land deep in the oregon wilderness.

My two good friends and I have been preparing to go out and squat some land somewhere around oregon, washington, or idaho. We are going to be heading out soon after the winter lets up to go search for some places and get started.

Right now we are gathering tools, seeds, food and other supplies. We have been studying, practicing and playing around with permaculture for the past year while working on farms trying to gain as much hands on experience as we can in this type of wilderness off grid sustainable lifestyle.

We are going to need an extra set of hands to help us with building an underground house a root celler, and several greenhouses.


anyone interested?
Questions?
Ideas/tips?

bring good books.

I'd like to help!
I'm hibernating/studying this coming winter in Pennsylvania and have plans on heading West in the Spring for a Permaculture endeavor, although none concrete enough to motivate me yet. I am

Can you tell me more about your plans and who's helping?

-Shannon

shannonmariesylte@gmail.com

Tread lightly, having seen what destruction can be done by marijuana farmers and what some have done to springs for irrigation of their crop is sad indeed. Sounds like fun, but squat with thoughtful regard of property that is not yours. Far easier to find remote viable areas on the western side of the cascades.

I would be interested in visiting to see what you are up to and help if possible. My girlfriend and I are looking to buy land in the PNW (probably N. Idaho) and will be visiting again in February. We also have plans to build an underground house.

I can't think of too many locations out here in the PNW wilderness where one would be physically able to build a home underground... Just saying {shrug} Massive tree root systems will put a quick halt to such a notion.

The BIG trouble I see is that after several years of work you might get kicked off the land you are squatting at. That would be a tragedy!

As for greenhouses, my husband talked me into a kit but I regret that. Honestly, if you can build a frame of pressure treated wood you can make hoops of plastic pipes and then fasten a plastic greenhouse cover over it. Have you read Elliot Coleman's books? He raises vegetables for sale in Maine in a similar manner, though I think he uses metal hoops instead of plastic.

We have had a few nights in the single digits, and I still have beets and onions in mine. I covered the growing beds with cheap plastic paint tarps when it got very cold, as Mr. Coleman advized, and it works a treat! There is very little new growth during the winter, but the vegetables stay in excellent condition!

You might want to drift by this area: http://www.unitedcountry.com/search06/SearchViewProperty.asp?SID=129524735&Item=773647&Lcnt=&Page=1&Office=36059&No=36059-78487&AU=N&FT=P

With prices so low, I suspect that there are not too many people. Just guessing. On an ealier page it says they were wanting $10,500 for 9,85 acres. http://www.unitedcountry.com/search06/SearchResults.Asp?SID=129524735&Lcnt=&AU=N&RF=N

If you work in the 'normal' world and live super cheap, you can save up enough money for remote land. Then you would own it and no one could kick you off. It would be really sad to be kicked off after several years work. Once you squat, you may not be able to generate enough money to ever buy the land or the owner might not be willing to sell it. I don't know the issues of squatting on Fed land, but if you squatted on MY land, you'd be dealing with one pissed off fellow.

The other issue is that you can get hurt. How do you get help? I played sports in high school and college and am very coordinated. In my construction career, I have broken my hand, broken my upper jaw with the loss of two teeth (that was a bloody one), hurt my back (badly) and got a piece of steel in my eye (sticking in the the eye ball). Access to medical help is important for illness also.

I live near a small rural town now and even in town there aren't enough doctors.

I don't mean to poo poo your idea, just to point out some issues. Good Luck what ever you choose to do!

If you are just going to do it for 5yrs to save up some money or experiment or to restore nature, then maybe.
But if this is where you plan to live while you grow old. DONT DO IT.
I have seen 2 acres of land for less than $5k in very fertile but humid place.

So assuming it is only for a few years to restore nature, try out permaculture, etc.
How will you make pocket money. A farmers market stand? What type of housing: tiki, tent, geodesic, earthbag?
A movable RV/5th wheel sounds like the best idea.

