Living outdoors... for the rest of your life

[Lexicon]

I was enticed by Christopher McCandless' journey, but seeing as I wouldn't eat any animals he had to shoot to maintain his skeletal figure... and that there isn't much tofu growing on trees in alaska... and seeing as i like being alive... i'll probably just admire from afar. Although Thoreau did it and he was a little less drastic... it's a nice thought, but i'll probably never abandon civilization for "the wild".

Eating and wearing animals is the best part of living in the wilderness!

 

[Jack Flak]

At age 35,

Thoreau: Smart
McCandless: Dead

 

[JAVO]

The worse you are at it, the easier it is to do for the rest of your life. If you take my meaning.

True.

The idealist in me thinks that's a great idea.
Often I have to tell her to shut up.
I like avoiding snow, weird-looking wildlife, and tornadoes by staying indoors.
Living outdoors would take that away. Along with my bathtub, books, and coffeemaker.

You are confused...

You cannot avoid snow, and most people are forced to travel in it surrounded by chunks of metal weighing in excess of 2 tons which are traveling at high velocity. In the wilderness, we would be thankful for the abundance of easily-obtainable water (don't eat the yellow or brown stuff though ), easy animal tracking, and faster (and more fun) foot travel (skiing and pulling gear in a sled).

The weirdest, scariest wildlife has two legs and generally lives in urban areas. Compare the statistics on how many deaths were caused by bears versus humans in the past 100 years.

Few buildings offer adequate tornado protection. Mountains offer superior protection because few tornadoes touch down in mountainous regions.

It impressive that’s for sure, I love the fact that he hasn’t shut himself off from the world, he isn't some weirdo hermit or fanatic so he's easy to relate to.

I recon it would be awesome to do but there are things like music that I couldn’t go without so I’d need a generator at least and even then I don't think I could do it for too long, I would *cough* miss people *cough*.

Looking at his website, I see that he has recently added a small hydroelectric generator.

I was enticed by Christopher McCandless' journey, but seeing as I wouldn't eat any animals he had to shoot to maintain his skeletal figure... and that there isn't much tofu growing on trees in alaska... and seeing as i like being alive... i'll probably just admire from afar. Although Thoreau did it and he was a little less drastic... it's a nice thought, but i'll probably never abandon civilization for "the wild".

A little planning would allow you to grow beans, soybeans, and other protein alternatives.

Eating and wearing animals is the best part of living in the wilderness!

Agreed.

Even funnier is that most people do this already, but they don't think about it.

 

[Biaxident]

Wouldn't mind at all.

It's just sad, how most people have no clue how to survive outside of an urban area. They would starve without a McDonalds and a Chinese restaurant just a five minute walk away.

 

[Lexicon]

True.



You are confused...

You cannot avoid snow, and most people are forced to travel in it surrounded by chunks of metal weighing in excess of 2 tons which are traveling at high velocity. In the wilderness, we would be thankful for the abundance of easily-obtainable water (don't eat the yellow or brown stuff though ), easy animal tracking, and faster (and more fun) foot travel (skiing and pulling gear in a sled).

The weirdest, scariest wildlife has two legs and generally lives in urban areas. Compare the statistics on how many deaths were caused by bears versus humans in the past 100 years.

Few buildings offer adequate tornado protection. Mountains offer superior protection because few tornadoes touch down in mountainous regions.


Looking at his website, I see that he has recently added a small hydroelectric generator.


A little planning would allow you to grow beans, soybeans, and other protein alternatives.


Agreed.

Even funnier is that most people do this already, but they don't think about it.

Nature does not provide me w/an enclosed room with a bathtub and stereo to listen to music, and privacy in which I may read my nerd science fiction novels in peace for hours.

 

[JAVO]

It's just sad, how most people have no clue how to survive outside of an urban area. They would starve without a McDonalds and a Chinese restaurant just a five minute walk away.

True.

Nature does not provide me w/an enclosed room with a bathtub and stereo to listen to music, and privacy in which I may read my nerd science fiction novels in peace for hours.

