So, thinking about moving to Alaska

[Horsepower325]

I have been seriously considering living off grid in Alaska. I have a few questions though.

1. How hard is it to keep mules and/or horses up there?
2. Does the old Homesteading method still exist up there like people say? Or does the government have an issue with just building a cabin out in the boonies?
3.Will there be an issue with the whole felon with guns deal? I wouldnt move there if I couldn't be armed against the possibility of being considered food, but I dont want to have to jump thru 50 millions hoops. But I would want to live in the "nearest neighbor is at least a hundred miles thataway" setting.
4. Is there a way to get horses as well as my truck and trailer up there without driving thru Canada. As a felon, I can't exactly go thru Canada, especially armed.

I hope you have some good advice for me. I lived at 9000 feet in Utah, living out of a wall tent on a cattle ranch for 4 years. I was able to be comfortable up to around -25 at night in the middle of winter. Cold can be worked with, I am solely concerned with availability of game, as well as the questions I mentioned above. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

Just don’t. Seriously.
I want to know how you plan on getting your horses and mules far enough away to where your neighbor is 100 miles that away? Feed them? Fuel? Food for you?
-25 with windchill or including windchill? How long was this?
Use google to find your firearms question about convicted felon.

 

[EastMT]

I’m hoping this is a joke, just trolling. Hoping...........


I have yet to be begin to procrastinate.

 

[adventure907]

1. Expensive, especially if one were to try it in the bush.
2. No, homesteading died quite a while ago. Yes, the government has an issue and a hand in everything up here.
3. Yes, it is still America, felons and guns are an issue everywhere.
4. I don't believe the Alaska marine highway allows horses, I could be wrong.

 

[alexanderg23]

No. Alaska doesn’t need any felons with guns. Unless your wealthy, horses are a bad idea. And you can’t just build a cabin anywhere.

 

[Horsepower325]

All that is just about what I figured. Just wanted to hope I was wrong.

 

[alexanderg23]

All that is just about what I figured. Just wanted to hope I was wrong.

Where do you live now?

 

[Horsepower325]

Where do you live now?

Up until last summer in Utah, now Kansas. I cant stand Kansas. Too many idiots. Then again that applies to anywhere with people in my opinion. Kind of why Alaska has some attractive qualities - very few people. I have been thinking- at least based on raw data, may or may not actually work that way in reality - somewhere around Red Devil if I actually did move.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

Up until last summer in Utah, now Kansas. I cant stand Kansas. Too many idiots. Then again that applies to anywhere with people in my opinion. Kind of why Alaska has some attractive qualities - very few people. I have been thinking- at least based on raw data, may or may not actually work that way in reality - somewhere around Red Devil if I actually did move.

you priced getting there? Solo? With vehicle? With livestock?
Unless your life as a felon involved making a lot of money the govt didn’t find, you need to wake up to reality.

 

[Team4LongGun]

OP-have you been to Alaska? Most of your questions could have been answered using google in a few mins.
Alaska is a wonderful place, but to get remote, there is always a trade off. Sounds like you need to do more research and planning.

 

[Gobbler36]

Go to Wyoming
Save yourself a bunch of logistic headaches and tons of areas that I imagine you could probably buy a cheap beat up cabin in the woods to fix up.... ID and Montana are ruined from Californians and other people in general and WY is the last frontier in the lower 48.

 

[isu22andy]

Alright ill ask the question everyones wondering why are you a felon ? That said - anyone can change their life in a minute. My best friend was a convicted felon from trying to evade the police after too many beers when he was 19. Good luck on your quest.

 

[kda082]

As a life long Kansan, please do move to AK. Sounds like a great choice!

 

[lyle_destroys]

Alright ill ask the question everyones wondering why are you a felon ? That said - anyone can change their life in a minute. My best friend was a convicted felon from trying to evade the police after too many beers when he was 19. Good luck on your quest.

Exactly what I was thinking I just didnt want to get in the middle of it. Lots of people have this "greater than thou" mentality.

 

[Squincher]

Horses, trucks and trailers? You gotta travel lighter than that when you lam it for the woods.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

Alright ill ask the question everyones wondering why are you a felon ? That said - anyone can change their life in a minute. My best friend was a convicted felon from trying to evade the police after too many beers when he was 19. Good luck on your quest.

I don’t think we are asking that. A felon is just someone that got caught.
I’d careless about someone’s past. It’s what they are doing now.
my responses would be the same if he was a billionaire saint (though his money would make it doable).

