Out of Sight

In the preceding post, Out of Town, I talked about the decision to bug out or bug in. In this post, I want to go a little deeper into the specifics of getting out of town and the bug out location itself.

Getting Out

We learned in basic algebra that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The most popular smartphone mapping apps, at times, send us on a course that seems as far from a straight line as possible. They’re based, among other things, on real-time traffic updates and GPS triangulation. Sporting events, concerts, holidays and the daily rush hour commute temporarily overwhelm road capacity. In a widespread power outage, connecting to cell towers will likely not be possible, thus diminishing the phone’s utility. A road atlas might be overkill, but a paper map of the immediate vicinity is essential. Get one and while you’re at it, learn how to read it.

In military and emergency preparedness circles, there’s an acronym known as PACE: Primary, Alternate, Contingent and Emergency. Using this model, the primary route out of town would be the interstate, such as I-5 in Seattle or I-75 in Atlanta. The alternate route could be a thoroughfare, such as Broadway in New York or the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago. The contingent route could be surface streets through neighborhoods, county roads or forest service roads. Finally, the emergency route could be a bike trail or a navigable waterway. Again, a paper map is necessary as you need a granular view of the area.

Public transit agencies across the country monitor their trains and buses with a vast array of cameras, sensors and real-time updates. Public transit faces daily capacity limitations just like the roads and highways, as well as being highly vulnerable to human threats. In cities around the world, billions of people use public transit daily and in times of disaster and manage well enough. As an experienced transit system user, you know the system as well as shortcuts. Use them!   

Once you’ve made the decision to leave, do so as early as reasonably possible. Traffic is generally lighter in the early morning and late at night whether on the road or public transit. Bear in mind that late night travel can present it’s own hazards regardless of whether you’re in your car or on public transit.

In the Bag

Central to the act of GTHO, are how you do it and what you take. Driving, of course, is the preferred method as it’s the safest, the fastest and allows you to take as much as you can cram into your vehicle. Bicycles and motorcycles, weather permitting, allow you to take more than you can safely carry. My advice to avoid excess baggage and useless items is to build a bug out bag as a part of your overall emergency plan and have it readily available. In addition to saving time, this allows you to revisit your choices later to ensure that you’re only taking the essentials that serve multiple purposes.

The world is a dangerous place, and the common opinion is that people in other countries are a violent lot. The preparedness market in the United States is roughly valued at $70 billion dollars. Clearly, panic and a desire for more certainly sells! Dozens of companies sell a dizzying array of bug out bags, tactical gear, generators, solar power banks and other accessories to enhance your safety and comfort. As far as buying a bag, the best option is the one that addresses your family’s specific needs as well as the basics: food; water; power; communications; medicine/medical; hygiene; sanitation; comfort item; shelter and security. Be sure to check out the Bug Out Bag and Car Emergency Kit checklists in the Checklists section.

The Hideout

Pop culture portrays preppers as anti-social kooks who live in the country in an off-grid cabin, a small step above a hovel. Stereotypes are both unhelpful and inaccurate and this one is no different. FEMA estimates that roughly ninety percent of preppers live in cities and suburbs. Interestingly, urbanites and urban apartment dwellers represent the fastest growing segment of the prepper population. Given that most preppers live in cities and the suburbs, bugging out necessitates having a place to go. Schools, churches, stadiums, city parks are all pressed into service as temporary shelters, depending upon the nature of the disaster and season. Check out Castle or Coffin? for tips on hardening your primary residence.

Here, too, are a few more figures to consider. According to the RV Industry Association’s 2025 Demographic Profile, 8.1 million households own an RV, which they use about thirty days per year. The next set of statements are hard to quantify, but their inclusion is important. Through inheritance or simply a generational family holding, millions of households own or have access to vacation properties, raw land, rural homes and farmland. An even smaller percentage have a dedicated bug out location.

The thought of becoming ready, resourceful and resilient on the cheap is an exercise in futility, especially when it comes to bug out locations. Second homes, raw land and RVs are time-consuming and expensive to maintain. Still, if you can manage it, do it. Campgrounds can be a viable refuge if you’re able to reach one that’s outside of the disaster area. In the post Out of Town, I mention that your bug out location should be within two hours of your primacy residence. Physical capability differs widely based upon age, overall level of physical fitness, terrain, season and a host of other factors. The average person can walk anywhere from four to seven miles in two hours, without being burdened by a pack weighing roughly twenty percent of your body weight.   

