# a bugout solution



## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

So, not all of us are in the position to homestead in a nice secure location. For people in the situation where a bugging in is a dicey option bug out plans are pretty important. Options include going to friends or family or preplanning and scouting of remote locations and preparing ahead of time to survive there with some measure of comfort and security until it is safe to emerge. I am not a fan of the bugging out to national forests as I think every urban and suburban joe and jane might very well have the same idea. So where to go? I have always been of the opinion that the most inhospitable and uncomfortable locales may be the safest option. As long as you prepare ahead of time the dirtiest nastiest swamp you can find may be a good option. 

The reason for this thread is I think I have found a viable solution to the nasty swamp option. I have always liked camping in hammocks and found a rather neat one. It is called a tentsile 3 tree hammock. It weighs less than 20 lbs and can hold 880 lbs. I am not a vendor or rep for this company I just think its a neat product and could help a couple with a kid safely bug out in a nasty swamp. So with a canoe to get out into a water locked location in a swamp you could set up a camp over water between 3 trees, store your aluminum (and craftily painted) canoe underneath, add a couple rolls of camo netting, use the canoe underneath for cooking platfrom with stove and storage of your 5 gallon buckets of chow. With a good system of water filtration and enough bugspray to keep off the nasties I could imagine being able to stay out for a couple months. Also swamps have a lot of accessible nutrition if you know how to get it. Also easy to relocate to several areas in the swamp unlike a more permanent structure. 

Anyway, just an idea I had rolling around in my head when I saw the hammock. Wish I could post pics of it but im doing this from my phone. Hope this helps and have fun thinking of the possibilities.


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

I thought about a hammock versus tent, I looked into are really nice one, I am not sure what the brand was, It was waterproof, HD, and had netting against the critters.
Several nightmare scenarios came to mind, unless you put it higher than a Bears reach, (mighty hard to get into) your in a death trap. Granted in a tent you are not much safer but you have solid ground to at least cut a hole in the tent and attempt to escape, and it is a lot harder in a hammock to move around to get your knife or gun.
If an intruder comes into your area even if you set some alarm traps you are still more of a sitting duck and escaping from a high hanging net is not easy especially if you are rudely awakened. Maybe its just me. Its like going into a cave (crawling on your tummy only) to get thru, only to find the person behind you gets stuck and that the return way may be the only way back out. (happened to me when I was in my teens, another story) 

That said, if you were pretty sure no one might have followed you or had the means to get out to the island. To me that would be quite an ideal set up. Being off the ground keeps out many nasty unwanted critters. Thumbs up....


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Is this the one you're talking about CBL? I like it.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Here's another interesting one. It's called the Cocoon Tree Tent.

http://www.cocoontree.com/










And the Dewdrop Tree Tent.


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

Nice, the next step down from a tree house.
Looks big enough for two.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

LOL! wow! I thought you guys were kidding at first. That's some pretty interesting stuff there!


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

That is the one is was speaking of. 3 people or 2 and 2 kids. Put it over water with 1 or 2 canoes under, some camo netting and you have your own island set up in a location thats hard to find or see.


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## HamiltonFelix (Oct 11, 2011)

Since you mention it, I've had a hammock in mind for some time, thinking it would be helpful for low profile camping. It would give you the ability to bivouac in places people normally do not camp. I live amongst steep wooded hillsides. There are "normal" campsites on level spots, but nobody looks for a camp on a steep hill. I have a virtually pocket sized hammock made of parachute cloth that might mate up with a bivy bag and light bedroll for low profile minimalist travel.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I camp in all 4 seasons in my eno hammock. A good tarp and my 3 piece sleeping bag is a light low profile way to go


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

if you have access or a idea of the location already..how about scouting out a location now and set up a lil treehouse shack tucked away in the swampy hidey hole and use the time now to make it blend in so its sorta hidden with natural duff and stragiticaly placed moss n whatnot...It might take a few trips and put out a few bucks in a few pieces of plywood n whatnot but...itd be worth it eh? Then your tree hammock can assist you getting there safely and give you more shelter to ride it out...Could be a fun venture!! 

