Emergency Evacuation Kit
The easiest method of dealing with an event is to leave. You and your partner pack up the children and the pets then head out of town. Simple, but what happens if the disaster suddenly happens, and you need to leave immediately, from work or school. You need an emergency evacuation kit, of course.
Emergency evacuation kits are called many things Bug Out Bags (BOB), Get Out of Dodge (GOOD) bags, Get Home Bags (GHB), 72-hour kits, I’m Not Coming Home bag (INCH), or ... Either way, they basically all serve the same purpose, to get you and your family away from danger and to a safer place.
You will need one for your car, one for your work, and one for your home. When I say you, I mean every member of the family, including pets. Even the kids should have an emergency evacuation kit for each of these places.
You might disagree about the need for a work and a car emergency evacuation kit, but I want you to think about this. How far do you commute and how much time do you spend at work? For me, I commute about 40 miles, and I’m at work at least eight hours every workday. On the weekends and holidays, my family and I might be in the car for 5 hours and over 150 miles from home because we’re visiting friends or family.
That is a lot of time and a long distance from our home where most of our supplies are stored. Plus, can you guarantee that you will be able to get to your car during an evacuation from work.
As you have probably thought by now, a GHB (Get Home Bag) for work will be different from the bug-out bag for your home, but all of these kits have similarities.
The first similarity is having practiced the evacuation routes.
Yes, route is plural. As I mentioned in the last chapter, about “P.A.C.E,” you and your family need to have a primary, an alternative, a contingency, and an emergency method for doing critical tasks. For emergency evacuation kits, one critical item is having multiple evacuation routes that need to be practiced at least once a week, if possible.
Now, some of these emergency routes might not be usable or legal until an emergency, such as kicking through a wall to get to another room, breaking a large plate glass window to walk through to the showroom floor, or using the fire hose as a rope to lower you and your colleagues to the ground floor.
The next similarity, between the emergency evacuation kits, is that you and your family need to practice using the items in the kits. I say this for two reasons. First, during a disaster, you or your family may not have time to read the instructions for an item. Second, there is the possibility; you and your family will become separated; requiring each family member to use the equipment, by themselves, and get home safely, on their own.
The third similarity for emergency evacuation kits is the kit is tailored to the needs of the person and the expected environment and climate. In other words, if your family lives on the Atlantic-side, in Florida, and you’re going to evacuate to your sister’s home on the Gulf Coast side of Florida, you don’t need a heavy winter coat. The same goes for someone working in Nebraska, during the winter. They don’t need a wide brimmed hat and sunscreen; they need a heavy winter coat, gloves, hat, boots, warm socks, and other winter gear suitable for the extreme northern climate.
The last similarity, I will mention, is these bags are not used to go to an unknown location. You must have a destination because these bags don't have all the equipment and supplies to keep you and your family alive and healthy after 72 hours.
And, this is where caches come in.
Caches
A cache is basically storing essential items, for you and your family’s survival, away from your home. It can be, depending on your circumstances, as simple as a 10-ream paper box underneath your desk at work holding a few items to everything your family needs to survive for one-year buried at a relative’s rural homestead.
And, this is my first point, about caches.
They must be secure because people will steal your supplies. To insure your cache is secure, someone, preferably you or a close family member, should see it every day. That’s why your cache at work is under your desk and not in a rarely used supply closet; you will see it every day, almost.
Now, some of you are thinking, ‘But, I have some rural property that my family and I are planning to use as a retreat. I would like to cache some supplies there, just in case.’
You can, but there is the possibility someone will steal your stuff even if it is buried 10 feet underground.
This leads to my next point; your cache must be accessible.
By accessible, I mean that you and your family should be able to get to the cached items with no or few tools, and your family knows the cache’s location. This means that you and your partner (and maybe older children) have keys or combinations to the storage locker holding your retreat’s cache. Plus, they also know the storage locker’s location and have permission to open it, if there is some kind of access control list.
