I moved to Anchorage Alaska from SLC Utah when I was 15 years old. Having come from Utah and all of the incredible outdoor adventures at my fingertips, i felt pretty confident in being able to conquer Alaska! Wow, was I mistaken. 😬 I played all around the cities and into Wasilla and Gerdwood which were breathtaking and were still pretty intimidating. I learned pretty quickly that Alaska isn’t a place to be toyed with! She demands respect! 😄❤️

@FortyBelowLife

2 жыл бұрын

I moved to Alaska 20 yrs ago from Provo Utah! That’s awesome to see another Utahan up here🖐🏼😊

@59Alaskan

2 жыл бұрын

That's funny, we moved from Anchorage, where I was born and raised, to SLC, back in '76. Ha.. Been back several times, but miss my home!

@jokesonyou1373

Жыл бұрын

@@59Alaskan I moved from Midvale UT to Buckinghamshire England in 1982

Grew up in Alaska, never underestimate her. Be prepared for anything. So thankful for the survivors, you were blessed.

@ZDiddy7777

2 жыл бұрын

I made Alaska my bitch, now she won't leave me alone. Could you tell her to stop calling me so much, the desperation is pathetic.

The best part of these stories, no one went by themselves. They stayed as a pair. Glad both stories had great endings. Great video!👍

I like the way you tell these stories , you can hear the compassion in your voice

@hoofarted8709

2 жыл бұрын

If you like his stories then you need to listen to "Mr.Ballen"

@justanotherperson584

2 жыл бұрын

Very nice.

@mr.thammisses6119

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed

@rosaliebarry5995

2 жыл бұрын

I agree!

Former 47-year resident of Alaska here & I always light up at the mention of my "heartland". The state is ginormous. I think that because it's not as heavily populated, people tend to mistake the size. It's also one of the most scenery-beautiful places. Even while living in Anchorage, I could make a store run on a summer night and end up standing in the parking lot just mesmerized by the sight of the mountains. I live in Iowa now and love it where I'm at but I will never get used to not seeing those mountains. (And, oh yeah, Alaska is full of danger. There's the weather, terrain, wildlife, and the random people who escape there from all over the world. We've had our share of killers and criminal maniacs.)

@musiccreator3559

2 жыл бұрын

Criminal maniacs🤣🤣🤣

Many people disappear in Alaska every year. It's a crying shame, but considering the vastness and ruggedness of the wilderness, it's not hard to understand.

I know very little about Alaska, having spent only a year there and for the most part on a military base near Anchorage. Even on base there was a huge amount of emptiness and the few times I did get out into even the very fringe of the real Alaska, it was overwhelming. No surprise to me that so many people go missing up there.

@feralon9570

2 жыл бұрын

We were stationed on JBER for three years. I loved it but my husband hated it. We did lots of day hiking trips all summer but we rarely went hiking in the winter as there wasn't enough sun light.

Probably anyone’s worst nightmare 😳 Glad to hear stories with a happy ending for a change 💜

Nice video (as always). It's a good example for us- The account of the 2 men who ran from a bear encounter, and became lost. They were just thinking of getting away, not maintaining their bearings. And then, after such a short time they were completely lost. With others it is simply inattention. Someone could be daydreaming, or distracted by something. They might walk a short distance to relieve themselves in privacy. But then they can't find their way back to the trail. A lot of people get into trouble that way, and many others have died.

Being a lifelong Alaskan and knowing the extreme conditions we can have , I try to express to people I know who are coming up to hunt or hike , take a glacier tour etc. I try and let them know people go missing and are never found right near other people sometimes. There's something called the mountain race in Girdwood and a guy went missing without a trace on an established marked trail and has never been found, with several people around too. Be safe

@mikegreenawalt4726

2 жыл бұрын

If anybody ever used common sense Alaska if where u need it 24.7

@fredinalaska

2 жыл бұрын

@@mikegreenawalt4726 truer words bro 👏, Alaska is extreme on every level just day to day. Most people in the lower 48 have hurricanes, here their high wind warnings lol, and down there snowfall closes cities and for us its Tuesday

@wanderblest

2 жыл бұрын

I was going to bring this case up to Bryan, too, but I thought the missing guy was from the Mount Marathon race in Seward? Unless one also went missing in Girdwood, how crazy!

