Bugging Out vs Hunkering Down

[WiseOwl]

http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/bugging-out-vs-hunkering-down_01192013

Pretty good article on the subject.
This is something I think about in my plans almost daily.


If I was single, ready to mingle and no lil indians running around la casa, I would head straight for the wild. I can do that. I have the gear. I am a backpacker. I damn lazy enough to go sit up in the high hills like a hermit til day end. I am just weird like that.


But, with 2 under the age of 5 and a wife, it aint happening. This aint the Oregon Trail. I meet and talk to too many people my age that are "very much virgin" to prepping/whatever we do and they always tell me they have their BugBags and they are going to the Apps and will hunt and fish and blah blah blah

They ask me what I am doing and are usually shocked when I say I am staying at the house. Yeah, I have 2 places to go, 1 is 40 miles, the other is a 140 but it better be some damn aliens or dinosaurs that gets me out of my zone.

With comfort comes confidence.



Sometimes its fun to come up with scenarios in my head. You gotta have plans for backup plans. A-H.

What do you folks say, you gonna nestle in or go all Jeremiah Jones on em?

[Lowdown3]

Is Jeremiah JONES the black cousin of Jeremiah Johnson? :)

He's the mountain man of da hood I think...

If I was single, ready to mingle

During my talk today I talked about a lot of family issues and how they relate to survival. I said "when you boil it down, you prepare cause you love your family." I went on to say "if I didn't have a family.... I'd probably become a raider or something." I paused for a bit then smiled and said "just kidding." I wonder how many ever thought that some in "the midst" could be raiders in waiting...

We are bugging in, but we live in a safe area. Location is really the key in the bugging in or out equation.

If the location sucks, in a high population density area, etc. you may think you'll be buggin in only to later have to bug out.

Never say never, never say always. We have several bug out plans, but that's way down the list. When I lived in Florida and near a city, it was the first plan.

[rockriver]

lol...
i gotta start with ...
let's just say a family lived in a little village.

getting to know the fellows that hang around the gas station.
attending christian fellowship at the local assembly hall.
meeting the neighbors up and down the road.
getting the carpenter neighbor to help with a project.
getting another neighbor to ply his craft for cash.
taking the sick lady to the big town to the doctor.
folks getting to know you. you getting to know them.
meeting the town clerk and postman.
learning no one wants to be mayor.
helping the neighbors with tilling their garden.
firming up relations with the two closest big farmers.
learning that jim drives a big rig hauling fuel.
tim is set up to process deer and make sausage.
billy has got huge fuel tanks.
terry gambles a lot but is a great guy.. always willing to help.
jack is a forester and is mgr of huge tree lots for a major corp.
mark is a millionaire and thinking of moving out of the country.
ed has already moved to central america, but keeps a farm in the area.
giving away veggies from your garden.
going to the village sandwich shop.

bottom line.. just becoming a good citizen.. in a place where folks know you
and you know them.
knowing who the druggies are.
who will rip you off and who is generous.
finding out the carpenter is the best in the county at the long shot.
finging out that susie mae has horses
and that most town decisions are made at the gas station.

first plan would be to bug in.
folks helping folks.

folks, as a certain mod says.. get out of the big city.
sure.. stash some stuff at a couple of places.
if you have to go, you can..

[Gus14]

Rock, I am from the same town......only here in the North.

About the only difference is that we dont have a gas station, the town sandwich shop is Doris' house, and the town decisions are made at the fire house or the church.

These people count on me and my wife. These people are VERY important to us. It is here I will live and it is here I will die.....with my boots tied tight! We can and are well equipped to bug out but I could not leave the people of our town.

[SeldomSeenSlim]

I've spent a lot of time in the mountains for long periods of time. Folks look at that Jeremiah Johnson movie and only think of the romance of it. Fact is, if he wouldn't have run into that bear hunter it would have been a short flick. I know a lot of folks consider that they have backpacking/camping experience or have spent a week in elk camp. While good experience it doesn't come close to what to expect when spending months in the wilderness at a time.

Roughing it is ok. I've slept on the ground huddled up with my dogs to keep warm. That's fine for a night. For the rest of my days? Only if those don't plan on living very long. The movies show the cowboy with a bedroll on his saddle and some beef jerky in his pocket and that's it for his long ride out. Good for a movie, but it didn't work that way and still doesn't. I honestly could not see doing it out of a backpack. When loading up for a long trip it typically involves at least 3 pack animals per person. The more people you have the more animals you need. The more animals you have the more gear you need. I was on one expedition with 2 groups of 4 elk hunters packing in and it took several trips prior to stage gear and it still looked like were were a cavalry division when we rode in.

