Roughing It: FOR REAL

J

JD Spydo

Joined
Nov 20, 2004
Messages
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Well I just got some news today that I won't be getting a job that I thought I was going to get. One I desperately needed I might add :( So now I'm going to have to move from my present residence by the 3rd Week in March. The only place I can go at this time is to a friend's hunting cabin with no electricity or running water. The only real luxury it has is a great wood burning stove. But hey I'm darn thankful to have that to go to :)

All of the great info I've learned here on the Survival subforum here on BF and all the stuff I've learned from all the survival/woodsman type magazines and internet sites I've learned will be put to the ultimate test. But to tell you all the truth I'm really kind of looking forward to it in a way. I'll miss the internet for a brief time I obviously won't have access to it but if I can get any kind of job down in the country I know I'll at least make enough money to get that turned on.

I've got my water filter/purifier, Coleman stove & lanterns, Flourescent light lanterns, and many other great pieces of hardware. And it goes without saying that I've got a ton of cutlery, axes, machetes and other edged tools and a good supply of hunting/fishing equipment to see me through this. I truly think I've got a good head start on this upcoming challenge; but what the heck if there is any common sense wisdom you guys/gals can share with me I'll be 100% appreciative of it.

This will indeed be putting my aquired knowledge to use first hand :) So if there is anything you brothers/sisters can advise me on I'm all ears. ;)
 
roughing it?

hell no that sounds like Nirvana! I would do anything to get out of this stinking city and into a cabin
 
Be sure to take a hand crank radio, communication device and books.

I don't know your area too well, so I can't offer much more advice than that.
 
I'd suggest gathering a bunch of information to disk. Whilst you have no electricity where you are going you may still have computer access somewhere. Tools like these make it easy to download sites to disk. Could be informational sources or just something comfortable and familiar. If you want to go further you might consider an NX Live disk too - portable OS you can use to exploit access resources wherever. That kind of thing.
 
Skimo said:
Be sure to take a hand crank radio, communication device and books.

I don't know your area too well, so I can't offer much more advice than that.
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That's very good advice

Look at it as a time you will have to do a lot of READING and come out of the experience with MORE knowledge and wisdom.
 
Good luck JD. I hope that things work out well for you in the long run and you can look back at these time with fond memories.

-Paul
 
Skimo said:
Be sure to take a hand crank radio, communication device and books.

I don't know your area too well, so I can't offer much more advice than that.
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Good Advice!! Skimo I do have a really powerful model Grundig Shortwave Radio with all the other bands on it. It will run at least 3 to 4 weeks on the 8 D Cell batteries that you can run it on. I've been considering one of those hand crank shortwave radios but I'll need to do some research because I would want to get a good one.

I'll be smack in the middle of the Missouri Ozarks. I'll have lakes, streams and a lot of timber in my midst so it won't be hard for me to come up with some food when I need it. I'll be just 2 & 1/2 miles from the nearest town. They have 2 truck stops where I'm hoping to land some kind of job. There is a nice restuarant and great small town grocer in town as well. I already found out that they have PO boxes available at their Post Office.
 
WILLIAM.M said:
That's very good advice

Look at it as a time you will have to do a lot of READING and come out of the experience with MORE knowledge and wisdom.
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That's really cool that you would mention the time to catch up on READING William :D Because I have the past 10 years of issues of the following magazines. Blade, Knives Illustrated, Tactical Knives, Wilderness Way, Backwoodsman and quite a few issues of Mother Earth News, Back Home & Back Woods Home. Not to mention a pretty sizable library of great books I've accumulated. I have all that stuff in Sterilite plastic tote moving/storage boxes and I do plan on taking a lot of them with me ;)

For a long time I've been wanting to catch up on my reading :D It's hard for me to read with great websites like BF, Spyderco.com Forum and a few other Forums I belong to :o

