Living Off The Land Permanently

[nell67]

Like barnacles, a thick crust of speculation has gathered over the word "Hoosier" to explain the origin of Indiana's nickname. Popular theories, diligently and often sincerely advanced, form a rich, often amusing body of folklore. Those theories include: "Who's here?" as a question to unknown visitors or to the inhabitants of a country cabin; Hussar, from the fiery European mounted troops; "Huzzah!" proclaimed after victory in a fight; Husher, a brawny man, capable of stilling opponents; Hoosa, an Indian word for corn; Hoose, an English term for a disease of cattle which gives the animals a wild sort of look; and the evergreen "Who's ear?" asked while toeing a torn-off ear lying on the bar room floor the morning after a brawl.

The best evidence, however, suggests that "Hoosier" was a term of contempt and opprobrium common in the upland South and used to denote a rustic, a bumpkin, a countryman, a roughneck, a hick or an awkward, uncouth or unskilled fellow. Although the word's derogatory meaning has faded, it can still be heard in its original sense, albeit less frequently than its cousins "Cracker" and "Redneck."

From the South "Hoosier" moved north and westward with the people into the Ohio Valley, where it was applied at first to the presumably unsophisticated inhabitants of Southern Indiana. Later it expanded to include all residents of the state and gradually lost its original, potent connotation of coarseness in manners, appearance and intellect.
As for the word itself, it probably derives from the Saxon word "hoo" meaning promontory or cliff or ridge or rise or hill. Jacob Dunn, a diligent scholar of the word, believes a Saxon beginning, and such a meaning survives in various place names in England. There is some sense in the notion, too, that those who applied the insult and those to whom it was applied (and who understood it) came primarily from British stock.

The unusual (ier or sier) ending has always been difficult to explain. Might it be from "scir" the old form of "shire?" The Hoo Shire would then be the Hill Country, the High Places or the Mountain Region. Would that meaning then extend to those who lived in the hills, making them the "hooscirs" and later the "Hoosiers," the mountain people, hillbillies by another name?

Maybe we should change our name???LMAO

[Nativedude]

In all it took six years of planning, scouting for the right spot to settle, spending summer and winter in that spot (to make sure it was suitable for year round living,) and 1 1/2 years to complete my cabin

During the time I initially thought about moving into the bush (back country) I started collecting, dried, canned, and powdered foods, the tools (I didn't already have) to build my cabin, wool blankets, clothing (mostly wool,) cast iron cook ware, oil lamps (12 in all,) toilet paper, etc. Getting that stuff together and packed helps you in the process of knowing just how big you need your shelter to be.

I made all of my own storage crates from cedar and southern yellow pine. I also collected as many glass canning jars & lids and storage tins (from cookies and so forth) as I could. I use no plastic. There is no trash pick-up out in the bush. If plastic breaks it is useless and you can't burn it. Tin, glass, and wood can all be broken down through composting, melting, or burning.

I do have a shortwave radio that I can run off of my hand crank generator, for emergencies.

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.

[STB]

Hey
Thats soo great to hear nativedude, its nice to see people actually going through with it, and still doing it. Keep us al posted we love to hear everything you did to get ready and what you do out there. I hate to ask this as i ahve a couple of other times on the fourm but how do you preserve your meat? I know you can smokie the meat cut it put in strips burn wood that will smoke alot and hang it over that. but is that what you have to do with all your meat? Could you possible dig a hole deap enough and maybe store it in something or no? Thats my only fear going out there getting a deer and not being able to keep all the meat safe to eat and wasting that deers life for such little meat.
Thanks for your time and keep up the great work we love hearing the stories!

[Nativedude]

"Hey, I hate to ask this. . .how do you preserve your meat? I know you can smoke the meat cut it put in strips burn wood that will smoke alot and hang it over that. but is that what you have to do with all your meat? Could you possible dig a hole deap enough and maybe store it in something or no? Thats my only fear going out there getting a deer and not being able to keep all the meat safe to eat and wasting that deers life for such little meat."

Yes STB, I smoke most of the meat. I took one of my crates (16"x36"), dug a hole and put the crate in it. I lined it with a piece of burlap (I get the burlap from my 50# sacks of flour, sugar, beans, etc.) That is my outdoor frig. I got the idea from Dick Proenneke when I visited him at his homestead in 1994. I also used 4 mil. polyethylene on my roof as he did. He never had a leak so I figure I won't either. So far so good! And I store some fresh meat (kept in a sealed tin) and other items, eggs, butter, etc., in there. I keep things in tins so that if an animal does get in there they cannot get to the food. If it was kept in plastic, they would be able to chew through the plastic and eat my food.

The temp. in my underground frig. stays around 40 degrees in the summer. Although it does get colder in the winter, which means that I must bring things to eat for the next day in the night before. But it works just fine!

I store the smoked meat and other food in my "food cache."

[trax]

If you've got an area with thick moss around your site, it'll make a better in ground fridge, you can cut the moss in an almost perfect square with just a shovel blade and it lifts up in one piece and the ground underneath it is cooler/damper. The burlap is a good idea.

[Nativedude]

If you've got an area with thick moss around your site, it'll make a better in ground fridge, you can cut the moss in an almost perfect square with just a shovel blade and it lifts up in one piece and the ground underneath it is cooler/damper. The burlap is a good idea.

Yes Trax, I do have the lid of my "frig." covered with moss. It does keep the box much cooler in the summer and it keeps things from getting completely frozen in the winter.

