6 Months Alone in the Woods

Ok, so heres my idea. I want to spend about 3 months in a woodland area away from everyone else as sort of a get away before I spend the rest of my life working. Im in college and want to do this before the "real world" hits. Heres my plan though. Ive decided to take more of a jim bridger-like route. I plan on making a one room very small log cabin like shelter to live out of for my enitre stay. Here is my gear list, give me some feedback

An axe
A Hatchet
A wool blanket
A Tarp
550 Paracord
A large bowie knife
gerber folding knife
Whetstone
2 pairs of wool socks
4 pairs of jeans
3 t-shirts (it willbe summer by the way)
2 flannel shirts
1 Carhart jacket
.22 Savage arms Rifle
500 rds of ammo (more? less?)
2 steel fox traps
Fire Starter
Aluminum bowl
Multi-tool
Boots
Canteen
Fishing gear

Am I missing anything here? I plan on doing aa lot of hunting and fishing for food, im also very aware of edibles having grown up in the region im staying in. Keep in mind its summer and I also plan to use furs from hunting as extra material. Some insight would be great!

You'll need many more pairs of socks. How about a first aid kit? Insect repellent? Water purifier system or tablets? Toilet paper?

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Originally Posted by coloradopilgrim

Ok, so heres my idea. I want to spend about 3 months in a woodland area away from everyone else as sort of a get away before I spend the rest of my life working. Im in college and want to do this before the "real world" hits. Heres my plan though. Ive decided to take more of a jim bridger-like route. I plan on making a one room very small log cabin like shelter to live out of for my enitre stay. Here is my gear list, give me some feedback

An axe
A Hatchet
A wool blanket
A Tarp
550 Paracord
A large bowie knife
gerber folding knife
Whetstone
4 pairs of wool socks
4 pairs of jeans
3 t-shirts (it willbe summer by the way)
2 flannel shirts
1 Carhart jacket
.22 Savage arms Rifle
500 rds of ammo (more? less?)
2 steel fox traps (I would bring more or just leave this behind altogether)
Fire Starter
Aluminum bowl
Multi-tool
Boots
Canteen
Fishing gear
Snare wire
Buck saw
Sewing Kit
Large metal pot (washing dishes and clothes, heating water for baths, boiling water for drinking and cooking)
Smaller Pot (boiling water and cooking)
Dutch Oven
Cast iron skillet
Eating utensils
Small fix blade for more detailed carving
Fillet Knife
First aid kit
Food supplies (flour, beans, salt & pepper, spices, etc...)
Vegetable seeds (depending on time of year, like tomatoes and peppers)
Journal for recording your experience for your great grand children
Candles for light in the cabin
Tared bank line (good for catfish drop lines and has just as many uses as paracord)
Hammer
Nails
Hygiene kit (soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc...)



Am I missing anything here? I plan on doing aa lot of hunting and fishing for food, im also very aware of edibles having grown up in the region im staying in. Keep in mind its summer and I also plan to use furs from hunting as extra material. Some insight would be great!

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Some thoughts I had, and definitely practice the skills you are going to need before you head out to stay in the woods for three months.

What game is legal for harvesting in the summer in your area? Around here .22 caliber makes me think squirrel and rabbit, but our season is closed during the summer. When is your turkey season? If it runs through the time span you plan on being out, I would bring a shotgun. But I would definitely bring enough food supplies to supplement your harvested food.

Read this......

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ve-in-the-Wild

And who's land are you going to build on?

I have two questions for starters.
1) How far out of town are you going to be?

2) Will you have some sort of communications?

The reason for these two questions, out of civilation a small cut can be fatal.

You're going to need alot more than an axe and a hatchet to build a cabin... Where did you get this cabin building permit? Who's land are you going to squat on?

I would HIGHLY suggest leaving a full itinerary with several family members who will be active to keep track of your detailed plan.
Also, you really should consider bringing a SPOT emergency device and a pack of extra batteries so you can keep the spot device on you at ALL times in the "On" position when you are away from your cabin. It would not hurt to send a pre-set message from the SPOT device time to time (or on a certain day) to your family members for them to see that you're alright, or the last time you were alright. That will give you the option to alert your family, as well as alert a rescue team to come to where you're at, should something terrible happen. You gotta think ahead about your safety.

Bran <><

Nails...need nails...yeah i know it was covered...but important enough to be brought up again.

Forget about the jeans, they take forever to dry if they get wet. Your far better off finding wool pants.

????AGAIN????

