Bug-In with Romance Blog Event

How to find a permanent settlement during the end times.

You have learned to navigate the woods after hauling ass out of the crumbling cities and towns of a civilization you still hold dear to your heart. Fatigue haunts you at every corner. Starvation is a constant threat. Lawlessness dances in wild abandon just beyond your periphery. You squat down, open your go bag supplies, and sigh in desperation. You're supplies are running low-dangerously low. The time has come to find a more permanent settlement.

Long before this societal collapse you should have already located a rendezvous point. You and a select few people you could trust to keep their mouths shut should have made arrangements to find an area of land that would meet the three must haves in a settlement-a water source, enough land to grow crops, and isolation for protection. Your water source could be a well, a river, or a spring. A well is your best option because it's whereabouts will only be known to your group; whereas, a river will be a natural and unwanted invitation for other groups of people to either settle to close to you, or to invade your settlement. In addition, a river is likely to be contaminated with pollutants flowing down from upstream. Your acreage should be calculated on how many people you have in your group and on what type of crops you will be growing. It takes about one acre to feed one person. You also need to have your location not easily seen from any nearby highway, or country road. If nomadic people are going to find your spot, they should only do so by accident. Choose an area that you can easily defend. A valley with hills, or mountains surrounding the region is your best option.  
http://www.farmlandlp.com/2012/01/one-acre-feeds-a-person/

Visit this website to learn how to set up camp while you are building your settlement.  http://www.essortment.com/camping-tips-set-up-semi-permanent-camp-31370.html

What if you didn't prepare for the end times and have no such rendezvous point?

Leo, my Korean War Veteran grandpa, gave me some very stern advice in regards to this very question. "Stay in the woods. Stay alone." 
I looked at him in shock and strongly wanting to believe he was just being a grouchy old man whined: "But, grandpa, I'm going to be tired, scared, and my supplies nearly gone. I'm gonna look over at my kids and want to seek out shelter that will protect and provide for them. I need to be apart of a group."
His hard stare never flinched. "What the hell for? You have survived weeks alone in the woods and you can survive longer. You don't need to be apart of a group."
Nearly frantic, my voice pitches a little to high. "I'm not a hunter! I kill your everyday houseplant! How in the hell will I keep going!"
Still lounging in his seat with the confidence only found in men long on experience, he looked at me. "You'll learn, or you and the kids will die."
Leo has never been one to sugar coat a damn thing. Brutal honesty is always his way, but sheer stubborn will power has always been my way. "Okay, what if I come across a group that has shelter and crops growing, surely I can go to them and offer my skills and hard work to the group."
"If you don't know someone in that group, you retreat to the forest. Never let them know you were there."
Finally, some anthropological sense kicked in. Being alone in the forest is safer than being in a group whose mores may have you strapped to a bed for the nightly raping. Yet, stubborn hope lingered. "What if there are women and children in the group? Wouldn't that be safe?"
"Why, would it? How do you know that the group dynamics don't have those women and children in some sort of slavery?" A slight pause then Leo continues. "Whoever said that women can't be just as brutal and viscous as men? And you and your kids would be the outsiders."
Stunned and silent, I sit pondering what he had just said. Leo continued. "This is why you must have a bug out spot with people who know before hell breaks loose."
Defeated, I respond. "So how do I choose a spot for the kids and I to grow a few crops and have water?"
"Find a spring. Always be listening for the sound of running water. Once you find water that seems to appear out of nowhere, follow it to the core. You'll know it by the greenery surrounding it and the water 'bubbling' out. You won't have enough to grow crops, but you will have plenty of water and the surrounding area will have food you can hunt and scavenge."
I sat and thought for awhile and came to the conclusion that I need to find a bug out sight now, because there is no way in hell I'm going to live like my hunting/gatherer ancestors. I like to enjoy my creature comforts in doors and safe damn it!

Parting words of advice from Leo and myself.
-If you're stuck in the woods cause Leo has scared you off from joining any group, then always be watching the birds especially crows. If a large predator, or a herd of humans go stomping through the forest close to you, the birds above will chirp loudly and fly from the tree tops. So, crouch low and keep out of sight.
-Never ever ever burn anything green. Green plants on fire makes white smoke. You might as well have a neon sign flashing in the dark that says "I'm here. Come and get me."
-When ever you do make a fire make sure it's in a pit. A fire pit prevents the flames from being seen and helps cut down on the scent of food cooking.
-Leaves and Pine trees are your best source of heat. Cut the lowest hanging limbs from a Pine and use as a blanket along with the leaves you gather from the forest floor. You will be warm and hidden.
-Be alert. Be flexible. Always be willing to up and run at a moments notice, so keep that go bag at the ready even when you build your settlement.

Contest:

For a chance to win a free copy of Carnage, in which the characters had to grapple with the issue of settlements, tell me in a comment what you would do if you came across a group that was settled. Would you risk all and join them? Would you sit and watch them to determine if they were "safe" to try to join? Whoever has the best comment wins. You have till 12 a.m. central time on Monday December 3.