Snowstorm Lessons in Bugging Out

[jimwsea]

Traffic is one of the main reasons I left Portland!

Traffic is one of the main reasons I left Seattle!

 

[isher]

Here's something I posted on another thread,

In response to a similar question:

Well, slightly different tack here,

Because I have already Bugged In. However,

As a simple example or three, I live in a remote part

Of the Pacific NW, and do some traveling, which can include

Highways washing out, landslides, VLT's (very large trees)

Falling across the exact road you need to drive down,

Etc., etc..

So here's what is in the bed box of my pickup,

And yeah it is an oversized one - took me a while to find it.

25' towing strap.

Shorthandled shovel and Pulaski,

And a very well designed machete called a "Woodsman's Pal".

Little 18" Husquavarna chainsaw, with the accouterments.

10 gallons water.

Couple cases energy bars.

An old gym bag containing a couple changes of clothes.

The real reason for the gym bag is I fish the rivers when I can,

And if you fall in, hypothermia is about 90 seconds behind.

Then there is the backpack, middle large Gregory G-Pack.

Internal frame, waistbelt.

Inside of that puppy is:

Three season down bag, bivouac sack and space blanket.

Two weeks energy bars.

Two weeks Emergen-C packets.

Tea.

Handheld MSR hand pumped water filter with factory bottle

And spare bottle.

550 paracord.

Medium firstaid kit.

Waterproof matches.

Magnesium firestarter.

Bowdrill with tinder.

Esbit Cubes

Signal mirror and signal whistle.

Lensatic compass.

Area maps.

Two cheapo pencil LED flashlights.

LED headlamp.

Spare socks, baclava, polartec vest,

3/4 length Northface Parka.

Waterproof gaiters.

Toilet paper, soap.

And some other bits and pieces.

Obviously, I carry a decent sized folding knife,

More matches, "testicles, spectacles, wallet and watch"

And a Leatherman on me, plus good boots.

The pack weighs in at just over 33 pounds loaded.

So if I'm totally screwed and have to abandon the truck,

I can hike for a couple weeks before things really get thin.

Now, two things in particular may strike you as odd:

I don't include a tent or a stove and fuel.

The bivouac sack, space blanket combo works great for running light.

You can do just fine without a stove, and fuel is killer heavy.

In the old days, we called it a "cold camp."

just my .02


Additionally, I keep the truck topped up with fuel at all times,

Which gives me 500 miles with a 100 mile reserve.

isher

 

[Redrum]

the snow/traffic deal from the other day also points out the stupidity of design of almost all the "green" vehicles...when your cars designed for one thing (fuel milage). it sucks on anything or in any situation but dry pavement.

 

[cameronhu]

Unionguy-

Instead of looking at 'bugging out' last night, try and put the spin of you were trying to 'bug in' and you were just trying to get home to do so. 30 miles from your 'bug in' location and took you 5 hours? The average walking speed of a healthy human male is about 4 mph on flat even terrain with out inclement weather. I can't asses your physical condition over the net so you need to be honest with yourself, how long would it take you to walk home last night and did you have the proper gear for it?

My $.02 spin on it.

SF-

Funny - That's what I ended up doing. I usually carry gloves, hat, change of clothes & backpack w/ other goodies in my car. After a few attempts to get into town, and seeing the mess of traffic, I ended parked a couple miles away from my house, and walked home. It was actually a pretty refreshing walk...

 

[trainsktg]

Duct tape and superglue would also be good things to store in a bag. From personal experience (don't ask ), duct tape and toilet paper make an awesome field dressing, even if it gets wet, and, for the squeamish, superglue can be used instead of a suture kit, plus it disinfects.

Keith

 

[soberups]

One of the things that amazes me is how many drivers out there dont have a set of tire chains in their vehicle.

This is NW Oregon. It snows here in the winter. Not all the time, but enough to where it can be a problem.

The first thing I do when I buy a new vehicle is I go to Les Schwab and buy a set of chains for it, even if its the middle of summer. They live in the trunk, right next to the spare tire, and I never take them out. They are part of the car, just like the jack or the spare or the owners manual.

My drive home on 99w was about 2 hrs but it could have been a lot longer; I had a couple of idiots ahead of me in 2wd pickups with no chains or weight in the back that got sideways and had the whole road blocked. My FWD minivan with NEW tires and GOOD chains was able to squeeze by them on the shoulder and get me home. And I was prepped in other ways too; I had a winter coat, some bottled water, a few granola bars and a loaded 9mm with extra mags just in case I had to walk home.

There were some pretty bad accidents and the ambulances and fire trucks had a hard time reaching the injured people because of the IDIOTS who abandoned their vehicles on the shoulder and walked away. As far as I'm concerned, if you are stupid enough to try and drive without chains and you abandon your rig, the emergency vehicles should just ram it and shove it off the road and into the ditch.

