So let me get this straight. Please correct me if I am wrong. In the event of a disaster you are going to take a PISTOL and a knife to get out of the city with 2 weeks of food.
A) I hunt with a bow. Though I actually have more experience with "non-animal" food sources I can hunt just fine.
B) I did say the handgun won't be of much use, I do plan to get my own M4 (preferably) or similar rifle with which I am much more proficient with than a handgun anyways.
C) My "food" stash is for temporary emergencies. Think hurricane or tornado or blizzard, NOT end of the world.
Do you have enough gas to get far enough out of ALL cities to avoid people doing the exact same as you?
In an emergency you aren't getting ANYWHERE by car. Have you ever been in an area with an imminent disaster or post-disaster? Freeways are no man's land and you aren't driving anywhere. If you can't hoof it out you are doing something wrong. I regularly do 25-30 mile marches fully in the Shenandoah NP and 15-20 in the city for this reason. If you can't beat feet for 20+ miles at a quick clip daily you will have problems.
Then you are going to live off the land.
I've actually done this in several environments. Assuming I'm not surrounded by 1000 other people or all the wildlife is gone or dead I can do this.
Will you attempt to use your pistol to take game? I would be willing to bet that is a very slim option.
LOL. I hunt with my bow. I could hunt with an rifle but never have. 1) I consider it too easy. Doesn't mean it is but ammo does run out. 2) Why announce your kill for the hyenas???
Especially because game will probably get scarce from everyone else that didn't bother to prepare for a disaster but has the proper means to hunt/trap game.
This is true but there are several things to consider. I can get far in 2 weeks. Where I will be going won't be filled with people because MOST people will stay near home and/or in the city until they realize that's a mistake. Also, most people can't hunt. Many, if not most, country folk can but 90% of the population by me is urban.
Farming would be a long term option, but in the 1st few months you will be on your own. And that is just if you arrive where you want to be in the spring.
I agree. Though, if I were to be intent on farming I would first ensure that I was in a community of like minded individuals. I'm sure they'll exist post-apocalypse.
Fishing would be a more viable option. Without access to a suitable body of water (that will probably be overrun by people thinking the same as you) then you will be left with gathering things like fruits/nuts/berries or eating bugs/worms. I didn't see where you lived but in eastern kentucky fruits and berries aren't that common in the wild. In the late summer you can find blackberries but I don't know how long you could survive off of that. Hazel nuts and black walnuts are common but still I wouldn't want to live off of them and/or blackberries.
I'm sure many people will think like me but I doubt I'll see hordes of people roaming the forests. Most will stick to the city scavenging.
Especially with a family I think it would be hard to gather enough to last a through a winter.
No family. So this won't be an issue. As far as family goes.
Then you have to think about shelter. Are you just going to take someone's house or are you going to build you a shelter on someone's property? Abandoned houses aren't too common but most that are aren't fit to be lived in. So, if you manage to make it here in a decent weather with enough time to get situated you will have to 1. Make/fix/acquire a shelter.
This, is of course, the biggest issue. Forget the idea about a house. A shelter doesn't need to be a house. It simply needs to block wind/keep out rain/snow and provide space for ample fire. I have ample multi-weather clothing that suits various temperature extremes.
Find/hunt/grow food. Defend what you have. Stay healthy. Gather a form of heat for the winter and store food.
It's not just berries and nuts. There is a lot of food sources out there. Granted there may be competition but assuming people will act like people at the beginning there will be distance between me and them.
My suggestion. ALWAYS prepare to shelter in place, because you don't know if you can get out.
Nothing is defensible. You suggest staying in an indefensible condo surrounded by millions of people that most likely haven't planned and hope to weather it out??? Not a chance.
You don't know what is out where you think you are going.
I'm pretty sure what isn't going to be out there. The millions of city people currently surrounding me. Personally I'll take my chances in the woods with fewer people that, while possibly more dangerous are not likely to be in "panic" mode as opposed to being at the mercy of hordes of gangs raping and pillaging Hurricane Katrina style.
You don't know if you get get there.
I've hiked the AT and the PCT. Both continuous, not sectional. If I am not hurt I can get to where I want to go, regardless of the weather. If I am seriously injured I've got bigger problems and will be at the mercy of the community. Can't get around that.
You don't know how the weather will be.
Well, all of my cold weather survival, which culminated in spending an entire January solo (granted with a sat phone), in the Rocky Mountains. I'm sure I can handle what Virginia has to offer. As I'll be moving south and west I'm sure I can handle it.
You don't know if you will have enough time to prepare for winter. I am not saying you have to shelter in place, that will be a judgement call. But always prepare for it.
From what I have, I could maybe tack on another week of stuff and stay mobile. From what I saw in Katrina, having been and lived in Mexico, and pretty much everything else I've seen, mobility is key. You don't make a stand with your back to the wall. You gotta be able to move and move quickly. Personally, I believe it's better if you don't stop moving.
Granted, I am alone and having a family would change everything. I'm no stranger to being outside.
I'm not a weekend warrior. I've already lived outside for extended periods of time(READ: longer than a month solo) at all times of the year in many places from the Rockies to the desert (well American desert lol).
I'm not saying I'm "trained" in outdoor survival and combat. I'm not even saying I "learned" it. I mean I have done those two things but more importantly, I've done them...
Trust me. You'd much rather be "surviving" and "fighting" in the woods than in a city.
But, as everyone knows, plans go straight to hell as soon as the first shot is fired.
