Living in a tent in Alaska!

[survivalpro]

Here is an interesting Blog by a couple living in Alaska in a tent:

http://www.jenninewardle.com/search/label/wall%20tent

A couple things I would point out before anyone considers doing this. The tent they are using cost as much as my entire cabin to build. tents are only temporary living and without additional insulation like they used would not be suitable for winter living.

They are storing batteries inside the tent with them that is not smart as batteries leak/offgas acid and explosive gasses that can kill people.

They are storing gas chainsaws and fuel oil in side the tent with a woodstove and are asking for trouble.

There electrical system is to complicated and a 12 volt system does not require a grid fuse box like they have used.

They are using a wood stove for primary heat and propane would have run many more appliances with a wood stove backup would have been a better choice.

They do not mention any bath or composting toilet in their tent and I appears they are using neighbors facilities for that purpose. A composting toilet and solar or propane shower would have been better.

Its a good article well worth reading but also shows a lot of mistakes people make when they decide to go off grid without an understanding of some basic survival principles.

Here are a few videos of my solar cabin for ideas:

http://www.youtube.com/user/solarcabin#p/c/34F7ECFEEB05659B

[Cabin Fever]

That tent is way more "high tech" than the 20ft teepee that some friends of ours lived in for two years in Northern Minnesota.

[wyld thang]

And I bet that teepee was more comfy too. That is a huge tent! i would go crazy in there, all that stuff! Then sleeping next to bear attractant, wondering what night a bear will come unzip my tent for goodies. Then sleeping next to the litter box...

How many aplliances are they running? Are they in a canvas tent?

Ugh, the inside pix of that make me crazy already--and I LOVE using a tent, and would live in one myself(moreso a teepee), just not with all that crap(and who is running their chainsaw in the cold of winter??? a little behind on the wood gettin WORK?)

I have a bunch of Bradford Angier's books about living up in Canada, I know he was a bit pollyanna, but I love his descriptions of his cabin and the "good attitude" of his wife who kinda got thrown into it

Thanks for the interesting link tho, I'll look back at their other posts. Wow...I collect books about people's experience living in the bush, and it's always amazing how simple and (kinda, you know what I mean) uncluttered their stuff is--since they have to pack it all in. I bet I could get rid of at least half their stuff and be happy and comfortable(no appliances, no toilet(just a dedicated pot), no bed frame--yes I'd be sleeping on the floor cuz I LIKE It cold. Nice how they make the dog and cat sleep on the floor...

The canned stuff...if keeping it warm is the issue so it won't burst, and keeping it safe is not an issue(since they have a shed or are unconcerend about storing it in a tent), why not open the cans and dump stuff into plastic bags and let it freeze? Ha, gotta keep those PAPER TOWELS and cleaners in the tent nice n toasty too...

(ps, I knwo bear s hibernate , just thinking of year round pantry issues)

[wyld thang]

PS, SP, did you post on their blog that it's not good to store chainsaws, batteries etc in the living space?

[wyld thang]

okay, been reading...for firewood they are going out on their 80 acres and cutting down dead trees, dragging them back to the tent and cutting them up "as needed". One of them will go out and cut/fall alone while the other goes to town. They hope that running out of firewood doesn't coincide with the weather making it too cold for the chainsaw to run (GO HUSKY)...and for that they depend on their weather station appliance which runs on batteries/generator/gas...and gives wrong information half the time.

Lots of complaining about bulky gloves vs clumsy chainsaw use...there *is* a reason you cut in the summer/not so cold(and one of them would be you dont' blow up your dear chainsaw)

[salmonslayer]

Okay, just some thoughts:

1. First of all there would be no bear problems that time of year.

2.There is no propane delivery or availability in Manley Hot Springs, they would have to go get it from Fairbanks which is about 170 miles over a very remote highway and it would be expensive. Electricity in remote villages runs about $ 0.50 - 0.65 a KWH.

3. You have to keep the batteries warm so I dont know how they would do that without keeping them in their warmed space. When I lived on my sail boat for a winter up here I had to keep my batteries in the cabin..its just the way it is in extreme cold. Same thing with the gas, oils and chainsaw and generator (when not running). You cant keep them in a non-heated space or the fuel jells and the engines wont start. They would even have to keep their truck battery in the tent since they cant plug in.

