I actually met a guy like that many years ago on a fishing trip to the Northwest territories with my father. Sometime after our arrival at the lodge the owner told me about a trapper who, with the exception of his pack of sled dogs, had lived up there by himself since sometime before WWII. He said the man was named Ragner Johnson and he made his living trapping. He also said that, besides some drops of supplies that were flown in a couple times a year, he survived off the land.
I was at the age were I thought yeah right, this is some story they tell all the kids to add some adventure and mystery to the trip. That was until one day as my father and I were on the boat looking for a spot to drop our lines I noticed a guy on the shore waving at us. I told my father, who hadn't seen him yet and not knowing if it was someone in distress he turned the boat toward shore and headed in. Imagine my/our surprise when we pulled up and a grizzled old man wearing a coat made from, I believe, reindeer hide helped pull the boat on shore and then introduced himself as none other than Ragner Johnson. He invited us to sit around his camp, along with his pack of very large sled dogs, and share some trout he had just caught. He also told us about some spots to try out when we went back out. Needless to say they proved to be great fishing spots filled with huge Lake Trout and Northern Pike.
Fascinating doesn't even begin to describe this chance encounter as the man was definitely the genuine article and had me mesmerized as I listened to the dozens of stories he shared about his life alone living off the land in an extremely remote area. I can still see old Ragner Johnson standing on the shore waving at us every time I think about that day.
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