Interstate vs. Backroads

[salif08]

It's the reading the signs, and picking the time ahead, that would be the trick;

 Not un-doable, though, if you pay close attention to current events, both local and global.

 The other trick, and it's an easy (although labor intensive) one, is to have that "destination" location pre-prepared, pre-stocked, pre-secured, and ready for your arrival....

Yep, if I didn't have to be in school out here I'd be closer to my survival community.  Rural setting, skilled friends, etc.  I'm just trying to figure out the best thing to do during this time.  Knowing when to go ahead of time IS the real trick.  In some respects the time has already come.

[scarymike23]

It's the reading the signs, and picking the time ahead, that would be the trick;

 Not un-doable, though, if you pay close attention to current events, both local and global.

 The other trick, and it's an easy (although labor intensive) one, is to have that "destination" location pre-prepared, pre-stocked, pre-secured, and ready for your arrival....

Yes, absolutely. Any degree of civil collapse usually doesn't come with a neat timeline attached. But figuring that out is a thought experiment for another thread

[scarymike23]

It's the reading the signs, and picking the time ahead, that would be the trick;

 Not un-doable, though, if you pay close attention to current events, both local and global.

 The other trick, and it's an easy (although labor intensive) one, is to have that "destination" location pre-prepared, pre-stocked, pre-secured, and ready for your arrival....

Yep, if I didn't have to be in school out here I'd be closer to my survival community.  Rural setting, skilled friends, etc.  I'm just trying to figure out the best thing to do during this time.  Knowing when to go ahead of time IS the real trick.  In some respects the time has already come.

Work in bi-weekly or monthly "vacations" to visit your community as much as you can. You'll be more accustomed to the minor upheaval it involves, your routine will get polished, you'll be calmer when it happens, and when you leave ahead of an actual event the people where you are now will be more accustomed to you leaving & your absence will probably go unremarked upon.

[salif08]

It's the reading the signs, and picking the time ahead, that would be the trick;

 Not un-doable, though, if you pay close attention to current events, both local and global.

 The other trick, and it's an easy (although labor intensive) one, is to have that "destination" location pre-prepared, pre-stocked, pre-secured, and ready for your arrival....

Yep, if I didn't have to be in school out here I'd be closer to my survival community.  Rural setting, skilled friends, etc.  I'm just trying to figure out the best thing to do during this time.  Knowing when to go ahead of time IS the real trick.  In some respects the time has already come.

Work in bi-weekly or monthly "vacations" to visit your community as much as you can. You'll be more accustomed to the minor upheaval it involves, your routine will get polished, you'll be calmer when it happens, and when you leave ahead of an actual event the people where you are now will be more accustomed to you leaving & your absence will probably go unremarked upon.

Very good advice.  The destination is about 13 hours or so away.  So, biweekly or even monthly with school and baby is probably not possible on my budget.  But, your point is very good and I agree.  Not only is it where we have a community but we absolutely love it there (the land and the culture) and want to visit as much as possible anyway.  Hoping for time later this year.  That's why I originally posited a month ahead of time because I felt that we would need that much notice in order to safely make a journey that long.  Basically, we would need essentially normal conditions with the knowledge that it was time to go.  However, that could be right now for all I know...

[scarymike23]

It's the reading the signs, and picking the time ahead, that would be the trick;

 Not un-doable, though, if you pay close attention to current events, both local and global.

 The other trick, and it's an easy (although labor intensive) one, is to have that "destination" location pre-prepared, pre-stocked, pre-secured, and ready for your arrival....

Yep, if I didn't have to be in school out here I'd be closer to my survival community.  Rural setting, skilled friends, etc.  I'm just trying to figure out the best thing to do during this time.  Knowing when to go ahead of time IS the real trick.  In some respects the time has already come.

Work in bi-weekly or monthly "vacations" to visit your community as much as you can. You'll be more accustomed to the minor upheaval it involves, your routine will get polished, you'll be calmer when it happens, and when you leave ahead of an actual event the people where you are now will be more accustomed to you leaving & your absence will probably go unremarked upon.

Very good advice.  The destination is about 13 hours or so away.  So, biweekly or even monthly with school and baby is probably not possible on my budget.  But, your point is very good and I agree.  Not only is it where we have a community but we absolutely love it there (the land and the culture) and want to visit as much as possible anyway.  Hoping for time later this year.  That's why I originally posited a month ahead of time because I felt that we would need that much notice in order to safely make a journey that long.  Basically, we would need essentially normal conditions with the knowledge that it was time to go.  However, that could be right now for all I know...

Try taking a "back road" route next time. Make notes along the way - businesses, concentrations of populations, bridges (which might be out in a SHTF situation!), water ways, potentially troublesome or helpful communities, etc. Then do it again next trip but try another route and repeat the exercise.

It might be harder with a baby (as a father of two I understand that) but it'll be more scenic and more fruitful. Alternately the ability to stop & pull over at will without the noise, stink, and traffic danger to calm the baby, change a diaper, etc might be a welcome change. I've lost count of the number of times we've been locked in a car with a screaming baby because there was nowhere on the interstate or toll road to pull over

[salif08]

I've lost count of the number of times we've been locked in a car with a screaming baby because there was nowhere on the interstate or toll road to pull over

I hear that!

