Time to Level-Up
The total collapse of civilization is a unique scenario. Humanity has never gone through one of those before. There have been some localized or regional instances of such a collapse, but never global. So, how do we know what it will be like? The short answer is that we don’t. The post-apocalyptic wasteland model of societal collapse is well-represented in many books, video games, and films. And really, in some instances, they are quite realistic. The events that unfold to create such an environment may not be very likely, but the results are pretty easy to envision. Remove some of the fantastic elements such as zombies or aliens and whatnot, and you are left with a pretty realistic scenario.
I have not gone completely off into the deep end of delusion, don’t worry. But think for a moment, about “The Walking Dead.” Not about the action of the show, or the bigger picture backstory of how it came about, but just the characters and the environment. How they have to struggle, the things they do to survive, and the normal challenges they have to deal with. Those are the parts I find realistic. And even, dare I say, educational.
Barring a nuclear holocaust, meteor strike, super-volcano, or any of the other massively destructive endings to our world, I think it will be quite different. Rather than a world that is totally desolate in terms of people, I see almost the opposite. Even the death of 90% of the population still leaves a lot of people, clustered as we are on this planet. Right now, we look like the mall on a Saturday afternoon. However, if you remove nine of every ten people it is still not completely deserted. Just starts to look like a Tuesday morning in there.
I am primarily going to focus on aspects of survival other than the wilderness. There are plenty of sources for learning wilderness survival skills, and I highly recommend learning as much about them as you can, it is even included in my listings of essential skills. However, the primary focus here will be on urban areas and the surroundings. Not so much surviving in the deep wild lands of the world, but within the remains of what was once civilized lands, and the isolated trappings of once active human endeavor. Most likely, during and after the collapse, most people are going to be either inside or near an urban area. And at many points of wasteland life, survival will involve using what was left behind by civilization, rather than hunting squirrels with a sharpened stick.
The Urban Wasteland
Take the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. There are 18.7 million people there, spread over a contiguous urban sprawl area of 2,281 square miles. How many of them will be able to actually get out? How many are just going to die off? Even if 99% of those people were gone, that still leaves more than 187,000 people. So, out of that 18.7 million, there will be a huge group left that will be doing everything they can to stay alive.
With an area of 2,281 square miles, we end up with just over 80 people per. There is no real standard for how many city blocks are in a square mile, but in general, it’s 96 blocks. Usually, a 1 square mile portion of a big city is 8 blocks long and about 12 streets wide. So, about 80 people in that area. Not much at all, but a much larger population density than The Walking Dead show, or most post-apocalyptic media.
I don’t see an eerie walk down abandoned streets full of burned-out or shattered ruins. I see a terror-filled journey of hostile eyes watching you from every hidden vantage point. Hungry, angry, desperate, and deranged, but whether for good reasons or bad, all eyes are watchful and suspicious. There is an extreme tension in the air that is felt constantly, weighing heavily on everyone. You feel like you are surrounded by enemies and everyone else feels exactly the same. No one has had enough food, sleep, or anything else in a very long time, including you.
There will be groups, with or without leadership. Some will just be trying to protect each other, but some will be monstrous predators looking to take whatever they can. Eventually, some larger groups with strength and influence will come to dominate various territories of such an urban wasteland. Their control will be sporadic at first but once the survivors realize there is no help coming, despots will rise.
Sometimes the Only Way Out is Through.
Survival in, or escape from, such urban environments will require unconventional skills and methods beyond those of most ordinary wilderness survivalists. And most people are going to either be in or nearby cities and large towns when things go bad.
I have put together a list of what I believe are the most essential sets of skills one needs to operate in and around urban environments and survive after they collapse. The best option is, of course, to get the hell away from any population centers as soon as possible, but that may not always be in the cards, and one could even have to return for various reasons. These skillsets will be invaluable for that. This is a general listing of those sets of skills to begin with. As this work progresses, I will be reviewing each one in a broader range of detail. But, for now, here is an idea of what you should know.
