/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Honestly, Id say find some land, and build like a shack, or use an rv :p

you say you can't afford it, but you can get a mortgage. start with that. find land in upstate new york, even if it's just a wooded acre. You won't spend more than $20k, and if you're a first-time buyer, you can get a ridiculously low mortgage rate. That's step one. Step two is to study up on Ted Kaczynski aka the Unabomber. He had a similar hermit situation going on.

Come on, moot... get away from it all.

Hike a part of the Appalachian Trail. Nothing too much, about a week's time away. It's a wonderful life experience.

Try talking to the guys over at /trv/

They could give you some great suggestions on where to go and what to do. Just be patient as it's probably the slowest board on this site.

op is a faggot

A great place to start when it comes to buying affordable and durable camping gear is military surplus stores. You'll want to start with a good three day bag, and the medium- sized ALICE pack is a great option. It is higly water resistant and the pouches on the outside are great for carrying items you want within easy reach, such as first aid kits and firestarters (of which you should have at least two different kinds, such as lighters and magnesium firestarters, as well as tinder stored in a water tight container- cottonballs soaked in candlewax work great.) A full size axe and knife should be the only two tools you'll need.

You don't really need to go far to get the outdoor experience.

Just make sure you have a knife with you at all times, especially in bear territory.

Also, when you go on vacation you should go to Yellowstone. Hell, I wanna go there too. Shit is amazing.

>>311214
These are what you can do with x amount of money.

Little to no money:

Pitch a tent at a park campsite. The up side is you can go just about anywhere.

Okay money:

Rent a cabin. You are restricted to only a few locations and you own nothing, but can split costs with friends.

Fair amount of upfront money:

Buy/build a trailer camper. You can park nearly anywhere you want and essentially camp from it. The next level is renting/leasing a parking spot, but that ties you to one place.

Good money:

Build/buy your own cabin. Hunting cabin size is a good start.

Living the Dream:

Get rid of all your debts. Buy.build cabin inna woods. Do as much farming, hunting, gathering as you can. Sell your food overages to pay for property taxes. DIY your utilities, make your own wine, etc.

This list is also an advancement list. Start out lowly and on weekends and increase as you develope your skills and want to do these things.

>old reposted pic

Aside from OP being a faggot, I'm pretty sure there's kits available out there

>>311214
holy fucking shit moot in in /diy/.. ok, calm down he cant see you through the internet... he cant... or maybe he can?

Fuck i remember that i said that i would put together some info for small houses for you.

OK, questions first, do you plan to buy or fix a van, RV or something like that? how long do you want to stay on the woods? Do you want to make it more comfortable or do you want to go more wild? Check out our BOB threads, that may be a start.

...i want to have your kids... there i said it!

I don't live in NY, but I've gone camping numerous times. Assuming you're a beginner, I'd recommend you start by going to established campsites first. You can find them through your state's DNR, or through google. Basically you call ahead and reserve a spot in the campground, or you head up there and rent a spot in person from the on-site Ranger Station.

If you want to start amassing a collection of necessary items, you should go to a local sporting goods store/outdoor store (Dunhams, Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, etc.) and pick up:

- a tent
- a sleeping bag and mat
- a tarp
- a cooler (so you can bring food along)
- a Knife (folding or fixed-blade)

Of course there's a million more items you can get, but those are the basics and should last you a while until you're able to get more.

If you want, you could also pick up some literature about camping and the outdoors. My personal favorites are the SAS Survival Handbook, and of course, the Boy Scout Handbook. It seems lame when you first hear think about reading a Boy Scout book, but it's perfect for beginners due to its simple wording, numerous illustrations, and vast quantity of information. It's what I grew up using, and I'm sure it can benefit you.

>>311230
Other great pieces of gear are the old style military messkits, canteens and canteen cups, and for sleeping gear the U.S. Army five layer sleeping system, which allows you to sleep in water tight comfort down to extremely low temperatures. Combine this with a little practice buildibg good shelters from branches and such and you shouldnt need to buy a tent.

You will need guns innawoods

1) Sell 4chan.
2) Buy land to build cabin on.
3) Build cabin.

It's not like you're going to have access to 4chan (or the internets) if you're living in the woods.

Otherwise, it doesn't get much simpler than driving to a national/regional park and camp there a few days or whatever. Bring a tent, rent a shack, rent a cabin, rent a hotel room, pick your poison. Although if you're cheap, rent a room outside the park and drive in.

>>311214
If you don't mind kids, you could join a Boy Scout troop as an adult leader and go on camping trips with them.
Plus then you'd be called a "Scouter" and could make "over 9000" jokes.

>>311254

>>311256
...wat
I was being serious.

>>311259
I think that was the first of the over 9000 jokes.

>>311259
OP may be king of the faggots, but god damn you're working your way up to at least a duke.

>>311238

Samefag here, dumping some innawoods related pics

>>311262

>>311265

>>311262
I've had to make those before (Dakota fire hole). The last one I made was at 2am, in a torrential downpour with wet wood, no light, and a knife to dig with. I did it, got the fire lit, and cooked some soup.

Now, I hate those things. Also, they are only really meant as part of evasion tactics and don't really have much use outside of that sort of scenario.

>>311266

Here's one of my favorite campfire cooking methods that involves tin-foil packets

http://artofmanliness.com/2010/07/20/cooking-around-the-campfire-9-easy-and-delicious-foil-packet-re
cipes/

All you need to do is throw some meat and carrots in a cooler, bring a sack of potatoes and/or onions, and you have enough food for an entire week

>>311269
I actually found them to be quite handy when cooking since you merely lay a grill over the top and it gives you the perfect cooking surface

go in on a chunk of land with other anons.

>>311272
This is the exact style I used. It is a lot of work. For non-evasion cooking I just dig a very shallow whole, ring the hole with its own dirt and leave a gap on one side to let air in. The ring of dirt holds any type of grill well enough over coals.

>>311270
I really recommend not using foil, because of the aluminum. You can use pre-burned steel cans for this though and they are reusable and won't create trash that way. Any metal food can will work so long as you've burned everything out of it and cleaned it well ahead of time.

3 words;

TINY HOUSE MOVEMENT

>>311223
since i guess you are in NY I would second this suggestion as its close and varies quite a bit. just choose a section and go for it. you can start in NJ and head as far south as you can stand.

thanks for awesome webpage

Posting in a moot bread.

If you have enough cash for a small RV, you might consider squatting for a while. I'm not very clear on the laws behind it, but basically if you find yourself a nice wooded area off the beaten path (like somewhere that there won't really be any rangers up your butt) you can set up shop there and as long as no one finds out you're there you can basically live there.

If you stay squatting in one spot long enough (keep track with some sort of timestamp) then in some cases (depending on state laws) you might obtain ownership of the land. I live in Ohio and some dood scored a pretty sweet spot off of the lake doing that. No one said move and when they did, it was already too late.

Do some research on your state laws about it. It'd certainly be something fun to try.

We like to load up the canoe and take an overnight float trip, camping on the riverbank.
The complete isolation is peaceful.
A canoe will hold 2 people and all the stuff you need for a one or two day trip. After we unload the canoe we fill it up with easily accessible firewood along the bank and don't have to carry it back. 1 or 2 trips makes a hell of a bonfire that will still be hot in the morning for coffee or warmth. We've even taken our dog comfortably. The only tip I can think of is to raise a lantern 20'-30' into the air to light a large area. cast over a branch with a fishing pole then hook the line to a rope.

Not sure if you would have access to good clean rivers in NY. Missouri can be great in the summer

>RVs

For people mentioning RVs, it should be noted that having a pull-along camper/trailer may be better than having an actual RV. Then you can unhook your camper/trailer and drive around as needed. Sizes are also more varied with tow-behind campers/trailers. RVs also have notoriously bad fuel economy.

