Here’s a question Spice and I spend a lot of time talking about. What if The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) happened right now… right this instance.
Right Now
The lights just go out.
All electronics simply die,
Fans in the room you are sitting in slowly spin down to a stop, as absolute silence surrounds you.
These are the types of things you could expect from a strong EMP (electro magnetic pulse). While we talk more about them here in this article, I’m just using this as an example here because it’s both catastrophic and sudden. There are many other catastrophic and sudden events, including massive earthquakes, tidal waves, terrorist attacks, etc.
The real question is, however, if you and I are ready for it, right this minute. Right now. If it happened, what do you do?
Spice and I discuss this topic in podcast we recorded today following one of our many (and regular) discussions about reacting to a TEOTWAWKI event were it to happen right now. You can give it a listen by clicking HERE:
As mentioned in the podcast, here’s the road as we leave town… this is the BUSY section of this “highway”
Thought exercise
Spice and I are huge fans of thought exercises, of thinking out scenarios and running through them in advance of need.
One of my favorite books as a child were coach Clair Bee‘s “Chip Hilton” stories like “Hoop Crazy”. Chip and the boy’s Coach for every sport, Henry “The Rock” Rockwell, was a huge believer in “skull practices” where he would review the playbook with his players over and over. Of course, once this was done, good old Chip would lead the young men of Valley Falls to the inevitable State Championship of whatever sport they were playing (except for the first book, interestingly… but I digress).
Like “The Rock”, we too have a lot of “skull practices” and we think they are a critically important tool to get us both on the same page.
When The Going Gets Tough, The Smart Don’t Go Shopping
I’ve seen this pop up a ZILLION times (or so it seems, anyway) on prepping forums and in online groups, the “what would you buy if TEOTWAWKI happens.”
Our answer, of course, is “absolutely nothing, it’s time to put Plan A into operation. We talk about this more in this article, but I wanted to bring it up because that’s so many people’s first thought.
Every Day Carry & Get Home Bags
One thing I think is huge in any scenario we start working our way through (unless we are home) is “What do we have with us, right now, that we can use to get home”.
This is where the every day carry items and get home bag become critically important. A part of our visualization, as you can hear in the podcast, is that we rundown what items we have so we can compare them to the challenges we face.
Challenges
For example, when the subject came up today we were just leaving town (about 28 miles from our home) and had just done a “light” shop at the grocery store. We assumed that TEOTWAWKI hit “right now” as we were rolling along in a 35-mph zone on the edge of town.
Our scenario was EMP, with dead electronics (and in our case vehicle) across the board.
We talked first about our challenges. I’m honestly not sure that, at this point in time, I can walk 28 miles. I’m about 6 weeks out of a walking boot for my broken ankle & torn tendons, and while I get around just fine, 28 miles is a LONG way. Additonally, today I was wearing a brand new pair of cycling sandals,.. not really a great choice for walking nearly 30 miles in 40-degree weather.
We then looked at our assets. Obviously, we had groceries, and we also had the small hand pulled wagon we use in our garden to carry our supplies in.
Car Kit
Additionally, we also had our “car kit” put together for that vehicle (we have a full kit in each vehicle we own) that contains two water filters each of a differing design, food, shelter, a full set of weather-appropriate clothing (including winter boots that are well broken in),
We also had some basic firearms protection on us as well.
Knowing our supplies, as we ran through the mental exercise, we tried to imagine holes in our kits and in our overall preps. I’m sure there are a few at least but we couldn’t think of any at the moment.
Route Planning – Alternate Routes
As another part of our exercise, we were able to discuss our route home and we could also discuss the alternate routes home as well. We’ve both driven every single road between the larger town and home, multiple times… we know them all, including the ones with the “low water crossings” and the one where the bridge is out.
This is all pre-planed and scouted.
Were we in situations were we didn’t know all of the roads well, we carry high quality paper maps of the entire route. I have, in each vehicle, at least two different maps (by different companies) of every state we are likely to visit with that vehicle.
The Road Less Traveled
This is the type of prepping planning and testing that we do when thinking about TEOTWAWKI instead of “what would I get at the store if the Stuff Hits The Fan (SHTF)”.
As I said in my recent article about that, there’s nothing wrong with doing that as a mental exercise, the trick is to do it ahead of time, and then just go buy whatever needs you came up with right NOW, before trouble hits.
Don’t let the first time you wonder “What If TEOTWAWKI Happened Right Now?” be after the SHTF.
Good thoughts
Spice and Salty I hope this skull session got you to check your vehicle kit for good clothing and shoes, a folding bicycle for each of you and hard copy maps of the area. A lot of us myself included think water, food, weapons ok! But frankly if EMP is the source of the SHTF I want to be HOME STAT as plenty of folks will be acting out pretty soon. I can walk a fair distance at 1 MPH or bicycle a lot farther at around 10 MPH. How fast do you want to get home friends?
And because you can afford a folding bike then everyone can?
Friend I see abandoned bicycles needing a little hands on love every week awaiting the trash truck in my little town. I stopped years ago fixing them up to give away through the church because folks were too PROUD to take them. Thrift stores often have bicycles in decent shape for a 20.00 or so each.
A non-folder fits well with the front wheel off inside most SUV’s all Vans and of course Pickup trucks. When I drove a Truck I had a beater 10 speed behind my tractor cab as I needed the exercise from my driving shifts.
Folding bikes that will do a decent job cost less than feeding a family of 4 at MacDonald’s with free shipping from Amazon.
So WHAT is YOUR Priority for those you love WHEN SHTF and your not at home???
