Today marks four months of off-grid camping as a lifestyle for me, slowly migrating south as winter set in, from Montana where I left a ‘normal’ life with a job in a house, to Arizona where I am currently residing. I can’t believe it’s already been 4 months!
I didn’t know exactly what to expect making what seemed like such a radical lifestyle change, but I’m glad I did, despite plenty of both ups and downs, and no shortage of troubles along the way. But no shortage of good times and lessons learned either - that’s just life no matter what.
Things just weren’t working out for me trying to play by society’s rule, and I needed a change, so with a new puppy it was time to start a new chapter in my life... Late in the evening on October 1st, after spending the whole day frantically doing last-minute packing and moving two car loads of stuff up to my campsite, and setting up camp, my life in a tent began.
Video tour of my setup at my first campsite in MT below:
I’ve learned a lot already, like how little one really needs to be happy, how imbalanced and unnatural the ‘normal’ way of modern society and the rat race is. It seems I have pretty fully acclimated to the lifestyle, though I’m still not fond of packing up my camp despite usually enjoying the change in scenery that follows.
That’s the downside of camping in a tent - a canvas tent complete with wood stove and a cot, at least. Oh and solar panel with super heavy batter, etc.
Staying for just a day or two, or setting up camp in the rain/snow is definitely where having a camper or van-camping sure would come in handy...
It’s amazing how just a little time in nature away from the rush and business of society can change your perspective on life. Everything is so peaceful and balanced in nature, until mankind comes in and destroys it.
(View from October bike ride in Montana between the snow storms)
Just 4 months into it, my old life in society seems like such a distant memory. At the beginning, my first two weeks camping in Montana, I saw a Black Bear, had some nice weather and some snow, but was mostly really busy running around town to get everything done before I hit the road to see new horizons, and whittling down my two car loads worth of stuff into one so I could hit the road.
Still enjoyed the time in nature, though, and the wood stove worked well to keep us warm on the cold nights and during the one early-season super cold snowstorm.
Dakota often posted up on this rock to ‘guard’ the camp :)
In Utah I saw lots of Deer and Turkeys, everywhere I went, and quickly began to realize that most areas were pretty quiet and peaceful until the first day of hunting season when the forest roads turned into highways, and campgrounds and campsites everywhere turned into little cities. And then campers once again disappeared back to the real cities the very first day hunting season was over. I never realized just how much of outdoor recreation is hunting, and how many people camping do so mainly just for hunting. I preferred not having the hunters around, not only for the solitude, but for the ability to see more wildlife.
I only spent two nights at my first campsite in Utah along Salt Creek, as the first Saturday of hunting season was way too busy for my liking, plus I had apparently set up my camp in an ‘illegal’ area, as I didn’t see the sign when I arrived in the dark, stating camping up that particular road was restricted to official campsites.
I spent three weeks in the middle of nowhere up a remote canyon in the Fish Lake National Forest, where I even had cell service if I climbed up to the ridge line, and I had the place mostly to myself the last week after all the hunters cleared out. I was able to camp right next to the creek for good water access, firewood was plentiful, and the closest town with any amenities was 25 miles away - the County seat of Richfield with population of 3,500.
Probably what stood out the most to me in the Utah mountains was the sheer variety of trees all in the same place, it was amazing and quite different compared to the Montana forests.
Then it was off to Moab for a couple weeks of warmer weather.
Beautiful camping in the Moab desert for a night:
Before finding a better spot a little higher up out of the desert with some trees.
First time I began relying on burning pinion pine, which I soon learned was more aromatic than the other bigger pines I was used to burning. The views of the La Sal Mountains were fantastic, which I attempted to camp in, but the one spot I eventually found was near a camper hidden in the trees I hadn’t seen, with loud neighbors who returned after dark. So I only stayed there one night, and that day was a rather terrible adventure and is a whole story of its own.
I returned to the same place I had come from, with the great views of the mountains I had thought I was going to be camping in... At least here, the weather was warmer, and there was good cell service right at my campsite for the first time ever.
At the end of my time in Moab I had car problems - blew out a tire and ran into a large engine oil leak - so I had to get a brand new pair of rear tires, but thankfully I had the money and the oil leak was only a pressure gauge switch, so it was an easy fix that I was able to do myself at the auto-parts store with their tools.
But the campsite was awesome, with trees, epic views and massive boulders, minimal traffic for the most part (on two occasions a truck camper popped in for a night but left early the next morning), and the car issues just prolonged my stay by a couple days.
