The threads about walking home and "what gear should I add/change" got me to thinking back to the Bug Out Drill and the lessons it taught me.  Before I go all hog wild on this, who would be interested in doing a real walk home test with your car gear and posting the AAR here.  I have about a 5-7 mile walk, but I am betting some of you have much more.  My work attire is normally office wear like khakis and dress shoes and button downs, so no BDU/camos here.

I am curious how my dress/work shoes would hold up on a short/moderate walk with my normal car pack, etc., which leads me to think about a set of "tactical loafers" if you will.  I am also curious how my normal work wear will perform with small pack on as far as comfort, etc.

It would seem that we could all benefit from a real world test instead of a hypothetical online test.  I know I would want to hear about how you guys went about your walk and what worked and what did not.  I also think that weather plays a part.  Here in TX, the weather is mild, but I know up north things are getting cold and nasty.  Dark v. light is also an issue.  Rain or snow adds to it.

My thought is to go with what you have now.  No special prep or additional gear, just what currently sits in your vehicle.  Some of you guys really have it figured out but, some of you, like me, are likely less fully stocked in their vehicle.

So before I get all fired up, any interest?

LD

Yes. I'd like to see your results.  Going to need to add a good pair of boots to your car. UnderArmour has an awesome selection.

keep used boots/shoes in the car as well as a wind breaker and old cammo gortex.

I use them all the time, as I mainly were shorts/flip flops.

I would like to participate but not ready to take 2-3 days to walk my 47 miles.

It would be a great thing but highly impractical for many, myself included. Now wear that stuff and go 10 miles or a day anywhere and it will probably give the same lessons learned.

Maybe just do two categories, 10 miles and overnight?

Only one thing comes to mind: white fabric athletic tape.  I don't generally have to walk miles at a stretch.  When I do, no matter what footwear and socks I have tried, I end up with blisters on the bottoms of my feet.  I have learned that if I tape the balls of my feet with athletic tape, the socks don't rub the skin and voila, no blisters.  I should probably keep a roll in a drawer at work just in case.

I'd love to, but walking home is a last resort for me!

6-1/2 hour walks are not part of my regular routine so I don't think I am in on this one.

Bill

That would be quite a commitment on my end. I can probably do it (physically) but time wise, I'm screwed. I have a 80 miles one way commute...that would take...uhhh 3 or 4 days of solid walking? I just don't have that kind of time. But I am tagging this to see how others are doing!

What equipment do you need for a 10 mile get home? CCW weapon with a reload or two? Not trying to be snarky, just confused.

This challenge got me thinking about my “get home”

So google maps has my walk at 9 hours 20 minutes and the bike ride version at 2 hours 30 minuets.

At my office I could store a 10 speed pretty easy.

Have to review my options a little more.

I commute over mountains , 20 mile drive in 20 minuets. 8 hour hike through a hiking trail and 2 hours on bike. Having a bike in the preps is something to think about if you have the space

A bike would definitely cut the time. I did a direct map using google and if I take the route through the city (really bad idea when SHTF) it's a 20 hour walk - non stop. Not in my current condition. It would take several days.
If I take a bike on the same route, 7 ours on the outside...I know I can do that. It's mostly flat. If I take my usual route, through the country on back roads, 30 hour walk and 10 hour bike. So that's the difference between a butt load of blisters and 4 days or a sore ass and maybe a day or day and a half. Bike is looking like a very solid option!

I might be interested.  We might even be in the same city.  One problem is that I take the bus... so I'm on foot and stuck with what I keep in my backpack.  Luckily I used to be in a full time travel job, and keep it packed with a basic overnight kit.  I keep some small snack and a lifestraw bottle with it for basic water bottle use... but if I'm being honest, I don't ever really have the straw in it unless I'm going , it's just a basic water bottle.  A powerbar and a quart of water should be more than enough  to walk a few miles home on though.  The change of socks might be pretty nice, and the extra undershirt might help this time of year too.

Buy a bike to keep in office. If feasible ride it on your lunch break or maybe after work go on a 20-30 minute ride before heading home. You get exercise + a practical solution for getting home.

This is a great idea.
For me, a 6-1/2 hour walk will be a last resort.

Bill

not doing it, I have a pregnant wife and toddler at home, so just no. I do advise ya'll to keep used (already broken in) shoes or boots in the car, along with socks and some outerwear. You can cut pants into shorts if you need to, and here in Texas in some parts of the year the heat would get you way before the cold. If shits not going bad, I could walk it with just CCW and a bunch of water. If it's really bad, I would anticipate driving my truck to the very last possible moment before hoofing it.

Been there, done that back in 2007.

IIRC, 16+ miles, 5+ hours, 45# of gear in my ruck walking through suburban DFW.

Somewhere or another I've got a detailed write up of what worked and didn't work.  If I can dig it up, I'll post it.

One of my biggest things I noticed was how blind people are.   I encountered 100+ people during my walk, and although I looked different than anyone else due to my ruck and gear, I only had one person ask me what I was doing.

Semper Fi

Yep, bod taught a lot.  This is why I have a set of street clothes and low boots in the car.  My walk is 3x yours.i keep about a gallon and a half of water in the car for this scenario.  Drink a liter before starting, and hit the road.