My relatives has a trailer campers they have parked at random vacation spots and will take weekend vacations all the time with each other and make little "villages" where ever they go. It's pretty neat.

you should try glamping. It's all the rage with kids these days.

Own a vehicle where you can lay down everything in the back, including seats and whatnot, completely flat (I can do this in my Honda Fit). Make a bed with some foam and a couple blankets. Then you can drive wherever you want and sleep wherever you want.

Look into a National Park pass, research campgrounds in the areas you are going to, find that tiny little town with the super cheap motels, search for people willing to open their homes to strangers, or even take a bath in a mountain lake if you must. The "wilderness" is often very pampered anymore or incredibly close to civilization. If you want to bring multiple people, look into a larger vehicle or a tent, but sleeping in a car is surprisingly comfortable to me, and it usually forces you to get up early in the morning to make the most of your trip.

>Who knew life without the internet could be so great!!!!
>!!!!
what kind of drugs/sex did you have in your weekend cabin moot? :P

"earthship" is the way to go. totally sustainable and off the grid. just google it.

>>311326
It was 100% wholesome family activities.

Saw the fall foliage, stargazed, made a fire and roasted marshmallows, went on a hay ride, went to a pumpkin patch, visited a cider mill, played board games... The list goes on!

>>311332
Sounds like a fall festival. The ones around Halloween are awesome because they usually have a haunted hay wagon ride down some moonlit dirt road.

>>311332
It's amazing how much free time you find when you don't have the distraction of technology eh?

>>311332

Got what you're looking for right here

>>311332

Mootles you should do some reading on bushcraft

>>311332
we simpsons now

>>311332
Well look into local stargazing clubs. Some usually take excursions into the woods where it's nice and dark and members set up telescopes for stargazing parties. Usually the really huge/expensive telescopes and point them at everything there is to see for everyone to look at. Some last a few nights so you can do whatever normal people do in the day outside...hike or whatever. Then at night they look at stars.

>>311340
pic related

Just put on the white noise with crickets and stare at a tree, no need to go outside of your backyard.

>>311340
I'd model my cabin after the unibombers. It seems cozy

Canadafag here. You live in NY, right? Not sure if you're up to crossing the border, but Ontario Parks has got some pretty wicked semi-newbie campgrounds. You basically get outhouses and running non-potable water from taps, picnic table, firepit, and some of them have a larger communal building with showers and flush toilets, but that's about as much as the park provides for you. The parks usually have some notable natural feature, or are part of what used to be Aboriginal territory, and they have remnants of that previous civilization left on them, so there are some neat places to explore. The rest is all nature, Mind you, you're sharing it with a lot of families and other people, but there's lots of nature to go around. If you want to truly get away from all of it, I haven't researched too much on actual wilderness camping around my area.

I've heard you guys have some pretty wicked parks in upstate NY, but the problem with researching these things is that you can never be sure of the degree of 'roughing it' that you'll get to experience. There are some people who think camping is going to a permanent mobile home plugged into electricity, satellite TV, running water and never leaving said home to do outdoor activities is camping, simply because that home is parked in a "camp site". Unfortunately I can't slap them in the face for stretching the definition so much.

>>311266
I'm no expert, but this seems like a terrible BOB.

>Facemask
To prevent you from giving the trees your cold?
>Post-its
Seriously?
>Alan keys
Okay, now I'm thinking this is a joke.
>2 types of batteries and solder
For what? Emergency dildo repair?
>Climbing rope
Why not paracord? It has better bang for your buck.
>A GASMASK?!
...WHAT?!
>Machine gun
>Steel toed boots
>Cargo pants
I'm confused now. Is this for survival or for staging the next Waco?

If you haven't checked out Alone in the Wilderness, do it. It's a great documentary.

>>311382
>If you haven't checked out Alone in the Wilderness, do it. It's a great documentary.
I have indeed! It was awesome.

Read Henry David Thoreau, right now.

>>311383
I recommend (re)reading the entire Hatchet series. They're definitely meant for a younger audience, but really well written and Gary Paulsen has personally done almost everything he writes about in the books, so it's true to life. You can read each of the books in an hour or two and it's well worth it. Definitely puts me in the mood for wilderness survival.

There's also an entire chapter or so in Brian's Hunt, I think, devoted to Brian planning what things he wants to bring with him when he goes back to the wilderness (aluminum pot, bow and arrows, kayak, salt, etc.).

>>311381
Are you, by any chance, european?

>>311383
You should look into the Foxfire series of books.

>>311390
nope, 'murican

>>311388
I was a huge Gary Paulsen fan as atalented /diy/er Read all the Hatchet books and his others.

>>311393
Go to bed, moot. It's late.

drop pants, squeal like pig

hi moot, if you haven't it seen it, this is worth watching...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq0rZn8HFmQ

>>311393
I think it is time to get rid of that word filter.

>>311382
That reminds me too much of the movie Old Yeller, not sure why, film quality and sound maybe.

Hey moot,
You should try camping at the beach. I use to do it with my family (I have a big family), and we'd bring a much of tents and build a little village/community that was very orderly and organized. It's a lot of fun, if you can find enough people to do it with you.

>>311332
those sounds like some really kawaii American traditions. I'm glad you had a good time mootkins. :)

>>311393
>huge Gary Paulsen fan
Ohh hell yes.

I know some of the less-populated states (places like Montana) offer great deals to try to get people to move out there, you could try that.

Check out this book.

http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Survival-Handbook-Survive-Climate/dp/0060578793/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=
UTF8&qid=1350287623&sr=1-6&keywords=sas+survival+handbook

I can't vouch for the updated version being as good.

>>311308
Your car's fuel economy won't be any better than an RV's once you have a trailer hitched to it.

>>311214
You can find land for sale in rural maine for around $15,000 for 25 acres, 5 acres for $5000. A towed RV can cost less than $1000 if it's a older one.

The sellers will usually finance land for you at those prices as it is too low for a traditional mortgage. If you can't buy the land outright you surely can afford a $100 or so monthly payment, you live in NY so you probably spend that much monthly at starbucks.

>>311479
http://www.landsofamerica.com/landsconnector/mother-earth-news/index.cfm?INV_ID=1092896&action=p
ropertyDetails

>>311421
Montana has no sales tax. They make up for that with property taxes. It'll cost you through the nose in the end if you get anything other than a small house. Land is cheap, because property taxes on land are so high.

If you need trees and don't want to pay through the nose, Northern Idaho is the way to go. Anywhere around Cour de Laine (sp). Close enough to a city (Spokane, WA). A chance for cell service dropouts is always available. If you don't want it to be that cold, or if you want to be closer to the ocean, then I'm not sure what to suggest. If you just want to camp out then look into getting a pop-up camper for a pickup. Camp when you feel like it, pull it off when you don't. It's a little more elaborate than a tent, but not as elaborate as an RV. If you want a true cabin in the woods feel without all the cold, you could always look into renting around a lake. But then you're paying through the nose.

I hear Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire are wonderful for cabins. But I don't have as much knowledge about the eastern part of the US.

>>311485
Maine is pretty much the best place due to alot of land being in unorganized townships/territories. These are places with so few people that they have never had a town or even county government so they have no town or county property tax. So a $15,000 piece of land will cost less than $100 a year in property tax.

Also own built log and timber framed homes are exempt from building codes and many structures don't even require a permit to build.

where do you suppose you get water if you dont own river property in the wilderness?

>>311497
Dig a well? Rain collection? Haul ass down to somewhere that has a well or a river or a lake and collect some?

