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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2019 06:21am - Edited by: Homesteadalaska
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Hi all, I've been lurking on this site for awhile but thought I'd finally post some pictures of my cabin.
The "cabin" is more of an elegant tent, made with 1x4s and tarps, but it works for me.
Some more details: I recently purchased this dream parcel way off grid in Alaska, accessible only by plane or snowmachine. 40 acres with my own private airstrip. The man I bought it from was an old Vietnam vet who lived here for 20 years. He recently passed and I was able to pull the finances to buy his cabin. It's already equipped with 7 outbuildings full of supplies and tools, a four wheeler, a tractor, a bulldozer, a sawmill, and several generators. I have roughly 3 miles of roads cutting through the property, so the whole acreage is accessible. It borders a decently sized creek and is mostly surrounded by state land. I have another 40 acres 1 mile north of here that I'll eventually build a road to and build a new cabin there. It's a bushman's paradise, major moose and bear country. I'm currently living here alone with my dog and loving it.
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2019 06:27am
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The cabin made of arched 1x4s and greenhouse plastic so I can grow some veggies through the winter
Cabin with greenhouse front
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2019 08:22am
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The airstrip is 1400 feet long and about 60 feet wide. Big project ahead with widening it for winter access Homesteadalaska
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2019 08:54am
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Wow, looks great. I would think a 1400x60 airstrip that looks like your photo would be plenty sufficient. Whereabouts in Alaska?
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Aklogcabin
Member
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2019 10:24am
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Great to hear about your success. Lots of work ahead. Is the tarp over the one byes all you have ?
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2019 01:03pm
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Atlincabin, the strip is plenty wide for landing on wheels, but it gets a little sketchy on ice, so the pilots I fly through would only be comfortable landing if it were at least 10 feet wider on each side for wiggle room.
I'm about 100 miles NW of Anchorage, 10 miles from Denali National Park.
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2019 01:15pm
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Aklogcabin, lots of work indeed. The tarp structure is my main place, yeah. It doesn't seem like much on the outside, but it stays nice and warm. I even have a few pepper plants growing. I've been working on making it a little more comfortable with some log walls, if the picture uploads. Temporary, made out of green wood, but I'll be tearing it all down in a year or two anyway, as it is in pretty bad shape.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 25 Nov 2019 08:21pm
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It stays warm?
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2019 07:51am
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KA.... that was my thoughts too. Must be insulated.
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NorthRick
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# Posted: 26 Nov 2019 05:56pm
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Welcome to the neighborhood! We're a lot closer to the highway than it sounds like you are. Just west of MP 120 on the Parks Hwy.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 29 Nov 2019 10:14am - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Quoting: Nobadays KA.... that was my thoughts too. Must be insulated.
Sooo hard to believe that this could stay warm without a lot of constant effort if it were a wood/coal stove or a lot of propane or oil heating.
I live in Alberta. It takes major heating even here in fully insulated buildings.
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:46am
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It's insulated, and also partially buried, capturing the mass of the earth for heat. The front wall is double wall greenhouse plastic and does a suprisingly good job of keeping the cold out (not so good at keeping bears out) At zero degrees Fahrenheit outside, I can let the fire die and the whole place will maintain 50 degrees for almost a whole day. I actually find myself opening a door quite often because it gets so hot.
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:58am
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Northrick, thanks for the welcome. Sounds like your close to the Petersville area? That's where I'll be sledding in a few supplies this year, up over the Kahiltna. I'm about 50 miles directly west of Willow.
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NorthRick
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# Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:02pm
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Yes, we are in the Petersville area. Currently waiting for some new snow to make the snowmachining fun again. At least we are getting some cold weather now to freeze up the creeks. I got mud on my snowmachine last Saturday when I fell through a soft spot. For mid-December, that's just wrong.
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Aklogcabin
Member
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# Posted: 19 Dec 2019 09:51am
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Homestead n NorthRick. Yes to some snow. What do you use our a freight sled, sleds ?
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SherriInTheWoods
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# Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:35pm
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Homesteadalaska
Happy New Year !
