# College Get Home Bag



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Our oldest will be going off to college this coming fall, and I've been putting together a get-home bag for her. She will be about 20 miles away, so we are planning to have her walk home if she can't drive, and if she can call us to let us know she needs us we'll try to go meet her. 

I'm pretty emotional about her leaving so I'm afraid I'm either going overboard or forgetting something. Can you suggest anything else I should include?

- flashlight and extra batteries
- copies of important documents
- $20 in small bills
- space blanket
- crank radio (hopefully cell charger will work in it, gotta test!)
- rain poncho
- hot hands 
- first aid kit, face masks
- TP and feminine items
- Berkey sport
- 3 mylar packets of drinking water
- pocket knife and multi tool
- compass and topo map, and printed contact list and meeting place
- sunscreen and bug repellent
- granola bars, jerky, fruit leathers, and PB in mylar (no food to cook)
- extra socks and a light jacket
- pepper spray


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I don't have to worry on this one! The boy goes this Fall and they are encouraged to bring their firearms etc for hunting (deer are a problem in Castine) and also for the marksmen club....its funny though the port has a history of being taken over dating back to the 1600's!
A footlocker is the limit of his storage and uniforms in his closet.

Your list looks good!


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

A very, very loud whistle on a lanyard - blow if followed, blow if someone approaches that looks threatening (this works in crowded areas as well). 

You may want to check with the college on the knife. I know it is a pocket knife, but some schools have a problem with those, enough so that your child may get sent home if found out. Just like you can't send hotplates, toaster ovens, etc. to some colleges.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

What a great thread. My oldest is 320 miles away. She has 'preps' with her and friends who's family she would be welcome at, that have similar ways to us. 

It's not easy though is it. I would suggest two space blankets, more than one pair of extra socks and tissues.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

MOM of Four, 
Does your daughter have a cell phone?


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## ROCKIN R FARM (Mar 29, 2010)

I have some reservations about space blankets they seem to tear easily maybe considder one of these. SOLâ¢ | Emergency Bivvy the image is misleading its only about the size of a can of veggies. I have checked them out and it's what I carry in my GHB. only other suggestion I might make is increase the amount of food as walking 20 miles in a SHTF situation might take longer than it would right now.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks for posting that link rockin r farm


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## ROCKIN R FARM (Mar 29, 2010)

You're most welcome OLF


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## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

Ditto on the space blanket, adding more food, water, cell phone and the whistle.

I would add mole skin to the first aid in case she gets blisters on her feet she can properly tend to them. 

You may also want to consider one of those LED headlamps that strap around your head. My kids love using them for evening hikes and walking dogs because they light up your path very well, they are hands free, and the batteries last a long time.

Just to be safe, I would add matches or at least flint and steel and some para cord or other cord just in case. 20 miles may not seem like a long distance, but depending on the situation you may not be able to get to her as soon as you would like and she may be forced to make a shelter and may need a fire for warmth.

If she doesn't already walk or run or has any fitness issues, she may want to get in shape and even practice walking with her bag to get her body accustomed to the distance.


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## coolrunnin (Aug 28, 2010)

I would still set it up like a 72 hour bag. 20 miles doesn't sound far until you try walking it only at night, and under extreme conditions.

More food and more water mainly.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

OLF, yes she does have a cell phone. We have spotty service here at home, but where her college is she will have better coverage. But with an EMP the phone will be worthless, which is why we are setting up a meeting place and a set path she will use to get home. We can find her along that path if needed. Yes, it is hard to let them spread their wings and fly, but if we've done a good job with them they'll be ok. :sob:

Rockin-R, thanks, I will get one of those those bivvy bags. They're light and warm and if she had to walk all the way home it would take a couple of days. 

Trixter, we have a couple of those headband lamps, I'll add one to her bag. And moleskins! I didn't think of those two things. She's got good hiking boots but a blister could make things even harder than just walking home. She's in really good shape, but kind of girly about bugs and stuff. I worry about her being alone at night in the woods. I added a lighter to the pack, but I'm afraid that making a fire will draw attention.

Sidepasser - I'm not sure a whistle would be much good in our situation. She'd be trying to stay invisible and walking across fields and woods at night. Probably nobody would hear it anyway.

Coolrunnin - Her bag is only about 5 pounds with items I have packed, so I will add some more food and water. Without dishes or a camp stove or a sleeping bag, it leaves more weight for other things.

Oh, forgot to add in my original post - I got her (and our BOBs too) waterproof notebooks and pencils. They're great for leaving notes at meeting places, or drawing maps of cache locations, and more. 

