Your bug out plan - From City.

[mcantar18c]

Sure as hell ain't staying put. I don't live in a super-overpopulated area, but there's quite a few people here and I want nothing to do with it already, let alone if the shtf.

I'd probably sit tight for a week or so after the incident happens to avoid the initial rush of people and discuss plans with a couple close friends. Then, load up with the guns, ammo, food, fuel, and other supplies, and head out into the plains or the mountains depending on the situation.
Plains are the primary location due to long sightlines and such, and the fact that they're closer/easier to get to. If people themselves are the main threat (gov't turns on us, enemy invades, anarchy takes over and people turn on each other, etc.) then I don't want to be somewhere that's as easy to find, so mountains it is.
I have a few spots in the mountains... 7 actually, between the bottom of CO and the bottom of WY. All very isolated and difficult to find areas that can only be accessed by a rock-filled trail in a lifted Jeep or truck and then some fairly difficult hiking/climbing on top of that. All spots are close to water, have rough terrain, and could be set up pretty defensively taking advantage of the land features.
As far as getting to these spots, I have all of the back roads and trails mapped out that lead to them, and I'd avoid main roads/highways/populated areas.

Also, about the lack of food sources in the mountains... I lived in a cabin up by Mt. Evans for 2 years... I know how to survive on my own in the Rockies.

[Irving]

Can you support a whole family?

[gnihcraes]

I have to agree with some other posts, I'm staying put for as long as possible. I still believe a significant amount of people will head NSEW out of town and clog things up. Nobody is getting anywhere fast. Google some photos of the katrina stuff, gridlock.

Best option is to move out of town if you have any fair warning and are sure things are going to be worse, again: katrina.

There are some good articles on the Katrina thing, one guy documented all of the happenings, they were prepared, others showed up uninvited and things were just a mess.

I'd have to say I'd head east, if I thought I could get across town in the first place. Mountains pose so many obstacles of limited roads, mountain passes, fuel stops. Even going east from Denver isn't much better, only a few places to stop and get food and fuel.

It all depends on how much time I have to prepare, to choose which vehicle and if I can take the camper with me.

If I have to leave in 30 mins or less, I'm grabbing the 4 BOB's for the family and picking the wife's jeep for speed, fuel economy and off road ability.

If I have an hour, I'm grabbing the big truck and camper and anything I can fit in it.

so many What If's.

[thecatsfan]

I have to agree with some other posts, I'm staying put for as long as possible. I still believe a significant amount of people will head NSEW out of town and clog things up. Nobody is getting anywhere fast. Google some photos of the katrina stuff, gridlock.

Best option is to move out of town if you have any fair warning and are sure things are going to be worse, again: katrina.

There are some good articles on the Katrina thing, one guy documented all of the happenings, they were prepared, others showed up uninvited and things were just a mess.

I'd have to say I'd head east, if I thought I could get across town in the first place. Mountains pose so many obstacles of limited roads, mountain passes, fuel stops. Even going east from Denver isn't much better, only a few places to stop and get food and fuel.

It all depends on how much time I have to prepare, to choose which vehicle and if I can take the camper with me.

If I have to leave in 30 mins or less, I'm grabbing the 4 BOB's for the family and picking the wife's jeep for speed, fuel economy and off road ability.

If I have an hour, I'm grabbing the big truck and camper and anything I can fit in it.

so many What If's.

I think you said it well. "Stay as long as possible." But to assume you will never have to leave is putting all your eggs in one basket. I don't care where you live, there are viable and very real scenarios that could require you to bug out.

My approach sounds similar to yours except that I live on the edge of a suburban area where from my house, I can be on back roads inside of half a mile. And when I say backroads, I mean rural dirt roads with less than 5 houses per square mile density. I know back roads from my home to WY, NE, or KS, and also the mountains. We have bug out locations with permanent structures and friendlies to meet in both the plains and the hills. I can bug out and have a planned place to stay as far East as MN and as far west as NV. I have other locations much closer to home with close friends or family who are like minded.

I agree that bugging out is not the most attractive option, but there are many reasons why it could become the most survivable option. And what you get to take with you could be as much as a truck and camper, or as little as the BOB in the trunk of your car. No one will get to choose the SHTF scenario that comes. If you are 100% convinced that the dollar will collapse, that doesn't mean an airborne pandemic won't hit first. If you live in a mountain fortress and feel completely safe from SHTF, that doesn't mean there won't be forest fires long after all the fire protection services have ceased to exist.

Best and only option, IMHO, is to plan for the absolute worst and hope it never gets that bad.

[mcantar18c]

Also, about the lack of food sources in the mountains... I lived in a cabin up by Mt. Evans for 2 years... I know how to survive on my own in the Rockies.

Can you support a whole family?

My bug out plans were built around myself, my dog, and the possibility of having a female with me. I don't have kids so I'm not really considering that... I realize others do and that's fine, but I have no need to.

[thecatsfan]

The only truly bad plan is no plan. Everything else is personal choice and a constant balancing act between living life and enjoying today and preparing for what could happen.

But here is some interesting reading about food storage and shortages.
http://woodpilereport.com/

Unfortunately, I see a lot of truth in this report when he gets to the discussion of the Department of Homeland Security. Especially the comment from Survival Blog:

"The existing current national disaster plan calls for the requisition, by force if necessary, of all existing food and drug stocks from outlying, lightly populated, rural areas, for transport to and use in more densely populated urban areas."

Obviously, I do not have access to DHS internal documents, but I truly believe that in a major food shortage event, our already socialist-veering government will view anyone with above average food stores in their home as a hoarder and will take it upon themselves to seize and resitribute that food for the common good - theirs!

And the more government breaks down, the worse it wil be. As federal control degrades, it will occur on a local scale as lower and lower levels of politicians feel more and more empowered without oversight. I don't even consider it a stretch to imagine a scenario where local government officials declare martial law and go house to house seizing all food, weapons, ammo, medicine, and other objects of value. I am not saying it will happen, but I will not be shocked at all if we see it in out lifetimes.

Personally, I am not overly concerned about natural disasters or nuclear events. My biggest concerns are completely internal to our own country.

[Wulf202]

Oh I plan on going to your house if something happens....

[ChunkyMonkey]

\the possibility of having a female with me. \.

Now that's a plan.

[Irving]

Also, about the lack of food sources in the mountains... I lived in a cabin up by Mt. Evans for 2 years... I know how to survive on my own in the Rockies.

I can't give anyone too hard a time about their plans either way though. After all, there are really only two plans in the first place. Bug out, or bug in; and likely, everyone is going to end up doing some variation of both in the long run.