Monday, July 27, 2015

Possible BOL

In an earlier post, I mentioned considering a place in northern Maine as a possible BOL. This place was nice, because it is secure, fairly isolated, and is self sustainable. Here are my thoughts:

Shelter:
The cabin itself was nice. It has three bedrooms and a single bath, with a large common room that serves as kitchen, dining room, and living area. Eight people should have no problem living in it, if they get along. The place is about 800 square feet of interior space, with wood and propane for heat.

Food and water:
- The water is well water, with lake water as a backup.
- There is a large garden outside. Due to large amounts of snowfall, a winter greenhouse will not be possible. The hunting is great, with large numbers of deer and moose, along with other animals like beaver, rabbits, geese, ducks, and squirrel. The cabin is on a lake, and the fishing is spectacular.

One day we were fishing for about two hours, and we caught 30 white perch, three large pickerel, and a 4 pound bass, along with numerous yellow perch, which we threw back. It made for one heck of a fish fry.
A diet consisting largely of fish is not sustainable in Maine, due to high Mercury levels in the water.

Security:
There are six cabins in the camp, with a year round caretaker. The caretaker is related to my girlfriend, and can be trusted to not stab us in the back. This is important, so that we know our storage is safe while we are not there.
The cabin is very remote, and this is a significant security feature. It is difficult to find, and is off the beaten path. This is good for security.

Communications:
The place is so far removed from civilization that there is no cell phone signal in the area. Landline telephone and internet are available, but unreliable.
When the phone an internet lines get knocked down during frequent winter storms, communication with the town of 5500 is possible for HAM operators, thanks to a VHF repeater that is located 16 miles away. The 2 meter radio in my truck had no problems reaching the repeater anywhere I went, and my 5 watt portable was usually able to reach it, as long as I was not deep in a valley.

Weather:
The winters are tough, with residents telling me that the ice on the lake is frequently more than 3 feet deep, and the temperatures dip to more than 35 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, and there is frequently three or more feet of snow on the ground.

Assistance:
The town has only 30 residents, and 25 of them are more than 50 years old. The next closest town is 15 miles away down a small road that is rarely plowed clear of snow. This town is larger, with nearly 500 residents, and the next larger town is another 20 miles away, with 5,500 residents. The nearest city is Bangor, nearly 100 miles away.

Many residents own trucks with plows on them, so they can clear their own snow. This means that you are on your own if  the SHTF. Almost everyone has a boat and a snowmobile. Boats won't get you far, however, as the lakes and rivers have large numbers of rocks in them, creating lots of rapids.

Other thoughts:
The mosquitoes and biting flies are incredible. The area is overrun with them.

The biggest problem is distance and difficulty in getting there. The cabin is 1,300 miles from my home, and the shortest route has you passing through New York, Maryland, and New Jersey, as well as skirting Washington, DC. As far as I am concerned, it would be safer to travel to a foreign country than to those socialist utopias. When the SHTF, as bad as those places are now, they will likely be no-go zones at that point.

I will keep the place as an alternate relocation site, and perhaps stage some limited supplies up there, but my search for a BOL continues.

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