Record holder for wilderness life

[DoubleChinRooster]

anybody know who has lived the longest in the wilderness the past decade? I hear stories about life out there. some people claim it's impossible to actually live out there. there's a big difference between survival and living

[hunter63]

In the last decade?......I gonna guess 10 years?

The has been news stories about people that that lived "out there" that were thieves and squatters ......so I don't know it that counts?...A couple come to mind....
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...rs+or+thievery
or

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...rs+or+thievery


I sure there are many people living the don't have TV shows, or post You tube vids on every little thing but go about their lives....and you may never hear about it.

Most of these people chose to live their lives, their way....but that's not surviving any more than anyone living from day to day.
There was even a story about a guy.

Most large cities have many, many "homeless".....but are they living or surviving?

[randyt]

I think one of the daughters are still out there.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?n...ar-ii-7354256/

[kyratshooter]

I read that one of the daughters was still out there a few months ago.

As for who holds the record, I don't think there is an official record keeper for who lives where.

First you have to determine where is "out there" and is off grid life in Tahiti the same as off grid life in Siberia.

[DoubleChinRooster]

"out there" would be far enough away that 100% self sufficiency is needed due to no ability to purchase goods. lets say 25 miles from nearest gas station and no electricity type of "out there". I see stories on TV about people living in Alaska but they go to town to get supplies once in awhile. just curious if its possible to live many years without any type of trip to get more supplies. What about sanity? is it possible to stay sane by yourself for many years?

[oldsoldier]

[QUOTE=DoubleChinRooster;478037that 100% self sufficiency is needed due to no ability to purchase goods."
. just curious if its possible to live many years without any type of trip to get more supplies. ?[/QUOTE]

IMHO it's not fessible to be completely, totally 100% self sufficient. Their are things that will eventually wear out/ break. Even the Indians and mountain men "traded" for certain items. Sure you can carve a new axe handle. But what it the axe head breaks, or a saw blade, a hammer,. Yeah it's possible to get salt naturally, honey in place of sugar, flour yeah but it's a PITA to make, you can theoretically grow teas, but what about coffee? What about certain clothing items? Shot for even a black powder weapon? There are lots of things that eventually you'll need to aquire.

Yeah I think it's possible to go a year or two if properly set up avoiding civilization. Some people actually prefer solitude over the problems dealing with people. It's just a matter of personality.

[hunter63]

I guess I'm missing where you are going with this....?

Don't know of anyone that keeps records of how long some one takes off for....or how far is "out there".
I would imagine that most that do.... may not have any contact or want any contact.....so how would anyone know?

Many trappers, miners, loggers, park rangers, cowboys, and even scientists spend long periods of time doing their job...."out there".
That's living out there..... not surviving..(I think thats what you meant anyway)

After a week "out there", I can say... I'm ready to head to town for some warmth, hot food, cold beer, big screen TV, and some conversation....maybe even a shower and clean sheets.

[randyt]

Earl Parrot live din the wilds of Idaho many years ago, thinking 1930s and on. He was only ever seen but once a year. Made his living by panning gold. Then there's Bill Moreland he lived in the wilds of Idaho during the 1950s and early 1960's. Made his living by breaking into cabins He wasn't seen for over seven years.

[kyratshooter]

"out there" would be far enough away that 100% self sufficiency is needed due to no ability to purchase goods. lets say 25 miles from nearest gas station and no electricity type of "out there". I see stories on TV about people living in Alaska but they go to town to get supplies once in awhile. just curious if its possible to live many years without any type of trip to get more supplies. What about sanity? is it possible to stay sane by yourself for many years?

As was noted, there is no 100% self sufficiency. They still use the materials they originally took in with them, made by others.

There has been no true self sufficiency since the first person traded something they could make for something they could not make, or one guy realized he made better arrows than he could shoot so he started trading arrows for mammoth meat.

As for the sanity part....

Who says we are doing all that well while among the masses? 10% of the population is on anti-depressants.

You can not imagine how many nut jobs we get around here asking for information on how and where to run off to the woods because they can not cope with life. Going to the woods is not going to help.

Most of the people that go insane in the woods were well on their way before they hit the tree line!

[Ted]

What about sanity? is it possible to stay sane by yourself for many years?

I've always been pretty much a hermit spending most of my time alone doing something in the woods. And the few, few people I do talk to think I'm bats##t crazy! Even my X's...LOL!!!

Now do IIIII think I'm crazy...course not.

[DoubleChinRooster]

so I guess I made my point then. nobody modern can handle living more than a year or two before returning to civilization for supplies. I read the articles above but that was a long time ago when people were mentally tough. a couple of items oldsoldier mentioned that need to eventually be replaced:

ax handle - is an axe needed if living in a warmer climate?

black powder - is this needed if one does not hunt but rather garden and fish? save ammo just for self defense so 100 rounds lasts your entire life.

[Ted]

Don't say nobody! For I surely could, and have wanted to all my life. Problem is the OWNERS won't allow it here in the U.S. You own the land and need a income to pay taxes. Or be a nomad and hide from the OWNERS best you can!

