Are We As Prepped As We Think?
Most likely not. There are so many ways to screw up ...
My wife and I live in a place that’s pretty but hazardous. Earthquakes (there’s a big offshore subduction zone), forest fires (lots of trees), war (a nearby military installation), and civil unrest (a city a couple of hours away) are all at least theoretically possible here. And of course there’s the shared American problem of a government that’s lurching toward dictatorship.
So we prepped with the idea of being generally ready to either hunker down for a while or leave in a hurry. We bought survival rations, a generator, water, ammo, etc. I put together a bug-out bag and we decided on which direction we’ll drive if we have to leave in a hurry. We knew we weren’t done but felt like we were close.
Then I found an article titled 11 Most Common Bug Out Mistakes, which proved beyond doubt that we’re waaaayyyy farther from being truly ready than we thought. On the assumption that some of you are in the same leaky boat, here’s a condensed list of mistakes the article points out:
Not Having a Plan. You might have accumulated the right gear, but if you’ve only thought generally about what to do in the crucial moment, you’re sure to waste precious time and miss life-or-death details.
Not Having a Destination. A bug-out plan without a firm destination isn’t a plan at all. The destination has to be specific — a particular building you’ll shelter in or a particular place to pitch your tent. Assume that if you’re bugging out, many others are too, so your destination should be someplace you know you can stay.
No Alternate Plan. As Mike Tyson likes to say, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. The prepper’s analogy would be a flooded road or angry mob that makes a detour necessary. If you haven’t already decided on that detour and scouted it out, you’re exactly where you don’t want to be, in uncharted territory. It’s also a good idea to have an alternate destination, preferably in the opposite direction from the primary one.
Bugging Out Late. Whether and when to bug out is a judgment call. But dithering and getting out late – when roads are packed and shelter sites are claimed – can be a deadly mistake. Your plan should include the criteria you’ll use to decide whether and when to go.
Being Too Obvious. A brand new heavy-duty pickup truck stocked with cutting-edge survival gear confers some obvious advantages. But it also makes you a target for all the have-nots. Being heavily armed is a partial solution, but discretion is much better. In other words, prep but don’t flaunt.
Being Out of Shape. Watch a few episodes of the Walking Dead and notice how much running is involved. If you’re a couch potato, the best plan and most complete gear won’t enable you to carry a 50-pound pack up a mountain trail. So train with an eye to such contingencies.
Over-packing. For a bug-out bag to be workable, it also has to be light. That means only packing essentials, which in turn means saying no to some otherwise very appealing things. So put the cool but not essential stuff in the car, not in the backpack.
Not Bringing Fuel. One of the biggest threats to bugging out in a vehicle is gas station chaos. Mobility is life, and that takes gas. So keep the bug-out vehicle topped up and have metal gas cans full of fresh gas on hand. And remember to take them when you go.
Not Doing a Test Run. Talking about something does not teach you how to do it. There’s no substitute for actually practicing your plans and backup plans.
No Supply Cache. The typical bug-out bag has only three days worth of food in it. What then? If you don’t have a supply cache in place, you’d better hope the emergency is one of those really short ones. So find someplace to build the cache, then stock and camouflage it.
Expecting to Live Off the Land. Hunting/gathering is hard to do in the best of times. In an emergency, there will be a lot of competition from people who didn’t prep and therefore have no choice. You don’t want to be one of them. So even if you’re experienced, living off the land is not a serious fallback plan (see above: supply cache).
Bite-Sized Pieces
This is obviously a lot, and tackling it as a single project would be overwhelming for most people. So, as with any other big, complex job, the best approach is to break it up into bite-sized pieces that can be completed in, say, a month. A focused year would cover the list.
The obvious solution is not to need to bug out because you are already out and have a well stocked wine cellar all your solar panels on your roof and plenty of ammo to keep the woodchucks at bay.
I don't normally share my views, but feel at home here. Love the interaction and various views. John, thanks for starting this substack.
I'm in the USA, 65 with wife, started a fairly self sufficient homestead in the mountains 10 years back. Goats for red meat, rabbits for white, chicken eggs, etc, etc. Started a small shed sized FDA micro meat facility (not hard to do) and wife and I process rabbits once a week, equates to between 1 and 1.5 tons of dressed meat a year - goes to the local restaurants at $15/lb. But there is no money in farming, I have a real job, but we'll have meat. We own that skill. I figured the other day I have raised and slaughtered over 3,000 rabbits in the three years since we started this part of it. One day at a time,
In my view, it's all about owning skills and some other stuff I share below.
Two water wells (one agricultural the Feds paid for) , two pumps in one well, one is a Simple Pump solar driven. The other well all solar. Septic tank. If you are on city water or septic, it's over once the SHTF.
Point is, you can have a homestead, live this lifestyle and still be at risk.
What's needed is a tribe, as one commenter mentioned. But hard to find a tribe.
As another indicated, the family generally won't listen. "Oh Dad!" you're soooo dramatic..." But they are always welcome if they can get there. All 6 kids and 16 grand-kids. We'll see.
Some here might benefit from the book "Loss of Civility" Out of print now, but step by step guide to forming tribe and defensive plans (written by two Special Forces guys) with / from neighbors (Suggestion - use potlucks to break the ice)
The other suggestion I have- go live somewhere you do not need to leave. Because "bugging out" as it were should be a last ditch effort to save your life. Leave only because you absolutely need to leave your primary homestead (think chlorine truck spill in front of house, nuclear plant meltdown, etc) As someone here said, everyone else is doing the same thing, and you'll end up dead in your truck, or worse. Grey Man or not, everyone is going to be looking for 1-Food, 2 fuel, 3 Anything of value. And they will have firearms and superior numbers. And the cops won't be around. WROL - look it up.
Last but not least, to be successful in the long run ie: staying alive and thriving, not just surviving is you must make prepping a LIFESTYLE. Become a "homesteader" In 1999 I was a "Survivalist" In the 2000s, I became a "Prepper". After the GFC I became a "Homesteader". Now I'm a "Doomer" because after 20 years of learning how to keep myself and wife alive indefinitely after a socio economic collapse, an NBC event, a tornado, or an EMP, I now believe what's coming for us probably is not survivable.
To you boys on the sailboats, good move! What fun! Living the "prepping" lifestyle! You might not get the RADs out there for some time, and as long as the fish are biting, what could be better!
Prepping since Y2K and learned then I didn't know shit, so I made it a lifestyle and figure I've got better odds than most I know (especially all the arm chair preppers out there I've met). But as one here said, if it gets bad enough, well, we all have our limits...
My compendium of Prepper info, much of it shared with me over the years from countless others is free to anyone for the asking.
Best of luck to all in the coming turbulence.