Ah... picky aborigine you are. We find you nice cave with hot spring and nearby stream for hydroelectric power. Yes?

 

[Lexicon]

True.


Ah... picky aborigine you are. We find you nice cave with hot spring and nearby stream for hydroelectric power. Yes?

I grudgingly accept.

 

[laintpe]

Agreed.

Even funnier is that most people do this already, but they don't think about it.

lol i know people who are very aware of everything that has been made from animals... the list is insane, too... most of them shop at vegan stores for everything from shoes to toothpaste.

 

[JAVO]

I grudgingly accept.

Excellent.

oh yeah, there might be a "few" bugs or zombies

lol i know people who are very aware of everything that has been made from animals... the list is insane, too... most of them shop at vegan stores for everything from shoes to toothpaste.

toothpaste?

*picks cow hair out of teeth*

 

[Misty_Mountain_Rose]

Holy crap, Javo thanks for posting this. I've already called and requested more information. I want to try to get into the Adult Camp that is scheduled for this summer.

They'll have to force me to leave.

 

[JAVO]

Awesome!

I'm considering going to that, but still undecided.

 

[SilentStream]

Wow, I'd love to try this kind of thing, but I don't know whether I'd ever be brave enough. Even doing it temporarily would give you a whole new perspective on life and a confidence in your ability to do to anything.

 

[LucrativeSid]

I'm not patient enough to live like that. I'd have trouble catching food, so I'd jump off a really high tree instead.

 

[Dali]

Haha!

Even before I opened this thread, I knew what type would say "F NO!!"

How I'd love to see a season of Survivor with all contestants being INFJ.

 

[JAVO]

How long would it take to learn to do this successfully?

Tomas Johannson, a director of the Institute for Prehistoric Technology in Sweden, has calculated that would require twelve years of schooling today to learn enough to become a stone-age person.

(From the book Simple Life “Friluftsliv”- People Meet Nature by Roger And Sarah Isberg, p. 183)
Quoted from: The Jack Mountain Bushcraft Blog

 

[cascadeco]

How long would it take to learn to do this successfully?

This isn't surprising. I do think at times about how if I ended up being stranded alone, in the wilderness, I wouldn't last long at all.

It's too easy to forget these days how easy we have it.....water comes out of a tap for us.

To actually live in the wild? Survival. I can easily see how it would take 12 years of schooling to really be able to do it - not only learn all of your natural history - plants/animals, their behaviors, hunting, etc, but building shelters, weapons, tools, boats/transport, making clothing out of animal and plant parts....yeah.

Humanity has lost a lot of raw skill/craft, esp. when it comes to survival. It'll be interesting if/when we end up having to go back in that direction, culturally.

 

[cafe]

Haha!

Even before I opened this thread, I knew what type would say "F NO!!"

How I'd love to see a season of Survivor with all contestants being INFJ.

I know I wouldn't want to do it long term because I'm the one that takes the kids camping. My husband, the INTP, has no inclination to spend his leisure time in a non-climate controlled bug habitat. I've dragged him fishing a couple of times, but he always makes me bait his hook.

If we did ever have to kill our own meat, I know I would be doing the killing and the cleaning. I wouldn't probably hunt, though. I'd head down to the local farm store, buy a small animal trap and hope to catch a boy and a girl rabbit. Not my idea of a good time, but I'm darn well not going to sit around and starve.

I enjoy learning about the uses of local plants, so I do know a bit, but I'm not in a hurry to find out if we'd survive under primitive conditions.

 

[kelric]

I've known a couple of people who live like this - they teach wilderness survival skills and do an awful lot of the "practice what you preach" thing. Living in tepees/yurts, gardening, raising poultry, etc. And just living out in the woods. Almost without exception, the happiest group of folks I've ever met.

 

[WoodsWoman]

It's a hell of a lot of work. I haven't gone to the extent this fellow did, but country livin' is country livin' and as soon as you are responsible for anything besides yourself that responsibility is exponential.

 

[Charmed Justice]

I do something like this short-term. I love the woods, and have taken some wilderness survival courses. I'd prefer living on a boat on in an RV and roughing it out that way though.