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. 

Homemade Homestead DRINKS & BREWS & REFRESHMENTS

There are a surprising number of natural things to drink on a remote homestead, and they of course vary based on the natural plants & trees native to the area you are in.

1. Teas - are generally any edible plant material that is steeped in water, and can be drank hot or cold.

Trees commonly used for refreshing drinks include, but are not  limited to:
                      
a. PINE - Needles made into a tea makes a drink high in Vitamin C and        helps fight scurvy.
b. BIRCH - Sweet drinkable sap, can be made into syrup, sugar, sweet tea, and beer.
c. SASSAFRAS ROOT - Makes a sasparilla sassafras tea
d. MAPLE - Sweet drinkable sap, can be made into syrup or sugar or sweet tea
e. STAGHORN SUMAC - the red spire seed pods are steeped into a lemonade drink

Plants commonly used for drinks include, but not limited to:
a. MINT - Found in moist areas
b. JUNIPER BERRIES - give drinks a "gin" flavor
c. RASPBERRY LEAVES - This tea helps with female menstrual cramps
d. ROSEHIPS - Are steeped into a tea also high in vitamin C

2. Coffees - are generally made from roasting things in combination to make custom coffee flavors.

Grains, nuts, seeds, roots are usually roasted in an oven or over a fire and then ground and then brewed.

Things commonly used for coffee include but are not limited to:
a. CHICKORY ROOTS
b. CEREAL GRAINS - wheat, oats, barely
c. BEECH NUTS
d. PINE NUTS
e. DANDELION ROOTS

3. Juices - are generally made from locally available fruits. In the north, these include but are not limited to:
a. CRANBERRIES
b. GRAPES
c. BLACKBERRIES
d. RED RASPBERRIES
e. BLUEBERRIES
f.  APPLES
g. MULBERRIES
h. STRAWBERRIES
             I boil fruit with a bit of sugar to taste into a concentrate, I filter the juice through a t-shirt to remove the pulp and then I "can" it into jars. Later I use these concentrates mixed with water when I serve them as glasses of juice. They make wonderful cocktail juices.

4. Wines - are made by fermenting the fruit juice with yeast. A balloon can be fastened over a jug and about 1 teaspoon of bread yeast or wine yeast (old-timers used a bit of sour dough starter, which does produce wine albeit a bit cloudy) in 1 to 5 gallons of juice. Fasten the large heavy duty balloon on top of jug secure with string, tape or zip strip . When the balloon deflates in about 2 to 4 weeks your wine is done. It must be bottled quickly without alot of air exposure or it could turn to vinegar. (Which is not a total loss as the vinegar can be used for cleaning or cooking, pickling etc.) The alcohol content in homemade wine is usually 9-12%

5. Beers - this is easily made Alaska bush style by buying hops flavored malt in a large can and mixing with water to make 5 gallons.Heat, then cool, Add the yeast at about 105 degrees f and an airlock or a balloon as above and wait for fermentation to stop and the balloon to deflate or the airlock to stop bubbling. Beer is temperature sensitive and ferments best around 45 degrees fahrenheit so makes a good springtime endeavor for those who do not have thermostat heat. 

Attention:
****As with any food related suggestion make sure you use proper identification methods for identifying plants, please be aware of possible food allergies, and risks involved in canning, preserving, and brewing. Local laws could prohibit some of these activities in your local, so please check your ordinances.****

             

WILDERNESS LIVING ,TAKES TIME! No Worries, No Hurries!

            One of the hardest things to get used to in wilderness living on a remote homestead ... is how long everything takes! As a people, we humans in the developed countries have become so accustomed to having instant gratification!  Our automated world is literally at our fingertips! From instant entertainment, to instant food, to instant money. Our desires are fulfilled without hesitation. 

NOT SO on a remote homestead!  EVERYTHING TAKES LONGER!

