20 Years Of Thought
By Austin Jewell
Seen Above the Chisana River in Chisana, Alaska
Mountain Man Matthew is what they call him. From a college student to mountain man, now a teacher, he has lived an experience that I think is worth sharing. Today I have an awesome opportunity to introduce you to Matthew. He is very private, so much he asked for only his first name to be used and does not allow for many to hear his stories, so that is why I am so pleased to be sharing them with you today. So without further ado let me introduce you to Mountain Man Matthew.
Could you tell us a little background on yourself?
I was a pretty mellow kid growing up. I spent most of my time outside and by myself. My dad used to joke that I was going to turn into a tree and disappear. We lived in Columbia, Missouri. Dad was plumber, mom stayed at home with me. We lived in the suburb. Everything there was fine and normal. I had everything any kid could possibly want: love, family and chocolate on demand. When I went to college I went to the Montana State University and was going to major in teaching and philosophy. What drew you outside?
Well it's more or less what, but why, the day before my college graduation ceremony, I had received a phone call. It was my aunt and she was sobbing and it was very hard to hear what she was saying. When it did become clear I realized that she was trying to say that my parents were struck by a drunk driver and that they were killed. She said some other things, but I didn’t hear them. I remember just feeling alone. That's what prompted me to just leave. I felt that I had no one anymore. I remember grabbing my essentials from my dorm and throwing the rest in the dump. Next thing I know I was jumping a train west and kept going, whether walking or hitchhiking, till I finally could no longer do it. I would so come to find out that I was in Chisana, Alaska.
Was it a difficult change?
For the first few months it was definitely hard getting used to, especially since I was living in a shelter made of mud, leaves and sticks. It wasn’t till I finished the tree house that things started to become smooth sailing. I remember on my second day I had just gotten my first fish from the river. As I was gutting it I remember hearing a sound from the trees, and seeing a tuft of brown fur make its way out from the tree line. This would be the first grizzly I would see. I remember seeing it and crapping myself. We just looked for each other for what felt like an eternity, but after a while I just threw the fish at him and we went our ways.
What was the easiest or hardest challenge?
The hardest thing was with no challenge the first winter. I haven't completely finished my first shelter and the cold was brutal on me. I just remember feeling so much regret and just wanting to go back home, but knowing that it was no longer there was very tough and worse than the cold. Very few things were easy out there but one thing that was surprisingly easy was the ability to be happy. I could be myself and do whatever I wanted without anyone telling me otherwise.
What Did You Do For Fun?
Well I didn’t really have a lot of extra time for the first couple of years until I started to get a rhythm going. I would usually just swim or hike, trying to find new areas. I also used to carve pieces of spare wood into little figurines. I remember one the squirrels I used to feed extra berries to would be afraid of the little Darth Vader statue I carved and wouldn't come near me till I took it down.
What made you leave?
I can't really tell you what brought me back specifically, one thing was I broke my arm and the winter was coming up and I couldn't chop enough wood. Then as if things couldn’t get any worse there was the largest storm I have ever seen, I was sitting in my workshop area I made next to my tree house since the tree would sway in the strong wind and make me throw up. Long story short the tree house and food storage didn’t make it and was destroyed and with my broken arm I just had enough. So the next morning I packed my stuff and headed towards my aunts in Missoula, Mt hoping she still lives there.
Is there anything you miss?
Hmmm… I would say the quiet
What was one thing you took from the wild?
Physically, a grizzly hide and mentally
What is your favorite food?
People these days really underestimate the power that french fries carry.
Would you ever go back?
Honestly I don't know. I got what I needed at the time, a place to clear my head and find myself. I won’t say it was perfect all the time but there are times when I sit in line at the bank that I do miss it. I have talked about it with my wife and she is skeptical about wiping her a** with leaves, but I think I could convince her. My final answer though is we will see in time.
I knew the moment I sat down with Matthew this was going to be a good interview, but that's just the way he is always having something worth listening too. I hope you took something from this interview, whether it be a lesson, just a cool story or maybe a nugget of inspiration. Personally I can say I got out much more than I put in this interview, but that is just Matthew as a person. His teachings did not end in the classroom but just start once we left it. I want thank Matthew for opening up his life and sharing, he made for something worth sharing.