you may be interested

[country boy]

Having a nose on the web and found this quite interesting http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2123849/wilderness_squatters_drop_out_of_society.html the pioneer spirit lives on

 

[adestu]

great read,i feel like doing that.

 

[country boy]

The way things are at the moment better off out of it than where i am, (sorry a bit of a rant time). Its good to know things like this can still be done good on them i say

 

[Bushcraftsman]

wow that is quite inspiring, makes me think if I could ever bring myself to just drop all my modern comforts and do something like that, I lived outside for 2 weeks in the summer and thought that was difficult, I can't imagine doing it for 4 years!

 

[TylerD]

A great read and, as already said, very inspiring

 

[DaveBromley]

Wicked idea, tough to do in this country though we are never more that a stones throw away from someone else lol

Shows also how massive a difference having just one person with you can make, instead of doing it alone like Ed Wardle?

Dave

 

[country boy]

I would love to give it a try but i think the boss would just wave me off at the door

 

[luckylee]

That was a great read, and thank you.

 

[British Red]

Hmmm. Nice idea, but, without wanting to sound cynical, there are a whoile raft of things in that story that don't add up to me.

 

[country boy]

British Red I agree some things are a bit hart to belive the no soap then the bear turns up so a supply of fat lets make soap but it was the idea behind the story that got me to think such things could still be possable

 

[treelore]

fantastic read, great that things like that can still be done !

 

[Karl82]

great read well done to them.

 

[Bushcraftsman]

what else do you think doesn't add up Red?

 

[country boy]

hi Red the fact they were never spotted with modern day satalite etc a cabin +greenhouse not a small footprint even under cover

 

[British Red]

what else do you think doesn't add up Red?

Well now, they reckon it was a three day trip to the site laden and two days unladen, so lets call it a five day round trip. They say it took "over a week" to carry there supplies in. Well now, given it wasn't "over a fortnight", thats no more than three trips in (9 days) and two return trips (4 days) for a thirteen day total. In three trips, this couple carried in a supply of dried food sufficient to get a crop in. Now a really basic man year of food of the type listed (rice, beans, pulses) weighs in at over 250kg. If it took them six months to get a crop in, they must have carried in 250kg of food alone. Add to that

seeds for planting, lighters, utensils and tools for building, gardening, repairing, cooking, sewing supplies, fabric, plastic sheeting and tarps, lots of rope, extra shoes, boots, clothing, blankets, first-aid kit, coats, hunting rifle with extra ammunition, fishing net and pole, toiletries, cookware, dinnerware, oil, salt, spices, paper pencils, and the communications and radio equipment my family gave us, plus the solar powered battery charger.

I can't figure that to less than a 400kg total.

So these people were packing in 120+ lb packs over mountain passes. Repeatedly. Including the tools to build a multi room house, greenhouse, lined cellars etc. They did all this without re-supply. This means they must have been preserving food, without the needed amounts of salt, vinegar, pressure canning or the benefit of refrigerationon
They were then entirely self sufficient in all foodstuffs for over three years (no jars remember, no freezer, nothing).

I assume they must have had a pH meter to measure the alkalinity of the lye they created from hardwood ash to saponify the bear fat...now for soap molds they musts have.... oh come on!

Doesn't make any kind of sense to me. Even "real" pioneers needed a wagon load of kit. A little research on the "ton of goods" needed shows even that was for a limited time.

Red

 

[Bushcraftsman]

Wow, never thought about it that intently...do you think it's all completely made up? or just some parts exaggerated/small white lies here and there?

 

[British Red]

No idea. I simply don't believe though that a couple can plan such a trip for a year, with no previous experience and then live for four years, with no re-supply at all using only what they could carry on their backs in three trips on foot. Call me cynical, but these aren't people with twenty years experience of expeditions and wild food gathering etc., nor did they have a couple of years supply of food - which would have weighed in at over a ton for the blandest of diets.

 

[bb07]

Hmmm. Nice idea, but, without wanting to sound cynical, there are a whoile raft of things in that story that don't add up to me.

My thoughts exactly.There's definitely something not quite right with the whole story.
It's a lot harder than most people would think to just disappear.No matter how remote the area is,there's always locals that know when someone new is about.Rumours,being sighted,leaving a track-these things alert locals.
It's actually much easier to hide out or remain 100% anonymous in a city.You can hide out in the bush with little chance of anyone finding you or knowing about you,but only if you're always on the move,leaving little trace.A permanent type camp doesn't stay hidden for long.
And as Red said,you'd need a LOT to live for an extended time.