I Cried All the Way; Man Who Has Been Living in the Woods with No Electricity or Running Water for 40 Years
- Ken Smith left civilization in the 1980s at the young age of 26 to begin living all alone in the woods
- The UK citizen took abode in a hand-made log cabin on the banks of a remote loch in the Scottish Highlands for about 40 years
- Smith decided to move into the woods after he was beaten up by a gang of thugs after a night out
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In sharp contrast to trying to make ends meet for a better living in the UK, a man decided to be living all alone in the woods.
The hermit identified as Ken Smith has now lived in the woods with no electricity and running water for about 40 years of his life, Indy100 reports.
What informed his decision to be a hermit
BBC News reports that Ken had a serious rethink about living in civilization after he was severely beaten by a group of thugs during a night out.
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He was 26 years old when that incident happened and suffered a brain haemorrhage as well as lost consciousness for 23 days.
Ken said medics had believed he would never recover from unconsciousness and even if he does, wouldn't be able to speak.
"They said I would never recover. They said I would never speak again," he says.
"They said I would never walk again but I did.
"That's when I decided I would never live on anyone's terms but my own."
He would later learn of his parents demise. Ken said he cried all the way while he walked looking for the perfect place to choose as an abode.
How he lives in the woods
Ken had always had a thing for building things and even built fire stations as a teenager.
In the woods, he built a log cabin using woods, this is after he had experimented on it using small sticks.
He feeds on vegetables grown in the woods as well as forages.
Though he would later suffer a stroke while out in the snow and was airlifted (thanks to a GPS tracker given to him by the BBC team that followed his story) for treatment in Fort William, Scotland, Ken returned to the woods to continue his life as a hermit.
Man who hadn't had his bath in 67 years
Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported about a man who hadn't had his bath in 67 years.
According to locals, Haji is always covered in ash and dirt and has not taken the literal plunge because he's afraid of water. The 87-year old believes that if he takes a bath he will fall ill.
The old man's diet also strangely consists of rotten meat products and dead animals. He especially enjoys eating porcupines and smoking his tobacco pipe. Haji sometimes even smokes animal faeces from the old pipe.
Although the old man does not believe in bathing, he reportedly drinks about five litres of water every day from a rusty tin.
Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.