Woodsdrummer

Hi Eric.

Very inspirational site you have here! Love it!

I'm not a city dweller. But pretty close. I was in the scouts as a youngster and in the coast guard for 4 years. I planned a boundary water trip 8 years ago. But when ALL the people (6) who first said they wanted to go whimped out. I went by myself. Alone for two weeks. So I have learned a few things. But like anything else.. If you don't use it you lose it.

I have a question for you. If you wanted to "live off the land" like our ancestors did. Where would you go, and what would be a good crash course on the methods used to achieve this? I want another boundary water trip. But this time I don't plan on coming back.

Thanks

Mike

Hi Mike,

Sounds like your boundary water trip worked out for the best in that you were able to find out how unreliable the participants were before the trip was actually in motion.

You present an interesting question and one that I feel begins to cross over into the spiritual side of thought.

Just as a painting hanging on a wall provides a separate story for each person viewing it, the term "living off the land" tends to conjure up many different visions as well. Some envision hairy, slope-headed men living in caves, others may take the log-cabin/settler way of thinking. Some might even consider the vegetable garden in their backyard a form of "living off the land".

For me, the above means taking advantage of what's available in the wilderness whether it be an old can, a discarded shovel, or bundle of wire hanging from a fence. In other words, if I can use it, I will.

A person can also "live off the land" in an urban environment in fact just the other day I found a perfectly good gas powered weed-eater in a dumpster. And a few weeks back I scavenged enough industrial carpet (new) from a newly remodeled pharmacy to carpet my entire studio. Just a couple examples of found items I've put to good use.

Stepping back in time, I think it's safe to say that if a tribe of Indians were to stumble across an old rusted out 55 gallon drum in the the wilderness, they would certainly find a few uses for it. Perhaps they'd peel away small pieces of metal and begin grinding them on stones to use as arrowheads or knives or maybe even use one end of the drum as a large container to cook in. Then again, it may be hard to get any real use out of the big can if the tribe's drummer has any say in it!

So getting back to your question of where I would go if I wanted to live off the land well that's a tough one. As you can imagine, there are tons of issues that would need to be addressed. And while it would be easy for me to throw out a romantic location in Alaska's Brooks Range or some other remote location, until I conducted some in-depth research, I really couldn't provide a definite answer at this time.

Many people have tried to leave "leave it all behind" and have failed. Christopher McCandless (see Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild) tried, somewhat foolishly in my humble opinion, and died. Richard Proenneke (see the Alone in the Wilderness video/DVD) and Dave Olesen (author of North of Reliance) however, are both excellent examples of modern day, rugged individuals that succeed in living out self-reliant lives in the harsh and unforgiving wilderness.

Concerning "crash courses" on living off the land, I honestly don't know if there's anything out there that would even come close to covering what you would need to know although there are probably some more advanced courses (Mors Kochanski come to mind) that get into a deeper understanding on how to actually live in the wilderness.

Typical "survival" type courses are going to cover a lot of the short term basics such as shelter, fire, water, and food, and although it's all going to be important information, I don't think you're going to learn much about cabin construction techniques, sharpening saws or how to fell a tree. Best to learn what you can from books and try to apply what you learned in a controlled setting.

I think the major hurtle with living in an isolated location is just that. Isolation.

Many people can't handle the thought of being by themselves in the woods even if it's for only a day and a mile from the trailhead. Unless a person is comfortable not seeing people for days, weeks or even months at a time, I imagine they'll understand why someone may choose to stash away an extra round for the ol' Remy "just in case".

If it were me, I'd start off by seeking out individuals that were already actively living that kind of lifestyle you're looking to get into. Simply corresponding with someone living in the bush would be a great way to learn. Probably easier said than done but that's where I would begin.

While I'll admit that I sometimes wonder what it would be like to leave life as I know it behind (usually when I'm paying bills!) and replace it with a back-to-the-basics type lifestyle, I know it would be extremely difficult. For now I'll just have to continue getting my wilderness "fixes" a few days, weeks, and pages at a time.

Eric