Survival Situations/Senarios

[unswydd]

UNSWYDD.,

Hey, I would like to toss in a few cents here... Just a thought. AR7 and good large knife, Magnesium fire starter w/ a few "OO" wool scrubbies, Compass and 100 rnds of LR22 for the AR7. All of this can easily fit into a part of a backpack? I think you have info in your head on what to eat and how to prepare it already just from your posts. Later

This will all be in my backpack. I actually just got my Firesteel. Thanks

[waitnc]

UNSWYDD.,

Hey, I would like to toss in a few cents here... Just a thought. AR7 and good large knife, Magnesium fire starter w/ a few "OO" wool scrubbies, Compass and 100 rnds of LR22 for the AR7. All of this can easily fit into a part of a backpack? I think you have info in your head on what to eat and how to prepare it already just from your posts. Later

[unswydd]

Visine,
These are good. I like the idea of sleeping by day and traveling by night above the treeline. I also like your idea of water collection. No one has mentioned that yet and I honestly didn't even think of it. Good lookin' out.
Also about the cooking fires,that is so true. I had thought of that and would definately try to refrain from making fires at night. I think the only way would be to make a Dakota pit and then I could at least cook something at night or have warmth without anyone seeing my flame or the smoke during the day or night.
Thanks for your input!!!

[Visinedrops]

1st scenerio:
Due to your overall distance, and from what has been said before, trying to get home will be a nightmare, but lets say you head in that direction. Due to the limited range of nuclear fallout and blast radius, a 1.4 megaton warhead dropped on New York City would not have significant impact anywhere near IL. Panic, of course, would ensue throughout most of the eastern seaboard, and Martial Law would probably be put into place. The effect of the nuclear blast would disrupt power transfer lines and sub stations in a few of the surrounding states, but again would not go as far as IL.
People would become frantic, panicy and violent, so you would want to stay as far away from large cities as you can. Transportation would not be an issue, and you could drive your car with no problem, however, the highways and back roads would probably be so crowded it would be unsafe. GPS would still function, as would cell phones, unless the gov't shut them all down (Martial Law).
The ostrich would become a problem, and her panicy attitude would slow down your travels. It would be best to drop her off at the nearest safe area and continue alone. Your survival would depend on the ability to find food and build shelter for one, instead of having to gather enough for both of you.

2nd scenerio:
Your ostrich friend would be best left somewhere she feels is safe, so that you can make your way to wherever you need to go. Travel will be difficult, and you may want to refrain from moving during the day, mainly due to roaving zombies who will take to the hills. You have a fishing pole, and a knife, so food will not be difficult to get. Using fishing line and sticks you can make a deafall trap, or a snare trap, to catch food. You will want to boil all water with an evaporator dome (piece of plastic or clean metal to catch, cool, and drip water vapor into a cup) due to the metallic minerals which would by then be turned toxic. Stay as high up on the ridges as possible at night while you travel because most people will make camps in valleys and other low points for wind/rain protection. During the day, your best chance at getting sleep would be to dig a shallow trench, and cover it with surrounding brush. Try to dig your pit somewhere in the middle of low overgrowth as to keep it as camouflaged as possible. Cooking fires during the day are not as visible as they would be at night, so while you travel you are able to see the fires from a distance and be able to keep a good distance from them.

[unswydd]

Guess I should have looked at the atlas first before I replied.:)

LOL Funny!!!:D

[Skyowl]

Guess I should have looked at the atlas first before I replied.:)

[unswydd]

LOL SkyOwl!
I was just trying to get some people thinking is all. there is one scenario that was not thought of. Since I would be in Yellowstone I could hook up with the river and stay on the water. Plenty of food on waterways and not many people. I could head south and forget about going home. There would probably not be much left there anyway. My friend would of course have to be lead, as she is not "survival minded". No weapons to speak of just a knife and a saw. I'd have to make something such as a bow and spears if I wanted weapons. I was kind of hoping someone would come up with something like this but no one did. I believe as you said, that there would be no way to make a forced march with a backpack (rucksack) all the way to Illinois. So, that is out. I couldn't rely on anyone to help me so I'd have to make do the best with what I had and my common sense.

