Wilderness living in the great north, its that time of year again!

Wilderness living in the great north, its that time of year again!

This year's food acquisition is already under way. The pressure canner is jiggling away, releasing steam as the contents process.  It's the time of year when food is abundant on a wilderness living homestead. Fruit on the trees is ripe, the vegetable garden has reached maturity, the seeds are ripening. The necessity of food preservation spurs the homesteader to can at a maddening rate. Staying up late waiting for the pressuring time to be up before going to bed often at 3 am. Time between is spent washing jars and lids, slicing and dicing, peeling, separating and other preparations before putting the food in jars.

This year there are bear licenses, so bear meat is on the menu. Fat to be rendered, and hide to tan. The same for deer, meat to be canned, tallow to be rendered, and a hide to tan.

There are peaches to can, and apple sauce to be made. There are berries wanting to be jam. There isn't a moment to spare while wilderness living on a homestead.

The salmon run this time of year, in the autumn, and wait in line to be canned. Canned salmon is a delicious snack, one you don't want to miss!

So it is when you reach the end of the day and wipe your hands on your apron, there isno better feeling than putting your feet up. Feet that have stood for 16 hours in a hot kitchen, bearing our load at the counter, that at last can rest.  What a Glorious feeling! Going to catch a wink before it's up at 6 am to wash more jars! ...and what about that wine?

Off Grid, Off-Grid Living, what does this mean?

Off Grid, Off-grid living, what does this mean?

Many modern urbanites struggle to understand the meaning of "off grid". To some it means being self-sufficient, to others, it means living off the land, yet to next it means living without social contact. It's true that many folks who are off grid have many of these things in common, yet we miss the true meaning of off the grid.

The grid is a network of electric lines that carry electricity from power stations to each of our homes. The grid is formed by these interconnecting power lines throughout the city and countryside. Many times we see a power pole near our house connecting the grid to our home to deliver energy for which we are billed, most often on a monthly basis.

If a person lives off this grid or "off grid" it means that their home is not connected by lines to the public electric grid in their city, town, county, or state.

People who live off grid often times supply their home with energy from alternative sources such as solar, wind, or hydro power using batteries and 12 volt systems or inverters. These alternative power sources come from off grid independent sources. These alternative energies allow off grid families and individuals the ability to have electric lights, cell phones, computers, water pounds and other conveniences of modern life.  It does not mean that they live without power, although some choose to do this. 

I hope that this explanation helps to eliminate some of the confusion surrounding this term. 

Make Clothing from Wilderness Materials

It is possible to make clothing from wilderness from materials.  The easiest clothing is from animal hide. In far northern regions, such as the northern parts of Alaska, Canada, Siberia etc the hide is simply scraped, dried and used. In warmer climates however the hide must be preserved to prevent it from rotting.

There are many ways to do this which has various outcomes.

The first I will mention is braintanning. It is the most convenient method because every animal comes with enough brains to tan its own hide. Brain tan is essentially an oil tan and the fatty matter in the brain is the oil in which the hide is tanned. After butchering the animal the brains are put in a container large enough to contain the hide. Water is added and the brains are squished and mixed into the water. The hide is soaked and stirred in this mixture for several days. It's a very pungent odor. After tanning has penetrated entirely through the hide, you check this by cutting a small piece to see if it has penetrated all the way through. If it has, then the hide is rinsed in water until it comes out clean. Next you will smoke the hide, but be careful not to cook it. Put it in a tent or other small area with the smoke blowing in and around it in a concentrated manner. This will give the hide some extra protection. Each time you wear this hide and wash it, it will become stiff when it dried. It is therefore necessary to pull the hide over the corner of a board or other fairly sharp corner or edge to soften it. If it is an article of clothing it can be worn wet until it dries and will become soft as you move around in it while it is drying.  If you wish not to use brains a vegetable lecithin can be used instead. The odor will still be pungent as lecithin, although vegetable matter,  is still very similar to brain matter.

