Commuting to your bushcraft zone


Hiwa

Hiwa

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Hi Ladies and Gents.
I live in a city of about 1M :(
There are a fair amount of parks here ( no fires , no dogs allowed, just trails )
In order to travel to prime bushcrafting territory ( ie; much bush , few or no people ) I must travel approximately 60-120 miles ( 100-200Km) :( Yet another frown.

now, I've seen some posts from you guys where you are either living in bushcraft eden or very close to it. To state I'm jealous of you is almost embarrassing !!

I am curious as to those of you who have to commute to your favored bushcraft spots and how far you have to travel to get there. ( If you have 500 acres of prime wilderness off of your deck, pls. don't rub it in !)
Does your choice of gear and the distance to travel bear decision on what you take with you?

For example , In the city here I don't bring a gun or axe and don't wear a BK9 strapped on the back of my pack , but a reasonable sheath knife is ok.
When I go far , my Jeep is packed with my guns ( usually a .22 and 12ga , most all other gear and a bag of knives)

I'd really like to know what you "bushcraft commuters" decide on gear and how far you have to go to be free of , cough,cough....civilization :)
Pete
 
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I go about 10 miles to get to my buddy's land.

Once I move, I have no clue...I'll need to find out where I can go. I know it'll be about 60-100 miles to get to the good stuff.

I used to be able to do the backyard thing, or just drive a couple miles.

My absolute fave place is Grizzly Base Scout Camp, up in NW Montana, near Bigfork. I got into it all on some land we used to live on up by Tally Lake in MT. Those are about three days drive from here...long days.
 
Half an hour from the bob marshall/scapegoat wilderness boundrys. hour and half from Glacier/waterton NP. Commuting time dosent mean much. heck its an 80 mile rt to get grocieries from here. but its all good.

the only thing that changes is mild winter gear (above zero) or real winter gear (way below zero) and to pulk sled it in or not...
 
Some of you guys are lucky,I'm about 40 to 50 miles from where I go.
 
It's 17 miles of traffic for me to hit my normal spot... it's about 400 acres and plenty of "off trail" for being so close to town.

Ski
 
funny. i had my wife out on the lease the other day, and i was griping that we live near the middle of nowhere, and i STILL have to drive 30 minutes to get to a place i can bushcraft on.

it's 30 minutes/25 miles to my deer lease. it's about 20 miles, but still 30 minutes to the Kisatchie National Forest (Vernon Unit), which is another favorite. it's 45 minutes to an hour to the Kisatchie Unit, depending on where i go there.

i can do basic stuff in the woods behind my house, in my shop, or in the yard. that's pretty much limited to experiments, practice, or the occasional "i can't stand it any more, i have to sleep outside" fix.
 
back lot has a few trees and 1/2 acre, down the street are some trees and pasture land I can browse through, though no firearms or fires.

90 miles to my farm/ hunting place.

Several state parks closer, and about 30 miles to a National Grasslands.
 
Thanks for the replys so far guys. I see everyone has a varied situation.

When I used to live back east it was maybe 30-60 minutes max. to a ton of cool places to bushcraft , but now city sprawl is so huge here and outlying communities so big that I have to go as far as I do.

Kind of bothers me that I have all this gear and usually only use a small percentage of it most of the time , and only on big trips do I get to pull out all the stops. Nonetheless , I try to practice my skills as much as I can.

I'm kind of a jack-of-all trades bushcrafter; not particularily great at any one thing , but pretty good at most things. I guess that's kind of an advantage to me most of the time. Still though , I guess I'm having cabin fever again and needing to get out . Work and family tend to tie me down in the city as well. I'm betting that's a situation with a lot of you folks as well.

I'm really glad to see these replies :)
 
I actually have to take a bus to a few different surrounding citys... mostly lucerne valley.... and then I have to hoof it about 15 miles sometimes 20 miles from the road just to get there... i always wanted a 4 by 4 truck or a jeep... it would make getting out so much easier
 
Peacelovingirl said:
... i always wanted a 4 by 4 truck or a jeep... it would make getting out so much easier
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Peacelovingirl , you really make me feel guilty now, lol.

This is what I drive:


deerpicandjeep001.jpg



Maybe I should just fill 'er up tomorrow , call in sick and go !!
 
I'm about 3 miles from National Forest, tho some places I like to go take some driving, up to an hour and a half, depending on exactly where I go. The two National Forest districts closest are 2.4 million acres and 3.4 million acres, I didnt see any figures for another district that's contiguous and close. There are some good sized designated wilderness areas (no roads and no motorized equipment like chain saws or wheeled vehicles allowed) a couple more National Forest districts are connected around the edges of the park at the center of all that. It would take a day and a half or so to drive all the way around the perimeter of the block of wild country that I'm on the edge of, tho there are a few roads thru it. Some are snowed shut for 6 or 7 months of the year.

You can do about anything you want on the National Forests here, like hunt, shoot, camp, run horses, whatever, other than build a permanant building, and they like you to move your camp every couple weeks.

I don't live way out in the middle of nowhere, but there are deer in the yard daily, antelope occasionally, and a stray bear or wolf comes thru now and then. Grizzlies are becoming more common all around me. Quite literally around me, within a half mile in several directions.

It ain't easy making a living here, but they're still letting folks move here.


Looking out the front gate,

IMG_1143.jpg
 
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Water Water everywhere and not a drop to drink!

I sort of have a dilemma myself. Here’s a photo of the house. The home’s in the yellow box.

house.jpg


I can use some of that land, but nearly all you see is off limits or I have to suck up to somebody to use it. I don’t know what’s worse, having to travel for it, or having it right outback, but I can’t use it!

I can use this one acre wooded lot that’s part of the backyard.

