When All Hell Breaks Loose Part 20

No sparring. When practicing, attack into strike pads or dummies.

CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS.

"The 911 system was overloaded within ten minutes of the outage. Call rates jumped to 500 calls per hour for five hours [2500 calls] when normally 200 calls would come in-which is a ten-time increase."

-Anonymous witnessed account of the infamous

1996 power outage that caused a ma.s.sive cascading

failure of the power grid in the western United States

Emergencies rarely occur with any prior warning, and their effects can quickly cripple normal information sources. Even if you have all of your survival bases covered, you'll still want to know what's going on in the outside world. Emergency bulletins will give you extremely valuable information that may directly affect your survival, or at least let you know how long you'll need to eat rice. On the other hand, the broadcast may be full of sensationalism, half truths, or outright lies, perpetrated by networks to gain higher ratings ($) or by outright news-s.l.u.t reporters desperate for the first and most likely inaccurate story. Cross-reference emergency broadcasts whenever possible to try and get the straight story. Whatever type or types of communications you decide to use, don't put all of your eggs in one basket, and expect the unexpected.

Comprehensive emergency communications in and of itself is extremely technical, and more than one book has been devoted to the subject. If you feel your family needs more detailed information than what this chapter provides, then practice self-reliance and get off your b.u.t.t to find the information you need. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all emergency plan for every home.

Knowing Your Neighbors "WON'T YOU BE, WON'T YOU BE, PLEASE WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?".

-MR. ROGERS At first glance, most a.s.sume communications refer to mechanical means of sending or receiving a message. While this is true, it shouldn't negate more basic, human forms of communication during an emergency. I have already written about the power of the tribe, of having many people who are all on the same page regarding a certain intention. A well-oiled and disciplined team can accomplish much more than the stoic loner. Any neighborhood that can be cultivated to prepare together for emergencies will be a force to be reckoned with when the chips fly. Although done so after the fact, tight-knit communities in New Orleans did what they had to do to take care of their own after Hurricane Katrina. Taking the bull by the horns, neighborhood "tribes" quickly sprung up to do what governmental agencies had failed to do.

These tribes had the courage and wisdom to effectively communicate their needs to others. This initial communication was fostered months and years before the hurricane struck by people who talked with each other on a daily basis. Even if they weren't friends, they d.a.m.n sure knew who was in their neighborhood and their basic patterns and habits of movement. When the elderly lady who lived alone with her cat didn't put the cat out as she did each morning, her neighbors noticed and came running to check up on her. Everyone took the responsibility for being the eyes and ears of the neighborhood, before and after the disaster. The flip side of this is the elderly gentleman in New York state who spent an entire year in front of his TV, even though he was dead. Plumbers responding to damaged water lines due to frozen pipes found his literally mummified corpse sitting in front of the television, which was still on. When questioned by news crews, neighbors had a.s.sumed that he had been taken to a care home, regardless of the mail that piled up and spilled into the street from his mailbox.

I know it's difficult to know your neighbors in our fast-paced, individualized society, where cyber-friends are more common than human friends. Being an instructor and leader of people under great psychological and physiological stress in remote wilderness areas, I understand fully that getting people on the same page in a stressful time is similar to herding senile cats with three legs. You must try. You must try as hard as you can to put your personal agendas behind you and bend for the common good of the whole. Once the situation goes the way of Lord of the Flies, you will be hard-pressed to restore any useful communication or cooperation with others. The "other people" variable, in other words, human nature under pressure, is perhaps the biggest wild card in your urban emergency. It may be one of the biggest challenges you will face as a leader as you try to piece your neighborhood back together one home at a time. (Whether you are conscious of the fact or not, the material in this book is priming you for your leaders.h.i.+p role during emergencies.) Neighborhood block watches are helpful, as at the very least you'll meet your neighbors. Wanting to know who lives near you and communicate basic plans and precautions does not mean you need to spill the beans about everything your family has stored to prepare for a crisis. Use caution, common sense, and let your intuition be your guarding guide as you sift through how you'll interact with neighbors. Although I want you to try to bridge the gap and put yourself out there to others, I'm well aware of the unfortunate fact that in this current day and age, loose lips can sink s.h.i.+ps.

