Squatting Ghost Towns Out West

[Prometheus]

Hey comrades,

I've avidly developed a huge interest (both historical and personal) in ghost towns of the 19th to early 20th century and am musing on the idea of squatting one, or at least exploring more of them out west than the handful of tourist attractions I've seen and the one so abandoned that that all the structures were just rotting debris. The quarry at that one was still in good shape and my crew and I ended up squatting it and the adjacent abandoned gold claim for a number of months. I know, as I've said, many of the western ghost towns are popular tourist attractions and/or state parks but there are many that aren't with structures still-standing. Anyone else have any experience or interest in this as well? I'm from Oregon and we have around 250 recognized ghost towns, so it isn't to hard to explore but I'm looking into the more-or-less unvisited and off-the-beaten-track ones.

And as always, safe travels & happy camping...

 

[Omightydarkone]

I dont think i would actually be able to squat in a ghost town. Too many horror movies.

 

[Des]

Home base is portland right now and Id be super down for this

 

[Deleted member 125]

There was a similar thread about this a while ago and aside from unwanted visitors such as tourists the main problem I see is the lack of near by food/water. You'd almost have to have a vehicle to make supply runs which would be kinda suspicious to anyone who happen to be checking in on the place. In theory it sounds doable but not exactly practical imo.

 

[Strangeandsolo]

I have to agree with slanky on this I tried it with my friend and his wife. In a small spot just out side of Tucson. It was a old cattle ranch it had a well attached to a water tank for the cows. However the pumping machinery was broken and it would have taken trucks $$$$ to fix. Water is life.

 

[Prometheus]

Yeah it really is a matter of logistics. Although as I said, there are plenty of ghost towns in OR that are unvisited, near water due to the fact that they were mining towns, and not too decrepit. If it worked out and turned out I'd need a vehicle I much rather go in for a horse than a car tbh.

 

[Prometheus]

Home base is portland right now and Id be super down for this

Hell yeah, well I'll be in PDX in a week to recruit some comrades to go on an exploratory adventure around OR if you're around. Trying to put a small rewilding/rural squatter crew together.

 

[Anthorhitchhiker77]

We should meet up you going to rainbow gathering

 

[Anthorhitchhiker77]

Home base is portland right now and Id be super down for this

Me too I'm on the west coast we should meet up sometime

 

[sevedemanos]

Hell yeah, well I'll be in PDX in a week to recruit some comrades to go on an exploratory adventure around OR if you're around. Trying to put a small rewilding/rural squatter crew together.

are you that dude from new york? the guy that quoted nietsche all the time

 

[Gooseman]

Nevada is full of old ghost towns but its hot, dry and in the middle the desert. Might be better to focus on gold country in CA instead. At least you have access to rivers.

 

[The Toecutter]

This is something I've always wanted to do.

Water is the major issue. There is plenty of valid reason that these places remain ghost towns. First and foremost, they tend to be located in terrain that is hostile to the needs of human life. If someone were to actually settle in one, ways to assure water and obtain food are a must.

A well is probably going to be the least expensive option for water, but there are ways to extract potable water from the air:

Here Are the Most Advanced Methods to Extract Plentiful Water From Thin Air - https://interestingengineering.com/diy/everything-you-need-to-know-about-air-to-water-devices

I've never used any of the methods in the link, but it would be an interesting experiment. The problem is that you can't put your life to the mercy of an experiment, because experiments can fail.

Really, it comes down to how much resources you're willing to expend to make it viable. Most people with the desire to live this way are lacking in financial resources, unfortunately. There are scenarios where sweat equity can substitute, but when it comes to water, in most places that won't do.

 

[m1ssw0rld]

Nevada is the place. Speaking from experience;

 

[Coywolf]

Everyone keeps saying Nevada, and I have to agree. I've been to multiple ghost towns in Southern NV, and a few of them have springs near by that still run.

There is an abandoned hot spring resort on the US 6 that I would highly recommend visiting at some point. However, I do believe the owners of the property visit it frequently, and I believe they are trying to re open it at some point.