Starting A Cabin

 

After successfully crossing the trestle we could see the two shiny rails stretching ahead, into the forest. After a quick look back to make sure I was ready, my dad took off, bumping down the rough trail right on the edge of the tracks.

The railroad is built high up on a gravel bed 15 to20 feet above the surrounding ground. A narrow trail was precariously perched between the railroad tie ends and the steep gravel bank.  There was so little room that I had to constantly watch so that I would not hit the railroad ties on one side or roll down the gravel bank on the other.

(The trail is much nicer now and is down beside the railroad as is shown in this picture above, which I took recently, much safer!)

 

Mile by mile we traveled. Riding along my head was filled with thoughts of what might lie ahead.  I was startled out of my day dreaming.  I looked up to see a large light in the middle of the railroad tracks! Where  was I to go? the train was coming! 

My dad stopped and motioned me to get over as close as possible to the edge of the bank. As I dismounted, the train was upon us. It towered over us, rushing at us with a shrill of the whistle and  burst of wind.  Waving cheerfully the engineer smiled and was gone. Then all we heard was the regular beat of the train as it rolled by just a few feet away.
 

We continued on, turning off the tracks into the forest. The trail led away from the lowlands into the foothills of the Talkeetna Mountains, toward the place I had been dreaming about for so many months.

What a different place than the white sea of snow I had experienced the winter before.  Now it was one long ribbon of mud and water interspersed with creeks.  On and on we went through unending mud puddles. It wasn't long before I was soaked to the skin.

As the trail lead deeper and deeper into the forest it became less and less traveled. The mud gave way to tree roots and the humus of the forest floor. Making the trail drier for sure, but oh so much more bumpy! 

Traveling on,  the hills became taller and the creeks larger.  Stopping for a rest my dad said that we were getting closer.  Just a couple more miles and we would be there!  He pointed out over the valley and from where we sat we could see a large swampy area about a mile away. 

This is the swamp that lay behind our place.  There was only two more stream to cross, up a short hill and then just a few more twists of the trail and we would be there!

 
I stood looking southeast over the valley. Stretching on as far as you could see were more valleys, hills and mountains. I could hardly contain myself, what a land, what a fantastic land to roam and explore!

 Impatient to move on and reach our destination we started off. The forest changed again.  Now  we traveled through a mixture of trees and open meadows.  The  grass and fireweed, 6 to 8 feet tall all around us, a perfect place for a bear to hide! 

As we climbed the last muddy hill  and crossed the last muddy stream, my excitement grew.  Then I saw a ribbon on a tree.  Even before my dad stopped to tell me that this marked our property line, I knew  I had come home.  I looked around at the forest and knew this was a place to rest, a home.

We soon found a convenient place and set to work making a temporary camp.  This camp we would use as we built our cabin.  We made a ladder of large spikes driven into a birch tree.  Then we could string a rope high in the tree, to keep our food  out of the reach of bears. 

Cutting slender spruce poles we used them to make a lean-to with tarps.  It would give us a dry place to cook, eat and rest besides the tent.   After the lean-to was built we set up the tent.  

By that time I was starving!   finally after building a roaring fire and hanging my wet cloths to dry it was time to eat!

Sitting down by the fire after a long, cold wet day I was ready to soak up the warmth and rest. 

The next few days were filled with rain and work cutting trees, putting joists on the floor and getting ready for the plywood flooring.  Finally it was the last soggy evening.  It was time to pack up and head home. 

Unknown to us the streams we had crossed a few days before with ease, had become raging torrents.

 

Our First Summer Trips

Back at school the days passed, turning into weeks.   The weeks turned into months, and still we were not able to make another trip to look for land.  March rolled around, my dad was again working long hours, and the opportunity for us to go back into the wilderness slipped away.

 

As the deadline for filing on the land grew closer I wondered if we would ever be able to realize this dream?   Our friend decided he was going to try another trip. Now that spring was beginning the snow would be hard and fast from thawing in the daytime and freezing at night.  He felt he could make a quick day trip, find and stake the land.

It was arranged that my brother would go this time with our friend on a Sunday and they would search for land

Loading up before dawn and heading out,  they decided on an amount of time to travel before stopping and staking land.

 

Approaching the time deadline, they found themselves on a hill overlooking a valley with streams, low ridges and beaver ponds.  Beyond that, the valley dipped further down into Clear Creek, with the foothills of the Talkeetna Mountains rising up in the background.

Deciding this was the valley, they headed down to stake the land.  This would become the place of so many memories.   The one place on this planet that I have really felt was home.

