I guess the best example I can think of is Chris McCandless
Then there’s the North Pond Hermit of Maine but I suppose people would not classify him as free of mental illness.
Just wondering how many people are out there living in caves, walking around, hiking trails, hopping trains, or living in National Forests full time who really aren’t mentally ill and just choose that lifestyle. What do you think?
I’ve met two. Used to work with them on a ranch when I was a kid. Cool guys, wouldn’t live in the same place for more than three months.
One of the dudes carried around a tiny TV with a built in VHS and a handful of movies. The other guy was just heading South, I think maybe going to Mexico.
When they decided to move on they just left, no goodbyes or heads up… just gone one day.
Were you able to ask them why they lived that way? Was there anything odd about them? Like could they function socially and hold down a regular long-term job?
Never asked them directly, figured they tell me if they wanted to but it never came up.
Nothing notably odd outside of their lifestyle. Neither one did drugs or drank. The VHS guy crashed in the ranch manager’s garage, which was my neighbor, so I’d chill with him and watch movie sometimes. They both had a great sense of humor.
They showed up to work on time everyday, worked hard, and just did normal stuff off-hours. No reason they couldn’t stay in one place as far as I could tell. I was 17 at the time, so I could have missed some cues, but nothing made them stand out.
We all made $5.25 under the table and got free lunch. It was a pretty good gig for a teenager and someone that didn’t care about taxes. I guess once they got enough money under their belt to move on, they did.