansas. We knew the train schedules. We conquered our fears and put my 1948 Dodge car on the rails. Yes you can drive down the rails. You do not have to let the air out of the tires. Just slow down when you go over road crossings and switches. We rode the rails for miles. We even crossed over the Arkansas River railroad bridge. That was scary to think about the wheels coming off the rails way out over that 150 yard long bridge. But we drove this way, and so can you. You will need to be very cautious doing this. Sending people ahead with radios to the top of a close high point so they can see the tracks some miles away. Giving you time to cross. What speed can you expect to make? We used to cruise 10 to 15 miles per hour. My 1948 Dodge had a traditional hand throttle that you could set. [JWR Adds This Proviso: Hy-rail pickups and dedicated speeder vehicles have been previously discussed in SurvivalBlog here and here. Please read those article and heed the safety and liability warnings. Riding rails on car tires without supplementary alignment aids is foolhardy. There is a lot that can go wrong in a hurry! Don't attempt improvised rail travel this unless it is an total SHTF disaster situation and there is absolutely no alternative, and only then with someone playing "ground guide", and with certain knowledge of the train schedule (or by doing so only on a rail line that is known with certainty to be inactive.)] This is dangerous. Be careful. It is also illegal. The thesis of this presentation is several fold: 1. There are no extensive long parallel roads along most interstates. 2. You must have a set of the DeLorme atlases or similar detailed maps for where you are going. Better to have a set for every state that surrounds you. If you live in the prairie states get a set for every state within two states in every direction. 3. You also need to have a map showing just the counties and the river systems. 4. You must drive you routes in advance on both sides of the interstate. Note that Item #3 above is necessary to have a map of the rivers. You can plot a general route that will keep you on the uplands/divide between the river/creek systems when you cross country. The system described here is good only for the plains states between the Rockies and the Mississippi River. It will work in the area between the Missouri and Mississippi further north in most of those areas. But once you get into the Ozark highlands, the southern deserts off the Rocky Mountains and in the swampy country next to seashores and the Southern States it does not work. Nor in the Appalachian mountains. The west coast is another whole problem. The central portion of the US, the prairie states have a grid road system laid out in township and sections. This allows a great amount of choice for travel. Areas that do not have this system are much more constrained as to overland travel. Driving cross country you will find [some straight] dirt and gravel roads that can be negotiated at 45 to 60 miles an hour. Be cautious and slow down at every road junction and at the crest of all hills that you cannot see over. Some where out there you will crest a hill and find a slow tractor pulling a swather or a large combine with a 20 foot wide head on it suddenly in your way. You must use caution on these back roads. Do not assume that all dangers are marked. You may find dead end roads just over a crest with a 4 foot tall wall of dirt and a deep ditch in front of you at 55 mph. Crash, end of journey. Be careful of bridges. There are still may bridges out there with wood decking. It can be weak, have nails sticking up and or tire wide gaps in them. I have also seen concrete bridges built by the WPA in the 1930s with holes in the deck more than two feet across and not marked with any warning signs. Vital equipment for cross country driving: 1. Binoculars or spotting scope 2. Weather scanner 3. Maps 4. Jacks with wooden blocks to put under them for support. 5. Shovels 6. Tow chains 7. Tire chains. 8. Bolt cutters and wire cutters Beware of sudden rain showers on dirt roads. Soils high in clay particles will shed rain and appear to be shiny. They are called �slick spot� soils. You will not sink into them. But rather your vehicle will just want to slide over into the ditch if the road is not flat. These roads are slick! It is possible to put a vehicle into a low gear; get out and walk along the side steering and pushing or pulling sideways to keep it in the center as you walk along. Better when there are several people to help. I have accomplished this for stretches of road further than one quarter of a mile when I worked as a District Conservationist with the Soil Conservation Service. Avoid showers in the distance. Drive out of their way if possible. Stop on a stable section of road and wait for the sun to come out. Slick spot roads can dry out in one hour or less and be drivable as if no rain fell there for days. Genuine cross country driving:. If you find roads blocked with wreckage, power poles, washed out bridges, trees