Pre planned routes to get home or Bug out?

[Steve_In_29]

Good thing San Diego's spread out like a giant pancake then. Besides, I work in a tech zipcode and live in the ultra Communist part of town so everyone around me and in between drives Prius'.

That is a benefit if you need to evac then but not so good if you need them to band together for mutual defense in a bug in situation.

Though as sheeple, they might follow your strong leadership if you start acting like you know what to do. Especially if you have a couple of well armed friends to help back you up.

Sans a really strange event though, I don't see a need to have a plan to get out of town unless I wanted to die of dehydration in the great expanses of desert that surround the entirety of this region.

Good, we don't need you city folk coming out here and sucking up our water.

[kbenson]

Seriously?
This is the first I ever heard of someone trying to escape from Newport Beach and make it to Corona.
Usually it's the other way around.
I've got a friend in Corona with a four bedroom and big yard, end of a quiet cul-de-sac.
I'm sure she'd be willing to swap for your beach property.
Really though, if I were you, I'd bug in.
The beach has a cool breeze all year round.
Corona is hot in the summer.
Too hot.
So rather than choosing a land route to less pleasant climates, why not buy a small boat?
Pool your resources with friends if you need to.
You can hit the seas when things get bad and fish for food.
Lots more mobility in the water.
Swimming when it's hot out, etc.

The possibility of a tsunami, may have folks thinking about heading inland (of course even with "advanced" warning, I doubt anyone would get very far in-land. (Especially in so-cal)

[BCDavis]

I think some of you aren't understanding the OP's scenario.

The scenario is that you go into LA for work, or for an event, or are just driving through, and suddenly SHTF. Big earthquake. Roads are blocked due to debris, massive traffic, etc. Or let's say your vehicle has debris collapse on it, or gets sandwiched in a parking structure that collapses.

The concept is that if you are trapped in an urban area, do you have a general idea of how to get back home, to where you have weapons, supplies, food, water, etc?

I agree that in a true SHTF situation, things would be totally different, with much more danger, chaos, unlawfulness, etc. So you would need to be much more cautious, etc. But it still seems like a reasonable experiment, to see how good you are with navigating an urban environment.

As a side note, I think it's extremely useful to map out the route from your work back to your home, assuming the roads are blocked, and you have to go on foot. Regardless if you actually want to walk that route, it's still good to know all the shortcuts, etc. For instance, when I checked my route on Google Maps, I saw that there is an open storm drain that goes almost all the way from my work to my home. So rather than walk the streets, I would head for that. Much easier to see people coming, keep a steady pace, not have to change directions due to buildings in the way, etc. It's also fireproof.

[KillZone45]

I think some of you aren't understanding the OP's scenario.

The scenario is that you go into LA for work, or for an event, or are just driving through, and suddenly SHTF. Big earthquake. Roads are blocked due to debris, massive traffic, etc. Or let's say your vehicle has debris collapse on it, or gets sandwiched in a parking structure that collapses.

The concept is that if you are trapped in an urban area, do you have a general idea of how to get back home, to where you have weapons, supplies, food, water, etc?

I agree that in a true SHTF situation, things would be totally different, with much more danger, chaos, unlawfulness, etc. So you would need to be much more cautious, etc. But it still seems like a reasonable experiment, to see how good you are with navigating an urban environment.

As a side note, I think it's extremely useful to map out the route from your work back to your home, assuming the roads are blocked, and you have to go on foot. Regardless if you actually want to walk that route, it's still good to know all the shortcuts, etc. For instance, when I checked my route on Google Maps, I saw that there is an open storm drain that goes almost all the way from my work to my home. So rather than walk the streets, I would head for that. Much easier to see people coming, keep a steady pace, not have to change directions due to buildings in the way, etc. It's also fireproof.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner here folks!

You are 100% spot on.

[Steve_In_29]

I think some of you aren't understanding the OP's scenario.

The scenario is that you go into LA for work, or for an event, or are just driving through, and suddenly SHTF. Big earthquake. Roads are blocked due to debris, massive traffic, etc. Or let's say your vehicle has debris collapse on it, or gets sandwiched in a parking structure that collapses.

The concept is that if you are trapped in an urban area, do you have a general idea of how to get back home, to where you have weapons, supplies, food, water, etc?

I agree that in a true SHTF situation, things would be totally different, with much more danger, chaos, unlawfulness, etc. So you would need to be much more cautious, etc. But it still seems like a reasonable experiment, to see how good you are with navigating an urban environment.

As a side note, I think it's extremely useful to map out the route from your work back to your home, assuming the roads are blocked, and you have to go on foot. Regardless if you actually want to walk that route, it's still good to know all the shortcuts, etc. For instance, when I checked my route on Google Maps, I saw that there is an open storm drain that goes almost all the way from my work to my home. So rather than walk the streets, I would head for that. Much easier to see people coming, keep a steady pace, not have to change directions due to buildings in the way, etc. It's also fireproof.

I think MOST of us understood what his scenario was. As far as my posts go, I was commenting on the danger of running around an area you are not familiar with (especially L.A.) in the middle of the night.

As you point, out pre-planning a route is done much safer via something like Google Maps, which will allow for getting the lay of the land without putting yourself into another (possibly hostile) persons territory.

A quick walk through an area (especially in the low visibility of night) won't necessarily provide insight into the true shortcuts available. Many of those aren't always readily apparent and would take multiple trips to properly reconnoiter. What might seem like a good shortcut could be blocked at the far end and require a complete backtrack.

[bsg]

I think MOST of us understood what his scenario was. As far as my posts go, I was commenting on the danger of running around an area you are not familiar with (especially L.A.) in the middle of the night.

As you point, out pre-planning a route is done much safer via something like Google Maps, which will allow for getting the lay of the land without putting yourself into another (possibly hostile) persons territory.

A quick walk through an area (especially in the low viability of night) won't necessarily provide insight into the true shortcuts available. Many of those aren't always readily apparent and would take multiple trips to properly reconnoiter. What might seem like a good shortcut could be blocked at the far end and require a complete backtrack.

^^^ well said.