[STB]

Hey
that fridge sounds pretty good. How deep do you dig the hole? and you put the crate over the hole so nothing alls in or what? I kind of got lost durring that part sorry. It sounded like you put in on the bottom as a floor, but then wouldnt larger animals possibly fall into the hole? When you say tin cans you mean like big coffe cans or what. if so i better start drinking coffee.
thanks for that, i better also start master smoking meat.

[Rick]

When I was a kid, the ice house used sawdust to insulate with. It kept the ice cold well through the summer. I guess if it works don't mess with it but just another idea.

[trax]

We used to dig a 3 or 4 foot hole or so, STB, about the same size across too. If you're in moss you can lay the top layer of moss right back over the hole, but it's good to make some kind of cover to go under the moss too, for exactly the reason you said. If you have kids running around camp, they could fall in, too.

Rick, too right about the sawdust in the ice houses. I'd forgotten about that.

[Nativedude]

Hey
that fridge sounds pretty good. How deep do you dig the hole? and you put the crate over the hole so nothing alls in or what? I kind of got lost during that part sorry. It sounded like you put in on the bottom as a floor, but then wouldn't larger animals possibly fall into the hole? When you say tin cans you mean like big coffe cans or what. if so i better start drinking coffee.
thanks for that, i better also start master smoking meat.

I put the crate into the hole I dug. Then I lined the inside of the crate with the burlap (to keep bugs and so forth out.) On the top of the crate I put moss to keep it cooler (from the sun) and warmer (in the winter) so that my food does not spoil of get too frozen. As the burlap starts to deteriorate I will replace it with a new one.

Dig the hole a little bigger than the size of the crate you are going to use. The crate I used is 20" deep and made from cedar, so it is pretty impervious to rot and there for will last a good long time!

I use tins that have tin lids. You can find them at antique or second hand shops, and there are still somethings that come in tins today, i.e; cookies, popcorn, candy, etc. I have many of the popcorn tins that I use for sugar, flour, sea salt, beans, etc., as well as, storing meat, butter, eggs, etc. and I have glass storage jars with snap on lids to keep things sealed up tight and to keep the critters out!

My sugar, flour, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, beans, etc. all come in 25 & 50# canvas burlap bags and I transfer it to the tins for inside the cabin. The remainder I leave in the sacks and store in my food cache.

[george hayduke]

i've been thinking about building my own cabin but i can't afford to purchase a lot of land. i'm just wondering what kind of options i have. i guess many of you just build your cabin anyway and squat on the land. i'm fine with that but i'm afraid of being kicked out. i don't want to have to worry about that. right now i've been looking for some places up in maine. i guess i could watch someones land for them or is it possible to rent someones cabin way out in the woods for like 50 bucks a month or something. im really just looking for some ideas. i'm tired of this concrete jungle..... and need to get out.

[klkak]

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 2canoes and paddled it to my homestead.

Wow, you are the man! You and a friend drove a Tractor-trailer rig all the way to Juneau? That is one heck of a drive for just 2 men.

I am at a loss for words.....I just don't know what to say other then "I don't believe it"!

Your odyssey of moving into the wilderness is the stuff that "stories" are made of. You are truly something else.

Like I said before "You are the man".

[Rick]

Wait a minute. I didn't catch this before. There aren't any roads to Juneau. You can't drive anything there. What the......? There was a load going to Juneau alright.

[Sourdough]

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!!

Reading carefully, It sounds like you are "squatting" on Government land, owned by the National Park Service. You say that you can't use a chainsaw, which means you are in the "Hard Park". In-Holdings of private property with-in the National Parks located in Alaska, start at $1,000,000.00 for five acres. That is One Million Dollars, and you "Infer" that you had or have three properties with-in the National Parks. Your photos of your "Homestead" appear to have come from the "Lake Clark National Park", and show zero human impact. You say you are on a River, but the photo shows a lake, and looks strangely like the view to the North-East on Twin Lakes.

I am just curious as to "Roughly" not exactly, but roughly where your homestead is located.........?

[Winnie]

Seems to have gone awfully quiet.

[DOGMAN]

Barefoot in Alaska winters, driving to Juneau, 240 miles from a town, the list goes on and on....

Come on Native Dude, come clean- tell us your real story- seperate your dreams from your reality and combine your internet identity with your real-self. You have made a lot of good posts in the past, your a valued member of the community. We just need to know if we're reading fact or fiction when we read your stuff. You obviously have a passion for primitive living and are knowledgeable on alot of things- you don't have to live it full-time to be a contributor

[klkak]

Maybe we don't hear from ND for long periods of time is because he is recharging his batteries.

4.)I do have a satellite cell phone w/3 long life batteries (to keep in touch with family, emergencies, etc.) I have connection to internet through satellite link up.

5.) I use 3 Brunton portable solar chargers to keep my phone and laptop batts. charged, and I have 2 Optima deep cycle batteries for extra pwr. (if need be.)

[klkak]

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.

Ok canoe paddlers. How does one man paddle two canoes up a river by himself?

Nativedude how did you accomplish this task?

One other thing. What type of bush plane carried you to your buddies house. ie: Cub, Super Cub, Maul M-4 / M-5 / M-7, Cessna 170, 185, 206 or maybe it was a Beaver.

[huntermj]

How the heck did this thread come back up?

[klkak]

I'm just trying to understand.