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.

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. 

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. 

UNBEARABLE REMODELING/ ILLEGAL ENTRY/An UNINVITED Guest in the Wilderness!!!

  It was 7:30 am, the drive started at 2:30 pm the day before. I had been called away from my cabin weeks earlier to tend to funeral arrangements of a close friend. I was very tired from my long drive returning to my cabin. After 12 hours of driving I had stopped near a campground 5 hours ago, but not finding a suitable tent spot and with a steady rain coming down

I made the decision to continue on the last 5 hours of the journey to the cabin.
The drive was long, hard, it was dark, no lights to look at, hardly any towns along the way. I was tired and fatigued and just wanted to "GET THERE" and flop into my bed and SLEEP. As Fatigue sets in and I become tired, I drive slower and slower and slower, the trip gets longer and longer and longer!
  When I finally arrived, my driveway was missing! It was gone!

It had been swallowed up by 4 ft undergrowth and could not be deciphered from the 6 ft deep ditch on either side of my narrow passageway in to my cabin. The entire roadside was just a jungle mass of wildflowers, shrubs and willows that literally grew overnight.  I told my friend, this is where my drive is suppose to be. The light shade of a gray dawn were just a haze and we squinted our eyes trying to see any hint of a passage way. The rain beat down on the windshield and the steady rhythm of the wipers gave us intermittent views of clarity, but it was no use. I had to get out to feel with my feet and find terre ferme.  That was the moment when I was revived....The barrage of mosquitoes descended on me like a dust storm.

I couldn't breath, I couldn't see, and I was dancing and scratching and swatting and squashing the buggars by the millions! UGH! I jumped quickly back in the car having located the edge of the drive with my foot having felt through the vegetation. A quick prayer and some gas and I was past the car eating crevasse.

 I hate that driveway!  Quickly the cabin came into sight. Whew! Made it! So I thought...
I made up my mind to make a 1.3 second Olympic style sprint and entrance to the cabin which in my assessment should only let in about 450,000 mosquitoes.

A substantially smaller amount than what would be gathering in a horde outside the door. So, I grabbed the keys tightly in my hand and made the lightning dash to the door. I quickly and with great efficiency unlocked the padlock and.........
didn't open the door. I was being eaten alive,

I could feel myself going anemic and the sting of a million biting bloodsucking insects made me rethink our decision made so many months ago to screw the

heavy plank door shut with 5 inch lag screws. We were "securing" the cabin against the arrival of uninvited guests of both the 2 legged and 4 legged varieties. People and bears. Well, it obviously can keep people out my voice shouted in my head. My hands and face were swelling with gigantic welts. There were so many that I no longer itched, it was just the all encompassing hum of pain. I couldn't feel the new mosquitoes biting anymore as the bit areas of exposed skin was already swollen.  I could through my fatigue vaguely feel the shape of my face changing shape as I struggled through a sleepy mental fog trying to decide what to do about my predicament... How to get into the cabin.
    The cabin had been built with the idea of protecting it from the bears, so all the screws used in construction were large and long and required generator power and a power drill to remove them from the wood board and batten plank and plywood walls. The windows were small to conserve heat and high to make access for the bears more difficult. Since I didn't have a generator or a power drill outside the cabin at this point, the door was no longer an option for entrance, so I turned my attention to the lowest window.  The bottom of the window was about 6 feet up as the cabin was built up above the snowline on tall pilings. I had gone around the corner of the cabin and been out of sight of the vehicle for quite a while and I was now joined by my teenage son and my friend who were both wondering what I was doing that was taking so long.  What I was doing was assessing the best way to break into a cabin that had been designed to thwart just such endeavors!
     I determined that I could climb up on top of our wood pile and if I can stretch my legs far apart I might be able to reach the edge of the windowsill with a foot.  My teenage son suggested since he was taller and had longer arms and legs he might be able to reach the plywood that was screwed over the window and might be able to unscrew the smaller screws that fastened it to the frame. I handed him the screwdriver and in moments the board was off. However, the window was still shut and locked. It was an older window and had become worn out over the decades and was already vintage when we bought it to use on the cabin. We shimmied it back and forth in its track until it came out of its track and we were able to push it open and my son climbed in and made it look quite easy.

