The Final Frontiersman : Heimo Korth and His Family, Alone in Alaska's Arctic Wilderness
by James Campbell

Heimo is from Appleton, WI and one day in the 1970's he headed north to Alaska and never looked back.

The author (who just happens to be Heimo's cousin) claims Heimo lives more remotely than any other person in Alaska.  He is one of only seven hunter-trappers with a permit to live in the 19.5-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Korth lives with his wife and two daughters 130 miles above the Arctic Circle, the only settlers for more than 500 miles (250 miles from the nearest road).

This is a real page turner.  I always dreamed of giving it all up and moving North. Heimo did it and has a great story to share.

The Beav

Beav, just finished reading about Heimo and family. Definately a great read. I really felt bad when it didn't work out for Rhonda in Wisconsin.
Thanks for the suggestion, KF

Glad you liked it. I was/am surprised no one else responded to this thread...this book should be of interest to any paddler/outdoorsman.

I want to followup with James Campbell to see what Heimo is up to these days.

Yeah, it's a great book...Heimo is a bit older than me but a contemporary...growing up in Wisconsin....he had the 'nads to go up to Alaska and make a life...sometimes I wonder...

Beav

Heimo is probably taking his royalty money and buying a satellite TV and drilling a hole into that giant pool of untapped oil for heating his soon-to-be castle.  With his royalty wealth he can afford to pay some Inuits to do his trapping for him, while he is hot tubbing with a few artic bunnies trying to find the inspiration for his next paycheck/'true' life adventure story.  
I haven't read it but it sounds interesting.
Ever read 'North with the Cree'?  About those 2 teenagers who set out for the arctic from St.Paul.  Written by that newsguy Erik Severide...I think.  Short, but interesting.  Last year I was in the Ely Ice Cream Parlor, and the woman who manages the place said that she and her husband did the same trip the past year....it sounded like quite an adventure, but how much can you really hear over a large chocolate malt ?  She looked as though she made it all in one piece, but I didn't see a wedding ring....so maybe there was more to the story than she was willing to tell a tourist on a just-out-of-woods sugar high.

If you read the book I think you'd realize that Korth is not the kind of man to cash in....or drill for oil. Plus, I doubt he made much money...since he didn't write the book and it was not a bestseller.

The other book you reference is Canoeing with the Cree. Yes, one of the men was Eric Severeid. Another good read.

Beav

One of the greatest things about this book is the detail that Mr Campbell includes in his book about trapping, hunting and all the other necessary skills needed to survive the wilderness.  Heimo's last concern is money and his love for the Alaska wilderness is awesome.  

I found the book to be a great read.  Full of adventure.

dwight---->"Canoeing With the Cree", by Erik Sevareid.

Erik and Walter Port did the trip in approx 1930.  I believe they've both passed on to yonder.  The accomplishment given their age, their gear (or lack of), and the "times" was truely remarkable.

I think similar routes to York Factory have become quite popular (Grand Portage to York, Lake of Woods to York).  Check out this site for an overview, of a recent repeat of the exact Sevareid trip.
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Just ordered the book : The Final Frontiersman
from Amazon!
It sounds like just the kind of adventure I enjoy ;D
Beaver,  I know what you mean by "sometimes I wonder" :-/

In the late sixties I was living in Florida with a buddy, right out of high school and before he got drafted and I enlisted.
We met a British guy who had served in the Royal Navy, American Navy and finally the Australian Navy.
He had bought and was refurbishing a 50 ft sail boat and planned to sail it to Australia and homestead.
He was a certified diver and expert seaman. He wanted my buddy and I to be his crew but WE kind of thought he was a little to effeminate as he dressed like a 60's version of Rod Stewart ;D
We passed on the trip, using being "homesick" as are excuse :-?
He decided to go in a "different" direction and placed a ad in Miami Herald for an all WOMEN crew to sail with him!!!
He got 3 GORGEOUS women to be his crew!!
A marine biologist, a writer and MD ;D
He had a going away party and when we saw his crew, we could of died :-[
We lost touch with him after he sailed and always wondered IF he made it to Australia??
But like my buddy said, " With that crew, who cares" ;D
He probably ended up on a island somewhere with his crew of Mary Ann's and/or Ginger's ;)

Finally finished reading " The Final Frontiersman" ;D
What a great read and real life adventure!
After reading what Heimo Korth and his family go thru on a daily basis just to survive and live in that wild desolate place it makes me realize that man AND woman can survive and prosper in the toughest of conditions when they have the "Right Stuff" ;)
I would say they have that and a love for all that's wild and remote!
To read about his young daughter running her own trap line in the dead of winter is to realize just how soft we've become and how much easier we have it.
I know I won't look at MI winter's in the same way again that's for sure ;)
 Unless your from MN or someplace close to the Canadian border the winter temps they deal with on a daily basis is just unbelievable!

