Still waiting on paperwork to magically appear to get this property deal done. Its savagely frustrating to look at this, to me, enormous mountain of cash sitting in my bank account and knowing that I can’t do anything with it because it’s already spoken for. I mean, thats a lot of night vision and thermal vision sitting in that account right now.
But. I m using the time to try and wrap my head around things to have lined up in the spring. There’s no shortage of things to come up with…surveying, posting, access controls, a campsite, etc, etc. And maybe a door like this one when I finally get a place built.
In the meantime, I’m picking up tools and other items here and there to start staging for spring. In six months I’d like to have enough tools, materials, plans, and muscle on hand to start getting something in place. Probably one of the first things will be a small pier-supported deck to accommodate a tent for when Im up there doing stuff. Quite honestly, I’m looking forward to simply running away from work as fast as I can on a Friday, getting up there, and spending the weekend just exploring and taking notes.
But, the world is starting to catch alight, it seems, so I need to get my head out of the clouds for the moment and focus on things other than the Beta Site. We got some snow today so winter is officially here and that means getting the usual domestic winter preps taken care of. I’d hate to spend all my time dreaming about spring at the Beta Site and wind up getting caught flatfooted when an ice storm passes through town, knocks everything out, and Im unprepared because..yknow…daydreaming.
But…hard not to spend a buncha time thinking “Im gonna need tyhis…gotta do this….cant forget about this…”
The listmaking/spreadsheeting is going to be impressive.
A small travel trailer would be nice if access is available. Otherwise, water storage, a filter (Berky), shelter, and a fire pit would cover the basics. Maybe a temporary latrine, we just picked up a small tent, 5g bucket and toilet seat combo with peat moss as a composting option for some remote property a family member just acquired. Best of luck and keep us posted. What an adventure!
Cmdr, based on my experience with my BOL, I’m resigned to doubling up all my preps. I thought I might be able to go half here, half there, but moving tools and supplies back and forth has been a pain.
The cheapest way I’ve found to get the bulk of what I need is yard sales, estate sales, and garage sales. I can often get a ‘lot’ of “garden tools” for one price, often less than the cost of one rake, and I get some axes and shovels too.
It’s also saved my bacon more than once to have the “jar or bucket o stuff” to pull out a bolt, nut, or plumbing part. You know the thing, it’s what every guy has in the garage or basement “just in case” – a container full of odds and ends. They are usually reasonable at estate sales.
No one thinks, “I really need 10 pounds of random fasteners” until you drop or break the one you need to keep working and you are a 2 hour round trip from the store.
The random box of chemicals from the garage sale is a great bargain too.
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Knaak or ‘job’ boxes are good for keeping animals and rodents out of your food too. Just buy used if you can, you don’t want them shiny and new or tweakers will be thinking they are full of tools. You can even put foam weather strip around the edge, although the locking mechanism may still let in bugs.
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And don’t forget you’ll be bringing trash and debris out with you, if you can’t burn it on site.
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It’s a journey, but it’s satisfying in a way that nothing else is.
n
If you build a door like that, don’t forget the pit – and punji stakes.
If you go that route, make sure you also have a good lawyer to call when someone gets injured by the illegal booby trap.
If you dig it deep, you can eliminate injuries.
Nah just do a second strike. Problem solved. Just kidding, that would be a war crime 🙂
That’s why a backhoe is so useful –
It saves a lot of time and paperwork!
Luckily in Montana there are tons of unmapped, pre-dug holes that one finds while out exploring and files away for future needs…
I think some type of overhead cover is a major advantage. A two car aluminum carport (about 15′ wide by 20′ deep allows you to build a small elevated sleep – living area out of sun and precipitation. Great if bottom of structure is higher than truck bed so that vehicle bed can be backed up underneath. Much easier to load – unload. A box spring sans cover and foam gives the mice nothing to gnaw on and should provide a soft platform for your sleeping bag.
The hardest part of preparedness (of whatever type) is getting started when you KNOW you have not got it all figured out. I have CLOSE family that HOPES “it” won’t happen, or if it does that that crazy old man is a fool. Or that they can come to me, having done nothing but put themselves deeper in debt, have have me save their bacon. They refuse to believe I said “NO”, even though they grew up knowing “Dad” used that word a lot.
Unless they were super major shitheads, you shouldn’t turn away family.
Build a small house. Maybe extensible. Then you have a hard side shelter to work from. But I’m sure whatever you decide will work.
Prep and plan on getting some fruit trees planted your first spring.
That is very good advice, all types of trees and fruit producing shrubs in your area. We planting plenty including eastern white pines on our fence row that now are towering above the oaks, about 50 ft tall.
I agree with another commenter, skip the GD tent, that’s for Boy Scouts. Either purchase a shed and convert it to a “little house “ or build one on site. The tent will cause more problems than it will solve. And forgive me, I followed you wayyy back in the 90’s/early 2000’s and just found you again. At one point you had a wife and a dog. If they are still with you, they would appreciate a “tiny house “ wayyy more than a damn tent. Plus you’ll stay warmer in the house. Congratulations on the purchase, I know you’ve been chasing it for decades, glad you finally got it.