People Near Here; 309; Anne LaBastille: Wilderness Guide

Why don't with us on a wilderness odyssey with a fascinating woman who for decades has guided visitors into the wilds of the Adirondacks and love best deal. And one woman search for her own Walden's Prada. Next on PEOPLE near here. Yeah. Hello and welcome.

You know one of the great things about living in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York is that oftentimes you find yourself in the middle of the wilderness. Six million square acres of wilderness to be exact. But to different people. The word wilderness can mean different things to some it might mean stay away keep out too dangerous but to others it beckons them like a siren's call. Well on this show videographer Paul Frederick and I are going to introduce you to a woman who has lived up here in the wilderness of the Adirondacks for much of her life. She is an accomplished ecologist author and wilderness guide. Her name is Angela best deal and she's going to tell us why it's easy to live alone without being lonely. There she is right there Paul. Hi again. I daresay you've read about that for me here. Thank you so much. Thank you. Ann has an impressive portfolio of scientific degrees honorary doctorate degrees and alumni awards and she is recognized around the world for her advocacy of wildlife and wild places.

Where better to meet her then than at her sanctuary located at the very threshold of the Adirondack wilderness and invited us up for a couple of days to hopefully discover firsthand what can happen when we leave the frantic world behind and tune into the wilderness. Now what year did you go. Oh it's over 30 years ago. It's a gorgeous cabin with thank you come from on the site here. No nothing was cut on my land it was all pristine forest so I had it hired out to cut the logs dumped in the lake I told him I go and winch them up with a big tongs and cable one can pull and then just cut them in the middle and put them swung them into sight over the site. And you did that because there's no roads and no road no trail and the only way the access I have is by boat or can you in the summer and ski and snowshoe in the winter.

You like solitude don't you. I sure do. Why because I can think I can write it makes me feel better bounces the stresses that I face when I go out into public world lecturing during assignments consulting and it makes my life balanced here in the heart of the Adirondacks and has written dozens of articles and a half a dozen books about her life in the wilderness. When she's not here she's usually traveling the world in search of other wild places. Researching for popular articles or scientific papers and like the row firmly believes that in wilderness can be found the preservation of the world and we're going to drag this up you all to the same secret I'm going to carry it with her. And yet we're not.

Come on boys. We were stacked the first you don't watch just you. You see people think you see. I think that's one of the great things about the Adirondacks is that it's beautiful. But it's they're beautiful the Adirondacks are gorgeous but they're unforgiving aren't they. Absolutely. You have to think about that as a guide I would hope. Oh yeah. When I take people out I have to be ready for everything everything that could go wrong. Similar entry to a store in Worcester. Figuring out the weather and running out of food getting the fish hook then

you're wrong and the other one back sometimes won't help you. The willingness won't help you out solo. It's very giving it gives us our firewood it gives us our sunshine and touch beaches it gives us on berries and a few things to eat not much so it's starvation appear when you've never lived off the land very long you wouldn't know. Not appear I don't think and I mean I'm speaking about not fishing and not hunting. Right because you wouldn't be prepared to do that. I don't guide to hunt and fish I guide to teach about the Adirondacks to Sholay ecology to read from my books around a campfire if that's what people want and something told me that the Adirondacks the park is larger than your Samedi. I wrote that in my national geographic growth no matter what I do it is a cemetery Grand Canyon blue Smoky Mountain National Park on Yellowstone and.

One more one rather little one. Yeah I think we're going to put five national parks inside of this park but we're not a national park we're a state park but we have just as good if not better legislation to protect it than most national parks. It's amazing how few people know that the even exists. Whereas one thing I love about living out here in the not only in the park but you know the wilderness because you can drink that water. Most places you go if you're sure there's no human septic getting into the into the lake and of course we have a pollution committee here and we spend a lot of time checking the camps on the lake and we do dye testing week with bare septic

systems but apart from that and even where we are lakes with no people on them I drink the water whenever I feel it safer and I look around pretty carefully but I've never gotten sick in the Adirondacks and never gotten Georgi and never gotten any problem and I believe that while the water I caught while the water is good for you because it. It probably has bacteria in it that are helping your stomach going to beneficial they're not dangerous and it keeps you more fit. And it's a lot better than drinking a coring cocktail from the tap. In my opinion it's a movie with the most kind of them mostly just because it stands for wilderness and the places where the water's pristine and clear where there's not many people where there's an absence or very few big motor boats and jet skis and things that can make a large red

wash over there and killing chicks and they're very faithful to each other and make their keep in touch what they're doing right now is call and say Here I am where you are he say Here I am were you. And they just have an excellent family life the way they raise the chicks and protect them and they're very brave. Anyway when I go swimming in the morning it's it's like a quote from third row who said I often in the morning saw them sail out of my coat and proceed in front of me down Walden Pond. And that's how they feel they are here they're just sitting around waiting around and I come down to take my dip and they're out there and I scour out to them I don't splash at all and I just keep calling very that. Have a very soft call and they don't get scared and I sit there and they look at me you have a nice when I come back you know that's the way I like to start my day concerns