Urban Survival Skillsets
Skillset #1: Ghost in the Machine
A lot of material has been written about being what is called a “Gray man.” If you want to read some of that extensive material, which I suggest you do, that will be the term you are searching for. For my own articles here, I am going to take gender out of the equation and just call it being a “Ghost.” That is a more descriptive term of what this skillset represents anyway.
So, what is a ghost? Well, for starters, ghosts are invisible. In an urban survival situation, being invisible has a big effect on your survival. Ghost skills not only protect you tactically in various situations, but they also guard you when practiced strategically as well. They will help you, your family, and your stockpiles, remain overlooked by those who will be looking for easy targets once things go downhill, and there will be people looking.
A Ghost is a person who can blend in with their surroundings well and easily get lost in the crowd, going mostly unnoticed and entirely forgotten. Such tactics are used to enhance your protection and help you to move freely in dangerous or hostile environments. I often call it social camouflage. Think of it as a collection of disguise methods that can be used at any time, not just during a collapse.
There are many different reasons why you do not want to draw attention to yourself or your activities, especially during an emergency or survival situation. If people learn that you have food or supplies, some of them will want to take them from you. If you seem to know what you are doing when everyone else is losing their minds, some may start to look to you for leadership or direction, which will often be against your immediate interests.
The last thing you want when an emergency kicks off is to stand out and be noticed. Remember that when the SHTF you will be surrounded by unpredictable, panicking people and chaotic situations in which you will be in constant danger. In these situations, be a Ghost.
Even before any crisis event or disaster unfolds, you absolutely do not want other people to have too much knowledge of your own preparedness. That is a guaranteed way to put yourself on someone’s target list for later. Trust me, there are plenty of people out there who keep track of these things as part of their own plan of preparation. That is something I will go into more detail about later. No, what you want to do is blend in, or disappear entirely. Being a ghost when it comes to prepping helps you do this. Ghosts don’t appear any different from anyone else. They don’t stand out. You wouldn’t pick one out of a line-up. Ghosts are very good at hiding in plain sight, and that makes them less of a target. People will be less likely to remember you for any reason.
To paraphrase something I read once, a ghost is like a fart in the air conditioning. Everyone might know that it’s there, but no one really notices.
Becoming a ghost isn’t that difficult. But it does take some knowledge and practice. Such skills become instinctual, and many of them you already possess and use unconsciously. When you are trying to go unnoticed at work or in a classroom, for example.
My article on becoming a ghost will delve into all the details of this particular skillset as part of this series.
Skillset #2: Self-Defense
The art of self-defense is a very wide-ranging topic, and the particular skills of it are very great in number. Individual combat skills are not what I am really going to get into at this point, beyond saying that having some knowledge of basic hand-to-hand fighting is a must. What I will mostly be delving into in the section on self-defense is quite a bit more than just fighting. In fact, my biggest personal principle of self-defense is avoiding fights altogether.
Camouflage and hiding are forms of defense. Being confident and able to read people to defuse situations during interactions with potentially hostile individuals is a defense. Careful avoidance of situations that could put you in danger is a defense. There are a lot of non-combat skills that I include under the self-defense umbrella, and we will go over all of them.
Knowledge of weapons and their use is a very important aspect of self-defense, and having skills with firearms, knives, bows, and other common weapons is key. However, a lot of the time weapons become a weakness in that we come to rely heavily on them. That leaves many people at a loss when the time comes that you do not have any weapons available to you. Another of my core principles is that a gun or a knife, or whatever, is just a tool. You are the weapon. And by that, I do not mean having the ability to Jet Li yourself out of combat situations. I mean the ability to think and act unconventionally and also to improvise. Being able to quickly improvise weapons out of the objects and even the environment around you is a big deal. There is no more effective weapon than the one your opponents do not know you have.
My self-defense skillset includes more than just yourself. It is also for your location when you are hunkered down, and even the path you are traveling when on the go. Tactics and methods for keeping your home base secure, and for moving around safely will also be covered.