Dear Moot,

You live in NYC, so you have the middle sections of the Appalachian Trail near you as well as the Adirondacks. I'd suggest starting with day hikes and maybe a few overnight/over the weekend camping trips with friends.

Buying camping/hiking gear all at once can be quite expensive, so make sure you're into it before you plop down all the money it's going to take for a decent tent, sleeping gear, proper hiking shoes, backpack, etc. I've been an avid outdoors enthusiast for quite a long time and my gear wishlist is still pretty long, so it can get pretty expensive.

Sincerely,
Arkansasfag

>>311456
Actually, yes it will. OF course it depends on the RV or car/truck you have, but every RV I've ever seen in person and talked to the owner never get better than 14MPG and most cheaper ones are in the single digits.

My truck gets 18-20MPG when pulling my mom's camper to park it somewhere. Normally, it gets 23-25MPG without a load.

Not just that, but you can park your camper and take the truck/car places. You can't do that with an RV.

If you liked the stargazing, see if you can get in on some astronomy society/club type activities. They are inevitably the people I bump into whenever doing any middle of nowhere type activities, if bumping into anyone at all. They like going out into the middle of nowhere away from society because no light polution. Have yet to meet anyone who does that that wasn't incredibly friendly either.

>>311485
>They make up for that with property taxes. It'll cost you through the nose in the end if you get anything other than a small house. Land is cheap, because property taxes on land are so high.

http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-and-local-property-tax-collections-capita-state-fiscal-year-2
009

lol No, Montana is pretty reasonable.

how does one assess property tax if you roll in and sleep in a car/trailer or build your own home

>>311214
>>311214
Have you checked out the foxfire books yet? I posted them in the last thread, but you deleted it before I could see if you had replied.

> http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/6501538/The_First_4_Foxfire_books

>>311507
http://www.unitedcountry.com/search06/SearchViewProperty.asp?SID=120940108&Item=767104&Lcnt=
&Page=1&Office=25048&No=25048-00305&AU=N&FT=P

He wants a cabin experience. It's not like he's going to get it in Glendive. He'll have to look at Western Montana and South Central Montana. And they can smell the money.

>>311535
Taxes are still moderate.

>>311526
Here's a PDF of the first one,

http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com/library/FoxfireVol1.pdf

>>311381
>machine gun
Ahahahaaaaaaa......

>>311381
>Machine gun

What? Looks like handgun, .22, and rifle to me.

Personally for me there is a large difference between camping and actually getting into the back country away from everyone.

I prefer extended backpacking to cabin/car camping where you're only a few miles away from other people at most.

I think moot should experience true back-country as well to see how he feels about that, however I guess being from the east coast and city dweller at that, even a cabin is probably alot.

>>311564
>I prefer extended backpacking to cabin/car camping
I wholeheartedly agree with that.
It's something entirely different.

>>311381
SHTF, the collection of scenarios /k/ jacks off to. It's survival AFTER everything has gone to shit, and you need to be able to defend yourself.
>Machine gun
Faggot. An SKS isn't a machine gun, neither is an AR, or an AK.

Ban this idiot- this isn't /diy/
jookess

>>311485
>Living in western ID/eastern WA
why would you ever do that

>>311214
>The outdoors rocks -- how do I get more into it?
Go outside.
/thread

>>311214
>moot
>sorry for perceived off-topicness
who gives a shit man, you're awesome

>>311348

>the fagot shack

>>311503
>Not just that, but you can park your camper and take the truck/car places. You can't do that with an RV.

Strictly speaking, no, but there are people who tow their daily drivers behind their RVs everywhere they go so that they do have a small vehicle for getting around. Then your daily driver doesn't have to be the truck, it can be a smaller car or motorcycle instead.

Go watch every episode of survivorman!

>>311409
>camping
>enough people

>>311214
move to the wilderness and build a cabin form cut down trees

moron

>>311705
But, if you have a small vehicle and a small camper then it doesn't matter. RVs large enough to have a tow-behind car are really expensive and get 4-6mpg.

I'd prefer pull behinds.

>>311720
> a cabin form cut down trees
> cabin form cut down trees
> form cut down trees
> form cut down
> form cut
> form

moron

>>311728
it's spelled moran dipshite

>>311724
I lived in a converted school-bus (diy rv) and it got 14mpg. We gutted an old '70s rv for our stove, sink, refrigerator, toilet and wiring. It cost us $750 for the bus at auction and another $500 in wood, beer and materials to build the beds, furniture and counters. We (my family of 5) lived in that bus for 5 years and travelled about 30,000mi. before building a house and putting it in storage. We went from Florida to upstate NY, back south and then over to California and up to Washington state. Good times. Anyways, if you're going to DIY an abode on wheels, why not go all out and convert an old bus?

>>311731
Not sure if troll or just stupid.

>>311737
>not getting the joke
>not a maroon.

>>311740
>meme arrows

I would recommend just spending more time in it generally. Lacking a cabin/RV/whatever is just an excuse for now. Definitely look into getting one, but don't let that stop you from enjoying the great outdoors while you consider your purchase.

One of the best times I've had in the great outdoors was with this foldup trailer you could attach to a sufficiently powerful car, much like pic related. It's much easier to set up than a tent, and more comfortable, but still leaves you very close to the wilderness. I was 11 at the time, and it was one of the cooler experiences of my life, until thetalented /diy/erwho was sleeping over pissed himself in it.

I think one of the best ideas is to go hunting with someone. You probably have some relative or friend who hunts, and going further, you probably have some relative or friend who hunts from a cabin that they would be happy to bring you to to share in their joy.

>>311737
what a moran

moot go to /k/ and grab an sks

>>311214
If you want to start living on your own, your gonna have to know how to.

>>311744
your first home is yourself

if you go out innawoods with no knowledge your gonna have a bad time, if you go with knowledge, it's fucking awesome.

Go build a fort and a bow/arrow and kill a bambi moot.

remember the bears

>>311254
Scoutmaster Poole, I love the sound of that.

Even if you were never in the BSA as a younin' you could still become an adult leader if you read up on stuff and aren't a convicted pedophile.

>>311766
>aren't a convicted pedophile
yelp.jpg

>>311767
>welp
im a moran

>>311214
You can pretty easily build a cobb house or a earthbag home.
>cobb=dirt mix
>earthbag=bags with barbed wire to keep tension between them
You can get rural lots for like 1k per acre, and most of them have road frontage to run power from. So, the idea is that you have your house(relatively) close to the road, and the power company could pretty easily run power to it, so you avoid the trouble of trying to go TOTALLY off grid.
This website has some helpful links.
You could easily build something like this yourself, or with the complex parts(water/electric) done by a contractor. (one of those situations where you do some of the grunt work for a lower price)
>please respond moot

http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/plans/green-house.htm
http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/materials/earth/earthbags.htm
Some rural co-ops will run the first 1000 feet of electric wire to your house for free.
Also, you'd be surprised about the advances of internet in rural places.
Here's a website to browse rural land, you could easily find a few cheap acres and put a small cottage on it for maybe 10-20k, or much less, depending on the price of land and the nature of your home.
>protip, north georgia, NH, and Arkansas are all very pretty
http://www.landsofamerica.com/america/

>please respond mootles

Watch a lot of TVshows such as Man Vs Wild (fun) or Man & Wife vs Wild (the same but more realistic).

Those shows can teach the spirit and basis of camping with almost nothing.

>>311784
bear grylls sucks

watch les shroud survivor man and pick up the armys guide to wilderness survival

>>311785
second

>>311785
you can hardly argue that less shroud does any real surviving in his show. 5/6 times he can't find any food and he just waits it out, leaving for the closest village right before he starves to death.