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SherriInTheWoods
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# Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:39pm
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Homesteadalaska
I am new to this forum and am hoping to email with you directly (not public), but don't know how to do this. I just want to talk with you about your awesome lifestyle !
If you want to, email me at: jappazoo at aol.com from: Sherri In The Woods
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2020 04:50am
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Welp, this is crazy to say, but my cabin, which I was so excited to spend the rest of my life in, burned to the ground and I barely escaped with my life. Not surprising based on the way it was built with so much plastic and what not, but I thought it’d last me a little longer while I could build an actual log cabin. I’m not giving up by any means. It’s just time to start over, so I won’t have any updates for awhile.
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2020 09:32am
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Glad you got out.... sorry about your dog.... We on the forum felt pretty sure the news about a cabin burning/rescue of the dweller was you.... a thread was discussing this.
Make new plans... move forward!
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BadgersHollow
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2020 07:11pm
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You survived, which shows resiliency. Quite a story. I almost bought a place way out in the bush too, and the seller had a small 10x12 shed with a woodstove as his secondary shelter just in case his primary burned.
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Alaskajohn
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 06:03pm - Edited by: Alaskajohn
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I am glad you made it through this alive and safe. A cabin fire is one of my biggest fears and it’s something I’ve thought about a great deal. Best of luck on your rebuilding.
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Sourdough
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2020 06:34pm
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Quoting: Alaskajohn I am glad you made it through this alive and safe. A cabin fire is one of my biggest fears and it’s something I’ve thought about a great deal. Best of luck on your rebuilding.
DITTO......what Alaskajohn posted
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2020 05:57pm
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Update on the cabin:
I spent 6 weeks in September and October cleaning up the mess from a cabin fire I had about a year ago. I had a bunch of very skilled friends come up and help me get some things built and machines running again.
In the back of the property, a bulldozer had been sitting in the elements unused for about 30 years. My Mechanic buddy was able to get it running again in just a few hours. A godsend. Being as remote as I am, 45 minutes by air from town, getting heavy machinery is near impossible these days. The old man who owned the place before me had driven it for days, maybe even weeks, across the ice in the winter, just plowing the forest down to get there. We bulldozed the burnt debris off the hill and created new flat ground. Then we made a couple roads winding through the property to access timber.
I cut about 60 logs for lumber next year, ranging in diameter from 12" to 30". Behind the stack of wood in the third image, you can see the sawmill shed, which my buddy also got running. It can cut logs an long as 20'.
As a team of 6, we had assembly line efficiency, one person cutting trees, one person delimbing, another debarking, another cutting boards, and one person building a new storage shed, as seen in the last pic.
I didn't quite get enough done this year to stay another winter on the property, but next year, I'll have an even bigger team help me get a small cabin up.
Stove Standing After Fire
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Debris Bulldozed Away
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Pile of Logs for Lumber
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New Storage Shed
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Homesteadalaska
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2020 06:10pm
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I can't ever seem to upload the images with the right orientation. I have video on youtube that shows everything we did for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhP6OAMqFbI&lc=UgwPGfIoTkSqHtRe0oN4AaABAg
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Ontario lakeside
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2020 09:06pm
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Looks like a amazing place and good video. I subscribed.
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WILL1E
Moderator
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2020 08:16am
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Homesteadalaska so jealous of your setup! Good luck on your new cabin build!
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Alaskajohn
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2020 09:02am
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Thanks for the great update to include the photos and the video! I’m so glad you were able to get out there to start the rebuild! What a blessing to be able to get the old equipment going again. I look forward to the updates next year.
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NorthRick
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2020 04:51pm
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A working bulldozer - I'm jealous. Glad to hear you are getting things going again after the fire.
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Irrigation Guy
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2020 05:59pm
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Having friends that are willing and able to help is invaluable. I have called on a few to get bigger projects done. Do you live full time in AK?
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2020 07:18pm
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Quoting: Homesteadalaska I can't ever seem to upload the images with the right orientation.
If they are on your PC, I open them up in MS Paint, then rotate them, even if they appear right, rotate it and then back to upright, then save. That will do it.
Glad you made it, actually great survival story, I read the entire thing. Really sorry about your dog, I love dogs, get another one, area like that, a man needs a good dog.
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