Could you be totally self sufficient?

[RWebb]

been there - done that

BUT "completely on your own,"... what do ya mean, exactly? Do you have to smelt metal to make your own axe head? If so, how did you learn that technique???

Humans are never completely on their own...

[herr_oberst]

Lets all be careful what we wish for here.:-)

Getting off the grid is a terrific goal and it would probably beat winning the lottery if you had the 'nads and the smarts - but I don't think I have what it takes to really do it - I have too much imagination. Wild animals, disease, accidents, weather, food poisening. . . the list is endless.

(that guy who cut his arm off a few years ago to escape from entrapment between two boulders really opened my eyes to what just might happen to a lone wolf in the wilderness)

-mo-

[Aurel]

This guy must have lots of customers these days:

http://www.codylundin.com/

[vash]

ben, back in the day folks passed on good info. like what mushrooms you could eat. or what plants you could treat a wound with. you cannot shoot an animal everytime your previous animal spoiled. it would take too much energy. a person cannot keep it up. food preservation would be essential. you grow crops, and dry the food? how do you do that? how to store it? there wont be foodsaver bags and freezers.

i would die. eventually. i would kill things eat it, catch fish, plant crops..but i think the energy i expend to do it would wear me out.

interesting questions. maybe a group of like minded outdoorsy folks would stand a chance.

hell, i cannot even start a fire without at least a magnifying glass...and gasoline.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Aurel

This guy must have lots of customers these days:

http://www.codylundin.com/

A guy with braids wearing "Daisy Dukes" who's been on the Donny and Marie Show? No thanks, I'd rather not have to sleep out in the wild with my butt against a rock.

[jyl]

Another good read is "Alive" by a guy who survived for six months (iirc) in a lifeboat after his sailboat sank.

I knew a guy who paddled a kayak alone from California to Hawaii. Also a very interesting survival story.

[slakjaw]

There is an old sod house still standing on some land I hunt in Nebraska. Its pretty amazing to actually see one of those up close. I never saw the movie but I read the book about that guy and his life was amazing.

Its my dream to live off the grid like that at some point... Yeah, I could get sick, or hurt, and die.. But I could do that in the city too. I wonder where one might have better chances of survival.

[Mr.Puff]

If you want to see the opposite of that man then watch "Into the Wild." It is the story of a brat. Anything more will give too much away.

[VincentVega]

As a kid I remember reading a book about living self sufficient. It was an interesting read, especially for a kid. It covered everything from where to plant what kind of trees on your land, to what kind of veggies and grain to plant. Sure, it sounds a little crazy now, but I'd sure love to experience it.

For now, camping or sailing for a few days is about as out there as I get.

[jyl]

Yeah, if you have shelter and tools and provisions that will sustain you until the seeds you plant grow into harvestable plants, at least 60 days, and it's growing season, then I think most of us would have a fighting chance at surviving at least some years, until accident or age or illness or slow malnutrition got us. It'd be sort of a pioneer homestead situation. City folk were among those who loaded up conestoga wagons and headed west, and some of them settled and survived But without all that preparation and equipment and preplanning, I for one wouldn't make it. If the woods were chock full of game and the streams full of fish, but all I had was whatever I could carry on my back, I might have a 10 pct chance of lasting a few months. In summer.

[jyl]

In ideal climates you can dry meat as jerky. Root veggies can be preserved in a cool root cellar. Maybe green veggies can be dried like jerky, I know a food dehydrator works on them so the concept is possible. Pickling and canning require salt and equipment which you might not have Odds are you'd have long winters of subsisting off moldy potatoes with the occasional precious strip of dried meat. Scurvy and other nutritional diseases would be a threat. I read that in olden days, like medieval times, people spent the long cold winters huddled under whatever covers they had, bodies pressed together for warmth, tending a small fire from the shrinking firewood supply, eating and moving as little as possible. Almost a semi hibernation.

[look 171]

I had a minor stroke 3 weeks ago. After the doctors finally let me go home my neighbor gave me the DVD so I would have something to do. I ended up watching it 3 times. I did a good few backpacking trips as a young punk, and have thought about living like that many times. After the film, I think I would love to do it for a season. No human interaction would kill me after 1 month. Since I am a contractor, I would really need my electric tools. That axe would probley take my toe off. I have been thinking about his film for 2 days. Now the rain stopped, and I am almost 99% recovered, I am heading off to the mountains tomorrow.

[slakjaw]

Originally Posted by look 171

I had a minor stroke 3 weeks ago. After the doctors finally let me go home my neighbor gave me the DVD so I would have something to do. I ended up watching it 3 times. I did a good few backpacking trips as a young punk, and have thought about living like that many times. After the film, I think I would love to do it for a season. No human interaction would kill me after 1 month. Since I am a contractor, I would really need my electric tools. That axe would probley take my toe off. I have been thinking about his film for 2 days. Now the rain stopped, and I am almost 99% recovered, I am heading off to the mountains tomorrow.

The guy who built that cabin... I haven't seen the movie but IIRC the book said that he would come home once a year for 2 or 3 months to see his family. He was not out there for years on end with no human interaction.

[slakjaw]

Originally Posted by Mr.Puff

If you want to see the opposite of that man then watch "Into the Wild." It is the story of a brat. Anything more will give too much away.

The book is better than the movie but yeah, he was a punk kid.

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by Mr.Puff

If you want to see the opposite of that man then watch "Into the Wild." It is the story of a brat. Anything more will give too much away.

Definately two opposite ends of the spectrum.