Skillset #3: Athletic Skills
When it comes to the physical stuff, there is a distinction between athletic skills and athletic ability. You do not need to be an Olympic swimmer, but you do need to know how to swim and dive properly. The same can be said for all of it. Running, climbing, hiking, and so on. And what is more important than improving your skill is becoming practiced at the ability and very aware of your own limitations. You will want to be familiar with how fast you can run, as well as how far. Your personal limitations are important to be aware of for planning purposes at the very least. In an example of a potentially hostile encounter with some very fit-looking individuals, it might prove better to try and talk or fight your way out of the situation rather than run from it if you know that you cannot run fast or far.
Another set of things that I place under the athletic skillset are those that are usually considered “recreational” activities. Kayaking, basic horseback riding, skiing, those sorts of things. Part of being prepared for a collapse is trying to have as many abilities as you can. I am not saying that you have to try and master everything but don’t pass up any chance to learn something new. Get out there and do stuff and ask questions while doing it. Go river rafting sometime, take that day-sailing class you always see on Groupon, and don’t shy away from your brother-in-law’s ski trip.
Skillset #4: Mental Fitness
This is another big one. Mental fitness encompasses a wide range of individual skills, some you probably already have without knowing it, and others you may have to work at to develop. Confidence, emotional resilience, critical thinking skills, mastery over fears, and impulse control are all things to master to the best of your ability.
In a survival situation, you will need to be able to control your emotions, resist panic or urges, and act decisively with confidence in your decisions. You will need the ability to endure stressful situations, privations, and constant dangers. There is no room in the Wasteland for panic or loss of control, and there is no giving up either. You must be able to cultivate, and maintain, a distinct will to live and a drive to see things through.
One of the most important skills for mental fitness is developing and practicing good situational awareness. Being able to observe, remember, and comprehend everything around you, and then to process that information into your actions, is key for survival. Being able to avoid danger because you saw it coming and got out of the way is much more valuable than any skill for reacting to situations that took you by surprise.
A last note on mental fitness is a process that I refer to as “shedding.” It is an unconventional thing, and certainly a controversial one. It is also something you won’t find many prepper types going over. Shedding is, in a nutshell, divesting yourself of those attitudes and social conditionings which are necessary for living in a healthy, functional society. These things will only negatively impact your chances of survival during a collapse scenario, and indeed often put you in more danger than you were in before. You will be out in the Wasteland, not at Bible Camp or studying at college. More on this later.
Skillset #5: Knowledge Base
Another broad category in a list of broad categories. What I mean by knowledge base is not so much academic learning or education as it is about “knowing things.” Information, details, general stuff. This will be more important than most people realize. Google has become our primary source of information in the modern age, and if you don’t know how to do something, well, simply search for a YouTube video and you will be good to go.
That won’t be an option after collapse, and the only Google you will have in the Wasteland will be what is stored in your brain, on hardcopy, and if you are lucky, digital files you still have the technology and power to access. But the great know-it-all in the cloud will be gone.
Have you ever met one of those people who seems like a walking encyclopedia? They kinda always have some knowledge about everything you come across, whether that is uses for common prescription drugs, how an internal combustion engine works, the social behaviors of wolves, what gunpowder is made of, and all sorts of random stuff. Well, it is not really random, it is more like a sampling of everything they come into contact with. I try and learn new things every day. Sometimes from watching documentaries on Netflix, reading books or even watching movies, and even now as I do a poor job of learning how to create and manage a website. I will never be a web designer, but I can handle some basics, which is more than I could do a short time ago.
And that is what it is all about. Absorbing and retaining as much as you can about everything you can. Get a basic understanding of whatever you come across. When you are doing some fun activity like ziplining or sky diving for the first time, pay attention to all of the information they provide. You never know what will come in handy.
