The Twin Lakes that Dick Proenneke lived on is on the west side of he Alaska Range within what is now the boundary of Lake Clark National Park. There was actually a beautifully written book about Proenneke's experience: One Man's Wilderness, An Alaskan Odyssey. This book was then made into a video entitled: Alone in the Wilderness. You can find both of these at the following web site:

http://www.dickproenneke.com/

Proenneke's cabin is still on the back side of upper Twin Lake. If I were wanting to go on a "pilgrimage," I'd much rather visit Proenneke's cabin rather then an ol' rusty bus on the Stampede Trail.

The Park site;

http://www.nps.gov/lacl/historyculture/ ... -cabin.htm

The second book is better and more in Dick's way of talking.


http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=i%3A ... ard&page=1

GR

about 30 minutes by cub from my place

A Knothead Pilgramage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-t0eQ6BPC8

He "lived off the land" for 114 days in a location you could (at one point in time) drive a school bus, and was not able to 1. leave or 2 survive and yet people trek out to see this sacred spot....sad but im sure he was certainly enlightended in the end. Alaska does not suffer fools.

Does not suffer fools is right... Aviation used to be like that too, before the electronics started dumbing down the cockpit.

It's amazing to me how idiots like this kid, and the Kims and Stolpas of the world, can just curl up and die in situations where people with just a little bit of common sense flit around business as usual. Now of course in their defense, they thrive in the urban jungle, and survive in places and situations where I'd be terrified to tread.

All relative I suppose.

Gump

Not the best bus/camper conversion I've seen, I guess his skills were elsewhere?? That looks like a SOTZ brand 55 g.drum stove, they are great, I had one in my shop and they are airtight, so, he got lucky there. From what I could see as they reverently approach the bus, I think I could land there, but don't know why I would want to. I like the bone spotting, kinda gave them pause.
Get busy living or get busy dying: looks like he did both! Guys like him give anti-social loner freaks a bad name.

hotrod150 wrote: As a contrast, I saw a movie on TV recently called Alone in the Wilderness, about a guy named Dick Proenneke who (if you can believe the movie, and I do) built a cabin (mostly by hand) in the wilds of Alaska and lived in it for like 30 years. .........

I watched this movie again recently, & then read the book ("One Man's Wilderness". Good stuff. From the video and photo's in the book, I managed to get the tail number off his bush pilot buddy Babe Alsworth's T-Craft ski-plane & Stinson Jr floatplane. Keeping in mind that this cabin-building action took place back in 1968 or so, I was surprised to find that not only are both airplanes still on the FAA registry, but they're registered to Alsworth family members at Port Alsworth on Lake Clark. Cool!

Eric

Strangeak wrote:He "lived off the land" for 114 days in a location you could (at one point in time) drive a school bus, and was not able to 1. leave or 2 survive and yet people trek out to see this sacred spot....sad but im sure he was certainly enlightended in the end. Alaska does not suffer fools.

Actually the bus was towed out behind a dozer but you're still on the mark. To most outdoorsmen this spot is relatively accessible so long as you don't mind getting your feet wet and can walk a ways.

I remember when In to the Wild was being filmed during harvest that year so we made a point to see it since part of it actually took place at Carthage, SD, only about 60 miles from here. Its been some years now but as I recall the poor guy mistakenly identified and then ate poisonous berries which emaciated him. I don't see him as a hero in any light but I think he would have been considered sucessful in at least gaining his own self respect if he would not have made that mistake and then made it out. His reasons for being there were foolish, in my mind, and his purpose was not noble but it was his lonesome ending in the bus that dropped him into history's loser category. Heroes nearly always overcome and live to tell the story.

Jane Goodall made the A list living with and studying apes and chimpanzees for thirty years while Timothy Treadwell will be remembered as someone with a camera making his own documentary on how to be eaten by grizzlies. It could have just as easily cost Jane Goodall her life.
The greater purpose and a successful outcome changes everything in the eyes of history.

hotrod150 wrote:As a contrast, I saw a movie on TV recently called Alone in the Wilderness, about a guy named Dick Proenneke who (if you can believe the movie, and I do) built a cabin (mostly by hand) in the wilds of Alaska and lived in it for like 30 years.
I saw the "Into the Wild" movie listed, thought it sounded like some sort of goofy "road trip" movie and blew it off. Maybe it's worth a watch after all.

Eric

"Alone in the Wilderness" is a must see!
http://www.dickproenneke.com/DickProenneke.html
It's on Public TV from time to time and I usually end up watching it. Truely inspiring.

I read "into the Wild" and it is worth reading, almost felt sorry for the kid, just another misdirected wack job.

dirtstrip wrote:... a successful outcome changes everything in the eyes of history.

Kinda like watching someone fly under a bridge or a similar antic-- if he makes it "wow" "cool" "awesome" etc. If he crashes "what an idiot". It's all about how it turns out.

Dark days up north...good time to pull out Dick's DVD's and get me pumped about building a cabin out on lake somewhere on the Yukon/AK border... need some floats first though! Anyone with 2430's out there! Once built, I will put forward a motion making it BCP's Summer HQ Might have some stiff resistance from you utah/Idaho freaks Wouldnt that be cool... a "Go to" wilderness cabin for BCP members...

I know of a guy that is a true subsistence liver year round up in the 40 mile ,(last time I saw him he was canning porcupine) he would be a much more interesting movie than these two idiots that commits "suicide by Alaska". I really do not believe the hype that the movie generated over an idiot bent on dying. I have noticed that folks that have spent even a little time in Alaska pretty much think the guy was an idiot, and Hollywood was wrong to glorify his demise.

On a better note: the park service is always looking for volunteer caretakers for the cabin next to Dick's. You pay for your own food but they fly you in. I know folks that do it in the Chinitna bay cabin every year and love it. I think that they are two week gigs. More info at the park service page.

I saw Alone in the Wilderness on South Dakota Public TV about two weeks ago. A man and his female co-anchor would hawk for donations for Public TV instead of having commercial breaks. At one point the female co-anchor said, "Make sure you donate to Public TV, don't pull a Dick on us and run off into the wilds."
My wife and I both lost it. I don't know how her co-anchor kept it together, but they immediately cut back to the movie.

I have been to the Bus back in the late 70s and early 80s. I had property on Stampede trail. The trail is easy to walk with a few streams one can cross easily with no problem. I rode 3 wheelers back there and even drove my Jeep back in to the sight. People make things a lot worse then what they are. It is what sells the books. This Chris guy was kind of a nut. Don't know if it was printed or even talked of on the film but he throw away his shot gun and ammo so he would not have to carey it. There was a print up in the Fairbanks News paper when it first happen. He told people he was going to live off the land and turned down a lot of help. So he could of saved him self but chose not to. We get a lot of nuts like him that come to Alaska thinking they are going to Chang the world.
Just my two cents is all.
Don't ask about Tim Treadwell. Another nut on the run..

On the other hand we had a woman drown on the Tek crossing summer before last.

It isn't the raging torrent portrayed in the movie but at high water with no experience it is a challenge.

Everything is relative. What a boring world it would be if everyone took their meds like they are supposed to