I am a father of 2 children under five years of age, a mother who is limited to a walker or wheelchair, and my wife can carry a small backpack, but not a large one. I am pretty fit and can carry a heavy backpack, but I am having a hard time packing things. I am following the needs, as best I can, from articles on the site and others e.g. tent, food, sleeping bags, purify water, make fire, etc. but it is all getting to be much in terms of space and weight.

Trying to pack for five people and have one to two people carry is a bit challenging for me. Can anyone help with some suggestions?

Thanks,

Robbie

Possibly rig a pack to the back of the wheelchair or "saddle bags" to the side of the walker. Another option would be to use a small cart that supplies and kiddies can ride in and dad can push/pull. Or if the wheelchair is motorized set up the cart to be pulled by it. Not good for wilderness, good for urban environment. Not that I forsee bringing two sub 5 year olds and a wheelchair/walker bound mother into the wilderness as being an overly viable option.

-Bill Liptak

Is this a foot or vehicle contingency plan?

Seriously consider the reality of quick bug-out with the wheelchair-bound. IMHO, an option is to have the family leave as soon as it seems like something is coming down the pike. You stay as the "home guard" until it is absolutely necessary to leave.

Don't forget that you can use the baby stroller as a "pack mule"/handcart.

All others feel free to chime in....

My 2 cents

Rather than evacuate on foot, I would be looking very hard at bicycles and bike trailers. There are many commercial bike trailers designed for carrying children, dogs and cargo. And I just now saw this trailer which is designed to be an "ambulance" and which could perhaps accomodate your mother.

http://bikecart.pedalpeople.com/ambulance.html

I have a large dog trailer built by a Canadian company named "Croozer" and cargo trailer built by Oregon-based "Burley."

As your children age they will be able to ride their own bikes for some distance, freeing you and your wife up to carry only your mother and cargo.

You can cover so much more ground with a bike than on foot. Here are some other bike trailer options:

for persons with "special needs"
http://blueskycyclecarts.com/BSkyHandicap.htm

trailers to pull adults as well as children
http://www.equinoxtrailers.com/

Casualty transport system
http://www.casualtytransport.com/newpolice.htm

I share your dilemma. IMO, Bugging out is a last resort and is only effective IF you have somewhere to go to, within a reasonable distance. You are the only one who actually knows your situation. All any of us can do is to supply some food for thought. So here are some of my thoughts:

1) If the wheelchair is electric, your ability to bug out is limited to a 24-30 mile radius of your home, providing the batteries were in good condition and fully charged when you left home. Para 1A may be applicable, depending on the style and weight of the chair.

1A) If the wheelchair is a manual, a galvanized pipe can be clamped to the chair and after you attach a hitch to it, you can hitch it to a bicycle and tow her along.

1B) The MIL's walker can be hitched to the front of the chair for carrying until it is needed to get around an obstacle or other human needs.

1C) The MIL's equipment can be largely carried on the back of the chair from the handles.

2) IMO, a two person bicycle trailer would be good to use for the kids. Some of their gear can be tied to it.

3) 2 people can carry the gear of 5 if you use bicycle(s) to hang the gear upon while you and the wife walk the bicycle (with the kids trailer hitched to it). Remember how Charlie kept his army supplied during the Vietnam War.


My personal plans include Bugging Out ONLY to avoid imminent death. My DD1's chair is electric and weighs 250LBS and is not easily towed by a bicycle. We are in the process of getting her a manual chair. When we get the manual chair, then I will get a hitch, galvanized piping, and the necessary clamps to be able to tow her.

My goal this year is to completely equip my "stable" for bugging out purposes. This does not change my opinion that Bugging Out is a Life or Death OPTION ONLY!

I have taken steps to insure, as much as possible, that my home is and stays, equipped to weather out any event at home.

I do currently have several Bug Out plans but they require 24 hours advanced notice in order to be viable. I can't think of any actual disastrous events that provided advanced notice AND that the information was broadcast to the public beforehand.

Radio Flyer wagon (or something similar).

Load the kids and goodies in and they think it's for fun so keeps their stress to a minimum.

I've seen folks do this at Mardi Gras parades; put the kids and the cooler in the wagon and off they go.

The plastic ones seem to be fairly deep and light weight so I think they could be strapped upside down on top of the car.

Welcome to the forum Robbie!

Theres alot of great knowledge here

Sounds like a bike and trailer would be a good choice
might also want to look at wheeled game carts used to pack out deer and large game after the hunt

In counterpoint to Wildman's excellent post, I CAN relate an emergency situation that would provide advance notice and public announcement of impending evacuation. I live in an area that can flood. It has already happened twice.

Accordingly my suggestion is to also consider setting up additional contingency supplies at locations determined by you to be your evac. destinations ie: parents, grandparents, in-law's, siblings, trusted friends, etc. This can reduce your load provided the situation allows you to get to your contingency supplies.

If you can determine the location you would most likely be able to head to, stock that location with supplies. It may not be possible for you to carry everything you need, let alone pack, on a moments notice.

You may even be at work when an emergency strikes. Maybe you won't even be able to go home in the first place...This has happened to me.

In other words, reduce what you're carrying and place it, in advance, where you would most likely attempt to head. The caveat of course is to consider this stock as backup. But backup's have funny ways of turning into our primaries don't they?

Every situation is unique but the concept is basically like setting up "safe-houses".

For example: My area is in a flood zone. My in-laws are a driveable distance away on high ground. I've got supplies there that would allow me to show up basically with nothing in my pockets (god forbid!), be comfortable, self-sufficient for a couple of days, and be a minimal load on my in-laws. Obviously this presumes I'll be able to drive there. But your "safe-house" may be walking distance. In addition to the basics, consider some toys, children's books and kid friendly snacks, maybe even a pack of diapers.

We can't control the type of emergency or the timing but we can prepare locations that we would likely decamp to in an emergency. Consider it in addition to the useful advise already posted.

With your needs it seems unrealistic to think you can bug out on foot and have the supplies you would need. Just the food for 5-people for any length of time (with only 2 of them able to carry any kind of pack) would be more then reasonable to carry.


Better to plan on a car or SUV as part of your bug out plan.

Always have a supply of fuel on hand so you won’t have to worry about it when the emergency comes. With fuel stabilizer you can store gas for a few years and still expect it to work right.

Don't forget some of the "sport" type wheelchairs (the tricycle style). They're probably hardier for a rough environment, and more stable on uneven terrain. You can also use it as a "pack mule" like the others have suggested.