2023 - ‘70’s Immersion Reading Challenge

One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey by Sam Keith from the journals and photographs of Richard Proenneke (1973; 1999 ed.) 223 pages.

This book is based on Richard “Dick” Proenneke’s 16 month adventure in Alaska, which began at age 51. He “came into the country” in 1968, and built, literally, the most adorable cabin at the upper of Twin Lakes, Alaska. His cabin was one hour by canoe from the lower lake near Hope Creek.

A little more than half the book is about his day-to-day description of the construction of his log cabin, his fireplace, and his cache. Very monotonous. I’m not a contractor; I don’t know about construction. But, if you know about such things, then you will surely rate this book much higher. And the rest of it was basically just telling what the temperatures were and what birds or other wildlife he saw. It just didn’t feel very personal and maybe that’s because the author, which was not Dick, himself, wrote in a way to make sure Dick was thrown in the best light. Everything seemed to go too perfectly.

His good friend, and author of this book, Sam Keith, captured Dick’s life experience “in the country” while going off of Dick’s daily journals and photos. Dick lived another 30 years after this book was published, so I’m sure he had a lot of say and input about it to make sure it truly represented his life as he saw it. As Dick got older, he still spent some time at the cabin, but not in the winters. Towards the end of his life, Dick’s cabin would become part of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve and is now maintained by the Park Service as a historic site. There have been some impressive guests, governor of Alaska Jay Hammond and singer John Denver, among hundreds of others, to visit his cabin over the years. Until Dick’s death, he could visit the cabin any time he wanted.

There are lots of great colored photos in this book. Dick really did have a survivalist’s instinct and knowledge about living in the wild in extreme temperatures. He was a perfectionist. But, I was bothered about a couple of things until the very end of the book, which explained away some of my questions.

Dick was pictured in a lot of his own photos, working, and kind of far away. So, I questioned the whole time: Who was with Dick out there to take those photos? He had mentioned he brought a reflex camera with him, and on page 211, he wrote: I made a spring for the automatic timer on the camera… So, that may explain how he was pictured in many of those photos.

Also, I stayed confused between what was ACTUALLY Dick’s writing and what the author added to enhance Dick’s day-to-day life. I don’t like that! I want to hear straight from the person experiencing this adventure…the good and the bad.

Dick received large deliveries of food and supplies from his friend, Babe, who was a bush pilot. He made deliveries about every two or three weeks during Dick’s 16 month stay “in the country”. On page 130, it states he received on December 25th - Lots of mail and grub. Nearly a sack of packages and letters. Sic four-pound packages of rice, two large boxes of cornmeal, four dozen eggs, plenty of spuds, carrots, lettuce, apples, and celery. Fifty pounds of flour and two slabs of bacon. Cheese, candy bars, and cocoa. And again on January 9th, he received another delivery (p. 133): …a burlap sack full of butter beans, fifty pounds of sugar, four ten-pound sacks of fine graham flour, a big box of dried apples, six boxes of rains, and five boxes of pitted dates. Also some mail…Babe also had brought me two pairs of heavy socks that his wife had knitted for me. And another surprise, a detachable Parker hood quoted with feathers between the layers, and a ruff of wolf skin around the face. These were only two deliveries. He had many more deliveries like these during his 16-month stay.

So, in my mind, I wouldn’t consider this completely independent living out in the wild, and I thought he was just a tad hypocritical (like Henry Thoreau in Walden). Dick writes regarding other people, ”I guess that is what bothers so many folks. They keep expanding their needs until they are dependent on too many other things, and too many other people.” (p. 209) Hmmm! I’d say he was pretty dependent on the guy bringing in food and supplies.

And then, just what I’ve been waiting for, and unlike Henry Thoreau, Dick actually acknowledges that he was partially dependent on Babe to bring him other things man-made or produced. (p. 212) And, I will give him more credit because he does also acknowledge the fact that he felt he was not being true to the philosophy that he was trying to follow when he did resort to using manufactured products, such as polyethylene, nails, and cement. (p. 211-12)

Still, I very much admire Dick Proenneke for his skills in building and surviving through at least one extreme Alaskan winter without losing any fingers and toes. And I do love his outlook on life. He had a big heart for nature and would rather catch them on camera than kill them with a rifle. In any economic collapse, he is still the kind of guy I'd definitely like to have on my side.