Moot, you seem really, like, jolly.
Are you the metaphorical 'Santa Claus' that instead of making toys and cheer, makes an internet site that mostly demoralizes people?
Are you the anti-Santa?

>>311798
waking up and seeking independence has that affect on people

>>311214
Go on a bicycle trip with some friends for a week or two. Just be spontaneous, use tents and improvise your route. You will experience a lot of new things and have awesome stories that you and your friends will remember for the rest of your life.

moot, baby, I don't mind if you shut down 4chan to go get in touch with nature, go for it

Sadly, mootles, you're a couple of decades too late for cheap land. Even in places where there's a metric fuckton of beautiful wilderness companies and wealthy individuals have already bought pretty much all of it and are selling it at insane prices to people with lots of money who don't know better. The recent "build a cabin in the woods so you can run there when society collapses" craze hasn't helped either; even in Montana (the forth largest and seventh least populous state in the union), the average land value has gone from $4,000 to $34,000 in the last 20 years - and that rate of growth isn't looking to slow down anytime soon.

Wait until the US balkanizes and then go stake a claim in a state when all of people who don't know what the fuck they're doing flee or die off. It should happen in the next decade or so, you won't have to wait all that long.

>>311863
Actually, farm subsidies have helped fuel appreciation of land values.

Yooperfag here. Land is cheap up here and there's lots of wilderness. Cabins can be built for 5-10k in materials. Cord-wood is a good option for low cost building and insulation. Non permanent options would be a yurt, or a laavu (Finnish or Saami style). My mom lives in a small cabin off the grid which was made for 8k. Otherwise there's always the rent a cabin option in a park, but it's just not the same. For bridging the gap I would buy a Laavu from somewhere like Northern Laavu for a more traditional camping experience (it's kind of like a teepee but sweeter).

Dude, bro fuck an RV. What you need is an expedition rig. Get an SUV of some sort, or, hell, a station wagopn. I once read of a badass 70s mercedes station wagon that ranged all over fucking africa. Including fording rivers and shit. Anyway I'd rec a durable SUV, then get one of those rooftop tents, those are bad ass, or make a little expedition trailer, like the little military trailers, but put the tent on that, so you can leave camp and go ranging. It'll be like you're on safari. Shit would be so cash.
Expedition Portal has tons of good info on that sort of shit if you're curious, as well as an awesome huge thread in the forum of creepy as fuck wilderness stories, like being stalked by large cats, or bears, or other shit that could easily kill you. Apparently you can tell, like I hear you just get this horrible, sickly feeling when you're being stalked......

my offer still stands for us to move out to a secluded snowy mountain range and have backdoor babies together

>>311777
>get 777
>moot doesn't respond
>moot doesn't respond to my useful comments
>why

>>311908
Because, wait longer, this is /diy/, not /b/.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

This guy, Dick Proenekke, is one of my heros. If you like Gary Paulsen, you'll definitely like this guy, if you haven't already heard of him.

When I built a cabin in the woods, me and my friends just did it. Didn't own the land, and I live in a pretty residential area, and still no one's torn it down and there's no notes from the police or anything. Me and my friends just dragged a bunch of lumber we found in the trash up into the woods and used 4 trees as a frame. We used a camo tarp supported by steel cable for a roof. Not really a place to live in, but a fun place to hang out.

Where do you live?

That's a rhetorical question if you want it to be. Basically, do you have access to a lot of rural and open land that no one will dispute over if you build on it? That's really the only way you can build a cabin without buying the land. I live in Canada and there's obviously a shitton of open land and space, so a lot of people I know (including half my uncles/cousins) have built cabins out in the woods and skidoo back and forth whenever they want - everyone does this here, and no one pays for the land. I agree, it's really nice to be in a cabin to get away from things, my father is planning on buying a piece of land to build a nice cabin on this beautiful lake an hour away but I digress. Don't limit that first question to your immediate area. A cabin can (and most times is) a bit of a drive away, probably 3 hours max but that's fairly reasonable.

Anyways, for the actual building part, do you want it to be a log cabin or built from lumber? Log cabins are sweet and, IMO, aren't MUCH harder (aside from the obvious of cutting down and stripping the wood yourself of course...) and they also look a lot better, the classic cabin look. Here's some log cabin examples:
http://randle00.imgur.com/18RFH#0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss (this vid is fucking sick)

Good luck dude, hopefully you can build an actual cabin and not resort to a mini camper.

>>311925

>dat dick proenekke link posted as im writing my post

Man, his videos are so relaxing

>>311388

Holy shit. I had to read this book in middle school and forgot all about it. Being a Canadian living in a very rural area made it really, really exciting to read, I think it was the first book I actually enjoyed reading. Lost in the Barrens (aimed towards younger readers) is also really good.


Damnit 4chan, you're the reason I'm going to read my first book for enjoyment in over 10+ years

>>311214
Get yourself a pop-up camper or something similarly small. You can handle cooking and/or heating with propane tanks. It will provide a more refined wilderness experience than camping in tents, but isn't as big and pricey as a cabin.

Alternatively, there are places all over the US that rent cabins in the woods. I don't know NY, but I'm sure a few minutes of digging would turn up a few convenient spots. Just be sure to pack your own firewood, as the rental places tend to charge a LOT for firewood.

>>311950
Moot could easily get a used popup for like 2-3k, in addition to the fact that it is mobile(can take it to various natural parks), and can be towed by 4door cars and vans

I can wholeheartedly recommend camping/hiking through the Appalachian Trail. It runs from Maine to Florida on the East coast. Beautiful land, well-taken care of, publicly accessible. Make it a life goal to hike the whole thing, and spend a week a year going through the various side trails and alternate paths.

One of the states will be close enough to you, and many of the hikers and campers you meet are part of a great community. They love to compare notes, mention good trails, share supplies, etc.

Good luck!

>>311950
Pop-up camper seems pretty sweet. Any you'd recommend?

>>311988
Not that guy, but I'd recommend an old VW pop-top van. Those things are the shit.

>>311988
No way man, get a westfalia

>>311391
Holy shit, another person on this planet has read those books!!!? They are amazing.

>>311988
yea sucks youre in NY alot of good camping spots in california.

>>311950

Be careful about packing your own firewood if you plan on traveling more than an hour from where you bought/chopped it. It's very easy to unknowingly transport harmful insects (such as Emerald Ash Borer) and introduce them to otherwise untouched locations.

http://www.poptopheaven.com/

eurovans are the shit!

>>311214
You have to work it into the fiber of your everyday life.
The first thing you need to do is survey land, or find an adequate place for future settlement/building that suits the wants and needs of your experience outdoors. Spend significant amounts of time learning the geography, ie rivers/mountains/plains of certain regions to identify which characteristics pop out to you personally. This is of utmost importance, as you need to select the right place for a self-sustained, long term living/vacation shack. A cheap and simple way to do this is by camping in a tent in each region, or using your vehicle.

Spend the most time finding a location, after selecting said region, now you need to purchase land to stake out your property; choose this according to the highest abundance of natural resources and energy in a given location.

Select a piece of land that you can envision living on, one that provides sturdy protection and shielding from the elements/nature.
This can consist of selecting a portion of land based on natural features, like a rocky overhang that would provide a back wall for the shack, eliminating the need to purchase extra materials. It is always more efficient to build said shack into features of the land, disturbing the least amount of the ecology and providing the best protection.

Finally, building materials selection. Choose a durable, water resistant synthetic or a sturdy lumber such as black locust (usually quite expensive per board foot) and matching protectant (I like thompson's water seal).

You might not be able to accomplish all of these at once, but I'm always keen on at least getting started, even if low on funding.

>>312017

>good camping spots in california

illegal to start a campfire here in southern cali and you can only camp on campgrounds. that ruins all the fun. i want to pitch a tent in the middle of nowhere. Not 5 ft away from some loud drunk asshole.

