[familyop]

" I have to wonder how many actually have the skill sets to live like it was the mid 1800s? And have actually practised being a mountain man over years?"

"Bugging out" from a city to go uphill into real mountains, even a capable pioneer of that sort would need a large, strong wagon with a strong team for hauling the many heavy, old fashioned tools needed. And during these dry times, very much hay. Granted, the highways with fast traffic and no road shoulders up the passes might prevent that.

...or the kind of motorized convoy and luxuries that movie folks used during the '70s to present us with the kind of hippy looking "mountain man" that most of us have really seen. [*Hork* *Erp*] That is, if there's no disaster preventing clear highways and getting fuel and services along the way.

Even pioneers during the 1800s preferred lower elevations for good reasons. Ditto, the Injuns, who were smart enough to keep high elevation visits short, warm, and head back down long before winter. Remember the story of the Donner Party?

[JRandomFreeper]

You certainly have a lot of romantic ideas about what is required.

I'll rely on my 2 years of experience, living without running water and without electricity, on the side of a mountain from summer through winter.

Experience beats theorizing any day.

/johnny