“I like the independence of it, the freedom,” Neal Estano said.

Estano, 60, bought the house 14 years ago as a seasonal camp but moved up full time in April. He formerly worked as a TV meteorologist for both the CBS and NBC affiliate in Albany, as well as the Weather Channel up and down the eastern seaboard, from Jacksonville, Florida, to Portland, Maine. Now, he works in guest services and grounds at The Point Resort on Upper Saranac Lake, the only Forbes five-star hotel in the state outside of New York City.

His house is totally off-grid, powered by solar panels with a gasoline generator backup; heated by a woodstove and a propane furnace. It takes thoughtfulness and hard work to do well in a place like that, he said.

“It takes a lot of planning, a lot of forethought, a lot of decision making,” he said.

Neal Estano arrives at his home by canoe. (Provided photo)

His biggest challenge living off-grid and “off-road” is commuting. In the spring, summer and fall, when the water is clear, Estano crosses the pond to his truck by canoe in about 15 minutes. When the pond has thick enough ice, he can take his snowmobile across. But when the ice is too thin or unpredictable, as it was for much of late November and early December, he has to allot an extra 45 minutes or so to hike about two miles around the pond from his house.

“That’s been the biggest challenge, is knowing what conditions I’m gonna face and taking advantage of it,” he said.

But even on the days he needs to hike to and from the house, he enjoys himself. Watching the sunset over the water as he hikes home is prize enough.

“The beauty and the reward of that is priceless,” he said. “Not a day goes by I don’t appreciate the beauty that’s here in the Adirondacks.”

For Estano, the rewards vastly outweigh the challenges. The house is paid for, with no electric or utility bill. It used to cost him $200 to $300 a month to heat his last house. Now, aside from buying propane for the furnace, his only cost for heat is sweat, as he cuts his own firewood from the timber on his property.

Neal Estano cleans snow off his solar panels. (Provided photo — Neal Estano)

“I live where people spend their working day so they can afford to come here or have a second home here,” he said. “This is my first home, and it’s tremendously satisfying.”

There are risks, however. Living off-grid, especially in as remote a setting as Estano, requires extraordinary caution around all things. Choices must be made with tremendous care.

“There’s honestly some days that are like, ‘What the heck am I doing?'” he said.

On one trip across the partly frozen water in his canoe, he misjudged the amount of ice present and nearly got trapped in the middle of the pond.

Estano says he holds off on riskier projects, like felling trees or getting on the roof, until his neighbors are at their place nearby. Some of his property is without cell service as well, though he hopes to get an emergency beacon soon.

Hoel Pond cabin (Provided photo — Neal Estano)

“There are risks in life unless you sit around in a Lazyboy and bubble wrap. But I’m always conscious of injury and the fact that I’m very much alone there,” he said. “But it makes me feel alive.”

Loneliness is another thing that makes living that way challenging, he said. He doesn’t mind it much, though, and even said he’s applied to be on the coming season of the History Channel’s “Alone,” a popular reality TV competition in which participants are dropped, completely alone and without a camera crew, in different areas around a certain wilderness (decided each season) to try to survive and outlast each other with minimal equipment.

Part of the application process was sending the producers his social media. He recently transformed his Facebook page, “Neal Estano’s Weather and More,” into a page all about his life off-grid, called “Neal Estano’s Adirondack Off-Grid Adventures.” There he chronicles his day-to-day, posting photos and videos of his home, equipment, projects and lessons learned. He has over 17,000 followers.

“It’s really clicked with people,” he said.

Estano started a YouTube channel this week under the same title, which he did as “something to do.” He has no TV there, and the neighbors are gone all winter. He hopes to expand his audience and see where it goes.

Firewood (Provided photo — Neal Estano)

For now, Estano is working to turn his place into a more self-sustaining homestead, with one more full winter planned this year. In 2025, he hopes to spend the hardest months, November, December and January, someplace warm.

“That’s kind of my longer-term goal as I ease into retirement,” he said.

Neal Estano’s homemade “kiln” for drying out cut firewood. (Provided photo — Neal Estano)