Age: 31

Hometown: Redding, CA

Profession: Biologist

Joe is from the inland foothills of northern California. Spending childhood summers on his grandparents’ farm catching bugs and starting fires fostered a fascination with wildland, wildlife and subsistence living early in his life. After earning a degree in Geography and Wildland Soils from Humboldt State University, Joe began pursuing a career in land management as a Biologist working for the U.S. National Park Service. He currently enjoys long days in the field implementing scientific research and land management projects. More recently, Joe’s life was impacted significantly by the 2018 California wildfire season. As he worked on the firelines, his home was consumed by wildfire and the National Park where he works was entirely changed.

As a wilderness traveler, fisherman, builder, horticulturist, naturalist and geographer, Joe sees himself as very well rounded and prepared for this experience. His experiences, both professionally and personally, have tested his abilities as a resilient individual who can think calmly and act decisively under pressure, and when the stakes are high.

From the experience of being Alone in the Arctic, Joe hopes to gain a new sense of his own limits and to become intimate with the landscape and its lifeforms in a way that is not otherwise possible. He wants to open his senses in the absence of the modern world’s excessive stimulus and transcend normal waking consciousness through perseverance through hardship. He knows that many of life’s insights are left to be discovered and hopes for the mystery to reveal itself through this experience.

Here are the ten items Joe selected to bring on his survival journey to the Arctic:

1. Paracord

2. Pot

3. Fishing line and hooks

4. Snare wire

5. Water bottle

6. Sleeping bag

7. Saw

8. Ax

9. Knife

10. Ferro rod