My favorite TV show is “Alone.” For those unfamiliar, it’s a survival show where 10 contestants are dropped off into an isolated location with ten items of their choosing and are tasked with surviving on their own in the wilderness. They are equipped with video cameras and recording devices and document their experience. The person who lasts the longest wins the competition.
Once they are dropped off, they are tasked with hunting and gathering their own food, and building their own shelters. Typically, the winner lasts anywhere from 60 to 100 days on their own. Anyone that earns a spot on the show and puts themselves in that situation has my automatic respect and is an inspiration to me.
I follow one of the previous contestants, Callie Russell, on Instagram. She came in second place on the 7th season of the show and was out there for 89 days before being extracted from the show due to frostbite risks. I came across an outdoor skills retreat she was promoting back in the spring. It took place in Cottonwood, Arizona, and would be an entirely off-the-grid, weeklong experience called “Wool Week.”
This year, I decided I needed to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone in a new way. I often find myself wanting to do something but don’t have anyone to join me. I was hesitant to sign up at first but decided to join the retreat on a whim and went to it by myself. I am so glad I decided to go, and it ended up being one of the coolest experiences of my life!
I learned how to preserve sheep hide and how to use sheep wool to make different things through the process of felting. I participated in the process of taking a live duck and preparing it for dinner on the last night of the trip. Throughout the day, in between our tasks, we would hang out with their herd of goats and go swimming in the nearby creek. Since there were only nine other people who signed up for the retreat, we all got to know each other well, and I ended up with some very cool new friends from all walks of life who live all over the United States.
By the end of the week, I was truly sad to leave what we called “Hide Camp.” I think about this experience often and draw on it as inspiration to follow my interests, regardless of how it might be perceived or if it means I must go by myself.
