REACHING THE END OF THE TRAIL The Journals of Richard L Proenneke

Originally this volume was merely going to be the last of five volumes encompassing the edited and annotated journals of Richard L. Proenneke spanning the years 1992 through 1996. However, even though RLP ceased keeping a daily journal after 1996 and he continued to live part-time at Twin Lakes he spent a lot of his time house sitting at Port Alsworth. He was in his early 80s and his health was in decline but he was certainly not an invalid at this time. He kept busy grading Glen Alsworth's runway, and going for daily walks with Sandy Lang or Kathie Painter, and sitting in a chair by Leon and Kris Alsworth's garden and barn watching the pigs and chickens.

Brie Anderson suggested I inlucde an Epilogue and cover some of RLP's last years around Twin Lakes and Lake Clark-Port Alsworth. Also elucidated here is an essay on RLP's land status and another on his evolution from sport hunter to guardian of all creatures in his bailiwick. The last part of the Epilogue will be based on conversations with people around Port Alsworth who regularly interacted with RLP between 1996 and the summer of 2000.

Now that this project is complete it is well to sum what is now available to those people who find inspiration in RLP's life at Twin Lakes. The authentic words of RLP chronicling his life in the wilds of Alaska between 1967 and 1996 are arrayed before an interested reader. RLP's output was voluminous and this series has been edited and annotated to present readers with an insiders view of RLP's Twin Lakes and Lake Clark world. I have strived to include all the most remarkable daily occurrences and many of the more mundane yet essential tasks he did keeping body and soul together all these many years of journalizing. In addition, the annotations are designed to provide a fuller picture of the people, wildlife and places RLP encountered in his daily life.