Movement

[TXBK]

I know that I'm going to have to make the decision based on existing circumstances at the time, but assuming that SHTF, roads are blocked/locked down, vehicles are inoperable, marshal law has been declared, etc, are there any general guidelines on how to proceed once the decision has been made to move?

I think that more than likely, if you are at work when this disaster happens, most if not all people will be in a state of shock and this should benefit you by allowing you to make the trek home in a day or two, without much resistance. It will probably take a few days before people really start freaking out.

Last month I completed a 15 mile hike in 5 hours, between the hours of 1300 to 1800. It was a pretty well defined trail outside of Austin, and the temp was 99º and humidity was ~50%. It was mostly thick trees along a dry creek bed, but there was water in spots. My pack weight was around 20 pounds, which included one gallon of water. HansTheHobbit's recommendation of making sure that you have athletic tape is spot on. The trail was longer than expected. My wife and I both developed hot spots at roughly 5 miles, but continued on without treatment. Big mistake. When we reached the point where we turned around, we realized that we had been 7.5 miles. We stopped at this point to tend to the hot spots, but it was too late. It was also at this point that I realized that my Leukotape was absent from my kit. I did have Bodyglide and 2nd Skin blister pads, but they weren't much help at this point. We got to finish the second half of the hike with blisters that were painful, but we did keep up our pace. We were both pretty well smoked by the end, and our feet were toast. Take care of your feet, or your ability to move will be compromised.

I would choose to move at night, as much as possible. Clear safety glasses are a vital piece of PPE to have on hand when moving at night. Just like protecting your feet, your eyes are something you desperately need. It would only take one branch to the eye to severely impact your safety.

[TXBK]

I'm assuming you live in the DFW metro from your description, and I don't believe there are any fault lines in that area. That leaves tornadoes and floods. I don't see either one of those things being bad enough to cause someone to "bug out."

There actually is a fault line near DFW. There have been more than a few small quakes centered near Irving, which is in the center of DFW. I don't know how probable a quake large enough to cause widespread hysteria is, but I guess that anything is possible.

[afff_667]

Thanks to all who have posted because this is exactly the kind of info and sharing I was looking for. As I thought, there is no, single correct answer, just a metric ****-ton of considerations to be put into the mix depending upon particular circumstances.

The distance I quoted is as-the-crow-flies and is likely nowhere near what I estimate the actual walking distance to be. Add in trying to avoid wide open spaces, potential crowds, choke points, etc, and it's a long walk. I gave up long ago making that trip in a day (or overnight) and am confident that my wife will be safe for at least a short while at the facility where she works while I get to her. Part of our planning has been trying to develop "go, no-go" criteria for even leaving the house, going to work, etc should things turn ugly, so the scenario I described in the OP pretty much assumes that whatever it is that has happened was sudden, very violent, and widespread.

The point about protecting my feet is one of my top priorities, but I'd never considered additional eye protection - great idea!! In a more urban setting, I've sort of assumed that water might not be as much of a problem as it would be elsewhere. Water storage around my area seems to be elevated for the most part, so I assume that gravity would do the work even if the municipal pumps failed and I could hit up water faucets here and there to get water that has already been treated. One concern may be backpressure from sewer lines contaminating, for example, water in lines around a house, but I don't know enough about plumbing to be certain of what I'm thinking. It would be nice, though probably not recommended, to be able to relax just a bit about sourcing water.

One of my biggest concerns about moving at night is navigation while also paying attention to my surroundings. other people, and trying to keep the noise down. I've resisted GPS simply to avoid reliance on technology that may potentially fail. I'm pretty decent with map and compass, dead reckoning, and keeping a sense of where I am, but a GPS might be in my future, as well.

Thanks again to all who have posted. I follow this section of the forum and have learned so much from all of you. It's amazing what a little bit (or lot) of knowledge can do to help one's sense of well being.

[HansTheHobbit]

Thanks to all who have posted because this is exactly the kind of info and sharing I was looking for. As I thought, there is no, single correct answer, just a metric ****-ton of considerations to be put into the mix depending upon particular circumstances.

The distance I quoted is as-the-crow-flies and is likely nowhere near what I estimate the actual walking distance to be. Add in trying to avoid wide open spaces, potential crowds, choke points, etc, and it's a long walk. I gave up long ago making that trip in a day (or overnight) and am confident that my wife will be safe for at least a short while at the facility where she works while I get to her. Part of our planning has been trying to develop "go, no-go" criteria for even leaving the house, going to work, etc should things turn ugly, so the scenario I described in the OP pretty much assumes that whatever it is that has happened was sudden, very violent, and widespread.

The point about protecting my feet is one of my top priorities, but I'd never considered additional eye protection - great idea!! In a more urban setting, I've sort of assumed that water might not be as much of a problem as it would be elsewhere. Water storage around my area seems to be elevated for the most part, so I assume that gravity would do the work even if the municipal pumps failed and I could hit up water faucets here and there to get water that has already been treated. One concern may be backpressure from sewer lines contaminating, for example, water in lines around a house, but I don't know enough about plumbing to be certain of what I'm thinking. It would be nice, though probably not recommended, to be able to relax just a bit about sourcing water.

One of my biggest concerns about moving at night is navigation while also paying attention to my surroundings. other people, and trying to keep the noise down. I've resisted GPS simply to avoid reliance on technology that may potentially fail. I'm pretty decent with map and compass, dead reckoning, and keeping a sense of where I am, but a GPS might be in my future, as well.