So, some of you are still thinking, ‘I’ll bury my retreat cache and have some shovels handy, in the barn.’ I’m telling you. If you or a close family member can’t see your retreat, every day, villains will have time to steal your shovels and everything else in sight, which brings up my next point.
If possible, your cache should be widely dispersed. For this point, I’m talking about a medium to large cache. By large, I mean a cache holding several months or years of supplies; your family would use during a long-term event. The cache should be spread over several containers and in several locations. Each cache should hold a variety of items. So, if one cache location is discovered or destroyed, you and your family will still have all the necessities to survive, located at other cache sites, on your property.
Lastly, there have been many informative articles written from the military prospective about what to store in a cache, how to store those item, emplacing a cache, and retrieving the cache. I will address some of these issues for the prepper in Appendix C of this chapter.
Appendix A: Common Mistakes
One of the most common mistakes with emergency evacuation kits is packing too much equipment in your Bug-Out Bag; the emergency evacuation kit soon weights over 50 pounds (22 kilograms) because of all the excess equipment and supplies. This usually happens because of a popular saying in prepping “Three is Two; Two is One; and One is None”
Folks, incorrectly think they will need three of everything, because of this popular saying, in their bag to survive. Nope, you really need two ways to do critical skills. An example is making fire, a skill most preppers over look.
To make a fire, using the concept “Three is Two; Two is One; and One is None” some people would say you need a refillable butane lighter with a spare canister of butane, a pack of matches in a plastic bag, like a quart-size zip-lock bag, and a Zippo lighter with fuel and flints, plus spares for the fuel and flint for the Zippo lighter. Oh, don’t forget to have three types of tinder.
Not really!
I’ll say it again, Not Really. What you need is one disposable butane lighter, some cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly (Vaseline), and a pack of matches. Add a couple of primitive skills, such as how to start a fire using wilderness material and how to locate flammable items to start and sustain a fire, and you’re ready to make a signal or warming fire at least three ways. This leads to my next point.
The more skills you and your family have; the lighter your emergency evacuation kits can be. An example is making a shelter. You don’t need a tent, with its poles and tent stakes; a blue tarp with tent poles and some string; and three contractor 55-gallon heavy-duty trash bags with a roll of duct tape. You just need a tarp, and the skill of building various tarp shelters. Add the skills of building a wilderness shelter and you have two methods of providing shelter, another critical skill. Plus, the tarp can be used to make an improvised kayak.
Another common mistake is thinking that an item in the bag can only do one task, like a blue tarp or plastic gallon-size freezer bag. A tarp can be used as a signaling device, an emergency medical litter, as well as a shelter. A plastic freezer bag can be used to carry potable water, as well as, the same plastic bag waterproofing your extra socks, in your emergency evacuation kit. Plus, if it is a large plastic sealable bag, multiple plastic bags can be used as a floatation device to cross a stream or river.
The last common mistake is thinking that you and your family can bug-out to a national or state park and survive, for a long time. First, that’s a poor idea because most folks also think that, so during certain events, the forests will soon become overcrowded with the wildlife over-hunted and over-fished leaving no food for your family. Next, with so many people, the lack of proper waste disposal will soon cause a disease outbreak. So, you and your family need to make sure you have a location that is expecting you and has some cached supplies, just in case, for a potentially longer term event.
Appendix B: Emergency Evacuation Kits
Home
The American Red Cross recommends each family have a kit that you can take with you in an emergency, if your family needs to leave your home.
At a minimum, in an easy to carry bag, preferably a backpack.
