If there was a Mount Rushmore of outdoors-people, Dick Proenneke would be front and center.
I believe he’s right up there with naturalists Davy Crockettm John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt.
At 51, Proenneke moved to Alaska and lived the rest of his life (30 years) there, building just about everything by hand and living off the land.
What makes him stand out even more is that he produced such a massive amount of content on his experience.
- 300+ hours of film (using a 16mm Bolex Rex 5 movie camera with tripod)
- 90 pounds of journals!
- A 224-page book: “One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey.”
I list the 7 Proenneke documentaries below in order of how much I enjoyed them.
Four of them are produced by Bob Swerer, Proenneke’s good friend and the main documentarian on Proenneke’s life.
Note: Dick was born “Richard Proenneke”. While wilderness fans widely refer to him as “Dick”, there are reportedly historical documents that refer to him as “Richard Proenneke”. I don’t see a single mention of him being called “Richard” in any of his videos so I’m going with “Dick”!
1) Alone in the Wilderness Part 1 (2004)
If you have to watch just one Dick Proenneke documentary, this is it.
“Alone in the Wilderness” (2004) is 57 minutes of bliss.
It gives us an intimate look at one man’s quest for simplicity and self-reliance.
“Alone in the Wilderness” captures the rugged beauty and sheer isolation of the Alaskan wilderness like no other doc.
This film (directed by Bob Swerer) is based on the journals and 16mm footage of Richard “Dick” Proenneke, who, at age 51, set out in 1968 to build a log cabin by hand in the remote Twin Lakes region.
For nearly thirty years, Proenneke lived there, documenting his daily life and survival.
One of the most memorable scenes is when Proenneke crafts the cabin door. Using only basic hand tools, he carves out precise wooden hinges, demonstrating his incredible attention to detail and self-sufficiency.
You can almost feel the texture of the wood, smell the fresh-cut pine. His satisfaction when the door swings open smoothly is palpable.
The film’s 57 minutes offer a profound meditation on solitude and nature.
We witness the seasons change through his lens, from the first snowfall to the spring thaw.
The quiet moments—like Proenneke silently observing a moose from his cabin—make this doc unforgettable. It’s a must-see for anyone who’s ever dreamed of escaping to the wild.
You can watch “Alone in the Wilderness” for free by clicking the video embed above.
I also added other ways to watch it on this page I created: “Alone in the Wilderness Parts 1 and 2”.
2) Alone in the Wilderness Part 2 (2011)
Seven years after the original “Alone in the Wilderness”, Bob Swerer put out a sequel: “Aline in the Wilderness Part 2”.
Dick Proenneke is at it again with his resourceful ways in the Alaskan wilderness.
He’s got a makeshift backpack, and it’s not just for show—this thing helps him haul massive amounts of wood to build his new cache.
That’s right, he’s adding a mini cabin on stilts to store extra supplies.
Along the way, he catches a 15-inch trout, perfect for dinner alongside some biscuits made from a sourdough starter given to him by Mary Allsworth last spring.
In another scene, Dick takes some time to craft a big wooden spoon as a thank-you to Mary for all the cookies she sends him—two hours of handiwork well spent.
He’s got a way with words too, saying, “Learn to use an axe, and respect it…but abuse one, and it will wear your hands raw.” Toss in a shot of two caribou bulls with massive antlers, and you’ve got the perfect blend of wilderness living and wisdom.
Video of Part 2 is super-hard to find.
You can watch 10 minutes of it by clicking the video embed above. I’ve added one more link (an extra 7:40) to this page I dedicated to “Alone in the Wilderness Parts 1 and 2”. That page also has DVD options.
3) Alaska: Silence & Solitude
This is a 3-week Alaskan trip that a then-75 year-old Proenneke took with Bob Swerer (who produces this doc).
They fly in by float plane. The crew lands, quickly unloading gear for three weeks in isolation.
An Alaskan Ranger, Patty Brown, paddles up, offering solid advice—watch out for porcupines and those notorious high winds.
They find an old trapper’s cabin deep in the woods, complete with bear-proof windows and a hand-built stove made from an oil drum.
This is not the cabin that Proenneke built as shown in the Alone in the Wilderness videos.
Exploring the breathtaking terrain, they spot caribou, dodge grizzlies, and narrowly avoid a bull moose.
There’s a beautiful owl watching them.
