Richard Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin on the shore of Twin Lakes in Alaska. The first summer he scouted for the best cabin site, and cut and peeled the logs he would need for his cabin. He returned the next summer to build the cabin by hand. He lived there for over 30 years, but returned to civilization in 1999. He left his cabin to the parks service and it remains today as a popular visitor attraction in the still-remote Twin Lakes region. During his stay in the wilderness, he filmed his adventures. Bob Swerer later turned the film into a video, “Alone in the wilderness”. “Alaska Silence & Solitude” and “The Frozen North” are the follow up to “Alone in the Wilderness”, filmed 20 years later. I saw just “Alone in the wilderness”, and I can’t recommend it strongly enough. What a man, what a life.

ps: I couldn’t sleep this night, so I just finished watching “Alaska Silence & Solitude” too. Pure meditation. Lovely.