Where to go in the USA for wilderness survival (for 3 months)

[Woodmaster750]

My wife says to tell some of you if you want to learn to survive go live in a orphanage in CHINA. HEEEEHAWWWWW. She got her .02 in.....!

[1stimestar]

Greetings,

After looking at restrictions on states hunting/trapping laws, Alaska is by far the easiest.

I'll probably go about 50 miles North-West of Fairbanks.

Since "1stimestar" Recommended I go in July and August, I'll be going then.

If you guys have any tips for Alaska that would be great.

Thanks again, and keep posting!

If you want a REAL Alaskan experience, contact my friends at Bush Alaska Expeditions. http://www.bushalaskaexpeditions.com/ I just returned from a trip to their place. To get to their place you park on the river outside of Eagle, AK, they pick you up in their boat, take the boat up/down river a ways, several miles (protecting their exact location), park the boat, take the ATVs up the trail a few miles and there is their hand built cabin.


If you are just going up the Haul Rd. (Dalton Highway) and hike off from there, check out The Milepost at http://milepost.com/.

[Rick]

The ferry service can get you into some places in S.E. Alaska. Moderate temps with lots of rain as well as flora and fauna.

[Winter]

The ferry service can get you into some places in S.E. Alaska. Moderate temps with lots of rain as well as flora and fauna.

You can have a float plane drop you off anywhere you want.

[crashdive123]

Good luck with that.

[Rick]

Or float planes can drop you off anywhere you want.

[KhonHd]

Lots of places in Canada you could do this, but for the temperature you're looking at it would be June, July and August. Which means Blackflies and Mosquitoes (you have to experience then in the Canadian wilderness to understand). If you are not Canadian, I don't think they would let you in if you just said I want to go survive in the wilderness. Perhaps you could find work with a remote outfitter? An arrangement that you work for your lodging and include enough time off to go alone in the woods... A remote outfitter might be a good compromise for what you are looking for...

On the other hand, they probably would let you in if you had a "planed" trip of say Algonquin Park. A person could spend a long time in that park (fishing only, no hunting).

Know of a guy that did this for one week in the park. He showed up a day or two late for his rondivou. When the guy came to pick him up he hardly recognized him due to swellings from bug bites... He now lives here and is taking over the business of the guy who dropped him off and picked him up at the park. BTW the business if primarily dog sledding, he lives off grid... But I digress...

[wildWoman]

Looks like the USA has plenty more restrictions, on that basis, is Canada any better? in other words, Would you guys say that Canada is less restrictive when it comes to this situation?

No. Plus, here in Canada nature enforces the law where the mounties can't reach:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/...erman-man.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/...ival-show.html

So would you recommend a private or government owned land?

Maybe private, because I can deal with the private owner in person?

Neither. Seemingly "wild" Crown land has plenty of users like First Nations, outfitters, miners, tourism guides and trappers, all of whom take an extremely dim view of poachers. As a foreigner, you need to be accompanied by a licensed guide to hunt game.

I can't imagine that there are many land owners who'd be into this sort of experimentation on their land by some stranger from cyberspace, especially someone who doesn't even understand the ecosystem and the laws. People die out in the bush all over Canada every year. Nobody wants a SAR mission on their property.

You'd be much better off going for a two-month holiday to scope things out first, do more research based on your findings, prepare yourself properly for the area and climate, and then take things from there.

[sofasurfer]

If you want to practice survival why do you have all of the stipulations? When it comes down you will need to get to a safe (wilderness?) area near by and deal with it. If people come near to you from time to time you need to deal with it and be evasive. Isn't the whole idea of survival about making do with what you have and where you are? And as for getting permission to use goverment land...when it comes down they will not give you permission so why ask for it now so you can practice?

[sofasurfer]

This video talks about authority of local sheriffs over federal government. http://www.countysheriffproject.org/ At 12:45 he begins to tell how feds do not have authority to tell you to get off the federal lands. ITS OUR LAND!

[Rick]

You can probably show the federal rangers this video when they put the cuffs on. State and local laws do not usurp federal power. There have been numerous Supreme Court decisions to that regard as recently as last month in Arizona vs. United States. The county sheriff can say what he wants but that doesn't make it fact.

