Plan at least two routes out of the settlement before they are needed, point them in different directions, make at least one run uphill and away from any chokepoint, and time them at the pace of the slowest walker. Avoid a site at the foot of cliffs or steep slopes because they remove the option of retreating uphill.
Choosing a site whose terrain allows people, animals and supplies to leave it by more than one route, and testing the routes ahead of time.
A Site You Cannot Leave Is a Trap
The corpus makes the point elsewhere that fortifications have fallen less often from breached walls than from defenders unable to leave. See Escape Route Planning for the method of planning routes. This page is about the siting side: choosing ground that has exits to plan.
The carrier warns against sites at the base of cliffs or steep slopes, and gives the reasons: rockfall and the inability to retreat uphill. Uphill is a retreat direction because it is away from floods and gives views of what follows.
What Makes a Route Usable
- It leaves in a different direction from the first. Two routes that start together are one route.
- It does not pass through the chokepoint you rely on for defense, or through the places an attacker would come from.
- It crosses no water that rises. A ford useful in summer may be a flood in spring.
- It is walkable by everyone. Children, the old, the injured and pack animals set the pace.
- It leads somewhere: a rally point, a second water source, shelter.
What You Need
- A map or sketch of the area — see Sketch Mapping.
- A group — the test is for everyone, not a scout.
- A watch or counting — to time the route.
Method: Choose, Walk, Time, Mark
Step 1: Choose two or more routes Prefer one uphill and one that follows a different valley or ridge.
Step 2: Walk them in daylight, then in the dark Routes that are clear by day can be lost at night. Mark them with cuts, cairns or ribbons that you understand and strangers do not.
Step 3: Time them at the slowest pace Time the route with the slowest member leading. Include carrying. Record the time to the rally point.
Step 4: Stock and keep clear Keep the first stretch of each route clear of fences, stacks and debris. Cache water and basic supplies where practical.
Worked Example
A rally point is 3 km from the settlement. If the slowest walker, carrying a child, covers 2 km/h (an assumed pace to replace with your measured one), the walk takes 3 / 2 = 1.5 hours. At an assumed unburdened pace of 5 km/h it would take 3 / 5 = 0.6 hours, about 36 minutes. The first number is the one to plan with.
Common Mistakes
- Planning for the fastest walker — plan for the slowest.
- A route nobody has walked — an untested path has fallen trees, bogs and cliffs.
- Only one direction — if the threat comes from that direction you have none.
Safety
Rehearsals in the dark injure people
Check every route by day for drops, holes and bad footing before anyone walks it at night, and never run on unfamiliar ground.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Escape Route Planning — rally points and signals
- Combine with: Natural Barriers & Chokepoints — keeping routes out of the bottleneck