When we are young we wake everyday feeling refreshed and spring out of bed on strong limbs and with robust health. As we age the robust health dwindles, the once spry limbs that support us are weaker and stiffer in the morning and we rise slower.
We can never accurately predict when a catastrophic event may occur and we have to react to save our lives or the lives of family members and age can be a factor and perhaps a detriment.
Some of us are prepared for when the SHTF whether it be from devastation that is manmade or from Mother Nature.
Our chronology plays a big factor in how we are able to respond.
I’m writing this for those of us who are at or near retirement age of 55 plus.
In our youth we never considered a day may arrive when we would have to survive tragic events to merely live. As we age we see friends and relatives pass away with greater frequency and we think of our own mortality in earnest.
How will we cope with a global disaster that leaves us without power, fresh water and sewerage?
We plan to handle these events as our finances and health dictate and adjust measures to deal with latter years as our body’s age and maybe our physical abilities wane too.
Here are examples of methods to escape:
Motorhome – This is often a convenient method of transportation that can be fully equipped with everything you require to sustain yourself whether you chose to bugout away from a civilization or stay put and still have some facility of comfort that is self contained.
Motor homes especially a Class A have a tremendous storage capacity for all the accouterments’ you require to live such as stored food, water and dry and safe sleeping conditions. The fuel tanks allow you as much as 1,000 miles driving range to get yourself to a safe location away from possible danger.
Travel Trailer – Here to is a convenient and expeditious means of self contained housing. While not movable without being towed they can offer shelter, storage space for foods, water and gear should you need to escape. Often the tow vehicle with provide better fuel efficiency than a motorhome but with less capacity lessening your allowable driving distance to under 400 miles.
Van – A van can be a saving grace if you have to abandon a location quickly. Loading your food, water and gear and driving off into the sunset. The newer cargo and passenger vans are equipped with 30 plus gallon fuel tanks and increases your driving distances to over 600 miles. It offers a dry, roomy area to sleep, storage for your supplies and a means of escape without towing other vehicles.
Pickup Trucks – These are often equipped with a plus cab and a topper. The plus cab gives you extra dry storage capacity for food, water and gear and the topper can be a convenient place to sleep at night and can be comfortable if it’s properly equipped. Driving range is usually limited to less than 400 miles but is a quick and convenient method of escape.
Passenger Vehicles – As a last resort a passenger car can provide a means of escape and larger cars can be slept in with some discomfort and have a driving range under 350 miles due to smaller fuel capacities.
In an emergency situation you are forced to use what you have available whether large or small anything is better than walking.
Your age will also determine your ability to drive longer hours without fatigue, lesser physical ability and response time which you must take into consideration.
So plan to work within your physical range, pre-plan food storage in light easy to load crates, using a nutritional value scale in the foods you pack and water in 24-case bottles for ease of handling and to provide a measured amount of drinking water to satisfy your daily needs; normally a minimum of four – 16.9 ounce bottles a day.
You should plan on packing enough food and water to last for a minimum of 30-days or five – 24 bottle cases of water and at least 40 pounds of assorted foods that are easy to digest.
Canned Foods – Which we normally eat and are used to eating is always my first recommendation to provide you with sustenance. Then dry goods such as brown rice, beans and foods that are light weight that will require cooking is next.
Freeze Dried or Dehydrated Foods – The least favorite of mine is the freeze dried or dehydrated foods as they are light weight and easy to store but are not appetizing and tasty. These are also about $5.00 per meal and I recommend keeping only a week’s supply if they can be afforded.
Let’s face it getting old sucks but you cannot ignore your chronology.
