What is "ADVANCED PREPPING" in your opinion....?

[SoJer]

..I go to town once a year for supplies, and the last stop out of city is Walmart.... "ALWAYS" have the same first observation. ..They could not do any physical work.......zero...

..This is why I often quip - When SHTF.... '..We're gonna need a Bigger Mop...' The quickly-dead are, I think, unfortunately going to be Deep.. Glad I kept my waders..

.. HIGHLY suspect any attempt to bug out in a sever crisis that requires you to drive through or past any cities, or town on the way to your BOL is very likely to fail...

..Well, yaaah, now that ya gave All the BGs that Great idea to jacknife huge sand-filled tankers across the highways.. Thanks a Lot, Maaaan.. jk

I think a 'decent Baseline benchmark' for Most Families (not Already In / 'up to speed' at their Homestead / BOL, etc) is One Full Year of literally Everything* you 'typically Consume / Need' in a year, and across All the 'spectrum' of categories - Food / Shelter / Fuel / Water (gleaning/purification capabilities, etc) / Advanced-Medical / Hunting/Fishing/Trapping / SD, etc / Repairs & Fabrication / Parts, etc)

...And then factor in maybe at Least another +25-30% (or more, if/as-able) for 'Ooops, I forgots' / Extended Family (you determine 'worthy' / a positive-Add, etc) maybe needing help / Losses due to [x] / Zombie raids, etc.. And then secure a way to Transport it ALL in one shot (which, sure, is 'risky', but.. OTOH, you will only be able to 'Have what you can Defend' at any given point..) and/or 'cache ahead' as much as is possible to Keep Secret and/or constantly 'guarded' (ergo: Some in yer Group already "there" / Able to defend, etc..)

..and, of Course there's Always the possibility for 'everything to go to ' - that's true for Everyone.. Even the 'Best, Most-Prepared, Longest Down-the-Road-Peering Person' can suddenly drop dead of a 'widowmaker' or lightning-struck branch to the head, or, heck.. Even 'lead poisoning' (most people don't ever 'see' the long-range sniper's round coming for them at 3K fps, etc..) So, certainly Anything "can happen", but..

..Most likely, IF a given Family can 'make it Thru the First Year' on their Preps, well.. That's probably a 'reasonably-decent amount of time gone by' to gauge how the Next Year+ might track, and they'll also have Learned a LOT in that year - Which can translate to 'smarter successes', Next year, etc... Plus, at least by then we should know if 'Zombies are Real' or not..

Just encouraging that IF you're in the 'Class' / point on the Journey of 'Not Quite Yet in your Cheyenne Mountain Bunker' well.. Don't get discouraged and figure 'we'll never make it, what's the Point', etc, and give up, turning back to the 'Old Norms' that - imo - Soon will Not 'be there'...

'...Remember the Wife of Lot'...

.02
jd

*Caviat: "Everything" should be understood to mean 'Everything Truly Necessary' for basic Survival - will Most-likely need to pair down Many-to-nearly all 'luxuriant' items, ie: Canned Salmon will need to 'trump' Chocolate Eclairs.. But, by the same token, Some Chocolate (ie: Hot Cocoa Mix (stores well/minimally) will go a long way towards 'keeping morale up', etc, and is Great in am-Coffee. etc etc.. Just for some clarity..

 

[Neb]

One of the traits I really like about my place is that 100 yards from my backdoor is the start of 100s of square miles of wilderness area. I'm literally the last piece of private property on that road.

Its why even though bugging out is the last option, I think its probably going to be highly successful in my case as I'm not driving through a single city, highway, or property to get to mine. I just load up the convoy, take a left a hundred yards down my own driveway, and its just me, hundred of miles of old logging roads and whoever else was already up those roads when it started. Drop a few trees behind me, and take down a couple of bridges and nobody else is (easily) coming up that way behind me.

Drive for an hour until the road runs out. Unload the convoy, carry the stuff a mile further up the mountain in trips and get out the chainsaws. In about a week I should have a log cabin large enough for the 6-8 people I plan for, and tight enough to last the first winter without having to come down for anything.

I HIGHLY suspect any attempt to bug out in a sever crisis that requires you to drive through or past any cities, or town on the way to your BOL is very likely to fail, as is any bug out plan on foot UNLESS where you are going is a place that is already maned, and stocked and you simply need to carry enough stuff to last you a few days of foot travel.

For give me please

What happens and were does come from the the basics of salt and nails?

Ben

 

[Aerindel]

I have over 500lbs of salt.

1000s of screws (and the ability to charge my cordless drills indefinitely)

More than I think I would need to last through the dying time.

 

[UrbanHunter]

If we ever have a truely SHTF situation such as an EMP event, we will lose a lot of people who need constant medication or have electrical devices to regulate their heart. Then there are the weather events, without HVAC - heat and cold take their toll on the weak.

The good news is that many of the dependant folks have been taught to sit and complain until the government comes to save them. If they sit long enough there will be a "scorched earth" barrier created by the "locust" who will use the event as an opportunity to pillage as they move towards the country side.

I personally do not believe that we will ever have a true SHTF event, I think we will have a withering on the vine type of event, where people with resources will migrate away from the population centers and the ones who stay behind will be trapped by their lack of education, skills, and motovation.... By the time it becomes a true event the world will be stuck in the muck and shortages will become the norm...

 

[SeventiesWreckers]

Don't vote for Democrats. Ever. For any office. Ever.

