Safe & Legal Mock Urban Bugout?

[masterblaster666]

I know the importance of a BOB and INCH bag. I think the next opening when I get some time I’m gonna buddy up with some home bum pick up a bottle of early times or a few 40s of king cobra and ask what they keep in there bags. I figure from just that knowledge you would be able to adjust you INCH and even a BOB. Cause I’m sure we all have things in there that’s just dead weight where these ppl who are basically living out PAW now have to have some new ideas and or old ones that get them thru the day. But even with that I’m sure they have there own dead weight in the packs. (Porno, needles, a rock?) I will try to do this within the next 2 weeks and will try to take pics to prove it happened.

[redcrow]

As a teenager with nothing better to do Me and some friends would walk everywhere. In doing this we found a lot of stuff that no one
really knew about. We found a section of sewer pipe that went under a roadway then dead ended into a 12ft x 12ft room. It was never
connected to anything, like the builders changed their minds or something. I don't think any one knew about it either, there was no
evidance that people had been there. No spray paint, used condoms, or empty bottles to show they did.

What about grabbing your get home bag and walk from point A to Home. Look for areas that you could sleep, cook, etc... without being
detected. what about places to resupply your water, not just a pond on the golf course but also the stores that may still be open you
could but a liter or a pack of jerky.

[EvilTOJ]

What about having Point A being your place of work? I live in an earthquake prone area, and if I were at work when the big one hit I'd want to go home immediately. However, if it's a big enough quake and the roads are crippled, the only way I'm getting home is to walk. It'll be hell enough with cars cramming the roads as everyone else has the same idea. I live seven miles from work, and I may actually try this one day, just to see how I fare. I'm afflicted with The Fatness and could stand to lose a few pounds.

Other things to consider would be bridges and elevated highways. In a really big earthquake those will be rubble or unsafe to travel on. Portland also has two rivers, so what would you do if your work is on one side, and home is on the other? Phone lines will be jammed with calls so you wouldn't be able to see how your family is faring. Some neighborhoods may be more prone to falling to anarchy than others as well.

[maine1]

I lived in Sothern California for A few years after active service. My plan if SHTF- and it was NOT a great plan, was to put alice pack and MTN bike in a local drainage canal- it was dry 95% of the time, and ride it to the outskirts, where there was a network of trails and enough scrub brush to allow me to either shelter in place, or make it to the San gabriel MTNS. Not Ideal , but i had some stuff stashed there, just the basics, shelter goodsa and water. probably still there.

I rode this route most of the way, being cautious not to be seen by LE, as in theis area it would be suspicious as hell. I made it, found a lot of useful trash along the way. One downside was that in that cement canal, i was a sitting duck, as it crossed under roads and intersections often, and had some very dark underground segments- i bypassed these on the way out, to be sure not to get myself into a pickle, some were passable on the way back.

also a buddy and I did a lot of what we called "covert camping" in places closed to camping.

The urban end of things is a little more touch and go, in a way. There are many resources, but lots of competition too. We also used slingshots for rabitts, squirrels and the like.
this is a good thread!

[Chef]

It's amazing the hidden and/or overlooked stuff you will notice simply by walking over a stretch of town where you'd normally drive or take a train. Very valuable from a day-to-day situational awareness perspective, and also as a PAW evac preview.

[nomad211]

Google Earth is a good start on researching on foot bug out paths. Offhand, I'd say stay away from the homeless, unless you're willing to dump all your expensive gear & live in several layers of cheap clothes for days on end. Simply not bathing and shaving for a few days isn't going to allow you to blend in. Any expensive survival equipment or tool that you use is going to draw VERY unwanted attention to yourself. That means no slick prepacked BOB or Get Home Bag full of goodies.
Urban Exploration AKA Creeping is good practice, but as mentioned, some of it is illegal. Why not research potential routes as much as possible,and then practice similar distances and terrain in legal areas, such as state parks or something. Won't be the real thing, but netter than no practice at all and still legal.
Oh yeah, somebody mentioned seeing a new tent set up in an odd place. Reminds me of a week long business trip to Utah a few years ago. I took a five days vacation leave for the week before the seminar and flew in a week early.
After picking up my rental car, I drove to the closest WallyWorld, bought the cheapest tent & sleeping bag they had, along with some camping odds & ends that I didn't want to fly commercial with. I had campsite reservations at several locations & spent the first week hopscotching across the state, exploring & camping at National Parks. WONDERFUL week !
I got back into town on Sunday night in time to check into my reserved hotel room, clean up, & be at the seminar first thing Mon. a.m. I noticed during that week that there were homeless people living near the freeway overpass near my room, so I donated the tent, etc. to them, since I had plannned to trash it anyway. Could be one explanation of a new tent being used by homeless people, LOL.

