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Petoski

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On Friday I will finally get to try out my get home plan. It is 50km (31miles) in the car but I estimate it will be more than 60 km because I will be going on a trail and through the forests. My girlfriend will drop me off at work and then after work I will walk home. I will be taking my bug out bag and stopping overnight somewhere in the forest.

I think this will be a good time to trial the route because the weather is a real mixture. Days can feel like +20c (68F) and nights can be near zero (32F).

My estimate is 2 days because I will not be starting the first day until after my work shift has ended.

My work location is in the city but as this is Finland the city only has 200,000 people and my work is right on the outskirts. The first 5 minutes walk is on a small street and then I am in the forest. I can then walk pretty much the rest of the way without leaving the forest. The general plan is to use the forest trails and make use of the lakes for water.
 
Well that went well... Not!

The car broke down 100 yards from the house when leaving to work. The good news is my get home bag worked perfectly and i made it back home alive. The 100 yards was a hard trek but all my training finally paid off. :)

I will have to reschedule the real trip for a later date.

I decided to turn the day in to some kind of positive and after getting the car to the mechanics I walked back the 20 km with all my gear.
 
On Friday I will finally get to try out my get home plan. It is 50km (31miles) in the car but I estimate it will be more than 60 km because I will be going on a trail and through the forests. My girlfriend will drop me off at work and then after work I will walk home. I will be taking my bug out bag and stopping overnight somewhere in the forest.

I think this will be a good time to trial the route because the weather is a real mixture. Days can feel like +20c (68F) and nights can be near zero (32F).

My estimate is 2 days because I will not be starting the first day until after my work shift has ended.

My work location is in the city but as this is Finland the city only has 200,000 people and my work is right on the outskirts. The first 5 minutes walk is on a small street and then I am in the forest. I can then walk pretty much the rest of the way without leaving the forest. The general plan is to use the forest trails and make use of the lakes for water.
I can’t wait to hear how it goes Karloshi! Be safe, Lindy
 
[QUOTE="Illini Warrior]
you have any kind of daily commute - better have a few dozen pre-planned routes home >> especially if your commute includes public transportation, the interstates and high impact pinch points ....
I'd like to echo Illini Warrior about having multiple routes pre-scouted and being aware of pinch points. In my hometown I have multiple 6+ escape / get home routes should SHTF dictate the need to use any of them. I wish you great success in future get home / bug out test runs.

ShadowWolf 13
 
@ShadowWolf 13 Indeed. Even the walk back from the mechanics threw up a few interesting things.

For example, I had expected that as I walked back the scenic route through mostly woodland areas I would have found many places to make a suitable camp and enjoy a little break and cook some snack and have a cup tea. The reality is even in a low population density area of a low population density country, there are still occupied houses dotted next to the woodland and these are all owned by the people who live there. Sure, I can use their land under the Every mans rights we have here but (my understanding of the rules) making a fire is not permitted without prior permission. Also in a SHTF scenario the property owners would not be too hospitable.

When I finally get to do the real get home route I will have to scout remote or stealth locations for cooking and sleeping and that may require a bigger detour than initially planned.
 
[QUOTE="Illini Warrior]
you have any kind of daily commute - better have a few dozen pre-planned routes home >> especially if your commute includes public transportation, the interstates and high impact pinch points ....

also pays to get off at the various interstate exits on your regular traveled routes - take a few minutes to go into the actual town that got bypassed by the interstate back in the 1950-60s - most were on a well established US/state highway and/or railroad route - note the available SHTF type resources there besides what eventually got built at the interstate exit - could payoff in the future knowing there's more gas stations, a grocery store, hardware ect ect .....
 
also pays to get off at the various interstate exits on your regular traveled routes - take a few minutes to go into the actual town that got bypassed by the interstate back in the 1950-60s - most were on a well established US/state highway and/or railroad route - note the available SHTF type resources there besides what eventually got built at the interstate exit - could payoff in the future knowing there's more gas stations, a grocery store, hardware ect ect .....

I nearly always drive the back routes as they are more interesting than the motorway.

That got me thinking... One good option for quick travel is using old abandoned railway lines. These used to connect the smaller towns and villages to the main lines but most of those stations were closed down long ago.
 
I nearly always drive the back routes as they are more interesting than the motorway.

That got me thinking... One good option for quick travel is using old abandoned railway lines. These used to connect the smaller towns and villages to the main lines but most of those stations were closed down long ago.

many of the old discontinued RR tracklines in the US are turned into hiking/biking recreational routes - they salvage the steel rails and the wooden ties they use here >> what's nice about the routes are they usually crisscross where the interstates or major roads were never built ....

for the US guys here's a map site that covers those abandoned RR lines >>>

http://www.abandonedrails.com/
http://trains.rockycrater.org/pfmsig/atlas.php
https://bridgehunter.com/
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUZkZtX3d1aS1Ybjg/view (free PDF atlas of US railroads)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUdGY0ZUtEbFY1MlpjS2JQWHU3Y0lsYWZqMHBJ/view (free PDF atlas of everything US RR freight)

The Rail Map (online world display of RR lines)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUOFFSQVdhd0hiVm8/view (quiky US map of train & bus routes)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUbUZ4WlBDNnpsc2c/view ( throw in for those that haven't prepped international)
 
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I finally found time for the get home trip. Here are my thoughts.

Food - I had more than enough supplies for the trip and these would have lasted 2 more days if needed. I also past lakes with fish and saw several forest chickens that would have been an easy kill with my slingshot in an emergency situation. (Not legal here but who cares in SHTF situation)

Water - I didn't have a problem finding water sources and this is Finland so there is plenty of wood to make a fire and boil the water if needed.

Shelter - Bug, bugs and more bugs. A mosquito net is a must this time of year. I didn't take one so in the end I just rested for an hour and then carried on walking. I have now learnt this lesson because walking 60km in one go isn't too much fun.

Stamina - I didn't have much problems energy wise but the feet and legs took a beating. I think they would have been ok if i had a good nights rest. Covering the distance is not a problem but breaking it down to 3 days would be a nicer experience because it was a very hot weekend.

Navigation - Route was planned and had maps and a compass. Finding the way home was not a problem but I will now modify the route based on the things I have learnt

Stealth - I wasn't aiming for this on the trip but I was looking for ways to avoid people or settlements for future reference. I saw 3 people the whole time who i could have avoided.

Gear and pack - With the exception of not taking a mosquito net the gear worked well and I am not sure I could make things too much lighter (6KG). The pack rubbed parts of my back raw with all the sweating in the heat. I am looking at replacing the backpack with something lighter. My backpack is more of the military type and is quite heavy so maybe I will go for a lighter trail type pack.

Next is to replicate the trip in different seasons.
 
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