Alone in the wilderness for 30 years: Man films himself living alone in Alaska.

Very interesting thread. Thanks for posting!

Makes one wonder why we have so many fancy tools.

I think I need to learn about woodwork again. Seems like a very useful skill to have that I have neglected.
 
jackknife said:
This amazing man was a classic lesson in what we really don't need in the wilderness. It seems like the ax and the pocket knife took care of everything he had to do.

Software over hardware. Dick was an amazing man.
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I am fairly sure he was a skilled carpenter. Check out the parts of him rip sawing the logs to make his shelves.

Maybe he did, but I just can't recall his mentioning how long it took to lug the camera or set up a shot. But he could tell you exactly how long it took to resaw those logs into planks, and proud of it.
 
Now that I think back, I have heard of the book "Alone in the wilderness" as well as it being mentioned here on the forums, but for some reason I never paid much attention.

These videos are great, I love the narrations, the sounds are so peaceful.

Makes one wonder why we have so many fancy tools.
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My thoughts exactly :)
 
Wow. I wasn't expecting to watch the whole thing, but that was amazing! That guy was certainly a master craftsman.
 
WOAH.

homeboy is using a CRUISER AXE, not even a full size felling axe, for the job. Wowwee
 
Thanks for posting, now i am going to go and read more about him and watch the videos.

Fair play to him and what he managed to achieve.:thumbup:
 
I visited the lakes and later ran the Chilkidrotna River. Beautiful country. The day we tried to row the raft to the upper lake there was a howling headwind. While trying to line the boat along the shore, one of my pals fell and took a pretty unpleasant injury. As a result, we sadly never got to see the cabin---only the ranger's cabin on the lower lake......

DancesWithKnives
 
You know, looking at these Dick Proenneke videos, it occurred to me that they'd be amazing to see if he had simply built that cabin in his backyard home in the suburbs somewhere. His woodworking skills are amazing. To think he did the whole thing way up in the wilds of Alaska while also having to catch/shoot/raise his own food is jaw-dropping.
 
Dick was an amazing man in amazing shape. 30 mile hikes were literally a nice workout for him, through bear country carrying a gun in thick brush. On his 70th birthday, a journalist was visiting, and Dick did 70 chinups to celebrate.

One thing, though, he had supplies regularly flown in, and he made no secret or apology for that. He lived off of his own hunting, had a meager garden, but also had mail and foodstuffs delivered regularly. I have no doubt that if he had to, he could live off the land, but he chose not to, as he probably liked variety in his diet.
 
sodak said:
Dick was an amazing man in amazing shape. 30 mile hikes were literally a nice workout for him, through bear country carrying a gun in thick brush. On his 70th birthday, a journalist was visiting, and Dick did 70 chinups to celebrate.

One thing, though, he had supplies regularly flown in, and he made no secret or apology for that. He lived off of his own hunting, had a meager garden, but also had mail and foodstuffs delivered regularly.
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I have not read anything about him as of yet but did he really do 30 chinups on his 70th birthday and how did he manage to afford to get food flow in all the time ? did he have a nest egg ?
 
mac2 said:
I have not read anything about him as of yet but did he really do 30 chinups on his 70th birthday and how did he manage to afford to get food flow in all the time ? did he have a nest egg ?
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That was 70 chinups, one for each year. He also built an above ground shack (the correct word escapes me right now) that he stored food in. When the lake froze over, they switch from floats to skis on the planes, no problem.
 
mac2 said:
I have not read anything about him as of yet but did he really do 30 chinups on his 70th birthday and how did he manage to afford to get food flow in all the time ? did he have a nest egg ?
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He had a small nest egg and he had a part time income - the NPS paid him to film animals and he also made some money salvaging wrecked aircraft.

sodak said:
He also built an above ground shack (the correct word escapes me right now) that he stored food in.
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A cache.
 
Old thread. But I just watched the DVD's. Looks like he used a Schrade-Walden H 15 fixed blade knife in Alone in the Wilderness Part 2. He uses it while he is looking for gold.
 
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