"All in the Family" Signals

[The Emergency Game Plan]

The knowledge of knowing where your family members are after a catastrophe is pure gold. If applicable to your situation, agree upon a prior plan or plans of action about what to do when a crisis. .h.i.ts and you have no other means to communicate with each other. A form of this advanced game plan is common in the realm of the modern survival scenario where the outdoor enthusiast, before they leave for the outdoors, leaves a detailed game plan about where they are going and when they will be back with at least two loved ones. This 5-W game plan is composed of the following parts: Where you will be going When you will return What vehicle you're driving (or whatever means of transportation you're using) Who is in your party Why you're taking the trip If this seems extraneous for an urban situation, a minute's pause will confirm that most family members automatically do this anyway before they leave for work or school. Brother Jim (who) goes to his job (why) at the gas station (where), after which he'll return home a bit after 5 p.m. (when), and he's driving his blue and gray Toyota pickup truck with California license plate oU812 (what). If something happens to Jim, or Jim needs to be contacted for whatever reason, the rest of the family is not totally in the dark about how to get a hold of him.

I strongly recommend that your family have a game plan about what to do and where to meet should a major disaster occur. All forms of communication, even smoke signals and signal mirrors, are composed of moving parts, and moving parts can fail under the real-time stresses of a survival scenario. If everything else goes to pot, your family game plan will give you a tangible goal upon which to focus your attention.

Using Your Home as a Signal to Emergency Response Personnel There are times when using a simple signal from your home, whether you are in your home or not, can dramatically reduce the bureaucracy inherent within disaster mitigation. Each summer in the dense ponderosa pine forests surrounding Prescott, Arizona, the talk always turns to fire danger due to the prolonged drought in the Southwest. Many mountain communities are shoved deep into the hills, and the access and communications required to evacuate certain neighborhoods is sketchy at best.

Cooperating with local fire agencies before a potential deadly wildfire, many neighborhoods worked out a simple communications plan to alert the authorities as to whether they were still in their home or had evacuated to safer ground. This common-sense, no-frills system revolved around hanging a white towel from the front door as a signal that the home was empty. This simple yet effective idea saves precious time and resources, as emergency response personnel are relieved of having to knock on every door to alert homeowners of the need to evacuate. Firefighters know from the street whether homeowners have safely left their homes or not.

It would be very wise to get together within your family or community and do something similar; coordinate with local disaster response personnel to have a commonly understood and acknowledged system of communications before the next crisis.

Reverse 911 Some law enforcement agencies are using the "reverse 911" method to relay emergency information to households. The concept is to notify homes within the path of a pending disaster by using a prerecorded phone message. If your home lies within the corridor of an approaching tornado, for example, you would get a heads-up phone call providing information to help you mitigate its effect, whether you seek shelter or evacuate the area. Although some privacy advocates are b.i.t.c.hing about this, I would much rather get a phone call about an approaching killer hurricane than not be pestered about buying car insurance or vitamins. If used responsibly, this is a great a.s.set to get the word out about a potential disaster, but it's only effective if the phone lines are intact and you're home to take the call.

The [Disaster] AM/FM Radio (Important Note: All of the following means of communication require a power source. For obvious reasons, always opt for battery-operated models or other forms of alternative power that are not subject to the whims of the conventional power grid. For this reason and portability issues, television is not recommended as a sole means for retrieving emergency information after a disaster.) The more you can control the receiving end of a broadcast, the better off you may be. In other words, although satellite radio has more news channels than you have fingers, if the company that broadcasts them into your living room is down, you're left in the dark. Every home should have a basic AM/FM radio on hand that does not require conventional electricity to operate. AA battery-operated radios are the most obvious choice and there are a plethora of them to choose from. If you live in a more remote suburban or rural area, you might need a stronger radio that can aggressively pick up weaker signals. People living in heavily wooded or mountainous terrain may also suffer from broken, static-filled radio signals. The chances are high that you already know if your radio cuts out or not; but maybe not. With the advent of music technology from satellite radio to iPods, conventional AM/FM radios are becoming a thing of the past. Test whether your AM/FM radio works for your location. Don't worry so much about crystal clear reception as you're not concerned with listening to Mozart. Many AM broadcasts will trump FM broadcasts for disaster news, and some can be picked up from a very long distance, especially at night. If a widespread emergency occurs, civil defense-affiliated stations are set up to broadcast survival information on the AM broadcast band.

