I'm living and working temporarily in the Grand Rapids area. For the last week we've been having rain rain and more rain. We had decent weather today so I thought I'd go out and do some exploring. Popped into a bicycle shop that sells recumbents. I was approached by a young salesman who knew nothing about recumbents but he did know quite a bit about the other bikes in the shop. In our conversation I learned he lives 8 miles from work and rides his bike there every day. This morning he was seven miles into his trip when he figured out that the trail he was about to get on to finish that last mile was flooded. He decided to go ahead and try to make it. His working clothes and street shoes are in a backpack on his back so he figured wet riding clothes wouldn't be a big deal. He doesn't get far into the trail before he realizes that he's not going to make it by riding the bike. Long story short with cleated shoes on he waded most of that mile carrying his bike. Sometimes in chest high water. I asked him if there was any current. he said there was a little at some points and it made it uncomfortable since he was walking on his heals due to his cleated shoes. (Voice in my head, "You stupid kid"). Point of me relaying this story is that many times we go into situations thinking we've got all the preps we need and all our ducks in a row. I don't think this kid thought there was going to be chest high water. When you're young and you think you've got all the preps you need, brovado may trump your common sense and humility. One of the best preps we have, we can't put in a backpack, that is humility. I've heard it said that, "not having a plan is a plan to fail". I agree 100% with that. But the other point is don't let your plans kill you. Be prepared to improvise. If we all knew what that SHTF scenario was going to be it would really cut down on our prepping. Our preps are flexible, be prepared for your plans to be too.
Thank you for sharing this. Very good reminder. & what was that guy thinking? He could get in real trouble in chest high water.
34 years ago the army started a program which they apparently still have. Many of their helicopter aviators were having crashes. They traced a majority of these to people making decisions that were rash. "Get home Itis" Their solution was a round red dot sticker that they had us aviators place on our watches. It was a reminder as we were looking at our watches to "take a minute for safety". Not to let our schedule or our stress level make the decision but, to rethink our planning.
Harsh reality is a fast teacher. Had the blessing of being raised on a dirt poor farm raising our own food, fishing/trapping/hunting, repairing what ever broke/wore, making our own clothes, canning/drying/preserving, relying on each other, etc. Really pity those w/o those skills/knowledge/experiences in a bad situation. They may not survive the "crash course" in living.