How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [23]
When one considers the preceding long list of dependencies and complexities, it makes staying put in a worst case very unattractive. In less inimical circumstances, it is certainly feasible, but in a grid-down situation with utilities disrupted, the big city is no place to live.
Mobile Retreats
“Land-mobile” retreating in a recreational vehicle (RV) is another invitation for disaster. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, a fixed-location retreat is vastly superior to going mobile. If you choose to go entirely vehicle-mobile you will eventually lose a battle—most likely in a roadblock ambush—or your RV will break down. Or it will run out of fuel—with some likelihood that it will be on exposed terrain in an untenable situation. Also, since the logistics that you can carry will be limited, you will start out with an inherent disadvantage compared with fixed-location retreats. This also creates the prospect that once your food supplies are depleted you will be tempted to take what you need from others.
A live-aboard sailboat or motor cruiser is another frequently touted retreat option. Unless you are an experienced blue-water yachtsman with many years of experience, I cannot recommend “sea-mobile” retreating.
Mobile approaches to retreating have too many drawbacks to recommend them, except perhaps in a few cases for those with a huge budget. Pragmatically, you will need a fixed location with a deep larder, tools, weapons, barter goods, and friends you can count on. In essence, the only tenable mobile approach is for the very short term: a reliable vehicle that gets you to a well-provisioned and defendable fixed retreat.
Just One Trip Outta Dodge
It is essential to pre-position the vast majority of your logistics at your retreat. The following chapters will help you to determine what supplies you’ll need and what preparations you’ll want to make in advance. Of course, these preparations will be useless if you cannot reach your retreat WTSHTF.
Circumstances may dictate that you can make only one trip to your retreat before roads are unusable or unsafe to use. It would be tragic to have to pick and choose what portion of your gear to take in that one trip, so it makes sense to pre-position most of your gear. It is wise to do a “test load” once every two years to insure that those items that you keep in your home will fit in that one trip. And, needless to say, plan multiple routes using secondary roads in case the freeways are clogged. Have a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and a Plan D. The latter may be on mountain bikes or on foot.
For detailed information on your G.O.O.D. vehicles, see Chapter 12.
If family or work circumstances dictate that you can’t live locally at your retreat, then at least look like a local. If your retreat is across a state line, then carry the driver’s license of the state where you have your retreat (with the town nearest your retreat listed as your home address), and get dual registration for all of your G.O.O.D. vehicles. To get past roadblocks you will want to look like you are obviously headed “home” to your retreat. Paying a little extra each year for dual registration could save your life.
If you have a great salary and can afford to buy a retreat but can’t telecommute, you will need a caretaker. Just watering and pruning the dozens of fruit and nut trees is a big chore. Finding a trustworthy caretaker for a retreat can be problematic. When selecting a caretaker, it is important to find someone committed to staying long term, someone you can trust with certainty, and someone who has practical skills and is not afraid to get his hands dirty or paint-stained. Make each party’s rights and responsibilities perfectly clear from the outset. In many states, if you charge any form of rent, then that person is a renter and has all the legal rights of such under the law including the right to privacy—which might preclude your showing up at the door of your own retreat WTSHTF. If you