There are several battery-operated radios that also feature a built-in hand crank to generate power. These models are wonderful as you'll always have power, and the crank enables you to save stored batteries for other uses such as flashlights. Beware of cheaper hand-crank models that flood the market, especially in dark and dingy military surplus stores. I've also seen radios with a built-in solar panel for self-charging during sunny daylight hours. I can't overemphasize how important this piece of gear can be to your family's survival, so spend the money to purchase a brand-name, reliable radio. Free-playing radios such as the "crystal radios" composed of a coil of wire, a tuning capacitor, a crystal diode, and an earphone are also a possibility. World War II soldiers improvised crystal radios from their trenches by using coat hangers, the lead from a pencil, and a razor blade, among other parts, to keep up with the daily news.

Cell Phones While cell phone coverage and quality has improved over the years, it still has much to be desired. The motto of one well-known provider, "Can you hear me now?" is all too appropriate at times. I know people who have cell phones on steroids complete with directional antennae, the thickest antennae wire available, and an amplifier, and yet during times of rain still have a problem getting reception, even when dropping from digital to a.n.a.log.

Cell towers rely on regular AC power for their operation. During times of ma.s.s hysteria even those towers with backup power will be compromised, as everyone and their pet will be attempting to use their phone. Cell phones can also, like anything else involving complexities with many moving parts and people, simply fail to work when you need them most. Satellite phones are available if you have the money to pay for the minutes, yet even these phones could be taxed beyond their limits if everyone decides at the same time to pull an E.T. and phone home.

Cell phone batteries at the current time are hopelessly short-lived and sensitive to fluctuations in temperature, especially the cold, which sucks the power from the battery even when the phone is turned off. It's now common knowledge that the cell phone battery itself is a "bug." It can be used as a listening device by certain agencies, whether it's in the phone or not, to listen and record conversations unbeknownst to the owner of the phone. At least we can be a.s.sured that this power won't be abused. . .

While cell phones are cool, and they have saved many lives, they have also inadvertently killed stupid owners who put all of their welfare and self-reliance into a fickle, battery-powered machine with finicky reception in geographically challenged locations. Many places out West still don't have any hope of getting a signal. Ever try to make a cell phone call on the flats of the Painted Desert on the Navajo Indian reservation. . .can you hear me now?

Internet Internet access to news, weather, and e-mail, like everything based upon electricity and phone lines, is vulnerable to chaos. Even satellite Internet powered by independent solar power can have problems. You may fail to get online due to a storm near your provider, hundreds of miles away, while the weather around your computer is sunny with blue skies.

SUPER-SIZED SOLAR FLARES AND YOU.

"Our increasingly technologically dependent society is becoming increasingly vulnerable to s.p.a.ce weather."

-David Johnson, director, National Weather Service Technology junkies take heart. According to scientists, many forms of electronic communication and navigation, such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), are vulnerable to solar flares. So what, you say? GPS is far from a glorified compa.s.s used only by people navigating the great outdoors. It is integral in newer cell phones to allow emergency personnel to find an owner after an accident and is responsible for navigating airplanes, automobiles, and s.h.i.+ps, transferring currency to and from banks, and many other government and commercial activities.

According to a recent news report, a jumbo solar flare last December influenced every GPS device on Earth that was experiencing daylight at the time. Some GPS systems only burped and were reduced in their accuracy while others were completely knocked out of commission. Even more troubling and baffling to the experts is that the flare also affected some satellites and fiddled with the electrical grid. The ramifications of a more powerful solar flare are sobering; one could affect the entire way most countries conduct business, from the sale of fuel to food.

