BUGOUT/ESCAPE

[mountainborn]

This topic comes up pretty often on various forums. It is a topic that is more and more on the minds of Americans, so, I thought it might be of intrest to some here. It is a paste from another forum, the offroadcampingclub.com forums.

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rwblue said:

I may be moving to a hurricane zone. I would like this vehicle to be my BugOutVehicle. So I would like to be able to pile a whole lot of stuff in there quickly and get on the road out of there.

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Good observation.

We pull a 17' fiberglass Oliver travel trailer with a Jeep Wrangler and view that setup as our "BUGOUT/ESCAPE" machine.

Though hurricanes get much attention because of their violence, there are many other reasons to bug out.

Here in America's heartland, some that come to mind are floods, ice storms and tornados. In other areas of America, Fire, mudslides and earthquake may well cause RV owners to bugout.

Yet to be mentioned is civil unrest, which occours mainly in, but not limited to, densely populated areas.

Once any of the above mentioned disasters happen, the utilities are usually disrupted, imposing at the very least, discomfort, and in many cases can be life threatening.

By the time most folks figgure out that is time to bugout, utilities are nonexistent, food stocks are depleted and the roads are clogged with refugees and evacuees.

Refueling your vehicle may not be possible, filling your RV's water tank may not be possible.

To maintain a sustainable comfort level for yourself and family usually means relocation.

Should you choose to remain in place, any resources that you have, will attract to you, those that want them. For example, the smell of cooking, the sound of a generator, showing a light after dark, ect..

In other words, staying may mean more than not having Natural gas, water, electricity, ect..

So, the roads are clogged and you need out. How are you going to do that ? Conventional transport modes, you know, Trains, planes and automobiles just ain't gona' cut it in later stages of a disaster evacuation.

Should your tow vehicle be a high ground clearance four wheel drive and your RV a small manuverable travel trailer with high ground clearance, other bugout options are there.

The first one that comes to mind are the massive urban drainage controll ditches that are concrete. For example, the LA River.

Then there are those right of ways for high tension powerlines, natural gas and other utilities.

When a US highway is rerouted, the pavement usually remains but the bridges, the high cost to maintain item, are removed. Many times leaving a dry wash or shallow creek that a 4x4 can cross readily.

For us it is about planning ahead and leaving early in a high ground clearance bugout setup.

Many electronic navagation systems have the option to show rivers, powerlines and other infrastructure rights of ways. They could be your quickest way out of a life threatening situation.

Think ahead, plan ahead, and, drive the alternate route if possible.

[SeaDawg]

We've been hurricane evacuees many times. Usually, to my mom or sister's house (at higher elevation, midcounty)... The alternate plan (north, past Georgia, maybe even as far as into MO) is always there.... Easier, now, knowing that we can tow a "house" behind us, with all the essentials in the TV. Insurance docs, deeds, tax records, essential photos, underwear for six days... blah on.

 

Honestly, a few years ago, with predictions of a direct hit in our community, we left our house in coastal Florida, under duress of the sheriff announcing mandatory evacuation on a bullhorn by six (repeatedly, and loudly). I refused to leave till the final hour (ten hours later....) because, well... because. Consequently, we loaded all the important stuff early on, preparing for the mandatory six am evac. During the night, while everyone else slept a few fitful hours, I filled the last three cubic feet in the SUV with, well, junk. Trinkets. and well, more junk. I'm a tornado survivor (twice), and couldn 't sleep. I knew what it was like to grow up without stuff... photos, toys, etc. So, I fretted, sorted, and packed, having been advised that my home of twenty years would be underwater tomorrow. Was it dumb? Yeah. Will I know better next time? Maybe. I don't know.

Those predawn hours were very emotional. I remember how I opened the closet door where we'd marked the heights of my daughter, my nephews, and their friends over the years.... many times. I even thought about taking said door off the hinges and taking it with me. With my back to my daughter at five forty five, ready to go, so as not to upset her, I cried a torrent as we left and locked the front door. Stupid? Probably. Stuff is stuff. A house is a house. It's not family, but it has connections. And, I was sure we were never to return to our home.... the only home our daughter had ever known. The home where we'd been happy, raised her, and hosted so many family dinners.. and more. So many memories.

 

Hurricanes, though more predictable than tornadoes, still are "whimsical". About 2 in the afternoon, that devastating wind turned a little south, not much, sparing our home and thousands of others in our county. It turned into a far less populated area of Florida, still devastating, but taking the dreams and history of others (probably less prepared than we had been) with it. We were spared, but for a few branches and part of the roof, because we were a little bit further north. I felt relieved, but guilty, that others who were not prepared were now facing what I had feared.

 

In the end, I knew that if all of us made it out, and safe, no "stuff" was really important. Thru the tornado years in the midwest, our family did fine without said "stuff" that we lost. Important stuff? None. Family? That's all that's truly important.

 

Sherry