Another part of your knowledge base will be information that you can store. This will be things like maps and books, or even a massive PDF library on a flash drive. Some stuff you will just be able to collect and take a passing glance at, but have it ready in full if you need it. After all, you can’t know everything, right? Other stuff you will be seeking out actively, or even creating yourself. Notes and mapped out locations, journals, and more. A big part of this skillset will be about coming to know as much as possible about the region you are going to be in. That means learning your city as well as a veteran taxi driver, and also going out and exploring miles away in the outlying areas which will most likely be where you are escaping to in the event of a collapse.
After a societal collapse, it will be even more true than it is now that knowledge is power.
Skillset #6: Scavenging
This is an interesting one, for sure. Scavenging is something that often comes up in discussions about what people will need to do to survive. Let me say one thing first. I am quite sure that someone reading this is going to want to rage at me about how stealing is wrong. But I already know this. We are not talking about stealing here. What we are talking about here is the total collapse of society, all of it, and probably the mass deaths of most of the population. It will be a wasteland, hence the name of this blog. I am not talking about some disaster like a hurricane or earthquake where there are still the majority of people left alive to be able to own things, not to mention the presence of a system of law and order to enforce such ownership. In a broken world, everything becomes under the shared ownership of everyone. Those who find it, own it. That’s it.
We are talking about civilization being gone. Kaput. As in it does not exist anymore. Nor do any of the systems, social or otherwise, which allowed it to function. What I talk about here is scavenging, as in collecting and repurposing things that no longer have a living owner. If something you find is obviously in use by someone, (probably because they scavenged it themselves), of course you leave that alone unless we are talking about some life-and-death situation. And I do not say that for any moral reason, it is simply the practical decision to avoid conflict.
During a collapse of civilization, there is a whole new set of rules, and the old ones are gone. There is a very good chance that you will have to do a lot of hard things, things you would never have considered before, if you don’t want to suffer a lot, or die. This goes back to that “shedding” I mentioned earlier.
At the end of the day, it is up to each person what path they are going to travel based on their own moral compass. There is no more government, no laws, and no agency to enforce any laws. How you face the issues presented during a collapse is up to no one but you. For my own part, I do believe that those who are willing to accept and embrace what will become the new reality and do some things that they normally would not, well, they will have a much higher chance of surviving through a collapse. There are others who would rather die than do some things, and when it gets bad they may be given the opportunity to do so. To each their own, that is really the only way.
During a total collapse, most things will be abandoned, and in fact there is already quite a bit of abandoned stuff now. It is also a simple fact that you not scavenging something isn’t going to be helpful to anyone except someone else who scavenges it themselves. There is no prohibition against trespassing anymore, and in a time of societal collapse possession becomes all 10 tenths of the law.
Now, when I say scavenging skills, much of it has to do with knowing about the things you will need, the kinds of places they can be found, and how you can go about getting them. It is very easy for a person to realize that a grocery store will have food, but it is for exactly that reason that most of those stores won’t have anything at all after a few days. What you need to do is learn the uncommon places that have things, and where to find things that you need in order to get, or make, the other things that you need. You should also make note of what I call “Points of Interest” on your maps. Things like old quarries, abandoned factories, even so-called “ghost towns” and such. Check out some different UrbEx resources, books, or social media sites. UrbEx stands for Urban Exploration, a little subculture of people who venture out and explore old, abandoned places. You might be surprised at just what is already out there unused and forgotten in the world.
Skillset #7: Make and Break
As the name suggests, the Make & Break skillset is one composed of all those little things humans have learned to make things and to break them. Carpentry, welding, plumbing, masonry, this is a very long list. And there is no way anyone can be a master of all of them. The general goal we are looking for with this skillset is to become something of a handyman. A good knowledge of tools and their uses, basics for things like woodworking and simple construction, as well as a decent understanding of mechanics and electronics on some level.
Many of us will already have a primary skill of some sort within this field, but the goal will be to expand your abilities as much as possible to encompass as much as you can. Usually, just learning the basics of a craft will be enough to start the process of teaching yourself more advanced concepts later on, provided you have the necessary instructional materials stashed away digitally or on hardcopy as part of your earlier discussed knowledge base skillset.