...do you think supplies buried in the swamp in a waterproof container would survive out there?...Ive never been to a swamp and not sure of the critters that might mess with buckets of buried/underwater stuff...I imagine 5 gal buckets with gamma lids with contents vac sealed inside to waterproof further. tie the buckets with cable to rock or concrete?? anyways.. weigh it down so its just far enough under the surface to hide at low tide..assuming you have tides in swamps. I know the rivers are affected by the tides. fun project if your handy like that..I envision the ewock village from star wars but better hidden


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

The reason I liked the hammock is the lack of a permant structure. Permant structures attract attention. Setting up in an inhospitable area where there has never been a structure and there is no land seems like a safe way to remain incognito. I could live for quite awhile off what I could pack in a canoe. Prepositioning supplies is a good idea for any bol. Waterproof containers would be great. Id try and find a way to secure them to a tree under the water line or up in a tree covered completely by spanish moss or something.


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## northstarprepper (Mar 19, 2013)

Interesting ideas. I like them. I have toyed with the idea of getting a hammock with mosquito netting built in. Throw a tarp up over it and so long as there are no strong storms, you should be ok. That would be lightweight and easy. Tempting.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

...Im still likin the ewok shack...those hammocks will kill my back..lol...I bet I could set up a nice little pad no one would see tucked away like a nest. Have a few of them prepositioned n ready so If I need to bounce out...become ninja swamp girl n saddle up the gaters...orrr not. Actually the mosquitos would drive me insane...I think a nice cozy cave would suit me fine...maybe even a mine shaft. I guess it would all depend on the situation, how bad it is and what is going on. 

I just hope I can get out of here asap and definetly before it all goes to crap. Hopefully all of us that are working on getting settled into property still have enough time to get properly settled.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

When I was a preteen my dad, brothers and I built a very durable pontoon boat. We towed it deep into the rushes and reeds of a very large spring-fed slough. We accessed the slew from private land with permission and did so in the early morning hours of a Tuesday when no one was around. We had anchors on all 4 corners and now had our very own hunting platform for waterfowl. We would boat out using electric trolling motors before sunrise using inconspicuous markers. At least three times the first hunting season we arrived to find people on our well hidden platform. They were quickly booted and went on the way. But after that experience and experience with deer stands up in trees, I personally don't believe you can hide something in the woods and not have someone come across it. Unless you are so far off the beaten path the boots of man never tread there. Just my $0.02.


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## FatTire (Mar 20, 2012)

Ive had simmilar experiences with duck blinds and hides sentry. Eventualy even the best hiding spots get found. IMHO, if you dont have a BOL well away from any population center, or you havent built a network for protection of your community, it will be best to stay light and mobile in a wrol world.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

I have had my eye on a Hennessy Hammock for a long time: <Click Here>

I think it would be excellent if you had a long trek to your final BOL or out on a several day recon. It wouldn't leave a camping footprint like a tent would. And like some Posters already mentioned, no need to locate a flat well drained terrain.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Sentry18 said:


> When I was a preteen my dad, brothers and I built a very durable pontoon boat. We towed it deep into the rushes and reeds of a very large spring-fed slough. We accessed the slew from private land with permission and did so in the early morning hours of a Tuesday when no one was around. We had anchors on all 4 corners and now had our very own hunting platform for waterfowl. We would boat out using electric trolling motors before sunrise using inconspicuous markers. At least three times the first hunting season we arrived to find people on our well hidden platform. They were quickly booted and went on the way. But after that experience and experience with deer stands up in trees, I personally don't believe you can hide something in the woods and not have someone come across it. Unless you are so far off the beaten path the boots of man never tread there. Just my $0.02.


Good $0.02 worth, I had a friend that lived in the Seattle area and he bragged that he had a hidden fishing place that no one knew about, you had to hike up an old logging railroad bed to what was probably an old mill pond/lake. First time I went with him, with a promise not to mention where it was, no one was around, but the next time that lake was circled with people. So much for the hidden pond. However another fishing nut friend showed me a secret pond probably made by beavers a long time ago that had beautiful brown trout in it that I never saw another person in all the times I went after he showed me.


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

I do think a hammock has a place. I think in most cases it would be an excellent choice.
I had a couple back surgery back in my twenties and unless I carried a piece of plywood along a hammock only would make the next day even worse.
The other thought is they are useful to keep your equipment/food off the ground and away from ground critters. 
A fairly inexpensive one is light a does not take much space.