@fredinalaska

2 жыл бұрын

@@wanderblest honestly I thought the mountain race was Girdwood I may be wrong, I was relaying from a quick thought. I'll have to check to be sure, the guy I'm thinking about went missing right after a checkpoint close to the top or the turnaround.

@bannedagain1483

2 жыл бұрын

@@mikegreenawalt4726 In authentic frontier gibberish no less.

2 FORMER COWORKERS went MISSING IN MONTANA, 2 YEARS APART. Eureka Montana. 2020. Emailed but commenting here to be sure.

People come up to Alaska completely unprepared for how rugged and secluded it is. The main population cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks are the hubs to the entire state. It is hard to get people to understand most of Alaska you have to have a boat, plane, atv, snowmachine, dog sled team, or trek into. There are no roads connecting most of the towns and villages outside of Anchorage, Seward and Fairbanks main routes. For example, you cannot drive to Juneau or Nome. Juneau is our State Capital.

@larryhart9831

2 жыл бұрын

True Story Dogger .

@juliebolduc802

2 жыл бұрын

I have been there several times while my oldest was stationed at Richardson. Did some hiking with the family. , knowing where we were going and but not what to expect takes research and time. Some people just do not have any common sense.

@IronDogger

2 жыл бұрын

@John hotz Yeah, most Alaskans have to prepare for winter. Summers are spent harvesting from the bountiful resources and packing freezers for the long dark winters. Cutting multiple storage sheds of logs for heating and then hunting come fall. It is a different lifestyle but so worthwhile. No time for drama! A lot of freedoms not experienced elsewhere.

@troyottosen8722

2 жыл бұрын

No kidding?😳🤣

I think I would have stayed with the plane and made a very smoky fire to alert anyone looking for me. And so that the plane wreckage gets found. Hiking out not really knowing the direction and through Bear country doesn't sound like a choice I would take. So glad it worked out ok for you and that you are still alive to tell the story.

Sometimes the locator beacon on a small plane gets damaged during the impact of a crash. Seems strange that they were in voice communication with people and couldn't connect with them, but I'm glad they got out safely. Thanks Bryan.

@sunnygram3850

2 жыл бұрын

In the first case I don't understand how they could think let's just go wandering in the wilderness without a guide even though we have never been here .

@sancho8521

2 жыл бұрын

@@sunnygram3850 ... there are stupid people living on this planet. We run into them from time to time

Locator Beacons. If you hunt or hike you owe it to your family to purchase one. Many Blessings

I cried listening to this stories. A big relief came over me. Me, myself and I wouldn't do much else than praying to the Lord for help in that situation. I have always dreamt about going to Alaska, but no more.

Us longtime Alaskan’s are used to hearing these stories every year, nothing new! Old Alaskan saying is “what you can get away with in the lower 48, will kill you in Alaska “!!! Simple.😳

God Bless those people, everyone of them. The ones who made it out, the ones who volunteer to look for others, putting their own lives in danger. That's community. Prayers for the pilot, may he rest in peace.

That is awesome that they were rescued in both stories. Sorry for the loss of the pilot. May he rest in peace.

We live in North Pole Alaska and we love your channel ♥️Alaska is big!

@littlejack6123

2 жыл бұрын

I keep seeing the lovely couple in the Prevagen commercial who live in North Pole, Alaska. It looks beautiful there. "Hi", from suburban Chicago.

@FortyBelowLife

2 жыл бұрын

@@littlejack6123 hello from North Pole! How’s Chicago? I haven’t seen that commercial. That’s why I make videos too, it’s beautiful 😃

@audibjornsson6107

2 жыл бұрын

Oh I remember when there was a serial killer in North Pole when I was little! My Mom wouldn't let us out of her sight after that happened!!

@FortyBelowLife

2 жыл бұрын

@@audibjornsson6107 what year was that? I don’t remember it

@audibjornsson6107

2 жыл бұрын

@@FortyBelowLife in the 80s I can't remember the exact year sorry

With the amount of people AND planes that go missing in Alaska, every person should have a personal locator beacon, and every plane should be equipped with some type of location device that self activates in the event of a crash. Invest a few hundred dollars to possibly save your life.

Thank You for these Stories and the Video Pics along with them are Beautiful!! Thanks Again!!

I can imagine Alaska being a world of it's own. Prayers for the family and friends of those who have passed away 🙏 Thank you for sharing these stories Bryan, blessings.