going for the day. Yeah it's going to be a real adventure to spend the winter here in this home with you and your dogs and that's true is it does it ever get scary Foliott a lot. Yeah get skeery very big storms get scary. The fact you could fall and freeze to death on the way would break you would get another cookie would you need to get off. Yeah if you get hurt you have a very limited time to stay alive. Now if you're out you know and nobody knows where you are and I think you probably will remember in my book Woods woman how I wrote about on going out that bitter cold day it was like 25 below zero and there was a north wind blowing and it was just really on a real bone chilling and probably wind chill was about 50 below and I got down to the parking lot and I couldn't get the key. In the lock it was frozen solid and I tried to warm it up with a match and I didn't have a candle and I didn't have a propane torch

and I put it in my mouth and got a word of good by the time I got to the key lock it would freeze and I was the spirit of what I would do is nobody on the lake and the closest neighbor was five miles away. And who do you know why this guy working I worked in putting my hand on the on the the walk and trying to warm it that way breathing on it warming up the key with imagine. Finally it went through and I opened the door but I mean that one little thing like a key could be the difference between possibly freezing to death if I had been able to walk out all that way and find someone or on you know will be in a life and here today. It's simple those things that we do that every day and right can kill you in the world. Absolutely. I love the silence right now. Too quiet. Let me hear the fire

bird. I think that's important it's the soul that quietness. Well yes and that's one of the reasons I love to live out here because there's no road around the lake there's no traffic there's you know on vacation while bored mortar coming out. But this time of year it's it's really quiet and I think of all the things I mourn changing and getting lost in the Adirondacks is silence because nobody thinks about it nobody cares say there is no union for the protection of silence there's no on was about sounds except some wakes have a decibels rating you know 85 or 86 decibels that it's bad for your ears and on the big big boats. But basically there is an element out there ranting and raving about

protecting and saving silence like they do about birds. Another endangered species and the thing about silence I think it's very good for stress and I think it makes you sleep better and it makes me tearful when I think of people in the cities who have to buy a machine that makes white noise to drown out all the cafe any outside. Oh. And when we go in today I think you have to be other pond. My poor little black man and then go out to where I'd have my find a

writing studio and where I'd had my last great so began life for the super And I think to find it's come through but I think the rain's going to stop hopefully. Thunder fans. It's a beautiful day. But then again where the heck are you taking That's your fear. We're going to balsam and this is OK. Smells great. A little

tiny Yeah. At this point you know this is a very private place for me and then my little river will pick up the well heard your voice and get rid of it. Take our time to do a little trail do you hear me. Zander knows the way your country here from here to be ribbon to work and they have not only covered up the trail but three or four feet of

water and mud and everything else. We can move on. Let's go across the bridge over OK. True. You know it's a prison and all of that was not here last

summer. Do you know what I would give for a high cap. You know when you were here I'm sorry for not I wonder who threw you to a very good name.

Go ahead. It was on a rainy day like this. It's great to look at the sun. This is a wonderful little space like this one. It's great and very magic with all these temples going wonderful. Would you read something from your latest book force maybe. I'd be happy to. Yeah.

So talk about the fires that good classes. OK go ahead. Or I'm going to read from my chapter about how I built this place and how much it means to me because I built. I wrote part of it right at that desk and on it on a yellow pad. Let's see a warm spell came in early October and had the wood smelling like Tang and tobacco and mushrooms from the fallen leaves. The lake had its characteristic weedy odor from the overturned or purge as it's called. I slipped my little canoe into the water nudged the dogs into the to be craft and began paddling slowly along every foot of the shoreline. I needed to reconnect with my little lake Chiquita and sand or

fidgeted within the narrow narrow canoe until a flock of geese flew overhead honking loudly. Then the dog sat up and stared. In the last couple of days I counted four hundred and eighty six birds go over mostly in flocks of a hundred and ten. As always the sounds flying geese brought tears to my eyes. So many perils face them head hunters for shotguns would be waiting in camouflage lines autumn storms lead shot. High tension winds and TV towers were all menacing obstacles for every flock passing I put my hands into a prayerful gesture and whispered sky words go fast. Go say Oh hi. Be careful and come back to me in the spring. I

would like to see your force today that's trying to save our planet. I have to say that when they start all over are to stay strong. And I hate to say it but I think it's time we had it out. We had a wonderful time. Thank you. It was the best I

could and I loved having you back here in the edge you always will do this. Now to get back. I just used this map you gave us and here you've got a compass. Yes there are matches. Yes you're right he said Break a leg or Paul goes and we can mark to say that. OK good. And let's just go back to the pun we left with the new baby the Bieb are going to be then back and then he will leave the canoe. Buy your cabin you're going to stay here and right. Oh yes I'm looking forward to what I write to be hearing. It's so peaceful and this is where I really start creating and thinking and contemplating it pours out. Well write another book for us we can't wait. Thanks. Thank you this winter. My thanks.