Help for urban wilderness

OK, has anyone tried to paddle or row against the tide?
Against the wind?
Against both at once?
60 miles of paddling?

And when you rest, you'll be moving with the wind and tide.
Unless you anchor and that brings up a new list of items to have and their own technical difficulties.
Such as not having navigation lights and being run over, or the anchor pulling loose or not having enought scope on your anchor line and being swamped because of it.

As for walking...sure, but if it goes over a day where will you hole up to sleep?
What did the pioneers crossing the great plains average?
10-13 miles a day IIRC. Even if you double that, it is alot of walking.
 
Ebbtide said:
OK, has anyone tried to paddle or row against the tide?
Against the wind?
Against both at once?
60 miles of paddling?

And when you rest, you'll be moving with the wind and tide.
Unless you anchor and that brings up a new list of items to have and their own technical difficulties.
Such as not having navigation lights and being run over, or the anchor pulling loose or not having enought scope on your anchor line and being swamped because of it.

As for walking...sure, but if it goes over a day where will you hole up to sleep?
What did the pioneers crossing the great plains average?
10-13 miles a day IIRC. Even if you double that, it is alot of walking.
Click to expand...

A low decked kayak has very minimal wind resitance, and can be paddled into wind and tide with a bit more effort than flat calm. If I can make it around Assateque bay on a windy day at my age, anyone in decent shape can do it. It can and has been done. And yes, its a lot of walking to cover 60 miles. But what are the alternatives? The man has to get home, and you either have to go over, under, around or through. All have their hazzards.

I doubt if you are going to get run over just a hundred yards off the beach. And if it's a real disaster with looters running around, I don't think you want lights on at night. In fact it may be prudent to lay low in daytime and get some sleep someplace out of sight, and paddle at night. Staying out of the sun will use less water, cut fatigue as well.
 
If he didn't have room for a bike, he'll suddenly have space for a kayak and paddle?

:D
 
With one of these:
http://www.folbot.com/cooper.html
You could paddle to Cuba.
Hola, Generalissimo Castro. Mucho gusto!
:D
Just be sure to jettison your 1911 and 870 before you hit the beach.

Seriously, I 've paddled 35 miles in a day on Lake Superior in 5'-6' waves...some reflected off of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I've also paddled in some serious tides on Cobbscook Bay in Maine.
Learn to eskimo roll and you can paddle in just about anything. A good kayak gets more stable as you lade it and my regular kayak tripping kit goes about 70 lbs.

Jim
 
Ed Gillette's trip to Hawaii was a good read, but you'd think he'd have figured out the butt blisters thing before he left instead of big dealing it in his article. Good story though.
 
Humm Ive been reading and pondering, and I think I could average about 10 mph on the bike. That means I could be home in about 6 hrs and I think most people would be in the confused i cant believe what happened mode vs Im stealing everything in sight mode during those first few hours. well I think. you never know what the ocean would be like but I do know what the concrete is like. Im thinking go like crazy and get there asap. I think I have the best chance with that. What do you guys think. Im not too good on the ocean and keeping your bearings at night and knowing where you are is a little tough. what are your opinions.
 
Dogsmeadow said:
With one of these:
http://www.folbot.com/cooper.html
You could paddle to Cuba.
Hola, Generalissimo Castro. Mucho gusto!
:D
Just be sure to jettison your 1911 and 870 before you hit the beach.

Seriously, I 've paddled 35 miles in a day on Lake Superior in 5'-6' waves...some reflected off of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I've also paddled in some serious tides on Cobbscook Bay in Maine.
Learn to eskimo roll and you can paddle in just about anything. A good kayak gets more stable as you lade it and my regular kayak tripping kit goes about 70 lbs.

Jim
Click to expand...


Hey Jim, is the cooper a new model? I've paddled the Aluet and loved it, but with the longer water line the cooper looks like a better tracker in choppy stuff. Have you tried it yet?

