[pioneers]

Does any one have any info or homesteaded in Alaska or any other wild place we are thinking of moving from Nothern Maine to Alaska OR BC. Is there still wild places left were you can be far from any one. We have lived in a small cabin with no electricity and heated with wood through Maine winter and grow our food. We are just looking to disappear into to the woods on the cheap, mabye squating or finding a deserated trappers cabin. Any thoughts, area or past wild homesteading experiances would be appreciated.

 

[joeyfarm]

I am familiar with BC and you have to go pretty far north to find something as remote as what you are talking about. If you travel the west coast to the northwestern regions the towns get smaller and smaller and you can find some more wilderness. However a great deal of BC is held by the province in the form of provincial parks, which makes it pretty much illegal to live there for long periods of time. And unless you only plan to stay there 6 months, you can get into trouble for being an American living in Canada (I know cause I'm an American moving to Canada). But if you are determined on Canada I would recommend the Yukon. No one will ever find you there, even if you wanted them to. There are lots of websites about both of these places. I think the easier choice is Alaska...it's legal for you to be there, and I think that they are a lot less sticky about parks and there are also a great deal of First Nations areas in Canada which have their own rules as well. Anyway I hope that helps.

 

[Alex]

From other posts,

I don't think you can go wrong moving to Canada.

He are a few images of our place about 3 hours north and east of Prince George, BC, near Mobbely Lake, BC, we love it. The Homesteading part is not your question, but the answer to another poster, kind of brings things up-to-date,

How To Homestead
Lease some land from the Canadian Government, for no cost per acre, then get all the trees cut down on 64 of the 160 acre "Quarter" [Section] - the minimum building "lot" size, then pile and burn the excess trees, remove all the stumps or cut off and then "break" or first time plow that land. Then root pick it, disc it three or four times, harrow it, then pick again, then seed to crop, harvest, then pick again, the following year then seed to crop plus hay.

At the same time, build a log cabin, outhouse, water system or well, prepare and plant a garden and can it, get some hives operating, and raise a faimly, chop 20 cords of fire wood the first year. And have a supply of money available or "work-out" at first. Make everything, use everything, fix everything, understand everything about how things work, think and do for yourself (and neighbour if available).

After about 40% of the land is "proved-up" then you get Title for it, you buy it for $8 per acre from the Government.

Do all of that more or less on-your-own, except for family help, and help of God and Saints and Sages of all time.

Then, that is Homesteading. And that can be done today, by almost anyone with good health and a strong will - if that is God's will too.

As far as "Homesteading"-"Today" goes, I think that those words have some other meaning.

Alex

Neighbour's Cat With Piler

Neighbour's Tractor and Disc

Picking Roots On New Land

Blue, Cabin, and Stars, First Year, Moberly Lake, BC, Canada

The second part,

OZ

Thanks.

I don't know about the "lease-prove-up-purchase" from the Govenment.

However, three years ago, we bought the new Quarter for $34,000 (about $22,000 USD at the time), it had been logged, with the "islands" of Pine, Spruce, Birch, Diamond-Back Willow, and Poplar still standing that are visible in the images above. Fences on all four sides. We have about 120 acres that we are/can "prove-up" for ourselves, and about 40 wooded that we will never change (see above images - that's what we are doing now).

The $34,000/22,000 that we paid is about equal to todays cost for clearing and fence for 160 acres.

The rest, stump removal or cut-off of stumps, piling, burning, breaking, disc, roots, planting, etc is the same as if leased/proved-up/purchased.

The answer is YES you can, (sort of) Homestead Today (OK its not really Homesteading - but close enf, right, I give up).

Three years ago, we moved our cabin to this Quarter, and started our "Homestead" process over again, after thirty years, life is good.

Alex

You may notice that we now have chosen "power" or gird. Maybe we will change. We did before, and know how to live without power, and we want to use it now, we don't have to use it and if it fails that's OK. However, it works for us. Enjoy.