STEP 1
Let's take morning coffee or tea for instance... There's no expresso machine!
You get up, get dressed including your coat,boots, hat and gloves and go out to fetch some stove wood (which hopefully is already cut otherwise you have to do that too).  You come in and take off all your snowy gear. Drop the wood next to the stove, fetch the matches and firestarter (paper, kindling, firestarter cheat sticks) put the firestarter and wood into the stove, light it and squat there on the cold floor in a cold cabin blowing on the little flame to coax it to life.  Once there is a reliable flame you close the door, adjust the damper, and fetch water - that's the interesting part... its usually frozen. So you put the ice in the pot and WAIT for it to melt, then you WAIT for it to boil.
When the water finally gets hot enough your real coffee starts to percolate, or, if you're impatient like me, you pour the hot water into a cup of instant coffee. This whole scenario just to get that first cup of coffee takes up the first hour of your day!

This whole project happens over again if you leave your cabin long enough for the fire to burn out and allows the cabin to get cold.  So when you get home, you start from scratch with a new fire and there is no instant heat like with a thermostat electric or gas heat. It takes a long time for the wood stove to reheat the walls, floors, furniture and air inside the cabin. Patience is definitely in order there!

Cooking... Most rustic cabin living does not include microwaves!  There are no TV dinners, or store bought bread. A quick sandwich means going through step 1  then instead of heating coffee water you will either fry bread, bake biscuits, or begin a batch of sourdough yeast bread which adds a couple hours time to the chore to accommodate the bread "rising" before baking. As for meals, canned meats can really speed up the process as the meats are already pre-cooked and just need reheating, so I pressure can grouse, fish, venison etc. for various meals. Otherwise the meat has to be brought in and thawed out then sliced or ground up then fried, baked or boiled along with veggies, beans, potatoes, or rice until tender and soft. How long that takes depends on how hot your stove is. Often times baking a cake can take 2 or more hours if the oven temp is only 200* f. 

Laundry... well, that could take a long time just to type all that is involved but its already been well said by another blogger and she really hit the nail on the head.... check it out on her blog...SWEET HOME ALASKA (<=click)  http://remotealaska.blogspot.com/2010/06/doing-laundry.html

She says it so perfectly that she deserves full credit, and I couldnt have said it better! I do my laundry the same way except I wring out the clothes through a wringer attachment on my washing machine and hers spins them but takes time both ways, this job takes 2-3 hours and a little longer if you have to carry the water in 5 gallon pails any amount of distance.

If you want to take a shower or bath, you do not just "turn on" a faucet and jump in.  You have to follow step 1 above then fetch the water, heat the water  in quantities sufficient for the shower or bath which takes a couple of hours, "not super fast" like heating a pot of coffee water, but big pans and pots of water. It takes alot of wood to keep the fire going hot and steady, so there is the constant feeding of the stove in there as well!  Then you hook up whatever shower apparatus you have for your cabin, (there are many) either gravity fed which involves transferring the water from the stove to a container high above the shower unit, or a pressure sprayer then pump to pressurize, then shower some then pump some more etc etc., or the electric showers offered by Cabela's and similar stores, but that method involves having gas or solar or generator which must be turned on in addition to heating water... So, you see after all that work to get the shower ready, you are sweaty and definately in need of one!

One of the characteristics wilderness living will develop in you is PATIENCE! Some native tribes had wise elders who knew from long living this wilderness lifestyle that "IT TAKES AS LONG AS IT TAKES!" There is no hurrying in the wilderness. Hurrying causes carelessness which causes injury or death. The key to living in the wilderness is to live intentionally, with care and thought put into every action.

What Does it take to be self sufficient when WILDERNESS LIVING IN THE GREAT NORTH?

What does it take to be self sufficient when wilderness living?
      It does take some well thought out supplies, some basic essential tools.
There are 3 catagories that you are familiar with already...
Shelter, heat, food...
  Each of these require some tools to make acquiring them easier.
Heres a short list of basic essentials to survive comfortably...

