I am quite familiar with the White Mountains and many other less populated areas of the US. Gloria and I left Maine some 15 years ago and have been living "on the road" since. Most of our time is spent in such places. We live most of the year in a 4x4 pick up camper. From that vantage point I would not recommend banking on the White Mountains as any sort of retreat except in the most dire circumstances.

Look carefully and you will see that most entry points have been restricted and are easily controlled. The "Whites" are very rugged and roads are narrow and lack any way to pull a vehicle clear of the road except in designated places. Actual useable camping spots outside of the managed campgrounds are few unless you are ready for some serious hiking.

Go there on a nice fall 4 day weekend. It becomes an urban forest. unfortunately many of the folks are inexperienced and in my opinion, do not make good neighbors.

It is sad to say that this condition prevails across much of the US. Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Parks and other land owners are constraining movement in an attempt to manage and protect the lands. You would not believe (whoops your are ex LEO..you would believe..) the stupid and destructive things we have seen in the woods. That and funding cuts have resulted in heavy restrictions in travel. Both regulatory and topographic.

In most National Forests it is now illegal to camp more than 30 feet from a numbered road. That is the regulatory aspect. With that ruling they are creating formidable physical barriers to topographically impede movement on all but numbered roads.

Here again, the effect has created "choke points" throughout the system. We have been Camp Hosts in a dispersed camping area in a large Arizona N.F. On any given weekend, traffic on the arterial roads becomes unmanageable and movement difficult. We had an AVERAGE of 7 helicopter medical evacuations per weekend, several fatalities and untold fender benders.

In contrast, as a responder with the Red Cross, I have spent a month in New Orleans during Katrina, Miami during Hurricane Wilma and others. These are not the best examples of prepared people helping each other. Yet, without a doubt, I believe I would be better off in in either community than heading into the woods.

Suffice it to say that the very last place I want to be in a disaster are the public lands. Instead, we have created many friends at locations all over the country where we will be welcomed into a caring and known community. We bring skills to contribute and a history of friendship. In my considered opinion, it is far better to be in a known community where you can plan, coordinate and provide mutual support than alone with a small group on the public lands.

Nomad

I like the "layers" approach, starting with what you have in your pockets and working out from there- - -at home, in the car, etc etc. And I worry about and prepare for the high probability "smaller" problems first. Things like a flat tire in bad weather. (When did you check the tire pressure in the spare? Gloves and Poncho in the car? etc. etc.)Deal with the small things, and you will find you are in a better position than 99% of the population.

I also am concerned about the "big" things you mention, but IMO the chances of them causing me to have to bug out are very very very small. I have limited $$ and think that the money is better spent on these smaller things that can and do happen.

"Layers" -- literally, yes. I would say layers is a great umbrella term for an effective strategy for survival in extraordinary circumstances as well as a hike in the woods and everyday living.

Perspective and faith are essential, too, I think. An age-old truism of the news media is that "if it bleeds, it leads." That's just the nature of the beast. We tend to gawk at car accidents on the highway and TV news show ratings increase when there is a disaster occurring somewhere.

But most of the cars on the road won't ever crash. Most people in the Middle East are not attacking U.S. embassies. Most of us likely will die the old-fashioned way... by getting old.

I became cognizant of the need to prepare for unexpected and potentially uncomfortable or even dangerous inconveniences about twenty years ago when DC was hit with ice storms and bitter cold that stressed the power grid so much that my zip code was subjected to rolling blackouts. To make it even more unpleasant, I caught the flu from a friend who was visiting. My reaction to that was to forever more have at least two weeks of canned soup in my kitchen and to accelerate acquisition of camping gear - something I was already doing because I'd just become an avid camper the year before. Though unfamiliar with the phrase "shelter-in, that's precisely what I was preparing for. And what I continue to prepare for.

A couple years later, a city-wide alert over cryptosporidium in the water system caused me to start storing a few days worth for me and my dog. Lesson: don't take the tap water for granted - quantity or quality.

September 11, 2001 and the anthrax attacks a few weeks later (both affected me personally) caused me to look at "prepping" in a whole new light. Until then I had not been concerned about the ability to "bug out." Then the more I looked at bugging out, the more desirable sheltering-in became.

Then I read Cormac McCarthy's book, "The Road," and William Forstchen's "One Second After." Both TEOTWAWKI scenarios. My takeaway from each of them was that survival can be overrated in certain circumstances. And that's where faith enters the picture, for me.

If I had Warren Buffett's resources, maybe I'd seriously prepare for a TEOTWAWKI scenario. But it'd probably be a waste of money because I'd be enjoying my money so much traveling around the world, I'd hardly ever be in residence at my post-armageddon survival fortress.

First, really think through and prepare for the likeliest survival scenarios that are common to many disasters (natural, man-made and Hollywood fantasy): 1) power outage; 2) water outage; 3) loss of shelter; 4) stranded vehicle; 5) flooding; 6) downed trees. Etcetera.

If you are prepared to cope with those contingencies and survive a couple weeks without power (ATMs...), supermarkets and restaurants, then I think you are in pretty good shape.

As to whether the world is really in a uniquely dark and perilous time...

Eh. I think we're safer now than when the H-bomb was new and Fidel Castro was beseeching Nikita Krushchev to first-strike us with the USSR arsenal. In that instance, the fate of millions of Americans depended on Krushchev being the voice of reason.

Now that's a scary scenario (i.e. Cuban Missile Crisis 1962). Considering today's Iran situation, perhaps that analogy has diminished my earlier points.

In a few minutes, I'll be headed back out onto a river to paddle a canoe for a couple hours. If something Hollywood horrific happens in those two hours, I could be stuck with just me, my dog, a whistle, a life jacket, a Diet Coke, 32 oz of water (for my dog) and a carbon fiber paddle.

Maybe I'll tuck a firesteel in a pocket.... Nah, going to risk it.

When you get right down to it, prepping is basically Extreme Camping. With an interest in outdoor pursuits, organize your gear, get a few additional items (which you always wanted - now they are justified!) and lay in a bit more food and water thannormal. Voila!

Enjoy your paddle, Dagny.....

Agreed.

As for bug out,only Fire or Fema am I leaving,ie,a catastrophic event where staying is a death plan for sure.Otherwise,Im staying right here.

Plan for everything,never happen unless you are Bill Gates,or even Glen Beck type money.

My thought is every little thing you do puts you that much ahead of the do nothing crowd,and they will be the huge majority,so do what you can is a good plan IMO.

I will try to help the elderly neighbors and feed who I can,but something tells me the unprepared will willingly head off to FEMA,but I want to avoid that if possible.

Bingo, kits within kits, plans within plans. Layered is a good way to describe it. Some of my kits are virtual in that they will be put together from larger kits as the need arises. Factors which decide what is in the kit will be weather, distance to travel & time to get there.

Always have a Plan B.