Amazon.com: Rite in the Rain - Green Tactical Note Book (All Weather): Office Products

Thanks for all the ideas, I feel better now. Ok, not really, but I'm trying.


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## hsmom2four (Oct 13, 2008)

Its so hard to send them off. Mine is 250 miles away so her walking home is out of the question. Your list looks good. I second what the others said, I think she would need more food.


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

a few kitchen size garbage bags and a few larger ones.

hand santizer 

at back to school time pencil boxes are cheap. They make for compact storage that is orderly for small first aid items. light wt. too.


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## stamphappy (Jul 29, 2010)

Is there room in her dorm for a collapsible bike? If you have her plan on taking roads, it would make that 20 miles be a breeze---or at least less daunting.


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

When I lived off campus at college, I kept a bike locked in a bike rack at a friends apartment so that I could ride to my classes on campus. I was able to park on the street nearby so wasn't normally parked too far from my bike. If there were a situation that I couldn't drive, I could then use the bike to get home, although I never had to. So I would suggest checking to see if there is somewhere that she could leave a bike locked up - and use it occasionally. Add a basket to the bike, an extra water bottle holder and with a backpack she can carry quite a bit of stuff.

Is she driving to/from campus daily or living on campus? If on campus, she should be able to keep a bike where she is living, most dorms/apartments have bike racks.

Dawn


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## AR Transplant (Mar 20, 2004)

Great thread.
When my son left three years ago we sent him with prep supplies, and now he has transferred even further away so he has more supplies.

My only suggestion is one I gave to my son. Be subtle about it, but make it a point to ask around and see if anyone lives in your same direction. You don't need a life long buddy but watch them and see if they are trust worthy and maybe even on the same page as you guys might be. It would sure be lots easier if your child had someone to travel with in such a stressful situation.

Of course, this person would have to be vetted, otherwise all the prepping in the world wouldn't help.

Again, thanks for the thread, I think I'm going to look into getting my son a bike.


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## logbuilder (Jan 31, 2006)

Hopefully they will never get used, but I'd throw in 3 MREs of her choice. Food is one thing I would not want to be low on if I had to go some distance across unknown terrain.


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## stickinthemud (Sep 10, 2003)

A pair of well broken in shoes. Especially if she sometimes wears sandals or flipflops. If she has to grab & run it might make a difference. If she doesn't need them in emergency, leave them behind or give them away to save weight.
Maybe buy a new pair of shoes to go off to college & put her favorite old ones in the bag.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

She's taking her bike to college - they have places to lock them up all over campus. But we'd want her to avoid main roads if she had to come home alone. The bike probably wouldn't do well when crossing streams and pastures and wooded areas. It would be worth a try, though, even if she had to abandon it and continue on foot. She'll be living on campus the first year, and will have her car there with her.

I'll add an MRE (or 2-3) with self heaters - a hot meal might be nice if it's cold outside. I'll also add a couple of large garbage bags. I already added a small travel sized pack of baby wipes, in case she wants to clean up a little. 

We've got a small bottle of hand sanitizer in the first aid kit. I put the kit together in one of those plastic boxes from All Day Chemist - the perfect size and it snaps closed securely.

Hopefully she'll make friends with people at college who will reveal their own prepping families or BOBs. She'll probably keep her GHB in her car so nobody can mess with it in her room. It would be awful if someone took the food out and she didn't realize until she was on her way home.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks for the tip about mole-skins, I put in normal band-aids, but those are worth getting.


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## scooter (Mar 31, 2008)

I would rather my child had night vision glasses than the LED headlamp where everyone would be able to see that light.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

Alcohol swabs , neosporin swab packs , Ibuprofen, mosquito repellent wipes , electrical tape, gloves, large garbage bag doubles as ground cover and rain coat , some hard candies ( for sugar or to stop a cough ) , extra socks


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## tkrabec (Mar 12, 2003)

Pick a weekend and make the hike, Use the GHB. 
Plan, Prepare, Assess, Fix problems


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

tkrabec, that's a great idea. We've never actually *done* the walk but it would be hugely useful for all of us to know exactly what to expect. We have a meeting point half way, which we can get to by car or foot, but we need to do a dry run. Some of it will be trespassing across private property but desperate measures in desperate times.

Vickie44, I've got the medical kit pretty well covered, but will add some duct tape. If a shoe comes apart she could fix it well enough to keep walking.

scooter, the night vision glasses are too expensive for her GHB - we don't even have a pair at home.


