Shack in the woods, question below.

Aunt Bea said:
I’m too lazy for all of that. 😉🤭😂

I would probably sink a wooden box in the lake, spring, creek, and use it to keep things cool.
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That's a good point. A large Maidu tribe lived near us and they would keep certain foods in the stream, which was fast-running and always really cold. They usually used nets or baskets tied to tree trunks.
 

When I entered the monastery in 1986 I had to stay in a small cottage with no running water a nearby outhouse, and a wood burning stove for 6 months alone. I would work with the monks and then retire to my cabin. We did eat together. It was real hard at first. I felt abandoned by everybody. I was very lonesome at times, and became stir crazy often. After a couple months I started enjoying it. The quiet and having no expectations. My whole body felt different and I quieted down inside.

But, then I wanted to meet girls. I was 36, twice divorced, so you know, I wanted to "meet" a pretty woman. So, when the monks went to bed in their house, I snuck a truck out and went to town. I stayed for a couple hours scoping out the prospects and then came back. I never told them, but years later The eldest monk told me they knew. :)
 
Murrmurr said:
It depends on what woods the OP is talking about, how remote the shack is, and what condition it's in.

It would be a major hassle if you had to forage for food and warmth, but having to foraging to survive would sure make losing the internet seem trivial.

It's not for elderly people, that's for sure. Although, their chances are good if they lived that way before and they're in good health. I've lived in a cabin in the woods, but it was right on the edge of a town with several hundred people and businesses, a medical clinic and jobs. Also, electric and phone services. And I was a lot younger.

Knowing it would be pretty risky for me today, I would take the $200,000 challenge. But it would be more about challenging myself than winning the money. I'd love to find out if I could do it. Getting paid if I did would be a bonus.
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Much like you, Murrmurr, I did this (sort of) from age 28-33. I was 9 miles (15km) from the nearest town. There was a phone in the neighborhood. Of course, there was no internet or cell phone. I had (cold) running water, a transistor radio, bright Alladin-style kerosene lamps, wood-burning cookstove, propane camping-style two burner stove. I had a vegetable garden and some bulk foods. I had books & magazines to read.

My stays in the cabin were always for more than half the year, but after my first year I spent winters working & saving money in the nearest city of 9000 people.

It was a good experience, and it built confidence and certain types of competence. And yes, I believe it would be more challenging as a senior.
 
We were old hands at survival.
In the Ozarks, we used the wood stove as our main source of heat.
Plus, we had a spring that I piped into a 250 gallon cistern and we could keep perishables in the cold water.

We were well versed in surviving because when we first moved to Vermont, we had a small house on top of a mountain with no neighbors close by that had no insulation, a great big cook stove for making meals, a big wood furnace in the basement that also had copper pipes winding around inside to provide hot water, and a small pot belly stove in the bedroom to help heat.
Looking back, it was the best of times. :)


central heat.JPG spring tank.jpg liyyle house-72.jpeg kitchen stove.jpeg
 
Are you allowed to use a bicycle? We lived for 9 months in the forest without any vehicle except for a bicycle my husband rode 6 miles to the closest small town to buy our supplies. Not easy in NY state due to very long hills.

Lived for 6 years without any refrigeration except a root cellar and a pantry that was attached to the root cellar. I used a ice chest that I kept cold water in to keep our food cold. Mostly I didn't keep foods for long except for condiments or my coffee creamer.
 
Defiantly not for everyone. Back in Vermont years ago, my buddy had a small cabin that his grandfather had built in the woods off rt 100 heading toward Killington. (before they built the huge ski resort). Had to pull in off the highway and park, then hike about 2/3 of a mile to the cabin. Very primitive, (no electric, water, wood stove for heat, and outhouse about 200 yards away).

We would go there to clear our heads and relax without any sounds but what nature made. Well, a friend of mine from Connecticut wanted to go with us really bad. Tried to explain how primitive it was, but he wouldn't listen, so we took him there.
We sat around, reading the old diary his grandpa had written, ate a little, made some coffee and just enjoyed the silence, then turned in. About 3 hours later, I awoke and realized Rick wasn't in the cabin. After about 15 minute's I began to worry that maybe he'd gotten lost on his way to the outhouse. (city boy and all from Hartford).

Grabbed a flashlight at headed out. No Rick at the outhouse. Stood there in the dark and listened. Far off, I could here what sounded like muffled music or voices. Hiked out to the car and there sat Rick, playing the radio. He said I couldn't stand the silence. :ROFLMAO: I guess it's not for everybody.
 
One thing that happened for me during my stint in that cabin was a career shift. I'd been occasionally selling some photographs and woodworking (small stuff), but mainly being a home-construction worker.

Off hours, I was doing a lot of reading. By a sort of fluke, I got a book review published. Then started to be hired to write them, and editors sent me boxes of books fresh off the presses. I was astonished. Freelance writing gradually became my primary work. For a couple decades.
 

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