Arizona vs. United States

2. The Supremacy Clause gives Congress the power to preempt state law. A statute may contain an express preemption provision,
see, e.g., Chamber of Commerce of United States of America v. Whiting, 563 U. S. ___, ___, but state law must also give way to federal
law in at least two other circumstances. First, States are precluded from regulating conduct in a field that Congress has determined
must be regulated by its exclusive governance. See Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn., 505 U. S. 88, 115. Intent can be inferred from a framework of regulation “so pervasive . . . that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it” or where a “federal
interest is so dominant that the federal system will be assumed to preclude enforcement of state laws on the same subject.” Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U. S. 218, 230. Second, state laws are preempted when they conflict with federal law, including when they
stand “as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.” Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U. S.
52, 67. Pp. 7–8.

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions...11-182b5e1.pdf

[Seniorman]

When I watched this show ... (also posted by WildWoman)


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/...ival-show.html

... "I'm gonna go out into the vast Yukon wilderness and survive for three months on my own," I thought it might be interesting. But, within five minutes, when the man starts crying when he watches the float plane fly away, I said to my wife, "Uh oh, this dude is already in serious trouble." Then, although he's hungry, has a shotgun and rifle (Ruger 10/22 .22 LR, it appeared) when he sees a moose and caribou, he says he can't shoot any big game for meat 'cause it's out of season, I said to myself, "This dude ain't gonna make it."

Too many people who have seen the movie "Jeremiah Johnson" eight or ten times, and watched ol' Bear Grylls perform his "survival" antics, think they can go out into the wilderness and do the same thing and have a great time, too.

Ahhhh, how easy -- and romantic -- it seems. But unfortunately, the ideal of such an excursion soon crashes head long into reality. That's when a Search & Rescue team has to come and handle things ... if the wannabee "Jeremiah" has not previously "gone under."

Reality beats fantasy everytime.

S.M.

[wildWoman]

Then, although he's hungry, has a shotgun and rifle (Ruger 10/22 .22 LR, it appeared) when he sees a moose and caribou, he says he can't shoot any big game for meat 'cause it's out of season, I said to myself, "This dude ain't gonna make it."

The Yukon (and the rest of Canada, for that matter) is not an adventure park. It's a criminal offense to hunt game outside the hunting season (and the dude being a Brit, it's my understanding that legally, he couldn't have hunted big game anyway). Sure, if you get lost on a hike, your floatplane crashes or your boat gets swamped and you have no other choice - I guess the authorities won't give you a hard time if you kill a moose to keep yourself from starvation.
BUT this guy (and the same applies to pretty much all "I wanna go and live off the land for x months"-wannabe's out there) artificially put himself into this situation. It was a survival game to him. Why should he (or anyone else) be allowed to poach when he's just playing the "I'm gonna go survive in the wilderness" game?
That just doesn't fly. If I want to play at being a robber, I can assure you that they'll put me into the slammer pretty darn fast when rob the first bank - even though I did it just "for the experience".

[Seniorman]

...
BUT this guy (and the same applies to pretty much all "I wanna go and live off the land for x months"-wannabe's out there) artificially put himself into this situation. It was a survival game to him. Why should he (or anyone else) be allowed to poach when he's just playing the "I'm gonna go survive in the wilderness" game?
That just doesn't fly. If I want to play at being a robber, I can assure you that they'll put me into the slammer pretty darn fast when rob the first bank - even though I did it just "for the experience".

Wild Woman, I hope you don't think I was suggesting he poach big game. I certainly was not.

My comment had to do with his lack of common sense and foresight of planning a trip such as his Yukon stay during a time when he could NOT legally kill a big game animal for food in order to survive and increase the odds of finishing his goal. In my very strong opinion, given his "quest," 90 days alone living on a few fish and perhaps a rabbit or so, and leaves, he was doomed from the get go.

I am not aware of Canada's alien non-resident big game game laws. If he were not allowed to hunt and kill a moose, or caribou, or elk, or deer, etc., then he should never have got off the highway.

As a life long hunter, I despise poachers with a passion.

S.M.

[wildWoman]

Gotcha As you see, I feel rather strongly about this myself ...