According to experts, there is no quick fix and the options that are available are very expensive. Put this pearl of wisdom in the back of your noggin and know there is something to be said for low-tech common-sense solutions to daily living.

Citizens' Band [CB] Radios Breaker, breaker, Teddy Bear! Remember the movie Smokey and the Bandit with Burt Reynolds? What a cla.s.sic. It seemed that no one in those happily bygone days was without a CB radio, a dorky handle (CB name), and a souped-up black Trans-Am with a golden eagle on the hood. My grandparents had a blast with their base station CB, and all of us pain-in-the-b.u.t.t grandkids abused it often to report from our vehicle CBs that we were stuck in the mud (again) at the old ba.s.s fis.h.i.+ng hole. I learned early that excellent communications meant that you could ramp up the stupid meter in your cousin's pickup truck with virtually no consequences.

The Federal Communications Commission established Citizens' Band radio in 1958, and there are now over 51 million CB users throughout the United States. In fact, CB radios are the most accessible means of communication for the general public. Their range is typically ten to twenty-five miles but ranges of well over a hundred miles have been commonly reported. Since many users share only a few channels, interference from others can be common, especially during an emergency. CBs are useful as a neighborhood communications system or when on the road to get real-time information from other drivers about blocked roadways or other hazards.

Channel 9 is the nationwide official channel for emergency use and traveler's information. Volunteer members of the Radio Emergency a.s.sociated Communications Team (REACT) monitor channel 9 almost continuously all across the United States. These selfless guardian angels typically handle over 100,000 calls for help each year. Some highways and neighborhoods have REACT logo signs readily visible to alert others to their a.s.sistance with emergency communications.

Shortwave Radios "[AFTER A DISASTER]. . .EVEN WITH TECHNOLOGY THE WAY IT IS, IT'S ALWAYS AMATEUR RADIO THEY FALL BACK ON.".

-LLOYD HALGUNSETH, DISTRICT EMERGENCY COORDINATOR, YAVAPAI AMATEUR RADIO CLUB With a spectrum of 1.7 to 30 megahertz, shortwave radio puts you in touch with the unfiltered world of international radio whether you live in town or country. With the right equipment, it can also be used for two-way communications instead of just listening. Almost every town of any size has an amateur radio club. These radio "hams" can tell you whatever you want to know regarding FCC licensing rules and its use for ham radio transmission, and members often have new and used radio equipment for sale. While some shortwave radios require regular 120-volt power for operation, there are many battery-operated (and even a hand-crank or two!) models available. The world of the ham radio operator is almost limitless and a golden a.s.set during and after any emergency. Thank you, ham operators, for your dedicated volunteer service to others in their time of great need!

Two-Way Radios [Walkie-Talkies]

Like everything else in the communications world, walkie-talkies come in a wide variety of styles, channels, power outputs, and prices. They can be priceless when needing to communicate with a minimum amount of interference when a loved one is a short distance away. Several models feature built-in NOAA weather-band reception that would prove a valuable a.s.set to the survivor. I remember getting a cheap pair of walkie-talkies for Christmas when I was a kid and they ranked high on the "cool meter." They still do, especially when the cell towers aren't working. I have used them on road trips between multiple vehicles when needing to keep in contact with the other car. Some businesses use certain models for their communication needs of up to three to five miles. Other models are commonly sold in outdoor and camping stores and are frequently used in the backcountry for everything from a couple of day hikers keeping in touch to hard-core search-and-rescue missions involving the coordination of dozens of people. If you feel this type of communication is relevant for your family, research which model(s) would be most applicable for your needs.

Field Telephones Available from some military surplus stores, hand-crank field phones that run off D-cell batteries will allow communications for many miles. Although interconnected by a wire, they have their unique applications.

Scanners Scanners allow you to receive broadcasted information from a variety of sources such as police, ambulance, firefighters, ATF and Border Patrol agents, U.S. Customs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and an unending number of ham radio operators. These people often have cutting-edge information regarding a wide variety of disasters or local emergencies. Volunteer Search and Rescue personnel (SAR) commonly use some type of scanner or scanner/radio combination to listen in on sheriffs' calls that would signal a search-and-rescue mission. You're advised to know the laws regarding intercepting another party's conversation, which mostly revolve around the no-nos of using the intercepted communications for personal gain or discussing it with others. For our intentions of keeping track of events before or after a disaster to keep our families safe, we should be in like Flynn. Regardless, check your state's laws regarding the legal use of scanners.

