Getting Home

Here's the scenario: You're 300 - 500 miles from home when the shtf. You have a sheath knife and a few firestarting supplies but basically you're unarmed and unsupplied and you need to get home. You have no transportation and either you have no money or there's such chaos that purchasing goods is not an option. Which direction you're 300 - 500 miles away will change the scenario greatly no matter where you live so there's plenty of room to work with this.

1) How are you going to make it happen? and

2) What obstacles can you anticipate having to overcome?

In the interest of finding a comfort level for discussion let's call the original scenario "Scenario A" and add a shorter, less daunting distance of say, 75 to 150 miles. We'll call that "Scenario B".

Would that difference in distance affect how you approach the problem at hand?

Semper:
just for starters and in no way a complete scenario. I would start by probably stealing a bike and go from there. The situation is the same. A rather quick means of travel. For 75-100 miles only one days travel would be required.for 500 hundred miles more would have to be taken into consideration.[i.e. terrain, weather, curfews, etc] In my opinion a week to 10 days might be required. With that amount of time water shelter and even food would have to be procured. I really feel that both the people and the govt. would not be able to react effectively for at least two days if not longer. That amount of time if you are prepared at all would give you a good headstart. Not to mention a person on a bike does not raise much attention, so I think travel would be unhindered. Let's see where this goes and what others have to say

respectfully

reluctantpawn

A sheath knife and a Zippo lands you ahead of the game already. Me? I'd suggest that unless you have an immense stash of goods waiting at home, it may be best to try to strike off on your own, opt yourself into a group of citizens who seem like good folk. be ready and willing to work, i suppose. In theory, a fully loaded soldier can march about 13km in about two hours. You're gassed afterwards. But walking alone, unsupplied, no water, no food...well, you're asking to die in a ditch.

DE

i would think that you would have a reason to return home. I for one have a wife and children that I would not willingly leave behind in such a situation. Yes a zippo and a knife would be an assistance, but maybe not so much only 100 miles away from home. Besides I always carry a well made combat folder and a fire piston or flint.

respectfully

reluctantpawn

I sorta had in mind that there would be some combination of friends, family and assets at home who would be in dire need of your contribution. My apologies for not being specific about that. Assume for whatever reason that you really need to get home. If there's no need to get home, there's no point to this thread. Speed matters some but it's most important that you get there. Better later than never. I have some contributions to this that I'm going to sit on awhile. I'd like to see some thoughts of others without me trying to guide your conclusions. This is a scenario that could very well happen to many of us. Now's the time to play it out mentally. You know where you are and places away from home that you could possibly be when the balloon goes up. Does anyone ever travel with a plan, just in case? You might even expand it to say that what you have on you is what you normally have on you at all times anyway. If you have to fudge to go there an adjustment in habits might be in order.

if i had to travel for what ever reason to be with my children (they would only be that distance fom me if they are at my folks) then i would beg, sleal or borrow an off roader, in which i would pop a bike in the back in case i need to go quietly. i would take with me my bob stuff and supplies. my husband goes away quite a bit so i have become quite self sufficient. come hell or high water i would get to my 2 children (who are both under 6). i live in a small farming community so there is always working landrovers around. shanks pony would be a last resort.
m xx

semper:
are we to assume no motor transport is available? That may change some of my tactics. If no transport is possible I will stick with my first suggestion. If transportation is available but restricted for some reason I would revise my methodology.

respectfully

reluctantpawn

First, forget time, when I get there, I get there. I'm of the thought, Out of sight, Out of mind...So I would be traveling the "hard" way, side hills, brushy river bottoms, avoiding anything bigger then a deer trail and even then moving with a high state of alert. Large River crossings, populated areas, mountain passes, etc. same deal, avoid or cross in darkness.

reply to post by reluctantpawn

are we to assume no motor transport is available?

The idea is that whatever kicks things off has happened. People have differing views about what is likely to cause it but there's near total chaos. Some areas will fare better than others. What I'm trying to do is to make people aware that they may be faced with that problem and consider the possibilities before that occurs. If someone never leaves the farm except to go to town once a month to pay the bills and pick up supplies then this thread is not for them. Some travel regularly and some occasionally. Everyone's situation would be different. I doubt seriously that many consider this possibility when leaving home. There are no right or wrong answers. The goal is increased awareness for without that survival is unlikely. If you think that during universal chaos that a motorized transportation would be a possibility (maybe you drove to your destination) and want to include that, go ahead. Just be realistic and even pessimistic. What about EMP? You can't really prepare for the worst if you fail to consider what that "worst" might be. If there's some place that you travel to on a regular basis and you always buy a round trip airline ticket, what if the balloon goes up and you're on the far end of your trip. No planes are or will be flying. Your return trip ticket is useless and you have to get home the best way that you can. I guess one possibility might be that you looked ahead and bought a motorcycle or atv to leave at the other end, either at a friend or relative or in storage. If you can realistically allow for motor transport, that wouldn't be a problem but I wouldn't do it just to make an easy answer.

I will stick to my nondescript bicycle for both. The one exception I think might be to hop a freight train going in the right direction. Good speed, no work, little visibility, I think this would be a good alternative. Acquiring food and water might take some work for the long haul. 100 miles is doable on a bike without either unless you are running from the authorities. If you are running I would be very careful about returning home and scout the area thoroughly first. Somtimes the best place to hide is in front of everything. It would be easy if others were doing the same. What say you Semper?

respectfully

reluctantpawn

I would be different than most of the folks here in that I don't see some evil overlord world govt or police state ever being an issue. There is simply not enough resources on the planet to run that very long. More so when they find out there is no 'other guy' to blame and that govt is responsible for everything. I do see things like hurricanes, extreme flooding, multi foot snow storms and tornado storms cropping up in places that never had them before. Things like crustal shifting go on daily to a small extent but they could become major events. We all know how nuts people get when the da*n power goes off.

