# Alone in the Wilderness



## mhambi (Sep 17, 2010)

I've seen DP mentioned here a couple of times, thought a few here might enjoy this.  I figure this should go here, because it does show him building a hearth/fireplace/chimney.  :lol:


http://www.youtube.com/user/KottLoom#grid/user/B0561117D285729B


I wish I had a 1/4 of his skillset.


If you like these youtube vids, I highly recommend buying the DVD/book... well worth it!


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## quads (Sep 17, 2010)

I have the VHS tape!


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## Chargerman (Sep 17, 2010)

Thanks for the link as I had never heard of him before. A very talented and hardworking man for sure.


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## Pagey (Sep 17, 2010)

I enjoy Ray Mears.  Very skilled individual.


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## Adios Pantalones (Sep 17, 2010)

can't bait me into vulgar comments...


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## mhambi (Sep 17, 2010)

Adios Pantalones said:
			
		

> can't bait me into vulgar comments...


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## MaintenanceMan (Sep 17, 2010)

I have it on DVD and watch it every now and then.


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## fishingpol (Sep 18, 2010)

Read his book.  There are so many more details than the video.  His cabin was a warm 42 degrees in the winter.


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## Pagey (Sep 19, 2010)

Just now making the time to watch some of this.  Amazing man.  Clearly intelligent and passionate about his work ethic and doing the job right.  Thanks for linking!


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## weatherguy (Sep 19, 2010)

Dudes a machine


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## ikessky (Sep 19, 2010)

quads said:
			
		

> I have the VHS tape!


What's a VHS?!?!?!






















 ;-P


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## madrone (Sep 20, 2010)

ikessky said:
			
		

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqpd7WcBmjM


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## DavidV (Sep 20, 2010)

thanks for that. I've never heard of him before but I like it. Reminds me a lot of the kind of stuff I used to watch on broadcast TV in the 70's.


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## kenny chaos (Sep 20, 2010)

The poor man never gets to watch the news and discuss politics?
I wish that lifestyle for all of you.


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## Bxpellet (Sep 20, 2010)

I enjoyed watching that, every time he left that cabin he had a mission and walked with such intensity, 

I like the part when he said the Caribou would be a easy shot but I like Ram meat better! And he spent 35 years in solitude but who filmed him?


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## fishingpol (Sep 20, 2010)

He had a camera tripod for some shots.  He had his bush-pilot friend visit him every few weeks with supplies brought in on a float plane.


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## quads (Sep 20, 2010)

ikessky said:
			
		

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VHS tapes are those things that I copied all my older BETA tapes to...


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## albertj03 (Sep 20, 2010)

Which video is it that he makes the hearth?


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## Pagey (Sep 20, 2010)

albertj03 said:
			
		

> Which video is it that he makes the hearth?



It's towards the end of the Disc 1 series.  I can't get over the man's skill level.  He makes it look almost easy!


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## madrone (Sep 20, 2010)

That's the best thing about it. He does everything with such confidence and ease.


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## Chargerman (Sep 20, 2010)

I don't know his previous experience but starting to build the fireplace that late in the year in Alaska would have freaked me out. I know it took him time to collect the rock, etc. but he must have done that actual building of one a time or two before this....otherwise he is just one of those guys that does everything right on the first try.


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## logger (Sep 20, 2010)

He's a robot.. no one talks like that.


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## ROYJ24 (Sep 20, 2010)

I saw this on PBS once.  Great program.


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## SKIN052 (Sep 20, 2010)

Just starting watching this, I am hooked! He is quite the handy fellow. Who prefers Goat over Moose?


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## marreque (Sep 21, 2010)

just got done watching.
WOW!!
UFB!
i wish i had his skills and patients, not to mention his resistance to the cold.


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## IndianaTech (Sep 21, 2010)

I have seen this several times, and it never gets boreing. He is truely a fine craftsman, I especially like his door hinges !


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## FireAnt (Sep 21, 2010)

I watch it whenever it is on PBS. Amazing!! One of my favorite videos to watch.


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## Battenkiller (Sep 21, 2010)

Pretty awesome dude.  I've already watched the first movie several times, but I didn't even know about the other two.  Seeing him as an old guy is really pretty cool.  I'll have to take the time to finish watching them all.

