I took my modied Seattle Get Home Bag (GHB) for a test run today. I put on my normal work clothes, put on my GHB boots and headed out to a friends house. For those interested in what's in my GHB and why, see the separate thread "Seattle GHB".

After a previous test hike, I found that I wanted a small accessible pocket for keys, flashlights, etc. I also found it difficult to reach the water bottles in my pack while on the move, so wanted an easier to access water source. A cheap solution I ran across was a separate small waistpouch that held a water bottle and had two small pockets. I thought I would try it out on this trip, so strapped it around my waist in addition to my backpack.

Here are miscellaneous notes from the trip:


Distance: 6.6 miles (according to Google maps)

This was a summer hike, so I removed the following from the pack before I set out:

long underwear
camp towel
pen/cards/notebook
dogbowl
shampoo/toobrush/toothpaste
paper maps (took laminated instead).

Backpack weight: 24 lbs 7 oz
including 2 ltrs of water, gore-tex jacket, and sleeping pad

Waistpouch weight: 2 lbs 3 oz
including 1/2 litre of water, keys, cell, and radio/headphones

Found the built-in straps on bottom of my northface recon pack are really short. I can fit a rolled sleeping pad in, but could not fit the pad and my coat which had been my plan. Strapped the coat over the top of the pack instead. I am going to look at extending the bottom straps.

Attached the reflective "slow vehicle" sign to back of pack. Sign had been rolled up inside the pack and did not unroll very well. Might need to store it flat. Attaching it using the sign's built-in waist-strap was kind of jury-rigged. A better/faster way to attach the sign would be helpful. Could not find a good way to attach the sign when the pack cover was in place. Need to look into that.

I used two utility carabiners to attach water bottles to pack to keep them from falling out of side mesh pockets. Worked much better than using the pack tightening straps I had originally been using.

Wore a small separate waistpouch that held a small water bottle, keys, cell, and am/fm radio. Worked really well.

Meant to take some ibuprofen before leaving but forgot.

Started the hike between 11:30 and 12am.

Weather was overcast with rain/drizzle the whole way. 65 degrees. Mild wind.

Did not take my PSK on a neck strap. Still debating this. Main reason for it is if somebody takes my pack, I still have some basics.

The pack cover just barely fit the pack without my jacket strapped to the top. Did not try it with the jacket, but probably would not have fit. Need a bigger cover. Also need one that is not bright silverish-grey.

I took the pack cover off after about a mile. In the light drizzle, the pack seemed to stay pretty dry without it. The jacket was covering the top of the pack though.

My trekking pole (LEKI Wanderfreund Antishock) worked fine and proved very useful and quite capable of knocking the attacking blackberry vines out of the way. It worked much better than the folding shock-corded Stansport I had tried on a previous test. Still need to work on length, I kept making the trekking pole shorter throughout the trip. Was really thinking two would be nice (as several people have recommended) by about 2/3's of the way through my hike.

Other than radio, jacket and pack cover, never used anything else in my pack.

Knew the route well enough, I didn't even use the maps.

The Coby headphones worked great. Don't think I need the ear buds after all. Not the best quality sound, but for this purpose, quality is not that important. Comfort and stability are. The Coby's worked fine for me on all counts.

My hat, a Outdoor Research "Seattle Sombrero" worked really well. Kept the rain off my head and face, did not get too hot or sweaty, stayed on well.

Having the small water bottle on my belt to drink from worked really, really well. It was actually a 1/2 litre of bottled water. While the belt pouch does hold a full 1 litre Nalgene, I think it would have been to big and uncomfortable. Drinking from the small bottle and filling it every once in a while from the big bottles would probably be a great combo. With the small mouth on the smaller bottle I had with me, would have been difficult, but I think a 1/2 litre wide-mouth Nalgene would make this really easy. Will look for one.

When wearing the hat, I tended to keep my head down to keep wind from blowing the brim up. This worked well, but restricted my visibility quite a bit. Probably not a good thing in a real GHB scenario.

When I met people while walking, I did my normal look at them and nod/smile. In a real scenario, I think I would still do this, but should be far more alert, keep more distance between us, be ready to move fast if needed, and have my trekking pole in a position for quick defensive use.

Pavement is pretty hard stuff. Some additional padding in the hiking boots would be helpful. Will look to see if I can find something that will fit and is not to squishy.

Only drank 1/2 litre of water on this trip. Was cool and rainy, but should probably have had more to drink. Toward the end of the trip, I was debating about stopping and getting water out of my pack to drink, but knew I only had a mile or so to go and just kept going instead. Worked fine, but not sure that was a good decision.

The am/fm radio certainly helped make the trip seem to go faster. However, during a real scenario, there might not be any stations operational. If so, an mp3 player might help considerably. A combo am/fm/mp3 would be great. Long battery life and excellent fm and am reception are the most important factors though. Most mp3 players I know of with bult-in radios have pretty poor reception.

While the radio made the trip go faster, it probably also lulled me into not paying as close attention to my surroundings as I should. I wonder about the trade-off between alertness and help with the psychology of getting home.

Total Hike time: 2 hrs 6 min

Overall:

Backpack and waistpouch were comfortable the whole way. Never felt like the pack was to heavy. In fact didn't even notice it most of the time. Bottom of my feet were getting sore as were my legs. No problems with breathing. Think I could have gone another hour fairly well, but it would start getting pretty hard after that. (As I said before, that pavement is hard!) While this test was only about a third of what the hike from my office to home would be, it did give me more confidence in making it. If worse comes to worse, you can make it a long way by taking 100 steps at a time. All in all a successful test and maybe I am not in quite as a bad a shape as I thought.

