Alone in the Wilderness

BushcraftBrainTrust

BushcraftBrainTrust

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This is an incredible video. The story of Dick Proenneke living alone in the Alaska wilderness.

[youtube]iYJKd0rkKss[/youtube]
 
Yesterday I watched a film directed by Kurosawa who's made some great films. It's "Dersu Uzala " shown on TCM and the only film of his made outside Japan. A story in early 1900s of a surveying party in Russian wilderness that finds a 'mountain man' who then guides the surveyers. For those interested in living in the wilderness I think you'd find it interesting.
 
I was involved in a passaround of a video showcasing all the things Dick P built and how he lived. Pretty incredible man.
 
Dick is one of my heros. Amazing story of self-reliance. He lived up there by himself until he was around 80 years old. The National Park Service still maintains his cabin.
 
mete said:
Yesterday I watched a film directed by Kurosawa who's made some great films. It's "Dersu Uzala " shown on TCM and the only film of his made outside Japan. A story in early 1900s of a surveying party in Russian wilderness that finds a 'mountain man' who then guides the surveyers. For those interested in living in the wilderness I think you'd find it interesting.
Click to expand...

Kismet sent me a VCR of Dersu Uzala, that's a cool movie.

I've seen the Alone in the Wilderness one too.

I'd like to know what sent him there and kept him there. At one point he made some sort of negative comment about women and I always wondered if he had a bad relationship and gave up on humans.
 
I have that film but I didn't pick up on that. I'll look out for that if I watch it again. On a related note I was pretty certain poor social skills is what propelled Tim Treadwell so furiously. Something about the twink in his eye betrayed him.
 
I have a deep respect for Dick,

not just because of the cabin he built, or his solitude in Alaska, but more because of his deep attention and awareness with nature. Monitoring flocks and animal families, constantly going out to check up on mountain goats scrambling the faces, capturing it all with a camera. There is great risk in doing this for so long, alone.

As being Alaskan born, to an outdoors family, I was from early on in contact with similar people who etched out their existence in cabins out in the woods. This was to me common there. For someone coming from the lower 48, at his age, it was very unique and a testament to his abilities.

Keep in mind that he had supplies flown in via bushplane, the Alaskan transit system in most remote areas. My sister lived in Kodiak for a long time and still zips about in bushplane's to go fishing, etc.
My mother was a nurse and flew from reservation to reservation via Sesna.
My brother was a mountain climber, my other sister was a rock climber and worked in Denali and we would spend long summers trekking and climbing.
But the network and dependancy, whether supplies or contacts, is still there, after all, we are human, and social animals.

Notice also, was the meager state of his garden. Mostly root vegetables. No cold frames, greenhouses, or raised beds. He said it himself, he was less a farmer and more a carpenter. I do remember a few farmers who succeeded with good crops in their yards, but it requires a diligence.

The winters are what became unbearable for him at his old age, and I can understand. The depression, not just the cold, associated with long spells of darkness, are too much. Creates some odd behaviour in people. Walking to school, looking out the window at lunch, pitch black. School's out, pitch black. I remember reading the highest suicide rates in teens are in similar arctic regions with long spells without light. It's also a matter of proper vitamin balance.

He did good! Darn good! A great naturalist.
After 11 years, I have been feeling an itch to go back and visit.
But it's not the same. Too much oil industry cutting into the parks, wild game hunting, blasting wolves from helicopters, etc. etc. etc.
It strikes a deep chord for those born there.


Sorry about the rant! Don't get into it that often!

Back to the man!
 
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Okay, this is a good one, and I need to watch the whole thing.

When I first saw the title, I thought it was going to be more about the whiny wimp who cried all through the Nat Geo/Discovery show. Glad it's not.
 
I'm also a Fan of this Video.

Even have someone in the family , now passed on but the cabin still stands, who built a cabin like this on his own land.

It's a shame with the Regulations and Codes this Freedom is gone and not allowed to do here anymore.
 
555,

Depends on where you live re: the regulations

I have tons of pals who have built their own log cabins. Most have solar and gravity feed water systems.

Here's some pics of my pal Warrens place. he has solar and gravity feed water.

He has a gas well on the place hence the gas torches and you can see the gas lights inside the house.

Was from a Homebrewing gathering we had there a few years ago. Great party:thumbup:

warrens1.jpg

warrens2.jpg

warrens6.jpg

warrens7.jpg
 
One of my top favorite movies. The book is a real good read also, even if you've seen the video.
 
Dick is one of my heroes too. I finally got around to buying his second book. Haven't had time to read it.
 
I have the book 'One Man's Wilderness" but haven't read it yet. I'll have to put it in the pile of next reads.
He certainly was a good carpenter!
 
If you think the video is good, the book "One Mans Wilderness" is even better. My dad and I watch it every hunting season at the cabin, it has become kinda of a ritual.....lol. The book goes into great detail building the cabin, his everyday life, etc. I HIGHLY Recommend it. I lost mine in the house here somewhere, like anything, I put it somewhere that I will never lose it......lol. Dick surely lived the dream. I am sure most of us would like to live like that. Since he was not in contact with people, he never really got sick. He was able to plant his own food, catch fish as well. He definately ate alot more health han most of us do. He lived like that for 35 years which is amazing. Amazing what you can do with very basic tools and the will to use them.
 
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