[retrospeaks]

maine-

was this route you spoke of along the "LA River?" if so, that was initially one of my plans to bug out in. the route itself maybe a little more low key, but i'm almost certain one would come across other stragglers trying to get home or stay away from the general chaos. which could lead to an awkward confrontation given the situation at hand.

most of it is one giant choke point as well.


awesome thread. i need to keep checking back for more ideas on an urban bugout.

[cauldron]

The problem with taking cues from "the homeless" is that most of their resources come from society's cast offs. Heating grates are not heated if the building is shut down, dumpsters are empty if there isn't anything to throw away, and there are no hand-me-down coats and blankets and tents anymore.

But that's just in a big disaster.

What can be learned is that man made stuff is better to make other stuff out of than rocks and sticks. and in a city, there is a lot more man made stuff laying around than rocks and sticks.

The basics still apply, but the techniques differ. Keeping warm, dry, and fed. Making a debris shelter, what to burn and what not to, and where to find food and water.

Learning how best to use cardboard, pallets, and packing materials instead of leavesand vines to make a shelter. Paracord would still come in handy, as would a sharp knife.

I would think the biggest thing about an urban bugout (that involves camping) would feel a whole lot like sneaking into and out of a campground without paying, as there are not a whole lot of places to camp in an urban environment (legally)

There are however lots of places to sleep during the day. From the library, to the lawn furniture section at Wally World. Sleeping in the daytime, and walking at night would be my plan.

[SingingDemon]

I think the only thing you can really do is leave the B&E stuff at home, along with the non-legal length knives, and spend a day or two with the bums down the alley to learn what it is like to live in a cardboard house eating out of the dumpster

You know that a good portion of hobo's do have a EBT card and also go to the food bank. Every homeless person I have meet who has the EBT has it on the max out level. Which is 200 bucks. Its so easy to get on that. Specially if you're homeless.

[JonClark]

Dont forget the combat beard.....Seriously....Clean shaven and hair trimmed are gonna look way out of place....People focus on clothes, etc but dont give much thought to the 12 pounds of gel in their guido.....

[DBR]

Check laws before going on rail right-of-ways:

Illegal rail crossing is a good initial charge that I have used to get drug dealers on PWID charges.

About 15 years ago I was working for a nationwide alarm company, they were at that time, now they've been swallowed by ADT. We had a hell of a time with real, live gypsies that used to work carnivals in the area. They would hit one of our clients which was a place that manufactured all kinds of framework out of aluminum for various industries.

Man, we couldn't get Amtrak or CSX, this area was four or six pairs of rails across, I cannot remember if it was four or six...anyway, we couldn't get them to come stake it out with us for shit!!!

Nowadays, since September 11, 2001, maybe they watch the rails more closely, I don't know. But I remember sitting in the company vehicle off of the client's property down next to the tracks with a pair of Bushnell binos and one of the old "Bionic Ears" you used to see advertised in Parallax Corp., Brigade Quartermasters and U.S. Cavalry catalogs. I'd wait until I heard them and call the regular county police on them.

We couldn't get RRPDs to do jack shit back then, though.

[bluesquid]

I really like this thread. i live in a very rural setting, so its not the advice on being homeless that tickles my pickle. Its the experience, in general, your all talking about.

There are a ton of threads about prep'n food and a BOB, but little in the way of prep'n emotionally. an earlier post said of a urban hike something to the effect, "Tired physically and mentally". How many people in a PAW, despite their level of rediness, would fold mentally under the circumstances? Im including myself. Its a question I ask myself.

so + 1000 for sleeping in a car garage, urban mock bug outs, and living in your car for 8 days.

[charlie505]

One day i was getting into my car in my buildings garage and I noticed some movement behind me. There was a homeless guy sleeping behind the cars parked along the outer wall. He was under two cars that almost never move - tons of dust on them. He was getting water from the vent valve on the fire sprinkler header and he was using the bathroom located in the garage.
We viewed the security camera videos - he was there for days. He came into the garage while someone was pulling their car into the garage and didn't wait for the garage door to close.

He was very resourceful!

[roOism]

I've been coming back to this thread from time to time, going over local maps trying to find a practical place to bug out to, and it's just not working. I found a route out of the city to the north and east by way of the canal system, but I'm pretty certain that I'd have to trespass to go along the entire canal to get out of town, which I obviously won't do, plus once I do get out of town, I'm in the middle of the desert on foot (maybe bike) with nowhere to go. On top of this the situations where I would have to bug out on foot seem few.