Spring turned to summer. We had acquired the land.  The dream had really come true!   My dad had made a short weekend trip out to see the land and find a suitable place to build a cabin. I could barely contain my eagerness to see the land.  

 
 My father, being a contractor had to work hard during the busy summer season and had little time off for trips to the wilderness.  As the summer dragged by, I had to busy myself with summer jobs, summer camp, hikes into the mountains and along the rivers near our home in Palmer. 

Towards the later part of the summer my excitement mounted as my dad was able to get some time off.  Enthusiastically we planned a trip out to the land. 

 Again we loaded our supplies and machines.  Being summer, we took our three wheeler, four wheeler and a trailer.  Now the work on our cabin could begin.

 Once again we were off on an adventure into that wild country  I had been dreaming about for months.

This time I would be on my own machine!  My dad would be on the four wheeler hauling a trailer with our supplies and equipment we would need for the trip. I would be riding the three wheeler.

 With great anticipation we loaded the four wheeler and tied down the cargo on the front and back racks, hitched up the trailer and started our machines. 

On our way again!

 

Crossing the railroad bridge, I looked down, once again into that swirling cold river below.  Even in the summer the icy water could send a chill through me just watching it swirl by.

Why Home to the Wild?

 

What would make a person want to leave the comforts and conveniences of modern life to live in a place without what we consider the basic necessities of life?  Who would want to live without conveniences like running water, electricity, grocery stores, TV, a bathroom and a car? 

  How can one explain the deep quiet of the northern forest wrapped in snow?  Or the incredible sharpness of everything as the sun is slanting across that same landscape at 25  degrees below zero. Where every twig and needle is on fire from the light and you hardly want to breathe for the beauty, that almost defies reality.

 Could it be the draw of a life, away from the overwhelming complexity that our modern society heaps on us?  Maybe there is a longing deep inside some of us for a life where things are clearer where life is more stark... more real.

Maybe the virtual reality that we have created for ourselves is not real enough for some of us. Maybe we need to touch the earth, to feel and hear the wood burning that heats our homes, to grow and harvest the food that feeds us. Maybe some of us need to shape the dwelling that protects us.

Maybe it's not enough for some to just park in a building somebody else built, maybe some need to know and to understand, maybe some need to feel the biting cold and the warm rush of air as we come in from that cold.  Maybe the tepidity of our modern, climate controlled, comfort ensured lives is just more mediocrity then some can take! 

 Maybe some need to feel the extremes, to touch the sky, to really live! 

 These are the ideas and thoughts that swirl through my mind as I try and figure out why I have always been drawn to the wilderness. Why it has been such a reoccurring theme throughout my life.   This desire to live in the wilderness, through all the years and miles, has never gone away.  The desire to live away from the modern conveniences surrounded by the ruggedness and hardships of the wilderness have only deepened with time. 

 How is it that one can find peace and security in an environment that most view with at least some level of mistrust and fear?

 I will document here our family’s  move from where we are, to a life in the wilderness.  Where, at the age of 14 or 15, I knew I wanted to live.  

 How has it taken 30 years to come to this place? How will we make it happen? 

 I hope this story can help those who want to simplify or to live in the wilderness to begin their own journey.  To give them courage to swim against the current of modern societal norms.  I hope this story will not only provide those who have no desire to live that life an interesting story but, a deeper understanding of those who do want to live in the wilderness.

So how do you go about moving to the wilderness, is it really a place you would want to take your family and what does it take to make the change?

 Stick with me for a while hopefully as this story unfolds we will all learn the answers to these questions! 

 

  

Hours and Hours and Endless Miles of Snow

 

 

The decision was made.  We would continue on foot to the area we had chosen to stake our land.  We were sure it was not far now, and an easy hike would get us there.

 Morning found us up early and ready before first light.  We ate a hurried breakfast of instant oatmeal.  After carefully packing granola bars, our hot peppermint tea and emergency gear. We consulted our maps and compasses. Strapping on our snowshoes and backpacks we eagerly moved off into the deep snow with great anticipation.

 We soon found that it was going to be a long day!  Even with our snowshoes we were nearly waist deep in snow!  With five of us now on the adventure we decided to take turns breaking trail so no one person would get overly tired.

 Hour after hour on we trudged through endless drifts of snow!  As the shadows began to lengthen, the realization dawned that we would not make our goal. Standing there in the fast fading light we concluded that another day of breaking trail was in order. Sadly, we turned back short of our goal and headed for camp. It took us only a couple of hours to make camp on the packed trail.

