How to Avoid Dangers When Bugging Out

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A lot of people have a misunderstanding of what bugging truly is.  As a result of that, the same people fantasize about it thinking it is going to be a grand old time.  So in this episode, we are going to discuss 7 top dangers you will face while bugging out and how to prepare for them.

Dangers You Will Face Bugging Out

1. Social Unrest

  • in a bug out scenario, other people are going to be freaking out
  • they most likely didn’t have a plan for such a scenario
  • so there will be rioting and looting along with muggings and even murder
  • you will want to develop a plan to avoid the masses
  • develop a route that strays from high population/high crime areas
  • you will also want to identify traffic choke points now
  • if SHTF and many people are evacuating what are the common routes that these people would take?
  • you can typically identify this by examining rush hour traffic on a daily basis
  • those common routes are going to be what the majority are used to and familiar with
  • most people haven’t developed an alternate travel plan
  • if you have to go through the masses then you will want to be sure to be the gray man (How to Be a Gray Man)
  • you don’t want to stand out and become a target for looters and those that are desperate
  • in this case, you will want to go WITH the flow of traffic and not against it
  • if you do otherwise then you are going to stand out and bring attention to yourself
  • you also don’t want to be rememberable
  • don’t wear clothing or bags that are going to draw attention
  • don’t wear anything expensive
  • try to become the most average person that you can think of

2. Low amount of resources

  • store shelves will be wiped clean
  • so when SHTF it will already be too late to run to the store to buy the necessities
  • even if the shelves are not wiped clean you will be fighting others for what is left
  • on top of that, stores will most likely increase the prices for those resources and give it to the highest bidder
  • there is even the possibility that stores will not accept credit/debit card transactions if the grid is down
  • paper money could even be rejected if there is an economic crash
  • this is why it is helpful to have junk coins stored
  • junk coins have 90% silver so contain real value as compared to a paper dollar
  • either way, I wouldn’t risk going to stores after SHTF to purchase these items
  • you should already have them stored up

3. Health/Physical issues

  • in the book One Second After it tells of how people died of heart attacks after SHTF because of the poor health that people were in
  • in a bug out scenario, you will be doing a lot of walking, running and physical activity
  • if your body is not in shape then you will experience some major issues
  • this is why it is important to get into shape and eat healthy
  • now, this is one of the biggest challenges for me
  • for my day job I work in an office setting
  • so there isn’t any physical activity involved
  • on top of that I lack motivation to stay consistent in the gym or just physically active
  • one thing that I am looking into is getting a personal trainer along with some friends who stay active
  • it is also important to watch our diets
  • this again is one of the big issues for me
  • I love pizza, bacon and beer like a real American should lol
  • if you are on medication you will want to have a surplus stocked up for such an event
  • there are also a lot of natural remedies that you can look into that may be helpful
  • another danger related to physical issues are injuries
  • as mentioned earlier, there is going to be the threat of violence where you may need to defend yourself
  • unless you are Billy Badass or Rambo you may become injured
  • on top of that, there are going to obstacles along your bug out that may cause injuries
  • even when I go camping it never fails but I end up cutting myself in some way
  • you will want to have first aid kits for these situations
  • you don’t want open wounds to become infected to where you end up losing a body part

4. Dehydration

  • if you are forced to bug out on foot then your body is going to consume a lot of the water fluids in your body
  • for those that live in the southern heat you are going to consume more
  • so on your bug out trip it is going to be important to stay hydrated
  • not only will water provide you with energy to get to your bug out location but will also keep you alive
  • you can die of dehydration and even of a heat stroke
  • the challenge with packing water in your bug out bag is that it weighs a lot
  • for my bug out bag I have a hydration pack, a canteen for drinking and another for collection
  • on top of that I have means to purify the water including Life Straws
  • I keep the hydration pack and drinking canteen filled at all times
  • when you are putting together a bug out plan you should identify sources of water along that trip where you can collect water along the way
  • thankfully in Florida there are lakes everywhere
  • but not everyone is as fortunate of that
  • one option for those that live in the city is that you can use water fausets outside of people’s houses or other locations

 

5. Impassable Roadways

  • another possible danger of bugging out is that the roadways will become clogged
  • most likely you are not the only one that is trying to escape
  • ideally you should plan to travel on backroads, dirt roads, trails or even forest logging trails
  • on top of that you should have multiple bug out routes and locations
  • ideally you should have 4 bug out locations
  • one north, south, east and west
  • that way if a threat is coming from the north then you still have 3 other directions that you can take to escape
  • also having the ability to travel offroad can increase your survivability
  • I would recommend having a 4 wheel drive vehicle with all terrain tires
  • ultimately, you should be prepared to travel on foot if you have too
  • that way if all possible roadways are impassable you can still make it to your location by foot

6. Weather

  • many of us live comfortably inside of our homes spoiled by air conditioning units and central heating
  • when the weather is unbearable we elect to spend our time inside
  • however, if something can go wrong it typically does and at the worst possible time
  • being forced to bug out alone is not going to be comfortable
  • it is going to be challenging even in perfect weather
  • however, aclimate weather can make bugging out 10 times more challenging
  • this is especially true if you live in the south or the north
  • if you live in the south you have to be prepared for scorching heat
  • as I mentioned earlier, heat can cause you to dehydrate and even cause heat strokes
  • for those that live in the north the blistering cold can make your life a living hell when bugging out
  • you will become vulnerable to hypothermia and frost bite
  • this is why it is important to be prepared for the worst weather possible
  • your main line of defense is going to be what you have on
  • for winters I wrote a blog post about the 3 winter survival clothing layers you should have
  • these layers include the base which wicks away moisture, the middle layer provides insulation and the outer layer provides you with a shell from the cold
  • for those that live in the south it is going to be the opposite
  • southerners will want to have moisture wicking clothing along with clothes that are light and breathable
  • you should also elect for lighter color clothing as it will help to repel the sun beams

7. Communication Issues

  • during a bug out scenario it is going to be important to communicate with your family and even your survival group
  • without communication there is no sense of direction
  • this is especially harmful if you are trying to gather family members after SHTF
  • you will want to have a bug out plan pre-developed that includes meet up spots that you can gather family members even without communication
  • it may be that the grid goes down
  • along with that are going to be cellphone towers
  • in a bug out scenario it is also good to be current on developing scenarios
  • for example, if there is an army invasion or attack you will want to know where the forces are so that you can avoid them
  • however, in such an event, invading armies will take down comms and setup their propaganda through those channels
  • so you will want to be able to decipher what is true and false
  • even getting news from locals can be hard to trust
  • once a message is passed around a certain amount of times the message becomes distorted
  • so it is going to be important to get information from as close to the source as much as possible
  • one tool that I would recommend having is a portable HAM radio
  • it has low frequency with about 10 miles without a repeater

Conclusion

  • thank you again for listening today
  • i also want to thank our sponsor again, We The People Holsters
  • If you are looking for a new holster be sure to check them out at www.wethepeopleholsters.com
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