Ever dreamed of quitting the rat race and getting away from it all? If modern life is getting a bit too much for you to handle, you could always make like these five rugged outdoors types and build your very own off-grid bolthole in a remote forest somewhere. It's not as hard as you might imagine. Take a look at how they pulled it off and start planning your great escape right now.

Escaping to the wilds of Quebec, adventurer Billy Rioux (left) set about building a 12-foot x 16-foot hand-hewn log cabin back in 2007 using only traditional tools. The bushcraft and history enthusiast was keen to emulate the experience of Canada's intrepid 19th-century voyageurs.

All in all, the build took 63 days, an impressive feat given the traditional tools and methods used. In 2012, Rioux lived in the cabin entirely off-grid for 12 months, drinking water from a nearby river, as well as trapping and hunting rabbits, grouse and other game animals. 

Since then, the inspiring adventurer has built an additional cabin for storage, and though he has returned to civilisation, living in the city of Trois-Rivières, Rioux regularly visits and kicks back at the cosy log cabin. Inspired by Billy? Check out these incredible off-grid homes built from trash.

The log cabin was finally completed in 2007, the same year that Homestead Becky started posting videos of her lifestyle on YouTube. Her channel exploded in popularity and these days, the plucky homesteader has 317,319 subscribers. 

Across the pond, jaded Londoner Kris Harbour decided to leave the Big Smoke and his two mortgages behind in May 2015 and start a new life for himself in the idyllic Welsh countryside, after spotting an 18.5-acre plot of land for sale on eBay.

Harbour, who has chronicled the build on his YouTube page, used earthbags to insulate the property and hefty stones to add extra strength and stability, providing a tough base for the structure. It's a low cost, highly insulating and eco-friendly method of building that's perfect for a real-life hobbit house in the woods.

Delighted with his simple new life, Harbour, who no longer has any bills to worry about, spends his days happily maintaining the structure, enjoying the peaceful countryside and surfing off the Welsh coast. Love this idea? Check out these passive houses that cost nothing to run. 

Michigan native Kellie Nightlinger is a bushcraft expert and adventurist who has been voted the world's top female survival expert. The self-described “Wild Woman” is all about the great outdoors, and has pretty much single-handedly built her own log cabin in the Montana wilderness.

Another rugged outdoors type who wanted to “go back to basics”, Canadian Shawn James has become a veritable YouTube star with his channel My Self Reliance, which follows his experiences at his off-grid log cabin, and has amassed a staggering 686,184 subscribers.

James now spends most weekends in his extra-snug log cabin, and frequently posts videos of his off-grid adventures to YouTube. Loved this? Check out the extreme lifestyle that comes with these homes at the end of the earth.