Wilderness squatter

[Billy The Kid]

Hi Ya'll,

I've recently quit my job in Philadelphia to become a musician. My plan is to find some forest to squat in so that I can have a peaceful and quiet place to write music. I'm going to create a structure (depending on the environment and resources available) in the wilderness to live in for as long as it takes me to write some juicy songs. Afterwords, I plan to head to Portland or Seattle to find other musicians.

Could anyone recommend a town or small city that is located within a national forest, state forest, private forest that provides enough cover for long term camping? The town should have at least one decent sized grocery store that I can dumpster dive from. Preferably on the West coast (Oregon looks nice) or anywhere the temperature doesn't get below freezing in the winter. Honestly, I'm sure there are plenty of locations like the ones I've described (I've also considered the desert), but if anyone knows any gems, please let me know.

Cheers,
Billy

 

[DesertRat]

Welcome to StP!

Not sure about the PNW, but I would suggest starting out with looking at the Santa Cruz area.

 

[DoctorApocalypse]

Welcome aboard man!

As for towns that meet your criteria, I'd suggest southwest Oregon or cali because everything north and east will get below freezing in the winter especially in the mountains/wilderness. That said, there's lots of towns that are out of the big cities but not out in BFE where you gotta worry about bears and pumas and shit, that have great wooded areas to provide cover for some woodland squatting yet are still close enough to like a grocery store.

 

[iamwhatiam]

Hmmmm....maybe you might like to check out Mendocino (when it's not overrun with traveling kids in the summer/fall months). Small town, Beautiful cliffs and beach right in town (you can build bonfires on the beach up to a certain time at night). Not too sure about dumpster diving the grocery store, but theres a church that feeds and also food pantries in the next town over. Not really a national forest nearby tho.
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I spent some time camping around La Push, WA this spring. There's only a small little convenient store there (with laundry room/coin showers behind it), but the scenery of the forests and beaches around there is spectacular and great for inspiration! 2nd beach is only about a short mile hike from the store thru a forest, there are some great places to set up camp in the woods right along the beach, provided you have sufficient wind/rain blockage. Plenty of agates/jasper/etc to hunt for too at low tide....and no one will really ever fuck with you there. There is a free bus from there you can take to and from Forks, WA which has a larger grocery store/restaurants. Also, the busses are suuuuper cheap and you can ride them all around the Olympic National Forest. Dont know about pumas but you won't really have to worry about bears in the winter - they're all hibernating.
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Otherwise, I'd say your best bet is somewhere along the Northern Cali/Oregon coast. If you stay right along the coast it won't get much below freezing altho you'd better have really good raingear, a dry bag(s) for your clothes/sleeping bag such as this: , and waterproof gortex gloves. I don't know about Northeastern winters....but the Pacific Northwest winters can be pretty miserable and wet.

 

[Billy The Kid]

Welcome aboard man!

As for towns that meet your criteria, I'd suggest southwest Oregon or cali because everything north and east will get below freezing in the winter especially in the mountains/wilderness. That said, there's lots of towns that are out of the big cities but not out in BFE where you gotta worry about bears and pumas and shit, that have great wooded areas to provide cover for some woodland squatting yet are still close enough to like a grocery store.

Cool,

Yea man I figured there would be plenty of spots where I could get into nature enough, but not have to survive wholly on wild plants and animals (this would be quite the challenge - maybe taken on further down the road). The reason why I'm looking for a town next to (or in) a national forest is because the woods surrounding towns being privately owned, I risk the chance of being chased out by the landowner at gunpoint do to the fact that he found me playing my guitar naked next to a wigwam I built on his property...

But I'm sure I'll find the right spot - thanks for the reassurance!!