Make clothing from wilderness materials without using brain, is a vegetable tan using oak and other similar plant matter that contains tannin. The vegetable matter is soaked to leach out the tannin into the water. It must be very concentrated so many batches may be needed to soak i. Order to acquire enough tannin. When a sufficient amount of tannin has been acquired the hide is soaked in the solution until it penetrates completely through the hide.  It may take several days. This products a very nice leather. 

You can also use alum, which is a salt tan and becomes very stiff when finished. It is more suitable for rugs. The alum is added to water and brushed onto the hide.

If you wish for the fur to be removed from your hide, while it is fresh you must soak it in wood ashes and water, which makes lye, to loosen the hair. After a couple days, when the hair easily pulls out when tugged on, it is time to scrape the hide. The hide must be laid over a smooth log or barrel etc fur side facing up and using the back edge of the large knife, not the cutting edge, scrape semi hard toward  yourself. You will be removing the fur and the top layer of skin. The part of skin you are removing will show coursness and as it is removed it will leave behind the next layer which is somewhat shiny. That is the part of the hide you will be tanning.

After you have made a sufficient amount of leather, 4 deer hides to make a shirt , 5 deer hides for pants, etc then it is time to cut a pattern.

You can buy a pattern to use over and over, or you can use an old piece of clothing laid out cutting one full inch larger than the article of clothing so that you have enough area for sewing.  You will need two sides to most pieces. Fringe is made by leaving extra material where the seems will go which is later cut into strips almost to the seem.

Needles can be made easily from bone, scrap metal or wire etc. The tenderloin area of a deer, caribou, moose, goat, sheep etc with have long strips ofmeat along the top done area. The nest can be cut out and will have a shiny sinewy layer on it. The nest can be scrapped off of this and the sinew can be washed then dried a couple days.  Then using your thumb and forefinger  You can rub it firmly and it will separate into threads. These threads can be used to sew your hides together into clothing. Thin tree roots or plant fibers can also be used for sewing as well. Antler and bone as well as sticks can be used for buttons.

You can make clothing from wilderness material as some plants are fiberous and can be used as clothing; such as large leaves, barks, reeds etc which can be crocheted, woven, or sewed to make garments. Although these are coarse and itchy to the touch.

If you have harvested a sheep or long wooled animal the wool can be cut and spun slowly feeding the wool pieces while using a twirling piece of wood. This"yarn" can then be knitted, crocheted, or woven into cloth or articles of clothing.

You can make clothing from wilderness materials from large fish, like salmon, which can be skinned and the the skins sewn into clothing.  Dried these make a very good rain jacket material. This can help protect you from the elements such as wind, rain, and dew in the summer time.

Rabbit skins fur on can be sewn together after tanning to make a very warm blanket. They make nice socks and slippers. Caribou leg skin left uncut can be used to make suitable socks by sewing just the narrow end. 

Moose hide makes excellent material for footwear such as moccasins and boots.

Many furs are good for coats. Fox, wolf, buffalo, caribou, wolverine (this fur does not collect moisture like frost and moisturefrom your breath making it a good choice for hoods, collars, ruffs.), coyote, beaver, muskrat, skunk etc make other items such as mittens and hats. 

Polar bear, grizzly and black bears make excellent bedding and rugs. 

How to find food - DONT STARVE In the Wilderness or remote homestead

How to find food - Dont starve in the wilderness or remote homestead....

One of the most important things a person needs to know when living in the wilderness is how to find food. I will explain some methods for collecting and preserving food without refrigeration. I will cover some basic knowledge that will help to acquire some food.

Don't starve in the wilderness! Wild plant edibles are many. Many mushrooms are poisonous. I recommend not eating them unless you have been trained in picking them. However there are many edibles available to you. You can acquire vitamin c in wintery areas by drinking pine needle tea which will prevent scurvy. Please take the time to read a book on wild edible plants and berries. There are hundreds of them and they can help sustain you preventing starvation. The layer of wood just beneath the bark on a tree can be eaten in pines, maples, and others.