Since we live in Alaska, we definitely like these stories best! Especially ones with a [mostly] happy outcome! Have you ever covered the mysterious story of the man who went missing during a race on Mount Marathon in Seward? That’s one you would definitely be interested in!

@ClimbnFish

5 ай бұрын

I was there for that year’s Mt. Marathon race! I will never understand how he was able to disappear in the area.

Alaska is well known for people disappearing, I think Alaska has more missing people than anywhere else.

@showbread9366

2 жыл бұрын

Per capita but otherwise not even close

@lostways8196

2 жыл бұрын

@@showbread9366 you are 100% wrong and Vlad is correct. look it up. over 16-20 thousand people have gone missing in the so called Alaska Triangle since 1988, that is over 1000-2000 people every year. look it up. one site claims 16k its a typo, there are literally thousands of sites talking about the triangle. its interesting, and scary if ya live here.

@showbread9366

2 жыл бұрын

@@lostways8196 there’s not close to enough ppl living there versus a state like California. Be realistic. Nobody lives in fucking Alaska.

@Peace-lr7mt

2 жыл бұрын

When I lived there, they had more serial killers per capita then anywhere and a lot of people moved there to disappear from law enforcement. I still love it and my son (born there) never left. He flys out to the bush and Nome all the time, working on Native projects (he's a plumber). Better people can not be found. Apart from the serial killers, obviously.

@Peace-lr7mt

2 жыл бұрын

@@showbread9366 - Hardy people live in AK. Most can't handle it. I was raised in MN so when I moved to AK, I was used to snow (7 months of it in AK) but most people that moved there didn't stay. Winters are too long and dark and the if you're not into hunting and fishing... not much to do. I love it though and wish I'd never left to move to WA state.

That father and son was fantastic! It makes think of so many survival stories like theirs. I know how big Alaska is. It seems strange that they seem to know where they were and how to get out and could not direct people back to where the plane crashed.

Great stories of survival. Lots of lessons.

Another sensitively told account Bryan, thank you 🐻🌈

I hope your foot is healing. Thank you for another nice video. I live in BC Canada. Much is wilderness so I relate to these stories.

@danielbianchi3479

Жыл бұрын

I lived in B C for a summer & was blown away by the beautiful scenery, lucky you are to live there! Maui Hawaii ❤

Well done!!! Why don’t people take sat phones or flares with them these days given all we now know about people going missing in the wilderness??!! I would rent that stuff at the base of trails if I lived there!!

@amandadonegan2137

2 жыл бұрын

No signal out there...sure theres places in lreland with no signal and we are tiny!

@SoloHiker1

2 жыл бұрын

@@amandadonegan2137 Satellite phones work everywhere. As do beacons. I've started carrying a Garmin Inreach, works anywhere off of GPS satellites.

@musiccreator3559

2 жыл бұрын

@@amandadonegan2137 I'm in Galway and i think a ferry to the aran islands is an adventure!🤣🤣🤣

@no_peace

2 жыл бұрын

@@SoloHiker1 almost anywhere

They were lucky to be rescued by the lady in the paddle boat. What an adventure they made it out alive. Alaska is a vast area not really to be taken lightly. Take a locator beacon.

I'm binging today on some of the stories I missed. This particular occurrence brought tears to my eyes. I am just so happy they made it. In their case it was obviously better they didn't remain at the crash site. It just sounds to me like they may never have been found if they hadn't taken the initiative to go, to try to get out. Well done.

OMG, i can't imagine the terror of seeing a grizzly bear coming straight for you😱😱😱😱

Everything Alaska for me! What I mean is you can make every story about Alaska and I will watch

Great that people survived! You are a calming story teller. Thank you.

Alaska beautiful country.

