Pionomics Outpost

We have worked on our initial shelter through alternating days of rain and heat. At times both. The walls, windows, and roof are complete. Next we plan to roof it, add a deck, and finally a bath house. Baths are good.

So much of the average person’s daily consumption is taken for granted. If you ever want to experience a true reality check, try turning off your water for a week. I would rate water right under air on my “necessary” list.

Our total cost in this project has been held down to less than $500 so far. Not bad considering most people spend more than that for rent on a monthly basis. It’s not easy but it is doable. And no payments!

We will post more pictures as the project continues. Barring fires, tornadoes, and stampedes, it should be livable (our definition – not yours) by the end of June.

Mistakes Here Do Not Involve A Replay Button

 It has been two weeks since our temporary quarters were destroyed by fire. Although we escaped, we have acquired scars and lessons that will be with us permanently. Neither of us are new to being in remote areas, however there is a huge difference between an extended camping trip and gearing up to live there. The last two weeks have been spent healing, resupplying, and planning our return to our woods. Hopefully we can do so within the next week.

In a populated area a small fire can be dealt with quickly with a squirt from the hose. In a remote area with no ready water pressure or supply it can be deadly. The entire camper was consumed in less than fifteen minutes and water from one gallon drinking jugs had zero effect on it. We lost everything with the exception of a computer, some of our tools, and our vehicle. We gained a new respect for preparation for emergency situations.

We will return. We will rebuild. We will post.

Attack Of The Water Heater

Last night we had completed the water storage system and decided to take a break. We made a couple burgers and sat down outside to eat.

We were enjoying the woodland view and listening to the many animal noises trying to identify each. There were some campers across the road that had a campfire going earlier in the day. The smell of smoke wasn’t too alarming until we heard a loud boom come from the trailer.

Within seconds dark smoke was pouring from the entrance. I ran inside the trailer not really thinking of the danger. I thought the fire was small and that I could put it out with the water  stored beside to the stove. The fire was NOT small. It was roaring from beneath the stove area where the water heater was located.

After throwing four gallon jugs on the fire with no effect I took a split second inventory of what I could toss out and save. I chose to throw my computer and monitors out to Roger. He caught them like a champ and moved them away from the trailer. In a second he was back at the door yelling for me to get out. At the time I was more angry that all our work was being consumed by the fire than I was afraid.

Roger quickly noticed that my backside was on fire and put it out. I knew it was time to go. Choking from the black smoke I bailed out of the trailer and yelled at Roger to get the computer and the van away from the trailer. He did and I drug the generator with a full tank of gas away also.

I had my cell phone and called 911 to get the fire department there ASAP. The trailer was insured but the woods were burning. I could not stand to see this place go up in flames. A storm was approaching and the wind was picking up, stirring the embers from the trailer flames. As we watched from a couple hundred feet away we heard a loud explosion and the first of two propane tanks blew a valve and shot fire at least sixty feet in the air. The second repeated soon afterwards. Almost two acres of woodland full of brush and dry leaves were ignited. The volunteer fire department from the nearest town arrived and calmly but methodically set their gear in motion and went to work. We were making progess.

It wasn’t just the volunteer firefighters that arrived, it was also our new neighbors. We were all fighting the fire with shovels, rakes, branches, and leaf blowers to create a firebreak. We were all dragging firehose. We were all dedicated with one single-minded purpose, keeping our woodland alive. We stood our ground against the wind, heat, and smoke, and we vanquished the blaze. We had won the battle but not without cost.

Everthing in our trailer was destroyed, many of us were burnt and had lungs full of smoke. We were all exhausted. I came a little closer to my grand finale than I want to admit in that trailer. Our new home was gone, our saws for clearing land were melted, our new water tower burnt like a funeral pyre. All that was left of the trailer was a pile of ash and a burnt and twisted frame.

We lost almost everything we had but we preserved what we valued the most. The woods. After the fire we talked with the firefighters and discovered that the small volunteer department was desparately in need of help. Something tells me that they recruited a couple more hands last night.

We stayed and watched the embers burn until the expected storm arrived. With as much ferocity as the fire, water now claimed its place. The storm was sudden and violent. We drove through it for an hour and a half back home. When we arrived we found that the entire area had been pelted with baseball sized hail. Disaster was here too.

We made it thanks to one of our new neighbors pushing a handful of cash at me. He knew I had lost my wallet in the fire and gave me more than enough to make it back home. I woke up this morning with my chest feeling like a chimney full of smoke.

Thinking back on the previous night’s events I knew we had lost our house, but we had found our home. In a few days we will regroup, resupply, and return. We know it is not getting knocked down that matters, it is getting back up.

