Alec is a landscape photographer and outdoors storyteller with a zeal for pushing boundaries in the wild. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, and visiting remote places, allowing him to photograph locations the rest of the world shies away from. In addition, Alec loves to write about his travels and craft articles that help educate and inspire others to find their joy in nature.
Winter TV Talk: Alone vs Outlast + New Outdoor Docs to Watch
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Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays. However you plan to enjoy this upcoming weekend, I hope it brings you joy, full bellies, and lots of laughs. We're headed to central Oregon to enjoy some sun (and freezing temps), but the vitamin D will be lovely! (Scroll to the bottom to see my REI Sale Picks.) Let's Talk TV: Alone vs OutlastThe premise of Outlast and Alone: Contestants are dropped into a remote part of Alaska or Canada (or elsewhere) and need to survive off the land or tap out. Where they diverge: Alone contestants are literally alone and have to fend for themselves. They also film their own footage. Outlast is a group setting with a single rule: 'There are no rules.' They do not film themselves. With crummy weather comes some TV watching. During summer, our TV is rarely on, but now, with complete darkness at 5pm, there's not a lot else to do up here. Two shows we've been watching are Alone and Outlast. Now, Alone is not at all new - but it's new to me. Jaimie introduced it to me when she was sick back in August, and we've been enjoying the pretty landscapes and learning a thing or two about surviving on your own. I enjoy it for its simplicity, and it's not a soap opera-type show. Just bare bones, seeing people handle adverse situations, being literally alone, and learning a thing or two about themselves in the process. I find the strategy of what to focus on and how to live in the wild fascinating. We also recently watched the first season of Outlast, and oh boy! While it has the same overall premise of being dropped into the middle of nowhere and having to live off the land, the drama in that show is unhinged! (Note: We just started S2, so this is only about S1). I don't particularly enjoy Outlast, if I'm being honest. There's far too much bickering, infighting, deception, and, at least in the first season, playing into people's animal instincts that bring out the worst in them. In true Netflix fashion (it is a Netflix-produced show, after all), it's meant to keep people watching and act as a modern-day soap opera. I will say that the show does provide some good conversation starters about human psychology and ethical and moral dilemmas. But it will make you question how decent humans are just to win money. If you're choosing between the two, looking for more wholesome content, and focusing on how someone might live off the land without outside drama, Alone wins for me. If you've seen them both, let me know your thoughts! Here are two adventure documentaries I've seen recently that I believe you'll love. And send me recommendations for what you've recently watched! The Devil's Climb, Disney Plus/NatGeo: Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell tackle one of Alaska's epic rock climbs. The visuals in this are absurd. One of my new favorites! Endurance, Disney Plus/NatGeo: In 1915, the ship Endurance got stuck in Antarctic sea ice, forcing the crew to live in the most miserable conditions for over a year. This documentary combines the expedition's history with trying to find the sunken ship that had previously been unfound. It's a little slow at times, but the story is fascinating and basically unbelievable - except that it's real! Have you..... Purchase your 2025 Scenic Calendar and have it by Christmas! Gear Corner for the REI SALEThe REI November Pre-Black Friday sale ends today, November 25, so take advantage of those last-minute deals! These are some that I recommend.
Remember, REI members get 20% off one full-priced item
Subscribe to my YouTube!I've been working away on my latest video from our five days in Alaska. I hope to finish it before heading out for our Thanksgiving weekend festivities. Make sure you're subscribed so you get notified when it goes live. (I need at least 500 subscribers to monetize the page, so clicking the button really helps!) Winter Flightseeing at Denali in Alaska Snowshoeing at Mount Rainier Everything I brought to photograph bears in Alaska |
Hi! I'm Alec, an outdoor writer, photographer, and content creator.
Alec is a landscape photographer and outdoors storyteller with a zeal for pushing boundaries in the wild. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, and visiting remote places, allowing him to photograph locations the rest of the world shies away from. In addition, Alec loves to write about his travels and craft articles that help educate and inspire others to find their joy in nature.
Happy Friday! I have two exciting treats for those who enjoy wild animals and travel! I've been hard at work with a couple of new YouTube videos. The first is from my Rwandan safari last September that I put off. I finally hunkered down and got it published a couple of days ago. It's a fun two-day recap. Then, today, I just released 11 minutes of highlights from Alaska with brown bears. It's some of the best footage I've shot, and I'm super stoked with how it turned out. I'd love for you to...
I'm back from 12 days in Alaska and slowly trying to remember how to live life in the Lower 48, where I can't look out my window and see 7 bears in a meadow. But my gosh, my time in Alaska reminded me how special the state is and how much natural beauty is out there that hasn't been touched by overdevelopment and commercialization. If you haven't been before, I strongly recommend it. 6 Days at Brown Bear Bay Lodge Let's chat about Brown Bear Bay Lodge and the incredible trip I just took to...
There's a lot of new folks here. If you're one of them, getting this for the first or second time, welcome! I'm grateful to have you here. As you've probably noticed, newsletters have been slower this summer. I've been out hiking in the Rockies, spent 5 days on the Oregon Coast (more below), and spent 9 days in Belize as a second honeymoon. When the weather is this good, I prefer to be in nature vs typing away at a computer. Buuut, I wanted to give a little update of where I've been and...