bug-out bags. do you have one?

[George the original one]

Documents. Banks, titles, etc. Life straw for portability. Rain gear and wool blankets.

Realistically, though, there are only two directions to go with a vehicle larger than a bicycle in my rural coastal valley. The "wilderness" is already at my doorstep. It's far more likely we'll stay put unless the house is untenable (home destruction of some sort or violent threat) or the well water becomes unsafe. Cascadia subduction earthquake, wildfire, windstorm, and landslide are the biggest threats. Flooding is possible, but only likely if one of the others happens first and clogs the river, in which case I'll be checking with neighbors to see who has dynamite

Note that, just like urban highways will be clogged with traffic, it's also likely that the cellular network will be overloaded, so have an alternate communication plan.

[fiby41]

From your list above I've only experienced flood.

11.1 When I was in school, the school principal suggested to have all the most important documents that are difficult/PITA to get a duplicate copy of if destroyed (School passout+other major required certificates, bank account statements (passbooks+CDs), documents that can be used as ID proofs (passport, driving license...)) in a bag/folder so that in case your house is set on fire (or other calamity or natural disaster like the 7.9 Richter scale earthquake that hit the North-Eastern frontier of the Indian Subcontinent on 25.4.15); you can just grab it and make a run for the door.

I suggest you do something similar. It makes good disaster/risk management/mitigation sense and is in accordance with the Serendipity Effects focus of ERE. Also, if you couldn't make it to the door; atleast the digging crew will be grateful as you made it easier for them to identify yet another one among thousands of dead bodies with obscured faces...

viewtopic.php?p=92938#p92938

[Alphaville]

thanks again to everyone for their input. it’s great to hear about your different perspectives, and to learn about different risk scenarios, either potential or survived. we’re working on padding our travel bags this week with copies of important documents, prescriptions, and a light emergency kit.

[basuragomi]

I anticipate going from nearly naked to outdoors in 15 seconds. I think the most likely scenarios are flooding, CO leak, police action or a relative's medical emergency. This pack should be enough to sustain a 10-hour trail hike and overnight stay with relatives that can help or can be helped. It's mostly stuff I use normally so I occasionally get to cycle through and refresh things.

Clothing
Hat
Socks, 2 pairs
Pack towel
Cotton pants
Fleece
Tshirt
Underwear
Sandals
Rain poncho
Glasses

Food
Crackers, 1 sleeve
Peanut butter, 500g (the hydrogenated stuff - to keep solid in the heat)
Granola bars, 3
Pull-tab can of turkey, 156g
Water, 2.5L

Tools
Multitool
Garbage bags, 2
First-aid kit (bandages, electrolyte, loperamide, tylenol, water purifier tabs, tape, gauze, etc.)
House keys
Light
Various gov't ID/licenses
Cell phone
Cash
Credit card
Pen
Writing pad
Resume
Toiletries (soap, razor, toothbrush, floss, etc.)

Total weight about 7 kg, most of that is the food and clothing.

[Alphaville]

i love this list, and i realized i don’t have loperamide. i’d rather expel fast than hold . but in an emergency, one might have to...

how do you carry the water?

[basuragomi]

The benefit of loperamide is much more pronounced when you don't have ready access to a toilet and limited water supplies. I find in cases of gastrointestinal distress, attacks can continue way longer than necessary to get the offending material out, so loperamide might allow quicker recovery too. There's also a limited supply of toilet paper and wipes in my first-aid kit and I don't want to find out exactly how long it lasts.

The water is in 500 mL disposable plastic bottles from my emergency water supply. Easy to stick wherever there's room, toss to others or refill. Makes decent bear bells, floats, cushions and/or weights too. You can even boil water over a fire in one.

[Alphaville]

yes! agreed on loperamide. thanks so much for all the explanations.

plastic bottle over a fire whaaaaaaaa...?

ok... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wElXdZU3pLQ

what da... wow

[plow_2]

Read Cody Lundin's 98.6 degrees and apply his info to a bugout bag instead of just hiking
-if you can put scan important documents onto a thumb drive add that
-my philosophy is to err on the side of lightness if walking is on the menu. You tube is full of videos where peoples bugout bags are overly heavy and ridiculous. so for water its a filter and bag, some mountain house freeze dry, wizzy wipes for tp, something light for warmth. Look at ultralight hikers for inspiration.

[Ego]

Borders are closing or closed so Russians who want to escape conscription are bugging out on bikes and riding around border checkpoints.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/01/worl ... ussia.html

[ertyu]

I wish them survival

[Sclass]

Sweet. I saw the videos of the line at the Georgian border and wondered how the border security was in the wilderness surrounding the crossing. It looked walkable.

I visualized myself pulling a Peter Fonda in Easy Rider and crossing the border on a dirt bike or mountain bike. My feeling is it would end up more Steve McQueen in The Great Escape as I got shot off my bike by Georgian security.

Funny when I posted to this thread it was right before we were evacuated 2x in a month for separate California wildfires. We now have bugout bags. The first go round the police drove around blaring their sirens telling us to leave now. It caused a huge car crash at the entrance to our community. We got out fast and missed the crash. But my neighbors got caught in the traffic jam and got to watch the flames bear down on them from their car. In light of that we got our bags organized so we could be first out the door.

[mountainFrugal]

Funny when I posted to this thread it was right before we were evacuated 2x in a month for separate California wildfires. We now have bugout bags.

We keep all of our stuff near the door ready to leave on foot if necessary during fire season. Our van is parked facing out and ready to go with bikes as backup transportation in the van "garage" under the bed. We have never been officially evacuated, but it only takes one crash to make that a bad idea as you illustrate. We just leave when there is a "be ready to leave" warning. It is just way easier.

[chenda]

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are also emerging as places Russian men are fleeing to to escape conscription. Apparently there is some kind of common travel agreement which mean they don't require Russians to have a valid passport to cross the border, just an ID document. Its the longest continuous land border in the world and looks very porous.

Just highlights though always having an up to date passport is essential. There were numerous middle class Sri Lankans desperately trying to renew their passports and found they couldn't and are now trapped on a island running out of food.