4. A small shack without adequate insulation would be worse than the tent.

5. They have a composting toilet and bath with hot water produced by the water jacket on their stove.

Manley Hot Springs is very isolated and remote and winters in the interior are grim...I would not want to do what they are doing.

[PhilJohnson]

I almost became those people's neighbors about a year and a half ago. I put down a deposit on 20 acres in the same "subdivision" they bought their 80 acres. I wound up backing out for various reasons. I often wondered what became of the other people I knew of that bought land there.

Now as far as keeping batteries inside, even in tropical Wisconsin one can run the risk of freezing a battery. My first winter off-grid I froze a battery in an unheated backroom. I wound up keeping them warm, never had a problem with off-gassing. I have heard people making venting to the outside so they can still keep the batteries inside the house. I also keep my chainsaw in the house so it starts easy.

Manly Springs is really out there and their 80 acre parcel is off the main road a ways. There is no real road going to it. There is also no electrical access either. They might be chopping their wood in the winter because one can move a lot more wood on a sled on snow that is at least somewhat even over hauling it with a wagon over rough terrain that may be really swampy.

Going off-grid up there in the Alaskan Bush can not compare to anything down in here in the lower 48. I would have loved to have done it but my friend's health had been declining and I didn't think I had enough money to be able to make it up there by myself. I definitely would have the internet up there and a good assortment of books and movies. I would not be living in a tent though. Call me a wimp but I would rather think that there is something more than some fabric between me and a grizzly.

[ronbre]

dum dum de dum

[VERN in IL]

You call that a tent?... that's more like a 'hut'. North Face makes some nice 4 season tents, but they are pricey.

[lonelytree]

Originally Posted by survivalpro

Here is an interesting Blog by a couple living in Alaska in a tent:

http://www.jenninewardle.com/search/label/wall%20tent

A couple things I would point out before anyone considers doing this. The tent they are using cost as much as my entire cabin to build. tents are only temporary living and without additional insulation like they used would not be suitable for winter living.

They are storing batteries inside the tent with them that is not smart as batteries leak/offgas acid and explosive gasses that can kill people.

They are storing gas chainsaws and fuel oil in side the tent with a woodstove and are asking for trouble.

There electrical system is to complicated and a 12 volt system does not require a grid fuse box like they have used.

They are using a wood stove for primary heat and propane would have run many more appliances with a wood stove backup would have been a better choice.

They do not mention any bath or composting toilet in their tent and I appears they are using neighbors facilities for that purpose. A composting toilet and solar or propane shower would have been better.

Its a good article well worth reading but also shows a lot of mistakes people make when they decide to go off grid without an understanding of some basic survival principles.

Here are a few videos of my solar cabin for ideas:

http://www.youtube.com/user/solarcab...F7ECFEEB05659B

It appears that this is a temporary shelter until they build a cabin. You might be surprised at some of the things that people do up here to get settled. Building "your cabin" in Eureka, AK might be a lot more expensive than you think. My buddies mom lives in a tent near Glennallen and has for several years.

[wyld thang]

Originally Posted by PhilJohnson

They might be chopping their wood in the winter because one can move a lot more wood on a sled on snow that is at least somewhat even over hauling it with a wagon over rough terrain that may be really swampy.

.

they did mention in some summer posts about tramping their land trying to find a suitable place to sink pillars for their house--most of it is indeed soupy stuff in the summer. But they want to clear the land(without murdering any more innocent trees than they have to) for pastures and barns, gardens etc for livestock--the whole homestead spread.

[Bonnie L]

Originally Posted by wyld thang

I have a bunch of Bradford Angier's books about living up in Canada, I know he was a bit pollyanna, but I love his descriptions of his cabin and the "good attitude" of his wife who kinda got thrown into it

Me too! I've read a lot of his & Vena's books.

I collect books about people's experience living in the bush

Me too again! Just recently I was thinking about a book I'd read about 2 women - mother & daughter, I think - who lived in Alaska (or possibly the Yukon?) They packed in everything, built their own cabin, & collected coal from the river to burn in their stove. Quite a story! Wish I could remember the title.

