Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

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Bonde
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by Bonde »

"Went homeless. Done Guerrilla Grazing by choice ever since"
New Kirsten Dirksen video
Extremely low living expenses, multiple possible income streams, bartering, anti-consumerism, smart designs.

Bonde
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by Bonde »

Campitor wrote:
Tue Aug 10, 2021 10:43 am
Does he explain why he chose a unicycle? A bicycle would be better in certain terrains I would think. I watched a few of his videos and he seem extremely skilled with the unicycle. I wonder how it would handle downhill rough terrain for example.
Im pretty sure he first went for the Guinness world record but some obstacles came up and he just wanted to finish, raise money and enjoy the adventure.
He cycles down some pretty steep roads which is impressive since the pedals always follows the wheel. On rough terrain he has to step of the cycle and push it.

Western Red Cedar
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by Western Red Cedar »

Here is another Kirsten Dirksen video to add to the list. Not quite as radical as the guerilla grazer, but he lives on less than 1 JAFI:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdLAM-wChxY

johnsmith84730
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by johnsmith84730 »

If you take out the crazy, and leave just the self-sufficiency:

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library ... -kaczynski

zbigi
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by zbigi »

johnsmith84730 wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:55 am
If you take out the crazy, and leave just the self-sufficiency:

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library ... -kaczynski
Thanks, that's a great interview! Especially interesting to me was the part where he said that he wanted to live like this since his early teens. I find it more and more plausible that our true preferences reveal themselves early, and don't change for life. There can be exceptions of course, such as living in circumstances which trample over one's innate preferences to the point that one may not even become aware of them (incidentally, I think the US, with it's quite oppressive cult of success, is a country where that can be common).

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Lemur
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by Lemur »

@Bonde I was just about to post that video here as well. Blew my mind...I was thinking about the income robustness score when I was watching that video. He stated that he has so many different ways to make income (mostly supporting small farmers) he couldn't remember them all. He emphasized his anti-consumerism stance a few times but to the few exceptions he did make you could see how much he really appreciated those certain products.

He has a website & youtube channel:

https://123homefree.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/123Homefree


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mountainFrugal
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by mountainFrugal »

I met a local legend in town today... SG (initials because simple google search will give away more info than I want). He is 84 years old, never married, grew up in our town and might sleep with his chain saw next to his pillow. I am nearly certain he is below 1 JAFI and has been for a long time. Since retiring from full time lumberjacking 30+ years ago, he now fells, limbs, hauls, splits and drys 100 cord of wood each year to stay in shape for ski season. As a small side business he sells the wood, but only to talk with folks in the community, not because he needs the money. In his prime he could out lumberjack 2 teams of 2 (4 total) for felling and limbing. He eats mostly low effort high calorie meals like bone broth based soups. His companion in the woods is his dog which he trained himself (and the dog is now certified for avalanche rescue). Good thing because he mostly skis the backcountry only with his dog. SG held many of the speed records on various peaks in the area in the 1960s. He used to telemark ski, but stopped only recently because "my legs no longer bend into the turns". He is such a legend with the outdoor community here that I am sure 1/3 of his meals could be replaced from people wanting to hear his stories. Good entry I think. :)

Salathor
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by Salathor »

EDIT: Already posted. Nevermind!

Anyway, about the 123homefree guy--my friend who lives up in Ashland sees him around occasionally. He's definitely the real deal.

Bonde
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by Bonde »

"Lê was awarded an annual fellowship of £16,000 for three years from Royal Holloway to do her PhD on minority ethnic groups in American literature, and won an extra scholarship from the US, where she is from, in her first year. But as an international student she had to pay £8,000 a year in fees to the university (fees that have been waived for UK fellows), leaving her with £12,000 a year to live on including her wages for teaching.

She says she was just about managing until the cheap postgraduate hall she was living in was closed for renovations at the end of her second year. She was faced with finding an extra £3,000 a year for rent, which she says she couldn’t afford. Determined not to drop out, she borrowed the tent from a friend."
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... -in-a-tent

Almost none details about her life. More a political article about the low salaries for PhD-students and other early career academics.

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mountainFrugal
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by mountainFrugal »

Marc-André Leclerc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwCKy1CCbn0

Seems to meet dirtbag/passion end of the spectrum.

This climber takes free-soloing to the next level.

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unemployable
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by unemployable »

mountainFrugal wrote:
Sat Nov 06, 2021 10:41 am
Marc-André Leclerc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwCKy1CCbn0

Seems to meet dirtbag/passion end of the spectrum.

This climber takes free-soloing to the next level.
The Wheaton Level 10 example of this is (was) Fred Beckey. You can put Leclerc at Level 9 if you want.

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mountainFrugal
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by mountainFrugal »

11+ level is more like it. An entire career/life of dirt-bagging into old age is something to marvel at.

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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by RoamingFrancis »

God, what a great picture XD

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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by AxelHeyst »

I'm pretty sure it was posted in the other thread, but they made a documentary about Beckey. The title is "Dirtbag", because he's the OG. Recommended.

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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by unemployable »

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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

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Western Red Cedar
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by Western Red Cedar »

I actually might push back a bit on Beckey being at WL 10. He was undoubtedly a pioneer in the climbing community and at the top of his field with more first ascents in N. America then anyone else. Also extremely frugal and lived life on his own terms.

I honestly don't know where he would land on the WL scale, but it seems like his social life and relationships were less than ideal, and arguably dysfunctional. I think that a successful HOWLI should incorporate relationships into their system.

Of course, all of this is based on his interviews and portrayal in the Dirtbag film. I saw it at a film festival and the director asked members of the audience to share their own climbing stories or anecdotes about Beckey after the film.

It is interesting to compare someone like Beckey with Alex Honnold. Honnold recognized he had some deficiencies in his social skills (self-diagnosed as on the spectrum IIRC) and actively tried to work on them to lead a more balanced life. His foundation and charitable contributions are another example of thinking beyond himself, which is critical at higher WLs IMO.

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unemployable
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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by unemployable »

Beckey certainly left behind a legacy though. His Cascades climbing guides are still the bibles for that region (I have one). Published a fair number of research pieces too, although wasn't a traditional academic.

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Re: Stories and Anecdotes about Nonconsumers/howlies

Post by Western Red Cedar »

@unemployable - I definitely agree. To live life as authentically and uncompromisingly as Beckey did is amazing. Also, I hesitate to judge too much from the outside looking in. People can definitely put up smokescreens to hide who they really are.

------

Another interesting HOWLI and OG dirtbag is Doug Tompkins. His case is interesting to me because he transitioned from a dirtbag lifestyle to one of affluence, but then back to (relative) simplicity. I think @Jacob expanded the WL table, at least in part, when considering that development must progress beyond the self.

Tompkins' practice of deep ecology, and his introduction of the "national park" concept to the nation of Chile, is incredibly inspiring. His story is one that challenges me to think beyond a self-indulgent, post-career lifestyle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QDnhjkULdM

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