In my two recent SurvivalBlog articles, I made suggestions about the equipment you’ll need in your GHB (Get Home Bag), BOB (Bug Out Bag), and your INCH (I’m Never Coming Home) kit. What was not covered was travel and the conditions you might encounter. Traveling is austere conditions is the subject of this two-part article. What is common to both parts is the weather.
Traveling will not be easy. Reality check: traveling and resting in austere conditions will not be a sightseeing nature stroll or a “glamping” trip. You must pay attention – all the time. If you are out of condition, aren’t familiar with map reading, and/or have no hiking and camping experience, you might want to devise a plan “B,” or re-think your shelter-in-place (SIP) plans and take action on them instead. I/m just being practical, folks.
If you are close to your destination and you know your way, you can file the information in these two articles in your memory banks for future reference. Regardless, there are two situations have a good chance of happening that have a direct bearing on your travel – 1.) finding your way and recovering from getting lost, and 2.) having to spend at least one night in the “wilderness.”
For weather descriptions, we’re going to borrow the ambiguous nautical terms of “fair” and “foul.” Everyone likes sunny, fair weather. It’s not a threat or inconvenience. Foul weather can be rain, wind, flooding, snow, hot, cold, or freezing conditions. Those conditions can be unpleasant, inconvenient, or even life-threatening at their worst.
To reduce complications, let’s consider a travel under an INCH situation to be the same as a BO condition. In an INCH situation, you will be moving a lot of materiel. If things get tense, you may have to prioritize safety over your personal goods and abandon them to get out of danger. Maybe when things settle down you can return and recover your goods.
Traveling by any kind of boat has advantages and disadvantages. They do not leave a trail. If you live in inland America, bugging out by boat would make little sense. Coastal and Great Lakes locations could be different. Investigate the details before committing yourself to this mode of transportation.
This article underscores the importance of organizing your GHB and BOB in survival priority order and dressing for anticipated weather conditions (“seasonally adjusted”). Your poncho and cordage will be valuable assets in every weather condition. Double-check your GHB and BOB to make certain you have enough of the right stuff. Don’t leave home without it.
Finding Your Way
Whether you are traveling by car, ATV, horseback, boat, bicycle, or on foot, the principles are all the same.
You should have worked out several BO (exit) routes to get you “Outta Dodge.” Practice driving, biking, or walking all the alternate routes to become familiar with them. When the S(ewage)HTF, leave early enough to “beat the crowds.”
If you are thrust into an urgent departure situation, things can easily get mixed up – fast. If you know your area well enough, where you started out and the location of your destination, move toward it. You should have a compass or a watch with a compass function with you. Be certain to take a compass “back bearing” before you set out and remember it or write it down. (A “back bearing” is the bearing at the opposite end of your compass’s North-pointing needle. The North end of the needle is usually red; the opposite end is usually white. If you are traveling due west, your back bearing is due east.) Your back bearing should get you to your starting point or a familiar landmark near it if you need to return. Take a good look around before you start out. Try to memorize nearby and distant features – roads, mountains, trees. Remember – if you approach these features from a different direction, they are going to appear different.
Whether or not to leave a trail depends on your situation. Tire tracks, broken branches, footprints, or disturbed vegetation are all telltale signs of human traffic – good if you want to backtrack, but bad if you don’t want to be followed.
You will be traveling in stressful, but hopefully peaceful times. Even so, your objective should be to avoid being seen until you arrive at your destination. If you are being followed, then that person is probably less prepared than you. They might think you have something they want or need, or they are following you to your location for the same purpose, maybe using force. Take detours. False headings, and diversionary actions to throw them off.
Getting Un-Lost
When the realization hits you and you really believe you’re are lost, stop, sit down, rest, and try to “get it together.” Gathering your thoughts is great “panic prevention.” Panic is your worst enemy. Try to figure out where you are. (Many people who become lost when walking without a fixed reference point tend to travel in a circle. That’s why you need to recognize your starting point.) What is your compass bearing? (You did take a bearing for your direction of travel before you left, didn’t you?) Where’s the sun? Stars? Moon? Do any landmarks look familiar? If you can do so safely, climb a tree to see farther. If you see a familiar landmark, then take a bearing and head toward it. Following water downstream will generally lead to civilization.
If you are in unfamiliar territory, pick the direction you think will most likely get you to your destination. (You did have a planned destination, right?) A compass and a large-scale map are ideal to find your bearings, but what if you forgot to bring them (yikes!), your GPS or phone has “died” (worse), or you carelessly lost them?
The time-tested hunter’s method to get help if you are lost in friendly territory is to fire three shots. This is, if you have a gun, and enough ammo. Listen for an answer that can tell you the direction to travel toward. As you travel, try to move in a straight line on your compass bearing, or using the sun, or stars as a guide. (See below.) Be aware of the time of day and the possible need to set up camp for the night.
If it’s hot, loosen your clothing, stay out of the sun as much as possible, try not to move around in the heat of the day, reduce exertions, rest often, avoid exhaustion, and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. If your urine is clear, you are properly hydrated.
If you are driving, pull over. When taking a bearing. Move a good distance from your metal vehicle or gun that will attract your magnetic compass needle and give you a false reading. Consult your road maps or GPS to help you. Hopefully, you didn’t experience vehicle trouble. You should have maintenance supplies and parts with you. (You recently had your vehicle serviced, right?) Perhaps you can make minor repairs. If not, you’ll have to move ahead on foot.
Land Navigation Basics
But how do you get a bearing if you don’t have a compass? Once you know where is north is, things begin to make more sense. When the sun is out it is your best guide. In the northern hemisphere, facing the sun is south, your back will be north, your left will be east, and your right will be to the west. (Just the opposite in the southern hemisphere.) You can also use the sun to create a shadow from a stick in the ground or from tall trees. The long shadows point north. Time of day influences the location of the shadow.
Luckily, your GPS will work at night if your batteries are good, and the system is still “up,” but moving around might be hazardous. (falling) Most compasses have a luminescent dot on the North end of the needle. Without either a compass or GPS, you can use the stars. At night the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) is your best sign. An imaginary line drawn away from the two stars making the front of the dipper’s bowl point to the North Star. Facing the North Star is north, your back is south, your right is east and your left is west. (Opposite of the sun.) Knowing the phases of the moon also helps. Traveling on a full moon on a cloudless night usually provides enough light for safe night-time overland travel. Be cautious of making shadows. Balance the need to travel against lost sleep.
Being aware of these and other celestial signs can help you stay oriented and on course as you travel at night.
Avoid Detection
Your goal should be to travel unexposed and undetected. Use the terrain to your advantage. Avoid “silhouetting” yourself by walking atop a ridge crest. Follow the “military crest” – below your height on the shady side of the ridge. In the open, stay low, close to the ground. Move in the shadows, along wood lines, and on solid surfaces that do not leave tracks. Use concealment and blend in. During the night, avoid being “silhouetted” by the moon, or other lights that create shadows. Create a safe distance between your followers as early as possible. Escaping technical detection (light amplification and thermal) can be difficult.
If you need to hide to avoid detection, hunker down in a defensible position with as much camouflage, concealment, and cover as possible. Remember to avoid signatures – noise, smells, light, light, trash – at all costs. Be prepared to fight a hostile pursuer.
Part 2, tomorrow, will cover safe camping if you are unable to reach your destination in one day.
Read the full article here