Temporary living?

[youngbushwhacker]

This is probably a silly question, but please excuse my ignorance. Is it possible/practical to live in the bush for a small period of time, like 1-2 years? Is it practical to live there alone? I am personally on a personal journey trying to figure out who I am, and I think a very good way to achieve that would be to live in the bush for a while. Any comments, advice, or suggestions?

[Chuck]

Is it possible/practical to live in the bush for a small period of time, like 1-2 years?

You can, I have lived alone in the brush several times for extended periods.., the longest about a year.

I am personally on a personal journey trying to figure out who I am, and I think a very good way to achieve that would be to live in the bush for a while.

Living in the bush alone is not something to be taken lightly. If you aren't sure of what you want out of life you would be wise to get your act together before you take that one on. Solitude is not the way to discover who are. Better learn to swim before you dive in head first.

[Washkeeton]

The Alaskan bush is not a place to learn. It is a very unforgiving place. There are to many extremes. There are animals that might look at you as food. There are folks out there that are not right mentally and they do carry guns. (lived next door to one for about a year, with in a half mile any way.) There is miles and miles of wilderness and may not have a soul out there. You have to know your self and how you respond to things before you take on the ak bush. Read and learn and learn what to do in different survival situations. Best things I can tell you.

[Terri]

Have you lived in any cold states? I know that I learned a few things when I moved from California to Iowa. Little things like shining a light on the oil dipstick so that the car would start at -20. (The hardware store was out of heated dipsticks just before a cold snap. I took his advice and it worked.)

EVERY Alaskan learned about cold weather from SOMEBODY, whether from a parent or a neighbor or whatever. You can learn it, too.

BUT!, alone in the wolderness might not be the best time to be learning about -50 degrees as there is nobody there to ask if you are doing something right.

Of course, you COULD go out during the spring and come back in the Fsll. That way, instead of facing everything at once, you will only have to learn to deal with bears and mosquitos and such.

[mountainguy]

I admire your zeal to find yourself; however, like several folks have noted, you need to really prepare yourself both physically, mentally and expertise wise in certain skill sets before you venture out into nature's great northern back yard. This includes beefing up your skills in being able to treat yourself medically in emergencies; identifying and gathering nature's food stuffs; hunting and fishing techniques (not as easy as pulling a trigger or baiting a hook); caching of foods; dealing with nature's larger fury critters (who will see you as a kipper or midnite snack on a stick); surviving the long winter in subzero temps; building a cabin that will allow you basic creature comforts; and dealing with being all alone for extended periods of time. I'm middle aged and have been working for 24 years on these skills in civilian and military settings and still have alot to learn to go out like you want to and be successful at it. You could easily overcome all of these deficits and live out life in one of the world's most beautiful settings, however, you need to realize that failure in any of these areas could greatly cost you. My best advice would be to soak up as much info form these forums as you can get, ask alot of questions, read alot on the skills and find a way to practice them on a regular basis. I'd be more than happy to help any way I can. You also need to consider the expense you will encounter for the trip there; provisions; equipment items; etc. It's not cheap to have the right things to make it in the bush. I've been in and out of Alaska several times and love it as a place to live out life which I plan to do in the near future myself. The people in Alaska are very accomodating, friendly and generous people; however, I do think they expect you to fulfill your end of the bargain by coming prepared with at least the basics. Didn't mean to shoot down your plan, just trying to throw a dose of reality into the mix.

[ugashikrobert]

Bushwacker:
You are receiving some excellent advise here. I've met many people who were going to live in the bush year round that sounded very determnined but usually didn't make it to Thanksgiving. How far out you go can make a difference. I would suggest a location where you could get out easily if you decide its not for you. We have a couple 3 month windows where we couldn't get out except by chopper and you have to be prepared mentally for those periods. I've lived all over the world in urban areas and I prefer the solitude. We have went as long as two years without leaving but of course my bride has always been with me.

[Terri]

In my opinion: go. Go SOMEWHERE! Be it maine this summer (even for simple camping trips) or Alaska NEXT summer, I would advise that you go.

Just make certain that you can leave if you decide that it is wise to do so. NOBODY has to do everything right the FIRST time that they try!

You wish to be in the wilderness to sort things out? There is NO better place for that! But, the wilderness is there in the summer as well as in the winter, and the summer is apon us!

You are currently living in Washington DC. Could you camp out in a wilderness area north of you, to get your feet wet? Maine might be a thought for your first trip. Alaska is VERY far away, and try as you can you might not be able to get out that far before the snow flies. And, a newcomer meeting Alaska in the winter without an experienced advisor sounds dangerous.

You understand, I think it EXCELLENT to go into the wilderness, but do you really want to wait for the year that it will take you to get to Alaska? It is an expensive trip, and by the time you get situated the winter will probably be very close to you. You will not have a chance to learn enough wilderness lore before the snow flies. I think that you will run out of time.

So, yes, I think that going into the wilderness IS a good idea, but start NOW, and start closer to home so that you CAN start now.

When I was your age, I used to go down to the creeks and wooded areas to give myself the privacy I needed to think about where I was going in life. It helped a lot. Even SHORT periods of time were usefull: I just never COULD clear my mind of distractions so that I could think if there were people around. I still cannot.

The benefits of short trips now is that you can go NOW, and it will give you experience for bush life for Alaska later. Because, by the time you make arrangements for Alaska and pay for them, a few months might have gone by and that will make ALaska MUCH harder to reach this year!

(I am assuming that you are like I was at your age: Not much travel experience and not much money. I may be wrong, if so forgive me and ignore this advice. I just know that, at your age, I was not capable of going so far so fast! Everything takes longer the first time you do it!)

Many years ago I met people who were living in wilderness (unimproved) camp sites. They hit town for a supply run when they needed to. They stretched their supplies with fish and the plants that they gathered.

The DOWN side of living in an official wilderness area was that they could not garden or build, but they managed. They built their campfire a little ways from a rock, and the heat reflected off of the rock made for a warm evening as long as they were between the rock and the fire. The tent held up to MOST storms, though they sometimes got damp. They DID have a car, though they only went into town when they needed staples.

Many areas have time limits on the camp sited, but at the time at least there was no law saying that you could not move to a DIFFERENT campsite for 2 weeks, then return. When I met them, they had been out for 15 months.

Keep in mind, however, that these people were in an area where the winters were much milder than where you are going. Their living set up would not suit a cold climate in the winter time, of course.