Has anyone ever spent any extended period of time living in the wilderness?
I don't mean with a GPS, freeze dried/canned food, and all the other comfort items. I mean a gritty existance where you live off the land and the amimals and fish with your trad bow and maybe a few other items. Even a canoe trip would do, or a long hunting trip in the mountains in a tent.

I'm just curious because it's something I've always wanted to do.

It doesn't have to be in the vast wilderness of Alaska or Canada (even though that would be fine). I think I'll just start off small and go with the north woods of Michigan and move my way on up to bigger things.
So go on, share your story or a maybe a dream that you have for living in the wilderness.
Bakes

Every couple of years, my wife and I backpack in the Wind River mountain range in Wyoming.  Maybe it's not the completely primitive experience you had in mind, but we backpack in with pasta, rice, dried beans, dried potatoes, some spices and dried tomatoes, and some hard cheese like parmesan, and don't come back out for a month or more.  We fish for our meat, which isn't all that hard once you get a day or more off the trailheads.  We generally camp by any of a thousand lakes, and after we set up our tent, she might say, "I'd like to start dinner in about 15 minutes; could you go catch us a couple of fish?"  And in 15 minutes or so, I come back to camp with a couple of nice trout.

It isn't uncommon for us to go 3-4 days in between seeing any other people.

I remember the last time we were there, we were cooking on a backpacking stove next to a huge boulder, near a lake.  On our other side was a hedgelike bush.  What looked like a yearling deer stuck his head around the bush and watched us cook for a minute or so.  As we stared at him, he stared back at us, and we could imagine his mental conversation going on: "Uh oh, they don't seem to be afraid of me, so maybe I should be afraid of them!"  And he ambled off at a fast walk.  One time, a deer bent down his head and looked into our tent in the morning.  I don't think he had ever seen such a thing before.

McDave, that's awsome!  :D  
Dried food or not that is still pretty cool.
I can't wait to get done with high school and get out and do thinds like that.
Kinda like that movie Into The Wild, except maybe not that extreme.      
I love to read about living in the wild and being in the outdoors, I just have a great passion for the outdoors, and all aspects of it.
I really like Gary Pulson's books, especially Brian's Hunt, that's kinda what I want to do.

I did a month long canoe trip through ontario and quebec covering 600 miles in 21 days. We only had some flour and a couple other basics along. We ate fish we caught and were lucky enough to get a few dumb grouse now with a throwing stick. We also picked berries now and then. I was skinny when I started the trip. I was skinnier when we got done. It was an experience to remember.

WAY BACK WHEN I JUST GRAD FROM HIGH SCHOOL(40 PLUS YEARS AGO) I SET OUT ON GRAD DAY,SKIPPING THE CEREMONY, FOR THE ADK MTNS HERE IN NEW YORK! SPENT THE ENTIRE SUMMER UP IN THOSE MTNS,HIKING,CAMPING AND JUST LIVING! STARTED OUT WITH TWO WEEKS WORTH OF DRIED FOODS,FISHED EVERY DAY! BUT UP THERE,THERE IS ALOT OF OTHER HIKERS, I FOUND MYSELF SPENDING MORE TIME HELPING LOST HIKERS OUT AND THE FEW THAT DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO KEEP THEIR FOOD AWAY FROM BEARS AND OTHER ANIMALS SUCH AS PINE MARTINS, THOSE I HELPED WITH MY FEW DRIED FOODS!! I WENT IN WEIGHING 175LBS/CAME OUT 120LBS OF RAW MTN MADE MUSCLE!I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT AND ALWAYS WISHED TO GO SOME PLACE BIGGER!! JOBS,WIVES,AND KIDS KEPT THAT DREAM FROM HAPPENING!BUT I WOULDN'T TRADE THAT EXPERENCE FOR ANYTHING!! I STILL CAMP,BUT ONLY FOR WEEK LONG TRIPS! I DID LOVE THAT MOVIE INTO THE WILD, MY DAUGHTER HAD ME WATCH IT AS SHE SAID IT REMINDED HER OF ME!! I WASN'T EVEN CLOSE TO BEING THAT EXTREME!  I HOPE YOU GET TO EXPERIENCE YOUR DREAMS!!  JIMMERC

Great thread!  Good luck - I've always wanted to do something similar and I plan on making it happen in the next few years.  Probably start off some where in the Northeast.

I have not done it for "weeks" or "months".....

But,years ago (rifle hunting) I would head back into the Adirondacks for a few days,carrying little or nothing.(gun,ammo,knife,compass,fire kit) I would sleep in a D.E.C. lean-to,and I knew the area well so fresh water was not a problem.

It was fun!!!!!

Into the Wild is thrilling and enthralling. But don't make the mistakes McCandless made.  Our ancestors were trained for years and had deep tribal knowledge on how to live off the land.  Learn how to live off the land before you try it for real.  A summer of learning will prepare you for a fall of adventure and you won't pay the ultimate price.  You will still lose weight I bet  

Bakes, have you ever looked into Tom Brown's Tracker School.  It's something I've always wanted to do.

I have friends in deep bush AK, 250 air miles north of Fairbanks, 125 miles from nearest village or road, who have been there for 25 yearfs, raised three kids and lost another during an extended sled dog trip, and they prosper. I'm urging him to write a book on his life. The real thing that would prevent most of us from doing this is not grizzly bears or -50 winters, but ... boredom and bugs. A subsistence hunter generally has a monotonous life. In this case, they east grayling 3 times a day all summer, and the same for moose all winter. Not for everyone but paradise for the few. Dave

might I recommend the Boundary Waters Canoe area on the Minnesota/Canadian border. Once you get past the portages, you can go days without seeing a soul.....Also a good place to disappear for good if ya dont know what youre doing.

