Fall back position?

[LonghunterCO]

Rehersals are a great idea.

Dry runs are the only way to go. Any of you with kids remember the first time, after getting them home from the hospital that you dicided to go out? My son was an oxygen and we had two feet of snow on the ground we were changing/feeding, filling up the diper bag for the first time, getting extra food, clothes, toys, etc. etc. etc. It took us 2 hours to leave. I kid you not.
Anyway, the time to be loading of the car and making a list is now. Not when things are going down hill.

[Mo_Zam_Beek]

I don't know what is like where you are but I will relate a thought or two from where I live - the biggest little town (65k) for about 2 hrs in every direction and the ability to 'be in the woods' in 20 minutes. A city (500k+) is 4+ hours away.

Maps - right now a person can literally drive state to state and merely cross major state and Fed roadways if they have the appropriate maps. The trip will be much longer, there will be very few (if any) other folks along the way (and some of those folks are on those roads b/c they are hiding out from LE), and there won't be any gas stations or 7-11s. However, they always dump out close to a town for gas if need be and otherwise provide for a very low pro route from here to somewhere - but you gotta have the maps, the fuel, resources and mindset to deal with the unexpected.

Cached items - depending on route you might consider cached items along either a central exit route or small caches along multiple exit routes.

In the end I am less interested in 'leaving' and have been running through the concepts of if it was really like that - where is a likely safe harbor 'here' if it isn't my home. In some specific cases I can see a group of like minded persons squatting in a 'pay me no mind' commercial building and doing quite well while staying close enough to keep a watch on the developing situation as well staying close to supplies that could be 'procured' if need be.

To me, Fall back / bug out - is a last ditch resort due to the sheer vulernability.

[Beat Trash]

When to move to a "fall back position"? The short answer is when your position is no longer tenable.

The problem is if the time were to come that you need to evacuate to another location, would it be too late to do so?

I'd suggest trying to locate mulitple "fall back positions", preferably in different directions, should the threat suddenly be between your current location and where you planned on going to.

The idea of having gear pre-loaded in tubs, ect. is an excellent one. Take the tubs and try to load them in your vehicle first. During an emergency would be a bad time to find out they don't fit. I'd go so far as to decide how they can be loaded most effectively, then number them. Draw a diagram showing what goes where. Have it laminated and kept next to the tubs.

If, like posted previously, you want to make the tubs easier to identify by painting orange, ect, ok. The idea is that if you are away from the house, your wife, ect could go to the garage and start loading up. If the time comes to "grab n get", "Bug Out", or "Fall Back", what ever the term, time is vital.

For me, it'd take alot to make me leave. Massive hurricane, Fire, Chemical spill, large scale civil unrest likely to envelope my area, are those types of incidents that come to mind.

[MarshallDodge]

For me, it'd take alot to make me leave. Massive hurricane, Fire, Chemical spill, large scale civil unrest likely to envelope my area, are those types of incidents that come to mind.

My wife and I are of the same mindset. We have worked too hard, for too long, to just walk away.

Our plan is community. Get to know your neighbors and discuss things like disaster preparation so if the time comes you know you will be able to trust those around you. You don't have to go into details but having a discussion about food, water, and security are easy subjects that keep people from cringing or shying away.

[RWBlue]

If you are going to have a BOB (Bug Out Bag), you should have a BOL (Bug Out Location). If you are bugging out and don't have someplace to go you are a refuge.

As far as when to use this option...I think that is a personal decision and a government decision.

All my stuff is here, so I don't plan on leaving unless I have to. Where I live now, I don't expect to leave.

[LippCJ7]

I have my three BOL's figured out and have for awhile.

However, I have a wonderful neighborhood where my closest neighbors are like minded and we have discussed arrangements to a certain extent. I believe it to be of utmost importance to either feel completely trusting in your neighbors or move to where you can, and I cannot stress it enough especially in the first and most likely level of civil unrest or natural disaster. There will always be safety in numbers, but numbers add to your need for sustainable resources. MAG's (Mutual Aid Groups) are the most likely scenario I can see in the future, and to me they include my neighbors and my family.

No matter what scenario you try to solve, problems arise that are different from the previous scenario. You can almost drive yourself looney with it all.

I know this post is all over the place but I have become the family McGyver. By that I mean I test myself:

I am the one that takes care of the family and neighbors when we get a Blizzard as yes I have a snowcat. I also use it to deliver deputies and firefighters to work when they are needed and have used it to deliver medical supplies or stranded motorists in four counties here in CO. I also have 2 1 ton diesel 4x4 trucks that are listed with the Sheriff's Office for emergency transportation along with the snowcat. If you have never gone fourwheeling I strongly recommend it everyone should know exactly what their vehicle is capable of and how to solve issues that fourwheeling brings.

I go on 5 day hunting trips where me and my best friend live out of backpacks 2 or 3 times a year and average 20-30 miles in those 5 days. Usually 2 times for scouting elk and once for harvest. Think about it guys if your not a hunter thats fine but how many people can live out of a 60Lb backpack for 5 days at 5000' elevation and do 20 miles? Now factor in as LonghunterCO knows we don't hunt elk at 5000'. You don't have to hunt this way but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right!?

We had a 12 hour power outage a year or two ago and I used the families 3 small generators to power each of the 3 homes in my family, not everything mind you but the refrigerator and freezers and the furnace(it was February if I remember right). Then I hooked up my neighbors important needs to mine which was big enough to handle it. That only happened once since all my neighbors acquired there own generators less then 30 days after the outage. It wasn't all that serious but it made people think!

The reason why I tell you all this is that this stuff is training, I don't have to do it but it tests me and I get enormous satisfaction out of knowing what to do when times get difficult. I have a good friend who was a marine and he always said adapt and overcome and thats what I have learned to do and I recomend everyone does as well.

Lip

[30 cal slut]

I am intrigued by this question myself. James Wesley Rawles, author of "Patriots," writes about "getting out of Dodge" ... that is, evacuate the urban centers in favor of the rural/remote retreat when the Schumer hits the fan.

On the other hand, posters on FerFAL's survival website also point out:

http://ferfal.blogspot.com/search/label/SHTF

For folks that do have a well stocked rural retreat, on the other hand, there seems to be a tendency to believe, “If I’m prepared for the apocalypse, I’m prepared for anything.” As FerFAL has pointed out in other posts, in a situation like the one in Argentina living out in the countryside can be more dangerous than living in the city. This is a big part of what really clicked with me when I read his older posts because it tallies very well with what I’ve read about the horrible things that have happened to people on isolated farms in South Africa and Zimbabwe (both recently and during the Bush War when it was Rhodesia). An economic collapse is not going to be a great time to be a small farmer.

Hmmmm....