PBS is doing another fundraiser, and therefore airing the content that people actually like as opposed to the pedantic, offensive stuff that characterizes their ideologically-driven programming. So, as usual, they are showing some of the footage that Dick Proenneke filmed while living alone in Alaska in the late 60s and 70s. They’ve recently come out with a sequel to the original “Alone in the Wilderness,” which features Dick building his cabin at the remote Twin Lakes site, near the root of the Aleutians.
Proenneke was an extraordinarily resourceful man from an era in which men, out of necessity, were generally more resourceful and independent than today. He was formally educated only in trade school, and made his living working as a skilled laborer, first in carpentry, then as a mechanic, a rancher and fisherman.
For some reason, he never settled down to domestic life like the vast majority of men of his generation. Instead, he preferred to live alone in remote corners of the world. Perhaps something happened during the Pacific war, where he contracted a very serious illness, or perhaps some relationship left him with a sour taste in his mouth. There is some evidence for the latter; at one point in the original documentary Proenneke refers to women as fickle and capricious, like the weather in Alaska.
Having decided to live the solitary life, he saved up enough for a modest retirement, and in 1967, at the age of 51, had his friend Babe Allsworth, a bush pilot, fly him and his supplies up to Twin Lakes, where he set about building his cabin and documenting life in Lake Clark National Park.
What’s remarkable about Dick Proenneke, and what sets him apart, is that despite his life away from the crowd, he left a treasure behind. Here was a true MGTOW – a man who left it all behind – but he ended up leaving more to posterity than the average family man. His cabin, his photography and his detailed journals provided artistic, scientific and practical material of great value.
Although it isn’t for everyone, such a lifestyle is, and has always been, a perfectly honorable option for men. Many of the greatest contributions to humanity have come directly from these types of men, but for some reason, rather than respect men who make the choice to go their own way, society all too often shames them.
However, as the popularity of the documentaries of Dick’s life demonstrates, there is something powerfully appealing about what the man did. The real shame isn’t that a man decided to make his way alone, but that so few of us will ever know the peace and satisfaction such freedom affords.
Here’s a clip from the first documentary:
