AOW's "Mock Bug Out" Camping trip...Tips? Suggestions?

[angelofwar]

Well, between uncle-sam, and becoming a father, with newborns and teens, my "woods time" has been very limited...as much as I would love to participate in the MBO contests, well, this period in my life is just too busy...BUT...I'm finally able to get out! I'll be going on a four-day camping excursion with my family, as well as my to brothers and their family's...SO...in between practicing/polishing my "bushcraft" skills, I will also be "testing" my off the grid power/comm set-up.

So, here's what I have so far...this is my "small gear:, and I still have more to set-up/pack, but it's mostly larger items.



First Pic:
-GE 3-5900A 4-watt CB
-Undien BC72XLT Scanner
-Cobra Micro-talk FRS/GMRS two-ways (2ea.)
-Motorola Two-Ways (2ea.)
-USAF GI Survival Knife w/ Leatherman micra in the sharpening pouch
-Gerber Freeman Fixed knife
-Kabar TDI turned "Neck Knife"
-Peli 1010 Survival kit
-Magellan Sporttrack GPS
-Bushnell Digital Compass/Thermometer/Altimeter/Barometer
-Surefire G3 w/ KL3-Red led head
-Surefire E2L-AA
-Surefire A2-YG



Second Pic:
-Simmons water-proof bino's
-Peli w/ 36 spare CR123's and a multimeter attached inside lid.
-Battery Case w/ 16ea. AA Eneloops,20ea. AAA Eneloops, misc other RC batteries
-Princeton Tech Byte headlamp with Lithium AAA's
-Surefire Saint Minimus Headlamp
-Surefire L1-White
-Surefire L1-Red
-Aquamira Survival Straw (Water Filter)
-Light my fire fire starter



Third Pic:
-Goal Zero Nomad7 Solar Charger
-USGI Camo Facepaint Kit
-USGI Aviation Fire Starting Kit
-CR23 Glo-Toob beacon
-Water Purification Tablets
-USGI Lensatic Compass
-Remington RC 6-Volt Lantern battery (1 shown, 2 avail.)
-Gerber USGI Multi-tool
-Fold-a-cup
-Surefire B65's batteries (charger not shown)(12 cells total)
-4ea. Surefire RC lights (various light engines)
-Power inverter for use with nomad-7 and my Jump-Start battery pack
-Adventure Lights VIP USGI Strobe Light (Waterproof to ~11k feet)
-2ea. 8-packs of niMh "D" Cells



4th Pic:
-Ka-Bar Machete
-USGI Entrenching Tool, w/ case
-USGI Mess Kit
-SOG Fast Hawk Tomahahwk
-Gerber Hatchet

I will get picks up of the rest of my INCH set-up. I still have a few more things, but keep in mind, this is mostly my "tools/gear", and doesn't cover heating/food/clothing, per-se.

I know I have a lot of lights, and wouldn't normally pack this much in a BO situation...but, it is a camping trip...and I want to really test out my "extended power outage/off the grid" power set-up.

I'm thinking of ditching the GPS/Bushnell gear, and just going straight compass. Any suggestions? Am I missing something critical?

[Tater Raider]

You aren't going to know what's laking or you overdid until you test, so I'd just go ahead and test. Address it after.

On your second trip, maybe bring a deck of cards and a sheet with random events assigned to the cards, things you might have to overcome in an actual emergency and pertaining to a specific scenario. Hearts could be nice things, diamonds neutral (non-event), clubs minor annoyances, and spades major game changers for example. Or do dice, or whatever. Set up a system for it that makes sense to you and have other people write out the events then don't peek, just take things as they happen.

Good luck and have fun!

[angelofwar]

I like that idea tater! Until waititng for things to happen, use a deck of cards to randomly make scenarios...and see how I do...like a spade=my water went bad, and have to resort to my tablets? Or something like that? Throw a little randomness in there? After all, that's what life is? A never ending chain of random events?

[SteveD]

With that size of crew, why not set up a scavenger hunt? Fun way of getting the kids involved.

[angelofwar]

With that size of crew, why not set up a scavenger hunt? Fun way of getting the kids involved.

That would be a neat idea! Unfortunately, my kids are at the age where A) they're too little, or B) They're to old (and hence, "too cool") to do stuff like that. One of my step kids is officially an adult, and my oldest is 4...and due to "behavior issues", he has a hard time using things like two-ways...although he's getting there...he does know how to low crawl though! LOL!

I have 2ea. Midland 75-785 Hand-held CB's enroute as well, so me and my Bro can "play" (we're still kids at heart, and are always looking for excuses to use our "boy-toys"). I will be using this trip to test the limits of my comm. and power set-ups. I will definitely be looking for opportunities to have my 4 year old practice get involved though, and have some fun with the comm equipment!.