Sorry…this is long again. Spent a lot of time thinking:
Okay, if I’m REAL…. Bug Outs don’t wait for the bears to hibernate nor the SEVERE WINTER STORMS to go away. Truth Be Told…that’s exactly when our emergencies happen. Which is why I don’t want to merely say….oops! This isn’t a good day to test sleeping outside with contents of my BOB so I can’t do this challenge. The truth is, no day is fall/winter day will be safe for me anymore however:
I chose to theoretically run thru a couple of situations that could cause DH and I to be forced to sleep outside this cold night. I’ve honestly slept outside in the past, under ALL conditions …except “Marauding Green Aliens”….so I can theorize honestly. MGA = any hostiles
SITUATION ONE: The truck IS MY BOB. Situation that I can’t use house but can use vehicles tho not to drive such as: our roof caved-in from excessive snowfall, earthquake, fire, etc. Our vehicles are also shelter. We’ve slept in the back of the pickup while camping. Note: aluminum topper seems to draw in the cold! Winter-weight sleeping bags ‘live’ in the truck so we’d have those along with a bunch of other stuff. Snow here tonight would mean we’d be SAFE to start a warming fire outside to keep warm until curling up in the sleeping bags.
REALITY: Honestly, the last time we camped was in this exact weather….and I froze all night. In the back of covered truck…with DH….winter-weight bags. Toooo cold to sleep. Miserable! I was a decade younger then! I don’t figure that’s gotten any better.
IF we were staying on site but not in house, I’d have a better chance if we’d dig out the large, free-standing tent from the truck. Takes a while to set up, tho I’ve done it many times. THEN we would have room to safely use the Buddy Heater. Fuel canisters are in a special box outside, right next to the truck. We also have two cots, very low and small, but off the ground. Put down closed-cell foam winter mats before laying out the sleeping bag. Dog would have to be on duty cuz …..IT’S BEAR SEASON in the Rockies right now. Bears count as Marauding Green Aliens!
SITUATION TWO: Evac Without Vehicles. “Marauding Green Aliens” have us fleeing into the deeper woods.
REALITY: In our current autumn weather [let alone threatening Winter Storm], I could not stay warm enough in any SOL Mylar Ebag, tube tent, or even a nylon A-tent that I am capable of carrying in just a BOB. Even dry and out of wind….NOT warm enough at my age. Not even on our porch tonite.
REALITY: There is no way for me to CARRY our winter-capacity sleeping bag even by itself. However, might use our deep ice sled to drag [on snow or dry drag] or a horse carrying a pack. Either are options IF you weren’t hiding from those Marauding Green Aliens and had to use stealth. In that case, heavy snow falling would help.
REALITY: Best way for me not to freeze to death in fall/winter Bug Out would be to make a lean-to shelter frame and cover with lots of pine boughs. In our woods, these would be simple to make. In basic: lash a cross pole between two trees and 2 more poles go from cross pole to ground. Lean loads of pine branches on the poles and fill in the sides too for a triangular shelter. Shallow, open in front…facing the fire. Logs and Mylar sheet rigged behind fire to reflect heat. [don’t melt the mylar – it’s plastic] Pine boughs under you too. Trust me, a snow cave [with proper ventilation] is warm too, if snow conditions are right for that. Snow on top of the pine bough lean-to will be more insulation, but don’t melt the snow on top of you with that fire. Wake and feed fire all night.
I have folding saw and big knife in BOB but it’s easier for some wood to snap dead branches for firewood length. Lay one end of long branch so it’s propped up a foot or so on log/rock…and stamp down sharply. Less energy used but watch where the pieces fly up. [I need winter footwear in my BOB.]
Food: Because of BEAR potential all summer and double in Fall, no food is stored in the vehicles…except MREs. I think that packaging would thwart a bear’s nose…until you open it. Since my BOB lives in the truck, only food in there is 2 MREs. They are super heavy but I’ve seen with my own eyes what a bear did to my friends’ vehicle. One of the regional realities … like Corsaire’s coral snakes. [ Yikes…..I’ll take my bears!] Other food could be salvaged from my theoretically-collapsed house or energy bars from the GetHomeBag thrown over the railing as we fled the house. After that, we’re eating pine trees.
Bugging Out without vehicles ….we would try; what choice is there? Sit and die? But it’s always been pretty much a low survival options if we have Marauding Green Aliens.
OldMtWoman
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This reply was modified 8 months, 2 weeks ago by
OldMt Woman.