Survival communications are vital to let you know what's going on in the outside world after a disaster. Emergency bulletins will give you extremely valuable information that may directly affect your survival. Because of sloppy reporting and sensationalism, cross-reference emergency broadcasts for bogus information whenever possible.

Don't rely exclusively on one type of emergency communications. Diversify your communication "eggs" and purchase only quality communications gear.

Know your neighbors before a disaster strikes. Cooperative neighborhood planning, and the power that comes from working together toward a common goal, can make the difference between you living or dying during a crisis.

Creating an advanced "signaling system" for whatever is needed within your community can save precious time and emergency response resources.

How other people react to an emergency, whether you feel you know them well or not, will be one of your biggest leaders.h.i.+p (communication) challenges during a crisis.

Use caution and common sense, and let your intuition be your guarding guide as to what information you'll share with neighbors.

Your family should have a well-known game plan about what to do and where to meet should a major disaster occur.

Most emergency communications require a power source. Always opt for battery-operated models or other forms of alternative power that are not dependent upon the conventional power grid.

Battery-operated or hand-crank AM/FM radios are great for receiving emergency broadcasts. If a widespread emergency occurred, civil defense-affiliated stations are set up to broadcast survival information on the AM broadcast band.

Cell phones, the Internet, CB radios, shortwave radios, walkie-talkies, field telephones, and scanners all have their pros and cons for use during emergencies. See which combination works best for your family.

For CB radios, channel 9 is the nationwide official channel for emergency use and traveler's information. Volunteer members of the Radio Emergency a.s.sociated Communications Team (REACT) monitor channel 9 almost continuously all across the United States.

Amateur radio clubs around the nation are great resources for learning the tricks of the trade and for buying used or new equipment from knowledgeable people.

Scanners allow you to monitor the conversations of many emergency response authorities such as the police, the sheriff's office, or the fire department. Check your state rules and regulations for the legality of doing so.

Tangible TRANSPORTATION

"There can be no doubt that the transportation sector is the most critical sector of our economy."

-Congressman Robert A. Brady Although this book is based upon making your home more self-reliant, it a.s.sumes that you'll be home when the crisis. .h.i.ts. Whether you're at home, across the county, or at the office, your transportation options may be severely limited during the chaos. Perhaps no other country on earth is more enslaved to conventional, fuel-burning transportation than the United States. Transportation is the lifeblood of the economy, which would quickly collapse if the means for transporting needed supplies were disrupted in any way. Grocery stores commonly carry only a three-day supply of food. This statistical three-day surplus would disappear within a few hours during an emergency situation; a panicked populace would make sure of that.

Civilization is like a great web upon which all things are connected. Bop one strand and the whole thing jiggles. Consider for a moment the 1996 northeast power outage and some of the aftereffects that rippled across the nation. Gas stations closed due to a lack of power. Only a few stations had backup power to run gas pumps and were providing what little gas they had to lined-up customers for cash only. ATM machines wouldn't work so people were unable to get cash. Grocery stores closed due to their inability to scan the barcodes on food or to take credit cards. I won't go into the drama about power-dependent medical needs and water and sewage pumps.

Complacency as to the ease at which modern transportation systems operate can do wonders in dumbing you down as to what options you might have when the Pontiac is forced to collect dust. Below are some common-sense and exotic tidbits to ponder if you get caught out in the open away from your casa, or you need to relocate.

