Into the hills (Part 2) - Apocalypse Survival

Ladies and Gents, welcome back to Into the Hills, part 2, where we’re following up on last week’s discussion on how to get out of dodge when the apocalypse hits. Previously, we talked about being prepared, deciding if and when to stay or go, and prepping a bug-out-bag. Feel free to catch up on last week’s content here. Assuming the world hasn’t ended yet, we’re happy to be trudging on to this week’s content.

Highway out of Hell

So you’re all packed and ready to hit the road. You get in your car and hop onto highway 2… which is completely blocked with traffic and debris. World War Z, 2012, The Last of Us and Mad Max: Fury Road (at least that one scene when the bikers blow the cliffs up) all teach us one thing about the apocalypse. Expect traffic. Think 5 o’clock rush hour and multiply that by a hundred - that’s what you’ll need to navigate. So your entire city’s become a congested death trap. What’s next? Let’s break this down into a simple sequence, starting from your house, all the way into the hills. The order goes as follows:

HOUSE → STREETS → HIGHWAYS → HILLS

So, the first step is making it out of your house. That’s pretty easy for some, all you have to do is walk out your front door. But things get much more complicated if you’re living in an apartment. Now, you gotta figure out the fastest way to get out of the building (without jumping out the 14th floor). Do you take the elevators or the stairs? Where’s the nearest fire

exit? What’s the maximum capacity for the elevator? How many people will also be trying to take these routes? Will you be going to the main floor, or the parkade for your car? Don’t feel too bad about abandoning it, that damage deposit is the least of your worries now.

Congrats, you’ve made it out of the building and onto the streets! If you’re in the suburbs, things are a little more manageable right now; people are evacuating, but there’s still enough room on the street for you to get your car onto the road. There’s a couple things you’ll need to figure out though. First, which way are we going? We’ll talk about the final destination more in the next section, but for now, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a destination in mind. This should be a general guide for which way you’re headed, but right now, it’s not your main focus. Even the best destination is pointless if you die getting there. So consider where you want to go, but focus more on how you’ll avoid getting stuck on the way out of the city. We’re talking about avoiding traffic circles, busy intersections, high volume roads.

Here’s another quick tip. Don’t head towards the trouble. If the straightest route to your ideal spot takes you through a crowd of machete wielding looters, a fire fight, and ground zero of the nuclear holocaust, take a different route. Seriously, some of this stuff is pretty self explanatory, but this one’s worth remembering.

If you’re living in an apartment in an urban center, you’re facing a bit more trouble once you hit the streets. For one, we can expect a higher population density, meaning traffic’s going to be a given. Not just that, narrow streets with buildings on either side means vehicle

maneuverability will also be compromised. You’ll want to consider other forms of transports like motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles - hell, you might even need to consider walking (click here to see our ratings for the best post apocalyptic transport). (Maybe for post-apocalyptic style points?)

This section’s run a little long, but we’ll still touch on the last area - highways. The major thing to remember about highways is that they’re the main roads leading in and out the city, meaning that unless you’ve got some backroad route set up, you’ll likely be interacting with the highways in some way or form. Unfortunately, this means that everyone else will too. There are also some bonuses to the highway to consider! You’ll have an opportunity to utilize the shoulder - or even go off road. Unlike city streets, you’ll have much more room to maneuver, once you disregard all traffic laws. In fact, assuming that everyone else is trying to leave the city, it’ll probably be relatively safer, and definitely much faster, driving in the oncoming traffic lanes on the highway! The cops will be too busy to enforce traffic laws at that point anyway … hopefully.

The Promise Land

You’ve abandoned your home and most of your worldly possessions. Congratulations, you are now officially homeless! With a little luck, a little work, and ideally, a lot of preparedness, this will be temporary. I’m beating last week’s dead horse with this one, but again, it can’t be overstated. Be prepared, have a destination in mind. At the very least, you’ll need to consider the core factors that will make it a home instead of a coffin.

Vital 3 of the promise land:

1. Proximity to danger

2. Access to resources

3. Defensibility

As much as we’d all enjoy moving into the abandoned mansion at the edge of the city, there’s a good chance that the city limits might still be too close to the source of danger. Take a nuclear blast for example. We would expect a 150 kiloton warhead to produce thermal radiation up to 6.54 miles away from the epicenter - and that’s not even considering the ensuing nuclear fallout, which would extend even further. Depending on the type of disaster you’re facing, you’ll want to adjust your proximity accordingly.

That being said, we’d also advise against driving off somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. More specifically, you’ll want to make sure you’re in an area where you’ll have access to resources for your long term survival. Your biggest consideration will be resources that ensure your basic needs - specifically food, water, and shelter. However, while all of these can be obtained naturally in the remote Rockies, you’ll most likely find that urban areas - even the one you left behind - to be a treasure trove of resources, from canned peaches to medical supplies. (Look forward to our upcoming content on scavenging in urban settings)

Our last major consideration is more of a long term one. Assuming you’ve found the perfect spot with ample resources, it’s a safe bet that someone else will be desperate for those resources. While it’d be nice to think that they’d be happy to share those resources with you, the unfortunate reality is that they’ll see it as too valuable to share. This goes double if we’re looking at finite resources (like the world's last can of peaches - we’d at least consider murder). So, to protect your precious resources, you’d best choose a spot you can defend said resources. You’ll want to identify some preventative measures, such as choosing a secluded/hidden spot, as well as natural choke points and blind spots to your new base of operations.

This concludes our series for escaping into the hills. And important thing to remind you of now though, is that the point of this article isn’t to say that fleeing is your only option - rather, that it is a viable one worth consideration. If you’re reading this article in the comfort of your own home, you’re already ahead of the curve in taking steps towards being prepared. If you’re panic googling this article while the bombs are dropping outside, then best of luck (sincerely). In the meantime, feel free to email us here at welcometotheark@outlook.com for new content requests! As always, stay frosty and stay alive. One Ark.

Captain - out.