Dick Proenneke - "Alone in the Wilderness"

[rhino]

I'm re-watching "Alone in the Wilderness" and I am continue to be amazed at Dick Proenneke's skills and accomplishments. I don't think there's a better example of practical, primitive living skills, and by extension bushcrafting skills (which I mention since all the cool kids are into bushcrafting now). A strong will, determination, hard work, magnificent skills with (minimal) tools, creativity and ingenuity all combined yielded amazing results.

I know we've discussed him and the film in the past, but I think his name should arise on conversations about primitive living, bushcraft, and survival more often!


THE MAN CARVED A WORKING LOCK AND KEY FROM WOOD. FROM WOOD.

 

[Woobie]

If he doesn't drink his own urine, he's a poser.




Where can I get a copy of this? Please say it's on Prime.

 

[rhino]

I have it on DVD and they show it on PBS stations at least once per year.

 

[Woobie]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[gpjerry]

I just did a search. It is available on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

 

[Cynical]

Seen it a couple times on PBS. He was one talented individual. I was amazed at how he carved the hinges for his door.

 

[buckstopshere]

I just did a search. It is available on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

Thats just a ten minute snippet

 

[LeverGunFan]

Here is the link to the NPS page for Proenneke's cabin: Proenneke's Cabin - Lake Clark National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)

Videos: Alone in the Wilderness, DVD and VHS available, the story of Dick Proenneke

There was a book published that covered his first year in the cabin, it's a good read:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/08..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0TKPJC44SPQJR9SJNM30

 

[Zoub]

My first big knife was a hatchet. You can be very crafty with a hatchet. The Bush was a place in Africa your friends from England served and later wandered with a gun and camera. They too were very crafty.

 

[indiucky]

My favorite documentary of all time.....Like Rhino said...He made a lock from wood....Made the handles for his tools on site and then carved a wooden spoon for a lady friend who "baked him cookies" which I took as 1960's rural Alaska talk for....Well you know.....

I may be wrong but when he says that little line in the film there seems to be a "wink" in the line and a nod towards his girlfriend....

 

[rhino]

Hahah! I never thought about the "baked him cookies," thing, but it makes sense.

If we could accomplish 5% of what Dick Proenneke did, we'd all be able to survive and thrive in just about any conditions until the ends of our natural lives. He seemed to be one those rare individuals who never doubted that he could do any given task. For him, it was just a matter of how he was going accomplish the task with the available resources.

When he was making flat boards by hand, carving hinges for the door, and building that cabin with those huge timbers by himself, I was thinking the best I can do is re-use an empty 2 L soda bottle to mix my Kool-Aid. We know how could fish. I'll bet he was a pretty fair hunter too.

Do we have any current day people of note who have similar skills?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Here is the link to the NPS page for Proenneke's cabin: Proenneke's Cabin - Lake Clark National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)

Videos: Alone in the Wilderness, DVD and VHS available, the story of Dick Proenneke

There was a book published that covered his first year in the cabin, it's a good read:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/08..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0TKPJC44SPQJR9SJNM30

There's actually a second book that was written based on Dick's voluminous notes.

Dude was still hiking the mountain trails at 78.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

If we could accomplish 5% of what Dick Proenneke did, we'd all be able to survive and thrive in just about any conditions until the ends of our natural lives. He seemed to be one those rare individuals who never doubted that he could do any given task. For him, it was just a matter of how he was going accomplish the task with the available resources.

When he was making flat boards by hand, carving hinges for the door, and building that cabin with those huge timbers by himself, I was thinking the best I can do is re-use an empty 2 L soda bottle to mix my Kool-Aid. We know how could fish. I'll bet he was a pretty fair hunter too.

Do we have any current day people of note who have similar skills?

I bet he sucked at video games.

 

[rhino]

I bet he sucked at video games.

You're probably right. I've lost all respect for him!

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

As far as I know, Dick never married.

He's probably a good example of what a man can accomplish when his mind isn't cluttered with thoughts of how to get sex.

 

[Lex Concord]

Dick never married, though he was reputed to have enjoyed the company of a lady from time to time.

I've been a Proenneke fan since the first time I saw the show on PBS about 10 years ago. I have both DVDs ("Alone in the Wilderness" & "Alaska: Silence & Solitude" and the book. Apparently, that's now available as a package on Amazon: Amazon.com: Alaska 2 DVD and Book Package: Dick Proenneke, Bob Swerer, Bob Swerer Sr.: Movies & TV

Here's one I didn't know existed (now on my wish list, of course): Amazon.com: The Frozen North: Dick Proenneke, Bob Swerer: Movies & TV

Everyone that imagines he'd like to be "self sufficient" should see "Alone in the Wilderness" to get a glimpse of the true meaning of the phrase.

There's also bio on Wikipedia, of course: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Proenneke

 

[Sailor]

Craves sourdough pancakes and blueberry's now.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I made up a sourdough starter a couple years ago, after re-reading Dick's book. I remember reading a lot of articles and watching a lot of Youtube videos, and most of them made it way more complicated than it seemed to need to be.

So, my wife and I mixed up some flour with regular tap water, and added some honey fresh from my hive. We put it in a bowl and covered it with a dishtowel and left it on the counter, checking on it every day. It definitely started to work in a few days, getting a little foamy and beer-smelling. I think it was a couple of weeks before we started making pancakes and biscuits. Both were really good, although I liked the biscuits more. We kept our sourdough for almost a year, before I forgot about it in the fridge and it got grey and funky and I threw it out.

 

[DanO]

I was raised by a father who grew up in a fishing village/farm in pre-WW2 Northern Norway. He was a pretty good woodsman. I have been a Proennecke fan for a long time. Amazing ability to adapt materials and make everything a piece of art. As far as living the life alone in the Wilderness, it worked for him and he was happy. Most of us are not built that way and need more social stimulus. I, for one, would miss female company
too much. Married for 28 years and love it. Amazing guy and amazing life, but not for everyone.

 

[cosermann]

Got the dvd for Christmas some years ago. neat stuff.