Preparing Your Motorized Vehicle[s]

Most of us in this country rely upon the automobile for getting around. As we have discussed in earlier chapters, anything that you have a strong reliance upon should be in the best possible working order, with backup options if possible. Keep in good repair the best vehicle you can afford. If you suck at car repairs, and aren't married to Mr. or Mrs. Goodwrench, it's all the more reason to keep on top of servicing your vehicle. Whether something is wrong or not, it pays to take your vehicle to a reputable shop at least once a year to have them do a top-to-bottom inspection. Like survival training, it's easier to prevent a problem than to suffer from its effects because you were too cheap or preoccupied to take your ride in for some TLC. Your car, truck, or SUV should carry basic supplies that will allow you to get back home (on foot if necessary) and accomplish minor repairs to the vehicle itself if needed. The "Should I Stay or Should I Go" chapter contains some general ideas for portable survival kits and bug-out packs.

You know your daily living schedule better than anyone. If your work takes you many miles from home, get into the habit of keeping your gas tank topped off. One of the main disadvantages of our current means of transportation is its slap-in-the-face dependency on petroleum fuel. The last place you want to be when chaos strikes is stuck in the two-mile line at the gas station because you failed to keep your fuel level on the high side. That's what your gas tank is for, to store fuel in times of need, so do it.

What about Public Transportation?

Even the most hardcore New York City cab driver is powerless when streets are stuffed with traffic. You will go nowhere fast, if at all. Ma.s.s exoduses like those preceding and following disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are case in point that it will be h.e.l.l to negotiate traffic in a private vehicle, let alone rely upon public transit systems. If Lady Luck smiles on you in your quest to catch a bus or cab, congratulations, but don't count on it. Local, state, or federal governmental agencies that do manage to implement some type of public emergency transportation will more than likely limit their pa.s.sengers to one carry-on bag, if that. Have an emergency bug-out kit ready to go at all times.

Bodacious Biodiesel and Veggie Oil "THE USE OF VEGETABLE OILS FOR ENGINE FUELS MAY SEEM INSIGNIFICANT TODAY, BUT SUCH OILS MAY BECOME, IN THE COURSE OF TIME, AS IMPORTANT AS PETROLEUM AND THE COAL-TAR OF THE PRESENT TIME.".

-RUDOLF DIESEL, 1912 For those with the opportunity, the interest, and a form of transportation or backup power that involves a diesel engine, there are pockets of people around the nation and world who are reclaiming their independence with the technology of biodiesel and waste cooking oils. Biodiesel is derived from biological sources, from rapeseed and soybean oils to animal fats and many others, yet it goes through a refinery process called transesterification. As a refined fuel, biodiesel is ready to use to power diesel engines and is not the same as burning straight filtered vegetable oil. Biodiesel has also been used as a heating fuel in domestic and commercial boilers. This alternative fuel is gaining more and more popularity as time pa.s.ses and people feel the pinch of precarious petroleum. According to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), the United States went from consuming 500,000 gallons in 1999 to 75 million gallons of biodiesel in 2005. Even country crooner Willie Nelson has been bitten by the bio bug and actively promotes the stuff.

If you think biodiesel is made for hippies by hippies, you haven't explored its technical side, which involves aspects of extreme mathematics, chemistry, physics, and linguistics when trying to read through some of the technical papers. Some biodiesel advocates tout the recycling aspects of biodiesel by the fact that it can be manufactured from used vegetable oil. Others argue that to compete with the sheer volume of fuel needed to keep just America running at its current level, even biodiesel would have its problems in trying to meet the demand. Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that restaurants in the United States produce 300 million gallons of waste cooking oil each year, and the estimated transportation fuel and home heating oil use for America is a staggering 230 billion gallons annually, they may be correct.

The art of making and using biodiesel or using filtered oils or fats in a modified diesel engine is a book in itself. Researching on the Web will pull up loads of information for those who want to pursue the matter further. You may already have a neighbor who has been commuting to work for years thanks to the dregs from greasy spoon restaurants. I know several people who make and use both biodiesel and filtered-waste cooking oils in their backyard processing plants. One of my clients owns a converted school bus he uses for cross-country trips that runs on filtered veggie oil. He simply stops at restaurants instead of gas stations and they are all too willing to give him the goop, which otherwise the restaurant must pay to have removed. They've driven thousands of miles with their veggie bus and, yes, the tailpipe smells like French fries.

