If you're lucky your home is not on the 24th floor of a concrete-bound high-rise. If you're damned lucky your home is in the middle of a huge piece of land, on the high ground. If you're like most people your home is in a neighborhood somewhere with a bit of grass around it. You probably get all of your energy from the power company, all of your water from either a well or municipal source, and your neighbors are probably strangers to you.
Consider what you'll do for shelter if you have to leave your home. What will you do to protect yourself from the elements? Do you have a plan of how to transport your hard-earned survival tools?
The best thing I can advise is for you to have two or three safe places that you can count on as a safe place. Do you have friends or family who live a few hours away, perhaps in a rural area? Do you have friends who live outside of a small town? If yes, you may want to ask them if you can begin sending them a little money each week to do some shopping for you. Tell them that if the worst never happens they are welcomed to use your supplies, but that if it does, (and you have to relocate to their property) you are willing to SHARE your supplies.
I can't tell you to buy a trailer, a wagon, or a pickup truck. But I can tell you to be prepared to transport whatever you can gather quickly, efficiently, and leave. I'm fortunate to have already lost everything I ever had in the world three times in my life. I've learned to NOT get attached to anything material. The things that matter to me now are my photographs, my memories, and my freedom.
You've all seen every survivor show on TV that I have, and yes, they make it look easy. The fact is, if you've never built a lean-to shelter you will spend many hours trying to do it the first time under pressure. Practice now. Learn how to construct a simple shelter appropriate for your area and your climate. Keep in mind that it is important to keep the dew, or moisture, off of you, and a lean-to shelter will do this for you. Keep enough extra boughs on hand to use as a covering in case it rains or snows and you should be pretty comfortable.
There are so many options for shelter, so many environments, that I can't go into all of them here. So, in simplicity I'll tell you that if you think you might be out in nature you're going to want one hell of a knife at all times. Pick one with at least an 8 inch blade on one side, a heavy handle (there are many that have hollow handles for storing matches, filiment, etc.), and saw teeth on one side. It's hard to cut down boughs with bare hands, and if you're in the south a lot of those palm fronts have thorns.
Plastic tarps are essential, but I wouldn't bother packing an easter-egg blue one if you're trying to bug out into the woods and hide. In a pinch a clear, plastic painters tarp will do. It won't hold up in the wind because it has no stitching or grommets for support, so don't count on using it for more than a few hours.
One key bit of advice is to only build your shelter with materials that can be found within 100 ft of your campsite. Remember, this is a temporary shelter. Many a camper get lost looking for items within a mile of their campsite. Once disoriented it's hard to find your way back. I also recommend a brightly colored bandana or scarf to hang up high enough to be a visual guide to help you find your way back. Every 20 steps turn around and locate the bandana. Stop moving forward if you can't see it and retrace your steps back until you do.
When I was a kid in scouting we learned how to build various native American houses. Tepees, wigwams, lodges, etc. Bottom line: Don't bite off more than you can chew. Building a shelter requires time and energy, so don't go all Survivorman on yourself.
Consider what you'll do for shelter if you have to leave your home. What will you do to protect yourself from the elements? Do you have a plan of how to transport your hard-earned survival tools?
The best thing I can advise is for you to have two or three safe places that you can count on as a safe place. Do you have friends or family who live a few hours away, perhaps in a rural area? Do you have friends who live outside of a small town? If yes, you may want to ask them if you can begin sending them a little money each week to do some shopping for you. Tell them that if the worst never happens they are welcomed to use your supplies, but that if it does, (and you have to relocate to their property) you are willing to SHARE your supplies.
I can't tell you to buy a trailer, a wagon, or a pickup truck. But I can tell you to be prepared to transport whatever you can gather quickly, efficiently, and leave. I'm fortunate to have already lost everything I ever had in the world three times in my life. I've learned to NOT get attached to anything material. The things that matter to me now are my photographs, my memories, and my freedom.
You've all seen every survivor show on TV that I have, and yes, they make it look easy. The fact is, if you've never built a lean-to shelter you will spend many hours trying to do it the first time under pressure. Practice now. Learn how to construct a simple shelter appropriate for your area and your climate. Keep in mind that it is important to keep the dew, or moisture, off of you, and a lean-to shelter will do this for you. Keep enough extra boughs on hand to use as a covering in case it rains or snows and you should be pretty comfortable.
There are so many options for shelter, so many environments, that I can't go into all of them here. So, in simplicity I'll tell you that if you think you might be out in nature you're going to want one hell of a knife at all times. Pick one with at least an 8 inch blade on one side, a heavy handle (there are many that have hollow handles for storing matches, filiment, etc.), and saw teeth on one side. It's hard to cut down boughs with bare hands, and if you're in the south a lot of those palm fronts have thorns.
Plastic tarps are essential, but I wouldn't bother packing an easter-egg blue one if you're trying to bug out into the woods and hide. In a pinch a clear, plastic painters tarp will do. It won't hold up in the wind because it has no stitching or grommets for support, so don't count on using it for more than a few hours.
One key bit of advice is to only build your shelter with materials that can be found within 100 ft of your campsite. Remember, this is a temporary shelter. Many a camper get lost looking for items within a mile of their campsite. Once disoriented it's hard to find your way back. I also recommend a brightly colored bandana or scarf to hang up high enough to be a visual guide to help you find your way back. Every 20 steps turn around and locate the bandana. Stop moving forward if you can't see it and retrace your steps back until you do.
When I was a kid in scouting we learned how to build various native American houses. Tepees, wigwams, lodges, etc. Bottom line: Don't bite off more than you can chew. Building a shelter requires time and energy, so don't go all Survivorman on yourself.
