Self-reliance in the wilderness can be an intoxicating goal. Shucking society's masses, plights, and foibles for a perceived 'simpler' life in the backcountry can be a heady ambition. Dick Proenneke did it nearly 40 years ago, finding self-reliant comfort in the backwoods of Alaska in a place now known as Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

His 30-year odyssey, if you want to call it that, has been immortalized in at least two books, a PBS autobiographical documentary, and even a Yahoo! Groups web page.

Jene Galvin, a contributor to the Cincinnati Enquirer, was so taken by Dick's story that he and some friends trekked to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, relying on an air taxi, a float plane, and miles of backpacking to reach Dick's homestead.

After reading Proenneke's two books about his 30 years at Twin Lakes, "One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey" and "More Readings From One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke," and seeing his PBS documentary, "Alone in the Wilderness," I wanted to follow his hiking footsteps through his mountain-and-tundra backyard and to see if his initial worry that national park status for the Lake Clark region would bring overcrowding and litter.

You can read what Mr. Galvin concluded at this page.