Water – one gallon per person per day (3-day supply for leaving your home)
Food – non-perishable, easy to prepare (3-day supply for, again, leaving your home)
Flashlight
Radio – hand-cranked or battery-powered (NOAA weather radio, if possible)
Extra batteries – for flashlight and radio
First-Aid Kit – for a family of four
2 - absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
25 - adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
1 - adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
5 - antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
5 - antiseptic wipe packets
2 - packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
1 - blanket (space blanket)
1 - breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
1 - instant cold compress
2 - pair of non-latex gloves (size: large)
2 - hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
1 - Scissors
1 - roller bandage (3 inches wide)
1 - roller bandage (4 inches wide)
5 - sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
5 - sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
Oral thermometer (non-mercury and non-glass)
2 - triangular bandages
Tweezers
First aid instruction booklet
Note: No matter if you buy a first-aid kit or put one together, make sure it includes personal items such as prescription medications, other specific medical supplies, and other items your health-care provider may suggest for your family
Multi-purpose tool
Personal hygiene items – toothbrush, tooth paste, and etc.
Sanitation Items – roll of toilet paper, feminine hygiene items, baby wipes
Copies of Personal Documents – Driver Licensee, passports, birth certificates, shot records, insurance policies/insurance contact information, medication lists, child custody papers, and etc.
Cellphone with charger
Family and Emergency contact information
Extra cash
Emergency Blanket or twin-size blanket (wool or wool-blend preferred)
Maps of the area
The American Red Cross also suggests that you and your family consider the needs of all family members by adding these supplies to your kit.
Medical supplies (hearing aids with extra batteries, glasses, contact lenses, syringes, etc.)
Baby supplies (bottles, formula, baby food, diapers)
Games and activities for children
Pet supplies (collar, leash, ID, food, carrier, and bowl)
Two-way radios
Extra set of car keys and house keys
Manual can opener
Depending on your threat analysis, the American Red Cross also suggests placing other items in your emergency evacuation kits, such as:
A Whistle
N95 or surgical masks
Matches
Rain gear
Towels
Work gloves
Tools and other supplies for securing your home
Extra clothing - hat, long sleeve shirt, and sturdy pants, and sturdy shoes
Plastic sheeting
Duct tape
Scissors
Household liquid bleach
Entertainment items
Blankets or sleeping bags
Car Kit
My car kit is specific to my family. Since we don't know a lot about fixing vehicles, I don't keep repair parts or tools in my car. I have towing on my insurance policy.
And, that highlights an important point. More likely than not, you and your family will face common emergencies like car accidents, dead batteries, or other vehicle breakdowns, so you need to make sure you have vehicle insurance and emergency towing for your vehicles.
Needless to say, some folks are going to want to have a more extensive kit for their vehicle. There is a good reason for that. A motorized vehicle, like a car, van, or truck can carry a lot more supplies.
So, what to carry?
Emergency Equipment
Jumper Cables, twelve feet or longer
Warning Triangles
Emergency Flares
Vehicle Jack with lug nut wrench
Spare Tire
First-aid Kit
Reflective Vest, to wear if you have to change a tire on the side of the road
Water
Two to three gallons of water (or more) for each potential passenger and the driver
Food or Snacks
Note: You will have to tailor the food that you carry to your family’s tastes, but here are some suggestions. Either way, you and your family will need to select foods that are non-perishable.
Snack or Fruit Bars
Dried Fruit, Nuts or Trail Mix
Canned Fruit with pull-off tops
Canned Meat
Crackers or Hardtack
Ramen (Oriental) Noodles
Manual Can Opener
People Supplies
Blankets
Spare set of clothing, winter coat, hat, gloves, socks, and etc.
Rain Suit or contractor plastic bags with duct tape to improvise a rain suit
Vehicle Supplies
Ice Scraper
Sand (not cat litter) in plastic jugs
Fuel Can, empty with twenty dollars in five dollar bills taped to the side
Tow Strap
Special Items
Disposable Diapers
Baby Bottle with formula
Dog or Cat food
Spare Glasses or contact cleaning supplies
Work Kit
I have a different kit that can be supplemented from my office cache, for getting out of the office and getting to my car or home. I carry it in a backpack; I carry into work every day.
Depending on the season, determines the clothing I carry in the bag. From late Fall to early Spring, I have polypropylene long-johns, gloves with polypropylene glove liners, extra wool socks with polypropylene sock liners, wool scarf, and a wool watch cap in my bag. I also carry a complete yellow rain suit with hood and Gortex sock liners. I also have a small first-aid kit that mainly focuses on foot care. Plus, I carry my lunch in my backpack.