Good post test report.

You may want to do your feet, legs and back a favor and look for something more suitable for the urban jungle / hiking environment that you probably most encounter. I never wear heavy hiking boots in urban areas nor the back country unless it is on very difficult terrain and my pack weight is above 40 lbs or there is deep enough snow. In amongst my ever expanding hiking footwear collection, 90% of the time I slip on a pair of these ankle height hiking shoes. They are lightweight, waterproof, have a Vibram sole and very durable. I also have another similar pair that are not waterproof and use them when the PNW weather is not as wet in the late spring and summer.

Nice write-up on your test run. Great exercise that, together with your other thread, has rejuvenated my own planning. Thanks.


You touch on something — situation awareness — that's an important piece of your "survival toolkit." Since it depends on what you see and what you hear going on around you, wearing headphones would impair your effectiveness. Depending on nature and severity of disaster, time of day, and neighborhood/area you're traveling, could mean increased peril.

Granted, the radio would presumably provide information useful to broader SA, but perhaps best monitored selectively.

Here's brief write-up on situation awareness, some of which you might find applicable.

Superb writeup. One note; a good compromise between entertainment & into and situational awareness might be a single earbud with the radio set to mono. You'll get all the content while still retaining the ability to focus on outside sounds.

Again, I commend you on "letting rubber meet the road" and trying out your GHB. Many guys will "wargame" their pack but never try it until they need it. It was wise to give it a trial run.

nice job... I really like your introspection and analysis, and your model has given me (and others)thought for concern.... a comment for those that might live in areas with a little higher heat index...my 72hr bag is a Blackhawk with 100oz internal hydration bladder I picked up off the prize table at Ft Bragg. The drinking tube makes it a lot easier to keep hydrated if you don't want to stop to remove the pack... my external water bottles..SweetWater filter bottle with nested cup, and stainless 1/2 liter as you observed are also difficult to reach.. regards Les

With all the usual disclaimers, the superfeet insoles really work for me and make a significant difference to my feet, legs and back. While I'm sure they don't work for everyone as we are all different --they might be worth a try. I've used them for several years and at least in the past they've offered a 30 day money back guarantee.

http://www.superfeet.com/superfeet-difference/

I totally agree with Teslinhiker's choice of footgear - low cuts are much preferable to high top leather shoes. Their lighter weight will significantly increase the distance you can hike, as well as your comfort. I would recommend after market insoles, like Superfeet or Spenco (my preference), especially on concrete surfaces.

I know your circumstances apparently rule out using a bicycle, but this may not be the case for others. They should consider that while 20 miles is a long day's walk, it is an easy two hour bike ride. I can consistently average ten mph with a fully loaded touring bike, covering seventy to eighty miles a day, carrying enough gear to remain self sufficient for days at a time. If equipping for a GBH situation, the load could be decreased and bike durability enhanced to deal with the complications preset in a post earthquake situation.

I also live in earthquake country, but my part time job is only five miles away. I usually commute on my touring bike, and I always have what is required to walk the distance if necessary.

Congratulations on being proactive about this situation.

I don't know as high tops seem to give me more support. I'd use a hiking boot rather than a backpacking boot. And in the PNW at least 3 seasons of the year the high tops are going to probably keep your feet drier. Even if you are lucky to have a dry day, which can be far and few between around here, with a major earthquake there undoubtedly will be broken water mains (and probably worse) with runoff to navigate through and around. Fall through spring I'd probably include a pair of gaiters as well.

High tops do seem to offer more support (which is very often at debate) The problem with high top boots (whether you classify them as hiking or backpacking boots, it doesn't matter) is the weight of them. It has been proven by numerous studies that the heavier weight of the boot (which the OP has stated he wears heavy boots) makes a huge difference when you count the number of average steps per mile a person makes. The average is around 2000 steps on flat easy ground. So taking that number and multiplying it by 3 lbs for an average heavy boot is 2000 x 3= 6000 lbs of weight lifted by your legs and feet. Compare this to hiking shoes that only weigh 1.4 lbs: 2000 steps x 1.4 = 2800 lbs.

In one mile that is 1/3 less the weight and may not seem impressive, however in the course of 20 miles, the numbers are even more dramatic: 2000 steps x 20 miles x 3 lbs = 120,000 lbs compared to 2000 steps x 20 miles x 1.4 lbs = 56000 lbs of weight lifted. For any person who is even slightly out of walking/physical shape and carrying a 20 lb+ GHB, these are big differences which could be the deciding factor in you getting home before your legs and feet call it a day, especially on concrete.

If your trek home stretches into an overnight one and you stop and sleep somewhere, I can guarantee the next morning, your feet and legs are going to be hurting and you will have a rough few hours until you make it home.

As for the broken water mains flooding the street, I don't think there are very many (if any) mains big enough that would cause enough flooding to completely obiberate a street in deep enough water that I would be worried about. Also these types of breaks are very localized, meaning if you see the water flowing due a mains break in one block and flooding the street in a few inches of water, chances are that the next block over, there would be no flooding as all the water pressure is being released in the area of the break.

After my experience on the test hike, I am definitely going to research footwear more designed for urban environments. Due to my concerns about post-earthquake debris (glass, rebar, etc), I will still want something made of leather instead of nylon. Will also want something that fully encloses the foot. It looks like the footwear you showed had holes cut in the sides, possibly for breath-ability or weight.

I also want a high-top boot. I have badly twisted both of my ankles over the years and the high tops feel much more stable to me, especially in rough terrain (like a downtown post-earthquake debris field).