In 1968, Richard Proenneke went into a remote section of Alaska, built a cabin, and lived there for the better part of 50 years. His journal and photographs from that first year were edited by his friend Sam Keith into the book ONE MAN'S WILDERNESS: AN ALASKAN ODYSSEY, and printed in 1973. Since then it has become the rare book that appeals to both the back-to-nature hippies and the folks who venture into nature mainly to find things to kill.Proenneke's account is a pleasant read, though at times the exact cataloging of his various building projects can be a tad tedious. He is at his best when exploring the inner lives of his animal neighbors or ranting against the modern world ("Funny thing about comfort - one man's comfort is another man's misery. Most people do'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.”).
However, what I found most interesting about the book was Proenneke's obsession with documenting as much of his life as possible. Not only did he keep a journal and take photographs, but he also recorded the construction of his cabin, and much of the surrounding nature with a video camera. His footage and journals were so complete that it was cut into a four-part documentary for PBS called ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS (you can watch some of it HERE).
Proenneke's story reinforced something I was thinking about while listening to a segment on the local NPR station about technology in our National Parks that sprung from a similar National Geographic article. There was some handwringing going on about people using cell phones to take and share photographs while in nature, and whether or not this distracted or added to the "authentic nature experience." It seems these conversations always forget that humans use stories and storytelling as a way to process their world. Whether we're drawing bison on a cave wall, shooting 8mm footage of our in-progress Alaskan cabin, or posting selfies at the Grand Canyon online, we are all simply trying to make sense of our lives by telling stories about our experiences in the world.
