Thinking about taking off to Alaskan Wilderness.Any suggestions?

I happen to live in the interior of Alaska,got questions? ask away

I don't live in Alaska, but I have a different point of view on these things.

I wonder about your decision to go it alone.

I have my own business and work out of my home. Many, many people have this romantic idea that it's a wonderful way of life and almost idolize my ability to do this. I don't leave the house unless I have to do so and I find that more and more I don't want to leave.

Even though I make great money, work less than 8 hours a day when I choose to, call all the shots and it gets easier every year, there have been a couple of times I've considered selling it and getting a job.

The work isn't a problem, the isolation isn't much of a problem, but the loneliness is. After ten years, I'm a bit more used to it, but there is something else I've noticed. I've gotten weird. Really weird.

I find I have real trouble fitting in with normal society, not from a lack of understanding or social skills, but because I have no reason to put with the pretense. My patience for stupid people is very short.

Because I don't have to dress well for work, I stopped buying dress clothes altogether and now refuse to wear them at all. Because I don't have to punch a time clock, I refuse to get up before 8 am. I don't have to kiss anyone's backside, so I'm not real impressed with people. Things like this just don't fit well with the rest of polite society and many people don't get it. Some just resent the fact that I have so much personal freedom that I can thumb my nose at the world. I've traded making a lot more money than I do for having a lot more time for myself.

My point is that I doubt I could go back into society, having a #-tty job that I hated, a car payment I was supporting, buying clothes because the company I worked for dictated that I do so. SLAVERY is getting up at 6 am, commuting to a job, getting 30 minutes for lunch, fighting traffic to come home, collapsing exhausted in front of the tv and then get up and do it again. Honestly, I feel like most people are knee-deep in comsumer credit indentured servitude for a house they can barely afford and a minivan.

But I'm afraid that in order to find a mate, I will have to be not so secluded. No one is going to come knocking on my door. And even if they did, they would find that someone shaved the warm fuzzies off me a long time ago. No doubt they would find my lifestyle strange and difficult to incorporate. I would need someone who was like-minded and the odds of that happening are nil.

So, if I were you, I'd really think about finding someone FIRST and then both of you heading to Alaska where you can become weird hermits together.

reply to post by Ferengi

Also a suggestion, ever watch the tv series, Survivor Man, and Man vs Wild? These two guys have episodes on surviving in Alaska. Be sure to check them out. Interesting, educational, and fun to watch. I plan on leaving again pretty soon, maybe in wilderness Alaska, maybe a jungle or forest, but somewhere where I can be at peace and do what ever I want.

I watched those episodes and I believe that they were not camping out in the middle of winter in interior of Alaska. In fact, I would bet it was early spring they filmed those shows. So where you decide to excape to and what time of year plays a HUGE role in your experience.

Before anyone decides to escape to Alaska and "rough it", please get on a plane, go there in middle of December and hang outside for about 3 hours straight. Then decide if that is something you can just camp out in.


To the OP: Good luck in whatever you decide. If anything, you should just visit for the experience and amazing scenery


[edit on 10/9/2008 by greeneyedleo]

I have to ask why you are choosing Alaska? There are plenty of extremely large forests in the states that you could disappear into and never be found. There are temperate forests which would be far easier to survive in, provide plenty of food year round, plenty of vegetation and all sorts of other things. The temperature difference alone would make life far easier than Alaska.

Consider game alone. In Alaska your choices are limited. In large forests you have all sorts of game, birds, fish, shellfish, fungi (be careful with these), vegetables, fruits.

Seriously if you're thinking of surviving in Alaska i suggest you look up the temperate forests instead. If anything it's even easier to disappear in a temperate forest because of the enormous amount of natural cover, less exposure to wind etc.

That's my opinion anyway.

[edit on 9-10-2008 by ImaginaryReality1984]

My one piece of advice is this. Before you drop off the face of the earth if you haven't already, take either a first aid or EMT class at the CC you're attending. The one thing that usually forces individuals out of hiding is a medical event. Once you show up at the ER or urgent care center, you're back on the grid. Annonimity is hard to maintain if you need treatment.

If you want "off the grid", you are much better off changing your identity and hiding in plain sight. It's much easier to live among sheep than it is to go it in the wild. FYI, your worst experience camping is no preperation for living on the edge. What they don't show you after the camera is shut off is Les Stroud usually needs about 14 days to recover from his 5 to 7 day "expedition".

There is little you can do to prepare for a sustained life on the run, especially considering the extremes of the Alaskan climate. You would be much better off getting a dark tan, dreadlocks, and a #hole apartment in south central LA, your life expectancy would be a little longer there.


