I found a Bug-Out-Location?

I wrote this post from the “Berger’s” farm in Maine. I was invited to come up and hang out, and seeing as wasn’t on call this week, I made the trip up. He’s got a lot of land, and it’s very remote. The only problem is there are ICBM missile silos up here in Maine, quite a few in fact. I never would have guessed, but because of its remoteness, but still in the lower 48 it does make sense. I guess this is why JWR doesn’t rank Maine too high on his list of retreat areas.

Unless you’re worried about nuclear Armageddon, I think Maine is just dandy. You have to be prepared for the cold though. Here on the farm it gets to -30F regularly, and the maintenance of the animals in wintertime can take its toll. You need a lot of hands for the amount of animals he has up here. They have a couple horses, about a dozen geese (who I’m going to kill for getting me up at 4:30 am) a few ducks, two kinds of goats, pigs, pigeons, rabbits, a hundred chickens, and a llama.

That is a bit too much for two people to handle, no wonder Bill is up here all the time giving them a hand. That’s also why Bill, Mum and I have an open invite if the poop hits they fan. It is remote enough that a LP/OP isn’t needed, or at least I think the dogs do a better job, there is no way they would be able to provide for themselves without additional manpower. The two of them couldn’t hope to protect themselves from any kind of determined attack. The farm is a farm, not a firebase with 300m of cleared land around it.

The other reason is if the rest of the family convoys up here, they will need shooters, like Bill and myself to help them make the trip. There are 12+ major cities that you need to cut directly through to get here. The rest of the Berger family has not one clue on military tactics or what real dangers are out there. The Matriarch of the family knows the poop will hit the fan, and more importantly, she knows what she doesn’t know. That’s where Bill, myself and a couple others come in.

Works for me. Works for them. A win-win if there ever is one.

It is beautiful up here. The trees are just starting to change and the sky is clear and cool. Autumn in Maine is a grand time, it is my favorite of the 6 seasons they have. Oh yeah, Maine has six seasons, didn’t you know? You have Winter, Spring, Black Fly, Summer, House Fly, and Autumn. Black Fly season is legendary, as swarms of black flies roam for the blood of humans for a couple weeks in June. House Fly season is in the end of August, when houseflies swarm from who-knows-where for a few weeks. I talked with a few locals and they originally scoffed at the six season idea, but after a few of the farmers agreed, they all decided it was a keen observation from a Masshole like myself.

The whole point of the trip was to see a 4ish acre parcel of land with a cabin for sale for ~$10k. I never got to see it because of a few scheduling issues. I’m pissed, but that’s Bill being Bill. I’m going to have to make the trek up there soon to see it before it’s snowed in. Once the snow falls the only way in or out of this cabin is by snowmobile, or on foot for the 5 mile hike to where the roads are plowed. So I need to get up there sooner, rather than later.

I’ve always wanted some land in remote Maine, for camping. Now, it would make a good place to run too, but the Berger’s farm would be better. The small town has a medical center that would come in real handy, along with other infrastructure that the cabin would be too remote to use. I know people are thinking about a town + lack of food = lawlessness, but in this part of Maine, just about everyone has chickens, goats, or pigs they raise to fill the freezers for the winter. Plus the game is plentiful, and the population sparse. IF I make the drive up here again, I better see this place or I’ll strangle Bill.