Living Off The Land Permanently

[trax]

FVR's post just reminded me. A couple of months ago I was talking with a buddy and his father-in-law, a man who could forget more than I know about hunting and tracking and still out do me at it, ( a man I obviously very much respect) asked me how old I am. I answered 49.

"When I was your age, I could still pack the hind quarters of a moose 2 miles out of the bush" he told me.

I answered, "Yes sir, I can still do that." Then, I had to ask myself cuz it had been awhile, but yeah...I can, but it ain't fun like it was when I was 20 lmao.

And sure as hell, I'm paying for it the next day. I think most of those videos come from canned hunts, anyway. I just hope to **** that double e is paying attention to this stuff, I for one would love to see him succeed, he seems to have gotten past pi##ed off anyway, just don't settle for grumbling and complaining.

[FVR]

I shot this pocket hog awhile back. Pocket hog is a hog you can throw over your shoulder.

Shot the critter with my bow at a distance of 30 yards. Hog ran about 20 yards and died. I waited even though I heard the last blow out.

I sneak over to get the critter, there is this 200 plus pound hog standing over the 70 pounder I shot. She is just standing there, chomping her jowls. Now I have a nocked arrow, I'm ready to shoot, two hogs in oneday.

In a split second;
That's alot of meat, where am I going to put it?
That's alot of meat, how am I going to eat it?
That's alot of pig, how am I going to get it out of the woods?
That's alot of work, alot pork, and right now alot of mean pig standing 10 yards away.

I backed out of the thickets slowly, walked back to the stand, made a cup of tea, and waited an hour.

Then I went and picked up my pocket hog, gutted, and through him over my shoulder and went home. Where he was skinned, butchered, packed, and prepared to smoke.

[trax]

Nice work, man. Similarly, I was out hunting with my partner up north, many years ago. We were tracking and lost the tracks, hopped in the canoe and followed along the shoreline til we picked them up again. We split up ....I started following the tracks and he noticed a bunch of broken down tall grass near a swamp. I'm half way up a hill when I hear his rifle, he nailed a cow moose. She was knee deep in water (illegal for me, but he has treaty hunting rights) took us hours to get her up to where we could gut her out. We're still working on it when I heard the bull grunt, right from where I was first headed up that hill. We tried calling him out, but we'd made too much noise or he picked up our scent, wouldn't come. By the time we had that cow cut up and loaded in the canoe, we were both grateful that he hadn't. We had plenty of meat and it would have been another day's work if we'd got him too, (Paddling her back out to the truck and coming back for him)

The gunwales of the canoe were shipping about an inch and a half above the water so there's no way we could have loaded two of them in there.

[FVR]

Take what you need, eat what you take.

[trax]

I read FVR's posts about hog hunting it's making me more and more want to go out and shoot one. It's the only game we have wide open no license required season on here in Manitoba and there's quite a few around this area. I'm just avoiding it because all the Elmer Fudd's are out there right now blasting away at anything that moves. I don't think I look like a deer, but....

[Smok]

My cousin is a Sheff officer 7 years age wail bow hunting he was shoot with a arrow from no more then 50 feet and he does not look like a deer . Yes he's fine now , funny thing when the man run up to him , he told the guy don't cut my throat to bleed me out .The man past out...

[trax]

Yeah, well the archery seaon has come and gone here so, I don't think I'd get that lucky with some yahoo shooting a 7mm magnum or a 30.-06 or 30-30 or .303. I kind of like my blood and organs to stay on the inside where they belong, lol.

I'm hoping to go way up country a ways this weekend as a matter of fact, away from humanity when I'm deer hunting.

[explodingearth]

i hate being human. i thought i was free?

[trax]

If you really hate being human dude, you're stopping yourself from being free.

[Nativedude]

Living completely off the grid is possible, but it does take time, consideration, and preparation to do it properly and to be able to sustain comfortably.

When I first decided to go completely O.T.G. (off the grid,) I researched the area I wanted to live, bought topo maps, and set up a schedule of time to travel to each of the areas I designated as "livable," and mapped out a time line for physically going into these areas and researching, first hand, for everything I would need to live there year round.

Second, I made a list of the things I would need to set up a homestead. The list included these topics:
Tools (for building my cabin, beds, & furniture)
Bedding
Cooking
Clothing
Toiletries/Hygiene
Medical/First Aid
Food
Extras to finish cabin (i.e; nails, glass for windows, etc.)
Miscellaneous Items (i.e; rifle, ammo, etc.)

