How does one actually make the move to the wilderness?

**Muskrat** · 07-22-2013, 06:41 PM

I currently live in Colorado and love it here, but frankly I'm growing tired of living among my fellow humans, and I long for the peace and solitude that would come with living in the mountains. My wife is on-board but I have two teenagers who will be heading to college within the next three years so I can't make it permanent until then, but in the meantime I'm looking for advice on how to facilitate this transition.

My choices are either the Rockies here in Colorado or southwest Montana, but I really have no idea how it works with acquiring land in the mountains (I recognize that all land is owned by someone or some entity), the permissability of hunting, trapping and fishing for food year round if that's going to be your primary food source, etc.

My intention is not to live like the Una-Bomber, but to get a piece of land, build a good-sized cabin, sink a well, buy a couple of generators for electricity when we need it, bring in an outdoor wood-burning heater, and essentially have a pretty nice set-up to start off with that I will then maintain for years to come. We'll also plant a garden and do some canning so we have veggies year round.

I'm in my late forties, a former twelve year Marine and I hunt elk and whitetail alone every year, so I'm not a novice when it comes roughing it, but I certainly don't have the experience I'll need to essentially secede from society to some extent, so I'm soliciting any and all advice, book/web site recommendations, etc.

Thanks in advance...

**crashdive123** · 07-22-2013, 08:28 PM

There are Realtors in your area that probably specialize in remote properties.

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your service.

**welderguy** · 07-22-2013, 08:37 PM

Howdy welcome aboard, Thank you for your service.

**Rick** · 07-22-2013, 09:58 PM

Welcome home and thanks for your service.

**Solar Geek** · 07-23-2013, 12:37 AM

Thanks for your service.
Clearly you have a great beginning idea of how to start your adventure. Since you have about 3 years, it might help to read like a maniac magazines like Countryside Magazine, Backwoods Home and somewhatly, Mother Earth News. All deal with homesteading, starting up, common mistakes, what to watch out for, and how to make a go of it. Jackie Clay has excellent books on these subjects = google her name.
After a few months of general reading, try to find publications that deal with your specific altitude and soil type for mountains. Local towns and counties near where you want to live will have information regarding the areas. So will extensions of state universities. Each can help you with hunting, fishing and trapping laws, success rates, and you might find organizations in the state who also will address your needs.
Make a list of steps to take: Ex
1. research land and prices in "X" county
2. research property taxes, success of gardens, health of herds you might be hunting, predator statistics. For instance, in WI there is a publication called "Outdoor News" that covers each area of the state. Very helpful for where the walleye are right now, when turkey season opens, what gun clubs are available, and of course they have classifieds with land for sale etc.
3. List all the necessary checkpoints for buying land - availability of water is key; trees in abundance if you will be cutting your own wood, open areas for planting; a pond or lake for fishing/stocking.
You get the idea. The magazines above certainly have buying land checklists.
Research land restrictions in any area you might like. "Environmental corridors", "smart growth" ordinances = beware.

We just went through this looking at over 40 parcels of land before finding ours. Then we researched the closest towns, churches/Mass times Since our kids are graduated and 1 in college, local schools were not an issue. And since we plan to die there (after 15 moves),we didn't care about resale and built what we wanted.
Others have tons of ideas, these are just a few of what we did.

**BENESSE** · 07-23-2013, 07:42 AM

Another suggestion: Try to vacation in the area you are ultimately interested in moving to. Get to know the locals and the lay of the land. Make contacts, even friends. Inside information always trumps anything that's already been advertised. You have plenty of time.

**Sarge47** · 07-23-2013, 10:29 AM

Thank you for your service. Since I've never wanted to live completely alone and apart from folks I can't answer your questions, however others on here will.....

**hunter63** · 07-23-2013, 11:48 AM

Hunter63, saying Hey and Welcome.
Thanks you for your service.

Our move, still not completed but hopefully soon started in 1989, with a piece of land, after several years of looking (great vacation idea....Lets go look for land).....pulling a small trailer onto it and basically using it, until we decided what and exactly where we wanted to build.

A lot of the ideas have been posted above....and is all good advice from "Them that's doin'".

Good luck....and remember as you get older manual labor gets harder, steps get steeper, as do hilly driveways.
Have fun....