Off Grid Alaska

[mooseoutfront 3643]

20 hours ago, jeevsie said:

What's your worst "Oh, shit, we have an unexpected emergency?" story?  Lack of food/water/illness during a bad storm, maybe?

We have been very, very fortunate.  We keep an abundance of food and fuel on hand for the oh shit moment that hasn't come yet.  But we are prepared.

The closest I've ever come to getting bit in the ass was on a muzzle loader moose hunt with a buddy.  Muzzle loader season is late November early December.  We went 90 miles out the Rex Trail on snow machines (that's what they call snow mobiles up here for some reason).  It was 30 below when we left.  By the time we got to the Wood River, the thermometer my buddy had on his parka zipper had bottomed out at 70 below.  We knew it was cold, but we didn't realize it was that cold.  He looked at me and told me whatever I did to not let the snow machine die.  It took us 6 hours to get back.  It's the coldest I've ever been.  Danger cold, beyond shivering.  The only reason my fingers didn't freeze was because of the hot grips on the snow machine.  When we finally got in cell range I called my wife and she said she could hear it in my voice.  She had warmed blankets and towels ready for me when I got home.  It was 68 below when I pulled up to the cabin.  The last few hours of the ride home are basically a blur.  It was all I could do not to pass out.  I was on the verge of hallucinating.  It was other worldly.  My buddy thought he froze his feet.  It took him 4 hours to get the feeling back in them.  We were both very lucky and very stupid for not turning around sooner.

[mooseoutfront 3643]

19 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Thanks for sharing your adventure. A couple of questions:

• with no electricity, what do you need to do to keep your vehicles funning? do they have engine block heaters that you power by generators?
• how long do the two of you believe you can realistically maintain this lifestyle before moving into "civilization"? I mean, are you thinking of retiring to a place where you'll have access to the types of amenities and services people need when they get older?

The vehicles have block heaters and heaters on the oil pan, transmission, and battery.  We can plug them into generators if we need to.  Our personal truck, the beat to shit red Dodge in the first pic in the thread just barely fits into a log one car garage that we have.  The garage has a wood stove in it that we fire up when the temp gets to 40 below.  Vehicles will start in the zero to 10 below range, but cold starts are not ideal for vehicle longevity.  The garage usually stays about 30 degrees warmer than ambient, which is why we only need to fire up the stove at 40 below or colder.  The plow rig only gets run in the winter when there is plowing to do.  It's warm when it snows, so there is no problem getting it started.  My company truck has an auto start on it that is hooked into the truck thermometer some way.  I've got it set to auto start when the temp hits 20 below and run for 30 minutes every 2 hours.  

The plan is 10 more years in the woods, then retire down to the Pacific coast of Mexico and become ex pats.  We could never live in a big city again, or in the lower 48 for that matter.  We'll find something small and simple and laid back.

[orange dream 1252]

Where did you move from? Were you an Eagle Scout and lived to camp, etc.?

Did you move straight to this setup, or just something rustic and you moved gradually "off the grid"?

Is your work truck your office or do you actually commute to an office or field site on the regular?

Have there ever been kids involved in this living arrangement?

I think this looks awesome but I couldn't do it.  Loving the thread!!

 

[twosheds 374]

The plan is 10 more years in the woods, then retire down to the Pacific coast of Mexico and become ex pats. 

This thread already kicks ass but I’m a little more than giddy thinking about the Off Grid Mexico topic

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

[SimonBolivar 10958]

9 minutes ago, twosheds said:

 

This thread already kicks ass but I’m a little more than giddy thinking about the Off Grid Mexico topic

 

401k worth of morditas. 

[Brisketexan 105143]

 

This thread already kicks ass but I’m a little more than giddy thinking about the Off Grid Mexico topic
 

My family ranch in northern Mexico was off-grid.  Wadda ya wanna know?  Thick walls to manage the desert heat, water from a windmill-driven well, propane heaters for cold winter nights, and a propane stove and fridge.  Not unusual in that area, at that time.
Photo taken by my dad after climbing up said windmill:
 


 
But, I won't derail this awesome thread any more than that.  I'm fascinated by cold-climate off-grid living, and will read everything our northern friend posts here.

