These are all good things to heed, and consider. If you have a Family, you have a lot of hard questions to answer, and many more responsibilities. It is indeed a hard life, and like J.W. said, many in the past did not make it. If you want to read some heart breaking stories, read some of the letters of the miners who went to Alaska to strike it rich. The ones who did strike it rich, were few and far between. The ones who made money, were the towns people, and businesses especially the Brothels!
. One miner who was seeing the truth of it all, was also a baker, and he started making and selling pies, for the unheard of price of $5.00 apiece!
But he sold every one he made, because it reminded the miners of a little bit of home. He was able to go home with more money than he had before he went to Alaska. Like they said here, if you are young, yeah, it is not too hard, but as you get older, it becomes much harder to do the things you once took for granted. I used to work construction, and have done everything from digging ditches, to cutting and hauling away trees, and scraping fifty years of paint off of old clap board buildings in August. But I would not even think of doing that stuff now. I can't leap tall women....uh, I mean tall buildings in a single bound any more.
Heck it's even difficult to get a running start!
A buddy of mine turned fifty, a few years ago, and he called me and said that he was now fifty years old, and asked what could he expect. I told him that when he got out of bed, that snap, crackle, and pop, wasn't his cereal! I told him that from that point on he was going to find that the warranty on many body parts was going to run out, and on a more frequent basis, as time went on. Remember it is not just you, it is your Family also, that has to endure your decisions. Be sure to save as much money as you can before you go, for unexpected emergencies, medical or others like vehicle repairs, etc. Also, replacing clothes, even from a thrift store, still takes cash. Washing clothes with a tub and wash board, or rock, will wear out clothes quickly. Take a look at some of the old photo graphs of the cowboys, and Indians. They have wrinkled leathery faces, and look ancient. Most were in their mid to late forties. It was just a hard life. There was a reason why some Indian tribes would leave their old and infirm, out to die. It was hard enough for the young, and healthy to survive, without trying to take care of the old, and sick. It was a harsh and cruel way, but it was a simple painful fact of life. Each knew that their time would also come. When you could not contribute to the tribe's resources, or your own, you were no longer an asset, but another burden. The Ti pi village sounds more organized than most groups, but still even with a solar hot water hose, the winter is going to be difficult, especially the out house. Like they said, leaves just don't cut it. I have become very sissified when it comes to striking timber. (toilet paper) I wish you all the best, and good fortune in your adventure, but I personally would not recommend it for a family, especially in the sense of being in it for the long term. Cutting wood with a chain saw and hauling it, and then splitting it, and stacking it is hard enough, let alone with just an axe. I had cut, and roughly piled about two or so cords of 18-20inch wide Red fir, in about fourteen to fifteen inch lengths. Well I got a manly idea, that I was going to finish splitting, and stacking that pile, before night fall. Well I finished about half an hour into night fall. Then I covered the split and stacked wood, with some tarps, weighted them down with rocks, and then went in the house, and took a nice long hot shower, and made supper, and had beer with it, and did a little reading, and went to bed. The next morning I was on my way to the Chiropractor!
After a couple of sessions, I was a little better, but it took a couple of weeks, before I stopped looking like Frankenstein trying to do the twist, whenever I tried to move. My back, and arms, told my brain to just shut down the next time I got that idea. Now I just do small batches at a time. Once in awhile, I will go over a bit, and I pay for it. Like the Pennsylvania Dutch used to say, " Too soon ve get old, too late ve get smart!" I personally would go with just doing more self sufficient living, than go the whole primitive route. Ti pi's were useful, because they could be taken down, and put up, fairly easily, being on the move a lot, and going from one place to another, depending on game, and other food sources, and the seasons, they could be taken with the tribe. I would not want to spend time in one in the summer, let alone in the winter. You would have to assign someone to fire watch, like we had in the army, for the old coal heaters, for the barracks. Richard proenenke , or however his name is spelled, was carpenter, craftsman, and all around handy man, and built a little cabin in Alaska. He lived there for quite a few years, and there is a book about it, and there was a story on the Public Broadcasting station. It was very interesting, and informative on how he solved certain problems, and such. He also had supplies flown in. He finally moved back to Seattle I believe, to live with his Daughter, as he said he just couldn't take the winters, and hard work it took to live there anymore. We are where we are now, not because we were comfortable living the primitive way, but because we kept changing, and improving our way of life, and comforts. Some people would like to live in a castle. They are cold, and damp! The primitive way of life is a way of surviving, but not very comfortably. It is good to have those skills, and knowledge, and experience, but again personally, I would not want to have to live like that for very long. Anyway, again I wish you well, and good luck, and keep us updated on journey into the past way of life.
Wayne
