Seen it a couple times on PBS. He was one talented individual. I was amazed at how he carved the hinges for his door.
just how alone was he, who was holding the camera?
1960's rural Alaska talk
I've got the book.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
he not only made everything himself, but everything he did was done with perfectionism.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?
It continues into the 20teens, being as we remain sparsely populated outside of towns and it is important to seize cookie baking opportunities when they are on offer.