ReadyNutrition Guys and Gals, this piece is meant to stimulate thought and action toward having a place to retreat to if the time comes.  I know, everybody is going to defend their piece of land to the death when the SHTF.  How about when the SHTF in another matter…akin to our fellow citizens with Hurricane Harvey?  Stands to reason that the numbers of the displaced and homeless are starting to mount.  Whatever the “end event” may be, there always exists the possibility that you must flee.  Let’s explore some criteria and options.

By this time (long in the tooth/late in the game) you should have already formulated a plan…a “Plan B” if you wish for where to run.  If you have not, you need to consider these criteria.  Many of you (especially the naysayers, skeptics, and trolls) will “what if” these criteria to death.  Use the basics and apply them to the situation that arises.

1. How far away is either national forest or woods to retreat into?
2. Does the area you plan on fleeing to have a water supply, food (in the form of game or forage), isolated from groups of people, and out of the radius of the initial event (hurricane, nuclear attack, etc.)?
3. Can you reach it? This takes into consideration your route planning…using the road, waterways, or possibly an air escape.  Traffic patterns, viable roads, and gridlock must be factored into your planning.
4. Will you be alone or will other families be with you, and/or waiting for your arrival?

This last part is very important.  It is one thing to plan on going to a safer area, but it is quite another to have one prepared and waiting for you.  Now is the time to act on things.  Now is the time to formulate a good, solid plan of action and stick to it when the time arrives.  Do not suffer from the “paralysis of analysis,” because you can plan for years and then fail when the time comes to make a decision to act.

There are too many factors to be able to list in under ten pages single-spaced.  We’re trying to generate some ideas and also to stimulate thought toward a viable plan.  When the SHTF arrives?  Here’s a good rule of thumb to follow: Everybody will be “needy” and need what you have, and you will need the things that others have.

That house out in the country by the Everglades where your cousin lives?  Maybe a good time to see what you can contribute to it and what kind of alliance you can form.  You need to do your research and find out about uninhabited cabins in parks and recreational areas.  Do your research and find out about hotels or travel lodges that are beginning to shut down with the close of the summer.  As survivalists, you understand the physical needs of material support and safety for your families.  Now is the time to research a place to flee to if need be.

Here’s a “spark” for the mind: What if more than one thing happens?

Chances are one thing may spark other things, such as a nuclear war may trigger large fires of the likes of which we’re experiencing currently in the northwest.  You may have multiple problems to deal with, and if you have to abandon ship (your home) you want to have a place to go, already planned out if not stocked up and prepared.

Planning promotes a good follow-through.  Formulate that plan and inventory your equipment.  Don’t just plan on one location to flee to: you should have multiple locations.  You may flee your town to avoid a nuclear war, only to find you end up in an area where forest fires have been raging for months.  Game it out at every angle, and start gaming it now.  I can’t even tell you how many people e-mail me their desires to leave their home state.  I make a suggestion, and they say, “Well, we’ll have to wait and see.”  Then they give me their reasons.

When a disaster happens, the reasons for not preparing for it will not be good enough and do not provide for the bottom lines…what you and your family need to survive.  Having a place set up to run to is prudent, plain and simple.  Now is the time to put that backup retreat location in order, not after the SHTF.  In the end, when the music stops playing, you’ll want a chair to sit down in.  Keep fighting that good fight.  JJ out!