I keep additional supplies in a 10-ream paper box, to supplement my emergency evacuation kit, under my desk. I also use this box as a cache for storing the stuff I need to stay over, at work. A small amount of bottled water, canned food, modest sleeping clothes, toiletries, blankets, and a small pillow are a few of the items, I store just in case the weather turns bad. I also include a door wedge to wedge the door close during an active shooter scenario.
An active shooter scenario is when a person is walking around the building shooting supervisors, employees, and customers. Since we can't carry guns at work, I will try to barricade and hide myself, and others, in my office and resist ‘If’ possible with a pair of scissors and a fire extinguisher.
School Kit
Schools are unique places. They offer many challenges for students and teachers planning to carry an emergency evacuation kit, during and after school; however, schools have one advantage. No one will be curious about a backpack.
The first challenge, like all the other kits, is going to be space in the backpack. Usually, in school, a backpack (better known as a book bag) will be used to carry a student’s books and other school supplies, so there will be limited space for emergency supplies. Plus, you and your partner will want to make sure your child is carrying a safe amount of weight for their age and physical ability.
Another advantage is going to be the school locker, if available, for caching extra supplies. This can be a good idea because, in an emergency, the school staff will probably allow students to return to their locker to get ready to go home, if possible.
Just like the box under my desk at work, a small box in your child’s school locker could hold a couple bottles of water and some snacks, to supplement the backpack. This will remove that weight from your child’s school book bag until these supplies are needed for an event.
The next challenge is going to be school rules and regulations. Most elementary, junior highs, middle, and high schools prohibit students from carrying weapons and medications. There may be other rules, you and your child will have to abide by, so ask and plan accordingly. For college students, they may be allowed to carry weapons, such as multi-tools with blades less than four-inches, once again, research and plan accordingly. The same goes for medical supplies.
Needless to say, if your child requires medication during the school day, the school nurse will probably store and administer the medicine, during school hours. Plus, it may be possible for the nurse to store extra medication, just in case.
Appendix C: Cache Recommendations
What to Store in a Cache
There are many items and supplies you and your family can store in a cache. What you store will depend on what you are preparing for, how long you expect to need supplies, and how much space; you have for the cache. Below are some suggestions
A Cardboard Box under your desk at work
This cache is expected to serve for one or two days for an overnight event because of a winter storm, power outage, or other event that requires you to stay at work for a short period.
Food and Water
4 - one-liter bottles of water6 - snack bars
4 – cans precooked pasta (ravioli, spaghetti)
6 – cans of fruit
2 – packages of Tuna
package of crackers
6 – sets of plastic utensils
condiments, in single serve packages
$20 in $1 bills and quarters for the snack machine
Sleeping
sweatpants and sweatshirt, loose fitting
thermal blanket and camping pillow
knit cap, thermal gloves, and extra socks
Toiletries
toothbrush and toothpaste
dental floss
feminine hygiene items
hair brush or comb
washcloth and soap
deodorant
Note:
1. All the canned food has pull-top lids. If you cache traditional cans, you will need a manual can opener
2. The food is tailored to your tastes, additionally; make sure, the food is precooked, ready to eat.
A Large Plastic Tote in a relative’s basement
This cache is expected to serve for a couple of days if you and your family have to quickly leave your home because it was damaged in a fire or natural disaster such as a hurricane, winter storm, or power outage.
Clothing
2 – changes of clothes including socks
sleeping clothes (2 sets for children)
pair of shoes or boots
binky or woobie, for your children
Documentation
Copies of important documents
insurance policies, birth certificates, immunization records
driver’s license, credit card info, passport
contact information for utilities, family, friends, employer and employees
Special Needs
prescription medication
spare set of glasses, contact cleaning supplies
cane or other mobility devices
a thank you card, for putting up with you and your family, for your friends or relatives. (You might want to throw a $20 in the card for good measure)
Note:
1. Make sure to change out the clothing, in the cache, as the children grow.
2. The clothing just needs to be clean and serviceable. Don’t forget, you will probably be heading to work, so you and your partner may want to pack work clothes in the cache.