As I mentioned before, it is a very small window and a very high window and it was quite a stretch from the top of the wood pile to the window sill.  After a series of twists, bends, and stretching that would have impressed a contortionist, I was in!

 Now it was my friends turn. This might be a good time to mention that she is 71 years old (going on 19!)

and she was looking skeptically at her choices but in the end the mosquitoes were a very motivating factor.

She quickly made the decision to join us in the cabin and get some reprieve from in incessant buzz and biting of the demonic insects. Little did we know....

    We walked from the bedroom to the kitchen....Um, it used to be a kitchen.  It was a vision of some surreal paper mache piece of rogue art.

There was 10 pounds of flour, 5 pounds of sugar, 25 pounds of salt, several bottles of maple syrup...opened and now empty, 5 pounds of oatmeal, teabags, coffee, various canned goods, and bear poop all pasted in a sick concoction in a thick layer over everything.  The cabinets and cupboards had been torn from the walls and lay in unrecognizable splinters on the floor amongst the rubble. The shelves were knocked down and disheveled dumping their contents onto the heap.  Even in my sleepy fog it was not lost on me that had I walked around just one more corner of the cabin I would have been able to just "walk right in" where the wall was missing! It was completely open to the sky, the woods, and the fiendish mosquitoes. I was really starting to whine in my head to myself... "I just want to go to bed!!!" I was just this side of having a temper tantrum and bursting into tears similar to those of a typical toddler at nap time, except I wanted to go to bed!

 Well, there was nothing to do about that, sleep was to be hours away! First there was the firearm to be loaded. Then there was the piece of plywood that had been taken off the window that was used to hastily put over the hole in the wall. This involved getting the generator out of storage that had just a tiny amount of gasoline in it, with some quick tuning it soon roared to life and powered the drill to secure the patch to the wall with screws. It was an agonizing task with the concern of the bear at our back, and the flesh eating insects as thick as fog all around, penetrating all the openings of our bodies, our eyes, nose, ears and mouth and the ever present desire for sleep. (I had now been awake for 30 hours making my dexterity equal to that of about a 4 yr old). When that task was complete we turned our attention to a murderous spree of annihilating the droves of blood thirsty insects

that were plotting against us. We felt some measure of success when we would find less than 5 mosquitoes at a time on any given part of exposed flesh.  It was still just before dawn when we entered the cabin and so were unaware of the scope of destruction that was revealed as the dawn lightened the cabin. I have to admit that the catastrophe was impressive even by candlelight.  As we made headway in the extermination of the skeeters, the beds were starting to whisper my name  ever more loudly and persistently. Finally I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and flopped down. I laid there for about 4 seconds before I heard the first slight whining sound near my ear, then two, then three, soon the buzzing pitch was rising in measurable decibels. The sun was fully over the horizon now and the heat was building, it was humid from the rain and yet I pulled a fur blanket completely over me, over my head and face leaving just a small breathing hole.

It was a hot but safe refuge from the cloud of insects hovering over my now snoring carcass.  An earthquake could not have awakened me! I never want to make cabin repairs in the spring again! Going bear huntin', going bear huntin', going bear huntin', Got a score to settle and food to replace!

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.

WILDERNESS LIVING - Getting AFFORDABLE Supplies! ~for frontier, mountain man, survival homesteads

Supplies and mail by dog team

     Wilderness living - getting affordable supplies!~for frontier, mountain man, survival homesteads.   One of the biggest struggles of the remote homestead and wilderness living is... getting supplies!

