IS WILDERNESS LIVING IN THE GREAT NORTH FOR YOU?

Do you long for wilderness living in the great north?

Is wilderness living in the great north for you? You may take a moment to imagine…

The bustle of traffic is fading into the distance. The rumbling engines, honking horns, and radios droning are somewhere off beyond the horizon. You are the master of your new domain. Free in a way that you never were among the crowds and urban sprawl. Here, among the wilderness you find peace, right outside your door, the possibility of adventure, should you choose it.

You walk out your front door and listen to the sounds around you, and all you hear is the sound of nature; the wind rustling through the trees,  bird songs and chattering of squirrels. The great outdoors awaits you. The night sky glows with the light of millions of stars unmasked by the urban glow.

The call of the barred owl in the night, the howl of a wolf in the distance, It is only then that you realize what you have been missing. This!  This is food for the soul.

Life moves at a different pace, on wilderness time, if you will, when you aren't living in the chaos of the city. As you meander down a path, you stop and smell the flowers, there are no muttered curses, or pressing of impatient bodies struggling past you on the street.  No longer do you walk briskly past hundreds of strangers faces instead there are a hundred ancient and familiar trees.

Homesteading folks are different in the bush, though they be 100 miles up or down the river, they will plod through the most hostile conditions to assist, should a “neighbor” need help. If you're unfortunate enough to get stuck in the snow or overflow, you can bet your boots, that some burly fellow with a big ole truck and chain, or snow machine will yank you out before you freeze. It's just the way of life out in the bush to prevent frozen hands and frozen toes.

I think this way of life develops for a couple of reasons. When you are far from urban conveniences you must be prepared, and you prepare not only for yourself but for those few around you.  As you are in a much less populated area, resources and services often need to be combined or shared. As you become more self sufficient you'll find there's a real feel good pride with conquering obstacles, not needing to call for help or waiting for another to fix it and hand you the bill.

When you no longer have a neighbor within earshot, you can set up a target range right in your own backyard, if you like. Hunt, fish or hike in your own back woods, Grow your own food, just steps from your door. Play guitar, sing with abandon, It's freedom in its truest form.

If you long for wilderness living in the great north, the tranquility of nature, the wild adventure of the wilderness, and the freedom to follow your own path, if you’ve been wallowing in the doldrums of discontent, dissatisfied with your routine and dull existence, if you’ve been contemplating and seeking a new direction, a life change that is challenging, fresh and lively, it might be time to take your path... Into the wild.

Wilderness Dwellers

I think that there is one chord that binds together almost all remote homesteading and wilderness dwellers, and that is the overwhelming inborn desire for freedom and liberty!  It is within this ideal that we pursue solitude, space, and freedom from the constraints that are required by society. The regulation that is needed to manage masses of people in a concentrated area become burdensome to those wilderness dwellers who require a higher level of individual freedom. Freedom that they are not willing to sacrifice for the sake of comfort, convenience and ease. So, it is with the blessing of Liberty handed down to us by our forefathers that we take hold of those freedoms and venture into the wilderness or homesteading self sufficient lifestyles.  Wilderness dwellers trade overstuffed sofas for rocking chairs and stumps, we trade grocery store aisles for forest trails....and hope we have success in finding our groceries. We trade forced air heat for forest 'ere heat. We do have running water, it runs for miles in both directions and is a brisk jaunt from the cabin, hauling ones water is great exercise  in place of going to the gym.  We leave "flick of a switch" lighting for   "light a wick" lighting. (Lighting -or a lack thereof, is a significant change from urban to remote living). For the most part we give up our wheels in favor of feet, we go less distances, but go further in many directions in our lives. Another thing that is often overlooked but is a significant loss to some is the loss of social outlets, no more friday night football with the guys, no more shopping dates with the gals. However, after an extended period in the bush, you will find that your interactions with others are much more meaningful as you find you now have a wealth of new experiences to share and are not reduced to the petty gossip that is common to urban groups conversationally for a lack of something better to talk about. Wilderness dwellers gain in the benefits of physical, emotional and mental health in being in a natural environment that heals the soul, inspires the imagination, strengthens the mind & body.  It creates a never-ending bond between man and the wilderness that creates more desire to go further, do more, see whats around the next turn in the trail. So much so, that what once seemed like a "BIG wilderness" upon arriving begins to seem small and creates a new desire to expand your horizons as your inner being expands, nurtured by peace and solitude and reflection and growing. So, Remote and wilderness living dwellers obtain more individual freedoms, but it does come at the  cost, often times of personal comforts. Most would agree though, THAT ITS STILL A GOOD TRADE!