>>846605couldn't find the link to it, but there was a relatively recent case of a dude doing this in England. Built a pretty nice living situation for himself, including some waterwheel shit. Apparently he'd go back into society every few weeks for supplies.He did it for a few years- 3? - but then got caught. No serious trouble but they tore his shit down because he was doing it on public lands.
That said, it'd be a VERY different game here in the states. You could maybe get away with it in some hippy area like Vermont or parts of the pacific NW, but by and large I think private property would get you into trouble. Anywhere that you'd be far enough away to get away with building and living for a little while would prolly have some people willing to kill you for fucking with their shit.
You might be better off getting to actually know some people with land. Plenty of people might want someone to chill out and watch their land for them and make sure assholes don't come and squat it.