Dead or drowned... Bushcraft can't get any tougher than this!

[jojo]

Albert Faille, Nahani River guide, looking for gold. One tough old Man. Whatever his motivation was, I don't think it was the gold. That's just his excuse.

 

[Matt.S]

That is astounding.

Of course these days all them drums of fuel would be worth more than any gold he might find...

 

[helixpteron]

Remarkable fitness, determination and ability, utterly incredible given his age!

I shuddered when the commentary stated that he got scurvy and pulled his own teeth with pliers!

The thing is, this degree of stamina and fortitude was simply normal, imagine the 'Big Mac and Nintendo' generation having such willpower and physical drive?

 

[Ph34r]

He clearly liked being outdoors, so i agree - the gold may have been an excuse - but i bet it would hhave come in handy!

 

[jdlenton]

This guy gets mentioned in Dangerous river a great book about the Nahanni and living in dead mans valley IIRC the author travel with him as he goes up the Nahanni for the first time

 

[milius2]

Gold? He did this for gold?
Neeeee... Man who spent most of his life alone does not need gold. Or am I wrong?
How did he ended?

 

[jojo]

I found this about this remarkable man. There are a few more things about him on the net.

Albert Faille (1887-1973)
Albert Faille’s life in the Canadian North was exceptional.
Had his early years in Minnesota given him greater access to a
formal education, he might well have achieved great fame
even earlier in life. With the formal training unavailable to
him, and with the firsthand experience he gained in the then uncharted
wilderness of the Mackenzie Mountains, Faille
might have been a member of the Explorer’s Club and might
have attained public notice through writing and lecturing on
northern Canadian land exploration.
Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Faille spent his early years
working in lumber camps, guiding tourists on canoe trips in ,-
the lake district, and trapping fur-bearing animals in the winter
months. After serving in the armed forces in World War I, he
immigrated to Canada in 1927, coming directly to the South
Nahanni River via the Mackenzie waterway and Fort
Simpson.
Albert Faille was a simple man with no pretensions, a scanty
formal education, and little knowledge of the academic world.

But he was an excellent woodsman, and having spent much of
his life on inland waters, he grew remarkable in ,his ability ‘to
navigate fast-flowing mountain streams. An inveterate
“loner” without being”eccentric or irascible, he had an unerring
sense of direction and would often spend the summer
months exploring mountain passes and valleys.

In winter he trapped fur-bearing animals in order to pay for
his supplies and equipment. Each summer in June, he came
down the rivers to Fort Simpson, which at that time was an
isolated trading-post at the junction of the Liard and Mackenzie
rivers. He travelled by dog-team in winter; in summer, he
walked overland with a pack on his back or canoed on the
navigable streams. These explorations took him into areas
where few, if any, white men had walked before.

Beginning in the 1950s, he appeared in three different television
documentaries wherein it was suggested that his obsession
was to find a lost placer gold deposit. He did indeed spend
much time in that fruitless search, but those who knew him
well realized that it was a deep love for the woods, the
wilderness, and the fast-moving mountain streams that
amounted to an obsession, rather than the search for gold
itself.
Men who knew him, and who lived the same kind of life
Albert Faille lived, were impressed with the quality of his
character, his temperament, and his abilities. While he was
neither a saint nor an exceptionally wise man, he was quietly
self-assured, never allowing himself to panic and always cool
in the face of danger, even in the most hazardous situations.
He came near to death many times. In his later years, he sometimes
used outboard motors on his travels. His mechanical aptitude
in servicing these -machines was amazing; he seemed,
for instance, to have an intuitive understanding of magnetos.
Faille’s temperament was equally impressive. He was invariably
optimistic and always cheerful, a disposition that
became manifest after he had spent extended periods of up to a
full year totally alone in the bush. When he encountered his
fellow man after these periods of isolation, his mental
equilibrium, good humour, and downright sanity were noted.

His faults and shortcomings were few. He was perhaps overly
sensitive to criticism, and he had an assiduous respect for
those with authority, power, or great wealth. Quite understandably,
he enjoyed the degree of fame that came to him in
his declining years.

In retrospect, it can be seen that the contribution Albert
Faille made to Canada’s North was twofold. Largely as a
result of press publicity he generated, public attention was
drawn to the remarkably scenic areas of the South Nahanni
River and its Virginia Falls. Canadian federal authorities took
note, and following Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s trip into
the region by airplane and river boat, the present Nahanni National
Park was created.

The second part of his contribution was inadvertent and less
obvious, but just as real and perhaps of a more profound importance:
interest in Albert Faille and his life as a trapper,
prospector, and explorer inspired several writers to record his
exploits in the North. Both adults and children now know of
Faille at first-hand through these accounts. The writings in
turn have led to a more extensive and accurate picture of the
life of a northern pioneer and have laid to rest some of the
misconceptions of early life in the Canadian North.
At the age of 70, he still plied the waters of the South Nahanni
River with his little wooden boat. He passed away quietly
early in 1973 at the age of 86.

 

[Gill]

I watched the films of this great man several weeks back and was mesmerised by the strength and courage he possessed ,i could hardly believe the river he went up all unphased ,smoking his pipe and not to mention the portages jesus , a great man with superhuman strength indeed.

 

[ragamuffin]

the music on the film reminded me of star trek the origional series. i half expected spock to jump out and say ''its life jim but not as we know it'' lol then bones would say ''damit jim am a docter not a miricle worker''.

 

[Matt.S]

the music on the film reminded me of star trek the origional series.

Same here. Similar time period, same country -- possibly the same music dude (to use the technical term).

 

[J4C3]

Seems like Curly from city slickers was based upon a real guy,the sad part is the modern world lacks more men like him.

 

[helixpteron]

Attitudes and aspirations change throughout the generations.

A person whom willingly spent that much time alone would be labeled a 'loner' with the negative conotation the term now carries.

Rather than focus on the determination and skills needed to simply survive in such conditions, the modern commentators would probably portray a 'negative' 'anti-social', 'unable to fit in', 'shuns society', type personality.

They'd probably also question the mental acuity of any person that chose such a lifestyle!

 

[ragamuffin]

Attitudes and aspirations change throughout the generations.

A person whom willingly spent that much time alone would be labeled a 'loner' with the negative conotation the term now carries.

Rather than focus on the determination and skills needed to simply survive in such conditions, the modern commentators would probably portray a 'negative' 'anti-social', 'unable to fit in', 'shuns society', type personality.

They'd probably also question the mental acuity of any person that chose such a lifestyle!

i hate that negative attitude some ppl have for the strange or the unfamiliar. ppl should relish new idea's and appreciat the old idea's that have worked for hundreds of years. i think the general public just become complacent an take life for granted. too scared to come out of there bubble they have created. probably a consecuence of the social circle they have become aquainted.

 

[BOD]

Of course one should lock up and institutionalise crazy old loners like that for their own good.

Running around in the wilderness with long hair and beards - Jesus, , John the Baptist, Mohamed, Moses, Buddha etc.

 

[luke_s]

A remarkable man indeed, but sadly quite unknown in this place and time.

 

[superc0ntra]

I finally got around to seeing it. Very interesting picture of a remarkable man. I'd never heard of him before.