[hunter63]

so I guess I made my point then. nobody modern can handle living more than a year or two before returning to civilization for supplies. I read the articles above but that was a long time ago when people were mentally tough. a couple of items oldsoldier mentioned that need to eventually be replaced:

ax handle - is an axe needed if living in a warmer climate?

black powder - is this needed if one does not hunt but rather garden and fish? save ammo just for self defense so 100 rounds lasts your entire life.

I guess a week or two, trip into the wilderness is in order....give it a try.
Sitting behind a keyboard does not give a true sense of the challenges, skills and toughness required to be able to pull it off.

[kyratshooter]

so I guess I made my point then. nobody modern can handle living more than a year or two before returning to civilization for supplies. I read the articles above but that was a long time ago when people were mentally tough. a couple of items oldsoldier mentioned that need to eventually be replaced:

ax handle - is an axe needed if living in a warmer climate?

black powder - is this needed if one does not hunt but rather garden and fish? save ammo just for self defense so 100 rounds lasts your entire life.

Depends on what you call "modern man" and also what you consider "self sufficient".

You seem to have some vision in your mind that you are not transmitting to the responders. An image of Tarzan living without contact with any other human. A vision that never was, outside a fantasy of the "wilderness experience".

Even in the stone age hunter gatherer societies there was specialization of labor, trade with other tribes, travel to obtain scarce resources and scheduled gatherings of the widespread groups for religious or social interaction.

It is also thought that we developed as humans and with languageskills to communicate on the hunt and while gathering food, which was normally done in a group effort.

Those tough old timers you mention made trips to town for supplies and looked forward to the trip, an some of those towns have been in existence for close to 20,000 years.

Then you have the Native Americans, who lived without contact with "civilization" for thousands of years, but they had immense trade networks, gathered for tribal rituals and worship, built huge earth mound complexes and lived in villages and towns of up to 40,000 people.

Perhaps you need to rework your view of what "wilderness life" was in past times and is today.

You might also review your definition of "mentally tough" to include the guy that works a grinding job day in and day out to support his family and only gets a couple of weeks of "wilderness time" each year for his reward. If after 30 years of that he has not "snapped" it shows a pretty high level of "mental toughness".

[Rick]

Here's some folks that have what it takes and have proven it! You want to define mentally tough?

http://www.cmohs.org/

[LowKey]

How about these people?
No electricity, no running water.
Living or surviving?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...-jordan-escape

[ClayPick]

How about these people?
No electricity, no running water.
Living or surviving?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...-jordan-escape

Kinda makes wilderness living a walk in the park.

[Billofthenorth]

anybody know who has lived the longest in the wilderness the past decade? I hear stories about life out there. some people claim it's impossible to actually live out there. there's a big difference between survival and living

Rusty Shackleford holds the N. American league record for the decade Jan 1 2000 thru Jan 1 2010. Many of you may be familiar with his story. For the rest of you I will recount the harrowing ordeal here.

Rusty went 2,018 days without seeing another person after having gotten lost in his canoe while 'on a scout' on Mar 17th 2000. He was found by a film crew that was setting up a location shoot for a bigfoot movie on Sept 25 2005. He had been living in a primitive camp in the Manure Creek valley of the Great Artichokia Mountains. During his time there Rusty is estimated to have consumed 198 white tail deer, 17 elk, a moose, 14 black bear, 121 ptarmigan, a coyote, 7 otters, 3 golden eagles, 6 wild turkeys, 6 feral cats, 2 mountain lions, an ox, several beef and innumerable insects.

He maintained a 20 x 20 ft garden and was able to annually harvest several ears of corn, some squash, iceberg lettuce, endive and cultivated an award winning zinnia.

During the winter of '03 / '04 Rusty was forced to remove his own appendix using nothing but a can opener and phillips head screwdriver having lost his buck knife in a canoeing accident the previous day while 'on a scout'. A Dr that examined Rusty several years later told him he had done a good job but that wasn't his appendix.

A still that Rusty had managed to construct from the wreckage of an aircraft was used to purify his water supply and to process other liquid potables which he was able to make from an abundance of wild berries, naturally occurring grains and hops. He attributed his good health to his daily consumption of these purified liquids.

Ironically his camp was located less than 200 yards from the parking lot of a Safeway supermarket where the production company had set up its craft services tables. He was found in line at the gourmet omelet table dazed and confused. He later explained that he had gone 'on a scout' and didn't trust his senses when he encountered the film crew.

Rusty was found to have gained nearly 45 pounds during his survival ordeal. His wife and nine children were happy to find he was still alive and his employer offered him his old job back on the night shift at the sewage treatment plant.

Sadly, just a few months later, Mar 17th 2006, ironically on the anniversary of the date he originally went missing, Rusty went 'on a scout' and has not been seen since. We can only hope that this talented wilderness survivor will yet again defy the odds and reappear from the mountains primeval.

[LowKey]

This guy has them all beat (though he also raided locals for supplies):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroo_Onoda

[LowKey]

And this guy has that guy beat:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teruo_Nakamura