Richard Proenneke, Talk about living green..... (natural, Alaska, winter, wood)

[plwhit]

I just saw a special on TV documenting a man named Richard Proenneke.

This man must be one of the most impressive wood craftsmen to ever walk the Earth. He built and carved his cabin and almost everything inside it including the utensils.

Don't know about anyone else but this man deserves the title of American Naturalist of the century....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

The Story of Dick Proenneke and how he built a cabin by hand in the wilderness

[joe moving]

i'd definitely like to watch the full videos. very relaxing

[swerver]

I love that guy too, we could all learn a thing or 2 from him.

[plwhit]

Another thing I find amazing about this man is after living in his cabin for decades he finally decided to move back to the lower 48.

Reason? At 85 he couldn't take the sub-zero Alaskan winters anymore.

The spoon that he carved:

[PcolaFLGuy]

Very impressive. An inspiration, for sure.

[recycled]

I watched the entire hour or so program about this man on a TV documentary a few years ago. It was facinating to watch him build a door for his cabin with a variety of wood working manual hand tools and saws. The precision of how that door fit was impressive. When I read this thread title it took my brain a minute to remember that name and connect it to the TV program. I'm glad other people also have an appreciation for fine craftsmanship and and the ability to develop skills for survival in natural surroundings.

[jambo101]

The guy is amazing and an inspiration to survivalists.
I always got a kick out of how casual he was about everything, Gee i think i'll walk to the top of that mountain today. or take a 50 mile canoe trip today,

[brightdoglover]

A filmmaker friend of mine made a documentary about him in, I think, the 1970s. She had to mush via dogsled just to get up there.
I think any way of life that depends on one's bodily strength/eyesight and other things that tend to fade with age couldn't be continued into old age, unless one is willing to die in that setting while becoming less and less functional.

[blackzzz01]

Originally Posted by plwhit

Another thing I find amazing about this man is after living in his cabin for decades he finally decided to move back to the lower 48.

Reason? At 85 he couldn't take the sub-zero Alaskan winters anymore.

The spoon that he carved:

Where is that displayed?

[plwhit]

Originally Posted by blackzzz01

Where is that displayed?

Don't know, I came across the picture here:

Flickr: emily.hood's Photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/68188197@N00/with/273515628/ - broken link)