 

[The Lazy L]

I'm not sure which type of "Prepper" I'd be called.

Currently l have great grandmothers, grandmothers and several other immediate family members aged 65 plus to care for. There will be no BOL or fall back positions for us. I'm it. My only goal to keep this location available UNTIL the young other members of our family can stop here, rest a bit, restock before moving on to their BOL.

 

[Morgan101]

I'm not sure which type of "Prepper" I'd be called.

Currently l have great grandmothers, grandmothers and several other immediate family members aged 65 plus to care for. There will be no BOL or fall back positions for us. I'm it. My only goal to keep this location available UNTIL the young other members of our family can stop here, rest a bit, restock before moving on to their BOL.

My situation is quite similar. I have a mentally challenged son, and my wife is in poor health. Both require maintenance medication on a daily basis. We have to be close to a hospital. That is the good news.

If something really bad did happen I can see at least two other family members that would show up that would bring little or nothing to the party. I'm not going anywhere. Don't even think about heading off into the woods. All of my prepping has to be done for an urban environment. If my house is the Alamo then so be it. That must be God's plan.

 

[UrbanHunter]

@Morgan101 we are in the same boat, the wife's medical conditions really limit our options. That being said we are trying to become as self-sufficient as possible while maintaining a low profile.. We have been blessed with numerous opportunities to see where we are deficient and need to make improvements. Thankfully the wife is good about working together to achieve our objectives. We have become good about doing debrief's after every event, then we make plans on what we need to do to improve our situation, and then we execute those plans....

 

[Alaskajohn]

I've learned more about "advanced prepping" and being a "survivalist" from observing my wife and her extended family scattered all across the globe than I have from all other sources combined. Her family hails from a unnamed third world nation famous for military coups, bizarre shifts in political direction, corruption, poverty, etc. Most have left that nation, but others remain. Regardless of their location today, they have the same hard working, innovative, self sufficient attitude where they are willed to be successful. When the world turns to total crap, they have a better chance of making it than most Westerners, as they have been hardened by the world.

Their version of "thriving" is totally different than what a westerner calls thriving, and they thrive. Westerners would call their version of thriving one huge suck. But they thrive in these environments. As I said in my earlier post, its about mindset, attitude and the will to overcome regardless of what the world throws at you. Its about understanding the nodes of intersect as the world shifts, and having clarity and critical thinking skills to understand when reality has reset. They didn't need advanced degrees in quantum physics to understand how the world really works, as they have lived in the real world, and not our cushy and dying American culture. As a proud and patriotic American, this pains me to great ends to say this. We have become corrupt and subverted in so many ways, to include our mindset.

Yep, stuff is important. But stuff is transient.

 

[SheepDog]

If your "bug out" location is so much better and safer why are you not there already?
Where you are, you have clean water, food that you can buy and store for long periods, all your guns and you are close to good medical care. You have family and friends close.
You also have a large number of people who don't care to prepare, don't respect your privacy or you.

In your bug out location you have rudimentary shelter, maybe water, unknown food supply, no medical and the nearest support is miles or hours away. Can you transport all of your food, guns, and support base in one trip? Are you sure you would survive the trip?

I suggest you work on getting your "bug out" location as your main residence that you build with your support facilities close. If that is not possible then you are better off bugging in. If you are forced out then you will likely die.

 

[SoJer]

I've learned more about "advanced prepping" and being a "survivalist" from observing my wife and her extended family...from a unnamed third world nation...

Yep, stuff is important. But stuff is transient.

..Well spoke Truth, Sir John.. a) Yep, I learned more about "Real Life / Living" (and Myself..) living in El Sal for only 5 yrs, than I think I have living the other 47 in the US.. I treasure those Lessons (and the Family / Friends down there that 'schooled me'..) and..

b) Amen to that. Perhaps the most 'germane facet' of "Advanced Prepping" is when you both know How - and Have-actually - survived, And thrived... when most of the 'stuff' is Gone.. ie: I have watched Salvadorean kids make more useful things out of "garbage", than some 'artisan' works, here, ie:

..Wife's cousin finds "scrap" wire, and does stuff like this with it:

..and then will sell such-like at the local 'souvenir market' to some visiting 'Gringo' for $10.! (ask me How I know that...

But, sure - that's not much of a help towards "actual survival" (outside of the cash, etc..) but it's that 'Mindset' I'm extolling.. ie: Most people would see an empty plastic Gal. jug of spring-water as, again, "garbage" / recycling, at-best.. But to my youngest Son? Oh-ho, noo.. 'No, Dad... that's a Sink!' WhaHuh??

..replete with 'Cap flow-control', and..

..'Jug-base turned to dust-cover / soap dish'... (!!) Wow, and I thought *I* 'MacGuyvered stuff' - Boy did I sure get schooled! (which I think is Awesome..

..Or, another ie: Blown-out / worn cargo-shorts good for nothing but the wastebasket? ..Or - might those 'pockets' still be good to make up an EDC 'Mini IFAK-roll' (..ya know - to put in yer cargo pockets..

...etc, etc..

..So, Imo, those who stand a decent chance of 'making it', will be those who can 'forage - then Forge' - Turn what's available (after the 'stuff' runs out / is ruined / burned / stolen, etc) into forward progress, and 'thriving', where possible..

..Perfectly embodied by one of my Fav 'Police classics' off Zenyatta Mondatta..

"...When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around..." Yep, that's the trick!

.04
jd