manifest destiny...sortaSubmitted by umbrella on Mon, 08/16/2010 - 17:12 |
location: Laurel Falls, Hampton, tn.
The first reports of increased murder rates probably wont seem very important, but after increased reports of violence and missing persons being found mutilated in nearby areas will set off the "holy shit" alarms.
After the alarms ring loud and clear i gather my family (my fiance', and best friend) set forth to gather what equipment we already have near us and the supply cache that i have already placed for such a situation as this. all of this is within a twelve mile area. now the average person isnt panicked yet so the roads arent clogged and chaos isnt prevailing just yet.
we go along the highway to laurel falls and start hiking on the appalachian trail heading either north or south depending on the location of the initial outbreak. there are several small towns that the trail passes through so the ability to resupply is available and due to the experience i have in survival and that of my small team the trail is full of attainable resources. including food and water.
I like the idea. A lot actually. It's a good idea to stay mobile, and following the AT is pretty much one of the best because there are very few well organized trails here in the east. Now, I do have a few questions/observations, some you might already have noticed and or thought about.
One: Sticking to the south sections would probably be better. Due to the main fact of... WINTER. It gets bloody could up north and that would seriously hinder game and flora for food.
Two: How long do you plan to hike each day? doing about 10 miles (the average distance between shelters) not carrying a tent, and only the best backpacking food still will result in the average person burning up to 4 or 5000 calories a day, sometimes more. Now to not burn more, carrying about 4 days of food + equipment will keep it pretty well balanced at 4-5. Do you plan to burn more by carrying more food? or heavier food? Or stockpiling at a "base" and just returning when need be. The more you carry, the more you need to eat. the more you need to eat, the more you carry. (one pack of Ramen is only 480 calories).
Three: If you stick to the South, well, the AT crosses over the top of Fontana Dam, Ecretsu, but if you are hiking the trail, your presence wont be a surprise, you would be seen coming from the northern lookout tower at Shuckstack Mountain, using the old Fire tower there. But stop in!
Four: How long do you plan to hike the trail until you settle down? Because that would highly affect your position on what to do.
Twelve: Visit us! We are on the southern end of the AT just after passing the Great Smokey Mountains.... but beware, that part of the AT is voted on of the toughest.
Five: Be careful going through the small towns.... People in them tend to stick together, if they are not utterly vanquished, and might not be too willing to give up supplies without something in return.
Six: Where do you plan to start? At Dennis Cove like your plan says? If you get there, that's a good place to start... but that area is rather devoid of game, so that might be a problem if you hunker down there.
I'm sure there's more to think of, so if I do, I'll post another! But I like it. good work.
Wait, so where exactly are you going to hunker down and stay?
On the trail, you can only assume that the cities it passes through will eventually become infected, so you should travel on the trail, but not stay on the trail.
Food. What source of food aside from edible foliage and animals? Soon the animals in your area will become wary of your presence and food in the form of meat will become scarce, and how will you protect yourself.
the animals in one area would eventually become aware of our presence, however, traveling to different areas would bring us to new animal packs plus the amount of food it takes to feed three to ten people would mostly have been found in the towns that were passed through.
and after the initial outbreak, we would be racing the infection across the country in the opposite direction assuming we catch it in time that is. the idea is to stay moving for the initial outbreak until we find a suitable defendable position.
and if we race the infection we wont have to defend ourself very much and for what defense we will need the cache of guns ammo and blade based weapons should be plenty.
I was going to respond, and then I found out that other guy basically summed up what I was going to type.