How far do you think is too far? What's the farthest a bug out could be from your home? If you have a bug out location how far is it from you? How do you plan on getting there? I am extremely interested in what everyone has to say.
Farthest you can have a bug out
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It really depends on geographics, rout and advance notice if any, for me, I have several places I can go, several ways I can travel and have various methods of travel, my primary BOL is slightly less then 80 miles, I have 3 ways of getting there, for the most part my method of travel is dependent on the notice I need to get out.
I agree location is huge. Would you say if you live in a city you would have to travel a further or shorter distance than someone living in the country?
I live in the country 
and I still have a BOL though the BOL is my last resort.
and I still have a BOL though the BOL is my last resort.
id have to say most and likely someone in town would travel further then someone in the country..but like maverick said.It really depends on geographics, route and advance notice if any..for example.if you lived in the town that i live outside of..and we were to head for the same bol..chances are,id have to travel further to it then you would.but then again.it could be the other wat round..
Logistical questions are nearly impossible to answer without specifics..
This question has been discussed on several sites, not including DPF. I'd say, what are you comfortable with in traveling? What is your population grid looking like? Some people believe that its just not good business to travel after an event, but I put it into the perspective "What Event". Do you have the lead in time to get there? If you have the intelligence and data that supports you to move to your BOL prior to the event than your in good shape of making it there before it happens. If your behind the power curve than you should have a plan to get through to your BOL under those conditions. I do in both cases and I also have one written that occurs when the event is in midstream (like a river, the water ebbs and flows and you'd be naive to place everything into one basket).
Some people say that even moving 20 miles is not possible. My belief is that movement = life, staying stationary in one spot that has been advertised or known is just asking for trouble. Yes and that sounds contradictory when we are speaking of a BOL, but if your BOL is located in a population density of say 1-2 people per square mile, than your lowering your risk of groups or isolated people who are not from your area showing up at your well developed and properly disguised BOL.
So the question is not distance but whether you are going to make the decision to leave or stay. You will find their are many different ideas on the theory of bugging in and bugging out, based on where geographically and people's assessment of real threats. We could throw the many "what if's" (as Roninsensei and JimLE pointed out), been done before in military analysis of history and when you speak in prepper language, its one that we've spent hours, days and weeks throwing around in DPF's forum. Example: When would military jump in, when would a federal declaration of martial law or the infringement of civil liberties be acted out. We could as, I like to say...what if's and I am sure some that read this will disagree and that their right.
So why invest in a BOL and the preps. Well, lets see, I like my friend Maverick and I hope he doesn't mind using his prepping life as an example of someone going in-depth with his planning. Hope you don't mind Maverick, but its worth showing why I admire his planning, efforts and why I trust him as a friend/mentor. Maverick, lives in rural Washington, people in my world or any city dweller prepper would say, his home is pretty much secluded and pretty much as good as a bug-in location (in fact, from what Maverick has passed on his forum threads, I can only imagine for me, its "God Country", somewhere, if I kicked the bucket today, I could at least feel free in my last moment of Earth. So why does Maverick have a BOL, simply as a rule, he realizes that despite his best efforts, it doesn't hurt to have a back-up to his primary. Based on his past comments, he chosen a spot that not only serves as a BOL, but as a rally point for his loved ones if they are on business or traveling for pleasure and not home with him after an event. I'm not Maverick, but my daughter who is in college, knows exactly where our rally point is located, knows the location of important caches sites along our BOL, and has the smarts/field craft to survive either alone or with her friends that she might bring along.