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## northstarprepper (Mar 19, 2013)

For those with some minor back issues, you could get one of the self inflating sleeping pads to use in the hammock for some support. I have one and it is amazing what that one inch of inflated foam will do. I got mine military surplus for $25. There are the cheaper foam pads too. They might help. The hammocks themselves are great and are cheap on some sites. I see them fairly regularly on "Woot" an Amazon related site for around $50, if I recall rightly. Cheaper than a tent, add a tarp and no footprint at all as noted. They sell the straps to make tying the hammock up easier as well. You could have a nice traveling set up for $100 or so.


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## cdevidal (May 17, 2012)

Big downside of hammocks: Air circulates under them, and you compress your sleeping bag by sleeping on them, so they're difficult to keep warm in without fancy insulation engineering. They'd be good in this swamp scenario though.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

especially hard to "hide' things like ponds and such now with all the satellite images available. Once you get used to looking at those images you can see many things without ever going there. Out here we have hundreds and hundreds of old mines that could be used as a BOL. Many have standing water water inside (water probably full of heavy metals though).


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

HamiltonFelix said:


> Since you mention it, I've had a hammock in mind for some time, thinking it would be helpful for low profile camping. It would give you the ability to bivouac in places people normally do not camp. I live amongst steep wooded hillsides. There are "normal" campsites on level spots, but nobody looks for a camp on a steep hill. I have a virtually pocket sized hammock made of parachute cloth that might mate up with a bivy bag and light bedroll for low profile minimalist travel.


Around where I live if you really needed to disappear the really steep sides of the mountains would be by far best place to hide, logistical nightmare but good place to hide, a hammock would be ideal, hadn't thought of them before.

Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


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## besign (Aug 9, 2014)

if you have a proper holster, you need not take it off to sleep. I have done so many a night. Dog packs are far more of an issue than bears, too. You should be able to draw and shoot just fine from your hammock, vs something that has to be in contact distance with you. Such distances also make it feasible to get a brain hit. Your pistol and rifle do have luminous sight inserts, right? Right?


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## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

I've got the Hennesy Hammock for my wife and I and they are very comfortable and easy to set up


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## Ozarker (Jul 29, 2014)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> So, not all of us are in the position to homestead in a nice secure location. For people in the situation where a bugging in is a dicey option bug out plans are pretty important. Options include going to friends or family or preplanning and scouting of remote locations and preparing ahead of time to survive there with some measure of comfort and security until it is safe to emerge. I am not a fan of the bugging out to national forests as I think every urban and suburban joe and jane might very well have the same idea. So where to go? I have always been of the opinion that the most inhospitable and uncomfortable locales may be the safest option. As long as you prepare ahead of time the dirtiest nastiest swamp you can find may be a good option.
> 
> The reason for this thread is I think I have found a viable solution to the nasty swamp option. I have always liked camping in hammocks and found a rather neat one. It is called a tentsile 3 tree hammock. It weighs less than 20 lbs and can hold 880 lbs. I am not a vendor or rep for this company I just think its a neat product and could help a couple with a kid safely bug out in a nasty swamp. So with a canoe to get out into a water locked location in a swamp you could set up a camp over water between 3 trees, store your aluminum (and craftily painted) canoe underneath, add a couple rolls of camo netting, use the canoe underneath for cooking platfrom with stove and storage of your 5 gallon buckets of chow. With a good system of water filtration and enough bugspray to keep off the nasties I could imagine being able to stay out for a couple months. Also swamps have a lot of accessible nutrition if you know how to get it. Also easy to relocate to several areas in the swamp unlike a more permanent structure.
> 
> Anyway, just an idea I had rolling around in my head when I saw the hammock. Wish I could post pics of it but im doing this from my phone. Hope this helps and have fun thinking of the possibilities.


Often I skip all the comments in forums and address the OP's statement, which is what I'll do here.

I'd guess that you're local swamps. I use to live in LA but my home and current location is in MO. I could run down south to the swamps, but guess what has changed over those past twenty+ years......the locals. The kids I knew of down there are now in their 30s and 40s and are the yahoos running around with gun racks in their trucks, they don't know me and probably don't remember me. Their parents are dead or muttering in nursing homes.

