Primitive Living

[rg598]

North-west coast dwellers in the Americas did very well with fishing and whaling, some eked this out with raiding, piracy and slaving. Believe they had sort of garden plots as well. So obviously one could manage there just as one could crofting up the seabords of Britain and Ireland. Foraging in either UK or Canada could lead to slim pickings until into the Mesolithic routine IF very few people were doing so it would be viable.

Again, I think the example shows large scale communal living and distribution of resources, not one person with a .308 rifle and a fishing rod. They are very different realities. A person alone could do it in certain locations during certain times of year, but I have not seen any examples, historical or current where that has been done in a self sustaining long term manner. Not to mention having to do so without modern hunting and fishing gear. Hunting with the Bow and Arrow by Saxton Pope has a good account of a Native American who was found living alone after his tribe was killed/died out: http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2010/07/hunting-with-bow-and-arrow-by-saxton.html

 

[Corso]

indeed and when such activites arn't even legal in the UK it will be slim pickings

self sufficency is a dream for many of us but I'd imagine that's with modern conveniences like heating, light, produce storage, modern farming methods, medicine,fresh water, sanitation and not to mention toilet paper!

but hey we all have to deal with the drudgery of life so who am I to step on someone elses dreams, most important thing is to have fun, stay safe and not take these things too seriously...

 

[boatman]

I had the impression that the given scenario was post apocalyptic so legality would only be what you made it. Community would help but one could live solitary successfully

 

[Corso]

I had the impression that the given scenario was post apocalyptic so legality would only be what you made it. Community would help but one could live solitary successfully

Nope read OP's first post.

 

[THOaken]

I should mention that this project's time-scale is in the decades. The way some of your responses have been worded suggest to me that you think I'm capable of living on my own out in the wilderness or that you think I'm planning to go out very soon. No, I'm most assuredly not. I'm going to acquire the knowledge and experience to live in the wild over a number of years, and only then would I begin to even think about preperation. Why am I posting a thread about this now, you ask? I want to start as early as possible. I want to gather information from like-minded people, to share my incremental updates with everyone who views my website. The self-sufficient living aspect of this project is the end goal, before which I need to gain years of experience to be able to make sure I'm capable and ready. I need to have more life experience and meet more like-minded people, see more places, etc. That is the project.

 

[Llwyd]

I did it for a year at age 22. It takes a lot out of you.

If I were to do it again I would get 6-10 like minded people and homestead some crown land. There is just too much work to be done every day for a single person to last much beyond a year without constant resupply.

Look me up when you are ready. My retirement plan is to do it the right way the next time and carve out a village instead of a loners camp.

 

[RonW]

Serious reenactors of related eras might be a good place to start learning about the basics, at least for practical things. Learning about flora and fauna and their uses is another keyissue, I think.
And last but not least preparing yourself mentally and physically and that's up to you.

I don't think you'd need decades. If you're serious and motivated I bet you'd be surprised to see what you can learn in about 5 years from now.

 

[THOaken]

Llwyd: There's no surprises there, my friend. But you've got me thinking that, perhaps, I shouldn't go it alone. I actually have friend in Canada who is interested in reconstructing an Iron Age roundhouse. Canadians seem to be up for that sort of thing... And yes, I have to start seriously thinking about solitary versus communal living.

RonW: Wise words. Reenactment is the first major step I'm going to take, I think.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Red Fox]

As a child i found myself happier being with nature in the woods then in the company of other children. Only when i found friendship with like minded children did i have a social life. I spent a lot of time alone in the woods as a child and in that time i felt truly conected with every tree and animal, I felt like i belonged to them and they belonged to me, i loved my childhood but i wish i knew then what i now now. Of cause as a child i made dens and hunted for food but all very primitvly. I could always go home for tins of beans and some buttery toast,sometimes i would try eating things i found in the woods, like bluebell storks that gave me the runs but that was ok as i would get a day of school lol.The things we all take for granted are the things we realy need the most, things like calories and warm beds. I hope to think that a person could not just survive alone but live a good life, bushcraft teaches us to live not to just survive.To live it we must become at one with the natural world absorb how we really are and live not just exiast. We are NOT books on a shelf we are free to be, all thanks to bushcraft.

 

[boatman]

I speak to a Canadian guy from time to time (he's based in Yellowknife now) and he's been a hunter all his life but he's told me you can go out on several trips and find nothing to hunt. For him a Moose will fill his freezer but they ain't that easy to find always...'Wilderness' is an apt description. You come across posts on forums where people go on about having the 'skills to feed my family' after TEOTWAWKI but thats nonsense really, certainly in the UK.