and or a group of freebooters who demand tribute, then you need to have thought of an alternative. There is an alternative to simply turning around and being chased. Cut the wire on the fence and drive away out across the land. Best done out of site of the freebooters. Wire the fence back up so it is not too obvious that someone has exited the road at that point. You will need bolt cutters. A 24 inch pair will suffice. For chains at gates or locks you need a 36 inch-long set and a hacksaw blade with extra blades. Carry along several locks. If you cut off a lock replace it. If you have to come back you can open it quickly and lock it putting a good barrier between you and any belligerents that want to discuss the situation with you. If you lack a lock that looks like the one you have cut. Super glue it shut. You can always re-cut it a second time if necessary. Carry with you two 2x4s that are 10 feet long, each pierced with 20 penny nails arrayed close together. Drill holes that are just small enough to provide the friction to seat the nails so they will not come out easily. Drill two 5/8 inch holes in each end. Cut half inch rebar stakes 12 to 16 inches long and sharpen then to a decent cone shape on one end. You will need a 4 pound hammer to seat them into a roadbed. So, say that you approach a hill crest slowly and glassing the road ahead, you see a group of freebooters down the road. They see your heads and cab of a pickup sticking up over the crest. Whooom, here they come. Get out the spiked 2x4 and nail it down across the road with the rebar. Leave and when they come roaring up over the crest their tires will have lunch with the spikes. Flat tires have a way of ending pursuit. If you encounter groups of people who are belligerent but appear not to be shooters. Place a spiked 2x4 across the front of your steel safety grill and make a run for them. They will not want to get spiked as you go by. It will keep them away from the windows and doors. [JWR Adds This Proviso: Caltrops have been used as a defensive measure for centuries. I have my doubts about their utility in daylight, but they might prove useful at night. To be useful in daylight for defense against vehicle-borne looters approaching a retreat slowly, caltrops or tire spikes would have to be concealed, which is a huge legal liability. Because we live in very litigious times, I DO NOT recommend using caltrops or tire spike strips in in anything but an absolute worst-case TEOTWAWKI situation, where you are completely on your own to defend your retreat, and there is no longer a functioning law enforcement or court system. Using them in any lesser situation is an invitation to a hugely expensive civil lawsuit and possible criminal sanctions. An ambulance-chasing attorney would have a field day, and the likely result would be that you would lose everything that you own in settling a lawsuit. Ironically, this is an example of where using deadly force against an intruder (namely, a firearm) is less likely to result in a lawsuit than a non-lethal weapon. Civil court juries tend to be very sympathetic to "maimed" plaintiffs, and are prone to award disproportionately huge "pain and suffering" damages. Caltrops and tire spikes are banned in some states in the US, and Australia. With all that said, commercially made caltrops are available, as are tire spike strips, although most manufacturers will only sell them to law enforcement agencies ordering on department letterhead. The best of these use hollow spikes, so they can defeat even self-sealing tires. And example of this type is the HOllow-Spike TYre Deflation System (HOSTYDS), manufactured in the UK.] Crossing Interstate Highways All interstate roads will have at some point a significant water gap. It will be big enough for you to drive through. Be very careful. These can have plunge basins formed on the down stream side that are many feet deep. Can be clogged with old fence wire and tree limbs. They can be swampy and full of washed in silt that is solid on the top and unstable to support weight underneath. You can get stuck and never get out. Scout these places carefully. Remember you may be driving under the interstate that is packed above with people who have gotten desperate. And you may be able to just drive up to the interstate, cut a fence on one side and drive across weaving through parked cars, perhaps, if you are lucky. Get the maps. Study them. Drive the [primary, secondary, and tertiary] routes. Anything less is a modified death wish. Rule #1: Leave early. Rule #2: Remember, you can never schedule an emergency. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
The discussion here really reminds me of a short story by David Crawford aka Halfast I think it was this one called The Bug Out: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=172494
it's about one family escaping from their home to a bug out location short read but really good same guy who wrote Lights Out |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
The book referenced in the original post is this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot...oming_Collapse I am about halfway through it, it is a good book that reads like a survival manual. Though it is peppered with a bit too much Christian evangelism. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
QWAK,Aparently having "GPS" just won't cut it!:452::signs14::4_1_72:
the DUCK |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
More Comentary
Two Letters Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009 JWR: I liked JC in Oklahoma's reply to Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009 but with all due respect, I would not cut someone else's lock. Most gates that I have seen around where I live, have a chain with a lock. I would advise cutting a link out of the chain and attaching your lock, like a replacement link. This way you keep the owner somewhat happy and still accomplish the task of passing thru the gate as well as being able to cross back through. Now I need to get out and check what routes I might use to leave in a hurry. - Jim B Jim, My father-in-law just bought a Cessna 172 [single engine light aircraft] and that got me thinking about this. An option folks might consider is getting out by air. Depending on the nature of the emergency, escape by light airplane might be a very viable option for those who learn to fly and stay current enough to be relatively safe (that is to say, maybe not totally legal but good enough to pull off a single long trip in good weather). I say relatively because in a SHTF scenario, some things just don't matter quite as much. I'd much rather risk my life flying while not totally current than wait in my single-story house for a fallout cloud to arrive. It has been almost twenty years since I took the bulk of my flying lessons. (I had logged 45 hours total and needed only my last cross-country and a check ride when I ran out of [flight training] money) but I've flown a number of times since and have no doubt I could get from here to a thousand miles from here if the weather was good and I could carry or otherwise obtain enough fuel. I figure a guy has two options for getting a plane if TSHTF. The first, and ideal, option is to have a cultivated relationship with the flight school owner or operator. If TSHTF, you call him at home and rent the plane. The second, and it is doubtless you (Jim) won't like it, is to "borrow" a plane using a key you cut the last time that you rented it. Cycle through renting all of the planes during your instruction and you'll have your choice of aircraft... Of course taking a plane without permission is theft, but the intention is to return the plane. If it's life or death I'll deal with the ethical questions later. Remember, these are flight school planes rented to students, not "another man's food" and if it really did hit the fan, people aren't going to be lining up for flying lessons today anyway. [JWR Adds: While I cannot condone theft, I should mention that is common practice, particularly with flight schools at small airports, to have all of the yoke or throttle locks keyed-alike, for the convenience of the instructor pilots. Also, most throttle shaft locks are not very robust. In an emergency, a pair of bolt cutters can be used to remove a lock. And furthermore, on many aircraft models, the throttle knob is held in place with one or two Allen head set screws, or made of molded plastic, and can therefore be cut, crushed, or otherwise removed, allowing a throttle shaft lock to then be slid off.] There are a couple logistical considerations here. One is fuel. Some light planes can burn autogas (car gas) but many require leaded Avgas. In either case, you'll need to be prepared to carry enough fuel to get you where you need to go. It is doubtful that in any situation that requires that you 'borrow' a plane that fuel pumps will be operational at your intermediate stops. Even if the automated pumps work, the credit card networks could be down. You might be able to siphon gas (more theft) from other parked planes bring. a self-priming siphon!) but to be safe you're going to have to carry full gas cans. Research into lead substitutes might be useful, though I'm unsure if any suitable products exist. Better perhaps to concentrate on planes that can burn automotive gasoline. [JWR Adds: Tetraethyl lead (TEL) is sold under the trade name Octane Supreme 130 (and other names, sold at some General Aviation flight centers, FBOs, and at automotive speed shops.) It can be used, but it must be carried in a container that has a perfect seal, even with pressure changes. Do NOT carry it in an aircraft passenger compartment. Parenthetically, there is "TEL Tale" in the biography of Charles Lindbergh. A leaky cap on a large can of TEL stowed behind his seat once almost killed him, while on a flying tour of South America. (He very nearly passed out and crashed.) Keep in mind that when used in ground vehicles, TEL will foul oxygen sensors very quickly, and of curse cannot be used in vehicles with