What do you think your chances are of heading to the hills ?

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by Nadja, Sep 29, 2010.


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  1. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    I'd like to toss out a question... where I live there are a couple of divisions of military folks within 90 miles... i plan on bugging in and have a working farm and am building up stocks... nearest town over 4k is 28 miles... a concern i have is foraging/confiscation by governmental/quasi governmental agencies with enough fire power to overcome anything i have (probably most of us have...) what are your thoughts other than caching loads of food stuffs as soon as the SHTF so it's not visible...
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    Your thoughts?
     
  2. Nadja

    Nadja RIP 3-11-2013 Forum Leader

    90 miles or so from the military. Well, there is always a chance they could be a problem. But if the real shth, don't you think that they would abandon ship so to speak and try and get home themselves ? If you were to bury the bulk of your supplies, and they should come by, steal some of your supplies, then the bulk or remaining would be ready after they were gone. I doubt if many of them if any would hang around long, as they do have families also. I really suspect that once anything serious did happen, they would load up all the fuel , mre's, guns and ammo they could , probable in a duece and a half, and head home. Something to think about for sure.
     
  3. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    That's the "plan" so I have heard, from many LEO's here!
    They are going home to protect their own families!
     
  4. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

    Yup...most logical thing is that they would run home...
    You can also pull a little trick on them...If I had a farm and lots of land, I'd build an underground storage depot, with well hidden entrance. I would probably make it from Concrete Canvas, or some other concrete method. I'd put most of mu stash there. Then I would make a storage room in the house or a shed which would be fairly obvious with some food and water for a family for a week or two.
    If they come, they'll run into the obvious stash and loot it, but will not be looking for anything else, so your big cache would be safe...JM2C
     
  5. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Bug-in sustainable living

    Alright, here is a quick question. Those of you who are "farmers" or "ranchers" or even "homesteaders" . . . how many of you know how to sustainably live?
    Do you plant heirloom seeds?
    If yes, do you know how to gather seed, so you can plant again next season?
    Do you know how to preserve your harvest?
    Do you raise and take care of sustainable dual purpose animals?
    Do you have a well?
    How does it draw water? Solar? Wind? An electric pump connected to the grid?
    Do you have a septic tank?
    Do you know how to maintain it? (let me tell you, digging out a septic tank is NOT FUN).
    Most importantly: do you have the skill set that your grandparents had? Could YOU live comfortably without the convenience of "Reddy Kilowatt"?

    There are hundreds, if not thousands of questions that could be asked of the average homesteader/rancher/farmer, ranging from sustainable food to basic maintenance skills. If you have a ranch/farm/homestead, you should be assessing your "bug-in" very carefully. I know I have.
     
  6. Nadja

    Nadja RIP 3-11-2013 Forum Leader

    I am hopeing to put my well in about May next year. I will also be building a nice size chicken coop, all wired in yard with chicken wire over the top. > meat and eggs, solar array, wind generator and doubling up on those by late summer. My raised bed gardens will all be done, and my rain water roof collection is now allmost done. Know how to do the seed thingie and have a few neighbors within a couple of miles that also all do the same. Having grown up on a truck farm, I am pretty well versed on gardening or growing vegis & tators My well will run off of one of my two existing gas generators, which I am thinking of building a still sort of to make ethonal fuel. Buy purchasing a step up transformer to go along with one of my invertors, it will also allow me to run the well on my solar system. So how are you set ?
     
  7. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    Hmm yes I have limited amounts of heirloom seeds, and know how to collect them... we also have family run commercial livestock operations that are ongoing so meat/livestock would not be the issue... processing and smoking the qualities would be more of an issue... however we would have to start harvesting/selling/culling them within a week or less depending on feed ...) several hives in our apiary, deep well with a generator back up and manual hand pump on a shallow well... and a 35k swimming pool and ready access to a creek...looking at using Obama's financing/tax assistance to help pay for a solar power system... but have to get my money right first... we have a septic system and do monthly treatments to ensure it's in good shape.... that being said...i do not have a good "root" cellar for storage, or a decent cold room, we have a decent storage facility for diesel fuel but not enough to run for an extended time (around a week’s worth) need to build a screened in back "sleeping porch" as it gets hot around here without fans/ac... We have access to 2 mules and some old style plows, harrows, and seeders (probably need to make sure that we have harnesses etc …... but I don't have all of the skills or physical capability to use them (do have a decent library so I might could figure something out ... part of the reason I joined the monkey is that you folks seem to have more of the additional info that i need to maximize the items I do have... <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" />
     
  8. Wild Trapper

    Wild Trapper Pirate Biker

    I'm a bug in guy. We don't live in the wilderness or anything like that. My place is roughly 300 yards off the township road. Off road w/4x4 escape route in the back to another township road.

