Wilderness Living Happens

Some people are into wilderness living merely in theory. Some people go camping periodically. Then, there are some who have wilderness living thrust upon them. When I refer to wilderness living, I mean actually living without utilities or plumbing 365 days of the year. You get used to it. If you let yourself relax and not take things too seriously, then you get to really enjoy it.

Why Live In The Wilderness

The odd thing is, the wilderness is the natural home of our species. Wilderness living is the way we were originally built to survive in. And yet it is now considered normal to live fully housed with automatic-this and central-that and wilderness living is looked upon as peculiar. If you find wilderness living thrust upon you, do not consider yourself doomed. If you really want to say alive, you’ll figure it out pretty darn quick.

Advantages

There are a bunch of advantages to wilderness living. Since you have exposure to the elements and lots of physical labor, you get really fit. Also, if the townies know you live in the woods, they respect you, if not fear you. Another advantage is that it’s quiet. Real wilderness living does not have a portable TV or even a cell phone. Occasionally I indulged in radio. When I could afford the batteries, I could have two hours of listening to a CD per night.

Another advantage is that you get to know who you are and what you are capable of and what you are not capable of. You can’t figure out who you are in the modern world – there are too many voices, too much advice. Get stranded in the woods without a penny in your pocket and I can guarantee you that you will figure out who you are pretty darn quickly. Your priorities have to sort themselves out just for your own sanity.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of wilderness living are not really that bad, if you get used to them and lower your standards a bit. Sure, there is no indoor plumbing. You adjust. Not only that, you get killer thighs from having to squat several times a day (if you are a woman). Your skin adjusts to not getting a thorough wash every day. It toughens up. You find you can wash with hot water poured into a large bowel – the way our ancestors usually did it. There is a lot of dirt and bugs and rats, but you get used to them.