Our alumni are awesome. The latest public example of this will be airing on the Discovery Channel this Sunday. Ryan Holt, who often goes by his Appalachian Trail thru-hiker nickname Yukon (pictured above) will be on Naked & Afraid for the fourth time, where he’ll be spending 21 days alone, naked, but not afraid in South Africa living off the land. We touched base this morning and he told me it was his favorite experience on the show yet; no human drama, just a man on the land.
Just about every Maine news organization is running an article on Ryan and the show this week. Check out this one from the Bangor Daily News, reprinted at WGME. It’s a great read by Aislinn Sarnacki and covers his background and the challenges he has faced in the field.
One of the awesome things about running the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School over the years has been watching people set goals, then go out and achieve them. When Ryan was a student on a fall semester course years ago, I remember him explaining that he was going to build a hostel and lodge in the western Maine mountains, get his guide license, and start a business supporting hikers and veterans. Now it’s a few years later and he has his guide license, has built a beautiful lodge and hostel in the mountains of western Maine, and is running a robust business supporting veterans and hikers (The Human Nature Hostel) that keeps him busy. Oh, and he’s also a bonafide television star.
Ryan and I are looking to get together to record a podcast in the near future. Until then, here are a few things about him:
- United States Marine Corps Veteran
- Appalachian Trail Through Hiker
- Registered Maine Guide
- Jack Mountain Alumnus
- Owner of The Human Nature Hostel in Roxbury, Maine, where he guides trips and operates a hostel and lodge supporting AT hikers. On his site are links to a variety of social media.
“Naked and Afraid: Alone” starring Ryan Holt — Season 11, Episode 2 — will start at 8 p.m. on Jan. 26, on the Discovery Channel. The show will begin with an origin story in which Holt narrates clips from his experiences on his show and shares information about his past. The last hour of the show, from 10-11 p.m., will be his latest challenge in Africa. The episode will also be available on the app Discovery GO. And the next day, it will be available for purchase on Amazon.
– From the WGME article linked above.