I then listed everything I would need in each of these topics and started collecting each of the items as money would allow. For a couple of years I worked 2-3 jobs at a time to have enough money to get what I needed.

This is an example of my list:
Bedding:
6 - Wool Blankets
1 - Winter Sleeping Bag
1 - Summer sleeping bag

Cooking:
1 - 10" Cast iron skillet
1 - 8qt. Dutch oven
1 - Cast iron tea pot

When I traveled to the areas I designated as "livable" I looked for:
1.) Enough water to sustain me (even in winter.) In some areas the ice gets to thick on the lakes and rivers to cut through to get water. But you could melt snow for water too.
2.) Enough timber to build a cabin (or sustainable shelter,) and for year round firewood.
3.) Was the ground right for growing crops. Rhubarb, spuds, carrots, green beans, etc.
4.) I was looking for an area with a waterfall (my own shower. . .a personal want.)
5.) Enough fish in the lake or stream to sustain me year round.
6.) Enough game to supply me with meat year round.

After I found the spot that had the things I needed and wanted (I did find a spot with a waterfall) I set out to live the summer there. I built a wiki-up. and packed in the supplies I would need (via my canoe) to set a summer home (Mid-June - Early-Sept.)

I then paddled out and re-stocked for a winter stay (Mid-Sept - Late- May.) In Early May I cut the timber for my cabin. Stacked it to dry and packed out my gear. I stored my gear in a storage unit in the nearest town (100 miles away.)

I came back to the lower 48 to visit my family. The following spring (Early-May) I bought a Yurt and went back to build my cabin. I finished the cabin by Sept. and came back to stay with family and helped them with things they needed done.

I have a friend that owns his own semi truck & trailer. The following May, we loaded all my gear into his trailer. He got a load going to Juneau. We took turns driving (I too, have a class A CDL.) Once we got to Juneau, I loaded all my belongings onto a ferry and took it across to Anchorage. From there I loaded it into a bush plane (it took 2 trips) and flew it to my buddies house (where my canoes were stored,) and loaded into the 2 canoes and paddled it to my homestead.

I now come out only twice a year. Once in the summer, to re-stock my supplies, attend the trade shows, where I sell my log furniture, antler jewelry, and leather & cloth goods, and once in the fall, to visit the family and stay for the holidays.

Planning is the key to doing it right!!

[Beo]

Ya must have packed in a lot of wire and generator to get the internet and recharge your computer and must be a big azz canoe to truck out all that heavy log furniture Anyway your right, takes a lot of prep time and just doing it.

[Nativedude]

LMAO Beowulf!!!

Not my computer. . .don't own a computer. It belongs to my cousin. I use it when I'm back visiting family. I'm back for the holidays. Heading back in Jan.

I don't pack my stuff out anymore (since I have the cabin built.)

Canoes are 18' & 22'. The 22' is a cargo canoe. Traded some stationary power tools for them!

Ya must have packed in a lot of wire and generator to get the internet and recharge your computer and must be a big azz canoe to truck out all that heavy log furniture Anyway your right, takes a lot of prep time and just doing it.

[trax]

From the time you made the decision to when you finally got moved in, how long? Double e, pay attention to the man's answer and remember this guy went in with a lot of experience, this isn't something you accomplish overnight.

[Rick]

Just curious Nativedude. Do you have some means of contact should something happen. Radio? Satellite phone? A broken leg or a severe illness would not be a good thing in that environment. How much snow, on average, in winter?

[nell67]

Another Hoosier Rick?? I am from southern Indiana myself,Washington County now.

[trax]

Another Hoosier Rick?? I am from southern Indiana myself,Washington County now.

What exactly does "hoosier" mean?

[nell67]

What exactly does "hoosier" mean?

I really have no idea,LOL its just what they call you if you are from Indiana,like if you are from Ohio,you are a buckeye.

[Rick]

Hoosier is a French term that means, "Loan wolf that steals women's hearts, conquers worlds and forces men to bow down to him," ... oh, no. Wait. that's from another post. Hoosier. Hmm. No one knows.

Hoosier Rick

[Rick]

By the way, a buckeye is just a useless nut, which explains a lot of things about Ohio. (chuckle, chuckle, chuckle).

[nell67]

Hoosier is a French term that means, "Loan wolf that steals women's hearts, conquers worlds and forces men to bow down to him," ... oh, no. Wait. that's from another post. Hoosier. Hmm. No one knows.

Hoosier Rick

Hhmmm that seems to be a pretty popular definition!