In every mob scene is the build up time before every nastiness known starts happening. How long do you want to be traveling home?
Sorry Salty you did mention maps and scouting I was more aiming at some of our peers who frankly often only know one way to work, Wal-Mart and such. I could have specified better. But I do stand by the human risk of spending too much time walking home during what I call the golden few hours before people start acting poorly. Maybe you could edit these two comments together?
Thanks from pre-coffee Michael
Editing comments together is tricky, but it’s all good, you make sense.
I often carry my get-home bicycle with me, not because I fear an EMP but vehicles do break down and if I’m close to town I can get back easily that way. I didn’t have it yesterday, we were driving the work truck out to the place (taking stuff, picking up her little wagon). Yesterday was a work day, she did a lot of brush removal, while I went to the manufacturer of the cabin and worked out a repair that needs to be done (warranty work, a post has gone bad and materials are covered for 7 years).
We use EMP a lot in our thought experiments not because we particularly expect one, but rather because it’s a good scenario to kill assumptions that technology will save us.
About buying “absolutely nothing” when a catastrophe strikes, there is a good reason why so many articles on survival sites discuss what people should rush out to buy if a major catastrophe occurred.
Consider an EMP attack. Some sources say that power will not be restored to all parts of the country for years. Yes, there is a portion of the population that is all set with, say, five years of food, gadgets, fuel, and the thousands of sundries that fill the average grocery store, Walmart, or Home Depot. Maybe a fair estimate of that portion of the population would place those preppers at around 0.00001%.
For the rest of us, given that we really won’t know how long the emergency will last, there will always be a need for “more.” If you don’t know when “more” will become available (much less if it ever will), wouldn’t it be better to join the Black Friday scene, until, at least, the dangers become manifest. In the first day or two after a major disaster hits, few people won’t have figured out how bad the situation really is. They will probably be talking to neighbors and complaining about a power outage, wondering when Edison will get things going again. Few will engage in serious violence in the first couple of days over a can of peas, a gallon of gas, or a box of Tide. That may/will change with time, depending on the catastrophe, but in that window of time, things won’t go off the rails.
While some may say that they are prepared and that it would be better to let others have priority at the supermarkets, I will likely be inclined to add as much as I can to my larder and “supply room.” Rudyard Kipling once said, “A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition.” After a major societal catastrophe occurs, add to that toilet paper, duct tape, fuel, detergent, etc., etc., etc.
Good stuff! Thanks for the reply, sorry it took so long to get this approved!
Survivermann99 (cool name BTW) while I agree with your ideas for the most part two issues I am concerned about.
EMP happens Power is out. Almost every store I know is SHUT DOWN if power is out. Computerized cash registers are down you know. Some 90+% of use credit cards and the credit card system is down. Even if you have cash in hand I have spoken to my friendly managers at Tractor Supply, Lowes, Home Depot, Grocery Stores and of course Wal-Mart and they have standard operating procedures to close up. No sales even with cash until power is restored.
We are lucky in my town, if EMP doesn’t damage the emergency generators that we have two local stores and a gas station that can power up and will take cash. However the gas station could only power one pump at a time so.. Police and EMS has priority.
Friends it is worthwhile for YOU to ask around your area for this kind of information.
Second is the human factors of rumors and fears. Black Friday fist fights over cheap TV’s as well as recent EBT Card issues and the troubles that erupted over a failure to pay for their food (How am I going to FEED MY Children!!). A LOT of people (Some amazingly enough WELL OFF people) have near zero reserves of food and depend on daily shopping or take out food.
Most folks will wait for Edson to turn the power on for a day or so but outlier troubles will already be erupting once the rumors start flying this is NOT A NORMAL Power outage. Once it gets dark even more fear will be in the air.
Thus GET Home ASAP. Also remember to look like everybody else or your going to be the Wal-Mart for the unprepared. BBQ’ing that meat so it will not spoil, a nice noisy generator or lights when everybody is dark is a BEACON for folks well past your Trusted Normally Civil Neighbors.
Helping others is noble but where (And HOW) does the prepared Ant stop supporting the ever increasing Grasshoppers visitors.
Excellent and well thought out. I agree with the bike, we have a large suv we use ti get around in our small town which has two bikes, air pump etc always aboard. One of my hobbies is classic cars and trucks. Hard fast rule for out of town a non computer / electronic marvel vehicle is used. All well stocked with the things you mentioned and more.
Dang, I hadn’t thought of Chip Hilton for years. I had the whole set growing up (saved for months to buy them) and read them all cover to cover multiple times. I think we would all be better served if the youth of today would read Chip instead of the evil on the Internet. Wonder what ever happened to those books?
Boise Bob
They are still around, some of them at least were “updated” but I love the old originals!
TEOWAPKI? The end of the world as we personally know it?
First paragraph, it’s electro MAGNETIC pulse, not mechanical.
Sure is. Oops. Fixed now.
Good article Salty,
Interesting as I was reading this I sat here thinking, what if “Right Now” and picturing every item I have with me.
Unlike yourself I’m more of an “old fart” and I calculate the 35 miles would take 3 days walk, hence the GHB is built for 5 days. EDC is and EDC with mainly smaller important for a quick GOOD with the hide still attached event (riots fires, earthquake, so-on stuff).
I hear that, as an aging person myself!
absolute silence , wouldn’t that be nice. after 9-11 and hurricane Katrina it was VERRY quiet here for days and months. the loss of life and property damage by these events was to terrible to contemplate but going outside at night and seeing only dark sky and absolute guiet was wonderfull