Getting to suburbia My car contents

I live about 35 miles outside of Charlotte NC. I am being pretty specific due to this being a big small city. It's not like I am working in NYC. Problem here is that mas transit is horrible. The dowton hub only has work start and end transit to the outside smaller towns. The rail is nice but only runs between two points.

This leaves a lot of people driving. Two main interstates funnels most of the traffic. NASCAR race week or major accident on either will take a 45 min commute to almost 2 hours.

I keep the following in my vehicles at all time

Messenger style get home bag

Contains a days worth of food
A few methods to start fire
Sterno style Cooker
Knife
Basic medical supplies
Maps
Handheld cb radio
Two way radio
Emergency sleeping bag (sleeping blanket style)
Also put in a 100% wool blanket in winter
3l platypus hydration bladder
Flashlights
katadyn water bottle with integrated filter
Large poncho

That's the main contents in the ghb but not a fully itemized one. I also have a gym bag in the car during the week. It's contents would be a lot more comfortable than my business casual dress requirement if I had to strike out on foot. I always keep about 2 gallons of water in vehicles as well. Keep a little cash also.

I can make the hike in one day if I was able to hike the side roads. Figure I wouldn't be happy but could make it on my contents for about 3 days. Would need to fill up the water after one.

I know the area really well and have determined 6 routes to get home depending on the problem. worse case would put me out on a 45 mile hike that kept to the railroad routes or an even worse cutting through large industrial complexes that are spread between work and home with a lot of tree coverage.

Goal with clothes is not to look like I have valuables on me but not to look like a bum. Almost forgot to put in the binoculars. Any others living around small big cities with horrible mass transit and routes out of the city?

A few thoughts.

How about eliminate the cooker and just have food that doesn't require heating? Any weight savings will let you move faster.

Regardless of gym day or not, a change of clothes and shoes that you can walk 45+ miles in?

And a few other items I could think of for a (relatively) short distance GHB...

Hand crank emergency radio with flashlight.
Multifunction tool. (in addition to or instead of the knife)
Pry/Crow bar. Useful for defense and for getting into/through as necessary. (personally I feel the extra weight is worth it, YMMV)
Pad of paper and pen/pencil/crayon.
The good old standby paracord
Hand sanitizer (might have as part of your first aid kit)
Zip ties and/or duct tape
Toilet Paper

CulexPipiens wrote:A few thoughts.

How about eliminate the cooker and just have food that doesn't require heating? Any weight savings will let you move faster.

Regardless of gym day or not, a change of clothes and shoes that you can walk 45+ miles in?

And a few other items I could think of for a (relatively) short distance GHB...

Hand crank emergency radio with flashlight.
Multifunction tool. (in addition to or instead of the knife)
Pry/Crow bar. Useful for defense and for getting into/through as necessary. (personally I feel the extra weight is worth it, YMMV)
Pad of paper and pen/pencil/crayon.
The good old standby paracord
Hand sanitizer (might have as part of your first aid kit)
Zip ties and/or duct tape
Toilet Paper

Yup, got all the above except the radio and pry bar. Was thinking about adding one of the smaller flat ones. I do have a knife with me at all times and also keep a smaller machete in the car (spend to much time in the woods) that would be coming with me if it was bad.

I think that starting with the car is a great way to go. That way it covers you at all times at home and at work. I am still in the process of putting my Get Home Bags together (doing one for each of our cars). One of the things I have decided to do was to do a standardized inventory for each. I love checklists for things anyway. Included in my checklist is a winter supplement and a summer supplement in a seperate gear bag so that they can be easily swapped out as the seasons change.

Cheers,
Bob

My GHB kit.

In the back of my car there is a hidden compartment above the spare but below the level of the back area. It is just large enough to hold 2 rubbermaid containers which are about 18" x 12" x 6" each. (it took weeks to find just the right sized containers to maximize this space) Between the containers is a bit more room. My GHB resides in both of these containers with a prybar and bottles of water taking up the remaining space between the containers. We occassionally have problems with mice getting in the cars so keeping any chewable stuff (clothes, backpack) and food sealed away is important.

My kit (from memory and I'm sure I'm missing a few items) has:

a rolled up backpack
short/pants (pants with legs that unzip to make them shorts)
long sleeve tshirt
socks
underware
wind up emergency radio/flashlight
GPS
Pencils
Crayons
Pad of paper
Duct tape
zip ties
Rubber bands
roll of TP
compass
SAS survival book
flashlight
laser pointer
spare batteries
enough cliff bars for 3 days of caloric intake
strike anywhere matches
water purifying crystals
lighters
multi-tool
water
prybar
$250 in cash, approx $20 in 1s, $20 in 5's 3 - $10's and the rest in $20's.

and a medical kit which contains:
battle dressing
assorted band aids
assorted bandages (3"x4" pads)
steri strips
bandage tape
bottle of wound cleaning solution
roll up splint
ACE wrap
tagaderm patches
chapped lip balm
assorted pain pills (excederin, tylenol, etc.)

I have about a dozen more items I'm still acquiring to add to the above kit and over time I'm sure it will change, but that's all part of adapting to changing conditions.

Most of my commuting is in suburban environments although there are many small forested areas I could cut through to avoid people if there were, for example, rioting or something. Assuming my state ever allows for concealed carry then I would also add a firearm to this list.

May I make two small suggestions to add to your list.

My first is about four heavy leaf and lawn black trash bags. (Lots of potential uses)

My second is that I also pack along (empty) one of these drawstring type backpacks. They weigh almost nothing and are a fast reliable container for things that are gathered along the way.

