Today, http://www.artofmanliness.com published an article I wrote title: How to Bug-In: What You Need to Know to Survive a Grid-Down Disaster

Hurricane Sandy is yet another sober reminder that none of us are exempt from disaster.  Sometimes, BUGGING OUT is not the best decision OR possible.  In this article I discuss a few thoughts about prepping for a potential Bug In Scenario.

Here is the link if you are interested in taking a look: http://artofmanliness.com/2012/11/01/how-to-bug-in-what-you-need-to-know-to-survive-a-grid-down-disaster/

Thank you to Brett and Kate McKay for the opportunity.

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

Creek

I am spending an increasing amount of each morning answering e-mails with questions about a variety of survival related subjects.  Most often, they are from people who have picked up a copy of my book (Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag) and have some follow-up questions.  I find myself always saying, “That’s a really good question,” and I’m sure there are others out there that could benefit from the answer.  Consequently, I have decided to start a post series titled Questions from the FRONTLINES where I list and answer these questions (anonymously of course) in a regular blog post for all to read – and offer feedback of their own.

With that said, many SURVIVAL TOPICS – especially BUGGING OUT are very subjective topics.  Oftentimes, there are no right and wrong answers – rather preferences.  These answers are my personal opinions and some of you may not feel the same way.  This is fine and expected.  Voice your opinions in the comments – tactfully, of course.

Questions from the FRONTLINES

 QUESTION: I am a beginner at creating my BOB and am in the process of obtaining items for my families bags. This is a fundamental question about a crisis and how you prepare… at what point do you have to think about Staying At Home Prepping, an 72-Hour Bug Out Bag (I assume to get to either a shelter or a predetermined location) and an INCH Bag? I am about ready to purchase my primary bag and am trying to determine what size to get, something around 2500-3500 cubic inches for a BOB or something like a Bergen which would be more for an INCH bag. I only want to purchase one bag and one set of equipment for the bag. Do you plan for an BOB Bag and hope you only need it for 72 hours and if it is longer you fend for yourself or do you plan for an INCH bag knowing you might be overkilling it a bit but you can sustain yourself for much longer?

Creek’s ANSWER: First of all, for those of you who have never heard the phrase INCH bag, it means  your I’M NEVER COMING HOME bag and is designed for LONGER than 72 hours.  These are some great questions which I will address in TWO sections:

Section # 1: STAYING AT HOME PREPPING – otherwise known as BUGGING IN

You should always be thinking about this.  Hopefully you will never have to abandon your home.  Ideally, you will be able to stay at home if something crazy (natural or caused by man) does happen.  You must think about how to address the SURVIVAL CORE SIX within your home in the event of a disaster or grid-down scenario.  The CORE SIX are SHELTER, WATER, FIRE, FOOD, FIRST AID( and Hygiene) and SELF DEFENSE.  This includes all kinds of considerations such as heating, food storage, water storage, electricity, home protection and medicines.  It can be a bit overwhelming to think about this if you are just beginning.  Here is how I suggest starting.  First tackle a few critical categories for a 1-week GRID OUT time period.  If you are forced to go COMPLETELY OFF GRID FOR 1 WEEK, make sure:

Prepping for 1 WEEK in the small list above covers you for THE VAST MAJORITY of all GRID DOWN Disasters and will really force you to at least get a plan of some sort in place – which is more than 99% of people out there.  It will also force you to really start thinking about preparedness.  However, you wouldn’t be asking about an INCH bag if you didn’t believe something more catastrophic is looming (or at least possible).

Prepping starts to become a lifestyle once you start planning for longer periods of GRID DOWN or INFRASTRUCTURE FAILURE.  You’ll start to consider SYSTEM SOLUTIONS rather than STORAGE SOLUTIONS.  You will begin to think about things like Solar Power (or NO POWER) living, Off-Grid Water System (Water Well with Hand Powered Pump/Rain Harvesting/Fresh Water Spring), Wood Burning Stove (for heat and cooking), Gardening & Canning, Partnerships with others, and Self Defense & Hunting Tools (and training).

Bottom line, BUGGING IN should always be an option and you should be prepared to do so.  It happens to people all the time.  Even harsh winter storms can take out power and trap you inside for a few days.  Many disasters, though, can drive you away from your home.  This transitions us to the next section.