Strangers in a swamp anywhere won't be fairing well with the locals, those swamps are their home, not mine. I'd say you're assuming you can go on a Lewis and Clark expedition and hide from the Indians, I think not.

Now, if your choose a bug out location in swamps of the south and you visit there regularly, you get to know the locals and you can blend in, then fine, put that area on your list as a possible location.

If you take off in a canoe, your load is limited, if you have a trapper or freighter canoe your load limit will be about a ton, how long are you going to live off that? Yes, you can hunt and fish, so, you're going to hunt without anyone hearing or observing you? Eventually, you will need support, the ability to move in and out of that area. How do you get fuel, staples of food, get maintenance gear as needed? Regardless of what you take, ammo doesn't last forever. That means you need contacts willing to help or assist you. That means you need to know the area and the residents, the locals.

I doubt there is any spot on the face of the earth in North America where anyone can go and not be seen by someone else within 30 days. You can go to the darkest hole in the swamps or the highest (or lowest) desert or deep in the woods on any mountain and you won't be as alone as you think. There are always others that know of that location and area.

Saying that local knowledge is critical, knowing the locals is critical and knowing the terrain or waterways is critical.

Saddem Hussien tried living in a hole in the ground, how's that work out for him?


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

You bring up some good points ozarker. When I was thinking about a swamp bol I was considering it as more of a short term or dire stain plan b type thing. I thought that maybe being able to pack up and move really would be a bonus. I could survive pretty well for about 2 months out of what I can pack in a canoe even with two people. I certainly wouldn't be living in the lap of luxury but if I needed to hide out for a couple months until some limited unrest died down or I felt safe enough to explore other options I believe I could in the places I've explored. I was also thinking along the lines of state parks not really swamps that others may consider their backyard. I think more hospitable public lands would become crowded quickly so preparing ahead of time to be able to stay in a less desirable piece of real estate seemed like an idea that deserved some thought. I know it would be hard to find any spot not claimed by someone but hiding quietly in a nasty spot might be the best option for some of us. At least it may be a plan b to riding out a bad situation in a suburban homestead.


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## Ozarker (Jul 29, 2014)

Well, Crackbottom, that sounds much better, you have done your recon of the areas and it's for a short duration. I'm about 150 feet from a shallow cove of the lake I can put my canoe in and not far from isolated treed areas you can't drive to. I have no idea what could happen that would motivate me to go there except to fish but you could certainly lay low there. No gators there! 

My longer term alternative, if needed and can't imagine why, includes the truck, a trailer, a dual sport bike, a canoe and an inflatable with OB. Another driver takes the Forrester. There are many areas in the Ozarks where you can get stranded from a flood, a way in or out is just good planning. 

Edit, oh, BTW, consider some simple outriggers and a small sail for your canoe, not only is it fun, but you can go much further with less effort...especially if you have open waters.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I've used those in tidal areas and they were fun.


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## Ozarker (Jul 29, 2014)

I still have my Army Hammock/shelter, I spent too many nights in it but it was much better than a tent. Much quicker to put up and take down and pack. You can get rid of that slumping position by packing gear below you and pad over it, I could arrange things where I was sleeping pretty flat. Being up higher you have fewer bugs and flying insects, if you get high enough, like 15-20 feet. Watch that first step! It was tied off 6 directions so it was pretty stable and you need to be able to climb. Don't need to go that high unless you're staying there awhile as it takes longer too.
Sleeping in a canoe on the water can be nice too, anchor and ties it off well!
I'm surprised there aren't more boaters here or threads on a BOBoat. While you can be seen you can also see anyone approaching. If you're in saltwater (on a larger boat like 26' or bigger) you can have a water maker and you won't be out of water, stay in fresh water and you'll have all you need after your purify it.


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

*Malaria anyone?*



CrackbottomLouis said:


> As long as you prepare ahead of time the dirtiest nastiest swamp you can find may be a good option.


I like the idea, and its definitely thinking outside the box, but I would be very concerned about diseases like Malaria.


