Greetings Wolfpack,
First off, ETS'ers don't throw rotten tomatoes, that kind of behavior can be found at other forums, but neither the Moderators or the community here will tolerate that kind of behavior, so relax and enjoy. The membership here are some truly great people!
I like your list which reflects a good grasp of reality. As questions began, in my mind, I'd find the answer as I continued to read down the list.
Being about 50 LBS lighter than you but also not in great shape, AND with minimal EQ experience, I would plan on taking up to 72 hours to walk home. It seems to me that if the busses aren't running, a lot of detours will be necessitated.
The more I have thought about what might occur during a large-scale emergency, the more problems I keep thinking of. I think your are probably right that I should be thinking in terms of 72hrs to get home rather than my original optimistic 24-36hrs. Unfortunately, that likely means more weight for the pack.
Being an "icebreaker sailor", I would not attempt any kind of swim crossing. I would look now at any marina's in the area and explore the possibility of hiring someone to take you across. Meet the Marina Owners and explain your concerns and ask them what they think the possibilities are.
This is why I post on forums. Not only do you get great feedback, but it makes you think more about your own plans. The more I think about my idea of swimming the Ship canal, the dumber it seems. Cold water, long distance, debris, keeping my stuff dry, etc. It was always intended only as a last resort, but I should probably just rule it out entirely. I am certainly open to other transportation and thought I would walk my first leg along Lake Union to see if I could find anyone I could hire to just give me a ride across the canal, or better yet, all the way to the north end of Lake Washington.
I take it that you plan to use the wet ones, as toilet paper??? If not, then you might want to add a roll of "Campers TP". It is a small roll in a clear plastic case. That might be a good idea to add to your "leave at the office" list also.
Actually, there is travel toilet paper in my GHB already. The "Wet Ones" were intended as a ready made cleaning cloth I could use to clean the worst off of wounds, clean my hands if they end up with blood, filth, mud, etc., and other general purpose cleaning. Nothing special about "Wet Ones", any prepackaged, travel-size, cloth/cleaning solution would do. Your suggestion about leaving some toilet paper at the office when I leave is an excellent one. Also a large box of cleaning wipes would also be good.
Water: If you have bottled water at work, I recommend "planning" to add 3-5 bottles to your GHB before leaving the office, to supplement your existing supply.
We don't have bottled water free for the taking at my office, but there is some in the vending machine I could "acquire". I was planning on having a couple of extra bottles of water in my GHB box to leave behind along with the medical supplies, gloves, flashlights, etc. I'm very concerned about weight. Adding 3-5 additional 1 litre bottles would add 5-10 additional pounds to my pack. Do you think it is worth the extra weight? My planned route home was along a lake where I could pretty easily filter/purify water as I went.
Instead of carrying the Dog's equipment in your GHB fulltime, perhaps make a Dog BoB which would stay at home with the dog. You could add it to your GHB, if you arrived home and found that ya'll would have to Bug Out because of local conditions.
My GHB is really intended only for getting home from work. It is not intended as a BOB. I have a much better equipped BOB at home which does have dog stuff as well. The dog equipment in my GHB (collapsible bowl, leash, etc.) is probably mostly an emotional thing. If I happened to have my dog at work, I would have a basic prep. If I ran across some "eligible" dog on the way, I could take it with me. (I would do my best to find the dogs original owner once I was home) Though possibly hard to tell from my original post, I do really like dogs, and the idea of having a dog with me on my trek home would bring me a lot of comfort as well as potential security. Also the bowl is potentially useful for dipping water if I don't want to expose my cup/water bottle for some reason. The leash is a short, potentially VERY strong rope that could be used where it might take a lot of paracord to accomplish the same thing. These last are mostly rationalizations, but like I said, the dog stuff is less logical and more emotional. I should probably apply a little more logic to it.
I like your selection of maps. Do you have an iphone or Droid. They have GPS and other applications that I find will be useful IF the cell towers are working. I imagine that the familiar sights and landmarks could appear radically different or have disappeared after a serious EQ.
I had not thought of the GPS aspect of my cell phone. Currently I don't have that service turned on, but that could be really useful. Especially if it is a true GPS and not based on cell towers. Yet another great idea to investigate.
Good Luck, in my case, I work hundreds of miles from home, and space constraints have forced me to start leaving my GHB at home and I'm making do with an E&E kit to help me get home, if needed.
Sorry to hear your work takes you so far from home. Lets hope that neither of us has to make use of the preps we are putting together.
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