Discounting the north

There are a lot of bug out maps for potential safe places bouncing around out there. They have some things in common: avoid big cities, have access to clean water, be able to grow food, and so on.

A big one is having a mild climate. That's nice, but a lot of people think that way. In a SHTF situation everyone will bug out to such places. Maybe those places won't be so good once thousands and thousands of people try and move in.

I'm here in the mountains of northern NH. It's cold and the growing season is short. However, the population is low and there is a lot of open Federal land and big private timber lots. Private land owners get huge tax discounts by allowing public access to their lands.

Snow and cold have advantages. All it takes is one unplowed snowstorm to make travel impossible. While it's difficult to get out of your house, it's just as hard for the golden horde to get to invade. Besides, most people will be heading south so they don't freeze to death.

Yes, the cold is an issue, but a good woodstove and a big pile of firewood make all the difference in the world. I've always said a woodshed full of wood is better than money in the bank. In an emergency situation it's possible close down much of the house and concentrate living near the woodstove. That reduces the amount of firewood that you need to survive. Good warm clothes makes all the difference in the world too.

Having good food storage is essential. You really don't want to try and forage for food in the dead of winter. It can be done, but everything is harder in the cold and snow. Times are lean. That will discourage those who think they can bug out and live off the land. They will head somewhere else.

There are some tricks to living in snow country. One big mistake people make is that they think it's easy to melt snow for water. I've lived for days on snowmelt, and it's a lot of work. The woodstove was kept blazing hot and big pots of snow sat on the stove. It's discouraging to melt down a big 5 gallon pot of snow and end up with an inch of dirty water on the bottom. Snowmelt also tastes pretty bad. I've dug through feet of snow and ice to get to liquid water in a stream. It's less work than gathering snow all the time.

On the bright side, refrigeration is not a problem. Neither are insects for that matter. It's not all negatives.

In a pinch I could keep my house warm just with the firewood within walking distance to my house. I've done it, and all with hand tools too. Get some snowshoes and tobaggons and it's possible to haul a lot of things around.

If you are prepared, the cold and snow are advantages. It keeps the riff raft away.

-Sixbears

North and South

When traveling, there's two things that tell me I'm in the real south. The first is that there seems to be a Waffle House on every other corner. There are not many of those in New England.

In a more serious vein, the other thing is long driveways. In snow country houses are built close to the road. It's especially noticeable with older houses, houses built before the invention of snowblowers. If you've got to hand shovel snow you don't want your house at the end of a 300 foot driveway.

Below the snow zone, long and winding driveways are more common. It's nice to have some distance and privacy from the road, without the snow removal penalty.

Snow shoveling is a depressing thing. All winter long the snow shoveler labors heroically. By summer, there's nothing to show for all this work. Next year, repeat.

There are a few long driveways in snow country. A home owner may think, no problem, I'll just put a plow on my truck or buy a snowblower. Plows are not cheap and they put an awful lot of wear and tear on a truck. Wise shoppers avoid buying former plow trucks. Snowblowers work, but are loud, smelly, burn gas, plus require maintenance and repair. Not only that, while it's possible to move snow faster than with a shovel, it's still a lot of work.

I'm too lazy to own a snowblower. True, I'd spend less time shoveling, but that time would be spent earning money to keep the snowblower going.

Once in a while, snow storms can overwhelm normal snow removal tools. Imagine getting several feet of heavy wet snow overnight. Once it has a chance to pile up, the only way to remove it is with a bucket loader. Normal plows and snowblowers cant' touch it.

There's a cabin just down the road from me with a long driveway. The owners normally only use it in the summer, but they spent the weekend there recently. Instead of plowing, snowblowing, or shoveling, they put on snowshoes and hiked in.

I knew a young couple who's house sat so far off the road, they'd use a snowmobile to get from their parking spot to the house. They put up with that for two winters before selling the place. All that hassle to get from the car door to the house added up.

Right now I'm wondering about the minimum amount of shoveling that will be necessary to get my boat out of the driveway. It always feels a bit weird to tow a sailboat through snow country. Once I get to the land of long driveways, it won't look so odd.

-Sixbears