Another method of how to find food and not starve in the wilderness is fishing: this method should not be overlooked as it is a year round food source. Fish offer some very healthful benefits. Some fish contain fats such as salmon. This fish carries large 600 lb bears through long winters and it can carry you through too.  Another benefit is that it can easily be preserved both pressure canned in jars, as well as soaked in brine (sugar and salt solution) then smoked, or just smoked and air dried.  Salmon are a migratory and seasonal fish, so must be harvested when they arrive. You must not wait! They can be caught with hook and line, nets, weirs and fish wheels. Please see the laws in your area. Fish traps can be made with sticks in a river or stream stabbed into the ground  that is wide at the opening and narrows down stream so that the fish swim in and become trapped. Fish such as pike, whitefish and others can be caught through the ice using line and hook and also nets put under the ice using two holes.  When fishing in the warmer months try fishing near trees that have fallen in the water, log jams, and on the quiet water side of bends in the river. Line can be made from strands of fabric pulled from clothing, vines, fine trees roots etc. Good can be carved from bone, sticks, and found wire or metal a simple tiny stick about the length of your thumbnail can be sharpened atboth ends and the line tied just off center. Baited. When pulled it will catch in the fishes throat and the fish can then be pulled in.

Don't starve in the wilderness, consider Trapping:  The advantage of traps vs. Hunting is that a trap is hunting for you even when you sleep. Having snare wire is essential in aiding in not starving in the wilderness. It is made into slip loops and placed where animal trails can be seen in the grass and snow. It can be hung from low bushes and should be about 2 to 3 inches from the ground. Traps must be checked every day. You can not survive only on rabbits as they do not have enough fat, making them supplemental meals only. Deadfall traps can be used for any animal size depending on the size of the dead fall trap. A trap like this is built by balancing a heavy object such as a log or rock on a stick so that the animal bumps the stick or pulls on a string tied to the stick activating the heavy object to fall with gravity. You can acquire larger or smaller animals this way. These animals will have fat and the bones can be boiled to extract the high calorie marrow.  Another relatively easy trap is digging a deep hole that animals fall into and can not escape.

Hunting:  hunting with spears, bows and arrows, and guns is most successful in the early mornings and in the evenings when wild animals move about the most. Finding a water source, an area of cover, or a feed source will give you the most opportunities to see animals. Being still and quiet, without fidgeting, will allow animals to behave normally and allow them to come closest to you without being alarmed. This gives you the best advantage for success in acquiring some major nutrients.  You will find it helpful to conceal yourself behind bushes, rocks, downed trees or other natural features which can conceal you from view.  It is also helpful to hunt with the breeze blowing into your face instead of your back. Having the wind in your face ensures that your own scent is being  blown away from the game you are hunting preventing them from being aware of your presence. The farther animals are from you the higher you must aim. Nest can be preserved in a cold stream, by air dying in the wind, by smoking, or pressure canning. During the winter months is can be hung from a branch out of reach ofpredators and left frozen until use.

How to find food in the wilderness requires knowledge about things like, Birds rarely fly at night. They become easy to grab by hand in the dark. If you see abird go to roost, in the dark you can often reach up or climb up and grab it. Same with Water fowl on the nest. The eggs can also be eaten. Again please know the laws in your area.

If you are near the ocean, freshwater can be found by digging a hole on the beach about ten feet from the high tide mark. The hole should fill with less salty water. In the forest you can acquire fresher water which from snowmelt, is healthier, versus rivers or lakes than can contain bacterias and protazoans.

Foods that are often overlooked by the average person are: white grubs from dead trees or wood, these taste kind of nutty. Porcupines which make a very nice stew and are relatively easy to catch. Crawdads along a creek edge are miniature lobster looking creatures. Earth worms, grasshoppers, which can be fried. Mice, snakes, frogs legs, Pine cone seeds, cattail roots (are similar to potatoes and are a carbohydrate.) Seaweed Sea urchin eggs, clams if you are near the sea.

These are just basic suggestions and should be studied through reading material, licensed teachers, etc. Always follow the laws in your area.