Please tell me your good camping spots.

>>312033
This is great advice. I get the sense I'd like deep woods with high tree cover, and some running water in the form of a creek, some slopes and limited vegetation other than the trees. I just need to start camping more often to try other stuff out though.

>>311214
Moot your a raging faggot, I bet you and your friends had a gay orgy!!!

>>312078
>This is great advice. I get the sense I'd like deep woods with high tree cover, and some running water in the form of a creek, some slopes and limited vegetation other than the trees
Shit, son, you need to check out the PNW. Land in WA can get a bit expensive, but a house on a couple of acres tucked away on a country road would be reasonable priced and Seattle (i.e. the most important IT hub on the west coast) could easily be within driving distance depending on where you're looking at.

>>312081
>Seattle (i.e. the most important IT hub on the west coast)
>not silicon valley
wat.

That being said, the Pacific Northwest is amazing and has some really beautiful forests. I've been camping a bunch up there and it's excellent. Would recommend, though it's a bit far for moot.

>>312095

Wisconsinfag here looking to move to the NW. Which would be better; Washington or Oregon?

The one hitch is that I'm a Criminal Justice major, so I'd need to be close to a city with a size-able Police Dept.

>>312099
I like Oregon (moved here in march) due to no sales tax. 8% in WA. There's more jobs in WA though.

>>312101

Sounds cool. I just found out that Portland has one of the best paying Departments ($76,000 after 5 years on the force), and officers don't have to pay Social Security. How is Portland as a city? Also,

> mfw I could be making 76k as a cop, with full retirement, health insurance, and pay nearly 15% less in taxes

>>312095
>wat
You heard me. Silicon valley is where the shots are called, but the actual work is done in WA.

>>312099
Depends on where you want to live. Land in western WA (i.e. the half that's worth living in) is buttfuckingly expensive and land in Oregon is cheaper, but housing is about the same and I think Washington is prettier. That said, unless you're prepared for 340+ days/year of no direct sunlight and more-or-less unending rain then you'd be better off in Oregon.

>>312104
Actually, living in Portland (Border of Gresham). It's actually a fairly nice place for 500k people. The surplus of stoners I'm sure helps, the two or three weirdest things you may need to get used to: Hipsters and Hippies everywhere, You are not legally allowed to pump your own gas ($10k fine), People will smoke pot out in public. If those things don't bother you, you may like it. There's a big protest/stoner/indie culture here. And there's a shitload of strip clubs and head shops. Usually every few blocks. The sad part is that the schools are sorely underfunded. Hopefully this election will change things around (allow a Casino about 30 miles away, money goes to schools). I rather like the city.

>>312107

Seems like a pretty neat place. I'll make sure to drive/fly out there and tour the place in the next few weeks. By the way,

> weed smoking hippies and hipsters everywhere
> protest culture

You should be a god-damn travel agent

>>312109
What sense is there to lie about it? The people are nice, when you need to pull into a main roadway (either from restaurant, driveway, offramp) traffic will stop to let you in (surprises the hell out of me every time). There's the usual bit of crime (it is a city afterall) but not as bad as it should be per the population, with most seeming to be shoplifting.

Oh. Right you're from Wisconsin. I was from North Dakota. Everyone is friendly. Everywhere. All the fucking time. Like Stepford Wives level of "Have a nice day!" but they are genuine. You'll never be happier shopping or getting directions. Even the non-stoners. Everyone is just nice.

Get a surfboard Moot

You'll have fun in the outdoors sure, but it's the trips away to secret little spots, new breaks, meeting new people, lazy days and all that shit that's the best bit.

Also a lot of surfers live really frugally and know awesome spots to camp and enjoy nature. Also not all surfers say gnarly and cowabunga and have an iq of 40

Regular shitposter here but in all seriousness it's a great entry into the outdoors and it will probably change your life

>inb4 point break

>>312109
>>312110

One thing you might want to keep in mind is that the income tax is hell here in Oregon. By comparison- Washington's is very good (one of the best in the nation). You might want to try living, and working in Washington as close to the Colombia River as possible, then come over the border, and buy all your stuff here in Oregon to dodge the sales tax. It's a bit of an underhanded trick, but I know a lot of people who do it.

>>312118
My uncle lives in Nevada (way, way, way, way the fuck away from everything else in the far northwest corner of the state) and buys all his shit in Oregon.

>>312107
I've lived in every major city on the west coast, Chicago, NY, and Denver.
Portland by far has my vote I love it. You just have to find a job before you move there because the job market is shit

other cool places are coeur d'alene, Idaho. and montana is a cool outdoors place to go. Eastern Washington and Oregon suck, the coasts are like nothing you have ever seen. Northern Cali is awesome. Utah is pretty beautiful but you have to deal with mormans (still worth it)

>>312126
>and montana is a cool outdoors place to go
So long as you're on the western slope, yeah. Otherwise, I'll take issue with that statement.

>>312123
Not too surprising. Not sure what the sales tax in Navada is, but I'm sure he probably pays 5-10% less here. To be honest, if it weren't for all the trouble it would be (getting a new license, finding a new job); I'd have probably done it a while ago myself.

>>312104
> why the fuck would you want to put a uniform on and tell other people what to do
> got yourself a authoritarian complex?
Dont you ever move here! We have enough coppers

>>312129

I enjoy the study of Criminology and find Police work to be both fast paced and entertaining. Calm yourself

>>312133
Its not, hope you have great penmanship because most of the job is writing reports.
You want something fast paced and exciting, be a CO
Those reasons are not enough to join the force IMO
Would suggest trying to use your knowledge to not lend a hand to the system
> best years of my life came after getting away from it

If you can play guitar i suggest taking a mid size car and go on a open mic tour
there is a registry online of open mics in the us
most will let you take tips,

>>312004
I think a lot of talented /diy/ers have read those books. I've been reviewing them this week actually.

>>312018
It is also illegal in most places to transport firewood from one state to another or x amount of miles in a single state for the very reason you state.

>>312078
Sounds like the Appalachians, Catskills, etc.

Hi moot and thread, as someone who recently built himself a getaway microcabin on some family owned land on a very low budget let me share what I know. I know this thread is more about how to "bridge the gap" but I know that if you really want to make it work you could have your dream cabin in a year or two. As another note, I'm in my early 20s, so don't think you have to be an IRL oldfag to make this happen either.

First: getting some land
In my case, this was easy; the land was there and unused, however, I do have some suggestions on buying land based on other life experiences.
Don't jump for a "popular" place, travel around and explore to find your place. Even in this day and age one can still get beautiful raw acreage for cheap.
It's not about owning a lot of land, it's about owning land far away from stuff. If you can find yourself a piece of land that sits next to a national forest for instance, then you're in very good shape. Otherwise, look for property near large farms or undeveloped plots that are unlikely to be developed. Even if you only pick up a couple of acres, if they're situated next to a whole lot of nothing it's almost as good as owning the whole thing.
If the land you're on doesn't have a water source, dig a well. Getting a well dug can be pretty expensive, but ultimately having running water is one of those conveniences that's pretty much necessary. Once they've dug the well, get the water tested and get a water filter if necessary.

Continued

>>312392
Second: getting started
Once you have land the next thing you need is a design. Do some research into building codes (even if you don't plan on meeting them, some of them exist for a reason) and general building design. Think small: my cabin is 8x16 with a loft bed and storage, a mini kitchen and an exterior outhouse. It's small, but honestly I have everything I need in here. I designed the thing myself in google sketchup in an afternoon and ran it by a carpenter to make sure it made sense. Oh yeah, make friends with a carpenter, they'll have tons of practical tips.