John Scifres mentioned "Into the Wild" and I just saw the movie last night. It was a bit troubling, but I would recommend it to anyone considering spending some time away from society.

I like reading Sam Fadala and his adventures into the desert for a few days with only his bow.

QuoteOriginally posted by BabaLoo:
Bakes, have you ever looked into Tom Brown's Tracker School.  It's something I've always wanted to do.

Ditto! I read Tom Brown years ago. Would recommend looking for his book(s).

Another good writer is Farley Mowatt.  Read about how some of the natives in the Great North subsist(ed) and you'll understand the value of a Walmart around the corner.

I can relate with your yearnings. After school I loaded up my car in Wisconsin and rolled into Alaska with thirty bucks left to my name. Lived on the beach all summer off Dolly Varden and flounder. Moved into an abandoned uninsulated Quanset hut with an old leaky wood stove in it for the winter. Most my times was spent cutting firewood and packing coal off the beach. Every morning Id wake up to an icy mustache and frost covering my sleeping bag. At the worst I spent a couple weeks living on popcorn.

I went on to make a life up here and have had some awesome experiences. It's my opinion that there is just too much nature has to offer to spend all ones time just surviving. Even a fly-in drop-off hunt can seperate the men from the boys so to speak.

Dropped off in the middle of nowhere on a mountain lake with the bare essentials to last two weeks, weather kept the pilot away for an extra week, a two mile hike down to the river bottom when the bottled gas is gone and a two mile hike back up the mountain with firewood. Blew at least 40 miles and hour the whole time and gusts broke two poles on my six pole tent!!! Rained hard for most of the time. Just staying warm and staying dry consumed me. Had plenty of water though!! never ever though I could get tired of caribou backstrap.

Great experience in hindsight, but it was rough going through it.

Theres a mountain I call my own that sticks up out of the tundra five miles from the rest of the brooks range. Have spent a great deal of time on it. What i love about being alone on the mountain is how small it makes me feel. The closest Ive come to seeing God. Dont have to be in survival mode to experience His awesome creation away from the plastic throw-away society of ours.

It's important before heading out to learn survival skills and just the knowledge that you can if need be survive provides the confidence to be out there and truly enjoy it all.

My best to ya in your adventures. Be smart and be safe so you can have many.

Randy

Several solo backpack archery elk hunts in the wilderness area in CO and the annual month and a week sojourn at my cabin tucked away in the woods in which I hunt solo  during archery season here are as close as I get to "wilderness experiences". I always bring adequate food during these trips because I want to spend the time chasing the quarry I'm after, not trying to survive. But even then, a person spends a considerable amount of time tending the fire,getting up firewood,preparing for inclement weather. I rarely see anyone the entire time I'm in the woods but a friendly unexpected guest is always a nice surprise after you've spent quite a bit of time alone and talking to yourself. I'm just now debating a solo "road trip" to Montana to scout out a bighorn sheep area. If it materilizes, I will be out there until mid-August primitive camping then I will return to repack and go back to CO for the annual elk hunt.Good luck!

Bakes168,
   Don't wait too long after your out of high school.  If you go to college there isn't much spare time to do anything but school.  If you get married and have children after that, then forget it.  If you don't go to college then you'll probably be working all the time.  If I knew when I was in high school what I know now, I probably wouldn't have spent much time in school!  LOL....  High school doesn't compare to college, and college doesn't compare to real life.  Do everything you can now while your young but prepare yourself for it.  Safety first!  Start small and work your way up with experience and find someone to share your time with that will enjoy it as much as you will.  

I still dream of adventures like you are talking about but will most likely never get to experience them.  Live life while you are young and able bodied.

Aaron

Back when I was much younger several friends and I would go camping pretty much with what we were wearing and could carry easily.  We always had a great time whether we were out for a weekend or a week.  An "adventure" can be however long or short a time you have to devote to it.  In fact, it is advisable to keep things simple and short at first.  Learn the "hows" before you bet your life on your abilities.  Mother Nature doesn't care whether you are comfortable or not or whether or not you even survive.  A first aid course is a really good idea.  Plan for the worst and anything less will be easier to deal with.

Before it sounds like I'm trying to rain on your parade, I'm not.  Like I said, some friends and I made memories that last a lifetime.  I'm just advocating that you start slow and work your way into longer adventures.

John

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice guys, it really means a lot.
Yes, I have looked into Tom Brown's school and it looks very interesting.

My first thought after seeing Into the Wild was that he went off into the harsh wilderness lacking skills and unprepared. This is something I would never do, I would test myself first and make sure I was up to the challenge.

I need to find some of these books you guys are mentioning. A great one I would recommend to anyone is Wild at Heart, it's a great book.

Living alone in the wilderness for a while does sound pretty boring, but if I had some books and a bible I think I'd be alright.
I also think a dog would be a great companion to have along, protection and friendship   . The only thing that bugs me is how to keep it fed, you can't pack too much dry dog food and what if there isn't enough game to share?

It feels like people and society are telling me to go to college, get a job, make money, get married and be successful.
But it feels like God and my heart are steering me towards the wilderness, trad bowhunting, and  maybe guiding for a living. Living an exciting life filled with my passions, successful or not. I think I'll let God guide me and hopefully I can take that path   .

If youre talking about John Eldredges book, Wild at heart... I have it. Youre right!! Great Book!!

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and heart in the right place.

What I hear being said is that once one starts college and work and a family and all, it becomes more and more difficult to make or find the time to do the things you are talking about wanting to do.

Society, family and friends often do seem to have ideas about what we should and shouldnt do, but God gave each of us our own unique gifts and passions.

By all means, go after the desires of your heart and share your passions with others.