Section # 2: BOB & INCH Bags

My thoughts on INCH bags….hmmmmm….   As a GUY and SURVIVAL INSTRUCTOR, I love the IDEA of an INCH BAG.  However, as a practical survivalist, I know that if you are NEVER COMING HOME or are trying to SURVIVE LONG TERM, you will want more than a Back Pack – I don’t care what you have in it.  My answer to this question is simple.  Focus on a 3-Day BOB (approx 4000 cu. in.) and find a good Bug Out Location (BOL).  I’m a huge proponent of outfitting a BOB to last longer than 3-DAYS, but it just isn’t practical to live out of it long term.  Your BOL is the place to store your long term survival tools.  However, the addition of a few key items in a BOB can really extend your “SURVIVAL TIME-LINE” if necessary.  These revolve primarily around WATER & FOOD.  A good water purification system can keep you in fresh drinking water for months.  Some basic hunting and food prep tools can also help supplement any food items in your pack.  A good fishing kit with frog gig, a .22 pistol, some snares, a decent cook pot and some spices could all drastically improve your food situation – especially when combined with some basic Wild Edible Plant/Root Training (shameless plug).

CONCLUSION

You can’t prep for everything.  We live in a crazy world that’s getting crazier by the second.  I find it easier to set manageable goals with time limits when it comes to prepping: for example, a BUG OUT BAG for 3-DAYs, Food and Water Storage for 2 weeks at home – it’s very difficult to prep for completely open ended time-lines or vast scenarios.  I hope I’ve answered your questions without raising MORE!

QUESTION: OK so we got and read your bug out book and we are looking to build ours for our family of 5 (two adults 3 children 8,6 and 2 years old) and our two fidos a large mastiff pit mix and a med brittany lab mix. We are lost on what to do for shelter. All backpacking tents are max 4 people, that may hold the 5 of us if none of my children grow. But realistically we are afraid we will need a bigger tent. Any ideas to fit the 5 of us at a reasonable weight for our BOB. We live in XXXXXX,MO and also have the long cold winters and hot long summers with very wet springs and falls. So a 3 or 4 season is needed.

Creek’s ANSWER: You raise a good question. Sometimes, there just doesn’t seem to be a perfect solution for certain scenarios. After some thought, my personal choice if I were in your shoes would be to pack 2 light weight 2-3 man tents – 1 in the main pack and 1 with the 2nd strongest person’s pack. I would practice setting these up so that the doors are next to or close by each other so that it somewhat feels like 2 rooms to the same tent if at all possible. I hate the idea of separating the family in 2 tents but I really think it’s your best option. A larger 5+ man tent is just going to be too bulky for 1 pack.

For those of us who are blessed with good vision, ultraviolet (UV) and safety protection are the main issues.  A good wide brimmed hat cuts out 50% of UV rays, and even may help block tree branches from hitting your face at dusk.  Wrap around sunglasses can help provide further protection, or glasses with a wide temple to block sun from the side.  I used to practice ophthalmology in Hawaii before moving back to Washington state, and a growth on the surface of the cornea called pterygium or “surfers eye” was a very common condition due to glaring sun reflected off the water.  Native Americans in the plains used a feather to block the sun from the side.  Please be aware that eagle feathers are protected, so other feathers must be used in a survival situation.

Creek with Primitive Style 'Sun Visor'

For those who wear corrective lenses, shatter resistant lenses are preferred.  Polycarbonate can withstand a 22 caliber bullet fired from 15 feet, but the plastic is soft unless coated with a scratch resistant coating.  Glass lenses are much more scratch resistant, but are heavier.  Both polycarbonate and glass have UV protection.  Photochromic lenses (that turn dark in UV light) are UV protecting, and come in plastic (transitions) and glass (photogrey) brands.  A sturdy frame is important in a disaster situation.  It is important to avoid frames with a nylon string (rimless on the bottom frames) which although stylish, may break and be difficult to repair.  Polaroid sunglasses can improve vision when on the water for fishing, but may interfere with use of LCD devices such as GPS locators.  For contact lens patients, I always suggest back-up glasses.  It is not advisable to make homemade saline solutions due to the risk of acanthamoeba infection.