[luke duke 6413]

Do you have a fuck tent for when you want to spice things up?

[Brisketexan 105143]

Just now, luke duke said:

Do you have a fuck tent for when you want to spice things up?

Does moose LOOK like a man who would wreck an RV?

[SimonBolivar 10958]

3 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

My family ranch in northern Mexico was off-grid.  Wadda ya wanna know?  Thick walls to manage the desert heat, water from a windmill-driven well, propane heaters for cold winter nights, and a propane stove and fridge.  Not unusual in that area, at that time.

Photo taken by my dad after climbing up said windmill:

 

 

But, I won't derail this awesome thread any more than that.  I'm fascinated by cold-climate off-grid living, and will read everything our northern friend posts here.

The inlaws still have a place like that in the outskirts of the big city of Ojo de Agua, Zacatecas. 

 

 

Abuelita is 86 but she still rides the bus down to visit 3 or 4 times a year and check in on her house and the extended family that are living in the area there now and prefers that lifestyle to the one she has here in Texas. Unfortunately for her all of her kids moved to the states and being 86 and illiterate (never spent a minute in a classroom in her life) makes it very difficult to live there alone. 

[shadow_operative2.0 15984]

Alright, back to cold shit. 

[Brisketexan 105143]

1 minute ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Alright, back to cold shit. 

Found a candid photo of moose taking his morning dump:

[SimonBolivar 10958]

6 minutes ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Alright, back to cold shit. 

We never got an answer to the anal question either.

[Brisketexan 105143]

8 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

We never got an answer to the anal question either.

I mean.....he told you about the shit stick.

[mooseoutfront 3643]

22 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

What do you do to combat cabin fever?

Even here when it gets below 50, I don't want to go outside. I can't imagine coping with snow, dark, and cold.

Cabin fever is real and dangerous.  Alaska has an incredibly high suicide rate per capita.  Alcoholism and drug abuse and domestic violence all skyrocket in the deep winter.  It's not really the cold either.  Everyone up here has the proper gear.  It's the lack of light that gets in people's heads.  The lack of light leads to Vitamin D deficiencies.  That's the root cause of it all.  Take your supplements, get properly dressed and get outdoors when the sun is out.  The deep cold is beautiful to me. Winter is my favorite season.  On January weekends when the temp is regularly 30 below or colder we'll get suited up, make a fire in the fire pit, smoke a joint and watch the Northern Lights until we get cold.  Go in the cabin to warm up and then do it all over again.  The Lights fascinate me.  

[mooseoutfront 3643]

22 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Seeing the amount of wood y’all need for the winter….Fuuuuuuuuck.

A couple of years ago, we were on a summer hike in western Norway. Walked by a nice cabin over a fjord, and saw this woodshed, that they were still in the act of filling for the winter. That’s a lot of f’n wood. How does it compare to what y’all put aside?

We usually burn 8 cords of wood per winter.  We try to bring in 10 cords per year, because you can never have enough firewood.  It's like money in the bank.

From that pic I'm estimating that's around 5 or so cords.  That's not quite enough to get through the winter for us.

[Brisketexan 105143]

3 minutes ago, mooseoutfront said:

Cabin fever is real and dangerous.  Alaska has an incredibly high suicide rate per capita.  Alcoholism and drug abuse and domestic violence all skyrocket in the deep winter.  It's not really the cold either.  Everyone up here has the proper gear.  It's the lack of light that gets in people's heads.  The lack of light leads to Vitamin D deficiencies.  That's the root cause of it all.  Take your supplements, get properly dressed and get outdoors when the sun is out.  The deep cold is beautiful to me. Winter is my favorite season.  On January weekends when the temp is regularly 30 below or colder we'll get suited up, make a fire in the fire pit, smoke a joint and watch the Northern Lights until we get cold.  Go in the cabin to warm up and then do it all over again.  The Lights fascinate me.  

Well, I imagine being high AF contributes to that.

And as for the lack of light, my daughter really leans on her UV sun lamp, but without power....I guess that's not an option for you?

[mooseoutfront 3643]

22 hours ago, Your Mom said:

A wife married to a bonafide Grizzly fucking Adams probably has less need for those devices than the rest of our wives. 

