What up ya'll, i'm from Alaska, currently a toasty 34 degrees after sunset here!
Anyway so I recently decided to leave here in the fall and travel around indefinitely. I recently got fired from my last job and realized i'm feeling a bit stagnated staying here living the domesticated 9-5 life. I want to get out, meet new people and enjoy some real freedom. I just picked up a temp gig as a carnie, currently looking for a decent job so I can stack up pay the bills and gtfo of here once the sun starts to fade. Might work in the canneries as a last resort but i'm gonna shoot for something more fun like campground host or remote lodge work.
I'm planning to fly down to the northwest late September, hitch around and see a couple of friends in Washington/Oregon/Norcal and then go from there. I was thinking I could hike the John Muir Trail, look for farm work or other temp/seasonal gigs and hopefully meet some rad people and catch some sick shows since AK kinda blows for music. Blackbird Raum did come up here like 5 years ago but that was before my time. I kinda wanna hit up Firefly Gathering, Wild Roots, Feral Futures or something along those lines.
I'm currently in the researching/gear acquisition phase, trying to round out my camping/survival gear loadout on the cheap. I've combed the forums over the last few days and tried to get a good perspective on what things will be like while out on the road, especially the shitty stuff so I can be mentally prepared.
Overall I feel pretty damn excited and ready and am looking forward to doing a lot of training/hiking/camping/fishing/foraging this summer. I'm gonna pick up a slingshot and try my luck at bagging small game, seems like it would be nice to be able to scrounge up some free protein at my leisure.
Anyway I guess a few things I am concerned about are:
1. Pigs, I realllllly fucking hate dealing with cops and from the looks of it I will be fairly often. Not really trying to go to jail or cop any felonies but it almost seems unavoidable. I can deal with jail but a felony would be pretty weak because that shit can really limit your options.
2. Staying healthy. My first aid/survival skills are decent and i've done a bit of winter camping and am comfortable outside in various weather conditions. Actually I lied i'm really not used to the heat at all and sunburn into a crispy cracker if I don't have a tan built up. I'm mostly anticipating it being fairly difficult/expensive to find and prepare nutritious food. I know a decent amount of wild edibles in the PNW reigon so I should at least be able to supplement even if I have to subsist off of low quality food for calories. Seems like it could be hard to find decent places to sleep. I've been homeless for a few days before when I was between couches and did alright for myself but it was in AK in the summer where it's super easy to camp in the city.
3. Staying safe. Well no one likes to get jumped/robbed, especially when you have all of your worldly possessions on your back. I usually carry a knife/bear spray with me at all times up here but I know that in certain states that's actually a felony (wtf?) I don't dabble in drugs anymore and would rather be alone than around shadsters so I should be fine for the most part.
4. Dealing with "the scene"
Related to #3 but seems like i'm reading a lot about how shit's been blown up by junkie oogles who leave trash everywhere and shit. Reading the shady people section on here left a bad taste in my mouth. I try and be somewhat selective of the company I keep because more often than not when I get into trouble it's because i'm rolling around with fucking idiots who can't handle their shit. I'm sure there's tons of cool folks out there on the road but I guess i've just read a lot of complaining about the people online.
Any advice, criticisms or words of wisdom are always appreciated!
Anyway so I recently decided to leave here in the fall and travel around indefinitely. I recently got fired from my last job and realized i'm feeling a bit stagnated staying here living the domesticated 9-5 life. I want to get out, meet new people and enjoy some real freedom. I just picked up a temp gig as a carnie, currently looking for a decent job so I can stack up pay the bills and gtfo of here once the sun starts to fade. Might work in the canneries as a last resort but i'm gonna shoot for something more fun like campground host or remote lodge work.
I'm planning to fly down to the northwest late September, hitch around and see a couple of friends in Washington/Oregon/Norcal and then go from there. I was thinking I could hike the John Muir Trail, look for farm work or other temp/seasonal gigs and hopefully meet some rad people and catch some sick shows since AK kinda blows for music. Blackbird Raum did come up here like 5 years ago but that was before my time. I kinda wanna hit up Firefly Gathering, Wild Roots, Feral Futures or something along those lines.
I'm currently in the researching/gear acquisition phase, trying to round out my camping/survival gear loadout on the cheap. I've combed the forums over the last few days and tried to get a good perspective on what things will be like while out on the road, especially the shitty stuff so I can be mentally prepared.
Overall I feel pretty damn excited and ready and am looking forward to doing a lot of training/hiking/camping/fishing/foraging this summer. I'm gonna pick up a slingshot and try my luck at bagging small game, seems like it would be nice to be able to scrounge up some free protein at my leisure.
Anyway I guess a few things I am concerned about are:
1. Pigs, I realllllly fucking hate dealing with cops and from the looks of it I will be fairly often. Not really trying to go to jail or cop any felonies but it almost seems unavoidable. I can deal with jail but a felony would be pretty weak because that shit can really limit your options.
2. Staying healthy. My first aid/survival skills are decent and i've done a bit of winter camping and am comfortable outside in various weather conditions. Actually I lied i'm really not used to the heat at all and sunburn into a crispy cracker if I don't have a tan built up. I'm mostly anticipating it being fairly difficult/expensive to find and prepare nutritious food. I know a decent amount of wild edibles in the PNW reigon so I should at least be able to supplement even if I have to subsist off of low quality food for calories. Seems like it could be hard to find decent places to sleep. I've been homeless for a few days before when I was between couches and did alright for myself but it was in AK in the summer where it's super easy to camp in the city.
3. Staying safe. Well no one likes to get jumped/robbed, especially when you have all of your worldly possessions on your back. I usually carry a knife/bear spray with me at all times up here but I know that in certain states that's actually a felony (wtf?) I don't dabble in drugs anymore and would rather be alone than around shadsters so I should be fine for the most part.
4. Dealing with "the scene"
Related to #3 but seems like i'm reading a lot about how shit's been blown up by junkie oogles who leave trash everywhere and shit. Reading the shady people section on here left a bad taste in my mouth. I try and be somewhat selective of the company I keep because more often than not when I get into trouble it's because i'm rolling around with fucking idiots who can't handle their shit. I'm sure there's tons of cool folks out there on the road but I guess i've just read a lot of complaining about the people online.
Any advice, criticisms or words of wisdom are always appreciated!
