Dick Proenneke, The Man Who Lived In An Alaskan Cabin For 30 Years
Wikimedia CommonsDick Proenneke sitting inside the doorway of his hand-built cabin.
At age 51, Richard “Dick” Proenneke quit his job as a mechanic and moved alone to the Alaskan wilderness, hoping to become one with nature. He built himself a cabin along the shores of the Twin Lakes and, despite all odds, survived there for 30 years.
Having previously worked as both a farmer and a mechanic, Proenneke was equipped with the skills to make do on his own. He built his cozy cabin out of trees that he cut down himself, and he even installed a stone fireplace with rocks he’d dug up.
Naturally, this isolated cabin didn’t have electricity, but Proenneke was content to cook his meals over an open fire. To keep his food stored safely, he put it in containers and buried it deep underground to prevent it from freezing during the long Alaskan winters.
Wikimedia CommonsProenneke’s cabin, which still stands as a landmark by Twin Lakes in Alaska.
During his decades of isolation, Proenneke also kept detailed diaries of his life. Filling up more than 250 notepads with entries and documenting his adventures with a camera and tripod, Proenneke became an inspiration to those who knew him. Alaskan park rangers even frequently checked up on him.
After 30 years, however, Proenneke knew he wasn’t long for the world. It’s not that he was out of shape — he could still outrace young visitors on a hike, even at 81 — but he couldn’t deny that he was an old man. So, in 1998, he said goodbye to his cabin at Twin Lakes and spent the last chapter of his life with his brother in California.
In his will, he left his Twin Lakes cabin to the National Park Service, despite the fact that he never technically owned the land he built the home on in the first place. Today, it remains a popular tourist attraction.
