Posted on 02/03/2011 3:06:07 PM PST by JoeProBono
Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin on the shore of Twin Lakes. The first summer he scouted for the best cabin site, and cut and peeled the logs he would need for his cabin. Dick Proenneke returned the next summer to finish the cabin where he lived for over 30 years. Dick filmed his adventures
A real do-it-yourselfer, saw vid and was exhausted after watching all the work he did. Give that guy an axe and some trees and he will build a palace.
Bought this DVD a few years ago. Mr. Proenneke was an amazing man.
marked for later.
DP:
Really had a time here this afternoon...here comes a brown bear up my path...He just ambled unconcerned past my big window in the direction of the rear of the cabin. No more had he gone out of sight when I heard sounds that brought me right up out of the chair. That character was trying to climb up the corner of the cabin and onto my new roof!...I slid the .357 magnum from its holster on the wall and stepped out the door...I yelled and touched off a round that exploded like a thunderclap...It didn't have the expected result. Around the corner came the bear in four-paw drive. I scrambled for the door, pulled it shut and gripped a fist down hard on the handle. The bear came slamming against the planks. I felt his weight bulging the upper door and heard the rake of his claws...Maybe it would take the heavy artillery to scare him off. I loaded the ought-six, opened the window, and rested the barrel on the sill. The I turned loose a rebel yell...He must have been a reincarnation of Jeb Stuart. He spun with unbelievable quickness and came on like the cavalry. I drove a slug into the path in front of him...He put on the brakes, whirled in retreat, then stopped...and was gone. (pp. 93 - 94)
Nature provides so many things if one has the eye to notice them. It is a pleasure to see what you can use instead of buying it all packaged and ready-made. Several stumps with just the right flare gave me my wooden hinges. Burls and peculiar branch growths afforded me bowls and wooden spoons and clothes hangers. Driftwood provided me with a curtain rod and my spruce buck horns. I found spruce cones to be as effective as Brillo pads or steel wool to scour my pots. Stones of all colors and shapes were the raw material for my fireplace. When I did resort to manufactured products such as polyethylene, nails, and cement, I felt as though I had cheated. I was not being true to the philosophy I was trying to follow...I do think a man has missed a very deep feeling of satisfaction if he has never created or at least accomplished something with his own two hands. We have grown accustomed to work on pieces of things instead of wholes...but there is also a need for an individual sometime in his life to forget the world of parts and pieces and put something together on his own - complete something. He's got to create...Man is dependent upon man. I would be the last to argue that point...but, nevertheless, in a jam the best friend you have is yourself. (pp. 211 - 212)
Pristine wilderness and the legacy of Dick Proenneke who spent 30 years alone in this wilderness, awaits us underneath jagged peaks and crystal clear waters of Twin Lakes. This area is only accessable by bushplane and one of Alaska's vast and untouched National Parks.
DP:
Really had a time here this afternoon...here comes a brown bear up my path...He just ambled unconcerned past my big window in the direction of the rear of the cabin. No more had he gone out of sight when I heard sounds that brought me right up out of the chair. That character was trying to climb up the corner of the cabin and onto my new roof!...I slid the .357 magnum from its holster on the wall and stepped out the door...I yelled and touched off a round that exploded like a thunderclap...It didn't have the expected result. Around the corner came the bear in four-paw drive. I scrambled for the door, pulled it shut and gripped a fist down hard on the handle. The bear came slamming against the planks. I felt his weight bulging the upper door and heard the rake of his claws...Maybe it would take the heavy artillery to scare him off. I loaded the ought-six, opened the window, and rested the barrel on the sill. The I turned loose a rebel yell...He must have been a reincarnation of Jeb Stuart. He spun with unbelievable quickness and came on like the cavalry. I drove a slug into the path in front of him...He put on the brakes, whirled in retreat, then stopped...and was gone. (pp. 93 - 94)
Nature provides so many things if one has the eye to notice them. It is a pleasure to see what you can use instead of buying it all packaged and ready-made. Several stumps with just the right flare gave me my wooden hinges. Burls and peculiar branch growths afforded me bowls and wooden spoons and clothes hangers. Driftwood provided me with a curtain rod and my spruce buck horns. I found spruce cones to be as effective as Brillo pads or steel wool to scour my pots. Stones of all colors and shapes were the raw material for my fireplace. When I did resort to manufactured products such as polyethylene, nails, and cement, I felt as though I had cheated. I was not being true to the philosophy I was trying to follow...I do think a man has missed a very deep feeling of satisfaction if he has never created or at least accomplished something with his own two hands. We have grown accustomed to work on pieces of things instead of wholes...but there is also a need for an individual sometime in his life to forget the world of parts and pieces and put something together on his own - complete something. He's got to create...Man is dependent upon man. I would be the last to argue that point...but, nevertheless, in a jam the best friend you have is yourself. (pp. 211 - 212)
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