 1. Saws - chainsaws, bucksaws, ripping saws, hacksaws, files for sharpening
 2. Shovel - to dig footings, outhouse holes, remove rocks etc
 3. Tarps - provide temp shelter, keep wood dry, use as shower curtain, stop roof leaks etc
 4. Generator - produce small amounts of power
 5. Ropes - hanging food, shelter, safely moving large objects like logs
 6. Hand tools - such as; hammers, screwdrivers, socket set, hand drill etc.
 7. Muzzleloaders or rifles - procuring of food and safety from predators.
 8. Propane campstove for summer cooking
 9. Woodstove & Piping- heating & cooking
10. Axes, splitting mauls, hatchets
11. Fishing equipment
12. Food Canning equipment, Pressure cooker,jars, lids, rings
13. Sewing supplies, knitting or crochet equip. and leather working goods etc.
 14. This probably should be #1 on the list, QUALITY WARM 1600 GRAMS THINSULATE BOOTS. WARM FOOTWEAR IS ABSOLUTELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE!!! You will   be spending alot of time outdoors. Many men and women have died because they froze their feet! 

Self Reliance IS the most important part of WILDERNESS LIVING IN THE GREAT NORTH

 Self reliance is the most important part when wilderness living in the great north! It seems one of the most common questions about remote wilderness living in the great north is:

What will I need?...To bring, To do, To know, To prepare for...All these can be summed up in one answer, we discovered....             
 YOU NEED TO BE SELF-RELIANT!

When we began homesteading a couple of decades ago we had 7 kids living at home. We were still very accustomed to grocery stores, clothing stores and various supply houses like MENARDS, HOME DEPOT, and TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY.  You could get any answer you needed with a little $ and a quick trip around the corner.  As many of our family members began dying off from various forms of cancer we took a closer look at our lifestyle, and assessed where our current situation was failing. We began thinking long term instead of on a day to day basis and quickly realized we were consuming and acquiring way more than we needed to be happy. In fact we realized that the "MORE" was actually making us less happy, so the logical thing then was to have "LESS" to be more happy.  We decided the best way to "reduce" our stuff was to move far away, and travel "light". As we packed for our move we realized how much stuff we truly had!  So, on our first trip to the new property we took only the bare essentials since there was no dwelling waiting for us. We had nowhere to store things except on a small aluminum trailer we pulled behind the pickup truck.  This stage helped us realize how little we really needed to get by.  We spent about 6 weeks putting up a couple structures, a small cabin 16'x16' and a second "just in case of an emergency" cabin that was half the size of the first, 8'x16'.  We quickly realized all of our possessions would not fit in our new wilderness dwelling. It was a "cosy" bungalow as a real estate agent might say.  When we returned for our left behind possessions we realized these were not needed and rapidly found new homes for them through craigslist, ebay and local charities like St. Vincent de Paul. What we truly discovered is that we had A LOT of stuff we didn't need, and not much of the stuff we did need.  Which brings me back to our question up top... What did we need? SELF-RELIANCE. 
                                        LESS STUFF AND 
                                                 MORE KNOWLEDGE.
We discovered that the more we knew the less we needed. The less we needed, the more affordable our new lifestyle became. The more affordable our lifestyle became, the easier it was to make it a reality...slowly we discarded our dependence on society and became more self-reliant. This self reliance interpreted into successes and an overall pleasure in our new surroundings and lifestyle.

Self reliance becomes a necessity as most wilderness living is in remote locations or areas of low population density.  This translates to less suppliers and less supplies. Often what meager supplies that might be available are many many miles distant. That makes utilizing those resources prohibitive for small projects or singular items needed because of the long distances involved, cost inefficiency, and it is literally too time consuming to go for such things.

Necessity is the mother of invention! ~Plato

Well, It's TRUE! The frontiersmen, mountain men, explorers, Native peoples, settlers, loggers and early farmers all knew they had to rely on their own wherewithall to survive. I will try to link you up with some of this knowledge tomorrow on my blog, there's some really great stuff/ideas/methods/tools etc. you're going to like! So be sure to check in!
Good night to all!

What's the differences between the 1800's Mountain man and his family and the 2017 mountain man and remote homestead?

