abby « Robin Writes

There are so many choices when it comes to SHTF regarding bugging out or staying in place. It’s hard to know what to do, and it will be harder when SHTF actually happens, because you, and everyone else, will be in crisis mode.

What? You thought you’d be perfectly calm and collected? Probably not. See, it’s one thing to talk about it and to prep for it, but it’s something entirely different when it happens—because it hasn’t yet happened, and few people have that experience; even fewer have the experience of complete collapse.

However, if you prep, you’ll be better off than most. Think about it.

So now it comes down to do you stay or do you go?

If you’re staying, you’re pretty well set, right? Food, water, ammo, defensive measures, heat sources, etc. Unless, of course, it’s impossible to stay because of fires, looting, rioting, and so forth. Only YOU can make the distinction, the decision.

But if you go, you’ll probably have to decide that pretty quickly. People will be in panic mode, some hunkering down at home and waiting to get supplies, some heading out and creating more traffic and confusion and congestion than rush hour.

Our plan is to wait and see—to a point. As you know, things around here may be getting crazy in the next few weeks. Crazier. If things start spreading south and west, we’ll be watching. If it’s more of the usual, and pretty well contained, we’ll be okay; if panic starts, we’re outta here.

Of course, the big question, if you decide to leave, is where are you going? You need a plan, and a route, and a means of transportation. And, of course, a destination.

I don’t recommend crashing at a friend’s house, or even that of a relative. We’ve talked about this. You likely won’t be let in, unless you can bring something to the table—food, ammo, skills—and maybe not even then.

Some folks are lucky enough to have a place to go, one of their very own, that has been ready and waiting. Awesome—go there.

The important thing is to get out of the city and out of suburbia. Why? Because more people equals more chaos. More mayhem. More danger. And fewer supplies. And that decision to go or stay needs to be made quickly, before these things escalate.

So where do you go?

The less population, the better. Avoid homes and anywhere near buildings and what is clearly private property—you don’t want to get shot. Study maps. Learn the lay of the land within a reasonable driving distance, or further out if necessary. Look at satellite images to determine where people live, bodies of water, and so forth.

Don’t forget public land—private is dicier, but remember that some of these people may not be able to actually get to their property or perhaps even live in another state. It’s good to check out as much information as you can find.

Parks, particularly county, can be a good spot for a temporary relocation. Sure, others may think of it, but not as many as you might imagine. One thing that will hold up their decision is the “permission” factor. We’re all conditioned to make camping reservations, go in or out at certain times of the year or times of day. Forget all that. When SHTF, no one’s going to care. Or even be around to enforce it.

Look, make your call—stay or go—and then have a planned route and a planned location. Even two or three locations, just in case. And definitely several routes, the less traveled under normal conditions, the better. Again, study those maps.

So we made a list. A long one. And we seem to be looking for that elusive property farther and farther away. At this point, we have two “maybes.” And they’re both about a seven on a scale of 1-10. It’s not that we’re picky, exactly, but so many of them have had so very much wrong!

I’ve told you about the cave property, which could be really cool. But the building site, about the only one we could see, is really close to the property line. Plus, it’s kind of a funny shape, really narrow where you’d have to actually get to the building site.

This past weekend, we went south about 90 minutes’ driving time. Beautiful country down there, and it was just a bit past another property we’d seen recently, the one where you had to drive and then walk a bit past all the junkyards. Or houses with junk. Either/or.

Sunday’s venture was 60 acres within a “subdivision.” Now, that could be an actual suburban-type subdivision or a legal subdivision, wherein the land was legally divided. Government can be confusing.

Anyway, the directions said “go through the gate,” so we did. The road was decent, and we came to a large pond on the right. The property started just before that pond, and it was shared with 3-4 other landowners; the line went through the south end. Obviously it was a local party spot, but in better condition that some I’ve seen . . . and there were a lot of ATV trails and old mining roads. We wound around, using the map on my iPhone to locate ourselves, had to back up a few times on the more narrow stretches, and finally parked and walked down a trail to the lake.

Yes, this includes a 10-acre lake. Which adjoins the state penitentiary. The one that houses the inmates on death row. Right smack across that lake.

Now, don’t get me wrong—if we built around there, which seems to be the most feasible, there are a lot of obstacles between us and the prison: trees, a big lake, more trees, a huge open area (well-trimmed), a high razor-wired fence, a yard, block walls and guard towers . . . you get the idea.

And there’s only ever been one escape. In 1994. Twenty years ago. So, you could look at that both ways: either it’s darn near impossible, or they’re due for another.

We hiked around a bit, and went into “town.” Population 400, so said the sign, but I’m thinking it was more like 150. A larger town is five or so minutes away, pop. 3000. Not bad. Anyway, we stopped in at the local store in the tiny town. The locals were all very friendly, said a lot of people had looked but no one pursued it. Said the seller was a very nice man. Good enough.

So this could work. No, not worried about the prison. More importantly, getting a well drilled and some kind of electric could be expensive. Although my husband thinks playing around on a bulldozer could be fun, too . . . I’d give this a seven, or an eight.

Next time—even further south!