Not to mention all of the quality Knife, Axe, & Machete Sharpening time I'll have ;)
 
you might pick up one of the small solar shingles from Harbor freight or Northern Tool - great for trickle charging small electronics, like laptop or cell phone. Can also be used to top up your shortwave if you have nicads for it.
Eton makes a decent hand crank radio, and if you order one from a place with good customer service, when the plastic gears in the crank break, they'll replace it. (at least, that was my experience with Duluth Trading)
 
JD Spydo said:
That's really cool that you would mention the time to catch up on READING William :D Because I have the past 10 years of issues of the following magazines. Blade, Knives Illustrated, Tactical Knives, Wilderness Way, Backwoodsman and quite a few issues of Mother Earth News, Back Home & Back Woods Home. Not to mention a pretty sizable library of great books I've accumulated. I have all that stuff in Sterilite plastic tote moving/storage boxes and I do plan on taking a lot of them with me ;)

For a long time I've been wanting to catch up on my reading :D It's hard for me to read with great websites like BF, Spyderco.com Forum and a few other Forums I belong to :o

Not to mention all of the quality Knife, Axe, & Machete Sharpening time I'll have ;)
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That's a GREAT attitude to have going into this

Please keep a posted and KEEP A JOURNAL as well.

Starting from day one(or before you even get there)
 
I assume that you dont have kids..I dont see this as a bad thing, dont use this time to sit and feel sorry for your self. If I could go back and do it all over...I would have taken some time when I was young and single to "rough" it. Anyways, I have friends down your way that live that way all the time...although they have solar panels.
 
Good luck with your new adventure. I've lived in a cabin in the mountains before like you describe and know that it can be a fun learning experience. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help and please write us when ever you can.
 
+1 on the journal. Sounds like you're in the right frame of mind already. Enjoy the adventure! Internet cafe's for updates please.
 
You lucky bastard!!! Enjoy yourself out there! In all seriousness, I am sorry about the job. But I am also jealous. Cities stinkin' suck. Have fun getting back to nature and be safe. -DT
 
So JD, look at this way; you're going to be doing for free what some people pay big money to go do!:D

A snug cabin, quiet secluded surroundings, all priceless to some people.
 
I certainly wish you the best. I hope your employment changes quickly and your needs are met. Stay in touch as best you can. If you have a vehicle, you might consider a power converter to take the 12v and turn it into 110v. That would also help with recharging items as long as you had fuel to keep the motor running. Post on Craigslist before you have to be out that you are looking for a free bike if you do not have one already and see if you can score one.
 
I would take a hand held cb, incase no cell phone coverage. You never know what could happen, and its good to have a way to communicate should something come up.
Sorry to here about the job, but i believe everything happens for a reason. So hopefully something good comes out of all this.
Good luck, take care. If your able to, i think it would be neat if you could post a pic of the cabin for us city folk.
 
dttomcat said:
You lucky bastard!!! Enjoy yourself out there! In all seriousness, I am sorry about the job. But I am also jealous. Cities stinkin' suck. Have fun getting back to nature and be safe. -DT
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Hey Brother I can really relate to what you're saying in between the lines ;) Because to tell you the truth I am getting damned tired of trying to play a game that hardly no one can win :( All of this keeping up with the Joneses and funding a 401K that's just going to end up getting looted anyway is no longer my idea of why GOD put me here in the first place :(

And No I don't feel sorry for myself because I am a single guy with very few obligations and I'm in a whole lot better situation than most people I know that have jobs and houses and such. It seems like most people I know are on Prozac or something like it :eek:

The extremely corrupt tax system and political system in this country just keeps you on a treadmill with very little hope of ever getting off of it :(

I'm so thankful for all I have and I know that something good will come of this. I'm truly looking forward to eating food that doesn't have bar codes on it :rolleyes: And If I do land some kind of a job down there in the country it won't take too much to get the electricity turned on. In a way I think it's going to be great to divorce myself from sattellite TV for a while anyway ;)
 
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