Third: gathering materials
Assuming you want to do this rustic and on the cheap, here's some tips.
Building with wood is ideal and doesn't have to be crazy expensive. Figure out what you need to frame the thing and buy those from a standard lumber yard. My cabin used something like 16 12' 2x4s, 40 8' 2x4s and 12 12' 2x6s, which actually wasn't horribly expensive. Use untreated wood for this and treat it yourself (can be done with a simple borax solution if it's just for the interior of the walls).
For the interior and exterior wood siding and trim, make friends with a sawmill local to the area where you're building. A good little sawmill can be hard to find but it's well worth the time investment as it will save you tons of money in the long run. Get the lumber rough cut, treat it with something simple (borax solution again works here) and stain it yourself.
For roofing, I recommend metal roughing; it's cheap, it's easy to put up and it lasts a long time. Plus, the sound when it rains on a metal rough is it's own reward.

>>312398
Third (still):
Go for the minimum on your foundation. Getting a whole huge poured pad is expensive as dicks and also totally unnecessary for simple construction. My cabin sits on a wood platform held up by six posts, each one with a footer of concrete and rebar and couldn't be more solid.
Salvage everything you can. I got my doors and some of my windows for free just by meeting people and checking craigslist. The rest of my windows I got super cheap and an architectural salvage place; most of them needed no more work than a fresh coat of paint. My kitchen unit (a two burner/sink/mini-fridge combo that probably came out of a camper or a dorm or something) also came cheap from an architectural salvage place.
Borrow tools whenever possible; ladders are expensive but you're only going to need them for a few parts of the construction, so why buy them when you can borrow.
I could go on but I hope by now you're getting the idea.

Fourth: storing the materials
Assuming you can't just put your whole life on hold for a month or so to build your cabin, material storage becomes important. Lumber, if treated with borax or similar to prevent mold, can be stored with spacers between layers under a tarp for a pretty long period of time. You can also use heavy duty bins to store things. If you're willing to put down 500-1000 dollars on storage, buy one of those insta-shed kits. If you poke around online you can usually find someone selling an unused one pretty cheap and have an 8x8 storage building put up in a weekend with help from a couple friends.

Continued (sorry this is so long, I am trying not to make it too tl;dr but there's a lot to cover)

>>312405
Fifth: building!
Alright, you've got land, a design and materials, now what? Time to start building!
First thing is, set a realistic expectation for what you can do yourself. You may even want to make a list for this. You might divide it like this: 1. Things I can do on my own (putting up trim and siding, installing small windows, some framing, simple plumbing), 2. Things I can do with help (installing large windows, most of the framing, the roofing), 3. Things I should probably hire someone else to do (electrical, hanging the doors). Find a few friends who are willing to help; even if they have little to know building experience they can totally still do basic stuff like hold ladders, hand up boards and simple construction. Plan your time carefully so that on days when you have lots of helpers they can get a lot done. For instance: let's say you're at the siding stage of construction and you have a bunch of buddies coming to help out over the weekend, spend the week staining siding so that you have plenty of boards ready to go when you have the help.
There's a lot of stuff to know here and I don't intend to cover every single little thing but here's a basic order of how construction should go in my experience:

Continued

>>312417
Put down however much foundation you're planning on.
Frame the floor.
Build out and insulate the floor (easiest to do this all at once and be done with it).
Frame the walls. If possible, build the walls on the ground and then lift them into place.
Put up the ceiling framing.
Put on the roof.
Put in the windows (framing as necessary).
Housewrap the cabin.
Hang the door(s).
Put up the soffit boards.
Put on the exterior trim.
Put on the exterior siding.
Insulate the interior and do any interior construction and framing (interior walls, or a loft, for instance).
Put up interior siding.
Plumbing and electrical can come last (as long as you've done the necessary prep for them, and honestly, even if you haven't you can figure it out).

This is a very basic view of the construction process, but should hopefully give you an idea of what to expect.

Continued

>>312418
Sixth: final thoughts and additional projects
Okay, obviously there's a lot not covered in my little guide, but at the same time it really is a pretty simple process. There's also no reason to believe you couldn't do something like this for under $40,000: ~20k for land, ~8k for a well, 5-12k for building materials and expenses. As another bonus, this could be done in as little as two months from the time you buy the land if you bust your ass and things go well.

Here's a few thoughts on some other projects that will make your cabin even more awesome:

Build an outhouse!
This is super easy. Dig a real, real deep hole (or, preferably, pay someone to dig it with a piece of machinery), and build a little version of the cabin you just built on top of it. You can insulate it if you want to, but don't bother running electricity to it; just keep a flashlight handy. Put it fairly close (but not so close you can smell it!)

Continued (next post is last post I swear)

>>312428

Provide your own power!
Solar is getting cheaper and cheaper, so if you're in a spot with good sunlight solar panels can be a huge boon. If you get set up to store the excess power all the better, and if you live the right place you can even sell excess power back to the power company. If you have running water, small-scale hydro power is a surprisingly easy and affordable way to give your cabin power too.

Build an outdoor shower!
Outdoor showers are great and easy to make. Set up a simple drainage system, build a small shower on top of the drain pad, and run a hose from your well pump to your shower. If you want hot water, send the hose to a large black tank that's above the shower in height and then run the water down from that.

Build an outdoor kitchen!
Want an oven? Make one out of masonry or cob! Wood heat ovens are wonderful and surprisingly easy to build. You could also make a masonry grill for delicious BBQ and other things.

There's no end to the things you can do so I'll stop my list there. Good luck, and if anyone has questions please feel free to ask and I'll try to keep an eye on this thread.

Source: posting from inside my hand-built cabin

>>312428

>8k for a well

If you have groundwater that isn't very deep, say 20ft down or so, you can drive a sand-point well for under $100.

All you need is the well point, some steel pipe/conduit, a pump and a sledge hammer.

>>312447
This is true, however, you'd be very lucky to find a place where this is possible.

why build an outhouse when you can build a septic tank that won't pollute ground water

>>312465

I live in ohio and most areas around here I can drive a sand-point well no problem. Any area of that gets a decent amount of rainfall and the right soil can support shallow wells.

There's plenty of water in my sump pit in my basement right now. That's probably only 10ft. down or so.

If moot is looking to build a cabin in upstate NY, I'd say odds are he could find a site that would support a shallow well fairly easily, since that region gets a good amount of rainfall.

Wow I was camping this weekend. We mostly sat around the fire drinking tho.

>>312447

You're seriously going to drive a shaft 20 feet into the ground with a sledge hammer?

No, you're not. This is the dumbest thing ever.

>>311401
That was neat. Thanks.

Don't worry Moot, I'm sure youll have plenty of money in a couple months from your captcha jewary.

Get a small tent bro. Its a good start plus you don't have to stay near a road. If you haven't tried full on hiking give it a shot. You won't learn any younger.

On a 5 day hike the greatest weight will be food.

Hello Moot! My name is dickfuck assman, and I'm here to tell you how to potato in the outdoors!

Step one: save a little bit of money everynow and then, get a loan if you want and get just a bit of money.

Step two: head out into woods with said money

Step three: place said money on floor and yell "BOKU NO PICO!" So the magical fairy of Outdoor DIY men can whisk you away to training camp.

Step four: learn everything there and come back, one year there is one second on earth.

Step five: You will never become an_outdoorsman.exe so instead, I recommend becoming an_hero. Its much more fun and free.

Nigger faggot.

>>311214
I never knew moot was a digital dualist. You'd think someone so progressive wouldn't be.

>>311262
Wait what the fuck
Do you have an anti-gravity machine with you to make that piece of dirt float like that between the fire and ground?

Aussie cabin man here again.

