1C
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017
CONTACT US
Erick Bengel | Weekend Editor
ebengel@dailyastorian.com
WEEKEND
BREAK
FOLLOW US
facebook.com/
DailyAstorian
ExpEriEncing ‘AlonE’ part ii
SURVIVAL AND PREPAREDNESS: THE TACTICAL TOOLS
AND PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO STAYING ALIVE
Photos by Aaron Breniman
Workshop participants at Hug Point during the Experience “Alone” wilderness living and survival skills workshop held near Nehalem.
By AARON BRENIMAN
For EO Media Group
This is part II of our Experience ‘Alone’
series. Part I focused on the duo who ran the
workshop; this installment focuses on the
workshop itself, recently held near Nehalem.
hen I fi rst saw History’s hit show
“Alone,” I wanted to know more
about the contestants, what they
learned and how the experience changed
them.
The show features 10 contestants dropped
off in the remote ruggedness of Vancou-
ver Island, British Columbia, in a who-can-
stay-the-longest reality survival competition.
Contestants bring limited survival equip-
ment and fi lm themselves.
When I learned that two of the show’s
contestant were hosting an
“Experience Alone” wilderness
skills workshop deep in the foot-
hills of the Oregon Coast Range,
just outside of Nehalem, I knew
I had to get there.
The contestants: Alan Kay,
a former Georgia corrections
offi cer and self-defense instruc-
Aaron
tor, who outlasted the other
Breniman
nine contestants in the show’s
fi rst season; and Nicole Apelian, a scientist,
mother, educator, expeditionary leader, safari
guide, herbalist and traditional skills instruc-
tor who fi nished fourth on Season No. 2.
Apelian splits her time between the
Nehalem property and her Portland home.
Diagnosed with MS in 1999, she found a
deep connection to nature as a path toward
healthy living.
“The last 15 years I’ve been doing pretty
well, and I still have episodes. Things still
creep up, and what I usually do is go back to
the woods,” she said.
During the immersive fi ve-day work-
shop, I and the other participants deep-dived
into survival psychology.
“I think we’re capable of so much more
than we give ourselves credit for,” Kay said.
“We don’t realize how strong we really are.
We’re survival machines.”
W
LEFT: Alan Kay demonstrates producing fire using the hand-drill technique, one of many tools available in a survival
scenario. RIGHT: Workshop host Nicole Apelian, who finished fourth in the second season of History’s “Alone.”
Fire starters
Workshop
participants
collect muscles
from Hug Point.
Guests converged on the property: A
mother from Vancouver, Washington; a for-
mer marine and safety consultant, also from
Vancouver; a yoga instructor and student
See ALONE, Page 2C