Get Home Bag

[Docster]

I keep lots of extra water in my vehicles year round for search and rescue. They freeze in the winter, but I don't think I've ever had a water bottle break. The bottles have a lot of give in them so they will swell and deform, but they don't break. Now I go through them pretty regularly so I'm not sure how the would do if they went through a couple of years of freezing cycles, but a couple of freezes and thaws will probably be no problem.

I leave a little extra space for expansion then seal up the caps. No bursts or caps

 

[Triggerfinger]

You're just trying to get home, that's it. First your packing changes based on season. Packing requirements change for cold, hot, wet, dry etc. More water, less water, more clothing, less clothing. No bag is static. Change it to reflect whatever need with a bare minimum of gadgets. You can't pack for every contingency, so pack for the most probable.

 

[Chat-Bot]

Ever play with this?

Get Maps

Explore, interact, and download USGS topographic maps free of charge from topoView.

ngmdb.usgs.gov

They've been through some name changes and the latest one is kinda dumb. They were Navteq. You can download different maps for off-line use and don't expire.

HERE WeGo | Maps & Navigation | Applications | HERE

Meet the new revamped HERE WeGo! The free navigation app now includes bike & car-sharing routes, walking directions, offline maps, and more. Available on iOS, Android & Huawei app stores.

www.here.com

A dedicated handheld is nice to have too but then you have to worry about power unless you have portable solar to charge.

Garmin GPSMAP® 66sr | Handheld GPS | Outdoor

www.garmin.com

I wasn't impressed with they satellite maps and somewhat expected for a small device. It was also a subscription service not worth it to me, but once downloaded you had that version available.

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

You're just trying to get home, that's it. First your packing changes based on season. Packing requirements change for cold, hot, wet, dry etc. More water, less water, more clothing, less clothing. No bag is static. Change it to reflect whatever need with a bare minimum of gadgets. You can't pack for every contingency, so pack for the most probable.

I’ve added a big box to the back of the truck. I call it my pick n chose bin. For just the reasons you’ve noted.

 

[lazarus]

This! I'm far from the 20 something stud I used to be (or at least the one I have convinced myself I used to be). Middle age has settled in, I've got bad knees and am carrying at least 30-40 lbs that I can do without (and I'm not talking about my pack)... but I have been getting out and walking at least a couple of miles (I usually get in 4-5) every day, and most days, I put on my search and rescue bag just for the extra 20 lbs. It helps... plus my wife usually walks with me and it is nice quiet time with the Mrs. I might not be able to consistently do 25 miles per day in rough country, but could I make it 100 miles in a week across a fairly familiar area... I'm pretty sure that is reasonable.

The only really good thing about carrying extra calories around one's mid section, is I'm not too worried about loading down the truck with MREs... I keep a couple of food items in the kit, but water is more important. I can live off the blubber layer for a few days without worrying too much about it.

A keep in mind, it helps, but anyone is going to have their energy level crash after a couple of days of not eating. You just aren’t going to die, but your endurance is going to plummet. It’s best to ration food even if all you are eating is a couple of hundred calories a day. Those ration food cubes, which are basically sugar and fat chews with vitamins in them are actually great for that. Only like 300-400 calories a day for a “days worth” if I am remembering right, but it’ll help your energy level a lot. Even if you are still super hungry. That and frankly leaving a couple bricks of survival bars (the type for life rafts) in a vehicle isn’t a bad idea. About as energy dense as you can get. Not great eating though.

 

[Tungsten]

20 miles on foot in maybe very adverse MD weather with extra weight from gear, with maybe a few 1000 other people all walking around and stressed. It seems to me like a lot of people aren't anywhere close to being able to make it home (including me).

Only way I'm making it back is if I have a bicycle or scooter of some sort.

 

[AlBeight]

I'd still like to take a real land nav course. REI offers one a few times a year. Anyone take that or can recommend something else?

Enlist in the Marines and go to sniper school?

 

[Pale Ryder]

Little perspective. Downtown Annapolis to downtown Glen Burnie using Rt 97 is twenty miles. Depends on what puts you afoot. It’s not going to be a one day trip walking the highway and avoiding nervous on edge people. It’s going to be a slow going cutting through woods and neighborhoods. Ritchie Hwy would be problematic too, again depending on event.

 

[Triggerfinger]

If in a SHTF scenario and having to walk home,
I think I have a grace period of 48 hours before it's gets wacky. I don't envision running gun battles, long campfire cooking or wilderness survival. I see a walking marathon day and night to get home with a pack that provides warm dry clothes, walking shoes, a poncho, water and food, a map, some medicines, a sharp long knife, pepper spray and flashlight.
I want to move fast, avoid crowds and bad areas, don't draw attention, and just be another guy going home.
What happens after I get home will be better dealt with than me out on the road playing Ricky Ranger.

