The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 757: Surviving and Thriving (and Finding a Dead Man) in the Alaska Bush
Sep 1, 2025
Randy Brown, a seasoned Alaskan survivor, shares captivating tales from his 15 years living in the wilderness. He recounts the chilling discovery of a body, exploring survival lessons learned in the harsh environment. Randy dives into the complexities of hunting, especially bear meat preservation, and reflects on the importance of sustainability in camping. His anecdotes about navigating encounters with wildlife and culinary experiments in the bush provide a gripping look at resilience and the raw beauty of nature.
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Fifteen Years Living Off The Land
- Randy Brown lived about 15 years in the Alaska bush, mushing dogs, building cabins, trapping and living off the land.
- He persuaded Karen to join and intermittently taught in rural communities while continuing subsistence life.
Finding 'John The Baptist' Dead
- Randy recounts finding a man who called himself "John the Baptist" (Smeagol) frozen and starving in a cabin in 1978–79.
- They left the body on the tundra because river breakup and logistics made transporting it impractical.
Starvation In The Arctic Is Brutal
- Death in remote Arctic country often follows slow starvation and attempts to eat hides, causing intestinal blockage.
- First-person journals like Death in the Barren Lands vividly document how desperate, messy these deaths become.