[edit on 9/10/2008 by TheAssetsInPlay]

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
reply to post by HowlrunnerIV

 

Remember this handy fact: When you are sleeping you begin to freeze to death at a balmy 15 degrees C. What temperature does it get down to in Alaska?

NEGATIVE 30 degrees F is what one will experience during mid winter up in the Fairbanks area. That converts to: -34.4444444 degree Celsius

Camping in those temperatures IMHO is not recommended at all.

Where I live, which is central western canada, we get as cold as -40 degrees celcius in the winter. Schools don't shut down, buses keep running. That's nothing.

Why Alaska?
If you want out - get out for real.
Go international.
Lots of great places *out there* to live, and to hide - minus the filthy cold weather and animals that would munch you up as a noon day snack.



...taps...


[edit on 9-10-2008 by silo13]

I feel like at the least I will learn how to grow my own food and live off the land,which will put me at a greater advantage than many Americans

reply to post by daeoeste


What you can grow up here is mainly potatoes, carrots and the cabbage family. Hope you like those a lot! It takes a year or two to get the soil properly prepared to produce. Same for getting a greenhouse going to raise tomatoes, peppers and squash.

So if you come up, plan on getting a job up here for a couple years to get your feet on the ground and some cash. You'll love the 7 months of winter and 3 of summer!

Oh, and the women aren't all like Sarah Palin so don't get your hopes up!

reply to post by Malzypants


Yeah, but my Canuckistan mates tell me that you don't go out for a drive without at least one sleeping bag in your car during those months because you have no clue what might happen to the road (let alone your car) and you can't leave the heater on all night long...

Anyway, the 15 degrees is in reference to being unsheltered and (relatively) unclothed. If you're wearing a t-shirt and shorts and you are in the open, then you can enter hypothermia in your sleep and freeze to death at 15 degrees (and lower). Add a little wind-chill and you're guaranteed to be in big trouble.

But it really requires you to be asleep, ie "at rest", to be successful, when you're awake you are exercising, burning energy and keeping your temperature up.

So, if you can successfully freeze to death during a spring night after a warm day and a couple too many beers, how easy is it to just # up when the overnight temperature will hit 30-below (or more) plus another 30 degrees or so of windchill? One small miscalculation or oversight and you are in deep, deep spit.

As I said, I've been snow camping, but you don't even need an Arctic or Everest-rated bag to do that in Australia. It just don't get THAT cold. Not even in Tasmania.

reply to post by HowlrunnerIV



We plug our cars in, and I've never actually kept a blanket in my car. A lot of people don't drive right now because gas is so high, so you see them walking where they need to go and taking public transit. Thank god for face masks and large winter boots.

Without adequet shelter and protection, you'd suffer some serious damage within 15 minutes. BUT you'd eventually get used to the lifestyle. I don't like it, but I'm used to it.

In all honesty, I'd never remove myself from a warmer climate to go to a colder one. Why not get away from it all in a place more liveable like south america?

My first suggestion for what you should bring with you:



S&W 500 mag.


Now, on to the rest of the OP:

I too grew tired of staring at the ignorant masses every day, of having a job I hated, and generally being expected to "fit in and go along". My solution: I bought a good sized chunk of property on a lake in the upper midwest, and shelled out big bucks for complete off grid living. Given that the upper midwest doesnt provide adequate sunshine for my solar PV array to completely power my home, I also went with a wind turbine which added additional cost.

I've always been pretty anti-social (I can count my friends on one hand), but my wife shares most of my views on people in general, so she was pretty happy to go along with everything. I'm only 30 now, but I have never been happier. I work at home, make more than I ever did, and I sincerely believe my success is from the peace of mind that came along with "checking out" from society.


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[edit on 13/11/08 by Jbird]

Carry a big gun!! 454 casull on your hip in the wilds

reply to post by daeoeste

How would I get there?

On this alone i dont think you should go, you dont even know how to get there, how do you expect to survive if you can not even work out on your own how to get there?


I hope you take this as contructive adivice and not snipe.

This is a funny thread. People talk about cars running all day, about what guns to take, and tell the OP to watch into the wild.

First off, I am an Alaskan, and proud of this fact.

Do not come up here now. Seriously. You move to AK now and try to live off the land, the cops will be hauling your remains away next spring.

If you truely want to test Alaska, be smart about it. Move when the weather is warm and sunny. Get a job in one of our cities and put your cash away. Stockpile like crazy, maybe even buy some land that is "remote" (you dont understand the word remote until youve been here)

Take classes on winter survival, farming in AK, hunting and trapping. Then youve got a shot at making it.