I hit lots and lots of rainy and snowy weather in New Mexico, like multiple 3-4 day storm systems, so that wasn’t much fun, and had to stay at a hotel my first night, at the AZ/NM border in the the small town of Springerville, because I didn’t quite make it to my destination in time.
The next day I arrived to a scenic campground just a few miles into NM, set in the Gila Mountains at 7,500 ft in a mature Ponderosa Pine forest, and I had the campground all to myself.
This, my first NM campsite along the San Francisco River in the northern Gila National Forest was definitely the most remote camping I’d done yet, but was right next to the highway (which at least didn’t see much traffic), and for some reason absolutely none of the wood, no matter how dead it was, was dry. Made fires quite difficult to make, and then it snowed and rained, and the river got all muddy, hindering water use, and overall it was probably the worst place and time ever, so far along my whole trip. It was pretty scenery though, and at least had an outhouse which was a nice change.
Then elk season apparently opened, and the campsites all filled up, and I was out of there. Glad to have that week and a half behind me, but since I hadn’t planned on leaving quite yet, and had no idea where I was going next, it was back to the hotel in Springerville. And then it rained for the next two days, so my hotel stay turned into a two-night stay. Can’t say I didn’t appreciate the hot showers and shelter from the elements in a room with more space.
I nonetheless really enjoyed my second campsite south of Silver City near the Continental Divide, where I stayed for three weeks including both Christmas and the New Year. But not before getting snowed out as I setup my tent that evening, and ended up driving to Silver City 20 miles north to stay my third night in a row in a hotel, which was considerably cheaper than the one in AZ, so that was nice.
When I returned to the camp I had begun setup the night before the next morning, I realized it was Dakota’s birthday, and after finishing setting up my camp, went for a hike up the Continental Divide trail nearby, which she loved. It turned out to be a great mountain biking trail that we frequented during our stay there.
Lots of rabbits in NM, but I only saw one deer, that Dakota flushed out of the trees and chased away :) There were so many coyotes though, loud and close to my campsite, but never close enough (or bright enough when they were close enough) to see them.
It was here that I discovered the wonderful aroma of Juniper wood, because that was the best wood around to burn, better than the Sycamore. Even got a belated white Christmas after raining for two days...
I had never seen a cactus in the snow before.
Then after three weeks, it was time to make my way into southern Arizona; that was three weeks ago, and then I found my most recent campsite just a bit south of Tucson a week ago. I think it is the most scenic one of all, so far, seen in the top photo and below.
There has apparently been a mountain lion at or near more of the places I’ve camped at than not, but I’ve never seen them, only their signs or stories of nearby sightings.
At my last campsite at the base of the Dragoon Mountains there was a pesky little skunk that sprayed Dakota, so that was no fun at all! But thankfully Arizona skunks aren’t as bad as the ones in Montana, and a bath actually washes the smell out pretty well the first time around.
Dakota made a doggy friend; the dog’s owners were actually a couple from the same town I came from in Montana, who were also camping here, and it turns out the skunk went to their campsite the next night and got their dog!
Lots of cool rock formations to go climbing on...
The views were fantastic there, and there was a small creek in the area, but it was also a very busy area, with way way too much traffic on the weekend, and not nearly as quiet as I like; but at least it had good cell service, so I had internet for a change and enjoyed my stay in this scenic and warm location.
I like my current campsite better, though, it may just be my favorite spot yet, and possibly the most scenic as well, also in Apache country. Apparently this area and the surrounding mountains were Geronimo’s winter grounds.
It is one of the largest high-elevation grasslands in the world apparently, and sits on BLM land on an old historic ranch which is pretty cool, especially considering there is free well water at the old ranch headquarters near the entrance. High desert flat and rolling grassland covered in Mesquite trees, surrounded by mountains on every side.
A little slice of heaven, with excellent cell service (internet on my phone), probably the least traffic of any spot I’ve found yet, so super quiet and peaceful. There is little to no traffic by the spot I found, except on the weekends, mainly Sunday, and I met a cool older fellow who’s been camping further up the road for a couple months now. There’s even a creek only about a half mile away, at the end of the little road I’m on, Cienega Creek, that waters all the wildlife through here .
I’ve seen lots of antelope here for the first time, which is really cool, and rabbits, but thankfully no skunks or rattlesnakes, despite the weather here being quite hot for winter time on some days, like today hitting 70 degrees (feels hotter though)!
I could go on and on with all the crazy adventures I’ve had, but that will have to do for now. I just wanted to share a bit of my journey, and some awesome photos, and this super amazingly beautiful high desert grassland.