PROENNEKE’S SOURDOUGH PANCAKES: (p. 27 & 29)

Dump two-thirds of a jar of sourdough starter into a bowl, put three heaping teaspoons of flour back into the starter jar, add some lukewarm water, stir and cap it. To the starter in the bowl, add five tablespoons flour, three tablespoons sugar, and half a cup dry milk, mix all together with a wooden spoon. Dribble in some lukewarm water until batter is thin. Cover bowl with a towel or pan. The mixture will work itself into a hotcake batter by morning.

In the morning, give the batter a good stir, then sprinkle a half teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt, and drip in a tablespoon of bacon fat. Gently fold into batter and let sit a few minutes.

Drop one wooden spoonful of batter into greased skillet. When bubbles appear all over, then flip it.

TO MAKE PROENNEKE’S EVERYDAY SOURDOUGH BISCUITS:

Just make a thicker batter, form into biscuits, place in greased pan cover and place in warm spot and let rise all day, then come home and bake. (p. 30)

Find A Grave Memorial (includes several photos):

Richard Louis “Dick” Proenneke
b. 4 May 1916, Primrose, Iowa
d. 20 Apr 2003, Hemet, California
Cremated, ashes spread on Proenneke Peak near his cabin.

NOTE: Dick was the middle child of six other brothers and sisters listed on his Find A Grave Memorial. His youngest brother, Paul, died in 2014 and was cremated. His ashes were also scattered at Proenneke Peak. The book shows Dick also has a brother Luke, not listed on Find A Grave, who sent him a few things, such as a fireplace damper, while Dick was spending his time in Alaska.

LINK: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23429609/richard-louis-proenneke ( )

A memoir of Dick Proenneke living in the remote Alaskan mountains, building his own cabin, hunting, growing, and foraging his food, and appreciating nature for 16 months with limited human contact.

I found the beginning (building his cabin) incredibly boring. However once his cabin was built it was much more interesting. There was something incredibly satisfying and inspiring to hear about his daily life. The amount of joy he could get from something simple as chopping wood, making himself a tool that works, or meeting a new animal was pretty inspiring. ( )

Interesting story and makes one appreciate and respect simplicity and nature. This book makes for a nice change and let’s you question and think about what you’re doing in life. Would recommend to others. ( )

Slightly embarrassed that it took me fifty years to read this masterpiece in outdoor writing. Composed as a diary, each entry offers a precise and open view of what it is like to live in nature’s majesty among the creatures of the Alaskan wilds. Crafting a small cabin with only hand tools, and building furniture and other outbuildings to make his life more manageable, Proenneke gives us an open window into not only his Alaskan life but his soul as well. He was a kind and gentle man who honored the astounding lives around him by treating everything he came in contact with love and respect. Well-written and very interesting, the book is as timely today as it was fifty years ago. One of the most amazing humans I have ever been made aware of, and to think he loved his new home so much he stayed there for over thirty years until old age made him return to civilization. ( )

From the cover” Celebrating the 50th anniversary of when Richard Proenneke first broke ground and made his mark in the Alaska wilds in 1968, this special edition of the best-selling memoir features an all-new foreword plus color photographs not seen in print for over twenty years.

“To live in a pristine land unchanged by man .. to roam a wilderness through which few other humans have passed … to choose an idyllic site, cut trees, and build a log cabin … to be a self sufficient craftsman, making what is needed from materials available … to be not at odds with the world, but content with one's own thoughts and company ….. and the constant chain of nature's events which kept him company.”

This book is in the form of Dick Proenneke's journals and photographs, telling the fascinating story of building a log cabin by hand with native materials and living sixteen months by himself with only the occasional outside contact. His skilled craftmanship made his cabin and its furnishings a thing of beauty; it's now part of the National Park Service.

“The themes of self-sufficiency, thrift, and a kindred love of wilderness and wildlife give this book an enduring audience.” p 270

Over the years, I've read several of the 'making a home in the remote wilderness' genre books. This one is by far the best I've read. It absolutely pulled me along. The full color photographs are a treat to the eyes.

This is highly recommended to anyone who loves the wild places and dreams of living there.

I received a copy of this 50th anniversary edition through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's program in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. ( )