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Report on a Bug Out Practice Run



My brother-in-law recently purchased a foreclosed fixer-upper home out

of state (about 400 miles from my home). He closed a few weeks ago and

I was planning a trip out of state for a business meeting in that

direction. I decided to spend a weekend there to evaluate my bug-out

bag (BOB) and plans before heading out for my business trip that

Monday.



He was OK with me being there for a few days and thought I was just

being cheap. I knew the address and had him mail me the key, also that

the utilities were probably off and that the house "needs some work",

but that is all I knew about the house. I chose to do this test alone

to spare family the hardship of my oversight. I thought this would be

a decent way to check my bug out preparedness. It turned to to be a

great learning tool (I am sharing so others can try this method or

learn from my mistakes).



3 Rules Imposed on Myself:

1. No advance planning for this (didn't review BOB contents and "stack

the deck").

2. Stay at the house and don't seek outside help for resources

(food/water/info) unless dire emergency.

3. Learn something from the experience and take notes.



Instead of my usual review of maps and directions, I chose to rely

only on maps I had in my car. I threw my BOB*, seasonal clothes

emergency bag (2 days of work clothes for me), tent, cell phone,

sleeping bag, hiking boots, plus 3L of water and (as well as my

business attire and files) in the car and hit the road. I could not

simulate the chaos of fleeing or lack of resources, but after getting

in the car, I ate only the food I had with me until Sunday morning

when I resumed "normal" life and drove the rest of the way to the

hotel for my business meeting.



I left Friday after lunch and arrived around 9PM. It is a nice

middle-class neighborhood with only a some houses for sale (how many

foreclosures???). I chose to park around the block from the house to

test my OPSEC. I want to be very clear that I had permission to stay

at this house. I did not break in and I was not squatting. I schlepped

my stuff to the house in 2 trips and went in the front door. The house

was VERY musty and dusty. Obviously not occupied for a long time

before he purchased it. I discovered the house had sat for a while

with no furniture or anything but painted walls and dust. No

electricity and no water. I donned my small AAA headlamp and had a

look around. Toilets were dry and smelly. I poured water into the

bowls to fill the traps and opened some windows to change the air.



Then took my stuff to the least dirty, best breeze, carpeted upstairs

bedroom to unpack. I hadn't been in the house more than 15-20 minutes

when a neighbor showed up knocking on the front door (with her large,

leashed dog). She was friendly but guarded and her husband was across

the street in the front door: "Hi. Who are you and what are you doing

in [former owner's] house." Thank God I was dressed normally and not

commando-style. I gave her my name, explained that my brother-in-law

owned the home, and that I was staying over the weekend to evaluate

the house and help him do some work. I had the presence of mind to

show her the house key and invite her in. She was clearly not coming

in, and kept petting her dog. She wanted to know my brother in law's

name and contact info. I cheerfully provided his info. She seemed to

relax some, but looking at the street and driveway asked where my car

was. I explained that it was parked around the block and that I'd be

moving it soon. This bothered her and she said "That's odd. Why would

you park there at night?" I told her it was a long drive, and I needed

to stretch my legs while I looked for the address. She clearly didn't

believe me. (Good for her!) I promised to move my car as soon as I had

a chance to unpack and get a bite to eat. She was guarded again and

told me she'd be watching [former owner's] house as she turned to go.

I reminded her it was now owned by my brother in law. She just kept

walking to her house. Her porch and street light remained on during my

entire stay. Lesson 1-- people will notice different activity at

houses in the neighborhood. I should have parked in the driveway and

been more obvious that I was there. I am not trained in stealth and a

concerned neighbor will clearly see lights in the windows of a

typically dark house as out of place. So much for laying low...



I was down to a little less than 1L of water and I was very thirsty.

The house was hot and musty. I chose to move my car and look around

for some water in the neighborhood. I took the most direct route to my

car, but drive around the block coming back. Bingo! Storm water

detention pond. I waved to another couple walking past the house as I

pulled in and parked in front of the garage. I left my business stuff

in the car and went back inside. Either the smell and heat were

dissipating, or I was getting used to the environment. I was hungry,

so I ate some peanut butter on triscuits with raisins and drank

water. It was too hot to boil water to make a "real" meal. I needed to

get some water, but it would look very odd carrying a water cube back

to the house at night full of water. After a bathroom break in back

yard bushes (sorry, not enough water to flush), I called home to tell

them I arrived safe and went to sleep.