As seen in the pic above, before UPS our mail and supplies often came by dog sled team or snow machine, and still does in many outlying areas of Bush Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories etc. This method of getting supplies has a couple of significant issues, first, there are weight constraints on the teams and there is alot of time involved. Often summer supplies had to be ordered and delivered during the winter months while the snow is good, and that meant storing your supplies after they arrived in a cabin space already too small often times confining in the winter.  

I read about a fellow once who got into a spat with the dog team driver who delivered his mail to his wilderness cabin back in the 1904, I think.  After a good natured argument over getting supplies delivered, The cabin dweller, being a self proclaimed "wiseguy" and wanting to "get back at" his mailman ordered 20 giant boxes of "CORNFLAKES" cereal. The mailman had to deliver them because they were within the weight limitations, and the mailman cursed the guy up one side and down the other. The cabin dweller got a good chuckle out of it each time he got mail over the next couple of years, as he only got about 4 of his boxes at each delivery (because of the combined load of all the other supplies being delivered to other residents) and the mailman complained about having to store those "dang boxes" at his cabin until they could be delivered. .....Guess there's more than one way to get the last word! :)

Today, with mail and supply delivery by airplane, and with more roads by UPS, Mail Order is still THE EASIEST WAY to get your supplies. The advent of the INTERNET has made compiling supplies in a "one stop" shopping method about the easiest its ever been for the remote homesteader and wilderness living families. Satellite signal and cellular phone signals have also create ease of access to the internet for ordering supplies and goods through the mail. Take this blog and many others, focused on the experience of wilderness living, who have gathered together in one spot links to many of the companies/suppliers and "know how to" resources that help make wilderness  living in remote areas, or wilderness tripping simpler, easier, and more comfortable.  Many times supply runs to town for supplies or mail can only be done once a week or once a month, and in very remote locations, once a year.  So being able to order your goods online and knowing that they will be at the post office waiting for you when you arrive makes planning easier and the use of your time and resources for fetching them more efficient.  

It used to be that one went to the closest general store where goods were sold at huge markups by the proprietor and left the remote cabin dweller/homesteader with no choice but to pay exorbitantly inflated prices for his supplies.  One no longer has to resign himself or herself to that course. Mail/Internet order has created competition that keeps the cost of supplies low. The offering of "flat rate" boxes by the USPS also helps remote dwellers living in the wilderness by creating a way to have heavy objects delivered at a reasonable cost as well.

The internet has also opened up a wider variety or resources for the wilderness living population who wants a semi-modern lifestyle, linking the wilderness dweller with many new 12 volt items that can run on battery or solar and wind power. This has revolutionized the wilderness cabins, bringing many electrical tools and appliances that are perfect for solitary off grid dwellings. Many of these items are available through internet order as well. Another overlooked opportunity the internet and mail ordering  provides to the homesteader are returns, money back guarantees, replacement parts etc not commonly available at many outpost stores.

So when you plan your wilderness homestead or adventure take the time to really look around on the websites and blogs you visit because they are often put together by folks who are living that lifestyle and have a good idea of what you will need or want to make YOUR wilderness experience more enjoyable. You get the real deal. Not nonsense salesman suggestions, but experience  and practical suggestions. Such as; 

1. You'll need this...

2. You'll want that...

3. You'll wish you had purchased...

4. Shouldn't have bought the cheapest one...

5. Wish I would have got two of...

6. Wish I would've thought of.... Etc. 

Alot of us have been there and done that, so take a minute to look through all the resources on our sites and blogs, because there is probably something  you will find useful or interesting relating to cabin life.....
Cabin building, Dog sledding, book/stories/biographies of homesteaders and wilderness dwellers and wilderness lands like Alaska, Yukon, etc., wilderness based movies, food supplies, Gardening, useful tools, clothing, gear, hide tanning & leather supplies, Camp living supplies, tents, stoves , showers, water filters. There are also cabin supplies, wood stoves, fire starting equipment, matches, lighters, magnesium sticks, fire-starter sticks, wool & fleece rugs, footwear, Generators, chainsaws, Cooking on wood stoves, over fires etc., Home crafts like knitting,, crochet & sewing, Wood working and furniture building, Screws, glues, nails,Travel & hiking tools like GPS gear, Cameras and video cameras, journals, Snowshoes, knives, axes, hatchets etc. There are so many resources for mail order shopping, here are some we use;
1. Ebay
2. Amazon
3. Bailey's
4. Lehman's Homestead Supply
4. Alibris books
5. Google shopping
6. Janns netcraft
7. Cabelas

