Hi there, My name is Mikael and I'm a 30 year old male from sweden. I stumbled across this forum while looking for likeminded people of any kind. The thing is, i have a plan. A plan to migrate out of here since I'm incredibly fed up with pretty much everything in life. And so i just started a Blog about the plans i have, and i figure since there has to be a crapload of people in here with insight etcetera, this would be a good forum to receive suggestions and ideas concerning this very plan of mine. Regards: Mikael. Into the wild and back: Beginning with a wall of text.
Despite what some people may say, life is not always what you make of it...but it could be. You are certainly not alone when it comes to your perspective on modern society; many people believe that corporations are a terrible curse on humanity. Just think --a little over one hundred years ago, people moved from the countryside and gathered into large cities to work in factories and get a little piece of a new type of dream. The immigrants who started with nothing always had hope to guide them toward their dreams. The dream blossomed into landscapes of identical suburbia sprawls complete with irrigated lawns and rules to follow. Every family strove to outdo the other; lawn ornaments at every season and decorations competing for first place made children smile and parents feel proud. Soon, the dream ceased to expand, and every child grew up to work harder just to make ends meet so they too could have that same nostalgic piece of the American pie. The nights turned into day again and again, and both parents worked long hours while their children were seemingly tucked away safely at day care and government sponsored schools. Impressive skyscrapers lined the horizon from afar and blotted out the day's sun from up close, like magical steeds on the landscape. Things were looking up for them now, their hard work was paying off. Every few years a new man would come along and promise them that, if he received their vote, a larger piece of the pie would be granted back unto them...but the pie never arrived. Did it? The technological era came into being in a flash, and like a whirlwind we were swept up in the tumult in an exciting embrace of change. Many people were making increasingly more money, and what better to spend it on than an endless sea of disposable products to fill the void where the piece of the pie should be. The acres of factories which rose up in the nation now resemble giant dinosaurs of rust with rotting flesh and only suit the destitute and those poor souls addicted to the latest trending narcotic. But, these thoughts are not on the minds of the working class --no. They are only interested in racing home from work to sit on the couch and tune in to the next episode of their favorite idol program. Their meals arrive in the form of microwaveable edibles, low calorie and fat free. The ingredients on the labels are impossible to pronounce, and what isn't listed surely couldn't be any worse because it's all perfectly genetically modified...everything a body needs and a mind can ignore. There are rumors of strangers moving into the neighborhoods; many do not speak English and they will work even the most demeaning jobs for the lowest wage. The television often tells us what to think in these situations, and just like the junkies of motor city, we can't wait for another dose. Suddenly, fear rears its ugly head and it is a fitting solution to a listless and numb existence. War has been waged on multiple fronts, and soon the abject terror of announced evil creates uncertainty and trepidation in swathing waves. The simple lives of our ancestors can only be experienced through the television now, and that is where we must reside in order to retain any semblance of sanity. And yet, in persistently gradual doses, a few of us are nudged toward the realization that we feel empty inside. Despite the jolts of anguish and waves of anxiety, like sheep straying from the herd on a bright summer day, they march forward still. But, where to go? The majority of the people tell us they are complacent, satisfied with life tied into a grid which supplies all they need. They work just enough to pay the rent and utilities, save a little at a time for justifiable frivolities. And what cannot be afforded now can simply be paid back later, on credit. Oh, come on --we're good for it. After all, if we keep at this pace, our children could experience that golden age of pride for themselves, and maybe, just maybe get ten pies for the price of one lottery ticket. Well, here's to hope.
You have a way of putting your thoughts into words that i do not Broker. Very well written, very interesting, and i allso agree with every word.
Interesting project.............. Before starting your adventure, I would strongly recommend seeing the folllowing film....based apparently on a true story...... with a rather sticky ending. The wild can be very beautiful....but it can also be very unforgiving and it will punish harshly the mistakes made by those who underestimate it or treat it casually. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild_(film) Eddie Vedder - Long Nights - YouTube
As Chell Points out, in the video, MacCandles thought similar thoughts as you do, and he made Giant Mistakes, in that he didn't have a CLUE, Not ONE CLUE, as to what it takes to live, out in the Alaskan Bush, in summertime, let alone thru Winters. He paid for his mistakes, with his LIFE. He didn't know the local Plant Life, the local Animals, the local Weather, or River Conditions. He had NO Insulated Shelter, or significant Energy Source. He had no chance, or plan, for ReSupply. All these FACTS finally built up, to the point, that he made a mistake, and ingested a local Poisonous Plant, that looked very similar to one he had been eating, and it KILLED Him. As one who actually LIVES out in the Alaskan Bush, just understand, if you do NOT pay attention to the Details, this country WILL KILL YOU, and it can happen in so MANY different ways...... ...... YMMV.....
The book is better...read that before the movie. You had a guy with everything throw it all away because he was mad at his dad and thought good intentions will get your through anything.
I have actually seen that movie, was very good. But the thing is, i don't want to go out and just die in the woods, hence why the plans have been brewing for 10+ years, hence why I'm reading a lot and trying to learn about different subjects, and allso a major reason why i would prefer not to go alone. And I don't plan on doinf the same mistakes. Mistakes will be done, but not the kind he made.
All advice is received with a great deal of gratitude, As mentioned before, tho i may not care about wether or not i die trying, i do not aim for anything other than surviving.
The term "survival" can best be described as an act which presents itself at a time when there are no other alternatives; the goal of any individual in a survival situation is to endure until he/she can get through the ordeal. What you are describing is something different, perhaps sustaining yourself long term in the wild, and even the toughest and most prepared can fail miserably. You say you are prepared to accept death as the cost of possible failure, but I don't believe you are thinking clearly. Surely, the mundane disturbances and daily angers found in modern life can somehow become preferable to finding an early, unmarked grave for yourself in the middle of nowhere? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you are entirely wrong with your assessment of life in general, but we should at least look at this clearly. I don't like telling people what to do, but you should at least know what you are facing with such a drastic undertaking as you propose. The winters that far north can not only be unpredictable, but brutal. Even if you have a death wish, you may find, once you are out in the wilderness tasting true freedom, that you actually want to live. This very simple contradiction alone should grant you enough wisdom to see clearly, and hopefully you won't end up in a state of hypothermia or toxic shock when you realize it.
This is not an uncommon thought, especially when one can't seem to get into the 'system'. I'm 10 yrs your senior and have done some drastic things trying to find myself in the past. Ever read On the Road - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ? We (especially males) go through this because we aren't fulfilling our intended purpose. I believe we were wired to be hunter/gatherers and our system of labor in modern times doesn't fulfill this. Dinner bell - more later.
I hate to be a wet blanket, and although I support the individual's right to enjoy their liberty pretty to do much anything that that they wish, provided that it doesn't cause harm to others in so doing....but......for you to "not care about whether or not (one) dies trying", would not seem much of a commitment to surviving. Yes Sweden is cold, it snows there, and it has wild spaces where one could easily come to grief...but Alaska as BT will attest is another whole order of extreme living that frequently takes the lives of the experienced and acclimatised. Whether the error / mistake is big or small...the wilderness will claim you with a Gotcha! It's nothing personal of course, the wilderness is heartless and really doesn't care...the wilderness is totally uninterested in motivations or intentions. My main concern is for those, in country, the SAR personnel, and those local folk who volunteer in risking their own lives to rescue fools from their own folly... If you are seriously intent on going to the backblocks of Alaska...make it a staged insertion, spending some time close to civilisation and help, to acclimatise, orient yourself, and get your survival skills to a level where more remote living is feasible. In the event that you do make mistakes at the kindergarten stage of training, they are more likely to be recoverable and not terminal. I thoroughly recommend to you the following book by Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why: Laurence Gonzales: 9780393052763: Amazon.com: Books Laurence Gonzales on Deep Survival | Laurence Gonzales | Big Think<!-- google_ad_section_end --> Read more: http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/general-discussion/32819-high-risk-behavior-2.html#ixzz1uinQQd9a Good luck....take heed of BT's counsel...he's lived in Alaska a long time, and knows full well what can go wrong. I hope that your diary and video log won't become posthumous material for some film maker's biopic of you, like MacCandles was for Sean Penn.
Mikael, we don't know if you are starting from an urban or rural setting. That might make a difference from the standpoint of existing skills. Either way, you would be well advised to get some practice by taking some holidays with the gear you are thinking to take with you when you "head for the hills." There is no substitute for practice. (Besides, we would be grateful for the gear reviews.)
Sage advice! And, yes - gear reviews would be nice if you could somehow get them to someone for posting :^) [e.g., while you're falling, you could push a button that sends "Don't buy this brand of rope!".] But seriously, if I was in the Alaskan wilderness I'd have to do something that eventually brought me back to civilization: fur trading, gold panning, pictures, book writing, equipment evaluation, etc.. Sitting out in the boonies just trying to live is something that can be done here in the city (e.g., growing own food, making own clothes, etc), and I can get the family involved and learning too. Good luck!... and perhaps one day you can tell us how to pronounce your login name.
If I had an op-ed column, here's what I would write: I was driving to work this morning and saw throngs of people dressed up, looking lost, but with an anxious excitement on their face: their son or daughter was going to formally graduate from Emory University. It is another milestone in life for both parent and child--an accomplishment for both, but, from the parent's perspective, this day is the culmination of an investment in both their time and money. They've done a good enough job that their offspring has made it this far with their life and graduated from a university. From the parent's eyes, the time from birth until age 21 is fraught with potential disaster--in the early days of no sleep, each day brings with it a new tiny heart-attack. Through each stage of life, there's the possibility of bad outcomes....but, today, they can breathe a sigh of relief. They have done their job and the painting of the parent's dreams of what their child would be when they were young is almost complete. Twenty-two years ago today, Christopher Mccandless's parents were probably feeling the same thing. Maccandless graduated from Emory in 1990...then promptly gave away $24,000 of his savings and set out for places yet to be determined. Many of us can understand this. You don't know who you are and you want to find yourself. "Kid with everything gives it all up to find himself"....a very romantic story indeed. If this had been a religious journey, perhaps he wouldn't have been so highly criticized for it. You see, Christopher Mccandless...or Alexander Supertramp as he referred to himself is not a survivor...his painting was never finished. He died alone the result of many foolish mistakes. It is a lesson that there are certain things you just can't "wing-it" and make it out the other side on. The first mistake, he...we can't really do anything about: It is being young. All of your life up to that point, you have been self-absorbed...you don't think about your own mortality or the impact of your decisions. The pre-frontal cortex--or, that part of your brain that is responsible for ... well, being responsible and planning is not completely formed. It is still jelly. Up to now, what rules the human animal is the nucleus accumbens (pleasure center) and amygdala. Emotion...feelings...rule their world--not planning, decision-making, or weighing consequences. This is not Mccanless's fault. It's something we all go through....but, generally, we have an adult/caregiver to over-ride our emotional decisions and put us on the path that has been more thought out. Choosing to dismiss or ignore their suggestions usually lead to bad consequences. Perhaps his parents should've taken a more pro-active role in his life. After all, his decisions have an impact on their investment. The second mistake is not being prepared. No planning, no skills, no gear, no maps = death in Alaska. If you don't die, you've had good luck....and Mccandless had plenty of luck: they guy who dropped him off felt sorry for him and gave him some gear; he found the Fairbanks 142 bus out in the middle of nowhere to use as shelter. Do you ever wonder about the last room you will walk into? That bus was his. Google Maps Perhaps Mccandless was trying to prove something either to himself or to his dad. Almost everything he did revolved around emotion--not around making prudent decisions. That's the thing about nature, it is completely devoid of emotion. The circle of life just IS. Nature doesn't care if you had good intentions or was dealt a less than stellar family, or if you're girlfriend dumped you, or, if you're a movie star at the top of their game. There is no sadness in slowly dying from poisoning, or brutally dying in one of the many ways the Alaskan bush offers. Death is everywhere...it's the decisions we make that that keep death away until we can be in the "natural causes" category. Decisions based on emotion is what got Mccandless killed. Planning is essential...but, the best laid plans usually end up going pear-shaped. Practice living first...where ever your location will be. If you want to get lost for a while and test out your gear/skills, hike the Appalachian Trail or the PCT. Johnny Rotten said: There's nothing glorious in dying...anyone can do it. I still can't comprehend why people are so enamored--to the extent they will go to Alaska and hike out to the "Magic Bus" to see where "it" happened--Mccandless's story. There's no magic there....just metal and a wasted painting.
When I finished College, I had that same wanderlust, that Mccandless's had. I solved the issue, by spending two years in what now is the North Cascades National Park, with my Partner, who just finished his PHD. We were both Burned Out and needing solitude. We had each other, and a Quiet Place, to wonder around in. I would have stayed, up there in the High Country, had not the Yahoos in DC, turned our neighborhood, into a National Park, and sent Ranger Rick, up there to survey the area. To many people in Brown Hats, made for an END to that lifetime. I was married, and on the Full Blown sheeple lifetime, within 6 months, but also introduced to the Alaskan Bush. 20 years later, that Alaskan Bush, became Home, but the lessons learned, in 2 years of wilderness living, made that transition much easier. HOWEVER, there were MANY Lessons to be learned over the next 20 years. It is my belief that if you do not Learn SOMETHING every Day, you are either DEAD, or should be. Living out in the Alaskan Bush is difficult at best, and Deadly at worst. A Few can do it, and many come try, every summer. Most leave before October, a few make it to Thanksgiving, and one or two will get thru that first winter, whole, and sane. ...... YMMV.....
