Dick Proenneke in Alone in the Wilderness part II

[Music] I have made it through my first year living alone in the wilderness my little cabinet kept me warm and comfortable with the arrival of spring it felt good to get back to work again I must restock the lumberyard for I had cash building on my mind something I had thought about all winter long I think it will be the answer to keeping those critters out of my food supplies folks say that Axman ship is a lost art but I like to think I found it again in these cool spruce woods the pole of the backboards traps felt comfortable against my woolen shirt and I could feel the warmth of the spring Sun on my face it was real bulwark but I never felt any better I wondered if there was anyone in the world as free and happy as I was I would spend the rest of the afternoon ripping boards from my well-seasoned logs I would need seven or eight to provide me with a solid and level foundation for the cash building with six boards ripped it was time to take a break I would see if I could catch a fish for supper in the last few days the Hope Creek has eaten a big opening into the lake ice I could see the pool of open water growing before my eyes a pair of Harlequin Ducks swam out from shore as I passed by and began talking to me [Applause] I worked a metal spoon deep into the current jerked it toward me and let it drift back not a strike after several casts than a snake then it moved I knew a head of fish a 15 inch grayling enough for my needs a few sticks of wood on the coals and I would be back in business again the little stove that brother Jake built is good company and works well the proof of a good stove is in the heating and this one is amazing very little fire but it keeps my water boiling in the kettle for my supper tonight it would be fried trout and a batch of biscuits made from the sourdough starter that Mary Allsworth had given me last spring it's hard to believe it's been one year ago today that babe brought me here to twin lakes in the little tea craft I remember it was a beautiful day and we had sat and talked on the gravel bar at the upper end of the lower lake I had back pack two loads that day two spikes cabin and I had even picked up a sunburn from the Sun on the snow it was the first day of what I believe has been the most interesting year of my life while waiting for my biscuits to raise I will catch up on my journals and a few overdue letters to send back home tomorrow just might be a good day to prepare for the cash building I had many polls to cut and peel today before the cash construction begins I had cut many of them last November on the far side of Hope Creek they had been seasoned all this time I had cut four other heavier logs about 15 feet long these would be my stilts to hold the cash aloft I finished the post holes and set in the big stilts like the fireplace in Cabot I can see the cash up on the poles already [Music] the first course of logs was notched and nailed to my foundation planks I cut notches for four stringers and used the stringers to fit [Music] the logs fit snugly into their custom-made notches 30 in place the cash is now 29 inches high now for some reports everything has a good snug fit down here on the ground I hope it goes together with no trouble when I climb the ladder with all the pieces it's May 18th strange to wake up before 3:00 in the morning and feel that daylight is being wasted this is red runs country and I am the invader and hardly a day passes that he does not remind me of this with his chatter it's good to see bears on the mountain again I spotted a big blonde bear and then another chocolate color and another until there were three standing half as tall as their mother Cubs but not this year's I studied them through the 60 power eyepiece and finally talked myself out of climbing up there to see them at close range I had a cache to build I went to the woodshed and ripped out blanks for the door frame and some inch-and-a-half blanks for the door [Music] I then cut two sets of hinges out of a stump of wood I was ready to take my little house apart and put it back together again on top of its 9-foot stilts I used my meet Pole ladder for a scaffold soon number one log was resting atop two stills the logs fit perfectly 40 penny strikes went into the heavy ends and 16 pennies into the small ends [Music] [Applause] [Music] next the door all that remained was to cut the logs in between and I had an opening for the door I finished off the roof with tar paper and a good layer of moss I am really proud of that piece of work for all practical purposes my miniature cabin on stilts was complete [Music] today I had better check the lake ice for I've been expecting babe in with supplies any day now and I would hate to see him sink out of sight he once said to me when the ice is safe for landing put the oil drum out on the ice so I did ten weeks later he came in and asked why the oil drum on the ice he has a good memory but it isn't very long the ice was still 32 inches thick so I formed a huge okay so babe could easily see it from the air today I would take a hike up country my pack made up and lashed on the GI pack frame along with the bollocks and heavy tripod I packed 500 feet of film some smoked fish and the big pistol around 40 pounds I would guess I was away by 7:30 to order a copy of this program please call this toll-free number or visit our website at www.nsiindustries.com

Channel: swererbob

Views: 775,752

Rating: 4.9083395 out of 5

Keywords: Dick Proenneke, Alone in the Wilderness, Lake Clark, Alaska, Bob Swerer, NPR, PBS Video

Id: cTHLpA4267Q

Length: 10min 41sec (641 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 08 2018