 

[Ray]

1 - the owners of Rainy Pass Lodge keep horses. They haul feed in on every single flight from anyone that has room on the weight capacity of the aircraft. They still have to pay for feed flights. I do wonder if they have a winter cat train pulling hay in from the valley. I've never seen hay up there, so probably not. There have been people with little money keep horses in the bush. They typically end up fined for starving the critters over the winter.

2 - The state does still sell subdivisions of swamp land for not much money. You can buy it over the counter. You will have close neighbors. You can build a recreational cabin on public land, but it requires permitting and other paperwork. But you can't live on it year around. You can also go the route of a mining claim, but little in the way of mining going on. I know one bush dwelling felon that is a serious miner and he doesn't have much for neighbors these days. But he does count on monthly flights and favors of friends to fly stuff out to him.

3 - The miner in item 2 carries a lever action 45-70 most the time. Straw man purchase, or face to face sale off the internet. However, he hides the rifle when a plane he does not know lands at the local strip. But most the LEO's in the area know he is probably armed and don't really care too much it appears. The reality of living 100 miles from the nearest human means you will end up living in the middle of a swamp or a national park...or both.

4 - Charter a 747 that specializes in flying horses. Or pay someone else to drive your rig up and meet them in AK. If your felony was not violent, you can pay Canada to forgive you and let you in briefly.

Availability of game? AK is a biological desert unless you are a woody plant or insect. Game is highly localized, or migrates seasonally.

Also a lot of decent land is owned by various native corporations. If you build a cabin on their land, don't be too concerned when it mysteriously burns down.

 

[Inkoosikas]

I have been seriously considering living off grid in Alaska. I have a few questions though.

1. How hard is it to keep mules and/or horses up there?
2. Does the old Homesteading method still exist up there like people say? Or does the government have an issue with just building a cabin out in the boonies?
3.Will there be an issue with the whole felon with guns deal? I wouldnt move there if I couldn't be armed against the possibility of being considered food, but I dont want to have to jump thru 50 millions hoops. But I would want to live in the "nearest neighbor is at least a hundred miles thataway" setting.
4. Is there a way to get horses as well as my truck and trailer up there without driving thru Canada. As a felon, I can't exactly go thru Canada, especially armed.

I hope you have some good advice for me. I lived at 9000 feet in Utah, living out of a wall tent on a cattle ranch for 4 years. I was able to be comfortable up to around -25 at night in the middle of winter. Cold can be worked with, I am solely concerned with availability of game, as well as the questions I mentioned above. Thanks for the advice.

I have lived in AK for around 10 years, and my family still owns my grandfather’s homestead that he homesteaded back in the 60s. And I have stayed out there for a year solid a few times.

First, it’s too cold for horses/mules and the snow is too deep to make them fast or practical, this is why sled dogs and mushing is so popular in AK.

No, you can’t homestead like back in the day, but you can pick up old homesteads or chunks of land tobuild on for pretty cheap.

Yes guns and felons are the same as the lower 48, but not impossible, but honestly the least of your issues.

And yes, it’s easy and often cheaper to bypass Canada and just use a ferry.

Honestly having lived up in AK and lived in the bush for a while, I would NOT recommend it to anyone who is not extremely outdoor savvy and very well trained. You need a ton of experience and definitely a good bit of money. Also you really don’t want to do it alone, but you also need to be aware that that type/intensity of isolation can ruin even the best friendship or relationship.

 

[Northwestalaska]

All that is just about what I figured. Just wanted to hope I was wrong.

I found this being reposted on the Alaska outdoor Forum and boy oh boy are they having fun with this guy! You guys in the Lower 48 need to stop watching TV shows on Alaska!

The best response I have see is...Move to Washington State, find the Bush People and marry into that wonderful family!!!

By the way what are they called Alaska Bush People? When they arrive up here they were in my area and the "Homestead" was about 100 yards off the Edgerton Hwy...... Bush Baby!

 

[Antarctica]

Up until last summer in Utah, now Kansas. I cant stand Kansas. Too many idiots. Then again that applies to anywhere with people in my opinion. Kind of why Alaska has some attractive qualities - very few people. I have been thinking- at least based on raw data, may or may not actually work that way in reality - somewhere around Red Devil if I actually did move.

If there are six people in a room and you think five of them aare assholes, guess what?...............

You sound like the kind of guy that if you moved to the bush and there was someone a hundred miles away, you'd determine that they were an asshole. You can't run from yourself.