Always look to learn new things. Got a friend who is renovating a home? Go over and lend a hand. Renting an RV for a vacation? Delve into how the generator works. Learn how to install and use a simple solar panel power system. Watch some YouTube videos and try and fix that leaky pipe at home yourself.
What you know and what you are able to do with skill will have more to do with your survival post-collapse than what you may have. After civilization comes apart, there will be plenty of tools and materials lying around, but do you know how to use them?
Skillset #8: Bushcraft
Heading out into the wilderness is usually quite a fascinating experience. There’s even something instinctively familiar about it as if we were always meant to be out in the natural world all along. As a recreational activity, it can feel like being free of a restriction in life that you didn’t realize was present. In many cases, vacation can actually feel like coming home. But one thing is for sure in these modern times, very few of us are truly capable of surviving beyond the domestication we enjoy in modern society. It can be a jungle out there.
Learning bushcraft skills will make a huge difference in those chances of survival.
Bushcraft is a unique collection of survival skills that will help you not just survive but thrive in a natural environment, even during extreme conditions. It is important to know the difference between bushcraft skills and camping skills. With camping, you are heading out into the wilderness on purpose, with a detailed plan, and loads of equipment designed for the task. Often, you will have quite a few comforts of home along with you, sometimes even a full RV that pretty much is a home. Knowing how to go camping, hiking, and backpacking is not bushcraft.
A very big part of doing your preparations, while collecting all that fine gear that you may or may not have when the SHTF, is learning how to make do without any of it. Here is just a quick rundown of the truly essential bushcraft skills that you should learn, and preferably practice, long before you might actually need them.
- Firebuilding. Knowing how to make a fire is important for pretty much everything, warmth, cooking your food, and boiling water.
- Tracking. Here’s one of the bushcraft skills that’s much valued when it comes to hunting. However, keep in mind that animals are not the only creatures you can track. It can also help you locate people easily should someone get lost.
- Hunting. One of the most essential bushcraft skills is hunting. It will allow you to collect needed protein from your surrounding environment for sustenance.
- Fishing. This is a skill that’s particularly helpful if you are located near a body of water. And you should really try to be near a body of water for a variety of reasons.
- Foraging. Should you fail to hunt and fish, then you can always forage. It’s the skill of finding and identifying edible plants to eat in the wilderness and knowing whether something is poisonous or not, especially when it comes to mushrooms and berries.
- Navigation. One cannot always rely on GPS. Hey, there are times when you can’t even rely on a compass. So, learning good land navigation skills and improvised direction finding is very important.
- Shelter-Building. This is one of the most essential bushcraft skills there are. There are many different ways to make a shelter depending on a given environment, so be sure to do your research about your possible locations beforehand.
- Cooking. The ability to properly prepare food and purify water is as important as it gets, and it can be a lot different depending on where you are and what tools you happen to have available.
- First-Aid/Medicine. Again, both very basic and very essential. Even the simplest of things, such as knowing how to clean and bind wounds or splint broken bones can very well be the difference between life and death. CPR certification wouldn’t hurt either.
This is just a very basic list, and like I said before, the topic of wilderness survival is well covered so I am not going to try and claim any unique insight here. Just learn it. You are going to need it at some point, maybe even right from the start. What if civilization falls while you and the family are off camping in some National Park?
Skillset #9: The Weird Stuff.
Hasn’t it all been weird stuff up to this point? Not exactly. This section will have to remain a bit of a mystery at this point in my writing, as there really is no way that my simple skills can devise to summarize it. But I promise, when we get this far, it certainly won’t be things you have seen elsewhere very often. For now, use your imagination.
Wrap It Up Already…
No one really knows what the collapse might bring, or even for sure how it will happen. This is the reason why knowledge and skills will always stay at the top of my list for essential preparation. Because two things I know for sure about collapse are, it will happen how and when you least expect it to, and what you know will always be of more use than what you have.
Pingback: Survival Skillset #1: Ghost in the Machine - Wasteland By Wednesday
Pingback: 10 Daily Disciplines for the Collapse Prepper - Wasteland By Wednesday