“Unless you change your lifestyle, you’ve got about six months to live.”
Folks have been hearing those words from the doctor, in some form or another, since the beginning of modern medicine. Most don’t change. Some try diet and exercise for a while, but lifestyle changes are hard, and most end up living out their final months in some sort of miserable state. Not Andy Nault.
Being the owner of a night club in Montana did no good for Andy Nault’s health. The smoking, drinking, lack of exercise, stress and sleep deprivation had taken him to the edge. But the doctor gave him a way out. With a complete shift in habits, the doc said, “you’ve probably got yourself another twenty years”. Twenty years sounded better than six months, and with the prospect of a bright future in mind, Nault sold everything, packed up and moved to Alaska.
Getting back in good health was a slow, painful process, but in a matter of months, Nault felt like a brand new man. He got those twenty years, and they were some good ones. Having a bit of hunting, fishing and trapping experience in his previous life, he took it to the next level in Alaska, making those once-practiced hobbies an integral part of his new life in Kodiak.
The Kamishak River and Bay were the talk of legends around Kodiak, and once he had his feet under him, Andy’s dream was to build a cabin and a trapline in that remote, untouched corner of the State. On paper it sounded good, but it was a harsh land, and just getting there with a load of supplies took two years of trying. It led to a winter spent on the harsh and barren land of Contact Point, a miserable torture without hope of rescue from air or boat for months. But he made it, and the next summer Andy and a partner were building a trapping cabin on the Kamishak.
Despite the constant presence of dangerous brown bears, ravenous bugs, and extreme weather, including a winter with ten feet of snow, Andy thrived in the Kamishak. The area had been untrapped for generations, and the fur catch Andy and his two partners put up their first season was incredible. Most notable was their catch of 23 wolverines! It’s unlikely that record has ever been broken. Foxes, wolves, mink and otter made up much of their catch that season.
“Staying Alive in Alaska’s Wild” was published in 1980 by Andy Nault and Tee Loftin, and follows along on many of Andy’s adventures. Long after he should have been dead, Nault was living the dream in Alaska, doing what many others talk about but never find the time, money or deep desire to get done. That should be a lesson for all of us. It’s never too late to live your dream, and the outdoor lifestyle is one heck of a cure for many modern health problems!
Leave a Reply