I have a homestead in the Alaska bush, and I'm thinking of inviting others to live in a "tribe." This would a place that people who have always wanted to "run away to the wilderness" could go and learn without being completely alone. Sort of an "In To The Wild"... without the tragic ending.

The homestead is just under 40 acres with a nice cabin and large garden. A spring bubbles-up behind the cabin and a large stream forms one of the property lines. There's nice spruce and birch trees on most of the land, and enough hills to give privacy between cabins.

The garden that is cleared is about an acre and half, but could be expanded to 10 acres. The spring would be easy to divert for irrigation. I dug test holes with my post-hole diggers, and there are no rocks in the garden area. It's all old stream sediment and glacial silt - fantastic soil. It grows potatoes almost as big as a football without any added fertilizer.

The location is very remote. It takes a plane to reach the lake, about 1.5 miles away. In winter it might be possible to travel over the snow, but it's not easy. There is cell phone service, but it's very poor. I'm working on getting internet service. (I'm in town getting supplies right now)

I would make two very different offers available. One for people who want to come to stay, and one for those who just want a shorter visit. All persons would be considered renting under a lease. This is for legal reasons. The lease would only be one dollar per year. It is needed because otherwise I would have to have VERY expensive insurance. Without the lease, I could not risk letting people use axes or learn log work. While every reasonable effort will be made to make living here safe, all persons enter at their own risk.

People wanting to stay long-term would be offered a lease on 5 acres where they can build a nice cabin to call their own. The lease amount would be set at $1.00 per year, but if they do not set foot on the land for more than 2 years, the cabin would be declared "abandoned." The lease will not be transferable.

The training would work like this: I rent you the land, you hire me to teach you how to live here. Payment would be in hours of work exchanged on projects I need done. Of course a person could leave anytime they want - weather permitting (sometimes low clouds or other weather conditions make it impossible to fly in or out).

Short term visits would be anything less than 1 year.

The skills needed to live in the wilderness are numerous. People could learn everything from how to build a cabin to setting-up a solar power system. I might bring in some chickens and goats too. (electric fencing to keep them safe) There's room on the land to build a nice bunkhouse and a runway.

I think there will be a limit of about 12 people at any one time. I expect most times there will not be more than 5. However, families are welcome, and this could raise the number.

Person would be asked to leave if they engage in illegal activity that threatens the land or other tribe members (like building a meth lab or shooting at other people's cabin's).

Alaska is quite distant from where most of the tribe members will come. They will be people with which I have only exchanged messages and talked on the phone. I have a great amount of respect for persons making such a leap of faith. Persons living in Alaska are welcome, and I would love to be able to meet them to discuss life at the homestead, but I think this will be the exception rather than usual method of contact.

There is a certain mind-set common to all of the people I know that live in the bush. People that do not have this outlook, will decide to leave because the wilderness simply will not suit them. Oh sure, there will be those that make trouble during their stay, but they will want to leave at the first chance because they will not like the lifestyle. When I interview prospective tribe members, I will get a pretty good idea of their temperament. I have always have had very good intuition. In most cases, the cost of traveling to Alaska will prevent those who would come just to cause problems from arriving. They would much rather spend their money causing problem in their own backyard. Coming to the homestead is a big investment, and as such, people that arrive will make an effort to get a good return whether they are just wanting to make a short stay, or have decided to make this a lifestyle. I expect the biggest problem to be when a couple arrives and one loves it and the other hates it. I'll stay out of this type of situation and respect what ever they decide to do.

Lets say there is a person that arrives with the intention of sitting around drunk for 30 days, then stealing everything that is not nailed down when they leave. First, there's no place to buy booze so they would have to bring it with them. The lake where the plane will bring them is 1.5 miles from the homestead. Everything they bring will need to be carried by backpack to the cabin. Such a person would quickly notice that no is offering to carry their stuff for them. Even a 30 day visit requires quite a load of gear because they need a sleeping bag, tent, food, personal items, and of course, all that booze. Okay, they think, I'll just take enough booze to last until tomorrow, then I'll come back and get the rest. With a full pack, it takes me about 1.5~2 hours to walk up the hill to the homestead (about 40 minute to walk down to the lake). That means they will be spending about 3 hours just getting the booze home. But of course they will want a nice place to live during they visit, so even if they just decide to stay in their tent, it will still take several hours to get everything set-up. After 6 hours of work they decide it time to drink. The next day they wake up very hungry, but since they didn't do enough work getting a nice camp built, they just eat pop tarts. Being lazy will make them miserable because they will not have any comforts, so they will drink even more. It only takes a few days - maybe a week for them to run out of booze. Then they have nothing. When I visit and offer chances to learn, they will decline and just sit in their tent. Waiting. Waiting until they can go home. Stealing a bunch of stuff would mean packing a heavy load down to the lake with everyone watching them. Perhaps they will take a few items, but even then, they will have to carry them down to the lake with the entire group watching them. Because they are not friendly to the tribe members (as happens with most people in drug or alcohol withdraws) they would not be trusted with tribe members valuable items. This should reduce the damage they can cause.

