OTC DNR tracts

[crazy_outdoorsman]

http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/landsale/o...CEL_ID=425-674

Anyone know about this area? Is it feasable to build a small cabin there? Most of it looks ok, but http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Ma...1/0/yentna.pdf indicates that the soil will heave, but no permafrost and is for the most part stable. Was through there years ago, now in the lower 48 and it was not in the spring after the thaw.

[Dirtofak]

I believe that access will be VIA float plane or snowmachine only. There are better places in that area.

[crazy_outdoorsman]

Any ideas? The OTC sale does not have a whole lot of options. Mechanized access does not bother all that much and I am not against walk/snowshoe my way from the Deshka if that is possible. I was attracted to it because it is not real far from civilization and access does not require an expedition to reach it. I see freight service is available from Deshka landing (looks to me like year round) but not real sure how practicle navigating the rivers is going to be unless they are frozen. I did some winter traveling through there in the early nineties, and seem to think that if it is possible to get building materials from the land I might give it a try.

[Dirtofak]

You can haul freight just about anywhere if you cut a trail and do it in the winter. May or not be easy. Use Google Earth to look at the lots and their distance from rivers. Deshka gets pretty skinny and is private land up there. Fish Creek won't get you very close, but probably closer than Deshka. The area that you are looking at is unclaimed for many reasons. No access without a float plane in the summer is a major problem. Call and get a rate quote.

What are you actually looking for?

[crazy_outdoorsman]

You can haul freight just about anywhere if you cut a trail and do it in the winter. May or not be easy. Use Google Earth to look at the lots and their distance from rivers. Deshka gets pretty skinny and is private land up there. Fish Creek won't get you very close, but probably closer than Deshka. The area that you are looking at is unclaimed for many reasons. No access without a float plane in the summer is a major problem. Call and get a rate quote.

What are you actually looking for?

Looking for a site that is ‘forgiving’ by AK standards (meaning not the real extreme like in the interior) and off the beaten path. I am not interested in ‘suicide’ by Alaska, but I do understand a broken leg, bear encounter, or fall through the ice can mean lights out - not just in AK but anywhere. I do have plenty of experience, but not a whole lot in AK. I am looking to retire within the next 2 years from the military and will have steady income so I have no illusions of being totally self sufficient. I tried to eat only what I could hunt, fish, or gather a few years ago and I was unsuccessful but did learn a whole lot. I saw the Alaska DNR OTC website and looked around at what they had available and thought this did not look to bad, that is why I posted on the forum. I went through here twenty years ago and memories have a way of looking way better with the passage of time, so I appreciate your time and value any opinions you may be willing to share.

　
　
　
If you do a little research then your efforts can gather quite a bit of information. What is missing is the man on the ground aspect and that is why I am asking. Google Earth and Bing Maps have me thinking it’s only 4 miles from Dheska Creek and close to 6 to the Yenta, but neither view rained, snowed , I was not bitten by a single mosquito and I did not cover a single of those miles. I am early in the planning stage, and not hyped up on Bear Grylls. Who knows? Maybe a condo on a golf course …………………

[Old John]

http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/landsale/o...CEL_ID=425-674

Anyone know about this area? Is it feasable to build a small cabin there? Most of it looks ok, but http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Ma...1/0/yentna.pdf indicates that the soil will heave, but no permafrost and is for the most part stable. Was through there years ago, now in the lower 48 and it was not in the spring after the thaw.

there are some cabins at that lake already.. as Dirtofak stated, I'm reasonably sure summer access is by float plane only.. there might be a snow machine trail in to that lake, but I haven't found it yet if there is... If you'd research DNR's website for OTC lands, you'll see some other "sub divisions" further up the Yentna that have established access.. in fact on up a little above Skwentna there was a parcel with Yentna River access... BUT... before you put out any cash for some of that property, you'd be well advised to go look at the actual lot first... To begin with a lot of those State lots were surveyed into 5 acre lots (more or less) And the reason some of those lots have been combined to make a 10, 15 or 20 acre parcel is because 90% of that acreage is UNUSABLE... Bog, muskeg, swamp...!!! If you look at the borough tax maps, you'll see that the majority of land along the Yentna river is in reality Private property already...

[NRick]

Don't limit yourself to just DNR OTC. University of Alaska sells land and I believe Mental Health trust does too. Also there are a lot of lots that change hands after they go private. There are a few websites that list remote Alaskan properties. Some realitors in the Mat-Su valley would know about some too.

Once you narrow it down - go see it before you buy. If you think it is hard to get to or too expensive to get to just for a look, then it will only be harder and more expensive to build. Also, depending on whether you are itching to build a cabin or just want a cabin, you might consider looking at lots with a cabin already on them.