You can’t just decide to “live off the grid” and then move to the wilderness. That’s not the way it works. You have to first be in shape both mentally and physically. Also, you have to already have some survivor-ship skills and some basic tools. People who have done it in the past already knew which wild foods could be eaten and which were poisonous. They knew how to obtain drinkable water, how to build and maintain a fire, and where and how to build a shelter. Also, taking an out-of-shape fourteen year old child with you is the height of irresponsibility.
There have been occasions in the past where people were stranded and managed to survive until rescued. Those instances are few and far between and they survived due to unbelievable luck, a bit of common sense, and God’s grace.
All great points. As a lifelong city slicker, my idea of roughing it is having to stay in a low-budget motel because rooms are booked otherwise.
McCandless comes to mind
“how to build and maintain a fire”
To my mind, the most important skill, and so many can’t. I’ve seen people on UT start a fire with a butane torch - this works until it runs out. Starting a fire is a skill, and keeping one going all night takes vigilance and a lot of wood. It’s easy to misjudge and run out of wood at 4am.
I’ve seen new campers try and start a fire with damp logs and charcoal lighter. This is funny until it’s cold.
But the saddest part of this story, is that there had to be a moment when they realized they screwed up. But they were too sick or weak to get out.
Very true. These people were idiots. Living off grid takes tons of planning and studying and skill building. It can be done gradually as one builds good survival skills and learns the land.
What most people don’t understand/choose to ignore is all the back room/behind-the-scenes efforts it takes to put food on the shelves of their local supermarkets. Ditto for clothes and shoes to wear, electricity and natural gas on tap in their homes, DIY store supplies, fuel for vehicles, etc. Add to that all the service, communication, and transportation products made available routinely to rural, suburban, and urban dwellers and the scale of this largely invisible infrastructure is remarkable.
Consequently, if you are living on canned food in a tent, you are still reliant on “the grid.” The only place where they succeeded in getting “off the grid” was probably losing the ability to connect to the wireless cellphone network so they could call for rescue when the moment of crisis came.
As you pointed out, going “off the grid” requires acquiring a lot of knowledge and skill to create substitute sources and methods for all the goods and services “the grid” provides.
The only thing I would add to your post is that preparation for the coming winter usually begins the previous spring and intensifies through the spring, summer, and fall. It also may involve a multi season transition with less and less support/reliance on outside items/supplies as the “off the grid” measures take up the slack. .
In that environment, preparing/being prepared for winter is an overwhelming concern all the time. Just ask the bears; the ones that survived the previous winter.