5 to 7 miles? ya youll be fine if you have comfortable shoes.

on my feet at work so already had dress shoes that wouldn't kill my feet. business casual 4.7 mile walk home. didn't bring anything other than edc with me but a 6pack of beer.

one thing to note the beers will sweat with condensation and the paper/cardstock 6pack will come apart. for 5 to 7 miles id upgrade to a 12 pack. started around 11pm, if during the day maybe a ballcap and sunglasses. 4.7 was easy peasy and im a fat ass.

How about storing a folding bike or electric scooter (some can do 8-15 miles per charge) in your trunk in case of emergency?

I wear Salomon Forces X Alp Mid GTX with a suit everyday, all black and look good enough where nobody even says anything. I've been wearing some sort of black boots with a suit for a few years now and co-workers would notice and break balls, but not with these, nobody says shit...on clearance at LAPG plus an extra 25% off, dirt cheap and definitely worth a try if they'd be suitable for your AO...

ETA:

OR

drop $150 on the Cole Haan dress shoes with the Nike soles...everyone says they're like wearing sneakers, but don't know how good they are for kicking people in their face

double tap

not really.

but if you want to do it, then you should proceed

I walk my commute on a regular basis, so the challenge wouldn’t do me any good.

But I have thought it would be cool to do a BOB weekend. Get a group of guys together & do a 5 or 8 mile loop in the NF while living out of our bags for 2 nights to get a feel for what we need & don’t need.

I have a 30+ mile one way commute so it would take me a long time to "walk" home.  I have no doubt I can do it with minimal gear as I walk about a mile per day, and cover a couple hundred during hunting season...  It sure would be a fun excursive on a nice Friday but I would have to find ride back to work to get my truck!!!

I think it would be more fun to just go on a camping trip/ or play GHB/ BOB in my backyard with the gear at hand.

Don't wear dress shoes. You will experience real pain, it's just not worth the experience.
Heck, sneakers would be better.

You can walk 10 miles with ease with what can be placed in a small backpack (school size).

Did it a few months back, with a light pack and boots. Drank a couple small bottles of water and took two breaks.
A couple people skinned off some heel blisters with new mil boots, one was prevented midway with some tape.

My feet hurt an hour later, but not bad.

50 miles in 20 hours.

Don't be a candy butt.

Always test your gear.

Direct route is 7000 miles with a 'little' body of water in-between.  I'll have to pass on the "walk-home" exercise for this round

ROCK6

I've never gone that far. Maybe 15 in boot camp and 10 a few months ago. There's a difference between "testing" and risking some injuries. 50 miles is pretty ridiculous. 50 miles isn't a spur of the moment move. You gear up appropriately and have conditioning.

When faced with that distance, you make other plans and save walking for last. If you can do that, nice job.

50 miles isn't that far for a backpacker...but it's a stretch to do in 20 hours even with ideal conditions; and conditions would not likely be ideal.  We do a lot of distance backpacking (50-150 miles), a lot of logistics planning goes into that.  What we don't do is trek in severe or extreme weather, at night, or bushwhacking, or trying to maintain a low/discreet profile.  Add in the potential of a security threat, and it's even more difficult.  Most SHTF scenarios and reality SHTF often seems to occur late in the afternoon on a Friday (maybe it's just a military thing).  That first "day" on foot will likely be limited by severe weather, traffic, poor visibility/low illumination, etc.  One of the reasons we always pull off the trail if a major thunder shower is going to strike...it drops your speed to a crawl, you get soaked, cold, muddy, and slips/falls become far more frequent (not to mention is simply sucks).

When I was working back in the states, my home was 25 miles to the base.  I planned (worse case scenario), three days if forced on foot for the entire distance. While I could do the full 25 miles in 15-16 hours under ideal conditions, most of my considerations were impacted by my route: many roads were dirt roads, fire-breaks/power lines access roads and even rail-road tracks that bypassed one of the two small towns on the way, I planned for the least direct/worst-case scenario.  Could I do 50 miles in 20 hours?  I know I'm physically capable of carry a moderate load (30 pounds) that distance under ideal conditions, but you would sacrifice your health, risk injury, and moving at the required pace would not likely allow you to really be focused on potential threats.  Additionally, very few would be functional the day after doing 50 miles at one shot...most (including me) would likely need a week to recover!  It's easy to plan it, which is why I applaud those that actually test it.  You may be mentally tough enough to deny and ignore that your body is shutting down on you, but the stress of SHTF along with a long trek on foot is something that seriously needs a lot of planning and a balance of physical and mental fitness and an honest assessment of yourself; most especially tempering your ego with your actual health and fitness.

I did test my trek home on foot in four different "legs" to assess the routes and get a sample of time and distance.  I also used my mountain bike and did the 25 miles in four hours (it was a leisurely ride).  The biggest challenge was mapping all the alternate and low-profile routes (be they foot/bicycle or truck).  While 50 miles is nothing to sneeze at, it's feasible if you plan it realistically and actually match your fitness to the task.

ROCK6

Folding bike in the trunk would get you going when your vehicle fails. Maybe even train your trunk monkey to maintain it.
Personally I am not too worried about this scenario, I often bicycle to work, wear comfortable shoes, pants and shirts. More importantly I live 4 1/2 miles from my job.
But yeah, a small bag with a change of clothes and good shoes should always be carried and a folding bike can eat away the miles. Might want a few bites of non-perishable food and a couple bottles of water too.
And a flashlight, knife, whatever.