Cheers,
Bob

Although I live in a city of around 80,000 people, I only work about 1.5 miles from home. So, I could easily walk it. However, I am accumulating items to keep in the car just in case. I have written some about it. I really enjoyed reading the lists that you all contributed to this thread. I'm sure that many will find them helpful. I did!

Bob M. wrote:May I make two small suggestions to add to your list.

My first is about four heavy leaf and lawn black trash bags. (Lots of potential uses)

My second is that I also pack along (empty) one of these drawstring type backpacks. They weigh almost nothing and are a fast reliable container for things that are gathered along the way.

Cheers,
Bob

Actually, I do have a roll of trash bags in my car, just not in my kit. I would just have to remember to grab them. The extra bag is a reasonable idea although my pack is only about half full even with everything loaded in it. I don't anticipate much gathering as my focus is getting home as quick as possible. Worst case it would probably take me three days although depending on the situation and conditions out there it could also be done in 1 long day if I pushed (and weren't hiding out or needing to avoid mobs, etc.).

Thank you all for the good ideas in this area. I was planning early next year to buy a "commuter" car so that I could drive each day to work rather than take the train (which is very convenient). Unfortunately, I recently received a semi-voluntary transfer to work in Seattle. It is not practical to drive each day to Seattle from where I live and public transportation is so much cheaper and convenient. However, I am quite worried about getting home if there is an emergency. I have some back problems so also cannot carry a whole lot in the backpack that I bring to work each day. It would be nice to have a real basic list of emergency items to get through for a couple of days. I have not fully adjusted to working in my new location. We did have a big earth quake about 10 years ago here in the Puget Sound area. I was driving to work and back at that time so it only took me an hour or so to get home after the earthquake hit and knocked out all of the electricity in the area and my office closed.

I don't really like working so far from home but cannot afford to retire yet and really need the income I derive from my wages.

I guess what I would be looking for is a very minimalistic list of survival necessities. A lightweight bug-out bag I guess is what I need. I understand the need for water, food and warm clothes. I also cannot include weapons such as knives and guns because of security issues at work. In the long run, I may have to decide that I need to drive to work to increase the chances that I can get home to family.

Now, if things will just hold together for 4 more years, I should be retired and at home most of the time.

Thanks for any comments and any (minimalistic) list for my backpack.

DStephan

DStephan... how about.... (just thinking off the top of my head here)...

Do you have a locker at work? Or at least a drawer on your desk you can lock? Perhaps a bus station or gym or some other facility where you can get a locker on a more or less permanent basis? If so, then you could keep a pretty decent stash of stuff (see below) in there and just have a lightly packed bag with you. In the even something happens at work get your stuff out of your desk/locker or run across the street to the gym locker or...

I think you get the idea. Just look for somewhere that you can pre-position most of your supplies. This way you aren't restricted to having to lug them around every day. I'd still have at least some useful stuff in your bag in case something happens along the commute.

Since it sounds like a long distance, where is the newest store that sells bicycles? Do you have enough cash put aside that perhaps if SHTF you could run in and buy one right on the spot? Don't assume credit cards will be working. Perhaps there is a sporting good store near your office where you could get a bike and a decent knife in an emergency? It would make for much quicker transport home... although a bike might also make you a target by other stranded people.

Your desk/locker/etc. stash could include food (cliff bars and other ready to eat stuff), water bottles, a change or two of clothes - possibly changed with the seasons, good walking shoes, etc. This could easily be disguised as a gym/workout bag that you just leave in the corner of your office too. If you have your own office and can lock it up, would it be possibly to get one of those decorative looking daggers, put it on a little stand under a glass cover? Use it as a "decoration" in your office, yet in an emergency it would be readily available. Maybe read a book on Japanese samuri and leave it on your desk a few times for others to see it. Express your curiousity in learning more about that culture and then a month later introduce your new "decoration".

It all really depends on your situation at work and how far you want to extend your "cover" in an effort to pre-position your GHB supplies.

Boy, Culex! I never would have thought of doing those kinds of things, but, they sure make sense! Although they don't apply to me, I'm glad you brought them up because situations change all the time. I hope that DStephan and others can make some use of your post. Thank yous. Dario

Culex - Thank you for response. I apologize for taking so long in expressing my appreciation. As soon as they give me a home of my own (desk or cubicle), I plan to stage some appropriate supplies so that I don't have to carry them back and forth in my backpack all of the time. I will probably have the great concern about getting home as long as I work in Seattle. Unfortunately, I am about 4 years from being able to retire. It is possible that I will work that entire time in Seattle. I am looking forward to my gigantic government employee pension, referenced a few times on this forum, that I am expecting after 36 years or so of work.

Thanks again for the idea of stories emergency supplies in my area at my workplace.

DStephan

good info for sure!!!! i keep a G.O.O.D. gym bag in the cab of my truck to get me home. but i have a 270+ mile commute from LA to Vegas. through the worst desert area in the US. thus my plan to relocate to a better area. if things were to go wrong when i am in LA i have multiple routes back to Vegas via less traveled routes. i am prepping my truck to handle all types of terrain be it power line dirt roads to highways. but if i am bugging out of LA, my family should be on the way out of Vegas. so, i am planning a rally point to met the family. but getting there on foot would be harsh for sure.

i will be adding things to my bag because of the lists and ideas you nice people have posted. for that i am very grateful. thank you.