Preparing for Mules | Live Free or Die

In the wilderness, economy doesn't exist. The only economy we have is an economy of motion. I have no electricity, no running water. If the world came to an end, I could totally take care of myself. My blacksmithing puts food on the table; it's my main means of barter. That's how I get most of my stuff.

Primitive blacksmith Derek has lived in this rocky mountain cabin for 22 years. It's harder to live off the grid than it is to live in society. Every spring, Derek transforms his rugged mountain property into a working homestead with the help of three mules. The mules are really gonna get a lot of chores tied up here. They're gonna help me take a big load off my back.

Over the winter, Derek's homestead was hit with seven feet of snow. To ensure his mules survived the bitter cold, Derek moved them to a friend's covered stable 15 miles away. This corral needs a lot of work. I got to get this thing tuned up for those mules. Now, with spring approaching, Derek must rebuild the mules' corral before he gets them back to work.

I don't get this fence line down; I won't have nowhere to keep my mules. Just getting these poles ready for tripods, it's a big project getting this all tied together. I would love to be able to go to Home Depot and buy all the cement and posts and hardware that I need to make a real corral, but I choose not to buy materials because the forest gives me everything I need here.

I put X's across crossbars, and then I put a ton of debris on it. This will totally keep those mules in check. It's highly intimidating, real pokey, dangerous. Ain't gonna try and jump that. Solid. All the work that I do is the price you pay to live free.