With that in mind I've been trying to come up with some excuse to bug out on foot/bike and I think I came up with something doable. Lets say I'm on the other side of town (or a few towns over) and there is a blackout/societal collapse/rioting & looting in the streets. All the main roads are blocked off, mobs with pitch forks and torches are roaming the streets, and my car is basically useless. I need to get home, forced to hoof it, but I want to avoid being seen if at all possible.

Enter Mock Bug Out!

Basically my plan is to drive out to location A, hopefully somewhere inconspicuous (parking garage is my initial thought) and wait till dark (after midnight?) when most people have gone home, then try to make my way back to destination B (BIL sweet BIL) on foot/bike avoiding the main roads as much as possible.

I think I might try a few short runs (parking garage next to my work is only 4 miles away from home) to get a feel for it, maybe working up to a two day venture; start at location A, wait till dark, hoof it to destination B before dawn, sleep during the day (I suppose I could "simulate" hiding out in an abandoned building by getting a cozy motel room ala Bear Grylls ), wake up at dark, hoof it back home.

Things to do on said bugout:
Practice mall ninja sneakfu.
Find water and filter it.
Dumpster dive?
Navigate the city without google maps/gps.
Scout out good (legal) places to hide till dark without getting the cops called one me.
Don't get the cops called on me.

??????????????
Profit!

What I don't want to do is look like some paramilitary vigilante out for some action. I'll probably leave my tacticool (to the untrained eye) backpack and batman gear home, and go for a completely unassuming look (eg hoody/jacket, jeans, worn out looking backpack, blue phone cord wrapped katana).

Also don't want to pack a hundred pounds of gear that I wouldn't normally carry with me. To that end I'll try to limit to what I usually pack:
Water
Food (cliff bars or some such)
Small FAK
Paracord
Small tarp/hunter's blanket
EDC items (Glock, multi-tool, flashlight, knife).

[KnightoftheRoc]

I've been coming back to this thread from time to time, going over local maps trying to find a practical place to bug out to, and it's just not working. I found a route out of the city to the north and east by way of the canal system, but I'm pretty certain that I'd have to trespass to go along the entire canal to get out of town, which I obviously won't do, plus once I do get out of town, I'm in the middle of the desert on foot (maybe bike) with nowhere to go. On top of this the situations where I would have to bug out on foot seem few.

With that in mind I've been trying to come up with some excuse to bug out on foot/bike and I think I came up with something doable. Lets say I'm on the other side of town (or a few towns over) and there is a blackout/societal collapse/rioting & looting in the streets. All the main roads are blocked off, mobs with pitch forks and torches are roaming the streets, and my car is basically useless. I need to get home, forced to hoof it, but I want to avoid being seen if at all possible.

Enter Mock Bug Out!

Basically my plan is to drive out to location A, hopefully somewhere inconspicuous (parking garage is my initial thought) and wait till dark (after midnight?) when most people have gone home, then try to make my way back to destination B (BIL sweet BIL) on foot/bike avoiding the main roads as much as possible.

I think I might try a few short runs (parking garage next to my work is only 4 miles away from home) to get a feel for it, maybe working up to a two day venture; start at location A, wait till dark, hoof it to destination B before dawn, sleep during the day (I suppose I could "simulate" hiding out in an abandoned building by getting a cozy motel room ala Bear Grylls ), wake up at dark, hoof it back home.

Things to do on said bugout:
Practice mall ninja sneakfu.
Find water and filter it.
Dumpster dive?
Navigate the city without google maps/gps.
Scout out good (legal) places to hide till dark without getting the cops called one me.
Don't get the cops called on me.

??????????????
Profit!

What I don't want to do is look like some paramilitary vigilante out for some action. I'll probably leave my tacticool (to the untrained eye) backpack and batman gear home, and go for a completely unassuming look (eg hoody/jacket, jeans, worn out looking backpack, blue phone cord wrapped katana).

Also don't want to pack a hundred pounds of gear that I wouldn't normally carry with me. To that end I'll try to limit to what I usually pack:
Water
Food (cliff bars or some such)
Small FAK
Paracord
Small tarp/hunter's blanket
EDC items (Glock, multi-tool, flashlight, knife).

Hopefully, the katana reference is just a joke.
Seriously, tho, if you want to do this, and try to make it realistic without all the fuss and bother of an actual emergency, as you travel at night, try to avoid traveling along any street that has headlights lit on it for a full block or more- ie; traffic backed up from one light to the next. You could use this to simulate a packed and stalled thoroughfare, where people trying to evacuate have choked the roads. This would be a good opportunity to practice skills based on a truly uncontrollable, randomized event as it happens, forcing you to think on your feet and react accordingly- and it's legal. Speaking of which, be sure to bring a copy of your CCW permit- why ask for trouble?