Picture007.jpg


Other than being a deadwood bonanza, the five deer, four squirrels and two rabbits don’t like me messing around in it, and there’s no natural water supply that’s not on forbidden property.

Less than one mile from the house lies Swatara State Park. It’s 3,520 acres! Great!

Easy access on the bicycle via the abandoned railroad grade

2008_01040089.jpg


There’s all sorts of local flora, fauna, and water sources

2008_01040070.jpg


But there’s absolutely no camping, fires, or gathering any natural resources whatsoever!

The only place I can go, thankfully, is the Appalachian Trail. It’s one mile behind the house, but I’ve got the problem that places to go abound around me, but they’re all either privately owned, or the State/Feds own huge swaths of land, and bush crafting is off limits!
 
Man , is that a bushcraft tease or what. Rules is rules though I guess...
 
2miles to land I can hunt and mess around on which I feel is the est area. And 4 miles to my personal space on family land. These properties are separated by 20ft of road lol but are basically 2 miles from each from where I park at. I would walk one to another its over a 1000acres together. Some people just have the privilege to land and others dont. Just get out and ask people like hunters to. If you explain to them what you do and be respectful to them they might let you use their land.
 
Now I have a 30min or less drive to total wilderness seclusion of the Adirondacks.

Back home where I am from, and Mom still lives, also where I want my family to settle in a home in the next couple years, I had a 20 second drive, or just a few minute walk lol.
 
I can get to some state parks with decent scenery within about 15 minutes, but to get out into a place where I can cut wood, light fires, shoot guns and in general enjoy myself it's a good 45 minutes to an hour minimum. I drive a compact sedan or a mini-van, they're both up there in years and while mechanically sound, not the prettiest vehicles, I don't mind beating them up a little bit on dirt roads if needed, but usually when the roads get too hairy to pass in a sedan (rare actually) that's where I pull over and hoof it to somewhere I can be alone.

I rarely pack every bit of gear I own for an outing, usually I'll pick a destination and pack the new gear I want to use or the old gear I haven't used for a while or the gear that is appropriate for the destination. If I'm going out with a buddy to go shooting for an afternoon I pack all the guns, or as many as I have ammo for, I might pack a PSK and some food but I don't pack tools to make camp or sleeping gear, often the only knife I'll have is the blade on my multi-tool which I use for adjusting sights or tightening action screws more often than for cutting when I've got a rifle in my hands. If I plan on going out and shooting I typically just go out and shoot for a few hours then come home, there's no reason why I don't stay out overnight, I just don't do it very often for some reason. If I'm going out for a day hike I pack similarly minus the guns and might add a few more items to my pack like a pair of gloves, extra socks and an extra knife. If I'm headed out for an overnighter I'll pack for an overnighter and leave the rifles at home and just carry a .22 pistol, if I'm planning on being near a stream or lake I might substitute the pistol for a rod and tackle to do some fishing. I don't really plan on being near my vehicle when I head out, whatever fits in my pack is what I pack.

Edit: It's pretty wintery and I've forgotten that I own a kayak, I've done several outings, both day trips and overnights, with the kayak. My gear when paddling is a little different than when I'm hiking, I have never packed a firearm in my kayak (I don't want to loose a firearm if I were to capsize and I don't own any stainless firearms, I'm afraid of rust) I'll pack my gear in a dry bag and wear a life vest in addition to any other appropriate gear.
 
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SkogKniv said:
Now I have a 30min or less drive to total wilderness seclusion of the Adirondacks.

Back home where I am from, and Mom still lives, also where I want my family to settle in a home in the next couple years, I had a 20 second drive, or just a few minute walk lol.
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LOL, was your wife looking over your shoulder and made you cross that bit out?
 
living at the Jersey Shore means im in one of the most densely populated regions in the US. there are plenty of parks around to walk a dog, but if i want to do some real bushcrafting, i have to head about 30 miles south to the Pine Barrens, or over 50 miles north to the much more sparsely populated and wooded north west part of our state.

South Jersey is great, but its pretty much one giant sandy plane. No topography to speak of. If i want to get up into the mountains to do some hiking and really isolated bushcrafting, North Jersey/Southern NY State is the best option, and can take up to 2 hours to get there:(

You're not alone my friend
 
I've got a 45 minute drive to a National Forest. About 45 minutes to a nice state park. Having survived long enough to retire, the dog and I get out to one or the other at least once a week. Even if it's only to hike down to river to brew a cup of tea devour a sammich. It's all better in the woods.
 
Reading these posts makes me realize how fortunate I am to live no more than 30 minutes from prime bushcraft land. I can light fires in the woods near my house and most parks in town as well.
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this picture is IN town and 3 min walk from my house. After reading some of your replies, I'll never grumble about my circumstances!
 
I'm lucky (though I sometimes forget that), 50 ft outside my door starts the tree-line. It isn't totally unspoiled but there is plenty of places to go without having to ask permission and all that rubbish others have to deal with.
 
Loads of parks around me, can't do much "bushcrafty" stuff but I have fun within my limits. I drive out of town and I am immediately in the country.
If I want to plan a bushcrafty backpacking trip I usually need to drive 2-3 hours to get somewhere, which would be blm land or national forest.
 
kornphlake said:
LOL, was your wife looking over your shoulder and made you cross that bit out?
Click to expand...

Excuse me?

Its used to convey a thought, or something not essential to the conversation, but thrown in regardless.

My wife is in full agreement with me, on us moving out there.
 
I live i a rural area,my closest,and fav. area is approx. 9 miles away,but there are a couple more locations within 20-25 miles as well.
 
So far , just by as the crow flies , it seems the average commute is about 30-60 minutes. Very interesting.

Some folks are very fortunate to live at or near the bush. :44:
 
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