I just ordered "The Final Frontiersman."  Looking forward to getting and reading it.

Reyn

I'm about half way through and loving every page!

Now that I've read the book and had a chance to think about it, I'm struck by how happy they were with so "little" in the way of physical possessions ;D
It always amazes me that when the news programs show some of the poorest living conditions in the world that the people are still able to laugh and appreciate the smallest of kindness's ;)
Meanwhile our daily news is filled with people who no matter what they have are never satisfied :(
People like to make all the cliché comments about money and possessions but without the peace that only comes from within your only fooling yourself.
Heimo and his family are "rich" in ways that a lot of people with money/power/possessions will never have and always long for :(

IMHO this is why camping appeals to many of us.  Life is pared down to the simple basics, you're focused on the day to day activities required to meet your needs and you've distanced yourself (temporarily) from most of the stress involved with living in a crowded society.

I thought of Heimo when watching the Into The Wild movie. Watching the McCandless character butcher the butchering of the moose he shot disturbed me. "Heimo would have known what to do to preserve that meat" I thought while watching the film. You probably couldn't find two more different men in Alaska.

I've emailed James Campbell, author of the book, to find out what/where Heimo is up to these days.

Any know his whereabouts?

Am I the only one that finds the "Romanticizing" of the McCandless guy in the movie the height of hypocrisy coming from the Liberal Hollywood movie community?
Killing a moose and allowing the meat to rot is a sad enough thing to do, but considering how the Celebs embrace the whole PETA animal rights thing, you would THINK they would be up in arms about this?
IF the director of the movie would of been a "conservative" instead of a "home town boy" I bet they would of crucified of him for his choice of subject matter :(
I'm waiting for the HEIMO movie to come out ;)
A story about living the simple life/love of family/ and using the bounty of the wilderness in a simple and respectful way to survive!
I won't hold my breath for a "family" movie like that ::)

solotripper wrote on Nov 15^th, 2007 at 5:55pm:

I'm waiting for the HEIMO movie to come out ;) A story about living the simple life/love of family/ and using the bounty of the wilderness in a simple and respectful way to survive! I won't hold my breath for a "family" movie like that ::)

The_Beaver wrote on Nov 15^th, 2007 at 2:09pm:

I've emailed James Campbell, author of the book, to find out what/where Heimo is up to these days.

Actually....I heard back from Mr. Campbell. He is working on a documentary of Heimo's life...and is not at liberty to discuss anything about Heimo's current life other than to tell me that  "all the Korths are doing well."

The Beaver

That's good to hear!
I wouldn't mind seeing a documentary movie on say PBS about the Korth's?
I really enjoyed the PBS story about the guy( name escapes me now) who lived up in the Alaskan wilderness for 30 some years mostly by himself.
I just really enjoy stories like that and I'm sure others do as well ;)

I just finished the book two nights ago...WOW!  It was so much more than I was expecting.  I was thinking it would be just about a guy who lives in the wilderness, which would have still interested me.  But it was so much more.  I won't reveal the parts that I'm talking about in case someone reads this post before they read the book.  It was very touching and so much deeper than I was expecting.

Really enjoyed it!  Thanks for the recommendation.

Reyn

If you want to read a modern-day account of the Gods River trip to York Factory (similar to "Canoeing with the Cree"), pick up a copy of "Distant Fires" by Scott Anderson. He and Steve Baker, both of Duluth, Minn., made the trip from Duluth to York Factory several years ago as young men. Scott, who was later killed test-flying an aircraft, was a bright and witty guy. He and Steve made no pretense of being expert paddlers, but they got where they were going. The book may be hard to find. It was published originally by Pfeiffer Hamilton Publishers in Duluth.