 

[Murphy]

I used to. Haven't at all since we moved out here to the coast six years ago. Now I just climb trees. I was always a duffer anyway... climbed several Nick Dodge death tours, alpenjager chimney, off the beaten path junk, barely ever anything over 5.10. I put up a few new routes here and there, and of course wandered around Smith Rock, beacon, all the regulars. I can't imagine what Smith must look like now... y'know, I found an original summit register at the base of the Poplar out at Smith? Kept that as a souvenier and put a new one on top... In PDX I mostly climbed with Matt Canham, Don Gonthier, Danny Wright, a handful of guys that haved moved on or moved away.
I sold the rack and bought a surboard... I'd go climbing again if we moved east for sure.

Reading your post brings back some good memories. I climbed with Matt and Don in the early to mid 90's. Its sad to hear that Don and Danny have passed on. The climbinb class at CCC was a riot.

 

[speelyei]

Yeah, they were good guys. I still talk to Matt pretty often. Matt, Don, and I had a "guide service" together for a while. I dropped in on their CCC classes a couple times, it was a lot different than the classes I was teaching over at MHCC. I often wonder how many of those people who took those classes are still climbing?

 

[Tom]

A couple of things I have made a habit of is to drive new routes when I have the time. Since snow snarls I-5, I have tried several routes to go around the accidents when they occur. While it may not be the most detailed map available, I keep a state atlas (delorme, I think) in my vehicle and highlight acceptable routes, with notations in the margin. Someone else mentioned a chainsaw. Wind frequently knocks trees down on our one route to town, and the Husky is considered essential in the pickup, along with a length of 3/8" cable wrapped on a plastic spool designed for extension cords to remove sections of trees from the road after cutting them. We have only one route to town, if you respect property rights, but just in case, a pair of bolt cutters resides in the box, and it would be used to cut the chain on the timber co. gates if need be. I don't do this as a matter of course, but it still lives there, in case of need. A spare padlock is good to have, as I don't like to leave a locked gate open.

We have a 4wd p/u, and carry three sets of chains. This may seem a bit like overkill, but in deep snow, I find it advantageous to put crossbar chains on the rear axle and diamond pattern chains on the steer axle. The third set is backup when you don't want to repair a damaged chain right away. I have had times when all four wheels chained up was barely enough.

A shovel, high-lift jack, and rain gear are also packed in the tool box, as the jack can help get you back on the road (either with the cable, or just to lever the vehicle back a few inches) the shovel and rain gear should be self-explanatory.

Also, teach the wife how to use a saw, in case she finds herself stuck by falling timber. In my case, she is a more experienced hand than I, so she has taught me a few things.

While I live on the west side of the Cascades and only 1000 ft up, last Christmas when we returned from Canada, we had 30" of wet snow on our road. All our neighbors were snowed in, and the last 1/2 mile had not been touched. it was a three hour job to get home, and our neighbors were glad to see us, as we opened up the road for them. They were all ok, as everyone on our ridge keeps plenty of provisions on hand, but they were stuck with what they had on hand until we got home.

Don't forget at least one change of clothes, as work can get much more difficult, if not dangerous, in wet clothes.

Also, the standard advisories such as extra food, water, etc. apply. If you have to work hard, it is amazing how quickly you can get tired without enough food and water. When I get hungry, I get cold very fast.

 

[Riot]

The roads are the bottle necks of the community...within the first few weeks I wont be bugging out anywhere, I will be consollidating my resources with other "members". After a few weeks of planning and preparing, THEN will we bug out.

 

[isher]

Trains, Tom -

Good points as to duct tape, superglue, chains

And a highlift.

That stuff lives in the rig year round, didn't

Even think of it.

Word of caution to all about older highlift jacks

- Don't know if it is true of the newer -

When lowering, if you let go somehow, they go

Into uncontrolled violent cycling.

A friend of mine got a broken jaw and

A considerable partial denture from that.

Same jack lives in my truck today.

He didn't want it anymore.

Final addition: X-TREME TAPE

See link here: http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...spx?feature=P7906-C66388-L2&processor=content


isher

 

[speelyei]

every forum...

has a guy...

or maybe more than one...

but at least one...

a poster who usually has good things to say...

who posts in this format.

In this forum,

it's Isher.

 

[trainsktg]

every forum...

has a guy...

or maybe more than one...

but at least one...

a poster who usually has good things to say...

who posts in this format.

In this forum,

it's Isher.

I was looking for the rhyme and meter myself...couldn't find it though .
Still if the intent was to re-read the content of the post several times, then Isher was successful .

Keith

 

[isher]

Neither rhyme nor reason........

Somebody just has to be the synecdochical

Questing Beast and or Sacrificial Lamb

On any given board.

Ne Problema.

Once you get out of the tyranny of

Rhyme and meter,

And into free verse,

Life gets a whole lot better.

Luckily for me it happened at about age 5.

Add a 9 to that and you know how old I am.

Who else here owns a worn but pristine

Winchester 67a, from his Grandfather's hands?


isher

 

[Gunner3456]

Someone mentioned buying chains as Les Schwab. CAREFUL.

Last year at this time we needed chains and bought them in Gresham from Les Schwab. Had their label on them. They installed them and I watched. Installation was correct. We started up the slick Columbia Gorge to The Dalles.

