Dispersed Camping/Boondocking Oregon:My Tentative Plan

[TylerOSU]

*I just posted a rambling intro post, so if you want more background, go there. :}<div><br></div><div>Also, some good insight via this thread:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=198793" target="_blank">http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=198793</a>&nbsp;(good humbling stuff too, showing realism of living in woods for extended times...not a picnic by any measure)<br><div><br></div><div>So my EXTREMLY rough plan &nbsp;for doing this boondocking/dispersed camping would be the following. I'm still on the fence on the whole stealth camping/urban setting versus the more rural options, but the latter seems to make more sense, at perhaps the cost of steady income/human contact/creature comforts(internetz /cry).</div><div><br></div><div>First off, I am woefully rusty when it comes to camping outdoor stuff, so hopefully this summer/fall I can get my skills up in those areas. I used to fish quite a bit, but in terms of making shelter, wild game/foraging etc, I am a fool.</div><div><br></div><div>So I can continue to lean out and live frugally while I put away $700-800 a month, until say Spring(or possibly Winter, read below) and launch out to Southern Oregon.</div><div><br></div><div>Why Southern Oregon(Ashland to be exact) you ask? According to my limited research, there is a &nbsp;good chunk of BLM land&nbsp;<a href="http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/index.php" target="_blank">http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/index.php</a>, it's fairly dry for Oregon(especially compared to Mt.Hood or Coast Range areas), while not having extreme temps like Central/Eastern Oregon, and having more access to water both from rain collecting and land sources. Plus, I live in Portland so I would prefer to have a local area to try this out in, rather than launch to say Arizona.</div><div><br>But the kicker is my good friend has a place right outside Talent(2mile from Ashland). &nbsp;Kinda a homestead of sorts, goats, he works at a creamery, his wife is a nurse so they are pretty secure. They escaped some of the rat race of SF Bay area for this life, but still have a mortgage and recently had a kid, so pressure is on.</div><div><br></div><div>Anyways, I was thinking I could use their place &nbsp;as basecamp of sorts, and initially I could be a nice help to take care of their newborn+chores+farm stuff in exchange for room/food. This could be done as early as Winter 2012, provided they are down for it. :} Then when it thaws out in late Spring, go launch into the woods, after having scouted them out/made a few 2-3 day treks out there in early spring.</div><div><br></div><div>Then once I have found a few good spots close to water source, I will rotate per the BLM regulations, as well as pop back into Ashland area for any supplies or human contact as needed. My ex-wife(don't ask lol) might even come with me on this adventure, barring she gets on disability(don't ask either...*grumble)</div><div><br></div><div>My main concerns obviously are:</div><div><br></div><div>1.) Income(I'll have approx $8-10k saved up by the time i launch, less if I get a van)</div><div>2.) Transportation(use a van or my car or what exactly...and if roads are gonna be able to get me close to a water source, as I don't plan on buying 800gallons of water...)</div><div>3.) Being alone.(im no naive hermit/Mcandliss type..I know it's crucial to have human contact)</div><div>4.) Experience level. (I'm pretty nubtastic.)</div><div><br></div><div>I can just see my buddy offering me to stay at his place&nbsp;indefinitely, but I don't think thats a good idea to encroach upon&nbsp;their&nbsp;little family that much, but perhaps wintering up there for at least a year might be just what I need to break out my rut I have here in suburbia. He's got a lot of outdoor experience as well, he hiked the Pacific Crest Trail back in college, and all his homesteading experience would be interesting to glean from as well.</div><div><br></div><div>I will say this wilderness dispersed camping isn't going to come to fruition, mainly relating to the 4 points I addressed above, but it's an interesting exploration in alternative living, and opens up the mind to different avenues/interests.</div><div><br></div><div>I have some other ideas like communes, co-ops...and perhaps even grad school.....but we shall see....another section...another post...</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>

 

[Seraphim]

