Anyone Down For Permanently Leaving Society To Live Near The Tongass Forest In Alaska And Yukon Area

Plan on dropping out of civilization permanently to live in/around (not trying to break any laws) Tongass National Forest (Alaska)/Yukon area (eastern border of Alaska and Canada. I'm trying to find at least 6 to 8 others to join (ride or die... LOL). I am absolutely convinced, contrary to detractors, that permanently leaving society and living primitively is not only possible, but likely if a small tribe not only hunted, but cultivated just enough land to feed themselves, in addition to hunting.... which, of coarse would require a small group/tribe.

An ideas on meeting such nutters… LOL... hey, it takes one to know one. Kidding aside, I am quite serious. If no one here is quite as cray as me, any ideas on connecting with such people?

 

Good evening Shadow,

Welcome to the forum.

I can't help you with your venture - I'm freezing here in coastal Virginia ! - but you might receive some guidance from others active here who are knowledgeable.

Are you quietly recruiting for Hilcorp ? Just joking ! Just joking !

Again, welcome to MSF.COM.

 

I lived in the Tongass National Forest for 35 years and my family still does. It is a few hours, by jet, from the Yukon. It is a rain forest. If you are thinking of picking a remote site and building a log cabin, the feds will burn you out. There is private land available but it is rare enough that it isn't cheap.

If you are capable of running a boat then you can live on your boat and anchor up. You might get by growing a garden ashore, if you found a remote bay that suited you. You could then bring your boat to town and live on it and find a job in town. You could also trap in the winter.

Be careful around any villages, most are friendly enough, some are not. This is wild country, when you get away from the cities. A lot of people come to Alaska without wilderness skills and ,"become one with nature," permanently. After 35 years in the Tongass I moved to the Kuskokwim, second largest river after the Yukon, and the skill set was different. Luckily I had friends to teach me the differences. I was a survival instructor by the time I moved to the Kuskokwim and was still happy for the instruction. Good luck, have fun, but don't go into this adventure with blinders on.

 

Welcome to this forum. I could be interested, but I would not want to go into the wilderness with people who were lacking in the necessary skills to do that safely and successfully. Do you and your fellow team members have experience in this type of enterprise.......????

 

Who would be the leader........??? Or would that be up for a vote to elect the leader..???

Will there be lots of lovely women and abundant money for this project.....???

 

Welcome shadow. I had the same dream as you, but opted for a more practical approach. I first got a good job in Alaska. Searched for several years for the right property away from most, purchased it, and am transitioning there full time. My wife and I had many years of combined outdoors/survival/bushcraft skills including growing up deep in Appalachia on the family homestead, years on property in the bayous of the Deep South, military experience, and my wife who spent 12 years in a 3rd would country as a child basically hunting and gathering. But we realized Alaska is its own unique and wonderful place and, although useful, our previous life experience had little transferable to this harsh environment.

As pointed out above, lots of folks who have tried inserting themselves into the wild have ended up as bear skat if the we’re lucky. The unlucky ones slowing starved or froze to death. As also pointed out, most of the wilderness is either federal property or owned by native tribes. Neither take kindly to squatters.

I certainly don’t want to squash anyone’s dreams, especially since I had the same one. But there are more rational ways of getting to this end. I have many friends who have achieved pretty amazing success going off grid in remote and semi remote places in Alaska.

And by the way, the place I bought was an original Alaskan homestead that went through two subsequent owners after the original homesteader passed. Both of the subsequent owners were dreamers from the lower 48 who retreated back to the lower 48 after a few years of trying to make a go of it. Too cold, to remote, winters too long, etc were their excuses. They both dumped a lot of money into the place and never recouped their investment to my benefit. So spending a few years working in Alaska before figuring out where you want to be and if you like it may pay off in the long run.

Sorry for the long rambling. Just my two cents, so take it for what it’s worth. Good luck and welcome to the forum! Glad you are here!