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Man Ditched Civilisation For Three Decades To Be Alone In The Wilderness

Man Ditched Civilisation For Three Decades To Be Alone In The Wilderness

Inspirational in this day and age.

Josh Teal

Josh Teal

In this day and age, 'getting away from it all' or 'losing yourself' is pretty much impossible.

In 2017, people who want to escape the confines of their tech-centric lifestyle might move to Australia, only to find out they're just as hooked on social media there as they would anywhere else, and with better WiFi.

If we wanna really lose ourselves and be at one and all that stuff, we're better off throwing all of our devices into a river and moving into the wilderness.

But how many of us would actually do that? Not many, I'd guess.

However, one man did, albeit back in the 60s, in the days before Instagram (might have been a different story today).

Image: The Off Grid Cabin/Alone in the Wilderness

Richard Louis Proenneke, a self-educated naturalist, spent near to three decades living off the grid in the Alaskan mountains.

He became somewhat famous for the log cabin he built out near the shores of Twin Lakes.

With the help of materials around him and some hand held ones, he built his home away from home during the summers of 1967 and 1968.

For food, Proenneke obviously hunted and fished, but actually raised some animals as well. On the odd occasion supplies were flown in. Take a look at a documentary on him here...

Credit: The Off Grid Cabin/Alone In The Wilderness

His incredible life was documented in the aptly titled film Alone In The Wilderness, which shows in greater detail the construction of his cabin and his general rambles in the Alaskan outback.

Proenneke eventually left the mountains and came back to civilisation in 1999, aged 82, moving in with his brother Raymond in California. He died four years later.

Not before handing his cabin to the National Park Service, though, which remains a popular attraction for visitors of Twin Lakes.

Featured Image Credit: The Off Grid Cabin/Alone in the Wilderness