Latest episode of NFSV about my return to Serenity Valley after being away for the winter. Can my new car make it up the dirt road? Will my hut still be standing? What state will my camp be in? Watch to find out.
Laptop and a Rifle
From Silicon Valley to Serenity Valley
Laptop and a Rifle 
Why bring a loaded rifle? Are there lots of large predators there? Or are you expecting/willing to shoot out intruders?
The bottom line is, I don’t know who or what is there. I can have a gun and not use it, but I can’t use a gun I don’t have.
Ryo I am so with you! I live in a cabin that is 425sf in Northern Ca. You have to be ready…bears…wolves…freaks you never know what is around the next corner but if you are ready you can face the dilemma and go on!!! More power to having less. Because once you do it you realize it is not really less after all but MORE!!!
Nice to see all was well up at the hut. Whoever drove through on ATVs were respectful enough to leave your PV setup (etc) alone too. That seems like a good sign.
From the video It looked like your new 4×4 Ryomobile would do just fine, expect for the occasional branch of course 🙂
How long will you be up there this time Ryo? What are your plans for the next few months? Really looking forward to watching your adventure unfold.
The tracks belonged to my new neighbor. I’ll be talking/writing more about him in the future…
I was only up there for a few days this time, and I’m back in the city now. It was just a short trip to check things out and get my hut/camp ready. I’ll be going back later this week for another short trip, and am planning on spending most of the warmer months up there full-time.
What would you do if you saw someone camping in a tent when you walked up to your property?
Glad your new ride worked up your road. Does it have a tow package for your trailer?
If I saw someone camping, I’d talk to them to find out who they are. If they’re cool, I might invite them to stay, though otherwise I’d ask them to move west a few hundred yards onto public lands.
My car doesn’t have the tow package, but I might get a tow-hitch installed. It’s rated for up to 2000lb without the tow package.
Good to see all was in place. Can you put up a gate?
When you mention “who is there” in the same sentence as your shotgun it leads me to believe you think you would be willing to point at a person (maybe armed, maybe not; maybe alone, perhaps with friends nearby; drugs or alcohol could be involved too, then all bets are off).
Consider the consequences and how quickly things can go wrong. A weapon can lead to a false sense of confidence. Your spot seems quite lonely. I would opt for a less confrontational stance.
My new neighbor said he’s putting up a gate at the dirt road entrance, and I might put up a chain where the dirt road crosses into my property.
Your views on guns and violence is valid, and I would tend to agree with you in the city. But up in the woods, things are a little different, and I elaborated on my thinking in a new post…
My property is pretty remote, but not so remote that I can assume nobody will be there. A guy who owns property on the opposite corner of my section had a bunch of stuff vandalized and stolen. Timber theft is very common, as is illegal hunting. About a year ago, sheriffs stumbled on an illegal marijuana growing operation on public lands about 10-15 miles from my land, and got into a shoot-out. It might be hard to believe, but it really is a different world out there.
Kind of surprised by the reaction to the shotgun. Ryo seems like a pretty level-headed feller, I wouldn’t expect him to over-react or over escalate a situation that didn’t warrant it. I suspect those not used to seeing firearms have the Hollywood perspective – not based in reality.
More to the real topic. Glad the new Ryo-rig made it in without indecent. Glad the hut and the gear survived the winter. Glad you had the time to get there. Look forward to many more excellent reports. Thanks for sharing the experience.
Congrats on making it back. It’s good to hear that everything made it through the winter in one piece, and the neighbors aren’t to much of a hastle yet.
I look forward to vicarious freedom in the coming months.
Congrats on finding it as you left it. Looks like a place that lives up to it’s name. It took me a minute to figure out that you must have been carrying fluid/water in the car. At first, I thought the tires were kicking up a lot more mud than they probably were 🙂
Oh yeah, that sloshing sound was from water in a water carrier… I was planning on noting that in the post and forgot 😛
Mossberg 590 or Remington 870?
Mossberg 590. Found a used one at a local gun shop.
We were down at our cabin after a 3 month dry spell, the tar-paper was lose on the woodsheds roof. Tar-paper VS wind…my bet is always on wind.
We are back in about week and half for one night before traveling further into the 4 corners area. I hope to get the Corrugated metal on the woodshed.
I like the nice timber you have…nice diversity. We have 80% sagebrush the balance in Juniper + pinon
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