[henryh1]

I've read all of your posts on this forum and I'm amazed at how many people want to get away from the all the BS in the world and especially here in the good old US of A. I am also studying different survival sites and learning alot about living off the grid. I don"t know if any of you work in the medical field but it is becoming so ridiculous with all the government regulations, etc. Now there talking about putting more security cameras in the hospital where I work. There even saying it is legal to put security cameras in the rest rooms as long as they don"t show a person from the waste down! Anyway I have a lot of medical training and I was a Navy Corpsman and a Field Medic with the USMC. I'm definetly think about living in the wilderness, and after studying alot of survival situations the past year I am just about ready to do it. A few more supplies, and I am ready. Today is July 4 ( Imagine That ) Independence Day. 2012.
Do any of you have that eerie feeling that something big or bad is about to happen? I live in Southeast Colorado and have been to the Mountains alot and usually get a sad feeling when I have to come back. I have thinking about doing some Gold Prospecting, (for something to do) but I imagine I'll find plenty to do. Does anyone have any good ideas where it is Legal to live in the wilderness? USA - ALASKA - CANADA. Please let me know. I'm single now and no children. Definetly nothing to keep me in the city.
Thank you all again-What a great Forum!!!
[email protected]

[wildWoman]

I'm definetly think about living in the wilderness, and after studying alot of survival situations the past year I am just about ready to do it.

Those are two different things, though. For actually living in the bush (=having your longterm, fulltime home there), you don't need all that many survial skills. You probably don't want to be living in a lean-to for the next 40 years, nor would you want solely live on wild plants for veggies. For actually living in the bush, you want to be looking more at homesteading skills with some hunting skills, wild plant knowledge and a good smattering of orienteering and first aid thrown in.
If you can handle loneliness 365 days a year, every year (how do you know that?), the greatest challenge of living in the bush, IMO, is how to still generate an income - because you will still need money, though you can cut it down to a few thousand bucks a year if you can pare down your needs. What will you do for work?

I'd highly recommend to you moving first to a tiny little one-horse town with few services in the middle of nowhere, in the general area that appeals to you. Rent or housesit a simple cabin a dozen miles outside the village - no running water, no electricity. Stay there for a year and hone your homesteading skills, learn the countryside and what kind of land might be available where. Learn how and why people in the area build houses the way they do, how they go about gardening. Find out your talents and what you need to work on. Make new friends - these people may well become somebody you'll call on in an emergency. Because you will have emergencies.
This is not a waste of time, it is serious preparation that no amount of reading, web surfing, watching how-to videos, or taking workshops can make up for. See how you actually like living simply - if after a year you even still enjoy it. Maybe you find out it's not what you really want, and that's fine.

As for what land is available - you can buy land from a private person (often fairly expensive if it's in a remote area) or you'll have to find out what options are out there to lease land, either from a private person or the government (which means you'll still have to pay money plus jump through a number of bureaucratic hoops).

[crashdive123]

Excellent post WW.

[Seniorman]

Henry H1, I don't know how far "off the grid" you wish to live, but here is a very interesting video about a husband and wife who have been living far off the grid for many years... and surviving. Both are truly experts in living waaaaaay up north, in a remote cabin. To me, the interesting thing to watch is noting the equipment they have to have to have reasonable comfort and safety, and how they use it to survive. Their skills are apparent or they'd not have lived out in the boonies as long as they have. They do many things to make enough money to get by, including trapping, etc.

Of course you might not want to live as far off the grid as Heimo and Edna Korth, but it still takes lots of good equipment, and many, many skills. Take a look at this video and notice what they have, how they use it, and what it takes for living in a truly remote area in harsh weather conditions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIzrw0jsAJw

If you want to watch another good video featuring Heimo and Edna Korth, and three other couples who "went to the far north" to get away from it all, go to National Geographic's site and search for their video of "Braving Alaska," released in 1993. It follows these four couples and their kids as they live -- and survive -- in Alaska's far north. It ain't easy, by any means.

Both are very interesting videos.

S.M.

[wildWoman]

a husband and wife who have been living far off the grid for many years... and surviving. Both are truly experts in living waaaaaay up north, in a remote cabin. To me, the interesting thing to watch is noting the equipment they have to have to have reasonable comfort and safety

That's another very good reason to practise living simply before making the jump into the bush, because people's comfort zone, how "rustic" they're actually able to live and stay happy, varies wildly. And the more stuff people need to feel comfy and safe, the more expensive it tends to gets, which in turn puts even greater pressure on the "how the heck do I make money out here" issue.
Another thing to consider is that the more remote the place, the higher the transportation cost. Especially during the set-up and building phase (which tends to end up being quite a few years, even more so for a single person and if you still have to spend time on garnering an income somehow). Things like windows and stoves are awkward to transport, so if you decide to go without road access, make sure you can get out and hopefully transport things in on your own, be it by boat or skidoo. Find out how much flights are and what kind of stuff you can actually haul in the available aircraft.