So You’re Gonna Bugout To Your “Retreat” Huh?

Most Preppers and Survivalists who have a “Vacation” property, whether it is a building or just a campsite, have it in an area they would like to be able to “Bugout” to during a bad situation. A lot of those types have stored additional supplies at that location for those bad times, and think the only issue they would have might be getting out of the city they live in, or maybe bad guys on the road.

While watching coverage of the many issues with different levels of Quarantine that have been implemented around the country and the world, I have noticed a disturbing trend that is taking hold in many locations. This is in regards to people that are not year round residents, but own property in other locations.

This trend has locals, whether Government or civilian, telling someone that actually owns property in their State or County (and pays the taxes on it) that they shouldn’t or can’t come to their property, and if they do get there, they are going to be restrictions on their movement.

While I understand some restriction on “Out of Staters”, to a point, my first question is, “Are the same restrictions being put on the locals?”. Below is a situation that happened on a an island off the coast of Maine.

“A man residing on Cripple Creek Road in Vinalhaven, an island off the coast of Maine, called authorities around 3:35 p.m. Friday to report a group of people with guns had cut down a large tree and dragged it in front of his driveway, blocking access to the main road.

The man said he left his house to check his property when he noticed the cable went out. The unidentified man said he retreated to his home and hailed the Coast Guard for help using a VHF radio after a neighbor began yelling at him to get indoors and remain quarantined.”

Well, I guess he at least made it to his property before the locals decided to take matters into their own hands, huh? There are other examples, like in Cherokee County NC, requiring “Part-timers” to bring enough supplies for a 14 day “self quarantine”. My second question is, Does the County require this of all it’s residents who are coming back into the State?”.

 WKRK· April 3· 

Here is a sample of the 4’x8’ signs with reflective letters that will be going up at Cherokee County’s main entrances alerting part time residents of the 14 day self quarantine and notification to the Health Department. Part time residents are expected to bring 14 days of supplies with them if planning on coming into county. If you missed the discussion on this, scroll back to our Facebook Live video today with Commissioners Roy Dickey & CB McKinnon and Health Director David Badger.

If you have a property elsewhere, are you even going to be able to “Bugout” to it when things get serious? What about checkpoints? They have them in a number of places for the Quarantine, one of them being Florida. Pictured below is a checkpoint on I-10 in Florida.

What are they checking for? “Proof of Residency”? What’s the temperature of everyone in the car? Are you carrying any firearms?  See where this can go? This post isn’t about the “Right” or “Wrong” of what the Federal and State governments are doing to “Fight COVID-19”. This is about understanding some of the hurdles you might face down the road during a “Bugout” if your plans include going to a “Retreat” in another State.

Below I’ve posted some links and headlines showing what States are doing to stop “Outsiders” from coming to their State.

https://www.necn.com/news/coronavirus/governor-tells-out-of-staters-not-to-travel-to-maine-for-an-early-vacation/2250580/

https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/30/824162044/michigan-and-wisconsin-tell-chicago-stay-at-your-homes-until-pandemic-ends

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/24/coronavirus-second-homes/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/travel/coronavirus-us-travel-driving-restrictions.html

What is the answer for the Prepper or Survivalist? There are three things that I see that helps to mitigate the problems shown above. First, it is better to be a week too early than a minute too late. If the guy on the island in Maine had gotten to his home a week or two earlier, would the issues with the locals have come up? If so, would they have been as bad? We’ll never know, but I’d say the possibilities would have been less.

The second recommendation to mitigate some of these issues would be where you buy your “Vacation” property in the first place. If you have a bunch of “Busybody” neighbors that see you arrive and that you are staying at your property, that can be a real issue. As has been shown many times over the years, many Americans can’t mind their own Damned business, and this is just an “In your face” example of it.

Here’s the third recommendation I’d give, in regards the checkpoints. Most destinations have multiple routes from point “A” to point “B”. Having those points mapped out and noted on a real map can be the difference between getting where you want to go, and being turned around or stuck in traffic. Knowing where you can unobtrusively cross a State line, on a logging road for instance, could make or break your escape from a “Hot Zone”.

My final recommendation is to be able to “Hoof It” if necessary. Have gear and supplies pre-positioned at the retreat property, and be able to leave your vehicle behind and carry some supplies on your back that will hold you over till you get to your property. Make sure you have paper maps, and use your GPS as a reference to those maps. Counting on things like cell phones and hand carried GPS is a recipe for disaster when your life is on the line.

Just some thoughts that have been bothering me over the last couple weeks that I thought I’d share. If you have some other ideas, I’d love to hear them.

JCD,

"Parata Vivere"-Live Prepared.