Write a commentThe History Channel is presently running their acclaimed survival series called “Alone”. In this Season 11, ten people are dropped off in the unforgiving Artic Circle. The drop off point is in the McKenzie Delta in Canada. Temperatures can range from 40 degrees to -20.
The prize for the last one standing is $500,000.
Salem’s own Timothy “Timber” Cleghorn was one of the contestants. He picked ten items to take with him with no provisions. All alone, no backup people with him. The ten items he took with him included a sleeping bag, 2-quart pot, ferro rod (fire starter), axe, saw, modified multitool, bow with nine arrows, paracord, snare wire and fishing line with twenty-five hooks.
The History Channel staff gave each contestant five cameras, a tripod and 30 lbs. of batteries to film their adventure. There was no safety staff at all with the participants to save them from dying-- at best it would take 45 minutes for anybody to get to them.
Each of the ten contestants had a designated territory to stay in, and the History Channel had the area marked electronically with a Go Fence.
It so happens that Timber’s area had no eatable roots or berries. He survived on squirrel, pike fish and whatever else he could hunt. In the beginning of the season, Cleghorn shows the skinning method he learned to use on squirrels.
Timber said, “Pike fish was the nastiest thing I ever ate.” He said it was best boiled in the pot to avoid losing its caloric value. Pike are plentiful in the area and several of the other contestants caught and ate them.
His favorite drink was tea made from the Labrador bush. All water had to be boiled.
Some things were off the menu, like grizzly bears, Pine Martins, and Caribou. The Caribou is a source of food for the indigenous tribes living in the northwest area. Contestants were allowed to kill one beaver and one muskrat. This was done as a courtesy and balance of nature for the natives. The channel had to get permission from the Gwich’in tribal council to be there.
Passports were a must. This was not a problem for Timber due to his work as a traveling humanitarian aid worker. “To Tapout,” as it is called to quit, is made with a satellite phone.
How did he get on the show? Coming back to the United States after working in another country, he applied for the show. Basically, through four months of auditions, he was chosen to be on the show.
Cleghorn has been training all his life for his adventure. His father moved the family of 11 to rural Salem when he was seven years old. The family lived off the grid in Twin Creek Bottoms with no electricity. They plowed nine acres of the 128 acres with a horse.
Before milking the cows, Timber would set a trap lines. The cows provided milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products.
He was home schooled. His sister had a car, and he had $500, so they headed to school. He later graduated from The Linguistic Center near Fort Worth.
He worked his way through school building fences. That’s where he met his wife, Cara. They have been married for 14 years. Both shared common interests. They now have two boys, Levi and Elliot, and they are expecting a baby girl in late September. The family now lives near John Hay Lake and have electricity and fiber optics for the computer. The children go to Bradie Shrum Elementary School in Salem.
He describes himself as survivalist, wildman, free thinker, humanitarian aid worker and follower of Jesus.
The series can be watched one of two ways. The History Channel on Thursday or the History Channel app on Friday. The show is up to Episode 5. The History Channel doesn’t mention it, but mice and mosquitoes are a problem and very plentiful .
Timber made the largest kill of all contestants--a 1200 lb. moose. He slaughtered the moose and dressed it out. He dug out a cool spot to store the meat and smoked some of it. The meat had to be protected from all animals in the area. Traveling were wolf packs that howled all night and kept him awake. The only problem he had is a nose bleed.
When asked what else would have taken if he could, he replied, “A salt block to help with hydration.”
The group figured out that the issued GoPro cameras could provide light.
Cleghorn has traveled all over the world and, if he plans on being gone over a year and no danger exists, the family comes along.
Special permission for this interview was obtained from The History Channels’ Kirby Dixon, and photo credits to Brendan Ko Georg.
Be sure to catch Episode 6 and cheer Timber on!
Photos courtesy of Brendan Ko Georg