Blog #7

Henry David Thoreau

 Some might say Thoreau was a crazy for conducting his "experiment" and moving to the woods for two years, but I would like to suggest that he was on to something. While he wasn't totally secluded from other human contact, maybe he just wanted to get away for the complexities of life for a while. I am an avid hiker and have made many backpacking trips to multiple locations. I absolutely love getting away from everything for a few days at a time and having nothing but nature to deal with. Below are some photographs some friends and I took during one of our backpacking trips. These were taken at Savage Gulf, which is a wilderness area located in Tennessee's South Cumberland State Park. I have included, for obvious reasons, a picture of Hobbs Cabin, which is located deep within the wilderness area. After reading about Thoreau's cabin, I immediately thought about Hobbs Cabin and how it reminded me of his situation. As you can see, there practically nothing to this cabin but a fire place and a few bunks. It really puts things into perspective when it's just you and nature, miles from anyone, and a few supplies to live on for a few days. One thing that is especially difficult, in this day and age, is leaving your cell phone at home during a trip like this. Now you might think that is a crazy thing to do as someone could get hurt and you would have no way to contact anyone for help. However, there is a certain feeling of exhilaration in doing so! I really believe that we as a society are so "plugged in", that it would do everyone a bit of good to try this sometime and I challenge each of you to do so. 

One final example that reminds me of Thoreau's actions is a story of someone who I think is an extraordinary person. The story of Dick Proenneke is one of my favorite true life adventures. Proenneke is one of those people you can't help but be amazed by all his accomplishments. He served in the Navy during WWII, was a skilled carpenter, diesel mechanic, cattle rancher, and a commercial fisherman among many other things. A sickness which left him bedridden for almost six months, while he was in the Navy, made him come to appreciate life and it was during this time which he developed his plan to move to the wilderness of Alaska. In 1968, he began construction on a log cabin, completely from scratch and by hand, in the Twin Lakes region of the Alaskan wilderness. Perhaps most incredibly is the fact that Proenneke started this adventure while he was in his 50's! One thing I can tell you for sure is that I don't see myself leaving society at the age of 50 to build a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. Like Thoreau, I believe that he wanted to get back to a simpler way of life. While Thoreau built a similar cabin, he didn't quite remove himself from the human race as much as Proenneke did, but I believe their intentions were very similar. Below is a video which gives you a brief look at Proenneke's journey. It is about 9 minutes long, but I think you will enjoy it very much.