The situation was very different in the morning. My morning walk

around revealed the house was unoccupied for a while. Lawn and

landscaping were in dire need of TLC. Everything was filthy in the

light of day and the source of the musty smell (wet basement) was

apparent. The house had some damage (holes in walls and doors),

possibly due to a careless move out, but was in pretty good shape. I

understood why he had bought it. Because the house cooled off during

the night, I warmed water to make coffee and oatmeal. After breakfast,

my water situation was more clear. I was now out of water and it was

forecast to be hot. I found nothing of use in the garage or basement

to help-- I was hoping for a box or bag. So, I decide to just walk

down and get some water at the pond. I could access it from the street

without trespassing in anyone's yard. It was a little before 7AM on

Saturday, so I thought I'd be fine. On the way I saw some joggers, but

didn't see anyone when I changed from boots into into flip-flops and

filled the water cube. Put muddy feet in socks and boots because

though I remembered the flip-flops I forgot about wet muddy feet

(stupid!). Walking a third of a mile with 40 pounds of water in a

slippery square plastic container is not easy. This is not something I

considered. I didn't have any encounters during my return walk, but

I'm pretty sure I looked strange. I should have driven or had a duffel

or bag for the water. Add to my list: a bag for the water cubes. Also,

I noticed that about 10% or more of the homes were for sale or

obviously empty. No outside maintenance and no curtains. The other

homes were neat, middle class homes, and it was very sad to see the

difference. We don't to have as many houses so close together where I

live, so we can't see the stark reality of the situation.



Brought the water to the sink and had a pause. Do I want to use this

to flush a toilet? That would probably require about a third of my

water... I had filled the traps, but I knew it was a matter of time

before I could not just slip into the bushes for quick relief. That

would mean another trek to the pond. I filtered 3 of the 5 gallons

into my clean water cube, refilled my water bottles, had a big drink,

and washed my dishes, changed socks and washed feet, then I put my

batteries in the charger on the sill. I looked around and asked myself

what I would do with the day. I could inventory the problems for my

brother and law, but without tools and supplies, I couldn't really do

anything to fix the problems in the house. I used the toilet (and the

rest of my non-filtered water) and drove to get another 5 gallons. No

problem this time, I was out of the car for no more than 2 minutes and

wearing flip-flops to drive is OK. On the way there and back I saw a

number of people doing yard work and decided to ask the neighbors to

borrow their mower to cut the lawn. Not an EOTWAWKI activity, but I

did say I was there to fix the place up. I took the cube upstairs and

noticed I had left my clean water cube dripping slowly on the bathroom

floor. AAARRRGG! Use dirty shirt to wipe up mess.



After wiping up, I went across the street and sheepishly introduced

myself to Peggy's husband, Bill. He was surprisingly friendly and

happy to oblige me. He mentioned that for a while they were cutting

the lawns of the "vacants" to keep up the neighborhood, but there are

now too many to keep up. He asked if I owned it now and my intentions

for the place. I explained that my brother-in-law bought it, and that

I was here to help for the weekend. I told him my brother in law wants

to fix it up and sell it. He wished us luck and gave me his mower and

hedge trimmer. I thanked him and went to work.



What did you do during your EOTWAWKI practice? I mowed a lawn, picked

up trash, and trimmed hedges. Not what I was expecting, but a great

use of my morning and early afternoon. I returned Bill's tools and

mower along with $5 for gas and went back for lunch. It was hot, but I

was hungry and I made freeze dried beef noodles & gravy and

broccoli/cauliflower with cheese sauce. A favorite from moose hunting.

After cleaning up I had a nap and though about this experience. If you

were really bugging out, why not be open and neighborly about your

situation if you're squatting in a home. Fix it up and help to bring

the situation back toward normal. This made sense to me, since the

economy is a crisis that people are reacting to. Not on the same scale

as I was preparing for, but maybe I could learn something here, too.

Food for thought.



When I woke up it was 4PM. I slept longer than I planned-- maybe

because the house is so quiet. I took a quick inventory of my stuff

and decided to filter the rest of my water and go for more. I was

using water MUCH faster than I had planned. But it was hot and I was

doing work and kept getting dirty. The house was so dusty. Also, I had

decided to stop peeing in the bushes out back because this wasn't

neighborly and was likely to get me in more trouble. That meant more

runs for water, but that was easier to explain. When I got back I

filtered water to fill my clean cube and water bottles and still had

enough to flush the toilet. I turned on the crank radio and caught the

end of a baseball game while I inventoried the problems I could see in

the house and expected supplies my brother in law would need. It was

cooling off nicely and looked like rain. I was in need of a bath, but

that was out of the question given my water supply. A wipe down would

have to suffice. I filled the bathroom sink with the rest of my not

potable water cube and went for another 5 gallons. When I got back I

used nearly 1 gallon of water to clean myself up and I used the water

in the sink to wash my shirt and socks because I was out of these (my

kit has clothes for 2 days). It was during my "bath" that I realized

my summer emergency kit should include sunscreen and a hat (ouch). I

thought bug spray would be a good idea, too (though this was not a

problem for me). I called home and had peanut butter on triscuits

(finished the box too soon!) and raisins and a cup of tea then went to

sleep listening to the radio.