Good luck to the OP though but take lots of food with you because you'll need it.

So sorry, absent-mindedly thinking of this post not that of the OP.

 

[Red Fox]

I did it for a year at age 22. It takes a lot out of you.

If I were to do it again I would get 6-10 like minded people and homestead some crown land. There is just too much work to be done every day for a single person to last much beyond a year without constant resupply.
I agree the only way to do it will be to farm and hunt as a group or become nomadic,but being nomadic in canader i think wont be much good unless you have a plan to trade as well. In England the romany gypsys were nomadic with the seasons fruit picking in summer and farm working and rely on all sorts of jobs and ways to feed themselves. Some famileys lived a good life but some starved to death,I have some romany friends who as children had to go out and hunt with there catapults to have a meal. If they got no pigeons they went hungry and that was in england were the romanys say the countryside is a well stock lardar. In caneda it would be tough to go it alone with out supplies near inpossable. Native canadians indianas would some times starve and i consider them the best bushcrafters but they did not farm much and remember they traded and had safety in numbers. I think we should always look at the way the locals live and learn from them, they know best they live it so copy them. Every primitiv group thruout the ages they were premamly groups and as a group we thrive on this forum. ... I have the upmost respest for you Llwyd dowing a year like that.

 

[Llwyd]

For native people in Canada a single man on his own or even a couple on their own would be a punishment. From my experience 6 would be minimum and 10 would be better. Preferably long term couples. With 10 we could get some beer brewed.

I had a cabin on a lake, a garden, a horse, a rifle, and a dream. Where I failed was underestimating the amount of firewood I actually needed. I fed me and the horse but did not have the time to get wood. With a partner I probably would have lasted longer. Never underestimate the value of a good woman. Chopping a hole in the ice to get water one day made me give my head a shake and come back to reality. Crapping in the cold was no fun either.

My advice is not to go it alone and not to do it on the cheap. Work in the world and build up the bank account before trying. Going totally alone takes a special kind of person. I was never one to be monastic.

Eventually my goal is to find some apprentices who want to live the dream and do it right with a mixture of preindustrial tech and modern off the grid conveniences. I have no further interest in surviving by the skin of my teeth. I want glowing fires and a community mead hall and friends not too busy on facebook to help me haul a moose out of the woods. It is hard to find guys that want to work though when there are so many distractions in life.

 

[THOaken]

For native people in Canada a single man on his own or even a couple on their own would be a punishment. From my experience 6 would be minimum and 10 would be better. Preferably long term couples. With 10 we could get some beer brewed.

I had a cabin on a lake, a garden, a horse, a rifle, and a dream. Where I failed was underestimating the amount of firewood I actually needed. I fed me and the horse but did not have the time to get wood. With a partner I probably would have lasted longer. Never underestimate the value of a good woman. Chopping a hole in the ice to get water one day made me give my head a shake and come back to reality. Crapping in the cold was no fun either.

My advice is not to go it alone and not to do it on the cheap. Work in the world and build up the bank account before trying. Going totally alone takes a special kind of person. I was never one to be monastic.

Eventually my goal is to find some apprentices who want to live the dream and do it right with a mixture of preindustrial tech and modern off the grid conveniences. I have no further interest in surviving by the skin of my teeth. I want glowing fires and a community mead hall and friends not too busy on facebook to help me haul a moose out of the woods. It is hard to find guys that want to work though when there are so many distractions in life.

Llwyd, you've given me some interesting things to think about.

I really like the style in which you write and I think you have a story to tell. What do you say about writing a small article for my website, friend? You'd, of course, be credited fully.

Message me if you're interested.

Thanks.

 

[RonW]

For native people in Canada a single man on his own or even a couple on their own would be a punishment. From my experience 6 would be minimum and 10 would be better. Preferably long term couples. With 10 we could get some beer brewed.

I had a cabin on a lake, a garden, a horse, a rifle, and a dream. Where I failed was underestimating the amount of firewood I actually needed. I fed me and the horse but did not have the time to get wood. With a partner I probably would have lasted longer. Never underestimate the value of a good woman. Chopping a hole in the ice to get water one day made me give my head a shake and come back to reality. Crapping in the cold was no fun either.

My advice is not to go it alone and not to do it on the cheap. Work in the world and build up the bank account before trying. Going totally alone takes a special kind of person. I was never one to be monastic.