Just past Multnomah Falls, one broke off completely, denting the "fender" of the pickup pretty good, right behind the wheel well. About ten miles later the other did the same thing to the left side. Couldn't stop - no where was safe.

The box is clearly labeled "made in China." The steel is NO good.

Les Schwab wouldn't do more than replace the chains with more "made in China." They wouldn't fix my pickup. They wouldn't refund my money because I didn't have the chains to return!

That's the last time I've ever been in a Les Schwab.

And that's the first bad thing I've ever heard or experienced about Les Schwab, but it was certainly enough to keep me away forever.

 

[Gunner3456]

Someone mentioned buying chains at Les Schwab. CAREFUL.

Last year at this time we needed chains and bought them in Gresham from Les Schwab. Had their label on them. They installed them and I watched. Installation was correct. We started up the slick Columbia Gorge to The Dalles.

Just past Multnomah Falls, one broke off completely, denting the "fender" of the pickup pretty good, right behind the wheel well. About ten miles later the other did the same thing to the left side. Couldn't stop - no where was safe.

The box is clearly labeled "Made in China." The steel is NO good.

Les Schwab wouldn't fix my pickup. They wouldn't refund my money because I didn't have the chains to return!

That's the last time I've ever been in a Les Schwab.

And that's the first bad thing I've ever heard or experienced about Les Schwab, but it was certainly enough to keep me away forever.

Moral: Be sure your chains are made in the USA.

 

[Wheeler44]

Who else here owns a worn but pristine

Winchester 67a, from his Grandfather's hands?

My Grampa must have got a better deal on the Remington 514 (He was a very frugal farmer)..Then he splurged and put on the ivory front bead that it still wears...I remember buying .22 shorts for a quarter a box....He'd pay a dime a piece for muskrat from the irrigation canals....I made my spendin' money walkin' the canals with an inner tube over my shoulder and that .22 in my hand..

ON Topic;

I left Newberg at 4:00 pm headin' for milepost 21 on I-5 in WA..

Recent threads here at NWFA and other forums had me thinking of how many folks I'd have had to help, in order to get home that night if this were a "real" emergency.

I watched the passive and impatient...the adept and the clueless..

I listened to a radio talk show taking calls from folks out in the snow...

I phoned traveling family members and offered advice and encouragement, with a small helping of affirmation and prayer..

I came to the conclusion that in the event of a real emergency, I would have the opportunity to help more of my neighbors on this planet than I could shake a stick at...

I aim to change that.......

Wheeler44

 

[Wenis]

Les Schwab wouldn't fix my pickup. They wouldn't refund my money because I didn't have the chains to return!

That's the last time I've ever been in a Les Schwab.

And that's the first bad thing I've ever heard or experienced about Les Schwab, but it was certainly enough to keep me away forever.

Moral: Be sure your chains are made in the USA.

Les Schwab failed to fully tighten down the lug nuts on my driver's side front wheel and it just happen to come off as I was going 70mph across a bridge over the Columbia River. Smashed up the fender, ruined the wheel and the tire. I had it towed directly back to Les Schwab and they made it right (but boy was that manager pissed at his employee).

I also own Les Schwab chains which are miles better than the crap I've seen in Walmart.

 

[Gunner3456]

Les Schwab failed to fully tighten down the lug nuts on my driver's side front wheel and it just happen to come off as I was going 70mph across a bridge over the Columbia River. Smashed up the fender, ruined the wheel and the tire. I had it towed directly back to Les Schwab and they made it right (but boy was that manager pissed at his employee).

I also own Les Schwab chains which are miles better than the crap I've seen in Walmart.

I agree I've never heard bad about Les Schwab before and I traded there for years. But, they sold me some Chinese junk chains that broke within about 50 miles (on snow) and they wouldn't help me at all. And, they installed them. $700 damage to the pickup, loss of chains, and the potential danger involved. NOT going back, just for me.

I was mostly warning people to look and see where the chains are made and don't buy Chinese...

 

[Siglvr]

Thanks for the heads up on the chains.....

Yeah, they were good guys. I still talk to Matt pretty often. Matt, Don, and I had a "guide service" together for a while. I dropped in on their CCC classes a couple times, it was a lot different than the classes I was teaching over at MHCC. I often wonder how many of those people who took those classes are still climbing?

Whoh! Now 3 climbers onboard, not to hijack the thread too much, but Jeff Thomas would love to have that summit register for the museum. He says that he'd even love a photo copy if you still wanted to keep the original...I'll forward his phone number and email via PM. I had recently donated an old Dolt Piton to the Yosemite museum. I figured if I died suddenly via heart attack, it would become close to valueless to my loved ones and basically tossed or scrapped, and thought it should be preserved for everyone forever. It felt pretty good.



On the question above, you know, every time I run into someone who has taken that CCC class, they are much more competent than than average bear. My current main climbing partner (who met his wife in that class) was a "graduate". Did they stop the classes when Don passed away?