Wrangell duo pit against elements in History series

In the middle of its run on television, a popular survival series on the History Channel pits a pair of Wrangell residents against the elements.

Brothers Shannon and Jesse Bosdell form one team on Alone's fourth season cast. The show has seven pairs of relatives travel to the remote stretches of northern Vancouver Island, in the province of British Columbia. There each duo is separated by some miles in the wilderness, with the task of finding one another.

Once reunited, the series' synopsis explains the teams then have to create their own shelter, harvest their own food and contend with rough weather, terrain and other obstacles. The show's creators promise "no camera crew, no gimmicks," and that the last team standing will win.

Both brothers had grown up in Alaska, their family living away from the road system. "I was raised subsistence lifestyle, kind of hand-to-mouth," Shannon explained. "We lived basically off-grid there, where if we didn't hunt it, fish it, trap it, then we didn't eat."

After school, Shannon went into the medical field in the military for 15 years, before retiring to Wrangell and reconnecting with the subsistence lifestyle.

Jesse likewise went into the Army, and both brothers presented themselves to producers as ideal candidates for Alone.

"I watched it on TV, and decided to put my name into the mix," Shannon explained. After watching some of the previous teams contend with the show's challenges, he had thought he and his brother could do better. "It's kind of like politics: You can't gripe about it unless you put your name into the mix."

There was a full application available online, where the Bosdells related their own background in wilderness survival, their lifestyles, and why they would make good candidates. The network showed interest in them, and they were invited to attend a pre-series boot camp in Juneau last September.

"The boot camp was great, it tested all of our skills. They brought in a great group of people there as far as participants," said Shannon. It had been an interesting experience for him, and also an enlightening one. "I think that the biggest thing about survival is you learn. Every time you go out you not only learn from your mistakes but you learn better ways to do it. So seeing people from across the country and across the world there, there at boot camp, their skills and the different ways that they do it, it's great and you pick up a lot of stuff from there.

"We didn't know who was going on the show until several days after," he continued.

When both Bosdells were picked for the series, they were given some time to prepare before filming. Shooting began in late October, and Shannon explained the time of year presented a number of challenges to himself and his brother.

"I think the biggest thing is the food procurement. Most of your edibles have gone by the wayside," he said. Rain and the cold being regular features along Alaska's coast though, they posed less of a problem to the Bosdells.

Contestants only can bring a limited selection of clothing, tools and food to start with, from a pre-approved list. Teams then have to split their gear between themselves, making their wilderness reunion all the more crucial. As they are their own camera crew, they must pack out that equipment as well.

Beyond those basics, Shannon was not able to say much more about the experience. The Bosdells are still in it as the series continues, airing on History each Thursday at 10/9 p.m. Central.

"It was a great time. It's definitely a true survival show," he commented. While a difficult experience, Shannon said he had no regrets about participating, and would be prepared to do so again in future.