So your proposed question is not only interesting, but challenging. I am going to answer what I know of my reasons for having to have a BOL, rather than BOI. My plans have been worked on for years and I'm not going to say they are full proof because no one can tell how things are going to turn out when the event forces us to act. Let me you give a bit of a background, I live in a moderate size city of 100,000 people, we have a prison 10 miles away that houses many bad people, their is no long-term plan to prevent these guys from escaping should a true event occur and guards start to focus on their loved ones. Additionally three five major highways bisect our community and two large metropolitan areas are two hours away by car. The city receives all their groceries via four major cities (Lubbock, Dallas-Fort Worth, Bentonville, Arkansas (Denton, Texas Distribution site) and Oklahoma City. The grocers (11 total) and 32 mini-marts can sustain (provided no resupply occurs) for about 4 days, at which time, their will be no food. Their is a small Army Reserve Unit and one Army National Guard unit that can provide if federalized some limited law enforcement to augment the law enforcement. I will not comment on their level of preparedness, nor the cities/counties/states law enforcement capability to enforce martial law or quell public disturbance, but I would say that within a week of an event, provided their is no resupply, people will become scarred and react. That gives me less than 48 hours to decide whether staying or leaving is the solution. This gives me 48 hour of intelligence gathering from the web, national and international news (note: International news, depending on the media, may give a different slant that the national news). This period of time is not the time to panic, this is the time to assess and exercise your plans one last time.
Since my gear is stored in several locations and is on moveable skids, loading is pretty simple into a trailer. Additionally, located 10 miles from town is my larger BOV with gear and a preloaded trailer. I have now 11 cache sites, a hide-site, a semi-prepared BOL, a unprepared BOL and my primary BOL. My secondary BOL (my brother in laws site) is located in Montana and one is located outside the U.S (not owned by me, but leased). So distance is variable t me, meaning depending on your route and the threat.
I would say, the more robust your plans, the more interaction is needed with community leaders along your route. Example, while I use some roadways that skirt some towns, I make it a point to annually, email key leadership in those communities that I may travel through. In addition, the two communities that fall directly along my route of travel, not only do I know community leaders, but I know many of the people in those communities, contribute monetarily to the two local churches, and have shared meals with my neighbors adjacent to my new land this summer. This is key in having a good relationship and not be looked at as an outsider (which you are if your not local, which I am not).
Now some people may say this is not smart as a prepper, but I also believe their is a higher power above and believe that when an event does occur, we will all need to pull our resources to survive. Hence why I respect some of my DPF friends here and their mentorship toward me. In any case, I will always have their backs.
Oh and note, the three folks who have shared...they know I will always have some brisket waiting for them too...not to mention a few others who will read/advise you also.
Sorry I might have been a bit long and not gave you the answers of hard core distance, but you have an idea of how to create a blueprint...as Roninsensei commented its "LOGISTICS" and the specifics at hand.
Happy prepping!
In recent years I have read of preppers contemplating flying from the UK to the US via Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, I've read of people talking about sailing from the UK to southern Spain, others using motorcycles to travel from SE England to the Scottish highlands, Hell that Aussie prepper who comes on here drives thousands of miles to do his thing.
depends not only on the topography of the landscape, but also who is bugging out with you, remember you will be travelling at the rate of the SLOWEST. old people and very young children will not be able to walk as far or as fast as a young fit male. my principal bug out location is 8 miles east of here but I am already living in the countryside not a city.
Thank you for the post! I really appreciate the time and effort you took to give me an insane amount of knowledge. I personally am very new and I am trying to take in as much as possible. I am interested to learn everyone's perspective before I make a really solid plan that I want to stick to. I know to have many plans but I feel as though many people have an idea of what their first action may be. The reason I want to get to learn what everyone has to say is because I live in San Francisco. I absolutely love this city and I love living here. It can be a little too liberal at times but I like it. Since I live here that puts me in a really bad situation. So I need to make very wise decisions. That you for sharing with me.
Avoid any rout threw Oakland. Find a friend with a boat, In case the golden gate goes down due to earthquake or terror. My route would be toward the national forest near you like alpine lake or something close to that. There will be plenty of water and fish and animals to live off of. Its 27.3 miles to the lake from the center of Frisco. You could easily do that in 2 days with minimal gear. From then on fishing and snaring will become your new profession.
Going north either A) across the bridge or B) across the other bridge to Oakland are bad ideas unless you have a boat. I try not to go to Oakland when it's not a SHTF moment and I also avoid the bridge when I can because at a normal moment it is insanely busy. I think I am going to try my chances going South to the San Pedro Valley Park. Where I am stationed it will be roughly 10 miles closer and less risky because I can take back roads.
Do you think there would be a benefit in flying from the UK to the US? Also traveling that many miles adds a lot more room for error (I am just trying to pick your mind).
