Alone in the Wilderness

Heaven Is Only 4000 Miles to the North
I left Colorado's light several days ago to work in hazy Los Angeles. The drive out is always a reminder of what I am leaving, as the intimidatingly enormous 14ers (like Gray's Peak) loom over I-70 -- almost daring me to leave -- slowly disintegrate into staggered planes and red rock plateaus, in turn losing their scorched colors and fading into a clay-type desert. It is here I feel really alone.

In the motel during my night-over in Utah, I watched Alone in the Wilderness. I had missed the first few minutes, but wasn't paying attention much. What caught my eye right off the bat was the color. Films don't look like this today, they are all cartoony, over-saturated digital oilslicks. Wilderness was grainy, faded, low-contrast, and quite remarkable to watch, until I realized what was going on, really noticed what the film was about.

Here was a man, who left his job to live secluded from the (technological) world. He built a cabin without disturbing the trees...

Beautiful adventure movie
When you first see this movie you will probably think it was shot for the movie theatres but it is really just one guy with a camera documenting his adventure in the wilderness. Little did he know he did such a great job it rivals what is released today in both quality and interest.

You will also be amazed at how easy he makes it seem to live alone in the wilderness, building a cabin and surviving through very cold temperatures, and along the way documenting things such as air and water temperatures, ice depths, animal movements, etc. He also shows how he built things he needed like a spoon and sled, also how he found food and kept warm through the winter.

And the beauty of the area is astounding! No wonder he picked it for a location to live, a nice lake and mountain range, he shows the surrounding area as well, climbing to the highest peaks to film.

The only drawback here is the film is too short, apparently he filmed much more but most was lost due...

A Beautiful Short Film...
I bought the DVD because when I saw this on PBS I was simply mesmerized by it's simple and calm beauty. True, the skills Dick had and the way he built tools and his cabin was very cool, but I thought the greatest part of the film was his love for nature. Even though he had to shoot and eat a Ram, he still felt bad for the old guy. The little clip of the wolverine rolling down the snowy hill was unreal. I love wolverines!!! The only part I did not like was the ending narration by the woman, who said something to the effect that his spirit will live on in the perfect notches of his logs. Wrong! It lives on in that beautiful Alaskan boreal wilderness called Twin Lakes...the moss, the spruce trees, the blueberry bushes, all the mountains and lakes, and the animals.

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