True, Eugene. I never understand it when people assume that their BOL is going to be perfectly intact and supplied when they get there, or that it's only going to take X number of days to get there, or that they'll be able to do it all by vehicle, etc... In my mind, when I plan a bug-out, (Like Hikermor, bugging-in is plan A, except in a select few scenarios,) there's always a niggly voice in the back of my head whispering "What if..." Can I plan for every eventuality? No. But my mentality is "Hope for the best and plan for the worst", and I think that if it comes to that, I shouldn't expect it to go off without a hitch.

We were watching Out of Wild Venezuela the other night, and one of the participants destroyed her boots to make something or other, under the assumption that they were essentially going to be saved when they got around the next bend in the river. My son said to the screen "You're so dumb. It's not over yet. What if something happens before you get to the end?" It made this mama proud.

I need to add that, personally, I think a great piece of advice that's already come up here, is to take your kit out for a test run. Then tweak it and take it out again. Not only will you trim it down and identify gaps, you'll get used to the set up and each individual piece of gear.

Right now, for example, I'm just getting back into the swing of things after a pregnancy, and adjusting to life with a new baby. I'm testing a new BOB set-up that's going to be a general store for my day hiking/overnight and weekend/week long set-ups. In addition to getting my hiking legs back under me and losing this baby weight, I'm trying out a new pack (old pack, new use), a new stove (DIY alcohol) and a new saw. We're doing some day hiking, and the overnighters start in a few weeks. I hope to have the pack dialled in shortly thereafter. Part of that process is asking yo guys for feedback and I really appreciate your insights!