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

The whistle is more for on campus use or in town/city use. Some classes are held later in the day or very early in the am when not too many people are about. Most girls know about the whistle program once they get to college, but it is a good idea to give your daughter one in case the college doesn't issue them.

The whistle is used by many colleges to indicate "a need for immediate help" and some colleges hand the whistles out to entering freshmen. Not all do though and if your college doesn't, then providing one for your daughter is a good idea. Not all bad things happen off campus, many can happen on campus or leaving/returning to campus. 
Here are some programs: St. John&#8217;s College | Administration | Annapolis | Office of Public Safety
http://www.campussafetymagazine.com/files/CSYB11how-to-whistles-indd.pdf
Campus Life - New Hampshire - Can Whistles Help to Prevent Campus Rape? - NYTimes.com

Most colleges are aware of the whistle program and students are encouraged to wear one and use it if they feel threatened, stalked, etc. Other kids know that a whistle blown anywhere but in an athletic program is a call for help.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

Everything you put in that bag has to be carried, most of it the whole way as it's all just in case stuff.

The best things she can carry is knowledge in her head and muscles on her body. On general hikes I like to have a bandanna and a knife as emergency gear. Other than that, some nut bars and a sleeping bag for longer/colder hikes. If you live in the desert the water would be a good idea, but in a true emergency in other climates you can drink out of streams and save the weight. If the water is radioactive she's better off staying put in her dorm instead of hiking out in the open.

If this is an emergency so bad that she can't use her car, building fires that can attract strangers, or hiking with extra weight that slows her down is not a good idea.

True safety is not obtainable simply collecting things.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

sidepasser, if they don't issue her a whistle I'll put one in her belongings. We have one, but haven't ever used it.

dlskidmore, her GHB is also to be used at school if they have to shelter in place. It would of course be smarter for her to stay there and let us come get her, but if she does have to walk home I want her to have basic gear and some food and water. She's got quite a bit of survival knowledge and although she won't have a firearm with her, she's a good shot and well practiced. But, this will be her first time living away from home and I think it's prudent to prepare a bag that will give her the best chance of getting home alive.


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## rags57078 (Jun 11, 2011)

I work for a collage and you forgot a 12 pack


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## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

scooter said:


> I would rather my child had night vision glasses than the LED headlamp where everyone would be able to see that light.


The kind we have are LED and have a button you can click 3 times for a low, medium or high light. On the low setting it produces the same amount of light as a flashlight on low but not as glaring.


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## EarthSheltered (May 9, 2008)

I have found the headlamps that have the red LED as well as the white LED is more useful. The battery lasts longer on the red, it is not as visible for as far, and I've noticed the animals don't mind when it hits their eyes directly, so you wouldn't be spooking the wildlife. You can see quite as well with the red, but enough to navigate safely in most conditions.

At least your daughter is within walking distance. Mine is 1000 miles away


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

I agree about the headlamp. We have some like Trixters nurse and they are invaluable. 

This thread has been invaluable and I really appreciate you starting it Mom of Four!


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Say you are both meeting along the way home. How will she know it's you coming? Could you make a certain animal sound three times or something when you are near the meeting point, and hear something? 

Just a thought.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

We hadn't thought of using a signal, but that's a good idea. I can cackle like a chicken! haha


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## tkrabec (Mar 12, 2003)

Mom_of_Four said:


> tkrabec, that's a great idea. We've never actually *done* the walk but it would be hugely useful for all of us to know exactly what to expect. We have a meeting point half way, which we can get to by car or foot, but we need to do a dry run. Some of it will be trespassing across private property but desperate measures in desperate times.
> 
> Vickie44, I've got the medical kit pretty well covered, but will add some duct tape. If a shoe comes apart she could fix it well enough to keep walking.
> 
> scooter, the night vision glasses are too expensive for her GHB - we don't even have a pair at home.


Since you're planning & prepping ask for permission from the land owners, meet with them before hand, especially if they are large landowners. It might work out very well, such as a place to stop. Also arrange for something left as she approaches these places, so you know how far she's made it on her trek. Kinda like Hansel & Gretel but not bread crumbs.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

I would talk to the land owners too. You don't want someone coming with a shotgun after you thinking you are poaching or something.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Also, as someone with land myself, I would rather someone approached me and asked and explained why, then just trespass. You never know, someone might be like minded and offer her shelter if need be, should it ever happen.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I forgot to come back to this thread, sorry! It's an excellent idea to ask the land owners, since I know I'd be upset and suspicious if I saw someone with a headlamp on walking in our field at night. That happened once, and I had to go out (armed) and tell them they were on private property. They were looking for a lost dog, from hunting *****. Or at least that's what they said.


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