When I hear about all this bugging out the woods to live off the land all I can think is that there will be some really nice backpacks and REI gear laying around. I can see getting out of Dodge for a bit. But going and never coming back? Never coming back is right.

No man's wisdom can exceed his experience.

[Cimarron]

Having lived in this area before and currently in town (Pop. 2200+) for two years I have became aquainted with many locals.

Many of them fall in the 'I live off the city/gov and I don't do for my self' group.
Fewer are in the 'they have some skill sets but totally lack in others' (they can farm/ranch but lack basic survival skills and vice versa).
Fewer still do I feel would have a "I can survive/overcome mind set". I say this meaning that the world has fell apart and they have very few options of basic needs: food, water, shelter...I believe many will either panic and make wrong/bad decisions, or simply stand there in a comatose like state of mind and watch as their world falls apart around them not making any move at all.

Because of this and family circumstances being what they are. I belive I need to stay mobile. Depending on the situation I may need to stay put or be on the move. Adapt, overcome.

[Gus14]

Overall, it really depends on your location, the threat you are faced with, and the gear/supplies you have.
While our plan is to hunker down with the people around us, we do have back up plans. We do have a bug out plan and a B.O.L. to go to. That is just being smart and planning ahead. We also have to constantly review our plan and change up supplies at both locations. We have 3 small kids so every plan we make and test, we are looking well ahead because we need to ensure their safety and well being.
Different locations offer both benefits and costs. The benefit of hunkering down in a large scale event for us is the fact that where we live and the houses that make up our little town of a few hundred people we built before there was even electricity or indoor plumbing. These houses already have root cellars, grain bins, fireplaces, and wood stoves. Some still have the old cook stoves in them. Many of these houses also are >2200sq.ft. so being able to house a lot of people is incredibly easy as well. Combine that with many working farms (chicken, dairy, pig, beef, and sheep) and a LOT of resources for good water supplies, we are good to go. Folks out here still live a more independent lifestyle. The last two years my wife has organized canning parties at the fire house. The ladies auxillary and other folks throughout the town came to the station where they canned up all kinds of fruits, veggies, jams, pie fillings, etc. When all was said and done, everyone went home with boxes and boxes of assorted canned goods. We all had different things we brought to the party and everyone benefited from it. Heck, friday night we had a blueberry pie that was to die for. Blueberries from Mrs. Graver's blueberry patch, topped with home made whipped cream from the milk we got from the dairy farm across the road.

I think john denver put it the best when he said, "Thank GOD im a country boy!"

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Balance in all things, you must be flexible. Of course no one wants to leave but.....

[survivealone]

Agree

I've spent a lot of time in the mountains for long periods of time. Folks look at that Jeremiah Johnson movie and only think of the romance of it. Fact is, if he wouldn't have run into that bear hunter it would have been a short flick. I know a lot of folks consider that they have backpacking/camping experience or have spent a week in elk camp. While good experience it doesn't come close to what to expect when spending months in the wilderness at a time.

Roughing it is ok. I've slept on the ground huddled up with my dogs to keep warm. That's fine for a night. For the rest of my days? Only if those don't plan on living very long. The movies show the cowboy with a bedroll on his saddle and some beef jerky in his pocket and that's it for his long ride out. Good for a movie, but it didn't work that way and still doesn't. I honestly could not see doing it out of a backpack. When loading up for a long trip it typically involves at least 3 pack animals per person. The more people you have the more animals you need. The more animals you have the more gear you need. I was on one expedition with 2 groups of 4 elk hunters packing in and it took several trips prior to stage gear and it still looked like were were a cavalry division when we rode in.

When I hear about all this bugging out the woods to live off the land all I can think is that there will be some really nice backpacks and REI gear laying around. I can see getting out of Dodge for a bit. But going and never coming back? Never coming back is right.

No man's wisdom can exceed his experience.

I must agree with you on this. Just last nite I watched preppers on TV and thought OMG These Nutjobs are gonna be in my woods. I think they do fall for the romance of living off the land and like a pioneer family they seen on TV somewhere. And they are in for a major shock I fear.
They also seem to be playing some kind of game like this is gonna be a hobby. They sit and watch videos while eating TV dinners from the microwave and think Yea I Can Do That....
Especially worrying are the ones who have spent thousands on firearms and ammo, along with tons of military surplus clothing etc. They go out and practice shooting as if they were in a war zone. And many of those nutjubs are wishing for the collapse so they can "Show Off" there stuff. But they really have no idea what a collapse under any circumstances will be like. And I doubt they will last the first week. This isnt TV and this isnt The good guys always win Movies either.
If they want to see what to prepare for turn on the news and watch the vidoe coming from Egypt and the middle east right now with people starving in the streets.The Government taken over by oppurtunist regimes.