Where is alone in the wilderness

His good friend Sam Keith created this book from Dick Proenneke's journals and pictures. The odyssey begins on May 17, as Dick arrives in Alaska to start building his cabin. Read Dick's thoughts as he builds the cabin and lives through the winter with only the local wildlife for companionship. The next spring and summer he continues improving his cabin and investigating the local area.

A growing body of literature points to the solo experience in the wilderness as a unique experience linked to profound therapeutic outcomes Daniel, ; Knapp and Smith, ; Coburn, ; Nicholls, ; Kalisch et al. This paper reviews the literature in the field, highlighting the facets of the wilderness solo experience that are relevant to understanding its value in the context of personal growth. The solo experience may be viewed from various perspectives e. To gain a better understanding of the therapeutic value embedded in the solo experience, literature from the fields of leisure studies, outdoor education, and nature-based therapies was reviewed, including books, personal accounts, and research studies that focused on solitude and silence experienced in the wilderness.

This review was not limited by the year of publication of materials or the framework of intervention involved. Through this expanded lens, various forms of the solo experience were assessed, including what authors and researchers referred to as solo time or solo experience denoting periods of time spent in solitude and silence in the wilderness that were part of a designed program for youth as in Outward Bound.

We also reviewed studies and accounts of time spent alone in silence as part of nature-based workshops for adults defined by the terms vision quest or rite of passage. In light of the limited empirical data on the topic, we expanded our initial focus on the facilitated solo experience to include various studies that focused on the experience of silence and solitude in the wilderness that were or were not part of a facilitated program.

These included accounts of wilderness excursions, hiking, or canoeing alone for a period of time that provided us with important understandings regarding the value of experiencing silence and solitude in the wilderness.

Additional studies focusing on solitude from the psychological literature were reviewed when current literature was not sufficient.

Qualitative methods are the prominent methodology in the study of the wilderness solo experience. They provide us with an understanding regarding the subjective, lived experiences of participants in the wilderness solo Nicholls, Various qualitative studies have been conducted with adults who experienced different forms of wilderness solitude, including wilderness immersion Hammitt and Brown, , canoeing Swatton and Potter, , hiking Fredrickson and Anderson, , solitude Coburn, , and modern vision quest ceremonies Wilson, These studies stress the significance of the natural environment, devoid of daily commotion, human interference, and mental and emotional demands, allowing a specific form of silence contributive to self-reflection and profound insight Knapp and Smith, The researchers developed a wilderness privacy scale to identify and measure the various dimensions and functions of privacy among wilderness users.

The item questionnaire was submitted to university students in outdoor recreation classes. Their findings indicate emotional release and resting of the mind from anxiety and mental fatigue, as linked to cognitive change attained through privacy and silence in the wilderness.

The wilderness privacy scale was examined by Hammitt and Madden among overnight backpackers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Factor analysis of twenty items produced five main factors, ranging from most important to least: tranquility and the natural environment, individual cognitive freedom, social cognitive freedom, intimacy, and individualism.

The natural environment, free of artificial noise and intrusions, was found to provide a sense of tranquility and peacefulness. The researchers concluded that wilderness privacy is a much more complex concept than being alone, which they described as a form of privacy in a specific mental setting where individuals experience an acceptable and preferred degree of control and choice over the type of information they must process Hammitt and Madden, The findings of these studies were supported eighteen years later in Hammitt et al.

Cognitive states of solitude were illuminated as involving mental renewal attributed to rest from anxiety and mental fatigue. The participants attributed this renewal to the independence, individuality, and self-evaluation described as functional attributes of the wilderness, devoid of manipulation and domination from others. Four expert North American canoeists, ages 45 to 68, who had completed four or more solo canoe expeditions of two weeks or longer, were interviewed to understand their solitary wilderness experiences.

Their findings highlighted the significance of the solo experience as involving three main components: a being alone in silence, which allowed the tranquility, peace, and time necessary for self-reflection; b the physical, mental, and emotional demands of the canoeing trip, which allowed the paddlers to become more aware of themselves in relation to the natural surroundings and propelled a sense of self-actualization; and c the natural environment, which provided unscheduled time devoid of disturbances or a sense of judgment by other people, allowing them to observe and explore the self with greater freedom of expression.