Just saying go moot! Awesome.

>myplace

theclymb.com is where you should go to buy the essentials. Check out the presidential range and do Mount Washington the first time I got up that high it was a great experience.

>>312632

That's called a dakota fire hole. Makes a hotter fire with less smoke.

MOOT!!!, IT IS MOOT!!!!

>>311214
A great shelter you can make is the underground stucko shelter

Stucko is concrete without gravel.

Dig a hole straight down that is wide enough to work in, now, depending on the depth you want, start to dig horizontally into the ground making a box/tomb like shape. Measure out some A studs for support and place them as you go along. Place cut chicken wire along the sides of the tomb and use that as a holder to place the stucko on. Buy or make a pipe or two that CURVES and has a FILTER (for bugs) and place it through the ground into the tomb. Make sure it is camouflage on the topside. Cover the whole insides with stucko and wait to dry.

good. Now, on top side dig a slanted hole above your tomb and place a large tarp at an angle into the ground and cover it with dirt. This will redirect rain water that seeps through the ground away form the ceiling of the tomb.

Make sure the studs are strong and make sure you build this tomb away form natural food sources, for large animals that may walk or stand on top of the tomb.

Construct trap door form logs and tarp and cover with vegetation for camo, ideally the door should sit in the earth to be level with the ground.

>>312632
remember the 3D dimension

>>312670

I want to be his mori waifu

oh boy, I just hope moot doesn´t go crazy one of these days and decides to live as an hermit in the woods and abandons 4chan.

>>312680
If he makes some generators he can host 4chan innawoods

Become Hole Troll, OP.

Go deep into a state park, away from all trails and on the second highest hill around. The bigger a bitch it is to get to, the more private your site will be.

Every time you hike in, bring slightly more supplies than you need and cache the excess - not counting food. Bring in planks to put across some logs to make a floor for your tent (might take a few trips).

Make a bench like in the pic but use a few smaller logs in a row that you've split a side off with a hammer and maul. Eventually add a back or make something else with back for a good seat.

Make a good fire ring or, soil permitting, an apache stove. You may want to bring in a homemade rocket stove. You can't have too big a fire because you don't want to be noticed.

When you return to the world stash your tent under some bushes or brush, and cover what you can w/loose brush. A bit away from the campsite, you could bury a 5gallon bucket upto its lid (preferably dark), drill some holes in the bottom, add a few rocks for a base, and leave some plastic wrapped gear for the next trip. Put the lid on as water tight as you can and cover it with a flat rock or chunk of log or whatever looks natural. No food and nothing you'd be despondant over losing.

>>311232
nope.
the dream is to have enough shares to pay the taxes with your dividends anyways. so u aint got to sell anything and can really live free.

Lighting a fire in a national park without a permit will get you screwed by forest Rangers

>>312078
Hey you should really try out yosemite some time. You can camp there without tents or campers/rvs. They let you rent out little concrete houses. Its amazing. Atleast if your ever up in northern california.

>>312667

If you want something that's a little more permanent that has the same effect, then make yourself a mini rocketstove out of soup cans. Larger rocketstoves can heat a small to medium sized cabin pretty well, even.

When I was a teenager, we built sort of a little house in the woods. We took dead tree trunks laying around, dug a hole and set up 4 posts to make a square. Then nailed smaller branches to make some make-shift walls. Was pretty amateur but it wasted our summer away. I went up there a couple years ago and it was torn down. What bastard did that, I'd like to know.

>>312078
Well, I didn't mention it much in >>312033
but if you are looking to avoid dense vegetation/humid temperatures, I would immediately take the southern half of the U.S. off your radar. Camping up north is pleasurable if you can manage the cooler climate. I live in a decently-northern Midwest state, and it provides me with a good change of seasons and relatively clear forests to hike through. Unfortunately, my state is extremely geographically flat, therefore not a good choice for my personal nature living preferences.

The North East offers a good variety of trees and varying altitudes, so it could prove to be fruitful after a few trips around to check the scene. Fair warning, I would choose a location that is farther away from the great lakes/ocean region; the massive influx of snow and moisture throughout the year would poise you to have to reapply finishing stains/weather guards with each coming spring, to maintain heating/cooling efficiency and to prevent rust/rot.

I have unfortunately never been to the northwestern United States in my young life, but I've heard it allows for some beautiful weather and air quality, which could make a fruitful retreat location. Unfortunately, most of the sites you will find with rivers/creeks and slopes are going to be towards the Midwest/Eastern US; but I have heard that Milwaukee and the Dakotas are porous with lakes and waterways.

Oh and another reason for avoiding the Southern United States is Kudzu. If you plan on leaving your retreat cabin alone for discernible amounts of time, make sure it is in a place where invasive species can't erode/destroy it. Kudzu grows on almost every surface imaginable, even inorganic, and is known for destroying most of the plants/trees/surfaces it manages to spread to, by blocking most, if not all of the sunlight.
These may not be the correct steps for everyone, but just some things that I personally would look out for if I had the resources to make my own cabin.

Think camping is good? Check out Burning Man.

That thing was the most amazing thing I have ever been to my life. (like camping though, it is dangerous to go without supplies, read the Burning Man survival guide. You don't want to be stuck in the middle of the desert with no water)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxRAg9Pcpm4

>>311988
Make sure you stay out of bear country if you're gonna get a popup.

>>313615
Or he can just get a handgu- Oh. Wait, NYC doesn't believe in the second amendment.

>>313579
> "but if you are looking to avoid dense vegetation/humid temperatures"
> to avoid dense vegetation/humid temperatures
> dense vegetation/humid temperatures
> humid temperatures

sorry guys I had class all day :/ please feel free to insert "humid climates" or "warm temperatures"

I guess I felt like combining them both

why are you asking /diy/ you flaming faggot, go back to your moms basement and learn what the boards are for dumbass.

>>313590
I was on the design for the temple in 2011.

I was the lead of the burn team.

I agree with this.

>mfw Moot posts
>mfw almost every post in this thread is relevant to his question, with some good info in each
>mfw us peasant posters will never get this king treatment
>mfw Uncle Ben

It's not fair

>>314191

long time burner here, too; DMV for 5 yrs, blah blah.

burning man is great! but it's not exactly camping, in that solitude sense. 'nature' isn't dominant there!

to me, camping, as OP put it, i think of as car camping vs. hiking/backpacking. (RV camping is a special case, not my thing)

w/o a car (did someone say NYC) there's a ton of options, but obviously you carry all yr shit. if that were my choice i'd scout location accordingly.

i'm deeply into car camping. it's both better and worse, you get to go further, but it constrains yoru view. we do 'lite' car camping; we sleep in the car (station wagon), but elsewise we're otuside. no A/C, TVs, sound systems, any shit like that.

Recently we've been hauling an ancient (45 yr old!) popup tent trailer, mainly for burning man (sleeping off the ground! not in a car! whee!!) but it's so easy to use we've used it for local, weekend camping. we bring the dogs, they loev it. you get a table and a light. Basically it's a tent with a metal base, so it's still sorta spare. you can rent 'em.

>>311230
Yer country is at war with half this planet, and hated by another quarter of it, and you have military surplus? Now that's just crazy....

As for OP, come to hngary, your plane ticket will cost much less than 20k, get some land in the carpathians, build whatever the hell ya want away from civilization, profit. And it will still be friggen cheap.

>>311270
BBQd some salmon like this last week, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and some olive oil. shit was fucking delicious. and its easy as fuck to cook

>>311231

>Knife
>Bear

I doubt it even matters at the point you decide it is reasonable to fight a bear with a knife.

>>314254
Depends on the bear. With a decent-sized knife you stand a good chance of winning against or driving off a black bear, but if it's a brown or a grizzly then you're fucked.