Fishing and hiking fill their days, but the weather turns nasty, forcing them to battle strong winds in their Zodiac raft just to cross the lake.
Tough as nails, Dick embodies solitude and self-reliance, a man perfectly content with his simple, isolated life in Alaska’s last frontier.
You can watch “Alaska: Silence & Solitude” for free on YouTube by clicking the video embed above or here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpDKeD75afE
Watch “Alaska: Silence and Solitude” by clicking the video embed above or going here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpDKeD75afE
4) The Frozen North
Bob Swerer produces and narrates “The Frozen North” too.
At the 1 min. 40 second mark, you get to hear Proenneke’s voice.
This is different than the other Swerer docs as Swerer is just about the only voice you hear for those.
The doc’s footage starts around October 4th (the winds are getting intense).
Snow comes shortly after.
There’s a shot of a wolverine that comes bouncing along “as if on springs”.
Watch “The Frozen North” for free by clicking the video embed above or going here: https://archive.org/details/thefrozennorth2006
5) One Man’s Alaska
[Thanks to outdoorsman Matt Siben for pointing this doc out to me!]
Before Bob Swerer put out his Proenneke documentaries, there was the 1977 doc. on Proenneke called “One Man’s Alaska”.
This 27 minute doc (unknown narrator) features Proenneke’s own words in audio.
He explains why he moved to Alaska after a near-fatal accident in 1965 working as a diesel mechanic.
That led him to rethink his life and cherish his eyesight while he still had it.
They show him building his cabin And he talks about getting “the heavy logs up” of the cabin in ten days (it took 12 hours a day, 6 days a week).
He also says that the water in the lake is so cold that he doubts he could survive if he had to swim 200 yards from shore.
He observes that a bear hibernates for around 6 months (and the one he watched came out with 2 cubs).
There’s not a lot of info about this doc.
But, if you’re a Proenneke nerd like me you’re gonna love the extra footage.
You can watch it for free on YouTube by clicking the video above or going here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWBOBQm3bFI
And here’s a separate link in case the one above doesn’t work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWBOBQm3bFI (also free on YouTube!).
6) Dick Proenneke: At Home in the Wilderness
Rhonda McBride, a veteran Alaska journalist, is the perfect person to tell Proenneke’s story.
She’s spent decades covering rural Alaska and Alaska Native issues, and her deep connection to the state shines through in this film.
McBride first learned about Proenneke from her colleague, Will Mader, who convinced her this was a story worth telling.
Together, in 2019, they traveled to Twin Lakes, meeting people who knew Dick and uncovering layers of his life.
It dives into the details that made Proenneke a legend.
At 52, after a welding accident nearly blinded him, Dick decided to see if he could survive in the wild.
With just hand tools, some he made himself, he cut down logs and built a cabin that’s still standing today.
John Branson, a historian with the National Park Service, talks about editing more than 90 pounds of Proenneke’s notebooks.
That’s right—90 pounds!
These journals give us a window into Dick’s daily life and thoughts.
The film also takes you to the NPS archives in Anchorage, where curator Katie Myers shows off the collection of Proenneke’s artifacts.
One of the best parts of the film is when former NPS ranger Patty Brown shares her memories of Dick.
She tells how he made her feel like royalty when she visited, even when she stepped off a float plane in a black evening gown.
And then there’s Fred Hirschmann, a friend of Dick’s, who speaks about the importance of preserving Proenneke’s homestead.
“At Home in the Wilderness” isn’t just about Dick’s life; it’s about the community that’s come together to keep his legacy alive.
Watch “Dick Proenneke: At Home in the Wilderness” by clicking the video embed above or going here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq_RchNo4_c
7) 3 Years Alone In The Forest Building A Log Cabin
This doc isn’t about Dick Proenneke himself but about someon who was so inspired by Proenneke, that he went off to the wilderness for three years to build a log cabin from scratch.
Armed with just a GoPro and sheer determination, Erik Grankvist documents every grueling step, drawing inspiration from the legendaryProenneke.
The doc’s first 30 minutes dive into the painstaking process of felling trees and crafting a stone foundation, while later sections highlight Erik’s ingenious techniques, like the ancient method of burning wood to preserve it.
I loved this doc and dedicated a full page to it here: https://dailydoc.com/3-years-alone-in-the-forest-building-a-log-cabin/
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly
Chief Maniac, Daily Doc