The only study focusing on the sensed quality of silence and solitude in the wilderness solo is Nicholls qualitative study. The wilderness solo emerged as involving a subjective sense of solitude, contrary to common conceptions that define solitude as an objective and external condition Larson, The findings of this study revealed four co-occurring subjective conditions by which the sensed experience is defined: a a sense of being alone, b a positive mind frame, c a personal time perspective, and d focused attention.

The positive experience and effect of the solo experience was attributed to an individual experience of solitude and silence, shared by a small social group. This led to the definition of the solo experience as being alone together , a term initially coined by Hammitt Interviews were conducted with thirty-two overnight backcountry campers, ranging from nineteen to sixty-seven years old, traveling alone by canoe.

Analyses of the interviews revealed distinct ways of engagement with nature; the participants immersed themselves in simple ways of being and escaped technological information that was often said to have taken over their everyday lives.

The natural environment, described by the participants as free from intentional human control, provoked new ways of relating to themselves, other people, powers greater than themselves, and the wild landscape. The majority of participants emphasized the mental calm and self-reflective thinking brought on by the wilderness.

Experiencing a significant relationship and connection with oneself and the environment through solitude in the wilderness has been shown to elicit significant outcomes and, in many cases, even personal transformation. Coburn explored the nature of psychospiritual transformation experienced among twelve women hiking alone over 2, miles on the Appalachian Trail. Extensive review and analysis of the data, including personal accounts written by the participants, spoken stories about their experience of solitude in the wilderness, and created or chosen visual images of transformation shed light on the transformative aspects of the experience.

The constructs of personal transformation that emerged included experiencing a sense of wonder, feeling competent, trusting, a sense of being fully present in the moment, becoming more authentic, and desiring to be of service.

The participants attributed these constructs to the time spent alone and in silence, allowing them to experience acceptance and interconnectedness in the vast, timeless, and ever-changing natural environment. In these conditions, the participants developed a new and intimate connection with self, others, and nature that led to what they described as the dissolving of their former identity and the development of a more connected and authentic one.

The personal transformation was described as feeling more authentic or whole, discovering a purpose in life, and the ability to embrace life in its fullness.

Such transformation involved the integration of newly discovered aspects of themselves revealed as a result of connecting with nature during the wilderness solo. This realization was attained through experiencing nature as guiding and enabling, experiencing non-separateness with the wilderness, experiencing a range of significant feelings through encounters with nature, experiencing nature as sacred, viewing inner processes as part of nature, experiencing flow states of consciousness in nature, and being passionate about maintaining a conscious relationship with nature.

Being oneself in a more authentic way, feeling more serene and peaceful, and securing a purpose in life comprised the psychospiritual transformations the participants experienced. Importantly, this study reveals that modern-day wilderness solos provide the opportunity for the kinds of experiences that invite such psychospiritual change. Unfortunately, most of these studies have been conducted with small population groups and thus have been limited in scope.

Therefore, Kalisch et al. The first-year college students who participated in solos of various lengths twenty-four to sixty hours as part of eighteen-day wilderness programs described the solo as the most significant aspect of the wilderness experience. The researchers assessed the components attributed to personal growth attained through the solo experience relating to three components.

Most students documented feeling excited upon entering the solo, and most of the students chose the word solitude when asked to identify the most enjoyable characteristic.

Taken together, these factors suggest receptivity upon entering and during the experience, which often contributes to personal growth. The second component was described as optimum stress related in the context of personal growth to overcoming challenge. This suggests an explanation for the number of participants who responded positively to solitude, fasting, inactivity, or unstructured time. Although these experiences were often described as the most difficult, they were also valued or most enjoyed by some participants.

The stress did not diminish the quality of their solo; rather, it was facilitative of their personal growth. The third component involved change and attunement. The results indicate that although participants valued the time alone, they also found these to be the most difficult aspects of the solo.

