Off-grid cabin build

March 2020. The world locked down, and I found myself trapped in a cramped San Francisco apartment, staring at the same four walls day after day. The urge to escape to nature wasn't just a want anymore–it was a necessity.

I'd always been drawn to the wilderness, but weekend backpacking trips felt like brief gasps of air before diving back underwater. I wanted more. I wanted months in the mountains, not just stolen weekends.

That's when the idea hit me: what if I built my own escape?

I found the perfect spot–close enough to a ski resort for winter adventures, with world-class fishing nearby and a pristine mountain lake just a hike away. Starlink was rolling out, which meant I could maintain blazing-fast internet for work. Everything aligned.

The YouTube deep dive began immediately. I consumed everything: foundation techniques, soil composition, water management, framing methods, insulation strategies, solar systems. I was obsessed.

My design took inspiration from Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond–a simple rectangular structure, but with 2x6 walls for superior insulation and sized strategically to avoid permits and inspections. Smart, not just small.

Then came the real work.

The complexity nearly overwhelmed me at first. Every component connected to three others, every decision cascaded into ten more problems to solve. But YouTube became my university, and I learned to embrace the puzzle.

Hauling lumber alone through rough terrain tested me. Maneuvering 16-foot boards up steep grades, wrestling with warped 2x12s, carrying sheets of plywood in mountain winds, etc.

But the metal roofing nearly broke me. Picture this: long sheets of steel, wind gusts, and gravity working against one solo builder. I came up with a basic system using 2x6 lumber as a track, temporary brackets, and rope. Cut the metal to size, chalk screw lines, secure a bracket at the ridge end, and hoist each piece up my improvised elevator. Crude but effective.

Dozens of problems like this demanded creative solutions. Each challenge pushed me to think differently, to see possibilities.

The final result exceeded my expectations: a fully equipped mountain retreat with a proper oven and stove, reliable fridge and freezer, multi-day battery autonomy even in overcast conditions, advanced water filtration, a real shower, and–the crown jewel–400 mbps internet with low latency that would make city dwellers jealous.

Standing in my completed cabin, surrounded by mountains and connected to the world, I realized something profound: with determination and an internet connection, we can build anything, anywhere.