Wanting to disappear into the forest

sams said:
I did allot of solo camping and hunting. Great fun but it does get old. No women and booze. :-)

You can join the service, it will satisfy that desire, if you go in Special Forces. i.e. Marine Force Recon, Army Airborne Ranger, or the Navy SEALS.
Click to expand...

Nope.

Special forces scratches the danger, camraderie and belonging itch. Not the solo pilgrimage itch. They are different, arguably opposite, rites of passage.
 
OP, I'm about a decade and a half older than you. An old soul who also longs for simpler more quiet times. I've been told by my friends that I was born in the wrong time for sure. As most have mentioned, I think it's a normal/common dream to have now a days in a world that demands constant social interaction, stimulation and reliance on technology and other modern inventions. This isn't bad but does get a bit exhausting.

I too started this dream about ten years ago, so a few years older than you now. I wanted nothing to do with people and all the drama and attention they demand. And then I moved to one of the most densely populated areas of Northern California. :/ I got a job in tech, saved money, bought a house on a hill with a bit of land in an unincorporated area. Not really off the grid, but within a hour(s) drive in any direction to the ocean, plenty of redwoods, small & large fishing lakes. There are plenty of people but you have access to all the things that will recharge your batteries. We camp and backpack in various regional and state parks year round and have done so for the past ten years. I fish almost every other weekend as time and other outdoor activities allow. And this provides me with ample "alone" time.

My point with all this is, hold on to your dream but don't get too far ahead of yourself. There is plenty of good/sound advice in this thread's responses. Get a good job and strap down some cash to set yourself up so that you can live your dream in realistic increments. Don't give into delusions of televised survival adventures, remember those guys still have a hotel room and a full crew at the end of the day. Today is different from yesteryear, but life is what you make it. You're quite young and still have plenty of time to work hard and set yourself up responsibly to enjoy many years of outdoor enjoyment and seclusion as needed. :)
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
As someone that has lived in a backwoods part of the Pacific Northwest most of my life, how do you plan to do this without turning poacher? I've seen it happen many times over the years, a young person arrives from the city thinking he can just disappear into our local woods. He either ends up on private timber lands or Federal forest ground and neither want him there. They also usually feel they can go around shooting and fishing for a living by virtue of thinking they are a special throwback to another time. You won't find many of us locals that agree with that. Alaska might work but I guessing there isn't all that much open ground up there these days either.
Click to expand...

This is worth repeating.

Even the seemingly wild places are not a free for all. Most land is spoken for in one form or another and there laws regarding land use. Both private and public... There are fish and game quotas. Breaking the rules on public land will get you fined or jailed. Breaking them on private land, even unknowingly, could land you in some very deep trouble as you are likely messing with an individuals livelihood.
 
I have found that camping alone, fishing alone, and hiking alone gives me about all the "alone" that I need. It does recharge the batteries somewhat. I really enjoy a lot of the modern conveniences such as computers, cell phones, proximity to grocery stores and hospitals/doctors, TV, and so forth.
 
sams said:
You can join the service, it will satisfy that desire, if you go in Special Forces. i.e. Marine Force Recon, Army Airborne Ranger, or the Navy SEALS.
Click to expand...

I don't really buy the "Army of One" marketing campaign; military service seems like the exact opposite of independence and solitude. :confused:

And Special Forces? I'd get tossed out in about four minutes, lol. :o
 
Bob W said:
I don't really buy the "Army of One" marketing campaign; military service seems like the exact opposite of independence and solitude. :confused:

And Special Forces? I'd get tossed out in about four minutes, lol. :o
Click to expand...

Pretty funny. The SOC group is a completely different life. When it is 2 am, , locking out of a submarine to spend a couple of days in the middle of BU-FU Egypt tippy-toe through hostile land, then take your compass reading, & swim out in the middle of the ocean to get picked up again, if you did a good job on compass co-ordinates. :-)

Life changes you,
 
Not feeling like you fit with the times is not a new complaint. Probably goes back farther than Plato, and will likely continue on while we colonize an asteroid in the outer edge of the solar system.
 