First post, no intro, summer season specified (when not a single game animal is in season) but not where, no region of the world specified, not a bite of food or even a shaker of salt included, no skilll level specified except for a list that shows squat for any knowledge outside the fact that Jim Bridger was an old dude that lived out west.

Just a list with half enough to make it through a weekend.

Now we are to do what? Flesh out the list, give instruction on how to use the gear (perhaps making donations along the way) and recommend a place where there will be no hastle from the local law, Federal land management or U.S Park Service or those pesky private property owners who just refuse to "share the wealth".

On top of that we have three people out of ten replies that have less than 30 posts, so we have no indication of how knowlegable they actually are. I suppose that is a good thing since they do not realize we take this trip once every two months. The victem is always right out of High School or college, has zero idea what he is doing and is another person walking into the woods to die before he has to get a real job.

The only identification they will have on their body will be a slip of paper with the website address of this forum!

Go back to the college. Sign up with the PE department for a class in woodcraft or recreational camping, get some instruction and learn how to be miserable with the proper supervision.

Hey CP, check this out....maybe get a free ride?
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...onsultancy-Gig

I knew that no matter what, Kyrat would come through. :thumbup1:

Didn't someone try this a few years ago, didn't turn out so well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless

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Originally Posted by coloradopilgrim

Am I missing anything here?

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Land. The only way you can do this is if either you own the land, or the owner lets you. That limits it to private land. You won't be able to do this on any type of public land. If you plan to do this in National Forest Land, or BLM, then I would forgo the advice to tell others where you are going. That might be evidence against you.

My recommendation would be to do a CDT through hike. Not only is it a great accomplishment, but it is legal as well. :)

Yeah, we had a couple of guys that came on here two years ago and were going to do 6 months or some such with only a knife. Even had their own website. They lasted a week? I don't remember but the website never got updated.

The land i will be on is a lot owned by my family, its about 20 miles roughly to the nearest town. Permits will not be needed. Also the place im staying at is much less challenging than McCandless in Alaska, plus Ive grown up knowing how to do various self-sufficent tasks, unlike McCandless.

I'll give you two weeks. The first week will be fun, the second week will start to be work. You can not be self sufficient for very long at all. Can you do all the things outlined in the link I gave you? In all kinds of weather?

I looked at you link and Im pretty confident In my abilities to do what it takes to survive. Im also a med student so i have alot of knowledge in first aid. Other than that i see your two weeks as challenge accepted!

Will you have any human contact during this period........?

Yes, my brother likes hiking and offered to hike out and check on me every weekend for the first month and then every other weekend from there on out.

Sounds reasonable to me.
Family land, med student, brother checking in. If you're gonna do it that would be a perfect trial run.
Go for it and let us know how it went.

By the way, are you planning on being out for 3 or 6 months? Your thread title says six, but the OP says 3.

I was planning on starting with three then making the decision to stay or end it once Ive gone that far

You really need to add some spices and beans and rice to your list and other variety items. Eat the same sandwhich day in and day out for 2 weeks and see what happens to your happiness in a normal life! Maybe even some sort of treat to celebrate once in a while. If you have the support you mentioned I would go in as well supplied as possible, skimp as much as possible to try to survive without needing it. But still have supplies as backup just in case. Sometimes 3 months in the woods is terrible but add in a few comforts and it's pretty enjoyable.

Since you have a place to do this, and you plan sounds sort of doable - time to look at your list. I'll give it a closer look after work, but add 10 lbs of rice and 10 lbs of beans. Building a cabin isn't the same as going to Home Depot and slapping up some lumber. You gotta eat - you need your shelter - hunting/foraging takes time.

I waited until others weighed in with their questions and read your answers; not bad since all of the safety concerns have been addressed. 1st aid is paramount and if you haven't had any training then get some! Remember that crap happens to anybody and BE PREPARED! You're going solo so there won't be anybody around to help you. Perhaps a two-way radio or cell-phone of some sort? Two other things, boredom and energy. Boredom is the bigee in the woods, take a book or two. Also if you're going to build a cabin that is going to sap your energy level pretty quick. Take along enough calories to keep yourself going. Remember that a steady diet of rabbits can lead to "Rabbit starvation," so take along some vitamin supplements! Finally be sure you have your Last Will & Testament taken care of and those organ donor cards fill out...you just never know! :cool2:

You could also have your brother bring you food supplies on his trips out.

I got this filtered straw a few months ago online and I really like it.


Super compact, lightweight and attaches to my pack.

