Dawgboy's "public transit" GHB

[Dawgboy]

So after 3 years, I am back to commuting by rail and bus to work several days a week. I had to go through my in car ghb, which was well stocked, and make a smaller kit that can live in my backpack, but be easily removable for use elsewhere. My commute is 27 miles, so in the event of a disaster such as an earthquake that makes travel by rail difficult or impossible, These items need to sustain me for all or part of a very long walk back to my car(20 miles) or home(27 miles). I consider this a bare bones essentials for getting back home by foot via city walking, a long canyon and regional park route for about half the journey, and then more suburb walking. I am going to stick a bike in my server room too, as soon as I get new tires on it.

I have fire, security, first aid, limited shelter, a way to get a hot drink, 2 ways to purify water, and food.

First off, I broke the kit down and made a permanent stash of food and water at work, which I can drop into my daily carry Kelty Redwing pack. It contains 3 days of stripped MRE's, a small tub of Peanut butter, MRE crackers, and a 2400 Kcal Datrex bar, and about 10 cliff bars. Also 4 gallons of water.

In the Redwing, I have a light Columbia raincoat, change of socks, a large piece of 4Mil poly tarp, and a Shemagh. Also my old Surefire and a spare set of batteries, a package of Kids wipes, 3 days of prescription meds, a Platypus 1 liter bag, a small bottle of painkillers and allergy meds, and an ace bandage. None of this is pictured. It also contains a GI canteen pouch and canteen cup, and a Nalgene canteen and a rubber canteen cup lid, 4 or so cliff bars for about 1000 calories. Also, the Kershaw Amphibian pictured lives in an "easy open" portion of the bag...

In the Klein bag I have the following:

Red Bandanna.
'30 piece' ifak with added blister pads, benadryl strips, and 2x4" bandaids.
small bottle of Jaeger for entertainment. $5.00 in quarters and $50.00 in small bills.
Bottle of Polar pure water treatment.
razor sharp Shrade folder.
tiny roll of duct tape.
mini Bic lighter
Red Sharpie.
small 70 spf tube of sunscreen.
space blankie.
20 feet paracord.

Ziplock with:
4 teabags in sealed foil
4 Emergen-c pouches
2 packs (4 cups each) of Laval instant coffee with sugar

Shoe polish tin fire kit with:
Brass flint striker from end times report store
buncha charcloth
3 feet of waxed hemp line
2 pieces of fatwood.In bottom of Klein bag.

Enjoy!

[Robert65]

Dawg,

Looks like a good kit to me, just enough to get by but not too much to attract unwanted attention. The only thing I can think of is a map of various routes and places highlighted you should avoid if at all possible encase your primary or backup route is blocked.

Robert

[TacAir]

Huummm.

How about -
add some moleskin?
Swap out the Polar Pure for some Chlorine dioxide tabs?
Another pair of socks - wool? and add a Esbit stove, four tabs will at least do your tea...

Oh, and more food for the ruck. Good idea to to have food at work, do you have a change of clothes as well?

Hope you are able to get the bike squared away - 27 miles on a bike is a cakewalk....

[Dawgboy]

I have maps covered as I have usgs naps for the whole area downloaded to my Iphone(will work without a connection too). I know the routes i can go by very well, as I have been here most of my life. There are two riversheds i can follow, plus at least 3 major road routes too. Also forgot to add I have a mini widgybar, and a compass as well as a thermometer in the backpack too.


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[74 or more]

Maybe think about adding some kind of back up power for your phone. I carry a 3ft USB and a small dual port wall charger, and my Solio classic. The solio will hold a full charge for a year and will charge my smart phone 1 and a half times. Not saying you should run out and buy a Solio but being able to keep your phone running, especially if you have maps on it, is a win.

[Deenie7]

Yeah, on my public transit route (about 15 miles each way, on commuter rail train mostly) among other things I take a charging cord, a plug with a USB port in it (in case I have access to a working outlet), and a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus battery pack with charged eneloops in it.

