On: The Terror and Tedium of Living Like Thoreau

[grecy]

I moved to the Yukon 4 years ago, and have spent many hundreds of nights in my tent around the far reaches of the Yukon and Alaska. [1]

I don't live "in a cabin" during the week, though I have many friends that do so, completely off grid.

The author of this story is searching for a wilderness experience, but not embracing it. Checking wifi almost daily? looking for external stimulus? Avoiding those things is the main reason to move to the North.

If you want to truly live the life, it involves getting your own firewood, growing your own food, hunting your own moose, bison, caribou, catching your own fish, building/working on your own shelter, making your own clothes, etc. You will wuickly find that even 20 hour days are short.

Of course, it's absurd to "live in the North" without staying through a winter - it's by far the most peaceful, beautiful time in the North, and the best time for thinking and reflection. -50F is a magical thing.

[1] Stories and photos from my Northern adventures on http://theroadchoseme.com

[dopeboy → grecy]

You know, there's a lot of praise given to entrepreneurs because they're doing what most people are talking about. Well, you sir are doing what most people are dreaming about.

I'd love to hear about what drove you to the lifestyle you now have. Also, what do you do to feed yourself? How do you derive an income and live off the grid?

[grecy → dopeboy]

I'm passionate about living my dreams. When I have a dream, I work hard, and make it happen. I drove Alaska->Argentina over 2 years, and am about to drive around Africa in 2-3 years.

I don't really like "the world" right now. Consumerism, big cities, crowds, iPhones and new cars. I wanted to get away from all of that stuff. I wanted to test myself and learn new things. I wanted to cut my own wood, hunt my own food and learn to survive by my own wits. I also wanted to see exceptionally beautiful places.

On my way back from Alaska I passed through the Yukon and thought it was beautiful. The people are friendly, and there are tons of activities to do. I thought I'd give it a shot, so I did. It's very easy to meet people in the North to teach you stuff like hunting, fishing, building a cabin etc. The first couple of times you do it with people that have done it before, after that you're good to go.

> Also, what do you do to feed yourself? How do you derive an income and live off the grid?

I personally have been working 5 days a week since moving up here, though only because I wanted to save enough money to build my Jeep and drive around Africa. Tons of people up here work 3/4 or 1/2 time (or less). If I wanted to, I could easily earn enough money to "live" by only going to work for 2-3 months a year. The rest of my time would be for activities :)

Putting 1000lbs+ of wild, organic meat in your freezer does a lot to cut down your grocery bill, as does all the salmon, halibut and growing your own vegetables.

[hueving → dopeboy]

I wouldn't say most people dream about it. At least not in the sense that they want to do it.

[ubernostrum → grecy]

The author of this story is searching for a wilderness experience, but not embracing it.

Neither did Thoreau. So in that sense, the title of the article would be accurate.

[sigma2015 → grecy]

Are you worried about bears?

[grecy → sigma2015]

Worried isn't the right word for it. Conscious? yes. Aware? yes.

I always carry a can of bear spray, and when we're hunting we always get a tag for a black and a grizzly so we could shoot one if we had to (thankfully, that's never happened to me).

We've had some encounters for sure - including a large female grizzly stamping her feet and frothing at the mouth at us, but it worked out. One shredded our tent while we were out sheep hunting too :)

It's something to think about, but nothing to worry about. About one person every ~5 years is attacked and killed by a bear up here, so it's much more likely for you to be killed in a car crash or robbery than for me to be attacked by a bear.