Into the wilderness full movie free#

I had seen its moods in late spring, summer, and early fall, but what about the winter? Would I love the isolation then? With its bone-stabbing cold, its ghostly silence? At the age of 51, I intended to find out.” “What was I capable of that I didn’t know yet? Could I truly enjoy my own company for an entire year? And was I equal to everything this wild land could throw at me.

The wilderness offered him freedom, but did he have the physical abilities to live comfortably in a harsh environment? Did he have the mental fortitude to only have himself and the animals for company? He had to confront these questions in the beginning of Alone in the Wilderness: The experience served as a mental and physical test for himself.

Beyond was all around me, my dream was a dream no longer.”

Into the wilderness full movie free#

It was a great feeling, free once more to plan and do as I please. “It was good to be back in the wilderness again, where everything seems at peace. Proenneke, on the other hand, seemed to relish the opportunity to walk down a path rarely taken: For most of us, this lifestyle is too costly and too difficult to pursue we are too attached to the conveniences of everyday life, too tied-down by the obligations and conventions of modern society, and too unskilled in the natural world to make this dream a reality. Living off the land with next to no support has a strong romantic appeal to it. Upon his retirement, he chose to live away from people and civilization in the Alaskan wilderness. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (Thoreau, Walden).Īccording to his lifelong friend Sam Keith, it was a bout of rheumatic fever that prompted Proenneke to reexamine himself and change his life ( wikipedia). Living simply and deliberately: A path rarely taken His story, told through Alone in the Wilderness, inspires me to examine the ideas of living simply and respectfully with one’s surroundings. The life he chose to live demanded all that he is, but it provided him with deep satisfaction and joy. To be able to live in solitude in such a harsh environment requires all of his considerable skills and life experience, along with an appreciation for the wonders for nature. In the film, Proenneke fully embraces the formidable challenges of living alone in the Alaskan wilderness. Most of the colour footage used in the film was shot with a stationary 16mm tripod-mounted camera and accompanied by commentary on his day-to-day experiences. Alone in the Wilderness depicts Proenneke’s first year out in the wilderness in 1968 as he single-handedly builds his log cabin. The documentary revolves around Dick Proenneke, a retired mechanic, carpenter, and handyman, living in solitude at Twin Lakes in Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park. One of the network’s most memorable shows, Alone in the Wilderness, aired frequently during pledge weeks. Its programs sparked my love for cooking, cultivated my love for wacky British humour, and broadened my knowledge base and enthusiasm for science and the natural world. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I was fortunate enough to have access to a great public television network.