If you're heading for true wilderness... Be low key, humble, maybe a little dumb, with the peeps you happen on (or who happen on you). Peaceable. Don't lay your cards on the table too soon if at all. Some folks who take to wilderness have really really good reasons to not want people around. Not all are what they look like nor look like what they are. You're probably not the only honchos out there playing by a whole different set of rules.

And Doug Mac tells it straight: A small group 4 days or more from any "modern" resources shouldn't sally forth each day with the same casual elan as they have all their past lives. You may carry some of the accumulated knowledge of our huge culture but by yourselves you carry essentially _none_ of the power and backup that you grew up with. Chances are your cell phone won't work. Mayhap that's a good thing, just what you want. But be humble. Be a little scared. You're in unfamiliar territory. It's the best kind of insurance - preventive.

Hope y'all have gallons of good clean hair raising hard working fun and tell us about it sometime.

Rufus

If your cell phone DOES work, then you can call for help from Life Flight if there is an accident.

And, I believe they make solar power chargers for cell phones.

Relying on cell phones in most of rural America is a joke. I live a couple of miles outside of town and I'm on the edge of coverage.

I'm not saying, "Don't do this." I'm saying that you need a plan. What will you eat till crops come in? What will you do in a medical emergency? The worst threat is not broken bones but uncontrolled bleeding. Think of what other problems you could have and plan for them.

What Rufus says about the folks you meet in the woods.... Yep, I second that. There are a lot of 'growers' in northern California. Most are armed and many are paranoid. Stay away from them. P.S. the feds can see them in satellite pics, just like google earth but more up to date and different wave lengths.

Hello are you still squatting? I would love to know more about your progress as I aim to do the same. Id like to find an area with a water fall and build a noninvasive micro hydro system to harness excess electricity. I can also help you build a crystal radio for communicating. Requires no electricity and good for emergency situations. I can also tell you how to build a furnace for metling metals and making tools if you need them. Maybe youd like a hot water tank heated solely by composting matter found all over oregon and the nw. All very quite simple and once its built it's built with limited maintenance.  Please email me. I want to help you or anyone else on the same path. Ironically "squatting" land is both our future and our past solution to tyranny. You can not let a bank hold a title on your land and you cannot let government grant you titled ownership (they become the authority at this point) as squatting rights are ultimate in land ownership. Brennonjunk@Gmail.com

With the Pandemic of both Covid and Homelessness this past two years, seeing what some forest squatters have done is disheartening.  In a 5 mile stretch from my home and the next paved road are over 110 campsites. The accumulation of trash is mind boggling. Imagine what you see in PDX with the homeless but rural.
Now winter is here and the folks are struggling even more. It's not unusual for storm to bring 3 feet of snow here. I don't know what the answer is.
A few years ago a squatter on BLM land was prosecuted and spent time in Jail. Now in our area BLM ignores the homeless campsites while the Forest Service is enforcing the 14 days at any one location.
You can call the government owned land a commons but with that being said it belongs to all of us. I wouldn't neccessarily want someone taking over pristine forest land and laying claim to it. There are places I have found that I could be perfectly happy living at but it is not mine to snatch.

When we worked in both State Parks and National Forests this was a big problem similar to Robert's experience.

A lot of work for the Forest Ranger and Park employees getting rid of all the junk brought in by these people then left behind.

Usually, they leave without problem when they are found.

To me, I would much rather be an Ant or a Boot at Wheaton Lab and I bet it is more fun.

I do not venture into town much, but the homeless problem in Portland is always shocking to me when I see it.

Having done a fair bit of WWOOF and similar programs, I personally think that is the way to go about finding a lifestyle with as much freedom as is basically possible. I found at least 2 farms where I would have had an indefinite welcome; and with enough time in those places I could have eventually found work and probably secured a little, simple place to call my own. Even starting with nothing, one can accomplish a lot if one is willing to work hard and pursue a goal. I think the key is to focus more on the enjoyment one gets out of the lifestyle than meeting some societal ideal about what is or isnt "being a success." If you like doing what you are doing, and it puts food in your you belly; then you are already more successful than the many people who hate their jobs!