Someone upthread mentioned it, but I’d like to hear some of your scariest stories of times shit was going wrong. 

And thanks for what looks like it has the potential to be the best thread on surly.  Username checks out. 

Grizzly Adams is starting to get old.  Why do you think I have to take a battery brick to work to charge everyday?  It's not just her iPad and blue tooth speaker.

[mooseoutfront 3643]

20 hours ago, davidg said:

Did y’all buy or build your cabin? Any other outbuilding other than the shitter at the cabin? That one pic of the cabin looks like you are in a heavily wooded area. What does your regular garden look like?

We bought it.  It sits on 5 acres.  In addition to the cabin, there is a log one car garage, a log sauna, and a storage shed out back.  It was the first cabin for the guy who built it, so there are some mistakes he made the he and we have just lived with.  It has kept us warm and dry.  Here's the only pic I can find that sort of shows what you are asking about.  The big bushy plants are potatoes.  Her yield is usually between 150 to 200 pounds.  The greenhouse is the veggie greenhouse, not the weed greenhouse.  We keep that in the back.  You can also see the garage and the sauna in the background behind the garden.

[strangulation! 1716]

3 minutes ago, mooseoutfront said:

a log sauna

what's a log sauna?

[Kennythetiger 9384]

What’s the deal with those two aspen trees growing so crooked?  

[mooseoutfront 3643]

20 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

What’s the typical meal situation like on a weekday? What’s on the menu?

Completely depends on the season.  Spring and summer we basically grill all of our meat outside over charcoal.  My wife keeps us in fresh greens.  We eat a lot of salads during the warm months.  We make our bread and tortillas by hand.  In the winter it's slow cooked stuff.  Roasts with potatoes, moose tips in gravy over rice, grouse and dumplings, soups, stews, beans, etc.  It's illegal to trade wild game for something else in Alaska, so when we have extra moose we give it away as gifts.  And guess what?  When people have extra fish, or beef, or pork they give it to us as gifts too.  I said in the other thread the only meat we buy regularly is bacon and the occasional beef ribeye.  We eat a lot of moose.  We process it ourselves.  We make burger and chili meat and sausage and jerky.  It's delicious, but it gets old.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9324]

So what happens in the dead of winter when it's -60 and dark as a miner's ass and you can't help but think that you would kill a moose with your bare hands to get a hot plate of enchiladas with a side of rice and borracho beans? Do you eat a potato, smoke a joint and just make believe?

[Kennythetiger 9384]

You drive into town and eat at the Mexican restaurant. 

[mooseoutfront 3643]

19 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

1. Have you found gold yet?

2. If the Russians successfully reclaim Alaska, will you even know?

3. And if you do know, will you turn on us?

1.  I haven't, but I don't go looking for it.  I know lots of people who do though.  There are a ton of placer mines in my area.  The saying up here is "Mining is the family farm of Alaska."

2.  Fuck Russia

3.  See #2

[Blotto 23516]

12 minutes ago, Kennythetiger said:

You smoke a joint, drive into town and eat at the Mexican restaurant. 

 

[Brisketexan 105143]

19 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

So what happens in the dead of winter when it's -60 and dark as a miner's ass and you can't help but think that you would kill a moose with your bare hands to get a hot plate of enchiladas with a side of rice and borracho beans? Do you eat a potato, smoke a joint and just make believe?

Cheese enchiladas, rice, and beans, are actually easy cabin meals.

Tortillas, American cheese, chili gravy (made with moose!)

Rice - easy.

Pot of beans - easy.

[mooseoutfront 3643]

19 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

What do you actually spend your salary on?

Food, fuel, airline tickets, booze, and vehicle/cabin maintenance. Our goal is to live on 25% of my salary and save/invest the rest. We usually achieve that goal.  This year we didn't quite do it because we had to have a new snow plow.  Those fuckers ain't cheap, but I was tired of Southern engineering it every time I had to go out and plow the road.  We have zero debt.  We buy everything outright.  I fucking hate paying interest.

[mooseoutfront 3643]

12 hours ago, Grippe said:

MTF?  I grew up in Chugiak and it was always the strain of choice.

Chugiak holla!!

