When my granddaughter was going off to college in another state, I was naturally worried about her driving a long distance by herself. After all, there were cell phone dead zones, not to mention stretches of sparsely populated areas. Throw in the usual background setting of just about every survival story of a road bound traveler being stranded somewhere, I was determined to give her the better than average chance of surviving. So I made her up a 'go bag.'

A 'go bag' is a fancy word for survival pack. For preppers it is a bag you can grab at a few seconds notice and run out the door. Say for instance that the authorities come through your neighborhood telling you to evacuate, "Now!" Maybe there is an all too familiar forest fire as often happens out west, or a damn about to break. Whatever the reason, you only have minutes to spare. So you grab the bag as you run out the door.

In this bag are what you consider the most basic items for at least a short term survival.
Maybe you are in the emergency situation as mentioned above. You get to the evacuation center and are given a blanket and cot to crash on. Wouldn't it be nice to have a clean change of underwear and, for a certain individual whom I won't name for fear of bodily harm, some of her makeup and hair brush? And what about some medication, or a copy of your scriptures? You can fill in the blanks as everyone's needs are different.

In my granddaughter's case, if she was caught stranded due to bad weather or circumstances, her go bag would give her the means to build a shelter, obtain drinkable  water, or treat a wound.

What you would put in a go bag is up to you. Make it light with practical items in it. Keep it in handy, either in the house or car trunk. Bare in mind that a car trunk in summer heat can get hot and ruin certain items.

Here are a few items for a go bag that some may not think of: a change of socks, t-shirt and underwear in a plastic zip lock bag; a roll of quarters for gas or vending machine; a map; phone numbers (your cell phone may need a charge and you don't have programed numbers memorized); recent photos of loved ones (Have you seen this person?); a pet leash.

I hope you make up a go bag but never have to use it.