 (If I forgot something important jot me a comment with a heads up!  I love hearing from others!) I really want to help folks serious about getting into this lifestyle, with a real and tangible educated start. I want them to be successful and see how much the wilderness has to offer in enjoyable living! Another thing we found very helpful in planning our own cabin was the TINY HOMES SITES ...

www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/...tiny-houses.../index.html
tinyhouseco.com/

or "tiny houses" on google images

Tumbleweed Homes

We looked at alot of pictures and websites and it really helped us in figuring 

Out how to best used our space while using as few resources as possible.

Which really helped keep the costs down.

We are here to help others find a way of fulfilling and reaching their dreams and goals of enjoying a wilderness lifestyle and sometimes you just have to get started...maybe with a how to book, or maybe stock piling supplies while you are still working a "real job", or by making your partner feel secure by having supplies that make them feel safe and secure... Taking that first step can help get you on your way...

Get a book on "How to build a cabin", buy "Food Supplies", get comfortable bedding, waterproof goods, warm clothing and footwear, books with "Back to Basics" know how info. You'll feel alot better and more secure in taking the plunge! Move from your "armchair dreaming" to action. You don't have to go full force into this lifestyle, you can slowly gain these skills, by practicing in your own back yard, your own garden, learn how to use the equipment, take some short hikes, rent a canoe for the weekend, go camping etc. GET YOUR FEET WET..... Maybe we'll be neighbors one day...

     

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!       

                              

Frustrated with lack of WILDERNESS LIVING content on Internet. Where's the REAL STUFF, REAL LIVING?

  Frustrated with the lack of wildness living content on the internet. Where's the real stuff, real living?

   WILDERNESS LIVING.... I don't know about you, but I am always on the hunt looking for interesting blogs, youtube videos and websites that have content that is interesting and stimulating about real people who are really wilderness living, (not just weekend warriors or day trippers), but on a day to day basis. Sharing their challenges, struggles, successes in their endeavors to manage their environment, needs, goal, and desires with limited man made resources. I know many folks just enjoy the entertainment that these postings provide in glimpsing into the activities of wilderness living individuals, but quality pertinent, relevant, and applicable knowledge is in great demand by those pursuing real wilderness living. 
      
I think one of the reasons for the lack of this type of content may be in the type of character that wilderness living is... in that those who are truly "Wilderness Living" have a lack of access to those things that connect us to society and the internet, such as..No electric, no internet services or even cell service, no desire to interact with other individuals etc.  So, at a great loss to the rest much of the lives and knowledge gained by real wilderness living individuals is not available to others through practical lacks of delivery or through a lack of desire to interact.  

Many times we get tiny windows and glimpses into these interesting lives through the endeavors of other individuals who take upon themselves the investment of time, effort, and money involved to retrieve their stories from obscurity. Wilderness Living individuals such as DICK PROENEKE - Alone in the wilderness, HEIMO KORTH & HIS FAMILY Living in the Arctic National wild life refuge The Final Frontiersman, RICHARD LEO - Way out here (Alaska) , Edges of the Earth, Olive Fredrickson - Silence of the north, I had to have a moose - a vintage Outdoor life magazine article(Canada), and many others who truly make their skill and knowledge available to the rest of us struggling to pursue the same road/trail/lifestyle/mountain that they have already summited, leaving thier words and pictures to entice us!

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.