 We arrived at camp exhausted, starving and soaked through. First thing was to get some hot food and drink and then change to dry cloths.  We slept well that night!

 One more day was all we had. As time was short, we were up early, on the trail long before dawn and moving towards our goal.  Reaching our turn around spot from the day before shortly after sunrise we again pushed on breaking trail through waist deep snow toward the lake.  Who knows how deep it would’ve been without snowshoes, but none of us were ready to find out!

 As the day wore on the truth became blatantly obvious.  We would not make it!  Turning around short of our goal was a brutal blow to our hopes and dreams.  

 

As a last chance we decided to mark the end of our trail.  Tying orange surveyor’s tape in a large triangle from nearby spruce trees, our hope was that one of the group could later spot it from the air and help us locate our lake.

 Once again we began the long trek back to our camp.  This time we would be packing up to leave the forest and return to town and our regular lives.

 Gear packed, we started our machines, beginning the ride back to town. A mixed feeling of emotions overtook me as I watched the trail roll by, this time with ease and speed, now that the trail was packed and hard.  We made excellent time.  I was looking forward to a warm bed and house and dry cloths.

 I felt a sadness and loneliness settle in as I saw the place slip by where we had camped the first night.

 Those last four days had brought accomplishment and frustration, success and failure.   I was already beginning to miss it! A seed was planted in my heart that time and miles has only succeeded in driving deeper, that call to the wilderness.

 

Would we ever find a place and return to this wilderness? 

 

The Tree that Shaped the Future of Canada

 The year was 1535 and it was Jacques Cartier’s second trip to the New World. His crew of 112 sailors had been at sea for months when they finally sighted land, it was land that the Natives called Kanata, meaning “village” or “settlement.” From this time on the French explorer would refer to this territory as Canada. 

Cartier sailed his ships up the St. Lawrence River in search of gold, silver, copper and spices that the Iroquois was said to have assured him lay farther to the west, until winter forced him to anchor his ships and build shelters.

For 5 months his ships lay frozen and immobile in the ice, and over a period of several weeks all of his men but 3 began to come down with a strange and deadly disease, as did their neighbors the local Stadacona tribe.

Those afflicted would have blotches on their skin, swollen and bloody gums, an incredibly weakness and depression and finally paralysis and death. Until one day a he noticed a healthy looking Stadacona native coming to visit their settlement to trade, a man that he happened to remember had been sick with the strange plague just 3 days before. 

Jacques had lost 25 men by now and he was desperate, he asked the man how it was that he could be walking around healthy while none of his own men had shown any signs of recovery, and he was shown a tree called Anneda. There is conflicting ideas of whether this was the Cedar tree or White Pine, but for our purposes you will see it really doesn’t matter. The sailors stripped the tree bare of needles in 6 days as they made a tea that in a very short time had cured all of Cartier’s men and allowed them to leave Canada in May. 

What the men had was Scurvy and their cure was Pine tea, or rather the vitamins that are so abundant in Pine tea. A cup of Pine tea has 4 or 5 times as much vitamin C as a glass of orange juice! It is also packed with vitamin A and other antioxidants. I have heard stories of refugees fleeing through the mountains who survived for 2 months on Pine tea, so it is definitely something to keep in mind as you wander your own wilderness. It also makes a great antiseptic wash and effective decongestant.

All you need to do is break or cut up your needles and steep them in hot water for a few minutes, and it will make a refreshing drink. Most trees in the pine family can be used and are completely safe, including Hemlock (the tree, NOT the plant!) Spruce, and Cedar. Each tea will have its own distinct and different flavor, and everyone is delicious. My personal favorites are the White Pine which is delicate and almost sweet, and the Cedar which smells and tastes much stronger and is amazing! The Cedar seems to me to be especially good as a decongestant.

But as with all things there are a few that you should be aware of, do not use the Ponderosa Pine, the Norfolk Island Pine, or the Yew as they can be poisonous and should not be used for tea. Also pregnant women should not drink Pine tea. Be sure you always do your own study from a trustworthy source as you learn about wild edibles, but being aware doesn’t have to mean avoiding wild foods all together as so many do.

 A good example is that Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, pimentos, and paprika are all in the nightshade family.  A group of alkaloids in these foods can impact nerve, muscle and digestive function, and may also destroy joint function. But these alkaloids are mostly concentrated in the plant and not the fruits so they have become among the most common of foods among the different cultures of the world. So learn to be aware of the dangers around you, but to not let that fear keep you from enjoying and finding your own Home in the Wilderness.
  