Lastly, your friend or close relative may allow your family to store more than one plastic tote, so you will need to plan accordingly. Plus, you will have to talk to your friend or relative about what they expect you to supply, like winter coats, underwear, and family specific items, and the items they will be able to supply such as blankets, pillows, towels, and hygiene items.
A Couple of Buried 4-inch Diameter PVC Pipes buried in your yard
This cache is expected to serve for the long-term storage of critical items, such as shelter, water, food, medical, protection, and anything else you and your family feel the need to store, long-term.
Shelter
2 – 10 X 20 blue plastic tarps with 100 feet – nylon cord
2 – wool blankets for each person and a space blanket for each person
Food
20 – five pound packages of rice20 – five pound packages of beans
various spices (salt, pepper, garlic)
note: all food items are stored in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers
Water
water filter and spare filters
10 – one gallon slide-lock bags
Protection
SKS rifle with weapon cleaning kit
200 rounds of rifle ammunition and 10-pocket ammunition carrier
hunting knife and knife sharpener
First-Aid Supplies
Similar to the ‘Home’ Kit suggested by the Red Cross
Note:
1. Even though, I grouped the items together, the supplies should be combined in the cache, to prevent all of one type of critical supplies being damaged, thus compromising your survival.
2. Some of these items (blanket, rifle, hunting knife, and etc.) can be used, but serviceable, because they will be buried and inaccessible. Plus, you don’t want to bury all your good stuff.
Lastly, notice that all of these supplies for a buried cache are long-term non-perishable. The reason for storing such items? It will be very difficult to replenish the cache. Plus, the more often you visit your cache; the more likely someone will be able to discover your cache.
How to Store Cached Items
Before we talk about how to store your cached items, we need to look at where you’re going to store the cache of supplies. Are you going to have an office cache stored in a copy paper box, under your desk at work, or do you plan to bury your long-term food storage at your aunt’s homestead, or are your supplies going to be stored in a secured storage locker, close to your family’s retreat?
So, depending on the answer, it will depend if you need a water-proof container, like a 55-gallon plastic drum, for a burial or a water and vermin-resistant plastic tote, for a cache in your sister’s basement.
The first method, I’m going to write about is the PVC pipe method. It can be used for a buried cache. Basically, you and your family are going to construct a waterproof tube out of PVC pipe. There are two ways of constructing the tube. The first method, you and your family purchase a length of schedule 40 PVC. It is the white plastic pipe; you find at the local hardware store. Next, you will need to purchase two end caps and a can of PVC glue and primer; these items should be displayed next to the PVC pipe at the local home improvement store.
Needless to say, you will have to decide how long your PVC pipe cache is going to be and the diameter of the pipe.
Next, you cut the tube to the length; you want for the cache. Since PVC pipe normally comes in an eight-foot length, I would cut the pipe into two 4-feet pieces, using a hacksaw, for a large cache tube. For a shorter tube, you cut the PVC pipe to the length you need for your cached supplies.
Next, glue one solid end cap to the PVC pipe. The other end will stay open until you fill the pipe with your food and supplies.
Schedule 40 PVC Pipe Cache with Glued on Cap
You will want to test load the PVC pipe cache, so you can get the most stuff in the pipe before you seal it. Next, you’re going to have to make another decision. Are you going to dig the pipe up or just cut off the top to unload the cache? If you plan to dig it up, you will probably want to lay the pipe on its side, horizontally. If you plan to cut the top off, without completely digging up the sealed plastic tube, you will probably want to bury the PVC pipe straight up and down, vertically.
If you’re planning to bury the pipe vertically, you will need to place you cache items in small bags or nets, tied to a piece of nylon string. The string, make sure it’s strong enough, will allow you to empty the cache by pulling the items out of the pipe this way you don’t have to lay down on your belly, to reach down into the PVC pipe, to pull items out of the cache.