[Lafayettegregory]

When the time comes - I believe most people will have only hours to respond. The writing has been on the walls for over 10 years. Store shelves will be bare within hours also. By then the interstates will be impossible to travel. If anyone that plans to bug out does not have a place set up within 3 hours of home- You are screwed.   Back roads will be filled with lost folks within an hour of the interstates being blocked.
If you are 13 hours away you better be planning and have some triggers to move quickly.
When interest rates jump by 3 points or excedes 11% Gooooooooo,
When diesel fuel jumps by 1.25 hit the road.
When the military calls the navy home Gooooooooooo
When the 1st cav and their families are called to the base, runnnnnnn
When Civilian air traffic is stopped. Goooooooo
When you hear the President and most of Congress has traveled to Central Texas. It to late, If you are not where you need to be -- kiss yo arse good by!!!!

[wolfgang2000]

Right now we have major cities limiting or ending services like police responce and other "services" that were taken for granted.

As far as the interstate goes, I agree with Ranger, a big parking lot.  I've seen numerous times when New Orleans has been evacuated.  Their are use to doing it, with both sides of the interstate turned to out bound traffic.  It still took 8 hours to go from NO to Baton Rouge, normally a 40 to 50 min drive.

In the beginning the state hwy and county roads will be the way to go.  But that is not a given.  During Katrina several towns surrounding NO blocked even foot traffic.

You might want to look at the DeLorme atlas & Gazetteer for every state you will have to cross.  These books show even the smallest roads, that usually aren't of the state traffic maps, or road atlas. 

Bottom line you are going to have to keep vigilant on current conditions.  The first out will be the winners.  One last point, FUEL!!!  On all the evacuations listed ALL the gas stations ran out of fuel very quickly.  Vehicles running out of gas on the road is one of the causes of the back ups.  How much fuel does it take you to get to your location?  Is it possable for you to carry that much fuel with you?  At the very least you should keep at least 1 veh tank of fuel in reserve at all times.

[salif08]

When the time comes - I believe most people will have only hours to respond. The writing has been on the walls for over 10 years. Store shelves will be bare within hours also. By then the interstates will be impossible to travel. If anyone that plans to bug out does not have a place set up within 3 hours of home- You are screwed.   Back roads will be filled with lost folks within an hour of the interstates being blocked.
If you are 13 hours away you better be planning and have some triggers to move quickly.
When interest rates jump by 3 points or excedes 11% Gooooooooo,
When diesel fuel jumps by 1.25 hit the road.
When the military calls the navy home Gooooooooooo
When the 1st cav and their families are called to the base, runnnnnnn
When Civilian air traffic is stopped. Goooooooo
When you hear the President and most of Congress has traveled to Central Texas. It to late, If you are not where you need to be -- kiss yo arse good by!!!!

I read you loud and clear.  Ironically, my family and many capable friends are located in Central TX...

[battousai]

When you hear the President and most of Congress has traveled to Central Texas. It to late, If you are not where you need to be -- kiss yo arse good by!!!!

why do you say Central Texas? just wondering.

[Lafayettegregory]

When you hear the President and most of Congress has traveled to Central Texas. It to late, If you are not where you need to be -- kiss yo arse good by!!!!

why do you say Central Texas? just wondering.

Thats the new place where our Gov will be located. 

[TheShootist62]

I am happy I live where I do 15 minutes and I'm in the hills. from there I can take many different roads,trails, or stay off all of them and go cross country.
Take a detour to stop by family,s place to see whats up with them without anyone seeing me. My only problem would be whether or not the wife would come or go to her folks. Plenty of game to eat, getting late start on ammo supply and freeze dried foods. So that would mean living off the land more.
Need to educate myself on plants more.

[Sgt_Pork]

The Interstates will be parking lots; impassible by anything other than foot or possibly bicycle traffic.....

Tens of thousands of people, in a fenced, linear corral, panic driven, gridlocked, and essentially trapped.

 Not someplace you would want to be ......

 If you're going to go the Interstate route , you need to get out AHEAD (by weeks) of any upheaval; once a panic begins, the Intestate is no longer viable, and even the back roads will have their hazards....

That line about a liner corral reminds me of how the Finns would ambush and bottle up the front and back ends of invading Soviet columns in the Winter War, then for step two they would start carving the stalled column into smaller bite sized segments to exterminate...

[Rocketvapor]

Don't bug out too early

So you're listening to the Rush show on the radio and decide it's time to go.  Things are looking grim, but infrastructure hasn't collapsed yet.  You want to get a head start.  You pack up your bugout gear, which is likely all camo, or desert tan into your vehicle, toss in the wife and kids and head out.  The interstates are still clear and you are making good time, and your vehicle dies.  You're out in the middle of nowhere and it dies.  Do you stike out for help and leave the family in the broken down car? With S about to Hit The Fan? Or do you load up as much of that camo stuff, some ammo and weapons and strike out on foot?   The only thing going through your mind is making it to your BOL. 
Then you see blue flashing lights pull up behind you.  The man is asking you over his PA "where you heading, boy?".
and you say " - - - - - - - - "

Your gear goes one place, you go another.  For evaluation

[Bruce W Sims]

I was also wondering - since someone mentioned Railroad tracks - how viable it might be to follow
right-of-ways for High Power lines. In our suburban area north of Chicago there are a host of
such "pathways". Certainly they are not all completely clear, but may provide a reasonable
egress out of congested areas as compared to roads or highways. I can even imagine the possibility
of using a light-weight motorbike or even a jeep if circumstances allow. Thoughts?

BTW: It would probably be worth it to recon in advance to find out where a given powerline
comes out in the boonies, yes?

Best Wishes,

Bruce