Why do so many so called prepper experts advocate setting up a bug out bag as one of the first steps to being prepared? Honestly, bugging out should be your very last option. Face it, you’ve spent a lot of time, effort, and possibly money gathering every needful thing for a set amount of time in your home. Why on earth would you consider giving all this up and leaving home with only a backpack full of supplies?
Here are just a few examples of evacuations…
Nov.10, 1979 – near midnight, a train derails near Mississauga, Ontario. A tanker car filled with propane explodes and causes a toxic chlorine gas event. An estimated 218 000 people are forced out of their homes for a week.
June 22, 2013 – the Bow River overflows it’s banks into Calgary, Alberta & several surrounding towns. 100 000 people are forced from their homes. 13 000 troops are brought in from the military to aid in evacuating residents. Many were never able to live in their homes again.
May 1, 2016 – A wild fire starts near Fort McMurray, Alberta. By May 3rd, upwards of 88 000 people are evacuated in the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta history. The fire spread over 1 500 000 acres and was not fully extinguished until August.
The prepper product pushers populating the internet love fear mongering. It’s what sells their product, and sometimes their product is simply ad revenue from visitors wanting their daily dose of prepper porn. We have to start putting these fantasies on the back burner and focusing on the here and now. Chemical spills, floods, and wild fires are THE REALITY right in front of you. The happen, and more frequently than an EMP bomb or the tyranical gooberment death squad.
Ask yourself a question and answer it honestly. When the chlorine gas is coming, when the water is rising, when the fire is burning, are you going to be safer at grandmas house 3 towns over or out in the wilderness,out of touch with sources of information running around playing Rambo?
So down to the nitty gritty…packing up a proper bug out bag.
A change of clothes should be top priority. As in the Mississauga incident in 1979, evacuations can happen with no notice and at inopportune times. You may very well have to leave while still in your pyjamas, provided you wear them. Remember to change them out seasonally and make sure they fit. Middle age has a habit of making your pants magically shrink!
Food & water are also a good idea. Forget the freeze dried pouches and life straws. Snacks such as granola bars, trail mix and such are ideal here as you just need something to tie you over until you get to where you’re going. A bottle or two of water per person should also be enough.
Life supporting medications are a must, but ONLY those that you cannot live without for a few days. Your prescription for arthritis can always be filled later on. Think more like nitroglycerin for heart attack or an epipen for allergic reactions. For medications that require refrigeration, keep them in an insulated bag (like a kids lunch pack) along with anything you need to administer them and an ice pack (the crack and shake to activate type). Diabetics should also keep an extra glucose test kit in their BOB.
A prepaid phone with charger cord, battery pack, and an unactivated time card. Populate this phone with the names, addresses and phone numbers of various bug out locations near and not so near to you. These can be motels, work buddies, or as a last resort, your mother in law. Distribute this phone number to various friends and family and inform them that this is for emergencies only, not for your daughter to text you that her boyfriends car broke down and she won’t be home by curfew.
Currency in the form of cash or a credit card. If you can get a duplicate of your bank card that’s great too. Most preppers have been told that only cash will be accepted during an emergency. That may be the case withing the disaster zone, but the objective to bugging out is to get away from that particular threat. You may need to pay for motels, gas, meals, clothing, etc. In the case of cash, keep smaller bills and only carry in your pocket enough to pay for what you need right now. Replenish this pocket cash later in privacy. You may be one of very few prepared people on the road. Nothing screams “mug me” more than paying for a double double with a wad of hundred dollar bills. For credit cards, make sure they stay active. Many banks will automatically cancel cards that have not been used in a given amount of time. If this is the case with your credit card, use it once a month to buy that special someone in your life some flowers or something. Keep it paid in full at all times.
Now it’s time to think outside the box, or outside the bag in this case. I mentioned the refrigerated medications earlier and how keeping it and everything associated with it in an insulated pack in the fridge makes for an easy grab and go addition to your BOB. The same goes for important documents. You will likely be returning at some point, even if only to have to start over. Gather all important documents such as passports, insurance policies, home ownership records and so on into a gym bag. Put this somewhere safe, but easy to access. If you normally keep them in a fireproof safe then put the whole lot into the bag and then the bag into the safe for easy, quick access. Remember to take photos of EVERYTHING you own and keep them with your insurance policy. CD/DVD storage work great for this. You can even have family photos that are important to you scanned at a local copy shop.
Now let’s talk about situational awareness and that evil box that’s been oh so demonized by prepper professionals…the television. We’ve all been told how the talking heads on the evening news are always lying to you, that nothing they say is true, how it’s all been manipulated by the powers that be. Let’s be honest here again. While some reporters will offer opinions or personal views on the whys and whatfors, the facts can always be seen. When the train derails, or the flood rises, or the fire burns out of control, those are facts. Listen to them and pay attention. Often you will see interviews with local or regional officials warning that an evacuation might be coming. At this point does it really matter if the fire was really lit by the (insert most hated political party here) or the train was really derailed by (insert perceived nefarious organization here) Hard no! You care that you may be in it’s way and need to pay attention.
Prepare for the here and now, for what happens in reality and in life. Block out the political posturing, fear mongering, and fantasy scenarios that are way too common in the prepper community these days.
Tune in here on Thursday for part II of the Adapters Movement.