Cached Items in Recycled Nylon Bulk-Fruit Mesh Bags
Needless to say, all of your cached items should be in sealed water-proof bags, like mylar bags, or other water-proof containers to prevent any damage to the items, if the pipe is damaged before retrieval.
The second way of constructing the PVC tube is to add a screw-off end cap, instead of a solid end cap. It will be more expensive. Basically, just like the first method, you glue the bottom end with a solid end cap and glue the other end of the pipe with the screw-off cap. The screw cap’s threads will need to be wrapped with Teflon tape to insure the cap doesn’t leak, filling the PVC pipe with water and possibly ruining your cached supplies.
Schedule 40 PVC Pipe with Screw Cap, buried vertically
Either way, you will need tools to recover your supplies. A pipe with both ends glued with solid end caps will require a hacksaw or a large rock to open the cache. The hacksaw will be used to cut the end off, and a big rock will be used to break the PVC pipe open. For the screw-off cap, it will require a large wrench or a rock. The wrench will be used to screw the cap off, and the rock, once again, will be used to break the pipe. Oh, I almost forgot. You will need a shovel or other digging instrument to uncover the PVC pipe, if it’s buried too deep underground.
Cache of Supplies using Various Plastic Storage Totes
The next method is the plastic tote method. I would say Rubbermaid tote, but I don’t think they make the totes, anymore. To use this method, you will need to have a cool, dry, rodent-free and secure place to store the totes because the totes are difficult to secure, can’t be easily water-proofed for burying, and are thin compared to schedule 40 PVC pipe.
As you can probably guess, I recommend caching your supplies at your sister’s or brother’s home, another close relative, or a storage locker, if you use the plastic tote method.
The last method is a combination of methods. There are many examples for this method. One of these examples is a piece of plywood secured to the bottom of your home’s floor joists, so you can cache or hide a bag of silver coins. Another example is a 55-gallon open head plastic drum full of nonperishable supplies and clothing stored in your brother-in-laws shed, covered by a canvas tarp. Another example is a PVC pipe full of food, capped at both ends, laid on its side, in a trusted friend’s basement. The last combination method, I will discuss, is cardboard boxes haphazardly stacked one on top of each other in a storage locker, full of magazines, hiding several wooden footlockers full of supplies for you, your family and a couple of relatives or friends.
Either way; PVC pipe, plastic tote, or a combination method; you and your family will want to make sure you have a variety of items in each cache, just in case; someone discovers one of your cache sites.
Emplacing a Cache
Emplacing the cache could be as easy as calling your sister, and asking her ‘What is the best time to bring our plastic totes over to store in your basement?’ If she allows you to store more than one or two totes, you might want to deliver your family’s supplies and gear every couple of weeks to keep the neighbors from wondering what’s going on.
Remember, OPSEC!
If your family is going to cache supplies in a public storage locker, you may probably want to make one or two big trips, so it looks like you’re moving. If you do one big trip out to your sister’s homestead, you might want to unload at night or park your truck in the garage to unload. Remember to turn off the garage lights, if your car is parked in the driveway, so no one can see your family unload the supplies, at night.
Burying a Cache
Burying a cache is going to be a lot more complicated because your family needs to have a method of remembering where the cache was hidden. Plus, your family will need to be really careful digging the hole, putting your prepared supplies in the hole, and burying the supplies without anyone seeing you.
First, let’s look at finding a location for your buried cache. I would suggest burying your cache on your family’s property this allows you to control access to the cache. Plus, you know if anyone is planning to excavate for a building project, like a road, sewer system, or cable service, so you can move the cache before they dig.
Next, you are going to need to find a location with permanent landmarks that you will be able to use to find the cache. Let me give you a couple of examples.
For the PVC pipe method, with the pipe lying on its side, you could bury one PVC pipe under one of your home’s flower bed retaining walls. You could even bury the PVC pipe in a garden bed. In this example the landmark is the cache’s location.
