Dick Proenneke in Alaska

I stumbled across this documentary recently on PBS - completely entrancing. I watched it three times the first week I saw it. In 1950, when he was 44, Dick moved to rural Alaska by himself - and proceeded to live there for the next 40 years. He built his own cabin, out-buildings, implements, furniture and everything else by hand, by himself with a few bladed-tools. His woodworking skills, ingenuity, and energy-level are incredible.

But the kicker is he also filmed, and later narrated much of it. That's right, he moved to Bumble-fuck Alaska for the challenge of it in '50 when it was way-wilder than it is now, and then filmed himself building his survival-structure while he sets-up the shots for later narration. Views of him shoving-off and paddling into the lake, where you know he then turned around to stop the camera and save the precious film for later. Unbelievable.

His voice is old-school mellow, like Howard Hill maybe, he's a good speaker, he has these pauses after the first word of the sentence which immediately reminded me of Shatner. His casual descriptions of life-and-death-importance tasks display his underlying-confidence that he would easily meet them.

It's just freaking fascinating. This guy, in his 40's decides to go live in a rugged wilderness largely by himself, potentially for the rest of his life. Goes there with a canoe-full of supplies, makes the rest, and does it. And he films all of it.