Folbots are great stuff!:thumbup:
 
Never paddled the Cooper. I, too, have only paddled an Aleut.
My daily paddler is a baidarka that I built myself. I also own a Valley Canoe Products Selkie.
All this talk has me thinking, though. I live a mile from Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago. Hadn't given much thought to escape by water until this thread.

xbxb - You definitely add another dimention when you get on the water. If nothing else, in terms of training time. Eskimo rolls take practice. And you are right, familiar landmarks look very different from the water, especially at night. Some things to consider with the bike are Mr. Tuffy's tire liners and heavy duty inner tubes in some type of good puncture resistant tires. Don't really want to be changing flats. Also, practice dismounts, using your bike as a shield, that kind of stuff. Look at ways to carry easily accessible weapons that are securely mounted. My daily commuting bike is a recumbent. It's about 8 feet long and loaded it weighs 35 lbs. or so. I wouldn't want to catch it if it was thrown at me.:D

Jim
 
Great Ideas with the bike, and I agree its kinda hard to get to Mr. Rosco if its in your pocket when your on your bike. Don't know if I've heard of concealed carry bike holsters lol but I'm sure I could rig something up without too much trouble.
Thanks Jim
 
I have a small bag that attaches to the front of the handlebars. Big enough for a Glock and extra mag, and any snacks you may want to grab while moving.
 
Here's my approach. My travel frequently takes me from a major metropolitan area to remote wilderness settings. I drive an old 4x4 truck that looks like a decommissioned phone company vehicle. On the outside, there's nothing that would ever give you pause to look twice.

But inside...
-Enough camo netting to cover the entire rig
-Signaling gear: orange duck tape for arrows, SOS, etc. (it's a white truck)
-Full size spares (2)
-An assortment of tire patching tools and materials
-Old parts that may still save my ass in a pinch: u-joints, lug nut, belts, hoses, spark plugs and wires, cap and rotor. etc.
-Other auto stuff that might come in handy: fluids (ATF, HEET, oil, coolant, brake, etc.) filters (oil, air, and fuel), etc.
-Onboard compressor / jumpstarting unit (Solar battery charger and bicycle pump for when the main unit craps out...I can do a lot of things, but I can't create electricity or compress air on my own.)
-Self Extrication Tools: V-Bar tire chains, HiLift Jack, winch (2), 30' logging chains, assorted recovery/tow straps, clevis (3)
-Tools: axe, 24" & 72" pry bars, 16# sledge, shovels, pick axe, big bow saw, machete, and basic auto repair
-Folding Bicycle: 24" x 18" x 12", currently being converted to hard use scenarios, (solid tires, gun mount, etc.)
-Inflatable Stearns Canoe, collapsible paddles, PFD, whitewater helmet, rescue rope
-Vertical gear: harness, rope, anchors, grappling hook
-5 gallon jerry fuel cans (4)
-Assorted siphons for assorted fluids (none of which require me to use my mouth for suction, chemical pneumonia = bad! :p )
-Dual fuel (white gas/unleaded gas) Colman two burner stove & two mantle lantern
-Military officers mess kit for 8 (yeah, like I'm gonna wash dishes, c'mon)
-20,000 kcal of food (roughly 10 days)
-7 Gallon water jugs (3)
-110v Inverter
-EMT First Aid Kit (FAK)
-Collapsible litter
-The mighty toilet paper
-An arsenal that rivals the National Guard
-Enough clothing to keep two other adults warm and dry
(I live in the Rockies and seem to have made friends with many people who have no concept of climate as it relates to altitude. Oh well, I guess I can always eat them. :barf: )
-An assortment of well-worn footwear decommissioned with 3 months of life remaining
-Sox, sox, and sox!
-And a BOB that is constantly tested and improved upon

I realize much of this may not be practical for everyone, (especially with all this extra weight and fuel at $3.00/gal & climbing), but maybe it will get you thinking about something that works on your end. Is this overkill? Absolutely. Has it save my ass? You betcha. It has also allowed me to capitalize on some awesome spontaneous adventures and provide several much-appreciated rescues/assists.

