(Continued from Part 4. This installment concludes the article series.)
If you’re even further away you may need to consider how you can supplement your food supply as you travel. One obvious way to do that is to learn how to forage. Foraging can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, so take some training on how to recognize edible plants and what to avoid. If you’re going to be traveling to the same area frequently you should look into taking a local foraging class; they’re offered in most major locales. I also carry an edible plants reference card and a foraging guide with me, and I always do some research on regional plants whenever I travel to a new area. You could also bring a trotline and/or some snares with you and set them out while you’re sleeping. As with any wilderness skill, you should practice using both of them before you need them (check local laws governing fishing and trapping before attempting).
If you have food that needs to be heated or have boiling water added to it you’ll need some way to start a fire, and all of the common wisdom regarding lighters, ferro rods, tinder, etc. applies here. I carry a small Esbit-style folding stove in my travel kit along with various fire starters and tinder, and a 15-20 minute fire with twigs is usually enough to get a cup of water boiling. If you need something bigger to cook a fish or some wild game or warm up I’d recommend using a Dakota fire hole if possible to reduce the fire’s visibility. Remember that fire and cooking smells can carry for quite a distance, so you’ll be better off if you leave the area as soon as you’re done eating – don’t prepare meals in the same location you plan on sleeping.
When traveling in unknown conditions there’s always a chance you’ll get sick or injured, which could interrupt or even end your journey if you’re not prepared. In a post-SHTF world you most likely won’t be able to call an ambulance or stop by the local doc-in-a-box, so you’ll need to have a decent first-aid kit and the knowledge on how to use it. There are plenty of good articles on what should be in a first aid kit, but there are a few things that will be especially important for multi-day RTB travel:
- Moleskin/Leukotape P for the inevitable blisters
- Pain relievers for the inevitable aches and pains
- Instant cold & heat packs, for additional pain relief
- Electrolyte Replacement Tablets to replace what you sweat out
- Anti-Diarrheal tablets, since your diet will be going through radical changes and having the runs can result in serious issues
- Boiron Oscillococcinum for cold/flu symptoms (or a DayQuil equivalent)
- A full course (30 250mg pills) of antibiotics in case a cut or wound gets infected – I carry Amoxicillin, which you can buy as ‘FishMox’ online
The common wisdom is that you should get plenty of rest when you’re sick or injured, but if you’re desperate to get home to your family, curling up in a nice warm debris shelter for a couple of days probably isn’t an option. You’ll need to reduce your pace and rest more frequently and for longer, but staying in one place for too long may cause more problems than it solves.
Unless the event results in the world all of a sudden becoming a bastion of rainbows and unicorns you’ll most likely need some way to protect yourself from both two- as well as four-legged threats while moving through unknown terrain. Whenever I travel I always bring at least one firearm if I’m legally allowed to possess it at my destination; if you don’t have a firearm with you, obtaining one at your destination location after an event will be extremely difficult. I always try to meet people and make friends at local gun shops and gun ranges when I travel – there’s no guarantee, but knowing some people can increase the chance of you being able to acquire a firearm if a major world-changing event occurs. One alternative to firearms is an edged weapon – I always pack a Gerber Downrange Tomahawk in my suitcase – it makes a decent weapon with a long reach as well as providing chopping, hammering and prying capabilities. If all else fails a simple club made from a chair leg or piece of metal pipe might be your only option, or you can attach a knife to a long rod or sharpen a stick to make yourself a spear. None of these are ideal, but it’s better to have some weapons than none at all.
