Couple Leave City, Transition To Homestead Life In The Mountains
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Just met a couple and their kids that got off the Alaska Ferry during a layover in Ketchikan. They were on their way to their homestead near Healey. A nice young couple. They are planning on living in a tent this winter. We discussed the fact that it was rather late to get ready for an Alaskan winter. Since Healey is home of Alaska's largest coal mine I suggested that they find a trailer and get a load of coal as there was not enough time to cut and dry a winter's worth of firewood. They seemed to be pleased with that option. He asked, "coal burns longer than wood, doesn't it?" I assured him that it did. Fewer trips to stoke the stove in the middle of the night seemed like a worthy idea.
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I would not want to learn to homestead in a tent during an Alaskan winter. Hope they do well. We were lucky that we worked on our farmhouse enough to be liveable for a few years visiting before we actually moved. And the chicken coops and barns and outbuildings (such as they are) were already in place.
I agree with the article, where the husband says they are working on the pastures. Ours are looking so much better, they were neglected for too long, but still need work.
I agree with the article, where the husband says they are working on the pastures. Ours are looking so much better, they were neglected for too long, but still need work.
Strange that I never see bags of coal for sale in Southcentral Alaska.
I have a friend, on the Alaska Peninsula, that picks up coal when he walks his dog on the beach.
I have a great book recommendation for anyone thinking of homesteading in wilderness Alaska. It was a painful and haunting read for me. They did it in the same period that I did (early 70's) and had many same hardships. It is a better read for females, as it is told through her experience.
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Hands-W...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660104607&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Hands-W...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660104607&sr=8-1
I wish them all the very best, but if he has to be told the burning difference between coal and wood, and how much one would need I worry for them- did they appear to have any research done?
I have been involved in helping out and going and getting people out of situations here in montana. "I am going to live in a tent and live a clean life with no plastics etc etc" .
Life get's real at -30F.
Youth and enthusiasm is great but mother nature doesn't care.
Life get's real at -30F.
Youth and enthusiasm is great but mother nature doesn't care.
I don't know what research they did. I tried to shop at a store but it was not yet open. They were standing there and a casual comment turned into a 5 or 10 minute conversation. When I realized their situation and locationI had time to toss out one tidbit that might help them. They won't get to their homestead till mid august. They won't have time to split a winter's worth of firewood let alone let it season. They will have time to haul coal.
Where they are going I expect -30º to be a spring day. I expect -40º to be common and -60º may not be the coldest.
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Did you happen to mention to them that their tent is most likely made of plastics.
I got that book and read it a few years ago based on your recommendation. It’s a great book.
There is probably a lot of standing deadwood up that way from the beetle kill of a few years ago, but they are quickly running out of time. The original homesteaders who built the place that I bought spent their first winter in a tent. Not something I would want to do. The trappers of old spent life in much worse environments.
As I get old I will probably switch to burning coal verses wood. After being here now with winter number 8 coming up, I have cleared the standing deadwood out to several miles. While the wife and I enjoy making trails to get to standing deadwood each summer, at some point the amount of work it takes will exceed the fun factor. But it’s still enjoyable. We will be working on a new trail this afternoon…
So many books on the subject concentrate on how wonderful that life is, and there is a lot of wonderful in that lifestyle. But she covers the danger, hardship, hard manual labor, and heartbreaking setbacks also.
They will be on the road system, which is a world of difference if things get bad for them. What people miss in their planning is the importance of the transition period. Best to come to Alaska and get a job (any job) and work towards what they a jumping into.
That’s how I did it, I found a great job in the Mat-Su valley which is a great launching point for all that the interior offers. It took us 4 years of looking before we found our place. For the wife, being on the road system was a requirement. Makes a difference, but this eliminates some excellent locations.
The Final Frontiersman is another book that lays it all out. When you live of the road system, the rivers are your road and they can be very unforgiving and of results in heartbreaking life events. The book details the life of a family that homesteaded in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge which is a pretty isolated location.
One of my favorite books about living off the road system is, "Forty Years in the Wilderness" by Dolly Faulkner.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=forty+ye...ars,stripbooks,148&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_11
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=forty+ye...ars,stripbooks,148&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_11