Regardless of saving the world or not, after a calamity, alternative fuel options such as biodiesel and filtered cooking oils may be the cat's meow. If you have a diesel-burning engine in your car, truck, or generator, you might want to pursue this further. For a current list of who sells biodiesel around the nation, or for questions, and access to the largest library of biodiesel information in the United States, visit the National Biodiesel Board Web site at www.biodiesel.org.

Motorcycles, Mopeds, and ATVs While the above-mentioned goodies are still slaves to OPEC, they excel at making the most out of a gallon of gas. Some hybrid electric mopeds claim to get an astounding 150 miles per gallon! Scooters and ATVs also have the advantage of being small and maneuverable, thus they are able to fit in and around places that would stop a car dead in its tracks. Remember seeing those motorcycle maniacs on the highway snake between vehicles like they were standing still? You acted disgusted but were probably jealous, right? "Quads" or All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) are very popular in my part of the country. Some can haul a ridiculous amount of gear due to generous cargo s.p.a.ce.

One of my favorite alternative vehicles is the street-legal dirt bike. A good quality dirt bike that's well maintained will run almost forever with minimal fuss. In town or country, there is almost no terrain these bikes will not cross with a proficient rider. They possess a stupid amount of power that will peel your skin off, can cover rugged ground in a fraction of the time it takes a hearty four-wheel drive, and still get up to 120 miles on a gallon and a half of gas. A rider can purchase or make racks for hauling gear, or simply wear a backpack when needing to transport goods. Dirt bikes are truly modern horses that require minimal feed and no water, don't spook or become moody or go lame, and will take you like a rocket as far as your b.u.t.t can stand to go.

Beautiful Bicycles I love bicycles. After all, can zillions of Chinese folks be wrong? I spent a few years riding a mountain bike to work, school, and back up into the woods where I was living at the time. My stashed bike was easy to conceal in the bushes as I hiked toward my home, thus it left no trace that I was camped nearby. Bikes are simple, affordable, easy to ride or learn to ride, fairly easy to repair, commonly available, quick, quiet, and save tremendous amounts of your personal calories (food) and water, which is their only required fuel. Being able to coast and still cover ground is a gift in any scenario where food supplies may be compromised. Generic, cheap mountain-bike-style bicycles have the b.a.l.l.s to cruise over everything from beer cans to bloated bodies with minimal effort. Many bikes on the market have options for saddlebags or other pouches that can carry all sorts of supplies to boot. You don't have to break the bank to purchase a battle-worthy bicycle, and for many urban dwellers, bicycles will be worth their weight in gold as a super-transportation option if the petrol gets pinched.

Animal Magnetism Animals have been used for thousands of years to carry people and goods. My family owns horses and pack mules, and I have friends who own pack llamas. While these animals are not likely to be accessible in downtown San Francisco, you can mimic the intention with a decent-size dog. My family has owned several big dogs and all of them had doggie packs in which they carried their stuff and some of ours too on cross-country treks. Long before the horse, native peoples on this continent routinely used camp dogs and travois (two wooden poles laden with gear and anch.o.r.ed to the dog's back) to move their camp from place to place. The dogs also served as hunters, heaters, guard dogs, and emergency food-although I promised you I wouldn't talk about cooking the family pet in this book.

Walk This Way: Fabulously Functional Footwear During prehistoric times people were very mobile yet had limited means of getting around other than by foot. Indigenous peoples across the world commonly embarked upon great journeys of hundreds of miles on foot through extreme wilderness with the barest of survival necessities made from Nature Herself. Reflecting upon the forced marches that were perpetrated upon our own native peoples in the late 1800s should foster within you a "can-do" att.i.tude regarding walking across town if the grid goes flop. Even during good times, your hunter-gatherer ancestors migrated hundreds of miles each season in order to find what was needed to put soup on the table.