    Wife's sister, who lived in the Atlanta, GA area at the time, a few years back, told me one time if TSHTF they would head for the hills. I asked, "And do what?" You should have heard the silence. Only sound I heard was the ringing in my ears. Anyway, our little talk got them thinking about it. Now, due to there business, they live in Florida and at least grow some of their food and store some food. I would not give them high ratings if a survival situation occurred, but at least they are not thinking along the idea of heading for the hill.

    I live in southern Ohio, the hills here are full of people, if there is a road of any sort, there are people there and they know the area. There are state and federal forest lands around too, but with all the people, how long before those area would be over run with people thinking the head to the hills mentality?

    Dragonfly said it well, it costs a lot of money to prepare. Every aspect of how we have laid out our place, and every addition is all focused on preparing for the "WHAT IF" things that may never happen.

    One thing that could become a real problem for all of us bug-in types is, if the government becomes to oppressive, and starts levying taxes on us so heavy we can't make the payment, it'd all be for nothing. That is if we still have a standing government post TSHTF.
     
  9. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I'm a bugger-inner, already in the hills. Now reality: I've been here just over two years, and on the day I moved in, I could have lasted 2 days on what was available. Two years on, I'm good for 30 days in isolation at reduced convenience and consumption, and assuming I can defend the hill. Time being what it is going forward, there will come a point where the preps curve crosses the life expectancy curve. The goal is to have enough on hand to make it one day past Grass Blanket Day. One or two dollars at a time gets the duration extended. Nice to have money to do it all at once, but ya know how that goes.

    If I have to haul out due to a s**t splash up here, I'm in big trouble; the cache (good for a week) is 250 miles away and the roads have to be open. That will get some attention sooner or later, I want to get it under 100 miles.

    [monkeyeating]
     
  10. Nadja

    Nadja RIP 3-11-2013 Forum Leader

    Seeds ,and water would be the the real key to survial. Along with your livestock. People here in ariz. in the old days before elect. dug small caves into the side of a hill, put ice blocks in it, and then lined it with sawdust. It would stay cold all summer long even here where hot is the norm. I have been in a couple over in Prescott, where a friend owns what used to be the stage stop. It gets cold in there even without ice. You may want to research this a little more. Do you have wind where you are, because if so, a small array and a wind generator could run your house lightly all night.
     
  11. Nadja

    Nadja RIP 3-11-2013 Forum Leader

    Trapper, that is my point exactly. With all the people that will be heading into the hills, and being at least 90% of them with no idea of how to eat, sleep etc, there would still be after all that a heck of a lot of people running around the hills with no way to eat but steal from you. They would have to be delt with quickly or you would be at there mercy.
     
  12. Fieldcraft

    Fieldcraft Monkey+++

    I have heard so many friends and co-workers say that they will take what they need when the SHTF, by force if necessary. I am always quick to respond that they won't be around long enough to be much of a problem which usually ends that part of the conversation. The fact of the matter is that people like them will come for people like us. Many of them will die off within the first month or two after the SHTF. Then will come some of the most dangerous, those who can somewhat take care of themselves by taking from others.

    I have been pursuing two different paths with respect to preperation, both bug-out. I have been searching for the ideal piece of property to call ours for almost two years and haven't found what I want. My wife says I'm too picky. Since I have not yet found my own place to bug-out to, I plan to move to a relatives remote cabin that is about 120 miles of all rural driving to a place where I don't have much in the way of prepositioned supplies (I do have a big truck and trailer). I live within 30 miles of a large city and 60 miles from a major city and do not feel that bugging-in is an option.

