It’s a normal day at work when disaster strikes.  The roads are clogged with cars, no one is moving but everyone is trying to get home or away.  You are wearing a suit, dress shoes and stuck 45 miles from your home with no way to get back to your family.  Except, that’s not true.   You are capable of walking, you know the route and you have maps…and you have a pack with all the supplies you need for three days on the road.  You can get home.  Welcome to part three of my undead rising survival posts.

In a compartment in your car you should have everything you need to get from your work to your home as quickly and safely as possible even without a vehicle.  I have seen this kit call a ‘get home bag’ and since I actually do wear dress-shoes and a tie and work 52 driving miles and across two rivers from my home I have put one together.

I started with a smallish military pack with lots of places for straps and several pockets.  It is much smaller than the Zombie Apocalypse Go-Bag as it will only contain what I need to get home over a two day hike.  To this I added the same 2-day disaster kit used in the Zombie Apocalypse Go-Bag, called the Lifeline 1 Person 48 Hour Essentials.   I chose this kit because it is a self-contained unit with 8 drinking water pouches, 2400 calorie food bar, a poncho, a space blanket and a few other items that may come in handy.  Knowing it is not enough water for the 4-5 day hike i have added a LifeStraw and a canteen.  

Survival over the four days assured, now I need to get home and wearing a suit and dress shoes is not going to cut it.  So I will be changing into an old pair of sneakers, jeans,  and a cap that are stored with the pack.  I chose an older pair of sneakers that are still in great shape because I know I can walk long distances in them without harm to my feet.  Do not buy a new pair of shoes for this, as they may cause you more harm as you break them in.  The jeans are just any pair of jeans I store in my car with my equipment for just such a situation.  In the pack you should also have at least four pairs of socks and underwear so you can change them daily on the way home.  This is not only for comfort but the new socks will help keep your feet healthy.

Attached to the pack is a US Army Patrol Bag in a waterproof stuff sack.  After-all you are going to take a few days to hike 45 miles so you need to be prepared to sleep someplace.  Be sure to look for shelter that is unoccupied and allows for easy escape should you have to get out quickly.  The sleeping bag is rated down to 30 degrees so coupled with the space blanket, so long as you stay dry, you will stay warm.

Other necessities I threw into this pack are an LED flashlight with batteries, a Swiss army knife with a locking blade and can opener, toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste and a first aid kit.  Hygiene is often not something regular people think about when planning for a disaster, but hygiene not only makes us feel better but keeps us healthy.  Feeling clean and healthy on our trek will help us stay focused on the task at hand; getting home to our families.

This pack is truly just the basics, you can include any number of items to make the journey more comfortable or safer.  You should customize the pack based on the areas you have to traverse as well, some places are safer than others and some have better options for shelters than others.  You have to decide what you are willing to carry, use, and store in your car for long periods of time.  All in the hope you never have to use any of it.

* There is also a pre-made pack that meets most of the needs given above from Lifeline if you don’t want to put the kit together yourself.

Useful Links:
Ready – http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit
FEMA – http://www.fema.gov/media-library/resources-documents/collections/344  

What follows is a checklist for putting this kit together.