When I was 19 I drove down to Soldotna from Anchorage to visit some friends. My friend had this broken down piece of junk canoe and he wanted to take it down the Kasilof river. This canoe was such garbage that we had to throw rocks in the bottom to help balance it. As we are getting ready to launch my friend says that we should take off our shoes and send them with his brother so we can have dry shoes when they pick us up down river later today. So we take off down the river and we don’t even make it around the first bend in the river when the boat capsizes and we both are swimming for the shore closes to us which is the opposite side that the road was on and the river was moving too fast, and was too strong, for us to attempt to swim across. So there we are soaking wet, in dense wilderness, and shoeless, with no clear path back to civilization. We hiked barefoot through the Alaskan wilderness all damn day and we were completely lost. We had left at 8am and it was getting dark at around 10pm when it started raining. At the lowest point of that trip I then spotted electrical cables that cut across a massive gorge and we were able to follow the cables to a road. A gravel road out in the middle of nowhere but we eventually came across a house and used the phone to be rescued. Moral of the story is: Jon’s an idiot so don’t take your shoes off when you go canoeing, or plan on spending any part of your day outside in Alaska.

@ChrisAndCats

2 жыл бұрын

So that's why the ones that are found are shoeless?

1st rule of thumb in these cases is you stay with the plane. The search and rescue professionals will look for the plane first so stay PUT. I was stationed in Alaska for almost 6 years and was involved in multiple S&R and we always looked for the plane, boat, & vehicle first. A man is a small figure to find.

Yes more Alaska stories please!!

Fantastic stories Bryan. I didn't realize Alaska was so vast! I hope the pilot is found.

Now in 2022 you have people that can't point north or change the tire on their car walking out into the wilderness, no wonder they never come back.

Hatchet is one of my favorite books. I believe it had a large influence in my love for the outdoors.

Wow! Thank you for this upload. ❤️

Absolutely brilliant thankyou

I would have definitely stayed with the plane. A plane is much easier to see and he had a friend expecting him.

Great video!! Amazing

Both were amazing stories!

Thank you for this!❤ People go missing here in Alaska a lot at a higher than average rate.

Good stories Bryan!!

I know extra weight is a issue on small planes but I would have a duffle bag full of survival equipment I wouldn't fly without

Wow!!!

I absolutely love your channel!!! Thank you for doing what you do!!!! 👍👍👍

Hello Brian Thank you for your video. From Australia here. I was wondering are small planes required to have like an EPIRB beaconing system? Imagining a small plane crashing that country would be almost impossible to find 🤔

Always have a backup line of communication!! 👍

Was anything said about the emergency Locator Beacon that would be in a small plane? If it was damaged in the crash it's amazing that they survived the crash. Interesting cases!

Thanks Bryan

I'm from Delta Colorado near Gunnison Colorado which gets to 41-* in the winter time. So it gets pretty darn cold in Colorado Rockies 🥰

I would love to visit Alaska what a beautiful place, I’m in the UK and I’m terrified of bears much respect to people who live in Alaska.

Are you on Spotify Bryan? I love you podcasts, you are such a bright light for missing people and your family. Your Empathy is incredible, true, and you help so many. Ty, so much for all you do! Bless you! 💙🙏✌️

Excellent video

Interesting story about the brothers. Having lived in AK for 11 years and my son who was born there still lives there and is now 36 have never heard of a grizzly attack with only a few scratches. So, to me, that's a bit suspect. And what time of year was it, because AK is called "Land of the Midnight Sun" for a reason.

Beautiful stories!

Enjoy your stories

Great stories!!

Every one should carry a person location beacon even for a day hike. I have been to Alaska twice

Great story

Alaska is about 17% of the surface area of the USA (1.71 vs 9.83 million sq km). It’s bigger than many countries!

@charlesblithfield6182

2 жыл бұрын

Didn’t mean to be nit picky. It may look super large because of the map projection used. The very common Mercator projection gives a completely inaccurate view of the size of the northern hemisphere and makes Greenland look almost as big as Africa when it’s really just the size of the Southern tip of that continent. Maps can give a false impression sometimes.

@Peace-lr7mt

2 жыл бұрын

@@charlesblithfield6182 - It looks super large because it IS super large. I've lived in 6 different states (including AK) and AK is MASSIVE.

Another great story...I put a very detailed message for you, but left it in the section! Anyway, thank you for your respectful storytelling.

Those must’ve been 8 excruciatingly long hours.

"Someone went missing in Alaska" is only slightly less newsworthy than "The sun came up this morning". Sometimes I think Alaska exists to thin out the herd. Alaska does not tolerate complacency. People don't realize that in Alaska, help is not coming. The worst part is that disappearances are so common that people get numb to them and it's easy to lose sight of the human toll on families. The second story highlights a mistake that they made several times. DON'T leave the plane. If you make contact with someone STAY put so they know where to come back to with help. Why that second couple thought continuing to travel was a good idea is beyond me. I guess it just shows that having spent a lot of time in Alaska doesn't automatically mean you know what to do. That airplane has fuel (probably), provides basic shelter, is a whole lot easier to see from the air, and probably has an emergency locator transmitter aboard. Stay put.