Depends on the threat, if its say invasion or pandemic coming in from Europe then it makes sense to head out the back door to the Northern Isles in the first, then over to the US / Canada in the second, Yes the distance increases the risk of error, but imagine you have to head east through the Nevada / Utah mountains / desert / wilderness who then has the greatest risk to face. Equally if the threat is localised I can bugger off across the channel into Europe, you do what you must to stay alive, I would not even set aside trying to get to Australia or New Zealand to find safety.
The population heading south gets thicker. North from you is a lot less populated. It's safer and your chance of survival is greater. Fresh water is more plentiful as well. Get an inflatable or steal a boat or get a kayak. But either way north is the better logistic. Try walking or biking across the bridge if it's safe to. South is easier but, everyone else knows that as well.
if I have to I can just travel into the back country of rural North Devon to places where no tourist ever goes and a stranger is stared at( real "deliverance" country where it is rumoured "they eat the first born")......
Yeah thats very true. Down south is the silicon valley which is heavily populated. I will definitely have to look into a compact option as for a boat. Inflatable may be the best option simply because I live in a small apartment. I am just nervous about getting up there because like I said the bridges are insanely busy not during a SHTF moment.
Absolute maximum is distance you can travel on a full tank of gas. Any further, and that's a HUGE risk.
Personally though, I'd say max should be distance you can travel on the normal level of fuel in your gas tank. If you're like me, this is generally half a tank. (because I'd hate to pay a ton for it, for it to then be cheaper during the week).
Personally though, I'd say max should be distance you can travel on the normal level of fuel in your gas tank. If you're like me, this is generally half a tank. (because I'd hate to pay a ton for it, for it to then be cheaper during the week).
that's only applies if the roads are not blocked by panicking sheeple or a mandatory evacuation is underway, I have always geared my possible bugging out to be of the walking variety, relying on anything else to my mind is madness.
I have my house land which is plentiful and am building a bunker on it. But my wife and I talked a long time on this subject and we have decided to have three land bug out locations at around a half a tank to three quarters of a tank away from our home. And we have a fourth bug out option through the water. We are wanting to stay on our house land as long as possible but we are making arrangements for bugging out to.
I feel though that is a really good rule of thumb to have. I feel its also important to have a BOL that is the furthest you can personally carry your things. In the situation of a large solar flare or emp most cars from the last 60 years won't be running.
You'd be surprised.
So far, the only real tests that have been done on this are now about a decade old, and to be honest, the majority of vehicles weren't severely affected. Then again, the testing levels, etc., were not ideal, nor were the numbers of vehicles tested very large. So basically, the idea cars won't work is really not based on much evidence. If you're curious, can read the report here if you like.
http://www.empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf
That said, the more modern cars depend on very delicate electronics, that are likely more susceptible to it, but again, no real hard data saying this for certain.
That was a good read, thank you for sharing that report. While not all cars and modes of transportation will cease to exist the article did say there would be a "significant degradation". Now I must admit I did not read all 100+ pages, just the ones in the index referring to transportation. However, even if not all vehicles go I feel it is still a big enough threat to prepare for your car to not work.
I have an old diesel truck, not much an EMP can do to it, might cause pre-ignition at worse.
Yeah that thing should be fine for sure.
I know a lot of good locations, on the surface it is perfect though the problem in a number of these locations it isn't sustainable year around! one needs to look at these places in a historical perspective; what was it like 10 or 20 years ago, how long has this creek been running, had this area ever flooded etc... If you are to pick a location or location(s) research it and that also mean boots on the ground.
I like when you make posts like these because it is so obvious but easy to overlook.
California is a perfect example, many small towns in cali was built upon availability of water in the late 19th and 20th century an unusual abundance of water for cali because the early 19th, 18th and 17th centuries have a different story, granted, a little extreme regarding BOL but knowing the area is important, knowing the historical data may help in selecting a location.
A little background on cali's drought, the 20th century was the wettest ever recorded on record and historical findings in rocks and soil going back to the medieval times. California is returning to it's normal state, the problem in California isn't the so called drought it's water management, the state is over populated and 80% of cali fresh water is used for agriculture, um, in a heavily populated state! Look up pacific decadal oscillation in regards to California, the dry periods are totally normal NOT abnormal just a normal cycle, 'drought' is to loosely used in this case