>>311988
One guy already suggested Westfalia. I've only ever stayed in two pop-ups and they were both Westfalia. They're comfortable enough, especially for warm weather conditions. If you go out this winter, a generator or propane system is unavoidable if you want to stay warm.

This...

Four cylinders of raw, penny-pinching power, 20mpg, 0 to 60 in your dreams, fully equipped and everything works...my new road-trip-mobile

I always wanted one of these: a 4WD Mitsubishi Delica Van.

You could drive this baby up all kinds of forestry service roads.

Where U at OP? If the Western end of Pennsylvania is an option there are three trails that have these shelters along the route. They are only $4 to stay for the night and the areas always have firewood and a pump for water.

>>312648
Oh a west aussie!

How much did you get that land for? How big is it?

White water rafting in WV, it's a cheap state (except for gas), and you can get packages that include cabins that aren't much more than a Super 8.

Also two of the best rafting rivers on the Earth.

>>314381
I've been considering both Cheat Lake area and Monongahela National Forest. What are your thoughts?

>>314361
I saw one of these few days ago, all pimped up, roof-rack (dunno the english word, not my native language) and increased ground clearance. Looked awesome.

>>314361

Ive been looking at these for a while as well. I will definitely be getting a space gear as my next car.

>>312648
>>314380

Another WAanon here as well. I saw your last thread and Im fucking jealous. Would love some more details as I will be in the market myself with the next year.

>>311348
>The Faggot Shack

>>311249
to add onto the twine bit, I knew this one guy who swore by Dacron, the shit they use to make bowstrings.

>>311265
>moleskin
>optional
I would argue this one.

Dear Moot,

Think Big and just do it!

andersaroundtheworld.com

So, this is what you were up to!
Hope you had fun camping moot.

>>312078
just come up to canada moot, algonquin is great stuff and if you want like rocks and shit, the great canadian sheild is a wonder

hey moot here is the cheap way:
buy a tent, they are cheap movable etc
ask a bit around and you'll prob already know someone who owns some acres of wood. just ask them if you can camp there. or just do it, chances of getting caught are small.

other method is to sell 4chan to some commercial party or steal the money from the 4chan passes, but don't do that, just because i like how things go around here.

now i'm going to fap furiously because i said something to moot

MOOT IS A NIGGER

DESU DESU MOSHI MOSHI DESU DESU DESU

>>311214
>I've never been backpacking

>>311214
have you heard of this guy moot?
http://www.galfromdownunder.com/dan-price/
if you're lucky you could pull off the same thing he did.

>>315309
forgot to post this other youtube that he's in

>>311214
/k/ommando here.

You want to go innawoods, Mootykins?

>Grab SKS
>Go innawoods

Done.

>>315309
still failed and forgot to post the link still to the other vid he's in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwCpQKcnObA

moot! my brothers friend baby sat you!!!

her name was crystal!

lullz

OP
>heating
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLNViUsRCVU&feature=related
>start fires mid day/boil water to sterilize
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtzRAjW6KO0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeSyHgO5fmQ
>Water heater
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOpoupq7DRI&NR
>water pump
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN9iLNHGOYI

All power-less.

But if you want power you can do a few things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx_wjlMO3OI
>earth batteries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WooCJ3mye54
>wind turbine how-to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlO8UDsc-Fc
>advanced turbine experiment

You attach any of these to a battery tender, to a system of batteries. The random jolts of power are charging the batteries, and the batteries give you a steady flow of energy. Amps kill, voltage doesn't(unless it's a fuckload).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rum-lbJowBM
>this guys channel is nice

>>311254
the lord of 4chan as a boyscout leader
that would go over well

>>311214
please ban swami

>>311332
Sounds super gay. You haven't had a true outdoor experience until you've gotten a bear in an arm bar.

>>311388
On a similar note, it's worth it to check out some Jack London books. Won't really help you in terms of wilderness survival (for the most part) but serve as a great taste until you get yourself out there.

>>315715
"To Build a Fire" is a pretty good case study about the dangers of not being prepared.

>>315530
Scoutmaster Moot would be the best goddamn scoutmaster ever, don't try to deny it. All the other troops would be eternally envious of troop 9001.

Hey m00t!
You're more than welcome to move into my cabin! ;]

>>316007
by the way, I'm a bear. I will let you arm bar me. Whatever that is.

>>311214


Do you want to learn Moot. As you can tell from my IP I'm bum fuck country side.

And I bet you can afford a nice piece of property. Keep saving your cash. Around 40k and you can get a very nice cabin with a view of the atlantic Ocean...well at least water, in Nova Scotia.

Pretty Celtic Canucks around there too. Probably get a nice sized cabin for yourself to ass around in or have a couple of friends up.

Plus it's a reasonable drive from NYC. Another three hours on Boston. Or check in around St Andrew's on the Bay.

I promise that you will have a great time. College town full of nursing and beautician students. Girls out number guys 4 to 1.

Don't believe me moot check it out yourself.

When you aren't using it, rent it out to other NYC folks for 1200 a week during the high summer season.

It's what the old lady and I do with ours. Nice having an extra 35k to kick around per year. Shit man, you could run 4chan by remote. 5mbps satellite internet is everywhere and it's reasonable (100 a month)

Come visit the East Coast of Canada.

Here's 20k, some land and it's in the bush. Probably with hunting rights as well.

http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=11069774&PidKey=-714472622

Or get a house and count moose in the back yard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_Mountains

Go here.

>>316100
>Highest point: 5.344 ft.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA

Those aren't mountains. Those are hills.

If you drive a couple hours north from Bangor into Aroostook county, you might as well be up the Amazon. Peace and quiet and complete isolation. And supplies are never far away because of the tradition of camping & forestry.

If you want some camping porn, watch "Dead River Rough Cut" or "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga".

> 316082

Warning warning warning danger!
Will Robinson
grew up here .. black pit of inbred despair on the US side.
Canadian side seem bucolic in comparison.

>>316148
>bucolic

If one seeks a respite drinking good beer, with over priced gas and good company in a reasonably priced part of the western world.

East Coast of Canada is the place to be.

>>316108
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain#Definition

>>314233
seconding this.

good maple syrup glazed salmon is easy and delicious.

>>312429
cool posts bro, thanks.

>>311502

Hey, Arkansasfag, that picture is of a place near me. Keep going up that road, turn right, and there's the Brockodale Woods. That's a nice place to camp, but it's in Britland, so it's probably less a wilderness than your back yard is. I knew a bloke who did some contract work in Arkansas. His face would go pale when he mentioned the "woods".

Just thought I'd let you know.

Hey, Moot, just an elegan/tg/entleman here... I saw in a video clip the other day the idea of concrete canvas tents? That might be something you would be interested in. Here's a link: http://concretecanvas.co.uk/

>>316850
And make sure to start at the crack of day, night+acid+woods is nightmare

Take lsd and go hike. Best experience ever.

>>312078
Move to Mexico, Moot, while the land
is still cheap. Find a nice quiet place
and only leave your land to visit the local
pueblos. You could probably get decent
sized land, and a cabin built, with utilities
for less than 50k.

>>314375

Mah nigga, looks like LHHT! Stayed the night at a few spots but have yet to thru hike the entire thing. Hope to do the entire thing in the next couple of weeks. I would shit myself if OP was staying the night in a neighboring shelter.

Something like this? Photo #1

Photo #2

>>317138
Relatively expensive and effortful to build for occasional recreation compared to buying an old RV or going tenting. Also you'd need a decent truck to tow it unless you want to keep it in a spot.

>>317147
Those types do look a whole LOT better than typical camper/trailers and RVs. That can mean all the difference too.