Posted: 5/15/2008 8:11:54 PM EDT
|
I normally carry my GHB/BOB in my work van . This week its been in my personal vehicle , needs to be repacked from last weeks camping trip. This morning I was driving to a area I normally work and asked myself what would I do if something happened where I would have to hoof it 40-60 miles back home just with whats on the van. So heres what I came up with . Use my lap top case as my GHB . I had 4 16 oz bottles of water and 1 32 oz bottle of gatoraid , 2 cans of beany and weenys , 1 can of potted meat , 2 packs of peanut butter cracker nabs ,small bag of jacks links peppered beef jerky and assorted candies maybe 16oz worth .I have a couple plastic spoons and forks from fast food places , ketchup ,honey and honey mustard packs . Ok on food I think Im ok , not great but enough where I dont think I would starve unless I get seriously delayed. Ok next . My metal clip board with the paper storge box (for a pot or hot plate ,probably able to bake in it also ) , M-65 field jacket ( not cool enough to need it but would help in bedding down) , rain jacket , super elcheapo rain poncho , VA topo map (most likly just rip out the needed pages) , dash board compass , two 24" by 18" foam knee pads (bedding matrial) ,First aid kit (dump it in the outter compartment of the laptop case) , torch lighter , magnifying glass , diesel soaked rags out of my haz box stuffed into a orange juice bottle , blue shop towels for TP (prefer over real TP but to expensive for that purpose normally )  VX -6R HT . Ok that covers most camp issues . Next thing is putting it together .14 ga fine strainded wire and rubber bungie straps to make a "backpack" for my coats and foam pads . Would pull off another 50 feet of wire for other uses . Remove non need items off my person such as work keys and tools . On my belt theres a leatherman wave , cell phone and flashlight minused the tools. Make a duct tape roll and electric tape roll on my ink pin . Grab and conceal my XD 45 with its 14 rounds loaded (Mags and holster in GHB/BOB  )and start out Well thats all I could come up with . |
| To continue with your thought processes: What kind of S would hit an area +60 miles hand enough that you would have to walk home? What would that do to the roads, tunnels, and bridges between point A and point B. Got portable communications to keep you informed or to contact home? |
|
Nuke EMP in a near by city (if it would damage vehicle electronics) ,strong earth quake damaging roads to bad for my Express 3500 van ..... ok both highly unlikly . Yeah Comms I listed my VX 6 R . As far as bridges there are 3 river crossings none who pose a major problem though unless the water was way up because 90% of the time they are less then waste deep. Honestly the last 40 miles home doesnt worry me as bad as the first part which would be in or near major urban areas.Im real familiar with the area. I have friends and family scattered though out the area and I would be away from any cities and major roads . I plan on coming home via back country roads , abandoned RR tracks and power line right of ways. |
|
Sounds like you're thinking. A few of my opinions..... 40-60 miles - a long way. Ouch - the feet are gonna hurt if you're not used to hard use of them. Footwear? If it's not up to the task be sure to have boots/tennis shoes in the rig. Definately have moleskin and tape in you FAK. And pack spare , clean socks. You could probably jetison some of that food for a water purifier/filter. I also like to carry an empty , collapsable water bladder to fill when camped. Tabs are light , a filter is usually a manageable size. A few coffee filters on hand will make things cleaner and quicker too. Big , heavy-duty trash bags can be used for many things and are small and light. Comms. Even a receive only radio. If things are bad , you'll want the news regularly if it's available. 40-60 miles.... could be 3-4 nights travelling. I know many people will say they can cover ground quicker and I'm sure they can. But one can't count on it - all kinds of things may require a slower pace. Put a little weight on your back , slower now with more foot fatigue. Put that load - even a light one - in an unbalanced/awkward package , slower yet and more fatigue and readjusting. I hike and run often. Hikers just getting started for the season or just not conditioned yet can suffer discomfort for a few days after a moderate hike sometimes. The same would apply trying to get home with no vehicle and ground to cover. Anyway , a few thoughts. Water , Feet , and Exposure. -JC |
besides, possum is much better on the hoof.
Good points My GHB /BOB thats is normally in the van with me was not . Hence the purpose of the thinking game . My BOB I wouldn't really worry since I have filters , tablets, mountain house food , MRES , socks , FAK , and all the other goodies that would last me over a week if rationed correctly. Which Im going to repack and put back in the work van before next week. Jerry thats why I mentioned the metal clip board , use it as a pot to boil water and cook up some more possum 
|
|
I am always going thru this very helpful excersize, but my trip may be 2000 miles. I don't carry alot of food with me because I really don't think I won't be able to buy some with enough cash if I act very quickly and use cash. My GHB is quite well equiped for a long trip, but I would be pretty fooked without it. I do need to start looking at what I would do if I no longer had access to my kit. My lap top back pack doubles as my GHB. I keep micropur water purification tabs, nylon poncho, toilet paper, Q tips, liteload towel, a radio reciever, Swedish fire steel, compass, 2 liter bladder, 2 flashlights, batteries, set of poly pros, socks, gloves, and head cover in it all the time. If my luggage gets lost, I still have some basics. The list of stuff I carry in my luggage is pretty huge so I won't bore you with it. The point is that the stuff listed above is always with me, in the plane, at home, and when I am visiting a customer. The laptop and chargers, paper work, and all other crap gets left behind. I just flat out don't travel without this stuff. When I go to Denmark next month, the stuff in my back pack will stay in place and most of the long term kit will stay home. There will be quite a bit of soul searching during that time to see how hard it would be to get home then! |
Not as unlikly as you might think. Know one knows when or where an earthquake can happen or when. EMP burst- with the intell coming out on the sly about Iran and other enemies of ours more likly than one might think. |