I'm sure there will be problems from time to time and once in a while, and some people will steal things when they leave. But for the most part, the interview process, followed by the person investment, and testing by Mother Nature will eliminate persons that do not belong in the tribe.

Once the project is up and running, a tribal council will be formed to resolve internal conflicts. When one arrives at a location surrounded by millions of acres of wilderness, it becomes very obvious that it is important to get along with the other people around you.

Travel to to homestead is quite the adventure in itself. Let's say this summer two people arrive in Alaska ready to come to the homestead. One is coming for two months and the other wants to build a cabin and make this their new home.

While one can fly directly from Anchorage, it's much cheaper to fly out from Talkeetna or Willow. Also, it's much cheaper to share a plane, so these two people decide to meet in Talkeetna, and fly out from there. Travel to Talkeetna is provided by both train and bus service. This small town is the launch point for climbing expeditions bound for Mount Mckinley. During the summer, the population swells with both climbers and tourist. Expect prices here to reflect "if you want it, pay a high price or travel 100 mile to the cheap store." This is not to say that the stores there are trying to rip you off, just that it cost a lot to do business there. For overnight stays, there are expensive hotels and a couple of roadhouses that offer more affordable overnight stays.

Once in Talkeekna, taxi service can transport people and supplies to the floatplane service. When arriving at the floatplane base, the people there will weigh you and all of your gear. Small planes must be loaded very carefully. It's much better if your gear is in smaller sized bags. A few large bags are okay, but small bags make it easier to distribute the load properly. (by small I mean about 1' x 2', or about the size of a milk crate.) One thing that is very different about flying in the Alaska bush is transporting firearms. Pilots have no problem at all with you bringing a gun on the plane. In fact, many pilots will not take an unarmed person alone into the wilderness. Just make sure the gun is unloaded putting it (the pilot might check) in the plane. Pepper spray MUST be carried in the plane's floats outside the plane. Imagine if it sprayed while in flight. The plane would crash because the pilot would not be able to see.

With everything loaded in the plane, they're ready to fly. The flight takes about 50 minutes. Providing that the weather is clear, the views are spectacular. The homestead is only about 40 miles south of Denali National Park. It only take a few minutes in the air for the signs of civilization to disappear from view. The only an occasional cabin might be seen. Finally, the small lake where they will land comes into view. The plane circles the lake before making the approach. There I am standing on the shore. The plane touches down on the lake, and taxis to the dock.

The plane is quickly unloaded, I give the pilot any out-going mail, and he takes off again. For the new arrivals, it will be a very strange feeling to watch the plane disappear. It is almost like being transported to another planet. As the plane flies out of sight, all connection to civilization is gone. Yes, they have cell phones, and radio brings news, but this is not like being able to drive to the store or leave at will. The reality of being in a remote area is a strong emotional experience.

Now, it is time to load-up the packs and start the hike to the cabin. Why not use ATVs? Costs. The price of an ATV is about the same as the living expenses at the cabin for two years! The lake is only about 1700ft long, so a float plane can bring an ATV in strapped to the outside of the plane, but it can not take-off this way. Once the ATV is there, it's there to stay. Also, no passingers could ride on the plane while the ATV is being transported. So, backpacks are the way I have moved thousands of pounds of gear up the hill to the homestead. I can say there is nothing worse that packing full sheets of plywood. There are steel barrels with locking lids at the lake to store what will not be carried today.

It might surprise some people to hike for 15 minute up-hill, then find a swamp to cross. The trail wanders through this wetland, and along sides wild blueberry's grow. A nice treat when they are ripe. Then more up-hill to the homestead.

All of this only gets the two people to the start of their adventure.

http://tribes.tribe.net/wildtribe