It's a cross between a local strain that's been grown in my area for years (Blueberry) and a Grapefruit Kush that I got from a seed house in BC.  The Blueberry is supposed to have some MTF in it, but who knows?  We named that plant Skittles.  Not just because of the colors, but because it smelled like them...so fruity.   She was stoney.

I've never gotten a hold of any old school MTF.  I hear it was the shit.

MTF = Matanuska Thunder Fuck for those playing at home.    

[mooseoutfront 3643]

22 hours ago, retread said:

I've wondered how often you have to get gas if you depend to an extent on generators. Where do you store it?

 

I haul gas in 55 gallon drums.  I keep 2 drums in reserve at all times.  

[davidg 4038]

What’s the price up there?

[mooseoutfront 3643]

11 hours ago, RexWilson said:

Do you get Amazon Prime delivery?

Actually we do.  It's cheaper to get paper products delivered via Amazon than to buy them at the store.  For example, a big pack of family size paper towels will run you close to $40 at the store here.  It's like $30ish with free shipping on Amazon.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9324]

Since you're living in an extreme cold, what are the products/manufacturers that you swear by? Your life literally depends on what you wear, what starts, what just fucking works. Give us your top 5 "Alaska proven" items.

[Brisketexan 105143]

3 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Since you're living in an extreme cold, what are the products/manufacturers that you swear by? Your life literally depends on what you wear, what starts, what just fucking works. Give us your top 5 "Alaska proven" items.

1: 

A good shit stick.

2-5?

Edited February 2, 2022 by Brisketexan

[mooseoutfront 3643]

10 hours ago, Quagmire said:

Does your wife do anal ?

Hard no

9 hours ago, Wally Fairway said:

I remember when we'd just ask for pictures 

 

[GhostOfTomJoad 9324]

Those will keep you warm on a -50 degree night. Bravo, good sir.

[Aqua Buddha 14597]

Are your HEB's open?

[Kennythetiger 9384]

17 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Since you're living in an extreme cold, what are the products/manufacturers that you swear by? Your life literally depends on what you wear, what starts, what just fucking works. Give us your top 5 "Alaska proven" items.

I am interested in this too, if you would indulge us sometime. 

[Doc Reeves 6434]

21 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Since you're living in an extreme cold, what are the products/manufacturers that you swear by? Your life literally depends on what you wear, what starts, what just fucking works. Give us your top 5 "Alaska proven" items.

this is going to sound so fucked up, but moose would be a real money making TikTok

[Sbbruin 21853]

3 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

No shit.  If I'm living off the grid, it's on some tropical deserted island.  On a boat.

[mooseoutfront 3643]

Here's another pic of the Mrs.

As a zipline guide

 

[mooseoutfront 3643]

As my skinner

[GhostOfTomJoad 9324]

You've got a special woman.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4771]

1 hour ago, mooseoutfront said:

Here's another pic of the Mrs.

As a zipline guide

 

That beard could be neatened up a bit .. but, still 👍

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

2 hours ago, mooseoutfront said:

As my skinner

When skinning out and processing an animal like that, does one person stand guard to watch for bears at all times? 

[luke duke 6413]

1: 

A good shit stick.
2-5?

I feel that Mrs Mooseoutfront is a lot classier than that. She probably uses one of these:

[Updawg 2266]

When skinning out and processing an animal like that, does one person stand guard to watch for bears at all times? 

No shit. Especially with that big ass grizzly bear in your neighborhood. I assume you do that away from your house but it still must attract attention

[ztejas 43452]

7 hours ago, mooseoutfront said:

Actually we do.  It's cheaper to get paper products delivered via Amazon than to buy them at the store.  For example, a big pack of family size paper towels will run you close to $40 at the store here.  It's like $30ish with free shipping on Amazon.

This is the craziest thing yet that's been posted in this thread. 

[Updawg 2266]

Yeah I find that amazing as well. I assume he picks it up in town or somewhere No way they drop it it off at his porch. If so we just need to give up to the Amazon overlord

[Updawg 2266]

Yeah I find that amazing as well. I assume he picks it up in town or somewhere No way they drop it it off at his porch. If so we just need to give up to the Amazon overlord