Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

My “Bug Out Bag” has been shattered into a thousand pieces. Ravaged by time, convenience and just the late night hunger for a quick snack. It started out as a mental experiment…you know the drill…if my creature comforts were denied to me…how long would I endure?

I started with the philosophy of how I built a pack for a simple camping trip, which I defined as 2 weeks in the middle of nowhere…a few decades ago, as a child. Since then, my disposable income has…uh…increased a bit. I have much better toys than I did back then, but the underlying philosophy was the same.

If I need to grab-n-go, I want a kit, a bundle, a security blanket with TEETH to endure everything I expect and everything I don’t expect…with a handle I can lug on one… sore… shoulder.

I spent months building my B.O.B. I’m not much of a braggart, but it oozed awesomeness every time I unzipped a side pocket. If I were to describe the celestial events which unfolded when I opened the body of the B.O.B., you simply would not believe me.

It had everything…in triplicate.

One for me, one back-up and one for bartering purposes.

As a mental exercise, I tried to account for all variables and then added trade material for the stuff I missed.

The antis will stumble across this and crap their knickers, but this really was just a “what if” exercise. It was fun and it took me somewhere I needed to go. I’m not talking about being “comfortable” while “camping,” I’m talking about sheer survival and the limits of human ingenuity and endurance.

What is the least you can possess and control and still thrive?

I was all proud of my B.O.B. when my buddy asked one very simple question…”Where are you going to bug out to that’s better than where you are right now?”

Damn.

My back yard is a river, full of trout, crawdads and endless other edible bits. If I wanted, I can bag deer and elk without ever putting on pants or leaving my living room. Just opening the window would present the challenging shot of…oh…5 meters.

I’ve already “bugged out.”

There’s no reason to pick and choose what I take with me versus what I leave behind. There’s no reason to leave what I have already built. I was focused on creating a mini-world that I could pick up and take with me as the powers that be destroyed everything else I’ve worked so hard to maintain.

I realized that I’ve been building my “kit” my whole life. The very spot I type out this post from is my sanctuary…my foxhole…my life.

When the Zombie apocalypse comes to fruition, my castle will stand its ground because as I look at my garden, my fruit trees, my river and my place…I would rather stay and defend all this than scratch a living out of some random hillside with a gym bag and a sore shoulder.

We should never hide.

Our strength is most potent when we show our faces and say, “Hello, this is me and I’m not going anywhere.”          No trespassing, please.