    Since I hunt and camp during 3 seasons, I have many opportunities to try out my mobile equipment and the skills I have been developing over a lifetime. This also allows me to realize what it would mean if we had to bug-out with only my "mobile" load-out. Surviving in this manner would be very problematic, but doable provided we can reach a safe destination with water (plenty of water here).

    In a few weeks I will try out the 12v power system I developed that incoporates solar with a propane powered 2k watt generator. I use this to run an Engel fridge, netbook (with thousands of books, manuals, etc.), lighting and my radios. If it all works out, I will only need to run the generator for an hour per day to keep my batteries topped off (assuming average sun this time of year) until I determine how many additional solar panels and batteries I will need to sustain remote operations. This coupled with a 4 season tent, wood stove and 60 gallons of capacity for potable water (with water available near-by and a sizeable water fitration system in my loadout), it should be very interesting 10 days.
     
  13. Nadja

    Nadja RIP 3-11-2013 Forum Leader

    Ghrit, you would need to move your back up cache to say a mile or two if possible, so that you could fall back, re group, re load and go for it. Shoot one, move a few hundred yards and go for another. Hit and run. Sooner or later , they will get tired of the game they are losing one by one. Small group of looters, with no real chain of command, I would wait and watch until I found the one who is the "leader" if you will. He would usually be in the back somewhere. Him first. Take your time, take very very careful aim, take a deep breath, release and gently fondle the trigger. Gut shoot him, so he would be screaming for help. It would take at least four to carry him with no litter and that would most likely stop any further attacks from that group at least. That is the way I would handle it and am preparing to do as we speak. Along with a few other things I will not talk about on these boards.
     
  14. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    not enough breeze to make it worth while... as to the digging a cave... flat land and a high water table.... thinking about building a block celler above ground and berming it... but that kinda gives things away...
     
  15. bailenforcer

    bailenforcer Monkey+

    I live in the woods already and if I must will move deeper into the swamps.



     
  16. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    I would go into detail about my plans, but then I would have to shoot myself for treason. Just kidding. My basic security mindedness (read uber-paranoia) keeps me from getting detailed. However, a ranch on isolated property with enough knowledge and know-how to get by with or without the grid, including a "expedient" hand-operated well pump, water storage, food storage, and back-up Bug-out location in case my sanctuary gets compromised.

    Plus, it helps that the family skill set includes esoteric, but useful skills like:
    Soap making without store-bought ingredients
    cheese making (so the excess dairy products don't go to waste)
    butter churning
    canning
    smoking (meats)
    butchering
    solar drying
    leather tanning and working
    Limited metal working (minor repairs only)
    candle making (using all kinds of natural neat-o keen stuff like cotton string, borax, and beeswax)
    organic year-round gardening (oh yeah, VERY useful)
    wood working
    Among many more.

    Most of these things can be learned with very little time or money. Additionally, these are the things that will keep you alive in *comfort*.
    I would suggest to a mostly city dweller who owns rural property with trees:
    Start at the begining of a summer. Cut down enough trees to have 2 cords of split wood, using only an axe (a real axe, not one of those toy axes they sell for camping). Then section, and split the trees with only the axe, a splitting wedge, and a heavy sledge. Stack, tarp, and leave. You have just cut enough wood for a bad winter, TEOTWAWKI style.
    Once the grid goes, we as a people, take a huge step back to the 18th century. At least.
    Many of these skills were passed down to my family by way of grandparents (who grew up on farms without the benefit of new-fangled inventions like elek-tri-city).

    I would love to add glass blowing to this, but that, like being a blacksmith, is an art, not a skill, per se.
     
  17. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

    AMEN Falcon...Totally agree...
     
  18. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

  19. hedger

    hedger Monkey+

    Similar To Mountain Man Rendezvous

    What you describe is something I would love to see out in the Colorado area. Unfortunately, the closest thing we have to what you describe is our Mountain Man Rendezvous--but you have to be a part of that "community" in order to know about them and benefit from same.

    Since there appears to be such a dearth of like gatherings, it may be worthwhile for me to check out how to go piecing something like that together. Do you have any lists of Vendors from such events? That would be a great assist for me.
     
  20. ozarkgoatman

    ozarkgoatman Resident goat herder

    2 cords would not get you through a bad winter here. Then of course you might want some extra wood to cook on as well.

    BWM
     
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