On Saturday I used a little more than 7 gallons of water (including

what I had spilled) for all uses: food prep, drinking, cleaning

(hands/body/clothes), and toilet flushing. Hand sanitizer does nothing

for you when your hands are gritty from dusty house or yard work. Yes,

you have killed 99.9% of pathogens, but if your hands are gritty your

crackers taste bad. You need water to wash off the dirt. Lesson:

fetching and especially carrying water is HARD. I used way more than

the 3 gallons per day I expected. I am lucky water was close by and

that I had a car to be able to fetch it. I need to think about this

problem.



On Sunday morning it hadn't rained but it was cooler. I went for water

first thing, and made coffee and oatmeal with raisins. I started

packing my stuff because I had to leave by 4PM to finish my travel to

the hotel for my meeting. I decided to clean up in side the house a

bit, too (leave it better than you found it, etc.). I fetched some

rags from my car and used clean water to dust the horizontal surfaces.

A bucket, even a small one, would have been really nice to have

(NOTE!). When I finished I decided to do the windows, too. Yes I

should have done these in reverse, but I didn't. After finishing up,

the house looked MUCH better. I celebrated with an early lunch of

spaghetti and marinara with apple blueberry cobbler for dessert. I

washed up all dishes and put away my food, cooking, and prep stuff

because this was my last meal in the house. While cleaning the dishes,

I reflected that wouldn't have changed much meal wise. I ate more than

I expected, but I did more work, too. I should have brought a book to

read. Without a book, I got my business file out of the car and read a

bit to prepare for my meeting. I left on time at 4PM.



I didn't see Bill or Peggy when I left, but I hope they were OK with

my visit. The house looked better than it had when I entered and I had

learned a lot!



I am not mentioning any self-protection weapons because I didn't need

these for my trip.In the event of a real event, these would be on my

person.



*Bug-Out Bag Contents I brought with me (items with # were not used,

below the list are my new items to add)

Freeze dried food (mix of about 3 meals for 3 people of miscellaneous

stuff that I rotate through my camping/hunting kit)

1 plastic jar peanut butter

1 box raisins

1 box triscuit crackers

3 cans sardines#

12 packs instant coffee

12 bags black tea

6 packs instant oatmeal

Salt and pepper

1 box baking soda

250 mL bottle of Palmolive

1 Coleman propane 2-burner stove

1 box strike anywhere matches

1 mini-green bottle of propane

Aluminum cookpot with lid

1 metal mess kit (metal cup, blow/plate, spork and knife)

500 mL Doc Bonner's Peppermint Soap

1 hemp washcloth

1 large pack towel

1 L Nalgene water bottle

150 feet paracord

72 piece first aid kit #

1 large zip-loc bag of dryer lint (fire starting) #

4 rolls TP

1 250mL bottle hand sanitizer

12 small trash bags & twist-ties

12 large trash bags & twist-ties

1 bandanna

2 pr deerskin work gloves

1 pr flip-flops

1 small, inflatable sleeping pad

1 folding shovel #

1 Crank/solar radio & flashlight

1 Toothbrush

6 corks #

1 shake flashlight#

1 AAA headlamp

1 AAA solar battery charger

1 Stanley crowbar demolition tool #

1 Leatherman (original) multi-tool

1 Kershaw folding knife

1 Fiskars hand axe #

1 hiking water filter

1 bottle iodine tablets for water purification #

1 19L collapsible water cube (for NOT potable water)

1 19L collapsible water cube (for potable water)

1 roll duct tape #

1 small daypack #

All held in a LL Bean Duffel Bag (~140 L volume)-- except tent# and

sleeping bag.



Stuff I will add to my BOB or change:

1 Duffel to carry water cubes

hat

sunscreen & bug spray

1 small bucket or tub

Rags

Book

3 days of clothes in emergency seasonal clothes bag

More triscuits

More than 3 L of water to start!
END