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The Stranger In The Woods

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it's just me

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I saw something on Facebook about this book this morning and decided to get the Kindle version. Then I read it all at once.

Supposedly Christopher Knight walked into the Maine woods 27 years earlier and disappeared. He built a camp between some large rocks which apparently kept him from being detected. He had no weapons but survived by breaking into nearby vacation cabins for leftover food stores. He would also steal propane tanks, batteries, flashlights, but most of all, food. Then he would steal a canoe and take the loot to his camp, then return the canoe, making it look as though nothing had been disturbed. He did the same thing with the houses he robbed, putting everything back the way it was before he broke in.

He was finally arrested for all of the burglaries and the author contacted him and teased a story out of him.

Some people believe him, some don't. The cops believed his story. If true, this is amazing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GYPY884/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
 
Sounds interesting. I wonder if it would have been easier to remain undetected if he had just learned to live off the land or if that would have just left its own tell tale clues.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
Sounds interesting. I wonder if it would have been easier to remain undetected if he had just learned to live off the land or if that would have just left its own tell tale clues.
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In the book he said that he never built fires because he didn't want people to see the smoke, which must have been a lot of fun during those Maine winters. He did have a (stolen) propane stove that he cooked and melted snow for water on. He tried foraging initially and almost starved to death so he resorted to raiding gardens, then burglary. When I think about survival I think about hunting and fishing but hunting is noisy. There were lakes nearby but he could have easily been spotted staying in one place too long, except his camp.

The author tried to find his camp and it took him four tries, even though he knew generally where it was. This hermit sounds like a certified genius, if not a little nuts.
 
it's just me said:
I saw something on Facebook about this book this morning and decided to get the Kindle version. Then I read it all at once.

Supposedly Christopher Knight walked into the Maine woods 27 years earlier and disappeared. He built a camp between some large rocks which apparently kept him from being detected. He had no weapons but survived by breaking into nearby vacation cabins for leftover food stores. He would also steal propane tanks, batteries, flashlights, but most of all, food.
 He did the same thing with the houses he robbed, putting everything back the way it was before he broke in.

He was finally arrested for all of the burglaries and the author contacted him and teased a story out of him.

Some people believe him, some don't. The cops believed his story. If true, this is amazing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GYPY884/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Click to expand...

If he stole the canoe to take items back to his camp then returned the canoe-how did he get back to the camp??

He found a canoe and used it to cross the water to raid cabins on the other side, not to get back to his camp.

Interesting character-amazing he survived for so long.
 
Sadie said:
If he stole the canoe to take items back to his camp then returned the canoe-how did he get back to the camp??

He found a canoe and used it to cross the water to raid cabins on the other side, not to get back to his camp.

Interesting character-amazing he survived for so long.
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I got the impression that when he used the canoe to haul his loot the camp was on the same side of the lake he plundered, and within walking distance.
 
Christopher T. Knight.jpg

Why the North Pond Hermit Hid From People for 27 Years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Thomas_Knight

Knight's modus operandi relied on thieving. His penchant for not interacting socially with other humans for decades, IMO, makes him a very, very strange man.

I feel a connect with Thoreau far more than Knight.

As for Knight's lifestyle... to each their own. As to his thieving, our society has court systems inherent on the concept of Due Process. Knight faced a court system... and abided by the sentence rendered. Knight clearly has higher than average IQ and impressive survival instincts. I don't really warm to him.
 
Trippy Trekker said:
View attachment 67221911

Why the North Pond Hermit Hid From People for 27 Years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Thomas_Knight

Knight's modus operandi relied on thieving. His penchant for not interacting socially with other humans for decades, IMO, makes him a very, very strange man.

I feel a connect with Thoreau far more than Knight.

As for Knight's lifestyle... to each their own. As to his thieving, our society has court systems inherent on the concept of Due Process. Knight faced a court system... and abided by the sentence rendered. Knight clearly has higher than average IQ and impressive survival instincts. I don't really warm to him.
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I didn't warm to Thoreau. Knight called him a dilettante. That's probably about right.
 
With your religious bent, I would not expect you to warm to Thoreau.... a man who reportedly never quarreled with God.

Thoreau's academic credentials and writings speak for themselves. I don't remember anyone ever suggesting Thoreau having a penchant for stealing.

Knight has had a book written about his reclusive lifestyle... and the book has become popular. Knight, to the best of my knowledge, has not established any kind of reputation as a recognized writer.
 
Trippy Trekker said:
With your religious bent, I would not expect you to warm to Thoreau.... a man who reportedly never quarreled with God.

Thoreau's academic credentials and writings speak for themselves. I don't remember anyone ever suggesting Thoreau having a penchant for stealing.

Knight has had a book written about his reclusive lifestyle... and the book has become popular. Knight, to the best of my knowledge, has not established any kind of reputation as a recognized writer.
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Well, I don't know what this ^ is supposed to mean. I was not attempting to evaluate the rightness or wrongness of Christopher Knight's actions. He is clearly mentally ill and dropped out of a society, that, in his view, he doesn't belong in, and he is probably right. Despite being a thief, though, his ingenuity in surviving 27 Maine winters with no military or survival training is impressive.

I don't know why people with YOUR religious bent take everything so personally.
 
Trippy Trekker said:
With your religious bent, I would not expect you to warm to Thoreau.... a man who reportedly never quarreled with God.