[Bonnie L]

I like their kitchen "cabinet" on wheels. I have one of those that is being used as a junk bunker at the moment. I think it's going to be repurposed!

[texican]

I wish em luck. And lots of income.

I wouldn't worry about the chainsaws or batteries exploding... it's too cold to explode.

I spent two winter months in a quonset in Alaska (denali np), uninsulated. Before my contract was over, I vividly remember my beard freezing solid, while I was reading one night... had taken a bath an hour earlier and just 'thought' I'd dried my zztop styled beard out... not!

One of my biggest pet peeves with "homesteaders" in Alaska was.... people want to move out to the wilderness, because they love the wilderness, and before they've slept a good nights sleep, they're immediately changing (destroying) the wilderness and turning it into what they were trying to escape (civilization).... And, that lifestyle (homesteading like most of us practice...) is not really as viable as people think... but they don't figure this out, till they've put their mark on the land.

[ChristieAcres]

DH & I have discussed living in Alaska part of the time. Hands down, DH would build a log home. Always the 1st Q- YES, he has built one before, a beautiful 3-story rustic log home that is still in Sultan, WA (logged the timber, peeled the logs, and built his own boom crane on his old Dodge 1ton). He built that over 20 years ago. Our take? We'd build a 1.5 story log home, clear only what we would absolutely need to. Since we wouldn't live there year-around, probably wouldn't need more than an acre cleared. He would like to be able to spend time fishing and vacationing there each year. It is a thought... I don't think I'd like living there all year around. Forget a tent or anything flimsy...you mention grizzly, and I am thinking how big of a gun will I need to have by my bed at night and on me at all times?!

[lonelytree]

Alaska doesn't call bears grizzley, they are brown bears or Kodiak bears. Do you really believe that a cabin will keep a bear out much longer than a tent IF a bear really wants in?

Those people really picked a tough area to homestead on. Bears are the least of their worries.

[arcticow]

My spot will be vacant soon, just don't everybody run over mer tryin' to get into it!!!LOL

[ChristieAcres]

Alaska doesn't call bears grizzley, they are brown bears or Kodiak bears. Do you really believe that a cabin will keep a bear out much longer than a tent IF a bear really wants in?

Those people really picked a tough area to homestead on. Bears are the least of their worries.

"Alaskans" probably know that someone from the PNW would probably call them Grizzlies. Of course, me being from the PNW... just don't know better...

You never met my DH, who used LARGE diameter logs to build that 3-story log home. The construction required a lot of rebar, and the door he built himself. If we moved to Alaska, there is NO Kodiac that could get into a log home he built (joining method). If the Kodiac could? I wouldn't live there Off topic completely, but that "so-called cabin" DH built? Appraised for $750,000. It will be there for a few hundred years, due the way he constructed it. It was an interesting story how that came about. He and two of his friends, all working at the local sawmill as machinists/welders, except for DH, who was the Millwright, all went to a log-house building class taught by Skip Ellsworth. Then, all three men built log homes, one using DH's 1 ton Dodge truck outfitted with that tall log boom to finish his own 3-story home. One of the 3 built a 2-story. All homes built the same way (butt & pin method DH called it, but may be spelled differently). The doors they put on their homes had incredibly heavy duty steel hinges and weighed 250#s+. The guys BUILT them. Last time we were in Sultan, DH brought me to all three houses, so I could see them. Yep, made me want one:lock1:

You said it, those people really did choose their challenges If we get some land in Alaska, it will be for the summer vacationing/fishing, not for living year-around, and wouldn't be nearly so far out (that defeats the purpose of owning it, to enjoy it...). The cabin would be built like a fortress, naturally, and the windows would have STEEL BARS. Nope, DH said no Kodiak could get in a home he would build, but why live in anything they CAN get in? We are both type A's, different categories, LOL, but neither of us would be crazy enough to do anything like that. Oh, also familiar with the challenges as we know people who live in Alaska There is a lot that is appealing, but there are reasons I wouldn't want to settle there permanently. Until then, we can visit