Blending in

Blending in

Things that will give away your location both on the trail |AND at home

Consider these things when you have to bug out bug back or are sheltering in place. You do NOT want to stand out as someone who has ‘stuff’ that others may want to take from you.

Smoke

Both from a fire [for warmth or for cooking] AND tobacco products. I have personally tracked people down from over a ¼ mile away who smoking a cigarette – of course the wind was blowing toward me. The odor that clings to smokers can also give away their location even if they are not actively smoking. KEEP this in mind if there is ANY possibility that you will ever have to remain hidden. One building that we had an office in a few years ago used to be a movie house. Part if it had burned down OVER 30 years prior and there was still the odor from that fire in parts of the building such as the projection room. IF you have a fire do it at night to hide the sight of the smoke and keep the fire VERY small and shielded so that people can not see the fire itself.

Food cooking

The odor not only from the fire but from the food itself carriers quite a way and will give away your location. Especially if the people around you are hungry. Back in the old west stories they talked of having ‘cold camps’ the term comes from not having a cooking fire. This is something to consider if you are ever on the move either bugging out or bugging home…. And even when sheltering in place. It is a good idea for most of your food n your BOB to be such that you can eat it cold or out of hand without preparation. That said – a good HOT meal sure does lift the spirits.

Cough

Back when I was in the military one of the things the medics [me] carried was Codeine tablets. Besides being good for pain control it also suppressed cough in case a team mate had one and we did not want the sound to give away our location while on patrol. Talk with your doctor if this is a concern for you. BTW there are other over the counter [OTC] medications which will help control cough ECT that can be used such as Guaifenesin tablets. This is a great topic for discussion with your doctor.

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