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NorthRick
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2020 06:55pm
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A while back someone posted about a "cabin" they had bought in Alaska. In the picture he posted, it looked like a fabric quonset hut or Weatherport tent. It was unique in that it had greenhouse/sunroom portion on the front. In the photo there was snow.
I looked for those posts but couldn't find them. Anyone remember that?
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BadgersHollow
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2020 01:35am
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Hope it wasn't this fellow.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/01/12/utah-man-survived-days/
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2020 01:38am
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That's why I was asking. I wanted to look at those posts and see if it seemed like the same guy. It seems like it could be.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2020 07:23am
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There's something to be said about a plan B. This guy didn't have much of one by the looks of it. No snowmobile, no small out building for fuel but I guess hind site is 20/20.
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Eddy G
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2020 08:13am
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Sounds like there was a lot Arrogance and Ignorance involved. May just be the way the story’s written or the way I read it. He was able to survive in open wilderness, that says something but to not have basic knowledge of his surroundings, maps or redundancy in basics like shelter, communication, and safety equipment is irresponsible. The way he described the dogs passing is haunting. I hope he gets some help...
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KelVarnsen
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2020 08:24am - Edited by: KelVarnsen
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Quoting: NorthRick A while back someone posted about a "cabin" they had bought in Alaska. In the picture he posted, it looked like a fabric quonset hut or Weatherport tent.
I think it was this post (Purchased an Alaska Dream Parcel).
Quoting: NorthRick That's why I was asking. I wanted to look at those posts and see if it seemed like the same guy. It seems like it could be.
It definitely sounds and looks like it could be the same guy. Video here.
Edit: Almost definitely the same guy.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2020 10:07am
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Kel.... yeah, following your link to his "blog" quite clearly the same log wall with the blanket doorway he posted in his original thread.... sucks... just glad he made it out.
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2020 11:32am
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Quoting: KelVarnsen It definitely sounds and looks like it could be the same guy. Video here. Edit: Almost definitely the same guy.
Yes, I would agree that the guy that got rescued was homesteadalaska.
Alaska is huge geographically, but very small people-wise, which means you often have some sort of connection to things you see in the news. I like that about living here.
I'm glad he is OK. He should have spent the time to find his nearest neighbor and visit them. People out here want to be independent but situations like this is why you need to be neighborly. Our friends own the lot next to us and we both know where the key is hidden for each cabin. If we end up in the snow in our pajamas watching our cabin burn, we don't have far to go before we can get into another one.
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fitzpatt
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2020 04:23pm
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That is crazy. I recall reading his posts. Luckily he made it out.
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Homesteadalaska
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 02:38am
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Yeah, I am the guy in this story. Let me update you. The whole story isn’t told in the media, as someone pointed out, and some of the questions simply threw me off because I was fresh off the chopper when they talked to me. Still shell-shocked, you know. All the sourdoughs, old homesteaders, my pilots, and the state troopers that picked me up said that I did everything right and applauded my survival. So, having survived 23 days at -30 makes any kind of conclusions that I was ignorant and unprepared kind of funny to me. Alaskans get it. I’ve told my story countless times in the media and they have to reduce those 23 days to a 90 second segment and they tend to miss a lot. Happy to answer any questions, but to start, let me explain what equipment and preparation I had:
1. I own 2 snow machines and 3 for parts. The media said I had none, but the reality is that it was dumping about 5 feet of snow and they wouldn’t have done any good anyway. And the dozens of lakes and rivers that I would have to cross weren’t yet frozen. It was better to stay put where I still had food rations and firewood, and then to venture out as a last resort. I did my due diligence to ask the pilots about my neighbors and I was far from anyone. I was Also uncomfortable moving with an injured knee. Everyone that knows the area agrees with my decision to stay put, given my circumstances.
2. I own 6 outbuildings, 2 spare wood stoves, and a canvas tent. To my dismay, the tent was rotted nearly to dust when I opened it, so I figured my best bet was to build a makeshift shelter around the still standing stove. It worked fairly well. The other outbuildings would have provided no barrier between me and the cold, but I essentially could use them if I had to. I had a plan B, C, D, E, F, and G. The cabin that burned was built of plastic and I knew it was a fire hazard but a man must live with what he has and make the best of it while he improves his conditions. It wasn’t what I would have done, but it was what I had. It worked, until it didn’t.
3. I have vast survival experience. The Media said I had no “training†but that’s because it was simply a strange question to me in the shell-shock of talking to people for the first time. Did I go to school for survival? No, but I did everything possible throughout my life to prepare for this bush life. My father was born in a Yupik native village and passed the old knowledge of fishing, hunting, And trapping my way. I Have trekked hundreds of miles through the lands of Manitoba in winter at -60, where leading outdoorsman train for Antarctic expeditions. I have trekked hundreds of miles through the icecap in Greenland, the glaciers of Iceland, the High altitude volcanos in Central America, and the harsh edges of the Mongolian/China borderlands. Also, I’m an Eagle Scout and winter survivalist who has lived in the bush for two years alone, hunting and fishing thousands of pounds of meat over the years. I’m hardly unskilled, but I “trained†didn’t seem like the right word. I’m not a PR specialist, just a hermit in the woods.
