Hello,
I just wanted to write you about an experience I had recently. First of all I own a very dog eared copy of your novel “Patriots“ that was given to me by someone who I look up to a lot. This individual was the first person to expose me to the “bug out” bag concept. As a result I’ve always been a preparedness type of girl. In high school and college I always kept provisions for myself wherever went and as a result I’ve been able to rise to the occasion many times when things got tough.
As a long distance commuter I try to ensure I have things in my car for whatever may happen whether it is an unexpected overnight stay or just a band-aid. My daily drive to work is 85 miles from the small town in the country I reside in to one of the nearest big cities where I work. On January 31st the first predictions were ice storm with sleet and snow accumulations. Soon after they started calling for 3/4″ ice and 10-15 inches of snow by the end of the day the doomsayers were all out declaring it would be a bad one. I had to work Monday and Tuesday so Monday I finished out my shift and went over to a friends house so I wouldn’t have to drive up in a storm. Tuesday I came in an hour early. At 11 am my boss told me to get done and go home as soon as possible. 15 minutes later I was out the door. I fueled up and posted to Facebook my intentions and estimated time of completion. Before I had even left the city limits I had to stop and fix my windshield wipers that weren’t wiping. Common sense may dictate to me that I needed to stay put another night, but my heart was telling me I needed to be home with my loved one. The pace started out at 40 miles per hour but by the time I hit I-44 things were getting worse, my average speed was about 15-25 mph and it took me from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to make it from mile marker 69 to mile marker 11 which was the exit I needed to head south towards home. I got off at the exit and realized that all the traffic was stuck, after a chat with a truck driver I learned that two trucks ahead were immobile, side by side in a snow drift. We were about a mile and a half from the nearest truck stop. I could have sat and idled for a few hours but the forecast called for temperatures in the negative after dark. So at that point I knew I had to make a decision, to gamble on staying or to try to walk through the blizzard and get to shelter before dark.
I decided to walk. Thankfully, I had my bug out bag with me and packed plenty of warm clothes in my overnight bag. Unfortunately I didn’t have anything waterproof and I didn’t have any snow boots. I chose between running shoes that had ventilation which would allow moisture to get in or my oxford work shoes that were made of leather and would insulate my feet better. I chose the oxfords. The next issue was energy, I needed a facility but I also needed to keep my energy up. I didn’t have enough water, in fact I was only able to refill my Starbucks tea cup partway, but it sufficed. I got rid of the stuff that needed cooking. I also had dates. I read in the past that Medjool dates are really high in energy and nutrition. Those I did grab. I was ready to go. I wore jeans with a loose pair of cotton pajama pants over the top. on my upper body I wore a turtleneck, a vest and my Carhart sweatshirt over everything. On my hands I had cheap dollar gloves with leather work gloves over the top of those. On my head was a thin microfleece mask and my hood.
I started walking. The snow was difficult to navigate and ranged from a few inches to a few feet at times. I made over I-44 on the overpass and then decided to walk through the woods and in essence make a short cut. This is where things got really dangerous. I climbed a snowy embankment and started going through the woods but the farther I went the deeper the snow and the thicker the brush. Many hikers die every year because they take what appears to be the shortcut and then run down their energy too much and die of exposure. So I started backtracking out to the interstate. Only then did I realize that I didn’t navigate properly to go in a straight line and I probably would have wandered in circles before I passed out from exhaustion. I was becoming quite fatigued by then and started to wonder if I was going to run out of steam from my own stupidity. Back on the interstate I followed it towards the exit but I was pouring sweat and fatigue was setting in.
Several cars went past before a tow truck stopped and offered me a ride. It turned out that they were headed to the truck stop and then south towards the area I lived in. Would I have passed out from exhaustion or made it to the truck stop? That is a question I will never know the answer to but a lesson learned about shortcuts! Little did I know that God had an even bigger test of my faith and resolve ahead of me. I learned that we would be stopping at the truck stop to pick up a key for another tow truck that was stuck. So we made our way south to where the truck was stuck. But as we started getting off onto this single lane highway the roads went from bad to worse. These men had a job to do and they were very determined to do it. We might have even succeeded had our way not been blocked by an 18-wheeler that was stuck. Soon after that we became stuck for the first time trying to find an alternate route. Four more times after that we got stuck in drifts and ditches trying to turn around the large flat bed F650 tow truck and it took us the next three hours to get out of the mess we got ourselves into. So we put all our faith in God and started praying.
About the time I finally admitted to myself that I was scared a tractor showed up and towed us back out to the highway. The rest from there is now history as I made it home and gave the tow guys each a dry new pair of socks to replace their cold wet ones. They wouldn’t accept any monetary compensation. And they truly were sent by God to save me from what could have been a very dangerous or even deadly situation.
In reflection back on my situation I learned some important lessons about survival. Things would have been a lot safer and easier with hiking boots and some Carhart coveralls. Never try to go through brush in deep snow if you down have to, its too easy to sap your energy and pass out. The left over tea bag and the water I kept putting in there helped me stay hydrated. The medjool dates were easy to eat and kept my energy up throughout those long frustrating hours of waiting and worrying.
Would I attempt the same thing again for the same reasons? Probably. Next time, however, I will be even more prepared than the last. The last thing is my faith in God. I prayed hard, and it was that faith that kept my courage up and gave me the hope. I knew in my heart that it wasn’t my time to die yet, this was simply “trial and tribulation”. We can never leave God out of any situation that we get into. The driver of that tow truck was right there beside me praying for all he was worth as we were trying to get unstuck and out of valley we got stuck in. It was Jesus Christ that gave me the peace in my heart not to panic. And that was my first real life serious bug out experience. Sincerely – Erin D.
JWR:
I’ve worked for a major food store in Michigan for over 20 years and just wanted to let you know that over the last few days that with the news of the winter storm that was coming people were panic buying like I have never seen before. They were buying anything they could get their hands on not just water and canned goods. Must be very few people in my area that have any food or water stored for any type of emergency. We have been prepping for a couple of years now and thank you for all of the information that you have put out for people. Thanks, – Steve in Michigan