Laser vision correction is great for those who are good candidates; LASIK may be slightly better in a disaster situation, because PRK (advanced surface ablation) makes the eyes more susceptible to UV light which may cause corneal haze or regression.

Glaucoma is a common eye disease where pressure damges the optic nerves causing tunnel vision.  A cold LASER called SLT is equally effective as eyedrops in lowering the eye pressure and may be an advantage if medicine is difficult to obtain.  It is a good idea to have a list of medications and allergies, and if possible spare medications to keep as rotating stock in a BUG out bag.

A  stye  (blocked oil gland) can be painful, and is best treated with hot compresses.  You can make your own hot compress with a clean sock or bandana and a few smooth stones or river rocks that are gently heated when the campfire dies down.  Be careful to test them on the back of your hand before placing them in the sock and near your closed eyelids.  When the stye drains, there may be a lot of mucous in the eyes.  You can boil water in a stainless water bottle or canteen, let it cool fully then use it to rinse the eyes.  A 1/2 tsp of salt dissolved in the water may be more soothing, but is not essential.

River Rock + Stainless Cup + Bandana

Heated River Rock + Bandana

Eye Compress made from Heated River Rock wrapped in Bandana

A Corneal foreign body may occur when sawing or chopping wood.  If the foreign body is superficial, you may wash your hands and grasp the lashes of the upper eyelid and pull it down over the lower lid.  If it is lodged inside the upper eyelid it may brush off.  If it does not seek the care of an eye care professional.

Age related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in adults over age 70.  Lutein is a key factor thought to help prevent this condition.  Green leafy vegetables are a good source of lutein.  Dandelion is universally recognizable and may be a good source of nutrition in a pinch!  One cup of green tea is like a serving of vegetables.  Green tea in teabags is light weight and has vitamin C, lutein and other antioxidants.  You can even use it make an eye pad compress after it cools.

For penetrating corneal injuries or severe eye trauma, it is important to see an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon).  In the field you can make a temporary eye shield to protect the eye with a half of a plastic cup and duct tape.

Paper Cup Eye Shield

Here is also another Eye Shield made from a Stainless Cup.

Eye Shield made from Stainless Cup and Tape

**NOTE**  This is a GUEST POST from Dr. Ballon.  Dr. Ballon has been in private practice for 20 years since completing his residency at Duke University Eye Center.  He is President/CEO of The Harman Eye Clinic, in Arlington, Washington.  Web-site: http://www.20better.com

A good friend of mine forwarded me an e-mail he had received about a 1st Hand Bug Out Account from the Wild Fires in Colorado.  I think we can all take a lesson away from this.  Below is the e-mail:

We received confirmation last night that our house is still standing (great news!) but won’t know if we suffered any smoke or heat damage until we are allowed to access to the property. The only thing we have been told is that it will be awhile. They are still concerned about hot spots. We were also thinking that maybe they were stalling us in preparation for Obama’s visit to ground zero today. The long and short of it is we have been glued to the 24 hour local news broadcasts and are still shell-shocked. 

In short, this is how it all came down: 

Even though the fire had been burning for days, we believed – along with everyone else – that it was under control. But you can not believe how quickly that all changed as a wall of fire descended on us. One estimate we’ve heard is that it was traveling miles in minutes. As we scrambled to grab what we could, a friend who works for the volunteer fire department called us to warn us that the fire had reached a road ¼ mile from us. Then the phone rang to tell us to evacuate. We never received a pre-evacuation notice even though we were monitoring the fire on TV. I literally glanced out our living room window and saw a raging fire pouring down on us in the near distance. Next we started hearing explosions and stepped outside to find our house totally consumed in smoke. I grabbed a wrench, ran to the gas meter on the side of the house, shut it down, unhooked the propane tank from the grill on the deck and moved it away from the house. Went back in the house, grabbed our suitcase and some other personal possessions, locked everything down and split. 

It felt like a scene from a movie as we drove away from our neighborhood, so surreal with flying ash and sirens screaming and everyone in their cars with their faces covered (including the cops & firemen) with masks or bandanas. Pure chaos… it looked like a war zone. 

Has anyone else heard a first hand account of Bugging Out from the Wildfires out West?

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

Creek