Living in a tent long-term

[theanimal]

I'm considering living in a tent for a while after I graduate from school this spring. Reasons? 1. Saves a ton on expenses 2. It's a lot of fun! I have a lot of experience living in a tent as I spent 75 days this summer living/travelling in part of Alaska's wilderness (tundra, glaciers etc.)

This is all dependent on what I do after school because if I decide to stay near home I will just live with my parents.

Anyways, wondering if anyone has done this/thoughts? Advice?

[Ego]

Reminds me of one of my person heroes, Goran Kropp. He loved to climb mountains. To save money he lived in a tent in Sweden. Then he bicycled to Nepal, climbed Everest unaided without supplemental oxygen then turned around and biked back home.

http://www.adventure-journal.com/2013/0 ... ran-kropp/

You'd be in good company.

I'd be interested to know more about your plan. Where, how, type of tent...?

[fips]

I met someone in his thirties on a camping ground in Spain (or was it Italy?). He looked rather well equipped compared to many other pass-through campers. When we got to know him it turned out he comes from Turkey, has travelled for multiple years and countries by then and currently lives from being a language teacher.

From my own experience I know it's possible to live on very little. I especially liked to learn about towels that dry easily, how to manage which clothes you use, how to combine it and how often washing is needed. Also figure out about nutrition, where to get which food, and what tools could serve multiple purposes.

@Ego: Thanks for the blog, I love Scandinavia, its not particular warm there either so your guy has an interesting case ..

[theanimal]

I'd be interested to know more about your plan. Where, how, type of tent...?

Thanks for that fun story on Goran, I had never heard of him before.

Well the plan depends on what I do employment wise but I do have a basic plan.
Live in a canvas wall-tent in a medium sized Alaskan town (around 6,000 people). I would probably buy a small parcel of land to put the tent on, there currently are 1/4-1/2 acre plots available for $3-8k.

For flooring I think I'd likely find a flat spot of land, lay some gravel down and then place plywood on top of that. I would likely add a small carpet or rugs in a certain area as well.

Heating: This is where the fun comes in as I could make my own steel plated wood stove or purchase a nice used one. I would have to cut and gather wood in order to cook and heat the tent.

Sleeping wise I think I'd either purchase a basic army cot and use a sleeping pad and bag on top of that.

Water- dependent on the land as there is land available by a big river but there is also the possibility of collecting rainwater.

For a better idea, my tent would be like this one or something similar.
http://www.alaskatent.com/walltents/fireresistant.html

Estimated Costs
1/4 acre of land ~$4000
70 sq ft wall tent- $260
Framing- $20
Stove-$50-250
Army cot- $30-40
Axe-?

[Chad]

Cool idea. I would think waste would be an issue even in Alaskan towns? What would you do for that? Portable toilet?

[northman]

Granfors Small forrest axe! $120
Will last you a lifetime..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5W6r5U7yBE

[theanimal]

Thanks for the recommendation on the axe, northman. Very helpful.

@Chad - I'm still researching that aspect of it. I'd probably doing something along the lines of an outhouse with a compostable toilet. I plan on reading the book Humanure ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Humanure-Hand ... 0964425831) and following the information there. From what I've read, that book has top notch info on the subject and is highly recommended.

[jennypenny]

Lots of info on that subject here...

http://www.permies.com/forums/f-77/composting-toilet

[vivacious]

@theanimal sounds awesome.

@ego that's fucking bad ass.

Ya I was wondering about waste and some other things also. Sounds great though. Alaska is probably an awesome place for some long term camping.

[riparian]

There are probably squatter cabins around wherever you're going or you can get a dog handling gig with a free cabin. It's definitely not usually necessary to buy land to live in a wall tent around here.

[Chad]

Thanks for the recommendation on the axe, northman. Very helpful.

@Chad - I'm still researching that aspect of it. I'd probably doing something along the lines of an outhouse with a compostable toilet. I plan on reading the book Humanure ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Humanure-Hand ... 0964425831) and following the information there. From what I've read, that book has top notch info on the subject and is highly recommended.

Seems like it's a good way to go. I was just curious how you would handle that issue.

[theanimal]

Riparian, where/what type of land could one set up such a tent? I'd probably be at Palmer or Soldotna so I could stay in the Chugach or Kenai National forests. From what I read, to legally live there you'd have to move sites at least 2mi every 14 days. Which isn't awful but could potentially be slightly annoying long term. However, it's hard for the rangers or whoever to know exactly when you got to a site or if you are even at a site...

[Kriegsspiel]

Goran is mentioned in Krakauer's book, I was always interested in what made someone bike from Sweden to Everest, so thanks.

[Chad]

Kropp is one of those people that when you hear their story you are amazed that you haven't heard of them.

[riparian]

Those are both big lower 48 style cities, but in Palmer look up the matanuska valley mushers on Facebook or just ask around when you get there. Or use google earth and find a good hidden-ish place, probably towards chickaloon.

In Soldotna hang out at the laundromat and talk to the old people, someone will point you at a good spot or have a property they need watched.

[anomie]

Humanure systems can work great. I used one for a year. Compost requires a minimum temperature. Composting the waste in Alaska? might want to check on that.

And must question winters in Alaska in a tent?

good luck.

[Papers of Indenture]

I think mikeBOS did something similar for a while. Check out his blog Lacking Ambition.

[theanimal]

Bigato, wall tents are designed for long term use and people have lived in them from there weeks to years. The price they go for at $250is a steal at that value for long term periods compared to high quality (shorter term) nylon tents that are upwards of $1k.

Anomie, I'm surprised it took that long for someone to ask that! In Alaska, people have lived in wall tents for years before. Most people do it while they are building a cabin or there are people who do it for other reasons or they're crazy like me. Also, the areas I'm considering are nowhere near the interior in terms of fierce winters and actually hold higher temp. Averages than some cities in the lower 48. also let's remember that native populations used to live like this full time for hundreds of years!

[arebelspy]

I think mikeBOS did something similar for a while. Check out his blog Lacking Ambition.

Indeed, he lived in a tent in the desert for about a year. Definitely worth reading.

http://lackingambition.com/?p=423

also let's remember that native populations used to live like this full time for hundreds of years!

I wonder what their secret was to such long lives!

[theanimal]

I think mikeBOS did something similar for a while. Check out his blog Lacking Ambition.

Indeed, he lived in a tent in the desert for about a year. Definitely worth reading.

http://lackingambition.com/?p=423

also let's remember that native populations used to live like this full time for hundreds of years!

I wonder what their secret was to such long lives!

I've been trying to figure out the same thing myself. I keep trying to find a good book of practices and wisdom from native Americans but I have not had much luck.

Thanks for the reference to mikeBOS' s story. Great read and my plan is very very similar with the only difference being I plan on having a job during that period.