A similar example is burying four open-head plastic 55-gallon drums next to each other. You and your family will need to dig a five-foot by five-foot hole, at least five feet deep. This size of a hole could easily be covered by a small brick patio. Avoid laying a concrete pad over your cache because you will have to break up the concrete to get to your cache. Talk about needing tools to excavate your cache.
For the vertical PVC pipe way, you and your family could vertically bury the PVC pipe cache at each corner of your home’s fence line, especially if you plan on digging a couple of post holes with a posthole digger for a fence, around your home. Another way would be to bury a PVC pipe cache five feet north of every other fence post, along your fence. In this example a fixed distance and a sequence of fence posts are the landmark.
Needless to say, no matter how you emplace the cache, you are going to have to tell someone about it, just in case you die during the disaster.
Now, let’s say that you want to bury a cache on someone else’s property you don’t own, in a right-of-way on public property, or in a state or national park. My suggestion, don’t do it because you don’t control when and if construction will happen. Plus, even if the construction workers don’t find your cache, landmarks could be destroyed or the cache covered with a new 12-inch thick concrete or asphalt road.
After you have determined where your cache is going to be located, you and your family need to dig the hole. If you are emplacing one or two 4-feet long PVC pipe caches lying on their side, you will need a garden shovel. If you are emplacing the PVC tubes straight up and down, you should use a posthole digger. Needless to say, if you and your family are going to emplace a cache with a large number of PVC pipe cache tubes, you will probably want to rent a gas-powered posthole digger from a local U-Rent-It equipment shop. Remember, you will need a cover story because the neighbors may ask about the engine noises.
If you are planning to bury a large cache made up of full 55-gallon metal or plastic drums, you will need a backhoe or a lot of trustworthy friends and family with shovels. OK, I exaggerate. With a little bit of effort, a family should be able to dig a big enough hole for four 55-gallon drums full of supplies, by hand, using shovels.
Two 55-gallon Open-Head Plastic Drums, that could be used for a buried cache
After you have dug the hole, emplaced the cache, and cover the storage containers with dirt, you will want to mound dirt over the freshly dug hole then camouflage the mound of dirt.
Why?
Normally, the dirt in the hole will compact and create a depression. This depression will indicate where something has recently been dug up or buried. After a few weeks the excess dirt is removed, leaving a level spot, which is seeded to match the surrounding area, camouflaging the cache site.
Of course, there is another way of covering the cache with dirt, you could level the soil then seed it. After a couple of months, come back with topsoil, re-level and reseed the freshly filled depression.
You will also have to deal with excess soil from digging the hole. There are a couple of methods to deal with the excess soil. First, if the cache is on your property, have an on-going project that the soil can be added to. This will allow a simple cover story. Remember, OPSEC.
If you don’t take my advice and emplace a small cache on public land, you will need to carry the dirt away from the cache site. I have heard some folks will carry the excess soil away using backpacks that they used to carry the cache’s supplies. Once the group has traveled a predetermined distance the excess soils is scattered along the ground. A large cache will require a greater logistical operation to move the dirt away from the cache site. Don’t forget, you will have to come back to the cache and check to see if the dirt has settled. If it has or hasn’t, you will have to add or remove dirt as needed. Don’t forget, you must re-camouflage the cache site, if needed.
Retrieving the Cache
Just like emplacing a cache, you want to have good OPSEC. You want to do it at a time when no one will be able to see you or notice you getting something out of your cache. Some families will think that nighttime is the best time to emplace and retrieve a cache. It might not be.
Think about it. At night, no one is moving around, so you and your friends driving or walking to the cache site will be noticed. At night, sound travels further, so the banging and clanking caused by shovels uncovering a cache will be heard, a long way away.
Same goes for the daytime. Folks will be out and about, so you will need a plausible reason for going into the woods with an empty backpack but returning with a full one, if you and your friends are seen. Remember, OPSEC.
Needless to say, you will have to observe the activity around the possible cache site to plan how and when to retrieve the items stored in your cache.
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