<p style="margin: 0px;">You're fortunate you can give it a try at a friends house. I would suggest starting cheaply and not using your funds unless necessary. If you work around your friend's home as payment for rent, I wouldn't worry about encroaching.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">If I may suggest, starting with a tent on your friends property will aclimate you to living a woodsy lifestyle. After several months, you will learn how you feel about it. If you are inclined to continue, then a monetary investment for a van/RV will feel like a definite upgrade lol.&nbsp; If you hate the idea, you've lost nothing but&nbsp;a few months of time; perhaps work will let you take an unpaid sabbatical for a few months while you explore the possibility. (Wouldn't tell them what you're doing, though).</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">You'll never know unless you try *shrug*, and if you don't, you'll always wonder...</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p>

 

[akrvbob]

I think this is a great question, but I would suggest you break it up into smaller parts. Until you do I will just throw out some various ideas.<br><ul><li>I think it is entirely possible to tent camp full-time on public land out of a car. The key is to know the weather of the areas you are in. I spend Summers in the Sierras or Rockies and they both would be perfect for a tent. But I spend winters in the desert southwest and I don't think a tent would work there, the wind will quickly destroy a tent and make your life miserable.</li><li>If at all possible, I strongly recommend a van. Your life will be much more pleasant.If you later decide camping isn't for you, you will still be glad you have the van.<br></li><li>Where I am at in the Sierras, you could eat fish and squirrel the entire summer. Add in foraged plants and you could eat very cheaply for 5 months out of the year</li><li>Your learning to be a camper is critical to your success. It's all pretty basic stuff, but it isn't intuitive, you have to learn it. There are many books and videos on bushcraft, I'd study everything you can get your hands on. </li><li>There are numerous courses on camping, bushcraft and survival-it would be money well spent.</li></ul><p>Bob<br></p><ul><li>I've lived full-time on public land for 4 years now and I love it, but it isn't for everyone. All you can do is give it a try and see how you like it.</li></ul>

 

[TylerOSU]

<div><br></div><div>Yeah I was thinking I woudln't be extreme like some folks talk about living off the land 100%, that's just not realistic, especially with my dearth of knowledge.</div><div><br></div><div>Food wise I was thinking rice/other dried stuff(beans, protien) and load up my vehicle with ton of supplies, and then hike in the rest of the way. That was one of my main concerns of course is how close I can get to water sources off of BLM type roads, I guess many are being closed down as the budget is getting squeezed(among other reasons)...maybe this is in part due to the upswing in people living in the woods....wouldn't put it past the powers that be to try and push everyone into housing, they try that anyways.</div><div><br></div><div>I think long-term it might not be super viable, mainly for the apparent loneliness and lack of society aspects, That's why I will probably do a commune of some sort, or at least go down a much more frugal path, like rent a room somewhere.</div><div><br></div><div>But as an interum move/"adventure" it's worth exploring.</div><div><br></div><div>I should also add my family in the list of concerns really...I know they will probably freak out I want to even try this, I see them every few weeks too as we live relatively close to each other, so moving hundreds of miles away and into a "houseless" lifestyle wouldn't sit well with them. They keep pushing the conventional stuff like going back to grad school...but I don't think they get the world has changed. They are snug in their 60s, in the retirement years, with all the creature comforts, pensions/401ks etc rolling in....not in my situation staring down decades left in "the system", a system that is crumbling all around us on a global scale. Perhaps a bit doom and gloom, but it's something hard to ignore. That's one reason why even exploring one of my passions(game industry) is kinda of rediculous....if there is an elephant in the room...I kind of have to deal with it, I don't know how to deny most things that huge....</div>

 

[TylerOSU]

<p>BLM will furnish you MAPS of where they have unclaimed "mining land", along with maps that can be had of that area, topographical in nature, which will show you elevation changes, water sources, etc. millions of us can live like this, either for free, or for no more than you can get for selling your food stamps and your blood plasma. I've done it for years at a time. Add in some hunting and fishing "guide" income, selling some jerky, pelts, etc, and having a "wet dry vacumn" gold dredge and/or an internet based income and you can live just fine "out there".</p>

<div><br></div><div>Yeah I know about the BLM maps, there are some decent internet ones as well.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks.</div>

 

[Seraphim]

You can download road use maps online for NFS as well

There's an iAd app that permits free downloads of USCG Topo maps as well