I also have a tube of Nuun Active Hydration tablets, that you can add to a bottle of water both to improve taste and also to rehydrate.

Maybe an elastic bandage wrap in case of a sprain?

[Boondock]

You probably don't need the fixed blade. And I'd try switching to a wide-mouth water bottle. Add a whistle.

[Dawgboy]

The Kershaw is my "stinger", since I cannot carry a gun at work. (This was not a problem when driving as it would sit in the car) I have carried it and trained with it for a lot of years... It's also very light, so not a problem.

The kit above is an addition to my backpack to make my EDC a little more robust.

In my pockets I also have a Zippo, a fourSevens flashlight, and my monster SAK.

In the backpack, I carry a bunch of electronics stuff as I am IT. Included is my Macbook Pro, a charger for that, a couple different USB cables, an encrypted 16GB thumb drive with important documents and work stuff, a charger for the Iphone, a multipoint screw driver, Hemostats, a tiny waterpump plier, Headphones, pens, a Petzl E3 headlamp and 2 spare batteries for that, and a tiny little frs radio.

I should add a charger setup for the phone, and was thinking about the cheap energizer one that takes a bunch of AA batteries.

Edit: On the wide mouth nalgene, I carried them for years, but I switched to the canteen type as they are better on the belt, and more compact.

[Exploriment]

Just a few suggestions - (and some of these may not apply to you per se, but they may apply to someone else reading this.)

Paper maps in addition to ones on a phone. Electronic devices die, get wet, get stolen, get sat on, get lost.

You may know the route you think you'll take, but circumstances my dictate a re-route. Areas closed off due to disaster, riots, etc. may mean that you have to take a more circuitous route. Maybe going into areas you aren't so familiar with.

When I worked in Toronto, I would take what is called the GO system home. But my route took me through 4 municipal regions with their own transit systems. I had maps for all of those systems and tokens/tickets for each of them. If heaven forbid there was no way to get home on GO, I could take a long way home by taking the subways/buses of the various transit systems all the way west to get home. Would have taken hours, but in a worst case scenario, it would have gotten me home faster than walking would have.

[Aikibiker]

You should pack one or two pairs of socks. If you end up walking 27 miles you will most likely need them. Does your regular backpack have a hydration system? Purifying water is great, but you need to have a way to carry it once you get it drinkable.

Stashing a bicycle at the office is a good idea. Do you have the financial means to get a small storage locker halfway between your house and work that you could stash another bike, supplies, etc? I would seriously consider that if I had to face that long a walk. I doubt I could go 27 miles in one day on foot anymore and a $50 pawn shop special, case of bottled water, a couple MREs, maybe even a cheap firearm cached at the midway point of your commute would mean you were never more then 7 miles from transport or your home.

I will second the solar charger for the phone idea, paper maps, whistle, and a nalgene bottle.

[Dawgboy]

Yes, I do have socks in the backpack and 4 gallons of water in the office in screw top jugs.

[Tixx]

Nice bag! I like the entertainment idea! One item that packs small is a flat fold N-95 mask. I keep one in my commute bag.

[74 or more]

Just trying to think of more ideas here, but what about an Esbit stove and tabs?

[Tixx]

Just trying to think of more ideas here, but what about an Esbit stove and tabs?

That is a good one. I think 4 tabs can fit inside.

[Keith B]

And I'd try switching to a wide-mouth water bottle.

Edit: On the wide mouth nalgene, I carried them for years, but I switched to the canteen type as they are better on the belt, and more compact.

I run both wide mouth nalgenes and canteens. Just like dawgboy, I have found that the canteens pack better on the belt. I also believe that in smaller kits, a canteen cup is a better option over other pots. The canteens also seem to store better over the nalgenes.

[Browning 35]

Looks good.

Except for the Kershaw Amphibian. I'll just put this here.

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/dwcl/12020.php

Definition of Dirk or Dagger (*Click*)

Don't know if you were aware of that or not. If so carry on.