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

If in a SHTF scenario and having to walk home,
I think I have a grace period of 48 hours before it's gets wacky. I don't envision running gun battles, long campfire cooking or wilderness survival. I see a walking marathon day and night to get home with a pack that provides warm dry clothes, walking shoes, a poncho, water and food, a map, some medicines, a sharp long knife, pepper spray and flashlight.
I want to move fast, avoid crowds and bad areas, don't draw attention, and just be another guy going home.
What happens after I get home will be better dealt with than me out on the road playing Ricky Ranger.

Make sure to leave your braced short arm at home. Your gray man kit is now less one option…


—————

Dint know how I forgot. Sturdy, waterproof, well fit shoes or (hiking) boots and wool socks. Your dogs will thank you.

 

[Triggerfinger]

Make sure to leave your braced short arm at home. Your gray man kit is now less one option…


—————

Dint know how I forgot. Sturdy, waterproof, well fit shoes or (hiking) boots and wool socks. Your dogs will thank you.

No other item will make or break you than your shoes on a walk. Bad shoes will destroy you. Every 3 months at Fort Drum we marched 12 miles in 3 hours with a full ruck (about 70 pounds). I say march, but in order to do it in 3 hours you're jogging the whole way. If your boots don't fit, you're going to get blisters and then you're done.
Select carefully, walking shoes need to be tested before the long march, in realistic conditions that will prove good or bad for your feet and legs.

 

[dblas]

Many apps on a "smart" phone require internet service to run.

Last November I visited my dad in Denver and we went on a hike up Starr Peake with an experienced guide. He said he had been up this route dozens of times. On the way back down he took a short cut and got us lost. I had my Android Pixel running GrapheneOS. The app I was using was the OsmAndroid, which stands for Open Street Map for Android. It allows you to down load maps to your phone and use your GPS on the phone without internet connectivity. Everyone else in our group had an Apple phone which wouldn't even display the maps without internet, which we didn't have. I set a marker where our vehicle was and was able to guide the group to them until we met back with the trail.

I'd still like to take a real land nav course. REI offers one a few times a year. Anyone take that or can recommend something else?

For those that want to practice orienteering, Little Bennett Park, in MoCo has a permanent orienteering course that is open to the public when the park is open.

 

[dblas]

Little perspective. Downtown Annapolis to downtown Glen Burnie using Rt 97 is twenty miles. Depends on what puts you afoot. It’s not going to be a one day trip walking the highway and avoiding nervous on edge people. It’s going to be a slow going cutting through woods and neighborhoods. Ritchie Hwy would be problematic too, again depending on event.

No need to cut through the woods, there is a walking/bike trial that follows the old rail line from Annapolis up to Glen Burnie.

 

[Chat-Bot]

You guys are making it harder than it should be. Random pics from big city blackouts.

 

[[Kev308]]

If in a SHTF scenario and having to walk home,
I think I have a grace period of 48 hours before it's gets wacky. I don't envision running gun battles, long campfire cooking or wilderness survival. I see a walking marathon day and night to get home with a pack that provides warm dry clothes, walking shoes, a poncho, water and food, a map, some medicines, a sharp long knife, pepper spray and flashlight.
I want to move fast, avoid crowds and bad areas, don't draw attention, and just be another guy going home.
What happens after I get home will be better dealt with than me out on the road playing Ricky Ranger.

+1

I don't see things getting crazy unless whatever incident is so big that it becomes obvious that things won't be going back to normal anytime soon.

and obviously bad neighborhoods will be bad neighborhoods.

 

[Doctor_M]

And that is why I stay out of urban areas as much as possible!

 

[Blacksmith101]

Depending on the event the road home might look more like this than the blackout pictures:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Flight_of_Refugees_Across_Wrecked_Bridge_in_Korea_%28Original%29.jpg

The idea of getting an early start and putting as many miles behind you as possible is a good idea because the closer to home you are the more familiar the territory and more likely you can get some help from a friend if needed.

 

[Doctor_M]

Not sure if anyone mentioned it before, but I keep a sandwich bag with a half dozen or so pieces of fatwood in the kit. I know there are a million ideas for fire starters, but that stuff is the bomb... can light it with a single match. And a good sized piece will burn like the devil for 5 to 10 mins. If you can't start a fire with that stuff, are probably under water.

 

[BFMIN]

Fatwood & cotton balls with Vaseline. I cut the usual 8" long sticks into several 2" ones, much easier to store in a BOB.
The Vaselene & cotton balls are the backup ignition if i have to go to ceramic sparkler or Blast match "flint & Steel" as it won't light them directly.

 

[Inigoes]

Not sure if anyone mentioned it before, but I keep a sandwich bag with a half dozen or so pieces of fatwood in the kit. I know there are a million ideas for fire starters, but that stuff is the bomb... can light it with a single match. And a good sized piece will burn like the devil for 5 to 10 mins. If you can't start a fire with that stuff, are probably under water.

A couple of packs of disposable wooden utensils (knife/fork/spoon) also serve as a great fire starter.