One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey by Sam Keith
This book, written using personal journals, tells the true story of Richard Proenneke's retreat into the Twin Lakes region of the Alaskan wilderness. In 1967, after six months of sickness, Proenneke decides it is time to live to the extreme and leaves his home state of Iowa to begin building a cabin in Alaska. Proenneke does not only survive in the harsh temperatures, isolated environment, and dangerous conditions, he thrives. So much so, that he continues to live alone in his hand-built cabin for more than 30 years. Even though he was living a simple life with little material items and few interactions with people, the wilderness became the best experience Proenneke's ever had. He stressed the importance of working hard and enduring the harshness of the wild in order to fully enjoy the small victories in life, such as coming in from the cold to warm up at the fire. Living "rough and tough" taught him to appreciate everything and want nothing but the essentials, a lesson that can change your life from one plagued with want to one cushioned by contentment.
Proenneke's retreat into Alaska shows us the stark contrast between a wild life and a life spent in the "comfort" of society. He has experienced both and shares his opinion of the two. Proenneke is quoted saying, "Eight and a half miles can be covered in minutes in a car on an expressway, but what does a man see? What he gains in time he loses in benefit to his body and mind." While in the wild, he hiked to wherever he needed to be with no rush, only a love for the sights around him. There is no appreciation of the journey or feeling of triumph upon reaching your destination when rushing from place to place amidst civilization. Even though today's advances are efficient and useful, they take away from experiencing a lot of the world around us and make life into a scrambling race to get things done. Also, the ease in which technology allows us to accomplish things leads to a ridiculous under-appreciation of what we have. Proenneke says, "Funny thing about comfort - one man's comfort is another man's misery. Most people don't work hard enough physically anymore, and comfort is not easy to find. It is surprising how comfortable a hard bunk can be after you come down off a mountain." In society, things are handed to us on a silver platter, accustoming us to a degree of pampering that leaves us always expecting the best of the best and even then, wanting more. The wild makes you work hard for every part of your living and turns even the smallest comfort into a glorious luxury.
Richard Proenneke gave us a taste of how to make a lifestyle out of surviving and thriving in the Alaskan wild, just out of civilization's reach. The next artifact looks at Chris McCandless, who also decided to take a plunge into Alaska's wilderness, but on a much more extreme level.
Proenneke's retreat into Alaska shows us the stark contrast between a wild life and a life spent in the "comfort" of society. He has experienced both and shares his opinion of the two. Proenneke is quoted saying, "Eight and a half miles can be covered in minutes in a car on an expressway, but what does a man see? What he gains in time he loses in benefit to his body and mind." While in the wild, he hiked to wherever he needed to be with no rush, only a love for the sights around him. There is no appreciation of the journey or feeling of triumph upon reaching your destination when rushing from place to place amidst civilization. Even though today's advances are efficient and useful, they take away from experiencing a lot of the world around us and make life into a scrambling race to get things done. Also, the ease in which technology allows us to accomplish things leads to a ridiculous under-appreciation of what we have. Proenneke says, "Funny thing about comfort - one man's comfort is another man's misery. Most people don't work hard enough physically anymore, and comfort is not easy to find. It is surprising how comfortable a hard bunk can be after you come down off a mountain." In society, things are handed to us on a silver platter, accustoming us to a degree of pampering that leaves us always expecting the best of the best and even then, wanting more. The wild makes you work hard for every part of your living and turns even the smallest comfort into a glorious luxury.
Richard Proenneke gave us a taste of how to make a lifestyle out of surviving and thriving in the Alaskan wild, just out of civilization's reach. The next artifact looks at Chris McCandless, who also decided to take a plunge into Alaska's wilderness, but on a much more extreme level.