 

Black Salve a Blessing of Healing

 

What do YOU reach for when YOU have a cut or open wound? 

For the last 15 years our family has been making and reaching for Black Salve. 

For many years we made it just for ourselves and our animals on the farm.  Recently we began to have requests for Black Salve.

We also heard many people complained of not being able to find it anywhere.  So we decided to start making it for sale.

You might ask what is black salve? 

There are many types of black salves with many recipes.  But generally it is made from a mixture of oils, herbs and a hardening wax or lard.  It is designed to draw out infection and promote healing. 

Many black salves are caustic and irritating to the skin.  However, we have found by experience that our formula actually relieves pain as it is healing.  It is gentle and safe for young and old, yet packed with powerful healing herbs and oils

We have formulated our black salve including over 10 healing herbs  like red clover a blood purifying herb, plantain a drawing and healing herb along with many others.

Each herb is chosen for their specific healing, purifying and drawing properties.  The herbs are then gently infused into a mixture of oils that are chosen for their healing nourishing qualities and combined with beeswax for its anti-microbial and healing properties.

I have very personal experience with the healing properties of this salve!  About 12 years ago I slipped with a hatchet and cut the base of my thumb very deeply. I was worried at how I was going to continue shoeing horses and making a living. I packed it with black salve, changing the dressing twice a day.

It was amazingly pain free!  A week into the healing I could not find the black salve so I just wrapped it up and went to work.  After a couple hours my hand was throbbing.  As soon as I arrived home I immediately reapplied the Black Salve. Within a few minutes the pain was gone once again.   I did not neglect the black salve again.

 My wife hurt her toe on a piece of wood playing volleyball barefoot and began the black salve routine.   One night she could not find the Black Salve so decided to try a different salve. 

After suffering all night with a throbbing toe she decided that she would find the black slave and take care of it the right way, the pain disappeared and she was able to get on with life.

I could go on about my tripping and falling into 3 chainsaw chains hanging on a bench and ripping my hand like a cat o’ nine tails, or the horse that had a cut on her hock that healed in a couple of days  but I don’t want to bore you.

The results were all the same.  It has certainly become a standby for our family and farm and I think you would find it something you would not want to be without once you tried it!  Check out our web page where you can get some of your own! Click Here

We are offering for the next week anyone who orders a jar of Black Salve and sends us a testimonial of how it has helped their family we will send you a free bar of our handmade goat milk soap as a thank you gift

Note: none of these statements have been evaluated by the FDA and is not designed to treat, diagnose or heal any disease.  It is only a testimony of our experience.

 

 

“In the Wilderness the Shortest Distance

is not a Straight Line!”

 

 

 

Soon it was time to set up camp. We found an open place, my dad said, “Put on the snowshoes and help me pack down the snow.”  We walked around and around packing down a hard place to set up the tent.

 With the tent standing, we fired up our camp stove and soon had snow melted and soup cooking.   The meal done we sat back to enjoy our hot chocolate and peppermint tea.

 The inevitable call of nature became urgent!  Wanting to take care of these things before dark, I stepped from the trail to relieve myself.   I promptly sank to my armpits in 5 feet of powder snow! With great surprise I kicked my feet around searching in vain for the ground! 

 Realizing that this was not going to work. I rolled and crawled back to the trail and decided that in the wilderness sometimes privacy takes second place to reality and that I would just be peeing in the trail from now on! 

  I was also beginning to learn another very important lesson of the wilderness that the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line……….it's the trail!

 After a comfortable night on our very soft snow mattress we began another arduous day of breaking trail.  We pushed deeper into the wilderness toward that dot on the map and our piece of wilderness.

 With evening falling again, we found ourselves at the base of a small hill in a large clearing.  Too tired to go on we decided this clearing would be big enough for us and our friends who would be joining us at any time.

 Once our tent was up and supper was on, we could finally sit down and rest.  We brought out our topographical map, studying it to figure out where we were and how close we were to our destination. 

 We took stock of the fuel we had used and how much we had left.  There was not enough fuel to continue breaking trail with the machines. We would have to continue on foot!  Continuing to break trail with the machines, we would not make it back to town.

 

As the early darkness settled over the forest we could hear the faint sound of an engine.  Soon the glow of a single headlight flashed from the trees.  Then several more followed as our friends joined us. 

Their tents erected and water heating, we began to discuss our plans for the next day or two.  Would we turn around now or would we continue on foot?