Planning Your Bug Out Route

If everything goes south and the need arises to bug out, planning your bug out route ahead of time might be the one thing that can save your life.  When faced with a stressful situation our mind will react to the circumstances differently than during an every day scenario.  Because of this it is important to plan ahead as much as possible. It is obvious to just about everyone that we need to be prepared with the food, supplies and other necessities to get us through the tough times ahead, but do you ever stop to think about what it will take to get from point A to point B when chaos ensues?

If you haven't done it yet, now is the time to begin planning the escape route that will enable you to safely reach your bug out destination. There are many possibilities to take into consideration for this task.  How will you travel?  Will you be able to use a vehicle or will you be required to travel on foot?  How much food will you be able to carry with you?  Will you travel alone or in a group?  if you are traveling in a group, how will you make certain that you and every member of your group has enough water?  Where will you sleep?  How will you protect yourself and/or your group?  How will you avoid detection?  How will you avoid being followed and/or ambushed?  Do you have all of the necessary supplies to carry you through your journey?  Each of these questions should be answered honestly in order to prepare for a time when bugging out may be necessary.  If you can't answer these questions with 100% certainty, you should immediately begin working towards the solution.  Every person will have different scenarios and circumstances to deal with so no two people will be able to answer these questions the same way.  Be sure the answers you have are right for your scenario(s).

Preplanning your travel route can be a time consuming process, but if the need to get out of dodge arises it will be well worth the effort.  When planning it is a good idea to have multiple routes available.  There may be any number of problems that occur during a venture to your bug out location.  Because of this having multiple routes is a crucial game plan.  Mark these routes out on a map.  Once you have them located, go back and find multiple ways to access each route from the other alternative routes.  This will allow you to enact a change of plans at a moments notice and enable you to keep moving even if something or someone decides to attempt to get in your way.  

While mapping out your escape plan, be sure to include routes for vehicle travel as well as routes for hiking to your destination.  If you are lucky enough to be able to use a car or truck in your travel, it will be of utmost importance to have multiple routes marked for this purpose on your map.  Don't just look over your map, highlight your routes.  In a stressful situation your map reading skills may not work as well as they do on a day to day basis.  Having highlighted routes will ease the burden of the situation.  As with your hiking routes, be sure to highlight multiple paths between each of your travel routes so that you can alter your plans quickly and efficiently.

You should go one step further and be sure to plan multiple escape routes leading from your vehicle routes to the paths you would take on foot.  Your car/truck may break down.  An EMP would render your ride useless.  A marauder may catch you off guard causing the need to escape on foot.  Flat tires, blocked roadways, checkpoints and any number of other unforeseen circumstances may force your plans to change.  Always have a minimum of three routes and three paths of escape from each of these routes.  It may not be easy to achieve this, but it will be well worth the effort put forth should the need arise.

When your life and the lives of your family and loved ones are on the line, there is no room for error. Plan ahead now and stay safe!

What do you think?  

If there is something you would like to add to this or a subject you would like us to cover, please leave a comment and let us know.

If you like this post, you may also find Bug Out Bags & The Necessities to be helpful.

Prepping Authority's Top 5 Best Water Filtration Picks

The number one necessity for any survival situation is water.  The only necessity that tops this one is air.  Without water you will die in a matter of just a few days perhaps four at the most. To die of thirst is an excruciation way to go.  You will begin with your mouth becoming dry and progress through stages each worse than the last.  Your extremities will cramp badly as your vital organs begin fighting to keep as much water for themselves as possible.  Dizziness will ensue before reaching a state of coma and eventually the heart will be prevented from beating.  This process is not a fast process. It can take days of suffering before death ensues.  Even a body liquid loss of as little as 10% is typically considered to be a medical emergency.  

Other possibilities are sickness and disease caused by drinking contaminated water. Some of these include:

• Giardia - causes diarrhea
• Legionella - causes pneumonia type symptoms
• Shigella - causes diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps
• Campylobacter - causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramping and fever
• Cryptosporidium - causes diarrhea, stomach cramps or abdominal pain, dehydration, nausea, vomiting, fever and weight loss
• Ecoli - can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, pneumonia and even other types of illnesses

Some of the other types of infections that can be caused by drinking water that is not treated properly include:

• Norovirus - causes stomach/intestinal inflammation, stomach/intestinal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting
• Hepatitis A - a liver infection causing fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain particularly below the ribcage on the right side near the liver, loss of appetite, fever, dark colored urine, pain in your joints and jaundice

There are even other issues that can be caused by excessive amounts of copper and other minerals as well as toxins such as fluoride entering the body through our water sources.

Because of this it is vital that we always have a clean supply of water for ourselves and our families.  Some water filtration systems are capable of eliminating almost all contaminants including viruses and excessive amounts of chemicals and minerals . Others are simply able to eliminate the majority of parasites that are found in unclean water sources.  Each type of filter has its place in a SHTF situation; however, it is up to each individual prepper to determine the correct filtration system for themselves and their families in a given scenario.

The ability of a filter to eliminate differing amounts of toxins and contaminants will vary. The lower priced filters are quite capable of eliminating nearly all parasites while the higher priced filters will guard against parasites, viruses and other toxins such as fluoride and excessive minerals.

So what are the top five best water filtration devices we would pick for a SHTF scenario?

1.  The Big Berkey Water Purifier  - The top of the line water purifiers on the market

2.  ProPur Water Purifiers - About the same quality as Big Berkey, one of the best

3.  SteriPen Water Purifiers - For use when only a few people are being supplied with water

4.  Sawyer Water Filters - Great for use when a few people will be needing clean water

5.  Life Straw Personal Water Filters - More of a personal water filter, consider purchasing one for each member of the family

I have put a lot of time and effort into finding the best of the best when it comes to water purity for survival situations.  My personal choice has been to purchase one Sawyer water filter per family member.  This will ensure that each person is able to have up to 100,000 gallons of clean, fresh drinking water and should carry us through even the worst SHTF situations.

- A prep a day can keep ill fate away