When I was a kid, I used to think that was the lifestyle I wanted, but I now realize that guys like Proenekke are cut from an entirely different fabric than most of us.  I'd love to be that amazing, but I'll have to settle for letting my grandkids believe I am.


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## CSAW (Sep 21, 2010)

Started watching and couldn't quit.  Pretty amazing.  Something lots of us dream about, but don't have what it takes to do.  Kudos to him.


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## DanCorcoran (Sep 21, 2010)

As I recall, the other amazing thing is that he shot all the film (not videotape) himself.  Set up a tripod, planned the shot, rolled the film, then stopped it.  If he was canoeing off from shore, he had to take the shot, then paddle back to get the camera.


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## ikessky (Sep 22, 2010)

quads said:
			
		

> ikessky said:
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Sad to say, but my kids are already complaining about having DVD's.  "Dad, when are you going to get Blu-Ray?"  I could see if I was old, but the kids aren't even double digits yet


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## peakbagger (Sep 22, 2010)

The local PBS station had another prior video that was filmed and narrated by the same person that did alone in the wilderness. It was about a hunt up in the alaskan wilderness in the twin lakes area, they didnt have much luck hunting and got straded for a few days waiting to get flown out, so they interviewed Dick Proneke and filmed his lifestyle as part of the hunting film. The hunting film wasnt that interesting, so its obvious that they decided to go back and do one focused on Dick using a combination of Dick's footage and their new footage. I think the reason the voiceover on the film is so strange is that its the filmmaker reading a script, not Dick.  When they edited the film, its obvious in spots where things are a bit out of synch to improve the story and on occsaion I dont think the filmaker was adverse to using stock footage.  

Dick reportedly worked on the alaskan pipeline project for a few years and nearly got blinded from an industrial accident, as soon as he recovered thats when he decided to go off in the wilderness, so he had some experience surviving up north prior to building his cabin.  If he did work the pipeline, it was a union job and he may have had some sort of compensation for the injury and disability checks as well as some cash saved up from working on the project for a grubstake and ongoing expenses (even though they were pretty minimal). 

Still an incredible story and interesting film.


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## FireAnt (Sep 22, 2010)

This part is great. I was going to post it in the woodshed for all the cutters but I didn't want to break the post up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbXb6grt9FE       1:20-1:48  Love these videos!


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## weatherguy (Sep 22, 2010)

> He’s a robot.. no one talks like that.


Or works like that, surprised he didnt live to 110


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## dougand3 (Sep 23, 2010)

Mesmerizing video. He's gotta be part polar bear..."a toasty 40 degrees". I'm curious about cooking - you never see it. In Disc 1 Part 5 3:00 mins - you see a 4-6 inch pipe belching smoke.  Anybody see a cook stove?


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## fishingpol (Sep 24, 2010)

Yes, he had a small stove.  He had some sort of tin oven that he put on top of it to bake biscuits.  He made lots of stews and ate fish from the lake.  The book is very good reading.


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## Badfish740 (Sep 24, 2010)

fishingpol said:
			
		

> Yes, he had a small stove.  He had some sort of tin oven that he put on top of it to bake biscuits.  He made lots of stews and ate fish from the lake.  The book is very good reading.



I've really got to get the book-I've seen the PBS show at least 5 times now.  The thing that amazes me every time is that the guy made HINGES out of wood  I read a little about him on Wikipedia and apparently he was a diesel mechanic in Alaska and a damn good one-one of those guys who could just fix anything.  I guess he just took to wilderness skills naturally.  I'd love to go and see the cabin one day.


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## semipro (Sep 27, 2010)

Great stuff!  Thanks for posting.  Its inspiring.


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## DanCorcoran (Sep 27, 2010)

As I recall from PBS, his son did the editing (and perhaps the narration?)


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## dvellone (Sep 28, 2010)

Great films and an admirable guy. 

How do you think he would have done with codes enforcement? Funny how we all seem to admire that independent, do it yourself freedom but it's been restricted to protect ourselves from ourselves.


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## Burn-1 (Sep 30, 2010)

fishingpol said:
			
		

> The book is very good reading.



It is. If you liked that then check out More Readings from One Man's Wilderness, (Warning big PDF but also free). These are from Dick's actual journals rather than Sam Keith's treatment of Dick's journals. Very worth the time.


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