Glad you salvaged some of your trip Ppine. Did you make it to your destination or did you have other options?
Contingency Plans, I never thought of having one. Good idea to have one even for a short, simple trip
I've had one time when I started to feel sick. I was alone camping in a primitive spot at a camp ground (more like an RV lot) That's why I wanted the primitive spot because it was away from all that. It was maybe midnight and I started feeling sick. I looked out the tent door and saw the pines being pushed back and forth in the wind. I knew rain was coming in a couple of hours. Even though my aches and dizziness protested, I got up and started picking camp up. I hate packing up in the rain, so now was as good as time as any. I drove my truck and boat trailer 3/4 of a mile to the public boat launch, the camp ground didn't have one. I felt better moving around then laying in my sleeping bag. I walked back to retrieve my boat, and loaded it on the trailer. It was maybe 1:30am and there wasn't a soul around, so I could take my time loading and securing the boat. Now a 3 hour drive home. I was ok on the quiet, almost deserted, highways. I sure didn't want to get on an interstate. The only obstacle was get through Knoxville. I figured that wouldn't be a problem at 3 am, but I screwed up and got off on the University of TN drive, this is the main rode that leads me home but I should've avoided it on a Saturday morning. Just wasn't thinking about about all the college students out. There must've been an incident at one of the restaurants or something because the police were everywhere. The traffic lights are timed to slow traffic down in the event of a shooting or other major incident. It was awful pulling a boat through all that while feeling sick. I was stable feeling with no motor function issues, if not I wouldn't have tried driving home. I made it about 30 minutes from home and had to pull over. I stopped at a well lit boat launch where it looked like they getting ready for a tournament. Great place to stop and sleep. After sleeping for a couple of hours, it's daylight and I was on my way home. Luckily everything was stored under my bedcover, so I didn't worry about getting soaked in the rain. I slept till late in the afternoon.
I haven't done any real extreme back country camping. Most of what I do is boat or drive in, and most times I go where I can at least send a text message in emergency. A text will usually go through with minimal cell signal. I'll take at least 2 gallons, plus, of drinking water. I don't have a water filter, I've not had any need for one yet. I do take water purification tablets for dishes and bathing.
The Great Outdoors