catalytic converters. Its use would also violate Federal Clean Air standards, so it would not be legal for use on public highways. Keep in mind that TEL can be used to extend the useful life of "elderly" stored stabilized gasoline, as well as of course mixing your own high-octane blend from stored low-octane gas, so I recommend keeping a couple of bottles on hand.] The second logistical problem is payload, and it is greatly affected by the fuel problem. Most light planes cannot safely carry a full load of passengers and bags plus a full load of fuel. If you're carrying jerry cans of gas, don't count on taking much in the way of baggage and there's no way you'll be able to fill every seat with a passenger. Most of the weight and balance calculations with regard to fuel, passengers and baggage can be worked out ahead of time though, so you'll know what you can pull off. In the end this will only work for someone who has pre-positioned their supplies [at their retreat. This approach has advantages: Zero traffic jams. Zero river crossings. Zero chance of being looted on the highway. Again, I'm only suggesting this as a last-ditch SHTF way to get out of Dodge. I would not steal food if doing so could potentially cause someone else to starve. Same thing on a weapon, vehicle or any other item. But in my mind the the equation is simple here: My life is worth more than a flight school's airplane. In the end this is an extremely unlikely scenario, but it's an arrow in your quiver and a fun one to prepare for. - Matt R |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
QWAK,Off the wall a bit BUT:10_1_19: I concidered buying a dozen large WEATHER BALOONS and with TARPS NETTING and ROPE and perhaps a small aluminum boat with a gas engen and an apropretly sized propeller I could build my own DERAGABLE!:thinkey::shine:
I bought the baloons,tarps and NETING and rope and a 6' propeller!:yes: HELIUM was the problem -- very expencive so it seemed that hydrogen generated with solar pannels and water would be the only pratical way to make it work,plus could always generate more.:yes: IF there is enough lift could also use electric motor with solar pannels on top and battery to power the home made deragable.:thinkey: Think "WATER WORLD":wink: I believe it could be DOABLE!:yes::shine: the DUCK |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
I don't think bugging out will be practical unless you have some place you can bug out to.
The needs of shelter usually supercedes the needs of security. Unless you are escaping the flames of a fire, heading out into the great unknown during the TEOTWAWKI is crazy. The cities may have had police and fire services disrupted and trigger happy national guard types but the countryside will have zero services as all the services (such that they exist) will be pulled into the areas of greatest need (the cities). Along the path of refugees, all resources will have been removed by the owners or looted by the refugees. Think Locusts. Consider also that most established refugee routes will lead you straight to the camps. If you have nothing and don't know how to live off the land, or if you have no where to go then I'd recommend heading to the camps. It won't be fun but you might live. I have a bug out bag but my situation is unusual. I work in the big city but my major domicile is 55 miles away. In the event of a disaster I may leave the city as I have somewhere to go. I am prepared to do this, on-foot, if necessary. 55 miles doesn't sound like much but depending on how bad it gets...anyone done a stint with the infantry and recall how long tactical marches take? Eight miles a day in hostile countryside is a good pace. If it gets that bad and depending on the weather, I'd give myself one chance in three of making it on my own resources, and I feel well prepared. Hoofing it alone is always a dicey scenario. Its not a bad idea to have a bug out bag even if you have no place to go. Disasters are a fluid environment and having an option, even if its a grim option, is better then no option. |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
Quote:
I hope the neighboors are good folk to keep the place safe until you arrive. T |
Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here) 2009.........
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We watch each other's property as a matter of course. On my refrigerator is a list of my neighbor's phone numbers, but most of them are already memorized from frequent use. Last weekend we attended my next door neighbor daughter's graduation from nursing school. She's now a RN and we were very generous in providing a graduation gift. The more RN's in the neighborhood, the better. I bought two cords of wood from the fellow two mailboxes down the road from me. I mention these things to underscore that I interact well and often with my neighbors. Some of my neighbors are starting to feel like extended family. Would that you could do half as well. :36_3_13: |
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