Thoreau's academic credentials and writings speak for themselves. I don't remember anyone ever suggesting Thoreau having a penchant for stealing.

Knight has had a book written about his reclusive lifestyle... and the book has become popular. Knight, to the best of my knowledge, has not established any kind of reputation as a recognized writer.
Click to expand...

By the way, have you read "Stranger In The Woods" or have you just read an article about it on the internet?
 
it's just me said:
By the way, have you read "Stranger In The Woods" or have you just read an article about it on the internet?
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I did not read Stranger In The Woods ... nor do I expect to. I read about Chris Knight years ago shortly after his arrest.

I thru-hiked the A.T. south to north in 1981. I read Bill Bryson's A Walk In the Woods, concluding Bryson has very good writing skills far superior to his hiking ability. Bryson only covered about 1000 miles of the more than 2100 mile long A.T. Bryson's movie version of the story flopped.

I had taken interest and read Thoreau's Waldon's Pond before my thru-hike. Jack London's Sea Wolf also inspired my hike. In 1986 at the Clearwater FL public library, I stumbled upon and took great enjoyment from a book by Harry Franck called A Vagabond's Journey Around The World.

Your comment - I don't know why people with YOUR religious bent take everything so personally.
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Your comment reflects defensiveness and bias.

You described Thoreau as a dilettante. You have posted your religious views extensively in DP. Do you really have any clue about my religious views? If so, how?
 
Trippy Trekker said:
I did not read Stranger In The Woods ... nor do I expect to. I read about Chris Knight years ago shortly after his arrest.

I thru-hiked the A.T. south to north in 1981. I read Bill Bryson's A Walk In the Woods, concluding Bryson has very good writing skills far superior to his hiking ability. Bryson only covered about 1000 miles of the more than 2100 mile long A.T. Bryson's movie version of the story flopped.

I had taken interest and read Thoreau's Waldon's Pond before my thru-hike. Jack London's Sea Wolf also inspired my hike. In 1986 at the Clearwater FL public library, I stumbled upon and took great enjoyment from a book by Harry Franck called A Vagabond's Journey Around The World.

Your comment reflects defensiveness and bias.

You described Thoreau as a dilettante. You have posted your religious views extensively in DP. Do you really have any clue about my religious views? If so, how?
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No, I wrote that Knight had called him a dilettante, a point I agree with, with reservations. If you haven't read the book, you have no clue about what makes Knight tick or really what the story is about.

As for my comments about your religion, I was mocking your comments about MY religion, as if that has anything to do with this discussion. As I said, I was not attempting to judge the rightness or wrongness of Knights actions. The real story is in Knights thought processes, the survival story is the vehicle that gets you there. Psychologists quoted in the book have speculated that Knight may have schizoid personality disorder, or Asperger's syndrome. It's a wonder to me that someone can go that long without human contact, ordinary people crack in those circumstances, and there is some evidence that Knight's long isolation left him damaged in some way, to the point where he considered suicide.

Congratulations on being able to hike the A.T. I have never had that much spare time. I still don't.
 
it's just me said:
No, I wrote that Knight had called him a dilettante, a point I agree with, with reservations. If you haven't read the book, you have no clue about what makes Knight tick or really what the story is about.

As for my comments about your religion, I was mocking your comments about MY religion, as if that has anything to do with this discussion. As I said, I was not attempting to judge the rightness or wrongness of Knights actions. The real story is in Knights thought processes, the survival story is the vehicle that gets you there. Psychologists quoted in the book have speculated that Knight may have schizoid personality disorder, or Asperger's syndrome. It's a wonder to me that someone can go that long without human contact, ordinary people crack in those circumstances, and there is some evidence that Knight's long isolation left him damaged in some way, to the point where he considered suicide.

Congratulations on being able to hike the A.T. I have never had that much spare time. I still don't.
Click to expand...

I admire Thoreau's writings and values. Thoreau placed a premium on discretionary time. Thoreau, IMO, had little interest in participating in organized religion, thus, when a person of the cloth criticizes Thoreau, it catches my attention.

I spent the good part of a year in saving and preparing for the A.T. In my 1981 hike, it took 5 months and I spent about $2000 in gear, food and fun. Today a comparable experience would cost $8-10K.

I have willfully pursued a lifestyle intent on creating discretionary time. Self-employment has worked best for me. My investments and endeavors include a mix of passive income sources and real estate deals that can give me 4, 5, and 6 figure paydays.

Peace to you and yours!
 
Trippy Trekker said:
I admire Thoreau's writings and values. Thoreau placed a premium on discretionary time. Thoreau, IMO, had little interest in participating in organized religion, thus, when a person of the cloth criticizes Thoreau, it catches my attention.

I spent the good part of a year in saving and preparing for the A.T. In my 1981 hike, it took 5 months and I spent about $2000 in gear, food and fun. Today a comparable experience would cost $8-10K.

I have willfully pursued a lifestyle intent on creating discretionary time. Self-employment has worked best for me. My investments and endeavors include a mix of passive income sources and real estate deals that can give me 4, 5, and 6 figure paydays.

Peace to you and yours!
Click to expand...

You misunderstand me, Thoreau is simply not to my liking. He's fine for those who do. When Knight called him a dilettante I could see why he might think that.

I know myself and I know that I have a limited attention span, certainly not enough to last for five months. Even if I enjoy something doing it every day for months would be like a job, which was what I was trying to get away from in the first place.

Fortunately I have enough variety in my life to keep things interesting.
 
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