David Bird Thomson
1 Feb
David Bird Thomson was living in Denver at the end of the 70s when he decided to hop on his mule, buy some flour and head to the mountains, in search of a plot of a land to build his cabin. Sound familiar? Thomson’s account of his quest, In The Shining Mountains, is more tongue-in-cheek than Proenneke (his “mule” was his car and the “trail” was I-70) but the sentiment hits closer to home than One Man’s Wilderness or The Big Sky. Ed Abbey called Thomson ” the Thoreau of the 80′s,” a statement that I wouldn’t quite agree with, because Thomson’s book attacks the “enemies” and truthfully chronicles the trials and tribulations of a guy who wants to live like a mountain man in the modern age. Long story short, it’s hard. And if it’s that hard in the late 70s, 2010 can’t be much easier.
The more interesting story surrounding this book is that Thomson has been missing since July 1st, 1979, just around the time In The Shining Mountains came out. He was last seen in Minnetonka, MN wearing a flannel shirt, jeans and a yin yang necklace.
I hope he found his plot of land.
MP3: Michael Hurley and Betsy Nichols – River In The Rain (thx BTBN)
Maybe he really is IN the shining mountains. Has anybody ever looked there?
I’ve always been fascinated by Thomson’s story, thanks for the post. Keep up the great, great work. Always a pleasure to stop by here.
Never heard of Thomson before. Excited to read his book. Thanks!
Greetings! Did you know David? The family is still looking for Dave. It’s difficult to get support for missing adults however a program called namus.gov is doing a great job and helping families of missing people find closure. Happy Trails,
emmy thomson
Hey, I came across your blog as I was looking for info about this cool book I found in a thrift store over here in Brisbane, Australia. I knew nothing whatsoever about its author – or his disappearance.
I just finished the book and it’s fantastic, unique. It captures the beauty and terror of being alone up there in the mountains and Thomson’s idealism and passion is infectious.
Just thought I’d say thanks for the blog, and encourage your readers to seek out this book. If they like the stuff you cover, they’ll love ‘Shining Mountains’.