We have now been here a week. In some ways it seems only a day or two, in other much longer than a week. I had always been aware that coming to a place like this would be hard work. That was an understatement. The work day here lasts from sunrise to sunset. Every night I go to sleep completely exhausted. I don’t think that it will last forever, but by the time the workload slows down I’m sure I won’t need a gym membership.

We have constructed two primitive structures so far. The first was a fire pit to burn the “gnarly wood” that is so prevalent on the land. The second was a small water tower built like a small log cabin. Although it was only four feet tall, wide, and long, it was quite a chore. We decided to build this so that we could have some water pressure for washing, and bathing. All to be done below the four foot market. Later we will build it higher for showers. On top of the tower we put two food grade 55 gallon plastic drums. A total of 110 gallons of water storage. Not much by modern standards but I think we can make it last a week here. It is amazing the things that we take for granted such as heat, water, and energy. I’m sure that if we all had to make our own we would all be conservationists.

We also met four more of our neighbors yesterday.  I have lived in a suburban neighborhood and never met my some of my neighbors for years. In a place like this people seek you out in the woods to introduce themselves and let you know they are there to help if needed. A stark but welcome contrast to populated living. For those of you that have been keeping up with the blog you will notice that the header photo has changed.

This is a view of our pond which we are told by the locals is full of small fish. Now all I have to to is build a fishing pole!

(03/28/2011 Catching Up To Present)

We have been cutting brush and burning it for two days in an effort to clear a spot of land large enough for a garden. We plan to raise most of our own food adding fish and some game to our garden’s product. We are also clearing enough space for a workshop to fashion tools and repair our equipment. In order to build structures we are contemplating building a small sawmill and using some of the trees on the land as our primary building material. We also have a large abundance of natural sandstone, clay, gravel, and soil with a small layer of fertile sandy loam near the top.

Cutting down the underbrush is a full time job as this area appears to have never been cleared. Most of the brush is small oaks, brambles, and wood stemmed pants that grow here. We group them into one category called “gnarly wood”.  We hope to have the area cleared by week’s end as planting season is drawing near.

Yesterday we decided to explore a bit and found a small settlement of cabins to our east. There is a mixture of size and quality that covers a wide spectrum. Some you may find in a nice suburban neighborhood while others look like ramshackle huts from a third world country. To the north is a good sized river that we found our way to. At the river was a small fishing boat that looked as though someone had parked it there momentarily about ten years ago. There was also an iron walkway to the boat that was nearly rusted away.

Making our way back in the general direction of our land we followed footprints that seem to have been made as recently as that day. They ended on a path leading around a large lake. We continued up a valley from the lake and discovered the remains of an old cabin site. All that remained were burnt boards and some plumbing pipe. I find it interesting how many structures there are that have not been completed or are in a state of complete disrepair, as though people come here and just leave one day, never to return.

03/28/2011 (Catching Up To The Present)

We arrived here three days ago. Located over one hundred miles from the nearest large city and at the end of a dirt road, at the end of a paved road. This is not the end of the world, however, I think it is over the next hill.

After several years of discussion, pondering building techniques,constructing prototype energy generation systems, and choosing a site that contained what I believe are good qualities for a self sustaining homestead I have decided to put my theory to practical use. I am now an inhabitant of the Ozark woodland.

For most of us the very idea of leaving the security of the city and the comfort of a modern home is not something that we would take a step forward to volunteer for. All of the trappings of modern society fall away as you arrive in a place like this. It is the true reality of our environment without man’s décor.

The most striking thing that I have come to notice and appreciate is the stark sound of silence. It is everywhere and all of the time, broken occasionally by an approaching wind, animal sound, or rare encroachment of mechanized technology noise from a jet or distant highway. The silence is overwhelming at times reminding me that I am alone with the exception of one other insane individual, my friend, Roger, who also wanted to attend this experiment.

Our arrival in the woods was not as bleak as we expected, in fact within an hour another vehicle crawled down the muddy excuse for a road in front of us. As the vehicle approached we saw an older model pickup truck with a man and two children inside. The truck slowed to a crawl and stopped in front of us. Thoughts that we may have been on the wrong road at the wrong time raced through my head and quickly dissolved as I saw a smiling middle-aged man emerge from the driver’s side, waving and bidding us welcome.  We exchanged names, annotated life histories and our future plans with each other in the span of about 30 minutes. Just as suddenly as he appeared he was on his way down the road. We had met our first neighbor.

It’s funny how you think your ideas are so original and unique, until you meet someone that arrived before you and is doing the same thing right down the road from you. It is nice to have company nearby when you are surrounded by nothing. Just in case.

We have arrived with only the very basic necessities, much like being outfitted for a weekend camping trip.  No plumbing, no furnace, no air conditioning, no tv, no Mickey D’s down the street. Just the woods and us.