Quote Originally Posted by gnihcraes View Post
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.