Turning a Remote Cabin Into a Bug Out Location
Kevin Felts 09.10.18
For the sake of discussion, let’s say the reader has access to a remote cabin and would like to prep the cabin for a SHTF / Doomsday bug out location. This would be somewhere the family could be safe when the next plague ravages humanity, or nuclear war… etc.
Chances are most remote cabins would make a good start for a bug out location. They are remote, far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and may have access to water, forest, hunting and fishing.
Since we have the basics to start with, what tweaks could be made to the cabin to make life easier when SHTF?
Bug Out Location Sleeping Arrangements
We all know (or should know) people need three things to survive:
- Food
- Water
- Air
There is another very important item that is often overlooked, and that is sleep. Want to make people irritable, depressed, and edgy? Simply deny them restful sleep. People can sleep just about anywhere, but we also need restful sleep.
- Get some foldable cots and store them under the beds.
- Pillows and pillow cases.
- Blankets, and extra blankets. For cold weather I estimate two blankets per person.
- Pick up some sleeping bags when they go on sale.
- Air mattresses are OK, but may develop leaks after awhile. However, even a Dollar Store pool air mattress beats sleeping on the floor.
- Does the cabin have a couch? If it does not already do so, maybe consider replacing the couch with one that folds out to a bed.
- Over the counter night time allergy medicine. Helps take the edge off and relax people so they can get a restful nights sleep.
The goal is to make sure everyone can get a restful nights sleep
Wild Edibles
We touched on this topic in a previous article – Wild Edibles At The Bug Out Location, but let’s spend a few minutes on the topic.
Some of these will depend on location:
- American Plum (wild plum)
- Dewberries
- Hickory
- Mayhaw
- Mulberries
- Pecan
- Possum Grapes (mustang, muscadine… etc)
- Wild Onions
- Wild Persimmon
Why cultivate wild edibles around the bug out location rather than domesticated varieties? Wild are typically more disease and drought resistant than domesticated. Take the Wild Plum for example – it is very drought resistant and reproduces like crazy. Here on the farm, I have to keep the fields cut or the wild plums would take the fields over.
If someone wanted to plant domesticated fruit trees:
- Fig
- Pear
- Blueberries
By planting a variety of fruit trees around the bug out location, hopefully we can harvest different types of fruit every few weeks.
Electronics
Rather than talking about various electronics in different categories, let’s clump them together.
- Flashlights
- LED Lanterns
- Solar panels
- USB battery packs
- CB radio
- AM / FM / Shortwave radio
- Handheld two way radios
Chances are a lot of rural remote cabins already have flashlights, lanterns and AM / FM radios. If nothing else, there is the radio in the readers car, truck or SUV.
Solar panels with a USB output can easily be found on sites such as Amazon. Connect the solar panels to a battery pack during the day, and at night you have a portable power source.
One of the wonderful things about modern electronics is just about everything has a USB port. Whether it is a rechargeable flashlight, LED lantern, radio, battery chargers, cell phones… almost anything can be charged with USB.
A lot of hunters use two way radios to stay in contact with each other. Years ago, my dad had several two way hand held radios we would take to the hunting lease with us. If we heard a shot from a certain direction we would talk over the radio and ask if it was one of us who shot.
Seed Stockpile
If the cabin has electricity, consider keeping a small seed stockpile in the freezer.
- Beans
- Peas
- Spinach
- Squash
- Zucchini
- Radiches
- Turnip greens
Seeds for rutabagas, turnips and radishes are very small. Storing thousands of such seeds in a deep freezer would take up very little room.
Final Thoughts
Why weren’t topics such as guns, ammunition and fishing talked about? Chances are those items will already be at a cabin. A lot of people who have remote cabins use them for hunting and fishing; it is not uncommon to leave fishing gear, or ammunition at the cabin.
What about hand tools, axes, saws… etc? Once again, those will probably already be there. A lot of people who have access to remote cabins have a way to cut firewood. Also, chances are there is a basic tool kit at the cabin. The goal is to stockpile bug out location essential gear.
When the family goes to the cabin for a holiday long weekend, what is the typical routine? Is everyone comfortable, have a place to sleep and have enough activities to prevent boredom?
What about water filters? We covered that topic in another article – Best Water Filter for a Bug Out Location.
In this article we covered:
- Sleeping arrangements
- Wild edibles
- Electronics
- Stockpiling seeds
What else would the reader suggest?
The first thing that comes to mind is propane, but that should be a given. A lot of remote cabins have propane tanks, or propane stoves.
Clothing may come to mind, but a lot of people leave sparing clothing at their cabin.
