Living here in Northern CT, it was always a plan of ours to grab our gear, load up the van, hook up the prepped tag-along trailer, and head North into the mountains should a SHTF scenario ever actually occur. We'd establish ourselves as best we could and turn everything we've come to know into reality in order to survive as the initial onslaught went on in the cities and eventually the suburbs. Maybe, after a short time we could return. In the meantime we'd have to survive on our supplies and our ability to forage and survive the New England winter. That was pretty much our plan. We figured that VT would be the best place to crawl to if possible. But there are plenty of isolated areas between here and there to "get lost" in.
Then, during the ensuing couple of years of reading, talking to others of a like mind, and being educated on the realities of life during and after a shtf occurrence, it became pretty clear that my idea was a fantasy and not grounded in reality. The truth is that few, if any of us, could literally live off the land in a cabin or camping setup isolated deep in any forest that would be open to our retreat. Even if we were left unaccosted we would struggle even with our knowledge of isolated survival and there were too many "what ifs" to contend with that might kill us. What if we couldn't find water? What if we couldn't find enough small game or are able to keep warm enough. What if one of us was wounded or injured? Nope. We had to focus on the reality of a terrible situation and that would require more of a team approach. Fortunately we have something to work with and we have now a plan that can work. Whether or not it does is another thing entirely but it's a start.
Let me close by saying this, too. There's a fine line here that is hard to not cross. My wife even said to me once that it's almost like I want this bad stuff to happen because I was so determined to pursue as much information and equipment as I felt was needed. I told her that that was the farthest thing from my mind. I was simply preparing for a situation that, if it were to occur, would require more than a small suitcase and clean underwear for a few days. What brought it all to a point was, again, the October storm. That event put a lot of things into perspective. When you experience no power or technology for a few days with no way of knowing when things will return to normal, life after a shth event become a bit more real. Surviving an extended period of time has to be rationally planned for. Doing it all by yourself is difficult if not impossible in a BO situation. It’s another thing entirely if you plan to BI. It will come down to defending your supplies, however, and two people are just not enough to do that, imho, unless you are already in the middle of nowhere right now.
Rome