Solitude was simultaneously the most enjoyable and the second most difficult aspect of the solo, followed by boredom and preceded by fasting. By reflecting on themselves in relation to the wilderness, others, and, in some cases, God, participants became more attuned to the important matters in their lives and in the world of which they were a part.

The findings of these studies highlight the significance of self-reflection and contemplation experienced in the wider context of the wilderness. The solo phase consisted of two to four days and nights of solitude accompanied by fasting. Two hundred twenty-seven of the participants were asked to recount experiences of their own choosing.

Primary data sources included self-administered participant surveys and focus group interviews. On the one hand, the solo experience was described by the participants as the most significant trip component, providing an opportunity for reflection, introspection, and contemplation in solitude and silence.

As such, solo time entailed mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges that in retrospect were viewed as productive of empowerment and personal growth. The results of this study suggest that the wilderness solo incorporates the characteristics of significant life events specifically attributed to five factors: a A new perspective was gained by the participants through examination of the self in relation to the environment, to others, and to God.

These studies highlight the significance of the solo experience, specifically linked to beneficial self—reflection; however, the ability to practice self-reflection or the specific personal characteristics linked to engaging positively in these situations was not examined. The participants were sixty-four college students, females and males, who participated in a twelve-day backcountry canoe and backpacking trip conducted as part of a wilderness pre-orientation program.

Participants filled out a questionnaire measuring extraversion and self-actualization, in relation to wilderness solitude attunement. Participants experienced solitude in four major areas in the following order of frequency: intellectual and spiritual elements; isolation; physical and personal freedom elements; and emotional restoration.

The relative novelty of the wilderness solo experience for extraverts was the strongest explanation for their higher wilderness solitude attainment scores compared to introverts, who tended to be more comfortable with being alone. Bochniak concluded by emphasizing the characteristics of the natural environment as greatly contributing to the solo experience.

These included tranquility and peacefulness as a result of a lack of intrusions or distractions, opportunities for emotional restoration, and freedom from social constraints that allows individuals to exercise their own free will in thought and action, contributing to the development of individualism and a deep connection with something outside of the self. In addition, silence, described as a lack of interruptions, was considered to be an important part of the solo experience, as was the role of the instructor, although both were not assessed.

There appears to be some consensus that wilderness solos typically have positive outcomes for participants when they have free choice about when and where they spend their period of solitude. For many young people, specifically those who undertake the experience as mandatory in a structured program, the wilderness solo may not have the same positive outcomes.

Maxted , who examined hour solo experiences of adolescents over four years, warns about the danger of romanticizing solos as spiritual growth opportunities that for some adolescents are perceived and experienced negatively.

Maxted found a number of fears related to the solo experience and categorized them into fears regarding the wilderness aspects and unexpected encounters with other people, as well as fears of being alone and of the unknown within.

Smith b , who has facilitated hundreds of wilderness solos, attributes these fears to the fact that many people do not know how to be alone, finding solitude frightening, boring, or unproductive, emphasizing the importance of preparation and leadership. Kalisch et al. Larson assessed these differences by sampling reports from European-American fifth- through ninth-graders.

This relational perspective is supported by Hollenhorst et al. Based on analysis of participants rating the importance of the different dimensions, the researchers described solitude as a multidimensional concept.

In contrast to common notions reflecting solitude in relation to the absence of community, solitude was described as a state of being and, in relation to self, a state of mind. Maxted , p. These understandings are supported by Kalisch et al. By gradually experiencing solitude in this way, a sense of self that can survive in the absence of immediate social reinforcement is developed and the ability to profit from solitude is enhanced.

This review sheds light on the solo experience in the wilderness as involving a unique interplay between three basic components that are linked in the reviewed studies to profound personal outcomes, as shown in Table 1. These components are: a silence, experienced in the wilderness solo, not as a seclusion from stimuli but more as allowing the mind to rest from cognitive processing of information and offering the opportunity to experience a form of contemplation by which significant insights regarding the self and the world are attained; b solitude, experienced in the wilderness solo as both a challenge and an asset, providing the opportunity for self-discovery, specifically as interconnected to the wider world by which a sense of belonging and purpose are elicited; and c the wilderness—providing the tranquility, peace, cognitive freedom and time necessary for significant self-reflection far from daily demands or human interference.

