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Survival preparation can be fairly involved, when you start getting down to the details. First and foremost, you need to outline the four “emergency” situations you need to prepare for.

1. At home/short term: You stay in your home, but the essentials are in short and unreliable supply. Usually consider up to two weeks.
2. At home/long term: Same as above, but the supply of essentials is less reliable and the duration longer. Anything over two weeks.
3. Evacuate your home/short term. The situation requires you to pack up and leave. You will be leaving for up to two weeks.
4. Evacuate your home/long term. Same as 3, but you have to leave for over two weeks, plan for up to one year.

Once you break your plan down above, you need to fill out the details for each scenario.

You need one gallon of water per person per day. Not all of this needs to be potable, some will be for hygiene. But if you can plan on one gallon of potable water per person per day, you should be all right.

Three meals per day per person. Make sure you plan on food that everyone likes and eats already. Do NOT “plan to ration.” Plan on eating and drinking what you need every day. Rationing is for when your plan is inadequate. Don’t plan inadequately. Be sure the meals are balanced nutritionally, and have not expired. Be sure to take into account any food allergies.

Medicine. Store enough medicine to get through the emergency. Bear in mind that some medicines require refrigeration. This makes it tough, and is one of the more difficult aspects of long-term survival preparation.

First aid. Have a good supply of the basics.

Defense. You don’t need an arsenal. You need a shotgun, a rifle, a powerful handgun. What you need is a fair amount of ammo. .22s are very good because 100 rounds can fit easily in your pocket. If you’re good with a .22, you can take a lot of game.

Transportation. One of the chief concerns among survivalists right now is what the full effects of an EMP detonation will be. Some say it will shut down anything with any type of micro-circuitry, which includes automobiles with any type of computer or digital controls. Others say it won’t be that bad, that a car may sputter, may stall, but will start again. I’m still researching this issue. However, the safest bet is to have a sizable, 4x4 built 1972 or earlier. Computers were introduced after 72. If you go this route, make sure it does not have electronic ignition. If the worst-case-scenario happens after an EMP, you’ll need to have all computer/micro-circuitry parts backed up and stored in a faraday cage. Before you “but out,” you’ll have to replace all such parts.

I lived in Seattle for 10 years. The North Cascades are a good destination. I wouldn’t target anywhere from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. When the SHTF, a lot of Seassholes will head out to that area. If they ban together, they will loot you, despite their peace signs. You need to get far enough away that it is difficult for a large group of people to reach you collectively with any ability to loot you.

As others have said, be sure to have a good water filter if you have to evacuate. Go to REI and get plenty of the two-bottle water treatment kits, a portable filter with back up filter replacements.

Also, don’t forget you’ll need a way to cook. For short-term, fuel-based stoves will work fine. Get the type that use multiple fuels. You get a jet for “white fuel” Coleman’s fuel, etc. You get another jet for other fuel types (gasoline, kerosene, etc.). Bear in mind this requires fuel. So part of your survival gear should include extra five-gallon containers of gasoline.

Sounds like a lot? It is. That’s why you’ll need a roof-rack on your bug-out vehicle and, if possible, some sort of a trailer. But keep in mind you may not be able to that trailer too far off road.