Coding on the Frontier: A Software Developer's Journey from Colorado Tech to Alaskan Wilderness

In 2012, while working as a software developer for Wall Street on Demand in Boulder, Colorado, I found myself making monthly drives across the state from my home in Durango. During those long commutes through Colorado's vast landscapes, past sprawling ranches and farms, I would dream about owning a homestead or building a cabin of my own. However, the steep land prices in Colorado made this dream seem perpetually out of reach.

Everything changed when I discovered Alaska's state land sales website. Most parcels were off the grid, accessible only by air or water, but that didn't deter me. Armed with Google Earth and YouTube videos of adventurers snowmachining and dog sledding in the area, I made what some might consider an impulsive decision: I purchased 5 acres of Alaskan wilderness for $4,000 – on my credit card, no less.

That summer, I embarked on my first Alaskan adventure to survey my land. The journey involved chartering a float plane into the remote wilderness, where I spent 10 days exploring my property with nothing but a GPS, chainsaw, and shotgun for company. I had rented a boat from a nearby lodge to access the land, and the experience was so transformative that upon returning home, I immediately purchased another 5 acres.

By 2014, my family and I had made the bold decision to relocate to Alaska permanently. While continuing my work as a software developer – building web applications for major clients like eTrade, BusinessWeek, and CNN Money – I expanded our Alaskan footprint by purchasing two more lots, this time on the road system in Caswell Lakes.

What followed was perhaps my most ambitious project yet: building a cabin using nothing but hand tools. Despite maintaining my full-time role as a software engineer for an Anchorage credit union, I dedicated my free time to this labor of love. Slowly but surely, the raw land transformed into a livable space, piece by piece, board by board.

Alaska has blessed me with countless adventures – from sea kayaking in Resurrection Bay to dipnetting for salmon in Kasilof, from snowboarding at Alyeska Resort to hiking in the Denali wilderness. Yet nothing quite compares to the satisfaction of building my own cabin with my own hands.

The parallels between coding and cabin-building are striking. Both require patience, problem-solving skills, and attention to detail. Both demand persistence in the face of challenges. This experience has profoundly influenced my approach to entrepreneurship, particularly in founding my software development agencies, Grizzly Peak Software and CortexAgent LLC.

The most valuable lesson I've learned through this journey is that no dream is too big if you're willing to break it down into manageable pieces and persistently work toward your goal. Whether you're building a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness or launching a software company, success comes through steady progress, one step at a time.

My path from being a remote developer in Colorado to building both software and structures in Alaska might seem unusual, but it demonstrates an important truth: with discipline, hard work, and persistence, you can transform seemingly impossible dreams into reality. The frontier spirit that drew me to Alaska continues to drive me forward, both in my technical career and my personal adventures.