Thanks again to all who have posted. I follow this section of the forum and have learned so much from all of you. It's amazing what a little bit (or lot) of knowledge can do to help one's sense of well being.

You should definitely plan on carrying your water with you, and filtering as a last resort. In any large scale disaster, the water supply gets contaminated by chemicals and sewers. Backpacking filters do very little for chemicals, and they aren't 100% effective against microbes. They only reduce the number of pathogens, normally by about 98% or so, and it's still possible to get sick from filtered water if it's heavily contaminated to begin with. Rural water is often just as bad due to farm runoff.

One thing you can do is leave caches of food and water. For example, you could leave an MRE and gallon of water every ten miles. Just be sure to mark them as waypoints in your GPS. If anyone asks what you're doing, just tell them you're leaving geocaches for an upcoming game.

I would also suggest that you research urban exploration in your area. It's not exactly legal in all cases (stay out of locked places and you should be fine), but you wouldn't believe what's right under your nose. For example, I know of a massive storm drain that I can use to get from one side of the city to the other without surfacing. It never floods, and most of the time you don't even get your feet wet. And very few people know about it. Combine that tunnel with some railroad tracks and a few alleys, and I could walk through the entire city without being seen by anyone, except maybe a few homeless people.

[Arik]

If it's at the beginning of something I think you could at least drive some of the way. Things don't turn into major civil unrest immediately after a ..... (insert situation here). You may hit traffic but you can always leave your car and start walking

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[bad aim]

You should definitely plan on carrying your water with you, and filtering as a last resort. In any large scale disaster, the water supply gets contaminated by chemicals and sewers. Backpacking filters do very little for chemicals, and they aren't 100% effective against microbes. They only reduce the number of pathogens, normally by about 98% or so, and it's still possible to get sick from filtered water if it's heavily contaminated to begin with. Rural water is often just as bad due to farm runoff.

A handy tool that some folks carry in some circles is a Sillcock key, where you can buy from just about any hardware store (and it doesn't take up too much room). It's a way to obtain water from commercial buildings (once you get permission, of course... ). This, of course, assumes that the infrastructure is still relatively intact and the water supply hasn't been contaminated (i.e. navigating through possible civil unrest and needing a water source, etc.).

[Moose-Knuckle]

I would choose to move at night, as much as possible. Clear safety glasses are a vital piece of PPE to have on hand when moving at night. Just like protecting your feet, your eyes are something you desperately need. It would only take one branch to the eye to severely impact your safety.

Excellent point, one I intended to make in my second post. Gouged eyes are a real concern when moving around in the dark especially in back country / bush environments.

[Moose-Knuckle]

A handy tool that some folks carry in some circles is a Sillcock key, where you can buy from just about any hardware store (and it doesn't take up too much room). It's a way to obtain water from commercial buildings (once you get permission, of course... ).

Great info, I never knew what the particular name for them was. I have entertained the idea of keeping a set of security bits with my Leatherman/socket adapter for other such scenarios. One of the skills that is on my short list to begin to acquire is lock picking. Nothing for illegal means mind you just another skill set/tool in the tool box.

[Korgs130]

One of my biggest concerns about moving at night is navigation while also paying attention to my surroundings. other people, and trying to keep the noise down. I've resisted GPS simply to avoid reliance on technology that may potentially fail. I'm pretty decent with map and compass, dead reckoning, and keeping a sense of where I am, but a GPS might be in my future, as well.

Great threat. The OP sounds pretty squared away so far.

If you are evading under a martial law type of a situation, where you'd be detained if caught out and about, I'd only consider movement at night. Definitely avoid culturally built up areas and lines of communication to the max extent possible. Following railroad tracks may seem like a great idea, but doing so is just asking to get caught. Taking twice as long to get home by going the long way around, through sh!tty terrain, will yield much better results than taking short cuts via routes that are more easily traveled.

When you do have to cross an LOC, stop and observe first. Always be conscious of the spore you leave behind. One of the keys to success is to be patient and avoid "get-home-itis." I'd plan on your trip taking two or three days.

Like the OP, I don't count on GPS being available, but having one in case it is still working isn't a bad idea. A map, compass, ranger beads and a good knowledge of land navigation will serve you well.

[Korgs130]

Good topic, OP. Hoping to hear more insight from more knowledgable folks. One thing that gives me pause about night movement is the fact of seeing where you're going, assuming you don't have the benefit of NODs and navigate via ambient lighting.

As with any topic concerning this particular sub-forum there are innumerable scenarios that can/will play out. In my OP I mentioned night time movement due to the concealment that low light / no light conditions afford. But as we are all aware there is no free lunch. With moving in the dark the threat of mechanical injuries rise exponentially. Lack of visibility will affect everything from landmark identification to keeping in contact with other members of your group. Which brings up things like NODs, cat eyes, etc.

In his blog (SHTF School) about his story of urban survival during the Bosnian War, Selco explains that they NEVER were out and about during the day time. This was due to the amount of sniper kills. They only moved around after dark.

I also seem to recall Eric Haney stating that is was night time land nav that separated the men from the boys at 1st-SFOD-D Selection. The stars are your friends!

Way back in the day, the evasion portion of Air Force SERE training was exclusive night time land nav. It was no joke, but if you move cautiously and slowly enough to test questionable footing, you can avoid injury.

The rods in your eyes are responsible for your night vision, as well as your peripheral vision and provide you with movement detection. Amazingly enough, once the your rods finally adjust to the dark (about 30-40 min), you can see pretty well at night, even with out cultural lighting. If you need to observe something in low light condition don't look directly at it, use your peripheral vision (cones) and you'll be able to see it better.