  What's the differences between the 1800's mountain man and his family and the 2017 mountain man and remote homestead?

     We are privileged to be able to "CHOOSE" Wilderness living in the great north and this wonderful primitive lifestyle, but there are some significant differences today that make it a "wonderful" lifestyle compared to the 1800's.  I'd like to clarify what some of these differences are so that those who are seeking this lifestyle and are leaving "modern" life to try it can know what makes it so inviting compared to what they read in books from the 1800's. We like to see it as a kind of "sifting" gleaning the things that made the earlier era so inviting and leave behind the pulp/chaff of what made it so miserable. Likewise, we "sift" the 2000's and glean the best of  this modern age for the things that make living now inviting and leave the chaff or pulp of this modern age behind... Through this process you can create a life for yourself that captures the best of all your choices creating a life that is fulfilling, satisfying, and solid in character. Here's what we decided on....

What did we choose from 1800's?

CANDLE LIGHTING with MIRRORS,
 Since bees wax is a natural by-product of honey making and honey can be produced at home eliminating our need to purchase sugar. The bees pollinate the fruit & vegetables, part of our food supply, beeswax candles are an obvious choice, plus, we like to roast marshmallows over our natural beeswax candle flames! The mirrors are really important in maximizing the light. This is the style in our experience that gives the most light throughout a room. It can be found at the Daniel Boone Trading Post We have tried all kinds of candle lighting and this exact mirrored candle holder produced the light of 3 or more candles with just one candle. It produced comfortable reading quality light.

MAPLE SYRUPING, 
This too provides needed sugars for baking, coffee/tea/cereal sweeteners, etc.

WOOD HEAT & WOOD COOKSTOVE,
 Again we choose this to eliminate heating and cooking expenses, no gas or electric purchases. This one was made in 1888. It works just as good as it did the day it was made. I paid $400 for this one. The unique thing about this one is that it completely disassembles into back pack sized pieces, or a package the size of the oven door.These were the type commonly sold and transported to very rural or remote areas on horseback or by dogsled teams.

GOOSE DOWN BLANKETS/SLEEPING BAGS
these allow us to burn less or no wood at night, so no one has to get up to stoke the fires during the night. Make sure you get all down and not down & feathers as is sold 

SHEEP HIDE MOCCASINS 
Cabin floors get really cold in the winter!


HAND PUMP WATER
To eliminate the need for electricity in the summer, and water falls from the sky in the winter...FOR FREE! 

HANDMADE FURNITURE 
We create our furniture by hand from wood,antlers, tanned hides etc. Nearly cost free, attractive and materials are readily available on our property at our own time and desire, no store shopping required.

OLD BEDS were made with ropes like this one. Over time the ropes would stretch and get loose making it uncomfortable to sleep upon. Hense the "Good Night" wish to have a "good night and sleep tight!" It referred to "tight Ropes" as seen here.

TWO MAN BUCK SAW-SHARPENED PROPERLY AND TEETH SET PROPERLY
This saw is very efficient for 2 people and does produce firewood in stove lengths very quickly. We use ours as a back up saw.

HAND DRILLS
We prefer these for tapping trees and screwing in screws with no electric. Make sure you get one with a big chuck opening 1/2" to handle Big bits as well as small ones. Many only go 1/4" and then are not big enough to handle the bigger bits.

BOOKS 1800'S DIARIES, 1800'S ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF FORMULAS & HOW TO'S
These provide us with alot knowledge and information that help things go smoothly without electricity and with products naturally available in the environment. They include things like how to make tools for lifting heavy objects by yourself, how to make paint, glue,soaps - you name it...Its in there! . How to build without nails or screws, where to find food, how to trap etc. These books of this nature are indispensable on a homestead! You can read this book online by clicking on the book.

TANNED HIDES & LEATHER
Used for floor coverings, quiet gun slings/sleeves, bags, hot pads for handling hot pots and pans, used as trade or profit source, shoes and sandals, blade guards, gloves etc.

HUNTING&FISHING

This harvest fed 7 people for 1 year 

95% of our meat comes from natural harvest. A years worth of meat. Yes, we ate it all!

