A Prince George outdoorsman came agonizingly close to being crowned a world champion.
Forty-year-old Aaron Barnard secured a second-place finish on season 13 of the History Channel reality series Alone .
Barnard was the sole Canadian in the global competition, lasting deep into the winter in the Inuvik region of the Northwest Territories, adjacent to the Richardson Mountains.
He told MyPGNow.com lasting 87 days in the remote northern wilderness made him appreciate what he has at home.
“Being alone for so long you miss family, you miss friends and human connections like a hug. I would have paid money for a hug and you don’t realize how spoiled we are to be around people and have access to food until you are in a survival situation.”
“Looking back now, I can be proud of my achievement and for how I pushed my body and mind, but it still would have been nice to win.”
The local pipefitter says most people don’t realize what it actually takes to last as long as he did in the remote wilderness.
“Lots of people don’t understand to get water what you have to go through. You have to get firewood, you have to get the wood and get the water and boil it. Even when it comes to food, you have to go through all those steps plus you have to catch the food and process it.”
“Everything you do out there is a challenge,” added Barnard.
As for what a typical day looked like on the show, it was a lot of trapping and hiking.
“I had to do my trap line, hike my trap line and then I would go back to my camp, which would take a couple hours of hiking and then I would come back, get firewood and work on certain things like making my bed and adding to my structure to make it more windproof and water proof.”
“It’s something that is hard that pushes your mind and a lot of people I know enjoy the hunting, fishing and everything outdoors. It’s something I grew up doing and enjoy doing,” Barnard said.
Barnard narrowly missed out on the five-hundred-thousand-dollar grand prize, which was won by Slovenian competitor Žiga Ogorelec.
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