4. I had three methods of communication in a charging station. The media implied that I had no communication plans. My Phone, garmin inreach, and VHF marine radio were three redundancies. All went up in flames faster then I could imagine. But I had a plan in place that were my communication to fail that my pilot would come looking for me. Once people hadn’t heard from me, they’d start talking. It was too cold for my private pilot to fly, and the state troopers couldn’t get out of the ice fog in anchorage for 6 days. It was a waiting game and everyone I talked to agrees that staying put was the best option after losing communication.
5. I have vast amounts of other supplies and equipment. The previous man who lived here lived for 20 years and created a well equipped homestead. I have four wheelers, woodsplitters, chainsaws, table saws, drills, hammers, a 30 foot sawmill, a tractor and tons of odd-end nuts and bolts, nails and screws, etc. Hell, I have a 15,000 pound bulldozer. I had a full supply of winter wood. Why would I leave my place when I could keep a perpetual fire for months?
6. My nearest neighbor is 6 miles away on the other side of a dangerously thin river at that time of year, through thick black spruce forest and steep hills. Possible other neighbors 5 miles south, but not always full time. The nearest road is 45 miles away, so I’d still have to be extracted from there. Even knowing where some of my other further neighbors were, I did not want to risk travel. I had an injured knee. Again, my food and wood was close by.
All in all, I was not unprepared. As I said, Every sourdough I know in Alaska agrees with what I did. I had every intent to build a quality cabin and had cut all my logs for building in spring. The old man’s cabin was the perfect staging point that I had hoped to live in only a short while. I simply made a hasty mistake in building an improper fire that caused a spark to ignite the roof. I payed dearly, but I survived and I have every intention of living the bush life dream when I recuperate and regroup. I’m on this forum because it’s one of the best sources I’ve seen for making that happen and I’ve learned a lot from it. I hope no one else has to endure what I have endured, but I hope as fellow cabin lovers you may sympathize and learn the whole story before running with conclusions. Even what I’ve written here doesn’t say it all. I knew my stuff. I made a mistake. It can happen to anyone. I learned. I survived. Time to rebuild.
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naturelover66
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 08:36am
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Im glad you're here to share your story. Best wishes to you in 2020.
Lisa
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 08:39am
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Thank you for telling us the real story.
Do you know why/how the cabin burned?..so others don't make the same mistake.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:26am
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Thanks for sharing your "real" story..... though it was an incredible story of survival, you were prepared. Nothing like the news reports.
I'm beginning to believe DJT and his fake news line.... The news always has to make it sound so dramatic... to heck with facts!
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:47am
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Tyson, My first assumption when I read the story was, "what a dumbazz for having a wood roof and no spark arrestor /rain cap on the stove pipe". And then I found out it was a plastic/tarp roof, OMG worse than I thought. Who would like in Alaska under a "tarp"??? (ever see the movie, The Martian?) I guess a wood roof might have been better. I could just see that thick card board ember floating up the pipe in the heat.
In many survival stories with good outcomes, people had notified someone or two of their itinerary and had stayed put waiting for rescue. An interesting story is about the Kim's in Oregon and the cell phone techs. That caused the law to be changed where law enforcement can get cell tower ping info faster.
After reading the above, I'm impressed. You might have enough to write a book, especially with all the unknown prep in your life, would make a good lead in. I am so sorry you lost Phil.
Since you have so much backup stuff, might be a good idea to build a tool shed after the cabin to store extras and be a ready backup. I hope you keep posting what comes next as an ongoing story. Let us know what we can do to help. If you want to put up a gofundme page, I'll put up some bucks to help.
-Dave
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:01pm
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I'm not surprised the news got it wrong.
Sounds like you have good air support but if you need to get in later this winter via snowmachine, me and some friends of mine are usually up for a good ride. I've ridden out to Skwentna and beyond a bunch of times.
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Eddy G
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 05:55pm
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Quoting: Eddy G Sounds like there was a lot Arrogance and Ignorance involved. May just be the way the story’s written or the way I read it. He was able to survive in open wilderness, that says something but to not have basic knowledge of his surroundings, maps or redundancy in basics like shelter, communication, and safety equipment is irresponsible. The way he described the dogs passing is haunting. I hope he gets some help...
As I stated, I remarked on what I read. I meant no offense. I’m also glad to hear the whole story and of course impressed by it and your accomplishments. I also meant what I said about having help to deal with the horrible tragedy and loss. I know what it’s like to suffer loss in a horrific circumstance and having council to deal with it has been beneficial to me.
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lostdog
Member
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# Posted: 23 Jan 2020 06:56pm
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Howdy Homesteadalaska I realy liked the response or lack of to the question of "training" WOW And now you can add surviving the mindbendieness of media to your skill set. Personaly I would choose almost anything else. Oh well now your famous,sorta,git you an agent and a ghost writer. Maybe they will fly you down to california for a "meeting" at the studio to "discuss options" and through some screw up put you in a motel in east LA, which from everything I have ever heard is way more dangerous than just about any place else on the planet. All the best on your recooperation and getting back on track with your place. Lostdog
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