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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2017
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ExpEriEncing
‘AlonE’
TWO CONTESTANTS ON HISTORY’S HIT SHOW DISCUSS
NATURE, SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND COMMUNITY
Apelian said. “I think that’s one
of the biggest problems we have
in our society: We’ve lost that
connection with nature and with
community.”
Kay, 42, owns and operates
Wildland Studies Group, which
offers instruction and consulting
in wilderness survival, self-de-
fense and preparedness. Kay
worked as a corrections offi cer in
Georgia, where he grew up and
currently resides.
“I remember, as a kid, I would
look at our lives and I would think,
‘This is out of balance,’” he said.
“Even as a kid, it was obvious to
me … I just sought out people that
could teach me that, and I learned
little by little how to reconnect
with older ways of doing things.”
By AARON BRENIMAN
For EO Media Group
y
ou learn many things
about yourself when
you’re alone.
And for Alan Kay and Nicole
Apelian, two former contestants
on History’s hit show “Alone,”
their experiences of being alone
have changed their lives.
The show features 10 contes-
tants in a who-can-stay-the-lon-
gest survival situation after being
dropped in the
remote rugged-
ness of Vancou-
ver Island, Brit-
ish Columbia.
Contestants on
the show fi lm
themselves and
bring limited sur-
Aaron
vival gear.
Breniman
Kay,
who
fi lmed his experience in fall 2014,
won the show’s fi rst season, out-
lasting the other contestants by
staying in the wilderness 56 days.
Apelian fi lmed hers in fall 2015
and competed on Season No. 2,
fi nishing fourth when she chose
to leave after 57 days.
Apelian, 47, was born in Mas-
sachusetts and now splits her time
between her home in Portland and
her property in the foothills of the
Oregon Coast Range when not
traveling, teaching and guiding.
She is a mother, biologist, expedi-
tion leader, wellness coach, herb-
alist and wilderness skills instruc-
tor, as well as CEO and founder of
Eco Tours International. She was
a game warden in Africa with the
U.S. Peace Corps and later lived
among the Bushmen while com-
pleting her doctorate.
Instead of focused on to-do
lists, she advocates for a life of
nature and connectivity, fully
realizing its healing abilities after
being diagnosed with multiple
sclerosis in 1999.
“That restorative power of
nature is superbly strong. We
all need nature connection,”
In recovery
Photos by Aaron Breniman
Apelian (foreground) and Kay collect muscles and discuss food sources in
the intertidal zone at Hug Point during a recent Experience Alone Wilder-
ness Skills workshop held near Nehalem.
COMING NEXT WEEK
Aaron Breniman will cover the ‘Experience Alone’ workshop skills,
practical applications and takeaways to be better prepared
to survive in the wilderness and everyday life.
The two connected after Ape-
lian’s season on the show aired, a
time when she was struggling to
recover from her experience and
transition back to normal life.
“It was really good,” she said,
“because here was someone all of
a sudden who understood exactly
what I had been through and
knew what it was like to transi-
tion home.”
When they fi rst met last fall
in the lobby of the UN hotel in
downtown New York City, the
noisy, urban location was just
about the last place either of them
would choose to be.
Then they went and compared
knife collections, Apelian said,
laughing.
They both acknowledge chal-
lenges reintegrating into every-
day life following their stints on
the show.
“I’m still adjusting to being
back in society,” Kay said. “I
don’t think I’ll ever fully recover.
It’s an experience that changes
you.”
The exposure from the show
now allows them new opportuni-
ties and audiences, and to do what
See ALONE, Page 2C
LEFT: Apelian, right, and Kay review their ‘everyday carry’ kits with participants at a recent Experience Alone Wilderness Skills workshop, held
on Apelian’s property near Nehalem. RIGHT: Apelian (far left) and participants (from left) Sara Crawford of Wyoming, Shane Connors of Portland,
and Tom Weathers of South Carolina, in front of Soapstone Creek at a recent Experience Alone wilderness workshop.