The distinct way these components are experienced in the wilderness solo experience are explored in the following section in relation to various theoretical and empirical perspectives, linking these components to psychological health, well-being, and personal growth.

The silence of the forest, the peace of the early morning wind moving the branches of the trees, the solitude and isolation of the house of God: these are good.

Literature in the field of outdoor education discusses silence as a key aspect of the wilderness solo, but the inner experience and effect of silence in the wilderness solo has not been explored. This review reveals silence, experienced in the context of the wilderness solo, as a unique contemplative state.

In contrast to common definitions of silence as the absence of sound or communication Elson, , silence experienced in the wilderness solo has been described as a way to listen and attune to internal insights and knowledge. So although Czech philosopher Kohak , p. Wendell Berry , p. Silence, experienced in the context of the wilderness solo, allows the mental space and cognitive freedom for deep contemplation, akin to the state of being.

Within his theory of human motivation, needs, and self-actualization, Maslow described being as an inner state of stillness, linked to contemplation and enjoyment of the inner life see Maslow, According to Maslow, states of being are not passive but are rather dynamic, involving growth within—exploring, experiencing, delighting, and enjoying.

All these experienced states, while perceived as attitudes of pure being, essentially lead to becoming Maslow, Seen as such, the state of being derived from silence, as in the solo experience, is akin to and contributive to the state of mindfulness, defined by Brown and Ryan , p. Their study sought to understand how silence experienced in nature relates to well-being. To assess the connection between nature experience, mindfulness, and well-being, several measures of well-being and wilderness connectedness were administered among undergraduate students.

Mindfulness emerged as a significant correlate of nature connectedness, suggesting that the sensory impact of experiences in nature enhance awareness that may foster mindfulness and well-being. This review suggests the wilderness solo may provide an optimal environment for the experience and practice of silence, as a mindful state of being, in a contained framework.

Without great solitude, no serious work is possible. Near the end of the film, the chronological time leaps thirty-five years. This is no longer the middle-aged but nimble man who carried logs on his shoulder. We learn that Dick bequeathed his cabin to the National Park Service. I feel I am watching Dick in a present that cycles through seasons and begins again.

There are three inches of ice to chip through and walkways to keep clear. I have yet to pick up tin shears or carve a door hinge, let alone build my cabin; but in his continual company, I begin to feel the cadence of his work. On his desk, Dick kept a map in which he stuck a pin at his intended destination every time he set out from the cabin, a precaution in case he vanished.

Over time the map became a marker of accumulated outings, each pin hole a small plink like a berry deposited a bucket. Instead of the image of the elderly Dick Proenneke, with his awkward expression as he struggles to face us, I would edit the video to end with Dick snowshoeing through the woods. He comes across a spruce tree with a giant burl and knows what to do: he will transform the burl into a table. He cuts off the burl flush with the tree—a tricky job with a handsaw, but of course Dick makes it look easy.

When he is satisfied, Dick straps the burl slabs to his pack board and heads back to the cabin for lunch. The burl on his back makes him look like a turtle as he walks away from the camera and into the woods. In the cabin there is a coffee can filled with cranberries, and cranberry syrup to make. Thanks so much for this beautiful essay. You are such an inventive writer. This is so funny, so real. Interesting that Amy suggests that Dick was proficient at a lot of things when he went to live in the Alaskan wilderness.

Thanks for the nice article Amy. Your email address will not be published. Explore… Search. Search for:. Dick Proenneke at his cabin in National Parks Service. Amy Marsh Amy Marsh is an essayist, playwright, and novelist living in Fairbanks.

Help us stay in the fight by giving here. All of these things are made possible by the achievements and innovations of those who have long since passed away and yet whose legacies continue to provide us with great blessings. There is in this way an intergenerational infrastructure to human civilization that engenders a significant responsibility for each successive generation. As the example of Richard Proenneke shows us, no one is ever really alone in the wilderness, and the best response to this reality is to gratefully take what we have been given and apply it in faithful and responsible labor to the tasks at hand.

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The Principle of Subsidiarity.