[calicojack]

get a tuckable holster. problem solved.

[Dawgboy]

I think I am ok on the dirk or dagger rules, First off, it's only sharpened on 1 edge, and it's just under 3.5" blade. Plus I had a friend here at the *VA police tell me that it was "OK" according to their guidelines as long as it is not concealed on my person. Got the same thing from a local *Sheriff friend. The knife is physically attached to the inside of a pocket in the Backpack, so it does not fit the concealed description. A pistol, now that's a felony, and I am not going there...

*Some people may think it odd that I have LEO friends, because I have been threatened with being banned for posting stories about police brutality. I just hold cops to a higher standard of behavior than the average person...

[Browning 35]

Okay, just thought I'd give you a heads up. :Shrug

[Actually carrying a concealed pistol illegally without a permit is a misdemeanor in California just so long as you aren't a felon, active member of a street gang, have a previous drug conviction and are otherwise the legal owner of the firearm in question.

http://www.californiaconcealedcarry.com ... 12031.html]

That's not an issue since you don't have a gun in there, just noticed that you thought it was a felony.

[Dawgboy]

While that is true, it's a felony on federal property, where I spend 2 of my workdays, and a felony at the University, where I spend the rest of my week... Sadly you had me looking at the law again and I just found out I am in violation. They reduced blade size on campus to 2.5" max

Guess I need to rethink this and maybe get a can of pepperfoam instead. I don't feel the need for protection on campus, it's just going to and from that I feel the need. Lot's of crazies on the SD trolley and have come close to having to defend myself a couple times in the past while on the train. I also have helped stop a fight once while on a train, and helped hold the assailant until Transit cops could grab him. We are currently having a rash of strong-arm robberies on my route, mostly "apple picking"...

[Aikibiker]

From personal experience pepperfoam (or spray for that matter) does not work very well on "emotionally disturbed persons" (cop talk for crazy folks). It is also nnot to effective on angry people or people that have had past exposure to it. I stopped carrying such things a while ago after a particularly fun Thanksgiving spent wrestling a guy covered in pepper foam that only blinked a few times after getting hosed down like a roach with raid.

MMA training would probably be much more effective then pepper spray. How is your trick knee? Could you get away with walking around with a Cold Steel City Stick or Cane Masters cane? I got a city stick after having knee surgery an it is very solid sort of like carrying a long medival mace around rather then a cane. The Cane Masters cane is a stout piece of wood and seems to work well as a bokken if you know any Japanese sword arts.

[Dawgboy]

Well, if the spray blinds them long enough for me to either get away, or to kick them in the junk a couple dozen times, I'm happy... I do Krav Maga, I just want an "edge" as I am old and have a very weak spine... 3 surgeries in the past...

[Aikibiker]

Pepper spray might buy you a second or two. Not sure about getting away afterwards that all depends on how fast you can run. Have you read Marc MAcyoung's book on "Street E&E"? He is normally something of a clown, but he makes some really good points in that book, it is worth a look, especially if you can get it from a library.

On getting an opening to fight back as long as you have the werewithal to attack immediately after spraying you should get some good licks in. Just remember you will most likely end up getting contaminated with the OC as well after coming in contact with someone covered in it. Maybe see if you can train your KM after getting a dose of spray on you. Start with the hands (simulating getting it on your fists after punching someone) and then work up to getting hit in the face with a full blast and sparring afterwards.

Also if you are going to carry pepperfoam maybe get some of the fancy decontamination wipes for your GHB. Baby soap with milk in it works ok as well.

[Evan the Diplomat]

Last can't recall where, Dawgboy lives my old stoping groundof San Diego or in Virginia , so while not impossible, an earthquake ruining your day would be quite rare if you are on the East Coast.

For the greater Washington DC metro area snow, followed by derecho type summer storms are the most likely disasters to cause public mayhem. Don't under estimate the likelyhood of a workplace fire to throw things off balance.