How big is Alaska? I've heard this before: "The only thing that makes Texans madder than the fact that Alaska is bigger than Texas is that if you cut Alaska in half, each half would still be bigger than Texas!" Now that's big!

Two boys very very lucky indeed

My client in Alaska had to cross a iced lake ,Cath a ferry, then plane to go to work on a boat ...

God bless the pilot.

The weather, predator's and terrain.

Beautiful pic of the moon…….big circle.

Thanks for reminding folks how huge Alaska is. I've heard horror stories about Europeans not realizing how vast small swatches of California are. As in, driving East to West across the state is more than they expected, so it's always mind blowing to be reminded how giant Alaska really is!

To this day we have planes that have gone down up here, hikers, hunters, fishermen, etc... never found! But also have had planes that disappeared in the 1940’s-19’90’s been found by just people out hiking, etc... and came across the remains, serial # was found, . You down south have no idea just how remote, wild, true wilderness Alaska is. Simple!

I live in Fairbanks Ak. Love it.

Let's put this in real perspective, the price of a trip to the Alaskan wilderness can quickly turn into a $200,000.00 trip. Medivac is the only real way to get people out of those areas. If you are injured in the wilderness a medivac can average over 120,000.00 up to I have read horror stories of more than 400,000.00 for just the medivac. People living there typically pay an annual insurance fee to negate this cost. So if you plan a trip there you might want to keep that in mind. You can quickly go into serious debt for those few days or weeks in the vast Alaska wilderness.

@rhondawebb3469

2 жыл бұрын

Yes get insurance !

Hey from Alaska!

They should of stayed with the plane and started a fire.

They heard foot prints with a flashlight" Lol wtf?

...2 with happy endings, I wish they could find them all, but unfortunately most times its not a happy ending, its a tragedy or another mystery, so happy for the folks who made it out, and to the searchers that saved their lives...well done, you are all heroes..

I backpacked and primitive camped alone for decades in upper peninsula Michigan, Ontario, Canada and the Appalachian Mountains but I know I do NOT have the experience to handle Alaska on my own. I would definitely want to go with an experienced Alaskan guide.

Those two brothers are so lucky.

Loved the story. Sad about the plain pilot. Kinda funny when you said could hear the footprints, I think you meant footsteps. If they find the crash, maybe they can figure out what happened to cause it. Getting eaten by a grizzly wouldn't be fun. But it's only painful if you survive. Thanks again

Big land. Huge sky. I would never challenge that wilderness. Nature always wins. Not brave enough. I accept my limitations.

Hey Bryan, not to step on your toes or anything, but can I make a request that you provide the actual date (at the beginning) the person went missing in each one of your videos so we can kinda Keep track of how long they've been out there? I don't even know how i happened upon your videos. I know sometimes you give a date, but unless I'm missing it sometimes I hear "this year" or " last month" and I was just wanting to be specific about lifting these people and their families in prayer.

1:25 Not only is Alaska huge but it also has its own enormous moon!

I don’t get why the father (70 years old) and son toddled off into the wilderness when people would be searching for a plane crash site within 48 hours. They knew help would come, but walking 100 miles through bear country without food was a better idea? They put themselves at risk and all the people who had to search for them. Dumb.

Alaska looks stunning but il pass😱😱Ireland is big enough for me🙈🙈🙈

I lived in a remote Alaskan village, only accessed by boat or floatplane. A float plane company out of Juneau was called the Alaskan Uber by locals. Y I u could call them and often charter a private flight same day, weather depending.

♥️

Bryan, in the second story, you narrated that in the first person. Was that you and your father in Alaska or was that just for effect? As always, I really enjoy your channel.

It is my dream to go visit Alaska. Now this video made me afraid! LOL Joking. I plan to stick to populated areas and guided tours. I wont go wandering off into the wilderness.

I never go out into the wilderness without proper gear INCLUDING flare gun, first aid, and satellite phone

Having a compass is important.

👍 🇨🇦

Wait a second , did you just pull a switch and the story is actually about you?