A crucial item for transportation is a comfortable pair of footwear suitable for walking long distances. Although it may sound obvious, look down at your feet. Could you walk a few miles across your town or city with what you're wearing now? Would the Snoopy slippers hold up? If you're living in a rural area, would your trashy tennies cut it for the journey across the woods or desert? Many urban dwellers don footwear, especially for the office or nightclub, that would cripple them in a mile or two. If you blister your feet during the first ten blocks while trying to make it back home, the remainder of your journey will be extremely painful if not impossible. I'm not trying to cramp your style scene, just have a pair of spare brokenin shoes or boots, along with an extra pair of socks, at the office or in the car as a backup. Take heed, there is nothing that will ruin your day, and your feet, quicker than ill-fitting, new, or inappropriate footwear when you need to walk even a short distance. Your ability to walk or run may be your only option for evading surrounding dangers to your survival.

It's worth having at least one pair of quality footwear that will hold up to the stresses and strains of serious walking in all types of terrain. Cheap shoes and boots are just that, cheap, and should not be trusted if your compromising situation becomes long term. I have witnessed several pairs of discount-store sandals, boots, and shoes blow up on my field courses. Hot ground temperatures in the desert can completely delaminate a new pair of sandals in less than an hour. I'm not an authority on helping you choose quality boots or shoes, but shoe stores specializing in high-end footwear will be able to a.s.sist you. Make sure to break in your new purchase by wearing them several times for greater comfort and to help prevent blisters.

I'm a big fan of going barefoot for a variety of reasons, one of which is to keep my feet tough and conditioned for cross-country walking. There is a reason opposing militaries took the boots of POWs; tender feet have little hope of escaping and evading through challenging terrain. I'm not advocating going barefoot in cities. At least in the wilderness one has a chance to pay attention to variables that influence the growth of certain painfully pointy plants. In the town or city, you'll never know what terrain dangers lay around the next corner, from broken gla.s.s, to nails, needles, and much more. Because restaurant owners fear I've walked in dirtier places than other customers, and grocery store clerks lie to me about violating state health codes or worry I'll dance on the Cheetos, I carry a two-dollar pair of flip-flops in my vehicle. While I'm in no way recommending flip-flops as competent walking gear, my guess is they would beat the h.e.l.l out of a pair of pumps or tight wing-tips. At that price, there's no excuse for not having a comfortable pair of footwear within reach regardless of your budget.

Improvised Fabric Backpack I've preached several times about hunting and gathering cultures whose lifestyles mandated moving from one resource to another. One of their most valued possessions-containers-were made from the resources at hand, whether from animal skins or hair, woven plant fibers, fired clay, wood, sh.e.l.ls, or other natural niceties. These containers transported all that was needed for a portable household.

When needing to become suddenly portable, you'll want some means of carrying gear that doesn't tie up your hands. If you don't have access to a conventional backpack, you still have options. Several years ago, fellow "abo" Matt Graham turned me onto an improvised backpack that can easily be made from a four-by-four-foot piece of fabric, although smaller and larger pieces of fabric will work fine. The fabric can be a blanket, tablecloth, thin rug, or something else, but steer away from materials that are too thick as they will be difficult to tie and bulky to carry.

You'll quickly learn how to pack your stuff so that softer items are against your back as padding, and sharp objects aren't poking you. To pack your gear, lay the fabric on the ground and start placing what you want to carry in the middle of the fabric. Smaller individual "stuff sacks" can be bought at discount and outdoor stores or improvised from plastic bags, canvas book bags, Tupperware containers, etc. These smaller containers, similar to zippered compartments on and in commercial backpacks, will allow you to separate gear without it all blending together in one confusing ma.s.s. The four corners of the fabric will be tied together in pairs; the upper left and lower right corners will come together to form their own knot, and the upper right and lower left corners will be tied together to form their own knot. (Check out the photo section for more details.) I like to position my gear inside the fabric knowing that I'll tie the upper left and lower right corners together first. These corners should be tied snugly around the bundle as they keep your gear inside the fabric from falling out. The upper right and lower left corners are tied together a bit looser as they will function as the "strap." Newer fabric will stretch and loosen, and things will jumble around causing you to retie the pack a few times. The fabric backpack can be carried in various ways, some of which are ill.u.s.trated in the photo section. Similar to the hobos, smaller pieces of fabric can wrap up gear in much the same way and be carried suspended from a stick or broom handle.