My Hogan Journal

By Dennis Lantz

In May of 1995, I went to live in the woods for the summer. Not the deep forest or wilderness, just the small tree patches on my family farm. I did not go alone to this natural sanctuary, which we called Gentlewoods. Mark stayed with me. Jon and others visited frequently. Those were different times. No one I knew had a cell phone. No Facebook, Google or Twitter tracked us, labeled us or caused us to reach out desperately for some small measure of momentary comfort. 

Life was simpler. Life was good.  

Many times in the twenty-five years since, I have contemplated writing a book about my experiences. I have my journals and could readily interview most of those mentioned within. But I haven’t… for various reasons. Some of the memories and thoughts are too personal. Others are too mundane. But the essence or spirit of that period in my life is too important not to share. So today I begin that process.   

Over the upcoming months I will post some of those journal entries from that spring and summer. 

Prior to May 1995, I spent nearly two years building a hut to stay in. I called it my hogan because it was similar in structure to a Navajo dwelling. But the design was far more primitive. I stacked logs between sunken posts. I notched and alternated overhead beams. I filled the gaps with chunks and twigs and clay… I covered the entire hut with more mud, then hay, leaves and other forest debris.

Today I will start with a journal entry that was written only four years ago. And in the upcoming weeks we will go farther back in time and share the adventure.

…

8/31/2016 – Today I went for a walk in the woods. Every hour of freedom seems to increase in importance when I have a day off from work and so there were multiple reasons for this journey.  I was looking for winter firewood and I was searching for trees that I might someday saw up into lumber. However, the primary reason for my brief stroll was to take a closer look at the area of land where, twenty-one years ago, I spent many formative hours.

The hogan has fallen and is now nothing more than a small pile of debris. A section of rubber roofing, which kept water from coming through the skylight, is the only non-natural remnant within the pile. The cut ends of logs are covered with green moss and are quickly decomposing according to the natural law in wet woodland. The awning which covered the entrance, made from hardwood boards nailed to two poles, is also recognizable within the pile, but it too will soon disappear.

I have recently finished editing my notes written during a three month journey back in 1995. You will not get much of the back story from this journal, but for many years I had thought about going into the woods to learn about the natural world and about myself. When the original idea came to me I cannot say, having grown up reading Thoreau, Twain, the westerns of Louis L’Amour and many other authors whose connection to nature I shared. There has always been something in me that appreciated nature and understood that it was a comforting presence, not a challenging force to be overcome. I realize that some castigate Thoreau as a fraud because he was reliant upon so many people during his stay at Walden; most notably Emerson upon whose land he built and his family for other support. If Thoreau is guilty of exaggerating his independence, then I make no claim whatsoever that it was my intention to be free. I had family obligations and you will see that reflected in the journal entries. I just wanted to learn. I just wanted to live.

The editing of the journal was done to make the words more readable, not to change their content in any way. I did not omit a single entry and everything I added was for clarification. As you will see, there is much within the entries that will make me look less than steadfast. I didn’t change these to make me look better. 

While I tried to put in as few additions as possible, where I did, I clearly marked them. 

It amazes me daily how the world has changed. The age of technology was just beginning when the journal was written. At the time I thought people would be getting closer to nature and that the goodness within us would prove stronger than the evil nature of the corrupt spirit. I couldn’t have been more wrong. While there is still good, the world today is rife with selfishness and the desire to control others. Libertarians like me struggle to be left alone as much as possible. It is not possible, entirely.

It certainly was fascinating to live through the technological changes that have already occurred and to glimpse the ideas that will shape the world to come. Amazing is an understatement. I am not anti-technology, but I am entirely pro-privacy. It would have been a different experience back in 1995 if we had had cell phones and posted our exploits on social media. Perhaps our message would have reached more people, but it goes without saying that the lessons would have been different.Certainly we would have had pictures.

I do not yet believe that America has fallen, but the fundamental values system that made us “good” has been destroyed. Back then I still believed in American Exceptionalism, even if it wasn’t true. Back then I thought that a good heart was enough to bring success, especially if backed up by hard work. I thought that happiness was obtainable and sustainable within the confines of our society. I thought that everyone would eventually think as I thought.  

Luckily, ideas and societal norms are cyclical. They come and go and then come again. Self-reliance will again become a beacon that our fellow humanity will strive toward and the concepts of freedom, liberty and justice will again carry the power they deserve.

Until next time,

Read, Learn, Live