Today I got a little closer to a dream...Update 10June16

[JAG2955]

Today is the day that we began closing on 46.47 acres in North Idaho.

This isn't our homestead, that's a fact. It's in fact a mountaintop that will provide unparalleled hunting, a bug out location, a backup retirement land, and a fantastic investment should we ever decide to sell. By having this, it will be much easier to find a property that has most of what I want. I won't need the remoteness (I still want fairly remote), but if I should ever want to get away, this place is right there. I hope to find a homestead within ATV driving distance of this place.

First the bad:
This property was bought sight unseen many years ago by the current owner. He's never even set foot on it. That might be why it was cheap. They need money, so their loss is my gain. It's remote, absolutely end of the road, and the road may or may not be passable in the winter by a 4x4 truck. An ATV, maybe. A snowmobile, yes. As soon as the snow melt dries out, it's good until the first heavy snowfall. It's probably a 20 minute drive to the nearest paved road. There's no power, but there are several neighbors with off grid cabins along the road up. I also learned the guy never put in a timber exemption. As it stands, taxes are $420 a year. As soon as I file a timber management plan, it should be close to $100 a year or less.

There are some very steep places on the property. But there are also a large number of benches on the steep parts.

If I build a cabin, I may have to pre-fab it, and helo it in, depending on where I want to put it. If I don't want it on the mountaintop, I can truck it in.

Now the good, incredible, and awesome:
The views are insane. From various points, you can see the town of Sandpoint, Lake Pend Orielle, the back side of the Mt. Schweitzer ski resort, the Selle Valley, mountaintops in Montana and Canada, and (my favorite) views of the Pack River and Pack River Valley.

Tons of elk, moose, and bear sign. So much elk and moose scat that it looked like they were trying to build the mountain up higher. Lots of elk prints and paths. Rocks flipped over by bears, including one that had to weigh close to half a ton. Rotten stumps torn apart, and trees knocked over with bear claw marks in them. Whitetail rubs and skeletons to the extent where it became commonplace. The listing agent had previously found a moose shed on the property.

There may be water on the property. I found a very damp area covered in some type of moss. Immediately under the moss, the ground was damp. We met some neighbors about 10 minutes up the road. They had to drill for a well, but get 7 gallons per minute. They told us another neighbor has an artesian well.

I'm meeting a timber guy tomorrow to see if he thinks there is marketable timber on the property. I'm worried a little about the access road, but feel more confident about it than when I walked it last month. I hope that I can get some dollar value when I have a few building/wildlife habitat locations cut out.

I could easily do solar. There's complete exposure along numerous sites along the mountaintop. I could do wind, if I log out some trees.

The property is less than 800 feet from thousands of acres of BLM and National Forest land. In fact, a road that borders my property goes right into it. There's restricted access for everyone except for landowners on this road.

Pictures forthcoming once I get my phone recharged. Tomorrow I'm going to bring a real camera for some better shots.

[PawPaw]

Just Damn, that sounds wonderful. Good luck with your plans for it.

[Bullspit]

And not just your dream!

Way to go!

[Aesop]

Suh-weeeeeet!

[randy]

I absolutely loved the area when I visited Chris and Mel a couple of years ago. You bastard!

[JAG2955]

So yeah, gonna need an elk rifle. I'm also going to pick up a few salt/mineral licks and drop them off out there before I leave. I may also drop a few 5-gallon bucket caches of useful goods just in case this needs to become GunCounter Bugout NW#1.

[Precision]

So yeah, gonna need an elk rifle. I'm also going to pick up a few salt/mineral licks and drop them off out there before I leave. I may also drop a few 5-gallon bucket caches of useful goods just in case this needs to become GunCounter Bugout NW#1.

Good thinking. And good for you. I am slow working on my +/- 100 acres of remoteness. Still more of a dream than a closing - by a lot

[Dub_James]

Hope it goes well!

[rightisright]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKUOB8MN4Kc

[JAG2955]

Panoramic Shot

Pack River Valley, looking west, from about halfway through the property off a rock outcropping.