I'd recommend it for what you're wanting to do.

rollo - You're trying to blow smoke up our teepee. You own that web site and your "I got this online a few months ago" is utter jibberish. You're just spamming the forum and that's not allowed. If you want to put the URL in your signature you are welcome to do that but if you post a link in the body of a post again it will get you banned. I have a lot more respect when folks link to their website and say, "This is my site" that to try and worm a link in.

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Originally Posted by coloradopilgrim

Yes, my brother likes hiking and offered to hike out and check on me every weekend for the first month and then every other weekend from there on out.

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But....But....But the thread title say's "6 months ALONE in the Woods".......?????? To be clear I fully support you did what you want to do, however there is night and day difference in being truly alone for six months.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...n-Change-a-Man........

Also: http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...derness+change

And you would know this how? Oh, that's right. You've done it over and over and over and over. It's not like you're an expert at it or anything. Nah.

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Originally Posted by Rick

And you would know this how? Oh, that's right. You've done it over and over and over and over. It's not like you're an expert at it or anything. Nah.

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I only did the 6 months alone once, and that was enough.

I would think that extended isolation from other humans would begin to have a rather bizarre impact on your mental health.

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Originally Posted by Rick

I would think that extended isolation from other humans would begin to have a rather bizarre impact on your mental health.

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It sure does. Back then there were no cell or satellite phones. It interesting to hear a human voice after a long absence.

Wishing you the best. I'm done with my seasonal work at the end of April and am thinking of a nice stay in the wilderness. Sounds like you have a decent plan rolling and good safety valves. Take care!

When I was about 18 or so I got ahold of an old 9x12 white canvass wall tent. I set it up on crown land and lived in it for about three years. This was in Canada in the late '70s, in the Alberta foothills specifically. I would go into town now and then, about a 1-2 hour drive, depending on where I was located, and work for a bit to get food/gas/beer money. There were actually 3 or 4 of us who were camped in various locations, and we kept in touch.

Also, in those days, Forestry Officials would stop by regularly and check on us, bring us news, or just shoot the sh1t.

I did NOT just decide to "go live in the woods", but this evolved through a lot of hunting/fishing/hiking and just being outdoors. It got to the point that it was just as economical and practical to stay out there as to pack up and "go home." I actually had no intention of lliving in the tent for so long, but just thought "I'll stay here until it gets too cold, THEN go home." As it got colder, I adapted, and it was 3 years later when I packed it in.

The key is knowledge and experience. One thing just naturally leads to another.

I'd do it again in a heart beat, but my current situation (wife, kids, kids in college, mortgage...) does not allow it just now.

What caused the egress, or ingress, whichever the case may be?

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Originally Posted by Jergg

When I was about 18 or so I got ahold of an old 9x12 white canvass wall tent. I set it up on crown land and lived in it for about three years. This was in Canada in the late '70s, in the Alberta foothills specifically. I would go into town now and then, about a 1-2 hour drive, depending on where I was located, and work for a bit to get food/gas/beer money. There were actually 3 or 4 of us who were camped in various locations, and we kept in touch.

Also, in those days, Forestry Officials would stop by regularly and check on us, bring us news, or just shoot the sh1t.

I did NOT just decide to "go live in the woods", but this evolved through a lot of hunting/fishing/hiking and just being outdoors. It got to the point that it was just as economical and practical to stay out there as to pack up and "go home." I actually had no intention of lliving in the tent for so long, but just thought "I'll stay here until it gets too cold, THEN go home." As it got colder, I adapted, and it was 3 years later when I packed it in.

The key is knowledge and experience. One thing just naturally leads to another.

I'd do it again in a heart beat, but my current situation (wife, kids, kids in college, mortgage...) does not allow it just now.

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Now you have just touched on a key reason to do a "live in the woods".
You do it for a reason, hunting, logging, trapping, prospecting, wildlife research, running from the law, what ever.....So you go in the wild for a reason, not just to say you "dun it".

I thinks most success stories are this way....you have a purpose.

I don't take off on a trip to 'survive", I go and do something, and happen to live there, because it cuts down on all that running back and forth.

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Originally Posted by intothenew

What caused the egress, or ingress, whichever the case may be?

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Ahem...Well, one morning after a night up too late I was awakened by a large, moving shape in the tent and lacked the presence of mind to lie still and let it go out the way it came in. This destroyed the tent, and I never found another, and one thing led to another, and I never got back to it for that length of time. I stayed with a buddy for a bit and then moved on.