As far as cars running? Dont see alot of that, except if its a quick stop. We do however plug our cars in so they start the next day.

Guns? We have them all. Moose, griz, black bears are some mean critters when you are in the bush alone. Talk to the locals when you get here. Local advice in any area is better than any you will find on the internet. I carry a shotgun with buckshot/slug/buckshot, as many alaskans do, but some do carry hand cannons as well.

Into the Wild? Almost as funny as the Grizzly Man. A classic example of two idiots who didnt understand that if you dont respect it, Alaska will flat out kill you. No regrets. It isnt a game living off the land up here, you make a mistake, you are done. Limited cell range, only a handfull of roads, if you go off by yourself, you need to realize, you are in fact, by yourself. If you want to actually learn something about someone who came up here to live off the land and made it, check out Heimo Korth.

The Final Frontiersman

If you decide to come, good luck, if not, we wont miss you. Alaska isnt for everyone. The winters are sad, dark, cold and lonely. Alone in the wild makes them even more so.

I suggest renting a copy of the recent movie, "Into the Wild."

The moral of his story is, getting along aimlessly in civilization is a relatively piece of cake compared to living in the wild. If you're really going, at least take the time to do your research, take the appropriate gear or learn how to make it, and above all, learn how to get and keep food, and avoid eating things that will eventually kill you.

Another good show to watch would be "The Alaska Experiment."

If nothing else, these shows demonstrate how you, too, can lose a third of your body weight without harmful diet drugs. Just by starvation and hard work.

OP, I made the same decision in 1995 and I'm still here in Alaska. Best decision I've ever made. That being said, you must take into account reliable rugged 4x4 transportation. In the winter time excluding S.E. AK. the interior is no place to be without it. Unreliable Bus service at best and you do not want to wait outside for any length of time. Like many have said 60below will give you a different outlook on life. If your leaving in the next couple of months start out in S.E and work your way north in the summer months. The S.E is the banana belt of AK. where temps never get much below 19 or 20 F. Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau, are all much warmer than Anchorage or Fairbanks, and unless your employed gainfully these are the only communities to even consider. You wouldn't make it a week in Kotzebue or Nome. Survival Gear, 4X4 Truck with Canopy to carry all of your crap that your gonna need for the trip. A copy of "Milepost" this is your travel bible through Canada and AK. Install a block heater in your truck. tow ropes, a winch would be better, sleeping bag, Candle lantern, Food, Water, Extra Fuel. No handguns if your traveling through Canada. Declare other firearms at border. No DWI in your driving history either. Cash at the border to prove you can afford to get out of Canada, when your truck breaks down. Be wary of the wildlife and snowplows on Canadian hwy. You'll be lucky to survive a Moose hit and the plows will leave a wake of rocks and snow blowing behind them; at 50mph you will have white knuckles, and be blind for about 3-5seconds after they pass. Take a swimsuit for Liard Hotsprings in Northern B.C. Awesome place. I'll check back when I get Home, not logged on here at work.
The Undertaker

In addition to all the incredible advice already given I gotta tell you, the wilderness in Alaska; especially alone should not even be an option for you. I lived in a small town outside of Fairbanks called Goldstream Valley for three years. The winters are long and very cold! Also they don't run their cars all night, they plug them in.

There are plenty of small towns you could live in up there and basically be away from it all when *snip* hits the fan. There is a real sense of community while still being 100's of miles away from it all.

On a side note, what kinds of sh*t do you expect to be running from? Remember Alaska has A LOT of nukes stored up there and it's real close to Russia. (some people can see it from their house! I KID, I KID)

If you really want to bug out I would think about the hills in Tennessee or even the Ozarks in Missouri. Lot's of isolation out here in Kansas as well. But again, remember Missouri and Kansas also have stores of nukes.

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[edit on 13/11/08 by Jbird]

I think alot of people at thinking like the OP...

They are just sick and tired of the world we are living in right now.
And we don't like the way the world is going...


Now, i hate the cold, so me going to AK is out of the question...
My fantasy involes buying a sailboat, and sailing around the world... totaly off the radar of things.. Mabye setteling on a small South-Western Pacific island..

You better carry a big gun. Never know what you could run up against. Did you ever read up on that Alaskan Forestry employee who shot a rather large grizzly? It had killed two hikers days prior to its death and one of those hikers had unloaded his gun into it but that never did any good. I found a link where there are some photos of that grizz. It stood 14' tall at its head. Massive!

Slideshow images of large grizzly killed

Warning: Images are graphic!