[Skyowl]

these are good but I'm surprised, with the great minds here that you have not come up with more solutions to this problem.
There are several more options here.
Think people. Place your self there.

I'm guessing that you have already identified several "options" for these two scenarios. Guessing that you want to "get home" to "somewhere between a corn field and a soybean field", wherever that is, I will identify two possible answers to the problem...

One, if the distance "home" is more than a couple hundred miles (say 300 or so), you will be better off trying to make it in whatever town you are staying in. Trying to hump several thousand miles to IL with no supplies to speak of will take you forever, if you avoid the roads to keep away from the zombies. Your 1st scenario did not indicate the availability of weapons to protect yourselves, so I'm assuming you have none with you. A forced march with rucksack took us 6 hours to cover 26 miles, and I was 27 at the time. We were not hunting for food, trying to protect ourselves from roving bands of badguys, or spending the night in the field. Just humping it in along a paved road. Cross country would have taken much, much longer. Trying to do it in an emergency situation after SHTF would be next to impossible without a lot of help along the way from sympathetic folks. To do that, you would have to travel along roads to make any sort of time between point A and point B. Folks would have to be willing to help you by giving you some of their limited supplies which will probably not happen very often.

Two, stike out for home and pray a lot along the way.

[unswydd]

these are good but I'm surprised, with the great minds here that you have not come up with more solutions to this problem.
There are several more options here.
Think people. Place your self there.

[Centurion]

Relax

Wow what two rosey scenarios. Let's see in either case the first thing to do is form a plan and think things through. The reality of the situation is the facts. In all regards you will never have enough "supplies" so you have to use your witts to overcome all obsticles. In your situation you are hiking in the mountains and the U.S. recieves damage from an EMP pulse generated from an ICBM which means we are under attack. Stay in the Mt.'s for safety and limit travel till all is well.

[kenno]

It is not an actual proven fact that all planes will fall from the sky or that all cars will stop running, influencing terrain details such as Mtns, canyons and large bodies of water may decrease or increase the EMP effect, also vechicles stored in metal buildings or otherwise grounded may be protected, older vechicles, especialy military vechicles and farm tractors will probably be immune as will old generators pumps and the like.
Much depends on the power, height and type of nuke deployed. In either case head for Idiho or Utah

[unswydd]

Can I ask a question before I come up with a route/plan?

Ask away.
These are all great ideas and plans. Keep them coming. There are many solutions to this. I am interested that you're picking your own brains for this.

[beebopcop]

I may post more on this later, but I have done some reading up on Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). If a small nuclear device is exploded as high as 200 miles above the service of the Earth over the central United States the resulting electron mega shower will fry the entire US grid. More that a million people will die in the first 24 hours. Every aircraft in the sky will immediately plummet to the earth. Everyone on the planes will die as a result of the impact, not to mention whatever and whoever the planes hit. Next hundreds of thousands on life support in hospitals will die. No, the back up generators will not work, they got fried along with everything else. Anything and everything with circuit boards will be fried. The US will be blown back to the stone age and it will take many years to recover. The DOD has admitted that the US is not prepared for such an attack and that little if anything can be done to prevent it. Kinda gives North Korea a whole you look doesn't it.
So, having said that, you can throw away your GPS and anything else electronic in your back pack because now it's dead wieght. As far as getting home you may luck up and find someone with a pre-sixties car that has no circuitry that was damaged by EMP, however something tells me he/she is going to busy.
The only hope for your long necked friend is to convince her that there is strength in numbers and then inform her of which way you are going. I bet she follows.
bbc

[Oscar Wilde]

[Can I ask a question before I come up with a route/plan?]

Depends on the question :confused: probably.....sure....
O.W.

[Skyowl's Wife]

Can I ask a question before I come up with a route/plan?