On the upside, I don't have to pack as much as I used to for elk/deer/pronghorn hunting. I've also done the same exercise/stockpiling for my dual sport motorcycles and mountain bikes. :thumbup:

One Final Note: I'm not eager to volunteer to become a refuge. If I can stay at home or make it home, I will.
 
xbxb said:
Great Ideas with the bike, and I agree its kinda hard to get to Mr. Rosco if its in your pocket when your on your bike. Don't know if I've heard of concealed carry bike holsters lol but I'm sure I could rig something up without too much trouble.
Thanks Jim
Click to expand...

I wear a P226 in a shoulder holster riding my Harley all the time. Should work fine on a bike, too.

Wore a clamshell shoulder holster horseback riding once. That didn't work. The bouncing dislodged the pistol and I had to go back and pick it up.
 
60 miles in one night can be done; just keep walking.
The bike is an excellent idea- I'd say get a bike.
To restate the obvious; Remember that in a survival situation you may get pinned down- it may be too unsafe to move because of bio-hazard or roaming gangs. In this situation it is much smarter to wait and hide than continue and risk dying because you are in a hurry.
a couple of questions;
Why do you have to get home?
Do you have family at home waiting for you?

If not then go like hell for as far as you can unless/until things get ugly, then move tactically.

If you've not moved tactically before try this; when I was a soldier we used to sneak into country towns in our AO at night via a drainage ditch or something. We would then proceed to move through the town, fully cammed up with weapons etc. It was sometimes very difficult, expecially with dogs barking. It really gets your adrenaline going knowing that if you get caught the civvies will raise all kinds of hell at an official level. So it was excellent training! You could try a similiar thing late at night in your area, just see how far you can move, in normal street clothes, on an average suburban night without getting 'bumped'. Sounds like you live in a pretty hairy area so it would, I'm sure, be scary, but very very valuable survival training which would help inform your decisions in future urban survival scenarios.
 
The only reason I need to get home is because I can survive there for about 6 months with what I have on hand. My wife is also there and she may need some help (but in a life or death situation you'd better look out for her. She's a bullseye shooter with a 45). I picked up a Katadyn water bottle microfilter the other day as there are tons of lakes in the neighborhoods here. It says it removes Giardia, Cryptosporidium 99.9% and waterborne bacteria 99.999% and Cooties in general. So I think the water question is answered. I have the real deal Katakyn at home and a lake behind the house with about 200 gal of water at home. The first thing we do when hurricanes are coming is fill all containers in the house with water. So we would do the same with any other disaster. That includes trash barrels lined with a heavy duty plastic liner which gives us another 100 gal.
I have walked 50 miles in one day but it was really a chore. I like your idea *** go like hell unless things get crazy "ugly" and then move tactically. I think the more miles you can get under your belt (if your able to) right after the disaster the better off you will be. Remember when something ugly and nasty happens to you the first emotion is disbelief and confusion. You must keep your head and if you do when the nasty hits the fan the better off you will be. Thanks Wolfmother
 
Second the motion on the folding bike. Used it to haul gear when taking the family away from Hurricane Katrina and the highways were gridlocked. Put two toddlers and gear on it and threw the family dogs in the jogging trailer I rigged up on the back.
 
JERSEYTEX7 said:
Second the motion on the folding bike. Used it to haul gear when taking the family away from Hurricane Katrina and the highways were gridlocked. Put two toddlers and gear on it and threw the family dogs in the jogging trailer I rigged up on the back.
Click to expand...

Wow I didnt know they would hold that much weight, I think they also have them in 8 spds.
 
There are two things you need to survive here.

1. An " AARP Card "so you get at least a 10% discount on everything you buy.

2. A Spyderco Atlantic Salt knife which will not ever rust in our humid environment.

Here is a picture of a S. Florida biker with his babe!
 
Boy is that ever the truth -------- I refuse to get an AArp card, I would love to get Spyderco Atlantic Salt knife, and how the heck did you get a picture of me taking my wife to Costco???????????????
 
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