Eventually my goal is to find some apprentices who want to live the dream and do it right with a mixture of preindustrial tech and modern off the grid conveniences. I have no further interest in surviving by the skin of my teeth. I want glowing fires and a community mead hall and friends not too busy on facebook to help me haul a moose out of the woods. It is hard to find guys that want to work though when there are so many distractions in life.

Too bad you live on the other side of the pond. I'd love to do this.

 

[Llwyd]

I have British guests for canoeing trips all the time. The pond is not the obstacle it once was. It is a bit more of a commitment to do a six month trip than a two week trip though.

I can probably bang out an article for you Mr. THOaken

 

[THOaken]

I have British guests for canoeing trips all the time. The pond is not the obstacle it once was. It is a bit more of a commitment to do a six month trip than a two week trip though.

I can probably bang out an article for you Mr. THOaken

That's great, Llwyd. You can just speak about your experience and what you'd change if you did it again. You've covered some of that, but I think it'd be really helpful for me and my other readers to know.

Message me the final draft.

I'll put any blog, website or feed you want on my website and credit you fully.

 

[RonW]

I have British guests for canoeing trips all the time. The pond is not the obstacle it once was. It is a bit more of a commitment to do a six month trip than a two week trip though.

I'm not British, but Dutch and live in Sweden. Leaving behind my family for 6 months is not an option.

@THOaken; why not pay the Dutch bushcraftforum a visit. There's a couple there that I know and who do a lot of stoneageliving and reenacting. I'm quit sure they'd be more than willing to help you out. Look for Roel and/or Anneke here; http://forum.bushcraftnederland.nl/

 

[THOaken]

I've completed the first draft of my plan/guideline.

http://www.oakenwise.com/primitive-living/oakenwise-primitive-living-project-plan/

I hope you find it an interesting read. I'm looking for as much insight as possible, so please feel free to tell me how I can improve this plan.

Thanks, everyone.

EDIT: 31st March - Made some updates to the guideline.

 

[binglebug]

You should take a look at a site Twin Oaks Community, these guys have got it right.

 

[rg598]

I should mention that this project's time-scale is in the decades. The way some of your responses have been worded suggest to me that you think I'm capable of living on my own out in the wilderness or that you think I'm planning to go out very soon. No, I'm most assuredly not. I'm going to acquire the knowledge and experience to live in the wild over a number of years, and only then would I begin to even think about preperation. Why am I posting a thread about this now, you ask? I want to start as early as possible. I want to gather information from like-minded people, to share my incremental updates with everyone who views my website. The self-sufficient living aspect of this project is the end goal, before which I need to gain years of experience to be able to make sure I'm capable and ready. I need to have more life experience and meet more like-minded people, see more places, etc. That is the project.

I think there is a misconception these days that all that is required to live in the wilderness is having the right knowledge. While knowledge is indeed needed, it is not sufficient. There are a lot of environmental and other factors that will kill even the most knowledgeable woodsman. Since we are talking about a realistic scenario, and not a post apocalyptic one, compliance with laws and regulations will be the largest problem, and it is one that can not be circumvented with knowledge. For example, right now in my state the only animals that can be hunter are porcupine, woodchuck and red squirrel. It has been a long time since I've seen one in the woods. Spring Turkey season opens in May, but lasts only a month. Deer season opens in October and lasts for a month and a half. Depending on the exact area where you are hunting, you may be allowed to use a rifle (for deer) or you may be required to use a shotgun. We also have a three week bear hunting season in November. If you do not manage to secure large quantities of food during those periods and store them for the rest of the year, it becomes very difficult. You have to kill a lot of red squirrel to stay alive.

And the big issue is that you may in fact get lucky one year and take two deer and a turkey, store the meat properly, and have food until the next hunting season. However, the following year you may get nothing. Talk to any hunter, getting a kill is no guarantee. Then what? Living alone in the wilderness without a safety net is a huge gamble. Skills help, but a lot of it comes down to luck.

On top of that, we tend to focus on the wrong skills. I don't know a single person who lives in a rural or wilderness environment in the US who starts friction fires, or even knows how to do so. It is a lighter and gasoline from the ATV that gets the job done. There is little room for purity of skill and tradition when feeding yourself depends on what you kill in the next two weeks.

We often look at half told stories and imagine that we can do those same things. Take Dick Proenneke as an example. Most of us think of him as someone who just went into the woods and started living there. That couldn't be further from the truth. He spent years carrying his gear up to the location of his cabin and making preparations. He had savings that he used, he lived in a friend's cabin while building his over the course of two years, and his brother continued to supply him by airplane for the whole duration of his stay. His experience is no less amazing, and he was as skilled as any woodsman I've seen, but he took a realistic approach to the situation.