Christopher Knight decided one day in 1986 at 20 years old he would disappear into the woods and never come out again and that is almost exactly what he did. This is the true story of Knights 27 year long adventure in the forest living alone and surviving by pillaging surrounding vacation camps and living off the land seeing humans face to face only once during which time he asked the ice fishers to please not tell anyone they saw him. They didn’t until years later when a sheriff wanting to catch the “Hermit in the Woods,” stayed in what appeared to be an abandoned cabin and arrested Knight when he came in to pillage. In all fairness to Knight one of his teachers did come forward in his defense to say that he had taught his class how to survive out in the woods and told his class that if you were out in the woods and came upon a cabin or settlement that no one was at and you needed food to survive it was totally o.k. to break in and take what you needed to survive that people would understand. This must have stuck with Knight as he would break in to cabins/homes in the woods on occaision after having staked them out to see that no one was there. He would watch also during the Spring, Summer and Fall to see when people were around and when they weren’t. Once he knew they were gone for the season if he needed to he would break in take only what he could carry back to his camp and never disturb anything of value or take anything new. He did however, take batteries and an old black and white t.v., an out dated game system and food. He would sometimes take clothing if his was worn out, but never did he take everything only what he specifically needed. He did dress rather well as most of the items of clothing were good quality and often name brands though that did not mean anything to him – he was just trying to keep warm and clothed. He only stayed inside a cabin one night the first winter he was out there sleeping in a warm bed but decided that was a bad idea and afraid of being caught he never did that again. During the winter he only went out when there was ice on the ground as going out in snow left tracks. He would go out in the snow to forage if a snowfall was coming down to cover his tracks. Though people missed a thing or two here and there they chalked it up to losing it themselves, or their kids taking it. I don’t want to give too much of the story away. It is a good story of a man who just had enough of the outside world and all the people in it. He just went away and disappeared and his story is interesting and well told, though I bawlk at the second part of the title. Knight never thought of himself as a hermit and doesn’t fit the profile as he didn’t live entirely in solitude as he did keep up on the news on t.v. so he wasn’t totally out of touch and he wasn’t pristine and unsullied by the things of the world because he did partake of “things” from time to time and particularly loved candy – swiping a bag of Halloween candy he once came upon after breaking into a cabin. He wasn’t out wearing sackcloth chanting a mantra nor eating grubs and vegetation he found or planted. He wasn’t meditating on a higher power he was just away yet close enough. The author, though well meaning did tend to badger the poor guy and stalk him a bit not to mention going around talking to anyone he pilfered, anyone who knew him from his early years and even his teachers. His family would not divulge any information. I get it that the author felt it a good story to tell and one he tried to tell fairly but the author also did encroach on the poor man’s privacy and did tell things that were told to him in confidence by the subject. Many lines were crossed some were honest moral dilemmas but where does one respect another’s choices and honor the trust given them? A number of ethical questions arise in this story. It was well told by both the author and the subject, Christopher Knight.
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