I didn't grow up spending much time outdoors, so the "disappear into the woods" bug didn't bite me until my late 20s/early 30s when I was in no position to do anything about it. I have to be content with the occasional hiking or camping trip, at least until I can (maybe) set aside some money for a bit of land for camping, shooting, etc. That will be a long time from now, with a mortgage, baby and career keeping me tied to civilization.

The one thing I've learned is that it doesn't take much to ruin a perfectly good time out in the wilderness, whether due to illness, injury, weather or any number of seemingly minor issues. Frankly, unless I had a location already picked out and knew the resources were present for a long-term stay, it would be tough to achieve the sort of relaxation and "reset" that most people crave from such an experience.
 
You know, I used to think like that a lot. Screw everyone, I'm walking off into the woods. Then I started getting into the woods more. Living off the land is not a viable option anymore. You are accustomed to a certain level of comfort and safety. That level comes with a price tag. You need property, which costs a lot of money. You need food. Sure you can hunt and trap and forage for food but have you ever done that before? That's going to be like 90% of your day. And you won't always be successful in this task. I can go on and on about the logistics of being off the grid. That doesn't even begin to touch on how being alone for long periods of time affects you.

I had a very loner type personality until I met my girlfriend. I still retain a lot of those personality traits, but I will 100% admit being completely alone sucks after a while. My advice is try a short run of say a month or so before you make a serious commitment.
 
sams said:
I did allot of solo camping and hunting. Great fun but it does get old. No women and booze. :-)

You can join the service, it will satisfy that desire, if you go in Special Forces. i.e. Marine Force Recon, Army Airborne Ranger, or the Navy SEALS.
Click to expand...

Jus' so's ya now - Force Recon, Rangers, and SEALS are not Special Forces. Only U.S. Army Special Forces are Special Forces.
 
Last edited:
leghog said:
Jus' so's ya now - Force Recon, Rangers, and SEALS are not Special Forces. Only U.S. Army Special Forces are Special Forces.
Click to expand...

I'd get the fast boot from any of them. The Sarge would say, "Give me 200 sit-ups!"
And I'd snicker and say, "Yeah, right."

So I'll just continue to get my doses of outdoors and wilderness from the many local parks, national forests, and BLM lands. Wandering, bicycling, hiking, exploring... without the Sarge. :D
 
Bob W said:
I don't really buy the "Army of One" marketing campaign; military service seems like the exact opposite of independence and solitude. :confused:

And Special Forces? I'd get tossed out in about four minutes, lol. :o
Click to expand...

O == Officers
N ===NCOs
E ====Enlisted

Doesn't have anything to do with being a loner, or individual. Its about being part of a team, or group with one goal.

Didn't like it either but that's what it meant, that's what they were going for.

I thought the "Be all you can be" was better.
 
As far as living alone in the woods, theres historical material that leads people to believe that the worst punishment that could be given to a person was shunning or forced seclusion.

Getting kicked out of the tribe was a death sentence, a slow starving death. Survival is work, and if you get sick or hurt, you cant work, and if you're alone, you're dead.

Not saying it cant be done, just that its not easy by a long shot.

Good luck, I think everybody thinks of doing it, I did, around 19-20. Wanted to buy a horse and ride to Alaska, do the homestead thing and live off the land. Then I looked at a map, and did the math.

The fact that I couldn't ride a horse kinda helped kill the idea too.

Good luck, go camping, do part of the Appalachian trail, hell do the whole thing, before you move into the woods.
 
Move to Green Bank WV. They have banned cell phones, tablets, other annoyances.
 
Honestly.... I think you need to work on this "alone" thing and socialization in general. Being alone all the time really sucks.
 
22-rimfire said:
Honestly.... I think you need to work on this "alone" thing and socialization in general. Being alone all the time really sucks.
Click to expand...

I agree.

Effort spent on learning to play with others, or finding your particular tribe, will probably do more to increase happiness in the long term than isolation.

For all their faults prosperity and progress lies in collaboration with other people.

There is however nothing wrong with climbing a few mountains and spending a few weeks with the caribou on the way to figuring that out. And you can still venture into the wild places when you feel like it
 
Lots of advice not going to say good or bad cause it don't matter. Everyone is different. Follow your own path. Do what you like. And wear sun screen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top