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

*Boats, Planes, and Automobiles.*



Ozarker said:


> I'm surprised there aren't more boaters here or threads on a BOBoat. While you can be seen you can also see anyone approaching. If you're in saltwater (on a larger boat like 26' or bigger) you can have a water maker and you won't be out of water, stay in fresh water and you'll have all you need after your purify it.


I have always thought that if my BOL was not a viable option, my boat would be the next best thing. My Morgan 46 easily could circumnavigate the globe, needs no fuel (per se), and produces its own potable H2O.

I don't see visibility to be a big drawback because as you say visibility is a two way street. Since most attacking (motor) boats would be the fast pleasure craft that are readily available, which are made of fiberglass, I can't imagine letting one near enough to come along side...a few bullet holes at the water line and at speed I bet a speed boat would pull itself apart! I also doubt that many people will even consider piracy in the early days of a SHTF, prefering easier pickings, and while people eventually will look to harder but also more valuable targets like boats, precisely at the same moment that people are becoming more desperate and/or adventurous, fuel will become more scarce meaning that as time goes by its likely that the threat from motor boats will diminish, and I think too few people have the skills necessary to effectively pirate by Sail power.

Another option, to follow up on the OP is to look for a clearing in the middle of a thick and massive forest (via google maps), and consider the possibility of bugging out by plane. Up north our forests can be wicked, in how thick and impassible they grow!


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Padre said:


> I have always thought that if my BOL was not a viable option, my boat would be the next best thing. My Morgan 46 easily could circumnavigate the globe, needs no fuel (per se), and produces its own potable H2O.
> 
> I don't see visibility to be a big drawback because as you say visibility is a two way street. Since most attacking (motor) boats would be the fast pleasure craft that are readily available, which are made of fiberglass, I can't imagine letting one near enough to come along side...a few bullet holes at the water line and at speed I bet a speed boat would pull itself apart! I also doubt that many people will even consider piracy in the early days of a SHTF, prefering easier pickings, and while people eventually will look to harder but also more valuable targets like boats, precisely at the same moment that people are becoming more desperate and/or adventurous, fuel will become more scarce meaning that as time goes by its likely that the threat from motor boats will diminish, and I think too few people have the skills necessary to effectively pirate by Sail power.
> 
> Another option, to follow up on the OP is to look for a clearing in the middle of a thick and massive forest (via google maps), and consider the possibility of bugging out by plane. Up north our forests can be wicked, in how thick and impassible they grow!


A Morgan 46? Sweet! There are a lot of lonely shores in the world and if you stay a couple hundred miles off shore few pirates will venture near you. I kept six months worth of food on my Luders 33, you could easily do twice that.

I don't know about pulling itself apart but add a few hundred gallons of water and it won't be a speed boat for very long. One advantage you have with pirates is that you know that if you quit fighting you die. They know they can quit and run. You have better motivation.


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## Ozarker (Jul 29, 2014)

Wow, you can solo a Morgan 46. Nice boat, I'd be a liveaboard not cruising so much, that's a lot of sheets to handle alone. I won't clog this thread with boats, it's the OP's canoe that can be a very good vessel for inland waters. 

Might check out "outrigger canoes" and "freighter canoes", in many areas they could be the best BOBoat. I have a few things on my bucket list and a long boat trip is one of them, not blue water sailing but rivers and the ICW, like the Great Loop. Right now, a small catamaran is my choice but I've considered a modified freighter canoe with a 15-20hp outboard and sail rig. Can't draw a picture but it would have a cuddy cabin, self righting with keel boards and inflatable dodger. 

You can do a lot with a canoe, if you think about it, modify it properly and keep it safe. 

I don't think I'd just head to the cruddiest waters, you could be in some pretty sickening stuff down south with chemical dumps. If I don't see fish or animals around, then the water is too toxic for me too. 

Edited: Caribou, that's a nice boat as well, more my size and more than sufficient. Sold the Hunter 26 a few years ago, the ex got the cuddy cruiser and I kept the canoe, kayak, inflatable raft. So, I'm without a larger boat and happy  LOL (Keeping in mind the two happiest days of a boat owner's life). My son however is still learning, he has a 50' SeaRay Sundancer, washer dryer, dishwasher, 2 heads, full size fridge, etc. I told him I might sell my properties and move aboard! He has more on his boat to break down than I have at home. LOL


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