I may tend to travel at night, but for the average person travel by day off the beaten path is best. Without water you will go about 40 miles if lucky. Dead in the ditch like above is more likely. Folks get into trouble when they take on things they are unprepared for.

I believe you are fishing for what would other people do. In the trunk of my car I have a single bottle fanny pack, with an empty Hershey's chocolate milk bottle in it,(wide mouth reclosable top) and a survival straw water filter
(the good one rated for bacteria and viruses) in one of the pockets as well as a folding swiss army knife a lighter and a tiny band aid and aspirin first aid kit with needle and thread,fish hooks with plenty of line,salt, small compass, TP, about 10" high tensile braided cord. and lens. I also have a hooded 3'4 length anti night vision overcoat.

Day one: Move to an outlying area, and set up a prep camp. Try to collect as many bottles of water along the way as possible before starting and tie the necks of the bottles to the fanny pack if I get any. Build fire and cut three spears. One thick one about 2" across and 6' long and two about 1" across. use knife to cut a point on all of them and then go back and cut 4 barbs two at half shaft thickness in the point and two at opposing sides 3/4 thickness up the point. These green spears are then stripped of bark and cured and tempered very hard by drying close to the fire. The large spear doubles as a walking stick while the other two are carried horizontally. These are defensive and utilitarian, but if need be the small ones are used first. I will prepare a sling for stones as well, then thoroughly think through what has to be done and rest.

Day two: I can now defend myself against mountain lions, bears and cyotes, the big human killers in the area if needed by holding off with one spear and striking into the chest with another if needed. The spears can double as fishing poles, should I need food, I can drink from puddles and wastewater if I can't find moving water and now drift further off the road so my fires are not detected and can move undetected to the destination.

Hope this helps somebody. Or should I say I hope no one has to.

Some ideas from a novice at this...

Strikes me that a horse would be your best friend for a large part of the journey. all terrain (mostly) faster than human walking pace, low'ish maintenance, higher vantage point for observing surroundings than a push bike. only problem is that you'd stick out like a sore'ish thumb while you were riding it.

(wow am i really typing in the survival forum? hi - I'm new here!)

Decent sports push bike would be next, but you'd need to pace yourself. Riding at night would be easier if possible.

If you are clever and know your vehicles, a basic diesel engine is your friend (not an injection model). they have next to no electronics when compared to petrol equivalents and should run after an emp flash if you can bump start them - they can also run off cooking oil. Siphoning other fuel is a useful trick to know how to do. The drawback is that a working vehicle also makes you a target.

Always remember that railways are usually the most direct route bewteen two points, and you have a clear view infront and behind you. follow the tracks where possible if you are walking but don't go on them unless you need to cross a feature like a ravine and you are using the bridge. never use a tunnel.

How am I doing so far?

If I were away from home, I would have to get back asap, because all my stuff is there, especially my armory. I often think about it because Im always working at a diffrent location in southern california so its impossible to plan a generic escape route, If I could drive then cool but if I cant then I would start walking in that direction and try to bum rides from people going in that direction, and chances are that their would be so much traffic that walking would be quicker

I'd be a bit wary of railroad tracks, even if you were just walking near them, you'd still be fairly easy to spot. In the US, the best bet to get some place is to travel by night and follow the highways, depending on the severity of the situation. If it's complete chaos with armed gangs roving, you should only move at night, but if it's a government collapse or martial law it would probably be fine to travel by day. Always stop and resupply when you get to an exit, most of them have gas stations 100yds from the road. If it's near a populated area though, be careful, gangs might have taken them over for the gas. I'd try and get a good backpack before I set out, a nice pair of boots(preferably waterproof), some changes of socks, a small pistol if I can, something to start a fire, a good knife, and some iodine tablets or bleach if I have to use water I found in the woods. Oh, and definitely some maps.

I live about 30 miles from the major metropolis (DFW) where I work, and would immediately set out for home if the SHTF. I usually wear waterproof boots and keep a canteen of water, a poncho and a number of tools in the car. I also keep a spare computer for my car in a protected spot in case of EMP, though if one goes off while I’m in the city, it’s probably useless. I’ve often thought about what it would be like to get from Dallas to my home on foot, and obviously, it wouldn’t be pretty. Then once I got home I would have to consider if I should attempt to help my family or not. My mother lives 10 miles to the south, and has done nothing to prepare, and my sister lives 15 miles to the north. They all think I’m nuts for even suggesting any type of preparation. I guess we’ll see who’s crazy.

I still firmly believe that for the first seventytwo hours it will still be relatively easy to travel if you have a reason. The contus is very large and govt authorities will not have time to really organize and control traffic. I don't see gangs organizing in that time period, the will still be too busy looting. As a note to neformore all diesel engines are fuel injected but not all are computer controlled. Also for your info cooking oil must still be refined but there are websites that will show you the process. Straight unrefined cooking oil is too thick and contains elements that are not conducive to proper combustion. I hope this helps. As for travel in Europe I can't help you there my expertise is just too limited to be any assistance whatsoever. I do feel that location will have a lot to do with travel plans. While I am skilled and even comfortable in the lower 48 states in methods of wilderness survival I feel I would be extremely inadequate in other parts of the world.

respectfully

reluctantpawn