BERRY PICKING
Provides 95% or our fruits and fruit products, jams, syrups, juice etc come from home raised or woods picked fruits.

GARDENING & NATURAL GREENS

Narrow Leaf Plantain

This provides our organic vegetables, and we try to utilize as many natural occurring greens commonly called "weeds" in the urban environment but hold a lot of nutritive value, such as dandelion, common plantains narrow and broad leaf, lambs quarter, wild asparagus, clover flower and  chicory. These all make good salads. Chickory root can be roasted in the oven then ground for a coffee like drink. 

Lambs Quarter 

Broad leaf Plantain

COFFEE FROM THE HOMESTEAD - Coffee type drinks can be made by roasting wheat, barley, oats etc grains in your oven til golden, then add molasses. Makes a very serviceable coffee substitute.

MAULS,SPLITTING WEDGES,AXES,HATCHETS,MACHETES,HEAVY KNIVES
We use these extensively. They are used in wood fuel production for the stoves, furniture making that we use and sell. Wedges help split difficult knotty wood, and help fall trees in safe directions etc. Heavy steal knives are utility and used for cutting, prying, screw driving, you name it.

MUZZLELOADERS AND BLACK POWDER
Additional harvest seasons, black powder is easy to come by, readily available. Can be easily purchased from individual in most areas.

BOWS AND ARROWS
This is our favorite method of hunting, it is silent, highly effective, and can be produced mostly from natural materials. (The string is still most effective made from modern material)

HEIRLOOM SEEDS/VEGETABLES - The heirloom varieties are important because their seeds have been proven for decades or centuries and consistantly produce dependable fruits and you can collect seeds from your own plants. Open pollinated are the best choice because they are easily pollinated by many sources and produces many fruits.


What did we choose from the 2000's?

COMPUTER
Access to knowledge 1800's books and diaries at alibris, gutenberg.org free public domain ebooks, ability to earn $ at home such as ebay, craigslist, access to hard to find primitive living items lehman's. Community Support and encouragement from like minded individuals striving for the same goals or ideals against the pressures of a society that is prohibitive, through resources like Blogger youtube etc.

CHAINSAWS
This is a huge time and bodily energy saver! It is one of the inventions that surely helped extend man's life expectancy. 

GASOLINE & PROPANE
For running chainsaws, generator, wringer washer, camp stove in the summer, occasional lighting for special needs where brighter light is requisite. 

4X4 TRUCK
Hauling supplies, seeing friends or family far away, moving wood/logs

EMERGENCY BEACONS
These are special satellite signal beacons that can be activated in an emergency and your exact location is alerted to rescue services such as coast guard, state police and other search and rescue groups.

CELL PHONES 
These marvelous little devices are both good and bad. You can communicate with loved ones far away and can be used as a tracking device, can call for help if theres a signal and your battery isn't dead. These should NOT be relied on as a safety measure in remote areas.

RIFLES, REVOLVERS AND AMMUNITION
For safety from man & beast, and procuring meat supply. More durable, longer shooting range, more powerful and most ammunition can be reloaded.

THINSULATE BOOTS & GLOVES
Thinsulate has been a wonderful invention that is truly effective in keeping warm in cold environments. 1600 gram thinsulate boots are perfect for the northern U.S. Canada and Alaska

FLEECE
Fleece is similar to wool but lighter, an inbetween choice  between wool and down. It is soft on the skin and retains body heat well and dries quickly. Sherpa fleeces are most effective, but remember to turn the puffy side of the fleece inward toward your body heat to retain this heat. Many clothing manufacturers produce the garments with the fuzzy side facing out which is not as effective in retaining heat in seriously cold weather or exposure, so just remember to turn these garments inside out when spending long periods of time in extremely cold weather conditions.

POLYESTER AND NYLON
We've found these materials to be a huge improvement to items like rope, bow strings, anchor lines, tarps. These items can handle much heavier loads than their 1800's counterparts made from hemp, cotton etc.