Get Home Bag....
What would one have in a GHB bag and how exactly would it help in getting home?
A bag for every occasion I guess eh?
Unlike the Bug Out Bag, the GHB needs to be a little more compact, yet still complete. My BOB is a bit more involved - the GHB has things I need in it to...well...get home!
- The Bag: A non-descript daypack, (Wally World). It has plenty of utility, is rugged, comfortable and reliable. Plenty of cool pockets and a water bladder.
- First Aid Kit: (complete with QuikClot, Israeli bandages, pain relief, Motrin, sutures, potassium iodide, etc)
- Food: One MRE, Two Coast Guard Survival Bars, Two Pouches Of Salmon Filets, (yummy), Dried Nori, Two Slim Jims, Two Nature Valley Granols Bars, Assorted Hard Candy, Two CliffShots, Four Twinings Black Currant Tea Bags, Two 5-Hour Energy Shots. US Army Circa 1960's Mess Kit. Several assorted ZipLoc bags
- Water: One 32oz bottle of Poland Spring, (to fill the CamelBak bladder), One PUR Hiker Microfilter. One QuickTeen Collapsable Canteen. One Bottle Purification Tablets, (just in case).
- Navigation: One Berkshire County Street Map, One New England Street Map, Area Topo Maps, State Forest Trail Maps, Silva Compass, Magellan GPS, Cache Codes, Back Up Pin On Cheapo Compass.
- Utility: One Fixed Blade Survival Knife, One Leatherman, One Swiss Army Mechanic, 100-feet Nylon Rope, 100-feet paracord, 50-feet of wire, 100-feet of fishing line, tackle, MagLite AA LED, Black Diamond Dual Headlamp (Xenon/Twin LED), Wally World $1.99 Ring Light LED, BlastMatch, Matches, Lighter, Firestarters, Spare Ammo, Under Armor Type socks, long underwear, shirt, (rip-offs from Wally World)(light and packable), PacTec Rain Coat And Pants, My Own Invention - "Drop And Go Survival Kit". (It's a small pouch 8'x8"with two Altoids tins and a prescription pill bottle with various survival, first aid, ammo and food items), One Swiss Alpenflage Poncho, (rolled tightly and stuffed in an old tent pole bag and cinched on the mouse straps underneath the pack.
I also have a cheap but very useable bivvy tent I bought years ago at SG for $29.99. It's light, (just over a pound and a half), fairly dry, sets up easy and is OD green. It has only two small poles, but you can also slide right on in it like a sleeping bag.
The whole bag weighs in at about 24lbs. It may seem to some to be an excessive bag for the car - I've seen many lighter and simpler. However, driving is part of my job. I may be 18-miles from home or 80. In general, I'm at least 30 miles from home. If I must avoid main roads, the country out here is pretty rugged. Anyone driving say, Route 20 between Russel and Lee know what I mean.