Survival includes a lot more than just "bugging out." That's a myth perpetrated by those who sell bug-out bags (and the things that go in them). It's literally a billion-dollar industry. Those profiting from that industry are not in the least concerned about someone's survival; they only care about the money.
A person needs 3 things to survive without civilization: shelter, water, and food... in that order. As a rule of thumb, one has at most three hours to find shelter, three days to find clean water, and three weeks to find food. Those are maximums for someone perfectly healthy... anything less than perfectly healthy decreases those times. Of all of them, shelter is the hardest to find and the one thing that can't be stored in a bug-out bag. You can get a tent perhaps, but it will be so lightweight that it will not last long or offer much in the way of security. The optimal solution is to know how to build and place a shelter from materials around you. That way, you aren't wasting energy carrying around something that will only be useful temporarily.
When and if someone has to bug out, it will likely not happen the way they have rehearsed it anyway. Everyone has this mental picture of what they will do when that time comes, and every one is wrong. If the country does collapse, for example, it will not, as has been said, be a "Mad Max" type scenario. Crime will increase, and martial law may be imposed if it gets too bad, but the cities will not dissolve into roving gangs. It will be more of every man for himself. People will be shoplifting, some will brazenly rob, houses will be broken into and pantries raided while the house is empty, and those who can will be running scams. The government will remain in place, although services we are used to might be cut or intermittent. In other words, don't expect the police to respond to your home when the powerful are being robbed as well. The Golden Rule will still apply: he who has the gold will make the rules. Those rules will include "me first."
Most will be better off staying put when such is possible. Think about it: everyone reading this knows their immediate surroundings. No one reading this knows an unfamiliar place as well. You know where everything is around you now, but sitting in the middle of the woods, you will not know if there's a creek nearby, if the water is safe to drink, what animals are near, where the nearest source of nutrition is, etc. But everyone knows where the local convenience store or food store is, where their food storage is located, the best places to hide, who should be there, etc., etc., etc.
Worse, someone moving on foot through a strange area, especially a strange remote area, is immediately seen as a target. We out in the sticks watch the news, too; we know when there's unrest. We're not as stupid as you think we are. We are usually armed, usually trained in the use of our weapons, and familiar with our place. You just became an intruder when intruders are expected and seen as a danger. Most will not survive long enough to get to wherever they wanted to go.
Those hills have eyes and ears. They see you and hear you, long before you think they do.
Ironically, the most brazen of the survivalists will be the first to perish. It is they who will, through their own actions and unfamiliarity with the locals, be seen as an imminent threat. Threats don't last very long out here. The ones who humble themselves and seek actual charity, who are willing to accept that their survival depends solely on the good will of those whose land they are invading, who recognize their inexperience and accept their limitations, will stand the greatest chance of surviving.
TheRedneck
A person needs 3 things to survive without civilization: shelter, water, and food... in that order. As a rule of thumb, one has at most three hours to find shelter, three days to find clean water, and three weeks to find food. Those are maximums for someone perfectly healthy... anything less than perfectly healthy decreases those times. Of all of them, shelter is the hardest to find and the one thing that can't be stored in a bug-out bag. You can get a tent perhaps, but it will be so lightweight that it will not last long or offer much in the way of security. The optimal solution is to know how to build and place a shelter from materials around you. That way, you aren't wasting energy carrying around something that will only be useful temporarily.
When and if someone has to bug out, it will likely not happen the way they have rehearsed it anyway. Everyone has this mental picture of what they will do when that time comes, and every one is wrong. If the country does collapse, for example, it will not, as has been said, be a "Mad Max" type scenario. Crime will increase, and martial law may be imposed if it gets too bad, but the cities will not dissolve into roving gangs. It will be more of every man for himself. People will be shoplifting, some will brazenly rob, houses will be broken into and pantries raided while the house is empty, and those who can will be running scams. The government will remain in place, although services we are used to might be cut or intermittent. In other words, don't expect the police to respond to your home when the powerful are being robbed as well. The Golden Rule will still apply: he who has the gold will make the rules. Those rules will include "me first."
Most will be better off staying put when such is possible. Think about it: everyone reading this knows their immediate surroundings. No one reading this knows an unfamiliar place as well. You know where everything is around you now, but sitting in the middle of the woods, you will not know if there's a creek nearby, if the water is safe to drink, what animals are near, where the nearest source of nutrition is, etc. But everyone knows where the local convenience store or food store is, where their food storage is located, the best places to hide, who should be there, etc., etc., etc.
Worse, someone moving on foot through a strange area, especially a strange remote area, is immediately seen as a target. We out in the sticks watch the news, too; we know when there's unrest. We're not as stupid as you think we are. We are usually armed, usually trained in the use of our weapons, and familiar with our place. You just became an intruder when intruders are expected and seen as a danger. Most will not survive long enough to get to wherever they wanted to go.
Those hills have eyes and ears. They see you and hear you, long before you think they do.
Ironically, the most brazen of the survivalists will be the first to perish. It is they who will, through their own actions and unfamiliarity with the locals, be seen as an imminent threat. Threats don't last very long out here. The ones who humble themselves and seek actual charity, who are willing to accept that their survival depends solely on the good will of those whose land they are invading, who recognize their inexperience and accept their limitations, will stand the greatest chance of surviving.
TheRedneck