Project 125 is a real-world get-home evaluation built around a simple question: what actually holds up when distance, fatigue, and time are unavoidable factors?
The project centers on traveling 125 miles on foot across New Jersey, carrying only the equipment in the pack and without external support or resupply, while documenting how gear, planning, and decision-making perform under sustained effort and real-world conditions.
In advance of the full 125-mile movement, a series of shakedown hikes will be conducted to evaluate equipment, refine systems, test assumptions, and work route planning. Each hike is documented, evaluated, and reviewed, with lessons learned carried forward to improve preparation and decision-making.
Rather than a race, event, or recreational outing, Project 125 is an ongoing evaluation designed to expose weaknesses, reinforce what works, and provide practical, educational insight into real-world preparedness.
Project 125 updates, evaluations, and after-action reviews are documented on the Blue Collar Prepper YouTube channel.
Project 125 preparation focuses on progressive distance, realistic loadouts, and decision-making under fatigue. The goal is not speed or spectacle, but durability — physical, mental, and logistical — under conditions that closely resemble a real get-home scenario.
Training emphasizes moving efficiently with the equipment actually carried, managing pace over long distances, and making sound decisions while tired, uncomfortable, and exposed to changing conditions. Rather than following a rigid schedule, preparation adapts to performance, terrain, weather, recovery needs, and lessons learned along the way.
As the project develops, gear choices, techniques, and assumptions are continuously evaluated and adjusted. What works is reinforced. What doesn’t is changed. This adaptive approach reflects real-world preparedness, where plans rarely survive first contact with conditions and flexibility is often more valuable than strict adherence to a preset plan.
Our motto: “Semper Gumby!”
Completed 40-mile weekend trek with full pack. Tested new hydration system.
Broke in the new Salomon X Ultra 4s over 100 miles of varied terrain.
Primary and secondary routes mapped with resupply points identified.
The Target Distance Home. No shortcuts – No Excuses
Gear planning & decision making tested under real word conditions
Progress & results are shared throughout the hike