Preparation is the key to Bugging out in Comfort

 By Joseph Parish

Anyone who happens to know me personally can attest that when it comes to bugging out I want a certain amount of luxury. I need those 12 volt appliances readily accessible when I journey to the wilds. I would be hard pressed to accept anything less then my 12 volt coffee pot, oven, toaster and the other miracles of battery living that our society has so graciously fashioned for me.

Just because I will conceivably be in the woods or forest for a month or two does not imply that I have to impart on life completely as I once knew it. These modest pleasures of life tend to preserve a persons dignity as they endeavor to survive in a unsympathetic new world.

In my years of training and learning about the various survival tactics and techniques I have come to recognize several essential effects that are absolutely necessary to get by in these rough times. Surprisingly, the first one is a sense of humor. We can not afford to be so solemn that our capacity to laugh is eliminated or hindered. Even if that laugh comes from the result of a joke on ourselves. I find that even when I am the bunt of the joke it undoubtedly boasts my spirits greatly.

We must look to each day as a gift since we are in fact still living and if we are still alive then we entertain a certain measure of hope towards our future. You need not be alarmed that life in a bug out mode will trigger you to lose your mind or to become a crazed lunatic. These types of mindsets only transpire if we let the circumstances get the best of us so our second important issue to consider is be at ease with the situation. You can not modify what has come to pass but you can adjust how you view the events that are stirring around us and how we individually respond to them. Getting emotional about your existing status will not benefit you in the slightest to alter the events so persist with a clear mind and live with it.

If you are one of those people who failed to appropriately plan in advance for the upcoming emergency then you would definitely not be living the leisure life as I spoke of above, however you can and will survive if you pursue a few straightforward steps. The old saying that knowledge is power is as valid today as in any previous period of time. In fact, it is likely that it is more so now then in preceding ages. A person can survive safely and comfortably for a explicit period in a catastrophe when absolutely necessary, they merely need to be familiar with certain skills and know how.

The initial key to this survival is to avoid having to be herded into an established provisional tent city or to end up on some extended and unproductive food line in center city America. Shelters have proven to not be a safe haven to reside in for any length of time. During a time of great emergency the government will hastily establish these shelters at various points around our country. Here you may be able to acquire a bed to sleep on or a mat if no beds are accessible, at least one meal per day and a working bathroom of some sort. These minor pleasures are not without cost. Generally, rules have been established for maintaining calm and order but in definite cases the rift-raft takes over command of the facilities and the violence which the rules were meant to prevent seems to prevail.

Other valuable concepts which should be given some serious attention is the weather and the effects that the elements will have upon your survival. We can die if the weather is fierce and becomes exceptionally hot or cold. If it affects our food supply, our shelter or our ability to obtain clothing we will not be able to survival for long. Other then that we will and can survive until things return to normal.

If you did not suitably prepare for the crisis ahead of time you may end up surviving like a conventional street person. When you are forced to subsist outdoors you will have to have some manner of shelter. If you had not previously purchased a tent then likely you will need some cardboard boxes to shield you from the elements. You can always string a tarp or a piece of plastic over it to screen it from the adverse elements. If this is how you will need to sleep you will also need a warm coat, gloves and a blanket during the winter months. As a last resort newspapers rolled into small balls and stuffed between your clothing and your body will help drastically to conserve body heat and keep you warm.

It would be to your best interests to plan ahead and not have to use desperate means when the emergency happens.

Copyright @ 2009 Joseph Parish