 

[Billy The Kid]

T

Hmmmm....maybe you might like to check out Mendocino (when it's not overrun with traveling kids in the summer/fall months). Small town, Beautiful cliffs and beach right in town (you can build bonfires on the beach up to a certain time at night). Not too sure about dumpster diving the grocery store, but theres a church that feeds and also food pantries in the next town over. Not really a national forest nearby tho.
------
I spent some time camping around La Push, WA this spring. There's only a small little convenient store there (with laundry room/coin showers behind it), but the scenery of the forests and beaches around there is spectacular and great for inspiration! 2nd beach is only about a short mile hike from the store thru a forest, there are some great places to set up camp in the woods right along the beach, provided you have sufficient wind/rain blockage. Plenty of agates/jasper/etc to hunt for too at low tide....and no one will really ever fuck with you there. There is a free bus from there you can take to and from Forks, WA which has a larger grocery store/restaurants. Also, the busses are suuuuper cheap and you can ride them all around the Olympic National Forest. Dont know about pumas but you won't really have to worry about bears in the winter - they're all hibernating.
---------
Otherwise, I'd say your best bet is somewhere along the Northern Cali/Oregon coast. If you stay right along the coast it won't get much below freezing altho you'd better have really good raingear, a dry bag(s) for your clothes/sleeping bag such as this: View attachment 17274 , and waterproof gortex gloves. I don't know about Northeastern winters....but the Pacific Northwest winters can be pretty miserable and wet.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll do more research into La Push and Forks, WA it sounds like an awesome spot to hide out for awhile. If I can convince myself that I can find ample food with no money, I may tough it out there for the winter. All this talk of rains and wind tho has me leaning back towards a desert environment. We'll see. Regardless I'll keep La Push on my list. How can I make a decision when the possibilities are endless lol?

 

[Billy The Kid]

Welcome to StP!

Not sure about the PNW, but I would suggest starting out with looking at the Santa Cruz area.

Thanks man, I'll do a little research, you think I may be able to find a little nook in the woods around Santa Cruz?

 

[DesertRat]

Thanks man, I'll do a little research, you think I may be able to find a little nook in the woods around Santa Cruz?

I'd say the possibility is high.

 

[Billy The Kid]

Hmmmm....maybe you might like to check out Mendocino (when it's not overrun with traveling kids in the summer/fall months). Small town, Beautiful cliffs and beach right in town (you can build bonfires on the beach up to a certain time at night). Not too sure about dumpster diving the grocery store, but theres a church that feeds and also food pantries in the next town over. Not really a national forest nearby tho.
------
I spent some time camping around La Push, WA this spring. There's only a small little convenient store there (with laundry room/coin showers behind it), but the scenery of the forests and beaches around there is spectacular and great for inspiration! 2nd beach is only about a short mile hike from the store thru a forest, there are some great places to set up camp in the woods right along the beach, provided you have sufficient wind/rain blockage. Plenty of agates/jasper/etc to hunt for too at low tide....and no one will really ever fuck with you there. There is a free bus from there you can take to and from Forks, WA which has a larger grocery store/restaurants. Also, the busses are suuuuper cheap and you can ride them all around the Olympic National Forest. Dont know about pumas but you won't really have to worry about bears in the winter - they're all hibernating.
---------
Otherwise, I'd say your best bet is somewhere along the Northern Cali/Oregon coast. If you stay right along the coast it won't get much below freezing altho you'd better have really good raingear, a dry bag(s) for your clothes/sleeping bag such as this: View attachment 17274 , and waterproof gortex gloves. I don't know about Northeastern winters....but the Pacific Northwest winters can be pretty miserable and wet.

And I'll be sure to pick up a dry bag or at least a few good trash bags for the rain. What I might do is post up on the WA or OR coast until the winter/rainy season and then either head further south or head into Seattle/Portland for a winter worthy shelter.

-Billy

 

[Billy The Kid]

I'd say the possibility is high.

Ok cool, the winter time temperature there is also ideal. Thanks again

 

[DesertRat]

Ok cool, the winter time temperature there is also ideal. Thanks again

No problem. Stay as safe as you can in your travels.