Two things stood out for me in this video. (1) this chap is only carrying minimal gear on his back and (2) he did not carry in all the tools he used in one trip, and at some time it looks as though he trekked in by canoe.
This started me wondering if this was ever done in the 18th century, people taking equipment in to the site and stashing it there and then making a return trip. I guess if there were a group of you you could probably take everything in one trip.
If you read the book, he's pretty descriptive about all his gear, how he built the cabin, what he ate, etc.
ReplyDeleteHe was flown in to the lakes by float plane in spring. His plan was to spend the spring and summer in a friend's cabin at the same lake while he built his own a way down the shore. As I recall, he came in with about 150 lbs of gear (all of his tools, clothes, gun, basic food), which he hiked to his friend's cabin in 3 separate loads over a period of two days. After that, the plane provided periodic supply runs to him (food stuffs, cement, nails, glue, ammo, etc). But, really, it seems that about 90% of what he needed was in that first 150 lbs.
The canoe was stored in his friend's cabin. After the lake thawed in the summer, he used it to commute to the build site every day, as well as traveling to the other side of the lake to collect timber.
It's a good read!
"Needs? I guess that is what bothers so many folks. They keep expanding their needs
ReplyDeleteuntil they are dependent on too many things and too many other people. I don't
understand economics, and I suppose the country would e in a real mess if people
suddenly cut out a lot of things they don't need. I wonder how many things in the
average American home could be eliminated if the question were asked, "Must I really
have this?" I guess most of the extras are chalked up to comfort or saving time.
Funny thing about comfort -- one man's comfort is another man's misery. Most people
don't work hard enough physically anymore, and comfort is not easy to find. It is
surprising how comfortable a hard bunk can be after you come down off a mountain.
...
News never changes much. It's just the same things happening to different people. I
would rather experience things happening to me than read about them happening to
others. I am my own newspaper and my own radio. I honestly don't believe that man
was meant to know everything going on in the world, all at the same time. A man turns
on the TV and all those commentators bombard him with the local, the national and
the international news. The newspapers do the same thing, and the poor guy with all
the immediate problems of his own life is burdened with those of the whole world.
I don't know what the answer is. In time man gets used to almost anything, but the
problem seems to be that technology is advancing faster than he can adjust to it. I
think it's time we started applying the brakes, slowing down our greed and slowing
down the world.
I have found that some of the simplest things have given me the most pleasure. They
didn't cost me a lot of money either. They just worked on my senses. Did you ever
pick very large blueberries after a summer rain? Walk through a grove of
cottonwoods, open like a park, and see the blue sky beyond the shimmering gold of
the leaves? Pull on dry woolen socks after you've peeled off the wet ones? Come in
out of the subzero and shiver yourself warm in front of a wood fire? The world is
full of such things."
- Richard Proenneke, One Man's Wilderness
Good post, I really appreciate the feedback.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean, I am more pleased recieving a block of beeswax or some linen thread than I am if someone were to give me a gold pen.
I appreciate the chilly nights in summer and the beautiful sunsets. I love it when it rains and when the wind is blowing. People miss out on a lot living in the city.
regards, Le loup.