37 Guests
The getaway route
An excellent preparation is to get to know your surroundings BEFORE you need to ‘escape’ into them. Turn some of those whispered calls to picnic and walks in the countryside into a reconnaissance opportunity, gathering information, and going a little further off the beaten tracks to explore.
Possible survival scenarios
When planning a route for you exodus it is worth considering the possible scenarios. A few different routes to suite specific events may be good idea.
Flooding
With natural upheavals such as tsunamis, hurricanes and tornadoes, flooding can occur and a route and destination on higher land is better. For volcanoes a prepare a route that takes you out of the radius of the smoke, ash, lava and hurtling rocks it will be chucking out - about 20 miles.
Tornado
Economic & political InstabilityA tornado is quickly upon you, inside or outside (outside is a better choice if your home has no foundations), staying put; crouching low either under something sturdy or in a dip in the ground with your head tucked in and protecting it and the back of your neck with your arms is the best option. Your survival preparations will be useful after the tornado has passed. If you have any preparation time at all consider water, turn on the taps to all the baths and sinks, stick hoses into containers and leave them to fill whilst arranging a hiding place for you and yours.
Situations involving social unrest could result in queues and panic, leading to indiscriminate crowd control, road blocks and containment. Stay away from areas with lots of people.
Over-viewing
Use high points with expansive views to take a ‘wide angle ‘overview of your position. They offer an opportunity to coincide landmarks in the vista with the same landmarks on your map and give you a clearer perspective of the distances involved.
If you do not have a map makes one or a few that you can gradually piece together.
Taking notes marking
Tally up you whereabouts in the real world with the map, marking it and making mental and actual notes either on the map or in a notebook or both. If nothing else it will help you remember good places that you find and would like to return to.
Remember, you can lose your map, you can lose your compass and you can lose your notebook and your pen, so pay attention to your observations, so that will have a better chance if you have to rely on your recollection.
Useful things to mark on your map will be:
- Water sources -especially drinkable and relatively clean sources -ball water sources are worth noting – some may already be on you map, but some may not- see finding water later in this book.
- Dangerous impassable regions, outcrops.
- Exposed areas.
- Covered areas.
- High grounds.
- Low flood level grounds
- Good places to cross rivers and when. (A river can change its size DRAMATICALLY from one season to the next)
- Places where certain edible plants are growing and when.
- Roughly how long it takes you to get from one landmark to the next.
- Area where useful natural materials are to be found for example; clay.
- Often you will come across these places by accident, sometimes you will need to search them out.
Measuring distances
-
On a map
An effective method to measure distance between points is the tally and pace system:
1 pace = 75cm/ 29.25’’
1 double pace = 150cm; 1.5 metres/ 58.5’’
66 double paces = 99metres/ 107.9 yards) = 1 tally
10 tallys = 1000m/ 1km/ 0.62 miles. - On the ground
- When moving at a steady pace on the flat, 2 miles/ 3km will take you approx
Map reading
Altitude
Altitude or the height of the land is shown with lines marked with a number that represents the distance of the area the line is on above sea level. In the event of a hill or a mountain the lines join to make circles - The circles are ever decreasing in size to a centre and increasing in numerical value (or distance above sea level). The contours become closer together the steeper the rise in the land sometimes so close that they merge, what happens between these contours in real time is not shown on the map, there may be valleys, dips and steep hill like climbs.
Co-ordinates
A position on a map or in fact anywhere in the known universe; land, sea or space, is given when two imaginary lines cross each other on a plane. In the case of map reading, the plane is your map. The lines are drawn to form a grid. Developed around a 3D image of our planet lines are drawn equal distance in degrees apart from pole to pole to create the longitude lines, other lines are drawn equal distance apart and parallel to the equator from pole to pole to create the lines of latitude. This opened out to create a 2D plane which is our map.
Getaway Guide to the Garden Route (Getaway Guides)
Manufacturer: Sunbird Publishers Ltd
Amazon Price: £16.50
Offers - Buy New From: £8.53 Used From: £8.54
Buy Now
Pennsylvania's Forbes Trail: Gateways and Getaways Along the Legendary Route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh
Manufacturer: Taylor Trade Publishing
Amazon Price: £11.95
Offers - Buy New From: £8.40 Used From: £11.20
Buy Now