Yes Enjoy Canada, were ever you land, best of luck.

Alex

 

[Anataq]

My wife and I are doing more or less what you have in mind. To answer your question, Yes there are wild places left in Alaska where you can just disapear into the wilderness. Feel free to ask me any questions.

www.pawcreekhomestead.com

Anataq

 

[Cosmoline]

Does any one have any info or homesteaded in Alaska or any other wild place we are thinking of moving from Nothern Maine to Alaska OR BC. Is there still wild places left were you can be far from any one. We have lived in a small cabin with no electricity and heated with wood through Maine winter and grow our food. We are just looking to disappear into to the woods on the cheap, mabye squating or finding a deserated trappers cabin. Any thoughts, area or past wild homesteading experiances would be appreciated.

I am homesteading in Willow, AK right now. I'm off grid but not off road, so by local standards I've got it easy. The real hard core folks leave the road system entirely and go into the bush.

You can indeed find remote parcels here for reasonable prices, but of course the more remote the more $$$ it costs to bring materials out. Even if you go the "easy" route like I've taken it's still very rough. Alaska is unforgiving, and you're closer to the "edge" here than in the Lower 48. Read "Into the Wild" for one example--where a fellow tried to live out of his old bus and starved to death.

It's not so easy if you don't have your own land. Squatting will get you either arrested if you're lucky or shot dead if you're not. It's not the way to go.

But yes, the answer is you CAN still vanish up here. It's just that "vanishing" may involve dying and being eaten by wild animals. But hey, I'm not complaining ;-) You get used to it.

 

[seraphima]

We live on Kodiak and partially homestead, but also work. There are remote island areas you can buy, often on the water and/or a salmon stream, but there is no real way to live here without some cash coming in, from fishing, or other work like weir watching for DEC in summer. I know a number of people who are pretty much self-sufficient, but you can't grow all your food here, although the fishing sure is a big part of a subsistence life style. Even in this southerly part of Alaska, we are so far north as to strongly affect what and where you can grow, if at all.

You might find this state site on staking remote homesites useful; it includes land currently available. Note that you end up having to BUY it. TANSTAAFL!

http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/landsale/remote_recsites.htm

 

[pioneers]

thanks a pile for the great info and the pics, what areas in alaska should we look? We are looking for remote, we would like to grow some of our food but will look to some good hunting and fishing and traping.

 

[Freeholder]

If you are interested in Alaska, the very best thing you can do is visit. Go on vacation and check things out. Look for a job, in town or wherever you can find one, and rent for a year or two before you even think of moving to the bush. I see you are living in Maine -- your experiences there (weather and so forth) will stand you in good stead in Alaska, but believe me, it's a whole different world up there. I've done it from the other direction (Alaska to New Hampshire), and it's a really hard adjustment to make. Do yourselves a favor and ease in, don't jump in over your heads. People who do that in Alaska frequently find themselves in difficult if not life-threatening situations. Even people who have lived in the bush all their lives can get into trouble -- a couple of my cousins were almost trapped by a forest fire on the way to one of their hunting cabins this summer. My nephew lost his spleen to a snowmobile accident a few years ago. A little boy we knew when we lived up there was severely burned when he drove a three-wheeler into a bonfire (he didn't know how to stop it). A couple of friends of the family have died in bush-plane accidents. The wife of one of my cousins accidentally locked herself out of the house in sub-zero weather one day when she'd just stepped out for an armload of firewood, and had to break a window to reach the phone to call for help (she's had a stroke and couldn't walk far). You hear about people freezing to death, or dying in house fires, or . . . you get the idea. I know people have bad things happen in town, too, but there, you just call 911 and get help. If you are out in the bush, help may be a neighbor miles away. So proceed with caution -- don't give up your dreams, but temper them with patience and experience.

Kathleen in Oregon

 

[Chuck]

In case you missed it...

http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=60042