[Twenty-Three]

Just watch Apocalypse Man on repeat, You'll learn everything you need

[norton]

I'm new here, but wanted to post a few thoughts. If you're noticed by police walking through a city in the middle of the night you're likely to be questioned. They'll say something along the lines of, "We have a report of a crime in the area by a suspect matching your description, can you tell us what you're doing...." It would be best to have a story to explain why you're where you are and doing what you're doing. Also, in a practice situation blending in and not looking suspicious might mean being well dressed and clean shaven.

Tyvek house wrap is lightweight, packs small, is waterproof and easy to find if there's residential construction in the area, but at $1/foot you don't want to rip it off a construction site for practice. I use it for a tarp and a ground cloth when camping. The only downside is that it's bright white and noisy when new, but after it's been used a while it stops making crinkle noises and gets dirty. It can be used to make a great little bivy type shelter that might look like some left over trash to anyone not paying too much attention.

[roOism]

Thanks for the tyvek suggestion norton. Why don't you swing on over to the introduction section and say hello! And be prepared for the swunklight.

[Mad0Hatter]

I have a friend who decided to go live with the homeless for a week, something about soul searching.

I once walked ~6 miles through town foraging edible plants (mostly dandelion greens which taste like grass no matter how I cooked them) and scouting for stuff to come back for with a vehicle. You could do that as good practice bug out or bug in.

As for cops try to avoid them, if you can't the try to look like you belong and have a purpose. They're just people like anyone else and they don't want to have to fill out all that paper work just cause they had to talk to some silly looking sod out of place. If you don't give them a reason to stop you they won't cause its not worth their time.

I had a friend that used to walk around town at night he said the trick to not being bothered was that when ever other people were near he'd pretend to be on his cell phone.

As for dumpster diving a lot of places make it so the side doors can't be opened meaning you have to jump in from the top. Getting in is easy but getting out is a pain, the inside walls wall are slick and the only toe holds are the backs of the side doors and they're not very wide. Also when jumping in the spot you plan to land is never as solid as it looked from the top.

Once I had driven 200 mile to pick some one up in Asheville and they were over 12 hours late arriving; the only place I found I could park and wait without being disturbed was the 24hr walmart I don't think they even noticed my car had been there for a while. The first place I picked looked deserted but the cop that searched my car and told me to leave assured me the I was on the edge of drug deal central.

[Gullars]

If things are so bad you have to bug out, then there is no sutch thing as unlegal items!

[Mad0Hatter]

If things are so bad you have to bug out, then there is no sutch thing as unlegal items!

The word is "Illegal" and the point of the thread is a practice bug out so all laws are still in effect.

[Manliest]

90% of the time, even if you have to BO, there will still be some semblance of law and order. Katrina, the recent severe weather in NC/AL/etc, ice storms in the NE, the situation in Japan...law and order hangs on.

[urthshu]

Wouldn't an easy way to practice urban bug-outs be to have someone texting you scenarios randomly? You could arrange for a friend to text, say, that a nuke plant melted down on a day s/he chooses and give you updates [this area rioting, that area filled with refugees, your car broke down, etc] and you have to deal with it as it comes up while trying to get to your BIL.

Call it the Murphy Plan.

[doitnstyle1]

Pretty interesting concept however, open carry will get you at least harassed by LEO's. I thought about it and I hadn't really figured out my method as of yet. so I tried kayaking out of where I am and trying to make it to the sea. I almost made it had it not been for some work being done and they closing off the area with flotsam barriers. I made it over one but couldn't make it over the other without portaging on someone's property. (A big no no trespassing) So i decided to turn back but i made it half way there in under two hours which makes me believe that if and when they finish this work I would have a viable bugout route given the right circumstances of course. I also know that i can conceal my Longarm and other firearms without a problem inside the Kayak. Now if i can only figure out how to carry the dog???

My second method of egress is vehicle either car or motorcycle. I will be trying one next paycheck as it will be Memorial day weekend and I have a long one. I will try to bug out during traffic hours to simulate a state of emergency. I will see how long it will take me to get out of here also I will see where the construction zones are (everywhere better to where they are not)

Third choice is bicycle. I will be planning a 200 mile trek on my bike within the next few months hopefully in the fall when it is cooler down here but I may decide to try it in the heat of summer because that is what it is like here most of the time. HOT!