Couple Who Live in a Remote Off-Grid Homestead in Alaska Reveal Brutal Reality of Winter Months—From Confronting Wild Wolves to Driving 6 Hours for Groceries

A couple who relocated from the suburbs of New England to live in a remote, off-grid homestead in Alaska have opened up about the extreme lengths they go to in order to survive the brutal winter months—from braving encounters with wolves while sourcing water to driving six hours to the nearest grocery store.

Dennis and Amy—who have kept their last name offline for privacy reasons but are known online as “Holdfast Alaska”—have been living self-sufficiently by raising, hunting, and gathering their own food; using renewable energy; and living with minimal waste for the past decade—even welcoming a child, Lena, during that time.

Recently, they decided to begin sharing their journey on social media in the hopes of helping others who wish to pursue an off-grid lifestyle but aren’t sure where to start. The couple offer up the tips and tricks they have learned while figuring out how to live an almost entirely self-sufficient lifestyle.

“We did not grow up homesteading or in Alaska or living in the bush; we both grew up in the suburbs of New England,” Amy says in a recent YouTube video, charting their move from “suburbia to remote Alaska.”

She goes on to reveal that she and Dennis met shortly after they had graduated high school and soon moved into an apartment together. However, she says they quickly grew “very dissatisfied with city living” and began focusing on their shared dream of building their own property off the beaten path, where they’d be able to raise a family together.

“We really wanted our own property to build and raise a family on, and to really live a homestead lifestyle and produce a lot of our own food—that was always a real big dream for us,” she explains.

Initially, the duo started looking closer to home, with Amy recalling how they would “scour Craigslist” for land in places like rural Maine, before eventually happening upon a sprawling property they were able to buy for just $5,000.

That site would go on to become their first homestead, with the duo clearing the land and building a simple structure themselves—despite not having any basic amenities like internet, electricity, or running water.

But that austere lifestyle was exactly what they had lusted for—and they quickly fell in love with the homesteading lifestyle, using the few years they spent living there as an opportunity to learn as much as they could, from books and from the locals who lived around them.

Having learned all they could from that property, they decided to sell their completed cabin and move to a nearby farmhouse, where they spent a short period of time learning the ins and outs of farming. But their long-term dream of homesteading in Alaska was still very much their main focus, with Dennis explaining that they realized it was one they needed to pursue while they still felt young and healthy enough to do so.

They traveled for four days to the remote town of Whittier, AK, and then set about finding their perfect property. Initially they settled down on a property on the Kenai River, on the outskirts of a town by the same name. But while it offered them a taste of the remote lifestyle they wanted, it still wasn’t enough. Dennis jokes that it felt like a “watered down version” of what they were searching for.

Six years later, they have relocated to a new homestead in Alaska—their “most remote yet”—and, despite admitting that the process of living off the land in the northern region is more “challenging” than it was in Maine, they couldn’t be happier with their decision.

The property boarders a national park and sits near a large river where they are able to fish for salmon, while the woodland around them is ideal for moose hunting.

For the most part, the duo says they are as self-sufficient as they can be right now, relying almost entirely on food they grow, hunt, fish, and forage, while their water supply comes from a local river they trek to regularly to keep up their supplies—despite noting that they have encountered wild wolves on those treks.

Although the couple’s cabin is small, it features more than enough amenities for Dennis, Amy, and daughter Lena, who have all perfected the art of living minimally.

In addition to an intimate kitchen, which features tall cabinets to maximize space, the cabin comes complete with a fireplace and a tiny living area with its own balcony, where Amy and Dennis enjoy a cup of coffee every day.

They frequently gush about their land on social media, previously noting, “After years of living in Alaska, we finally feel like we are on the frontier. This is the most wild place we have ever lived.

“There are no property taxes, and we are bordered by 10+ million acres of national forest and land to hunt. It has taken us over a decade of homesteading to get to this point, and we are beyond excited to get to fill up the smoker with moose and salmon.”

Dennis and Amy also confessed that they chose to relocate to Alaska because it has the “best hunting and fishing in the world” and is “off-the-grid friendly.”

They also previously dished out several tips on becoming pro homesteaders, outlining these specifics for their followers:

“Access: The more affordable, typically it’s more remote and harder to access. Trails or roads may not be maintained. Are there neighbors who are year-round, to help maintain the road? Can you park somewhere and snowmobile in in winter months, if you don’t have a plow or a way to maintain it? Don’t forget mud season, or ‘break up.’ How wet is the way in too much for a four-wheeler or truck to pass? What about an Argo, or walking in? How will you haul in supplies?

“Make sure it’s legal access. Not just a road made by the property owners. Check with the borough, town, or a local title co/attorney, and make this a contingency to a sale if unsure. If it’s a no go- you want your deposit back.

“Financing: Can you owner finance? We did this with our first piece of raw land as two young 20-year-olds and $5,000 down and seller financed the rest. Depending on the property, if it has a water source it will be recreationally financeable, credit unions will also loan on land and cabins. If it’s a home and not quite finished, a Reno loan is another option.

“Use restrictions: Depending on where you are, it might be illegal to be off-grid, it may be illegal to raise animals on your property, it may be illegal to live without running water with children. I’ve found in rural parts local governments might turn the other cheek. Or they may not.

“In Alaska, for example, no CC&Rs (Codes, Covenants, & Restrictions) means it’s a free for all. Build what you want (you don’t need a permit), use an outhouse, or build your own crib septic (you don’t need a permit), raise livestock or make a home-based business (and don’t worry about it)- your free to do as you choose.

“In Maine, though, even in the great North Woods and in unorganized territory, to live year-round in a residence you need an engineer-designed septic. An outhouse permit is required for seasonal living. If you have running water, you need a permitted Greywater system. Look into these things- don’t rely on others, call the town to check.”

Although they have a social media channel, Amy and Dennis have kept the inside of their beloved cabin and barn private, with them mostly showing off the stunning view from their home and their farming abilities.

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