I was not prepared then to get out of the house quickly, and didn't have enough methods to stay cool in the house. Now, I am prepared for staying or leaving.
@Victoria33 Yep.
And I got caught needing to walk off a time or two, and had a more than uncomfortable time... But that's how we learn, I guess.
I will maintain the castle... Of course it is the best and easiest place for me to survive. I have about 2 years worth of food and wood, with unlimited water. It is ready to go unplugged ~wholly off grid~ with no loss, but for the freezers and the fridge...
I also have two incidental fall-back positions, where I can move my 'castle' if I have the time to load it up.
One is a co-op where I have an honorary membership, and where I have contributed better than a year's worth of arms, wood, and long term freeze-dried food. My whole family is represented there, and that is where we will go if our primary locations are compromised.
The other is an off-grid, off-map hunting camp where I have a small cabin and a large root cellar, again with an emergency cache of arms and food, where I can personally disappear indefinitely.
Both are incidental - Neither was prepared for the purpose of SHTF, and I am not really a prepper in the proper sense. but either one will serve as a secondary 'castled' position where I can go and hunker down long term. Both have the capacity to absorb my entire storage from my primary position, if I can move it there, and both will serve admirably as a cushion and a jumping off place if I have to go ranger.
And lastly, if the need arises, I can always go ranger, with nothing more than my go-bag. I am capable of indefinite primitive living, and I am well trained to live off the land. To be honest, in my present condition, I don't know that I can survive like that, and I certainly couldn't care for my family like that (like I once could), but even with a couple fairly bad physical strikes against me, I would still bet my chances are better than most - depending upon the season when walking off became necessary.
It's more about thinking and know-how, and managing risk, and that mindset is still there, regardless of my physical ability.
So while I can, I will plan to 'castle'... At my primary, or either or both of my secondary locations - With access to all three, I reckon I can live for around 5 years without a whole bunch of trouble.
My pickup also works as an extension of that - with full tanks, the doghouse on the back, packed full of food, and a canoe on the top, I could live pretty good for a fairly long time, without having to go full native... with comms and rudimentary solar, and mobility so long as there are fuel and funds available. Add the trailer, with a 4wheeler and/or snow machine, and I am pretty set for a few months, even if I have to take off in the dead of winter.
And lastly, just walking off, if I had to.
It is a pretty good way, with several distributed methods, and options - all with advantages, albeit with diminishing returns. And again, it isn't done with a prepper mindset - It's more a way-of-life that leaves me with those decided advantages.