Of course, your bug out location may need to be considerably further away due to the inherent hazards in your area or the scope and scale of the disaster. This means your flight to safety takes longer and might present more risk. Part of this is considered when you’re crafting your emergency and evacuation plans. You can’t account for every variable and this, too, is part of the equation.

I want to make a distinction here because it’s important. I view the bug out location as a temporary retreat, the place you fall back to or flee to, in the face of a tornado, wildfire or flood. If you’re considering staying there longer than a few weeks, you’ll need to stock it with sufficient resources to allow you to hole up until you decide to leave.

Before we move on, let me address an increasingly popular form of bug out shelter, the luxury bunker community. Even if done covertly, installing or building a bunker on your property in a suburb or exurb, is a noisy, messy affair that alerts everyone to the fact that you’re a prepper. You’re likely violating local ordinances you didn’t know existed, and building inspectors will swarm upon you with citations at the ready and possible litigation likely.

Worse, this might present opportunities for awkward and hostile interactions with neighbors that you’re not prepared for or equipped to address. Bunkers are designed to do two things: keep people out and isolate the occupants from the dangerous world outside. While they succeed at both, they fail to keep the occupants safe from each other! My chief criticism of bunker communities is that human beings are not meant to live underground, in the absence of sunlight. Doing so affects our brain chemistry and bodies in ways we can’t control and don’t readily notice.

Second, there’s nowhere to go in the event you and a fellow resident have even a mild disagreement or decide that you hate each other at first sight. Shared spaces and close quarters require a lot of rules to function effectively, let alone to keep the peace. In normal times, many people find rules of any sort to be an unconscionable infringement of their rights. In times of disaster when normal society is collapsing, the bunker is a powder keg and likely to become a tomb.   

Additionally, you’re essentially leasing the space, you don’t own it outright. Other than interior design elements and furniture placement, you have virtually no input in the day-to-day operations of the community. You don’t get to choose who’s allowed to buy into the community, nor do you decide who gets asked to leave. We tend to take our medical conditions, mental health challenges, political views, identity and attitude with us wherever we go; to theme parks, to the office, on vacation and, yes, into an underground bunker in the middle of nowhere.

Again, if the bunker is on your private property in a sparsely populated area and you’re using it as a place to hole up, that’s fine. However, as a long-term place to ride out the apocalypse with random strangers, I think the situation inside can become even more volatile than what you’re trying to escape on the outside. If you’re still set on this option and you have the means, do your due diligence and make the best decision for you and your family.    

Safety and Security

In the prepping space, OPSEC, operational security, is thrown around as though it’s the highest state of being one can achieve. Secrecy and security aren't mutually exclusive and neither should be obsessed over. Rather, I think the path to safety and operational security is dictated by discretion and discernment.

There’s no easy way to say this; people are nosey. Some have an unwholesome and unhealthy interest in the affairs of others. Equally, some people are attention seekers of the highest order. They share every stray thought, every feeling, and every desire with others. If either of these describes you, stop it! I’m begging you, exercise some self-restraint.  

The surest way to keep your supplies safe is to never discuss or show them to others. It's that simple. Share your plans with trusted friends and family and even then, don’t reveal everything. Information is best shared on a need-to-know basis, only. Even though you share nothing and keep your supplies hidden, others may still discover your secret. You’re under no obligation to answer their questions or reveal your plans. Don’t allow anyone to guilt you and don’t get angry. Remove yourself from the situation and keep it moving.  

Below are some action points to help you along the way as well as a list of items to have on hand at your bug out location.

Action Points

o   Identify alternate routes out of town and use up-to-date paper maps.

o   Consider alternative modes of transit out of the area if you decide to bug out.

o   Leave as early as practical for you to do so.

o   Well before the event, ensure that your bug out location is secure. Also ensure that you leave some supplies there so you’re not transporting everything you’ll need in a single trip.

o   Check in and coordinate with your network.

o   Help others, if you’re able, but don’t compromise your safety and security by oversharing.

Bug Out Location Supplies

ð       Food

ð       Water: bottled water / catchment / filtration / purification supplies

ð       Power: solar power banks and generators

ð       Communications: hand-crank radio or a battery-powered radio

ð       Medical: prescription meds and assistive devices, along with batteries

ð       Hygiene: personal care products

ð       Sanitation Supplies: trash bags / cleaning solutions / unscented bleach

ð       Tools: hand tools

ð       Comfort Items: books / toys / candy

ð       Pet Supplies (See the checklist for pets)