My story. A girl in the woods.

my name is Brooke Whipple and this is my story a story about a girl who seeks out the wilderness who comes alive in the mountains who yearns to stand in wild places a story about a girl who is deeply inspired by nature a girl who is energized by its beauty stirred by its loveliness and constantly humbled by its power a girl that is meant to be in the wild in the wilderness and in the woods I just love the smell of sage here smell it [Music] it's just silent I love hard work and I love a challenge [Music] but I also like to have a little fun [Music] like hundreds of millions of blueberries oh hey you baby's gonna jump on my face yes they're coming behind us too they're scared of mice that's me I jump on the table and I scream like a girl that's so disappointing look at the pitch light that thing on fire with a fart you're right about then he rips one behind me it is just so intense and beautiful amazing you take your glasses off I just wish it was just stay like this [Music] ah that's wonderful I grew up in rural Michigan hunting trapping and fishing a regular tomboy I was a member of the wilderness adventure Club in high school and one summer we backpacked IO Royal National Park and to end 60 miles sitting around the campfire one night after a hard hike we were enveloped by the sound of wolves howling all around us still gives me goose bumps every chance I got I was outside and exploring after high school in a couple of years at a community college I felt completely uninspired I was here to leave my small town and find freedom and life in the mountains so my best friend a knife jumped in her car and headed to Wyoming for jobs in Yellowstone National Park that was a road trip I'll never forget living in that wild country amongst the bison and the Bears bugling elk with the camping hiking rock climbing and fishing in backcountry Lakes it only cemented my future plans my next stop was Vail Colorado for a winter job as a lift operator working there meant I got a free ski pass and that meant I got to ski to work ski on my breaks at ski home it was my job pretty sweet gig for a girl who learned a downhill ski in Michigan after joining the Ski Club in high school after that I was off to Alaska the place my heart yearned for the place that since I was a child was the place I felt like I belonged but just a tent a backpack at $200 I boarded a plane headed north to fulfill my destiny deepen my discovery of wild places and live on the edge I had no job and no place to live but in my mind that's just the sort of plan that'll make you figure things out quick and I was right I landed in Anchorage and slept in the airport then took a shuttle bus in the morning down to Homer where I spent my first night at a bed-and-breakfast upon recommendation of the shuttle driver within two days I had a place to live I made a deal with the owner of that same bed-and-breakfast that if she let me stay in my tent on her property I would help her clean the place for free BAM had a place to live then I bought a bike for 50 bucks and within the week found a second job at a sports shop selling everything but rockets and mortars for killing fish on the Homer Spit the strip of land that juts out into the beautiful Kachemak Bay when I got my first paycheck I had $50 left in my name I would live in my tent all summer and work those jobs going on hikes fishing biking and meeting interesting people I even got to take over the entire bed and breakfast while the owner went out on vacation it worked out pretty well sometimes it really pays off to just take that leap without a safety net I had officially fallen in love with Alaska that followeth back to college and to keep myself busy came the lead singer of a rock band it was pretty fun then I met this guy isn't he cute I thought so I'll talk about him in a minute first I want to talk about my next adventure Montana Montana was beautiful and that's where I became a wildland firefighter besides fighting wildfires we did project work and prescribed burns traveling and working in Oregon California - there was only one other girl on the crew but we all lived and worked together like one big family one morning in the mountains of Oregon I dropped down the ridge to pee only to discover I had squatted right next to some giant morale mushrooms I quickly took off my hard hat and picked as many as I could manage they were amazing my first and only ride in a private jet happened that year - as we were being rushed to a fire it was pretty cool wasn't long before I found myself back in Alaska this time Sitka and the rainy South East where I was a recreation assistant for the u.s. Forest Service as my internship before I would graduate the other cool thing I did in Sitka was volunteer at the Alaska Raptor rehabilitation center this is a center that takes in and rehabilitates all kinds of birds Here I am holding an eagle for a vet funny story I met Barbara Walters in person there at the center one day as she came in to check it out and adopt a bird but Sitka was amazing the hiking the sea kayaking more great memories made in Alaska I finally graduated college with a bachelor's degree in outdoor adventure recreation management and this guy was still with me my love David Whipple so we decided to get married on a beach in Jamaica [Music] it was just the two of us and that's how we wanted it our friends and family got to watch the video [Music] [Music] shortly after we were married we moved permanently to Alaska our first stop was Sitka where we would become caretakers at the campground at the end of the road deep in the rain forests once again we had lots of great adventures and the fishing huh you just couldn't beat it fly-fishing was great and the smoked salmon that you made with it amazing our next adventure would be a big one Dave and I would become caretakers of a remote homestead at the very tip of the Alaska Peninsula that's right pretty much the Aleutian Islands the homestead was flanked by the Bering Sea and the North Pacific and we were completely isolated for seven months the nearest village was false pass about three miles across the water but traveling that at an open skiff in the middle of winter was to say the least dicey the winter was impressively harsh and the land was amazingly breathtakingly beautiful it was an adventure we would never forget and one that was set us up really well for another big adventure yet to come after we left the Aleutian Islands we moved to Fairbanks bought a piece of property and built this cute little 12 by 12 cabin from logs on the property and then I met this guy Neil Eklund who hired me to be a guide on his amazing 40 by 70 foot log raft on the Yukon River the raft was set up like a floating Lodge and people would come and float with us for a week or so at a time taking in the scenery fishing great food and this amazing experience on a log raft Neil's the only person in the world who is doing anything like this besides being a fishing guide on the raft I also helped cook and I was the entertainment it was a dream job to say the least and in our downtime lots of exploring and of course great fishing not to mention the beauty quiet and solitude of floating down the Yukon River on that amazing log raft my deep respect and admiration for Neil is nearly two decades deep now as our families have become close friends with adventures yet to come and surprises around every corner well we all knew this would happen Belle and Mickey our kids and we needed a bigger house so we built another log home Alaska's full of great things to do as a family and fishing was one of our favorite things I took every opportunity to get outside and get happy whether it was skiing kayaking hiking or hmm my obsession with blueberries nonetheless we were gluttons for punishment built yet another log home in a new place this time in Delta Junction Alaska where we would live for the next six years and in that same amount of time I would become a published author I wrote this fun and quirky book about Alaskan living back in 2007 and that's about the same time I became a filmmaker a surprise phone call came in 2014 it was Neil National Geographic had contacted him about doing a reality TV show about floating down the Yukon River he wanted us to be part of it so that's what we did all of our families were involved and it was an amazing time I was definitely back in my happy place the show was called Yukon River Run and aired in 2015 I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story [Music] in 2016 Dave and I are selected as participants in a loan season for on the History Channel on this season they would take to family members and drop them in remote locations on Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada the idea was to live as long as possible off the land with only ten items the last team standing would win half a million dollars we weren't the only team competing for the big prize there were seven other family member teams competing but first we had to get some camera training because we would be the ones filming the show there are no camera crews on this show we do all the filming ourselves once you're dropped off you're completely alone we had a really great time getting to know all the other participants and for a short while we were all treated like stars eating great food and getting her picture taken it was all pretty exciting but believe me when I tell you that when you get dropped into the wilds with only ten items to survive it gets real fast Dave and I didn't win but we did last a respectable 49 days with absolutely no regrets it was an amazing experience despite losing 28 and 42 pounds respectively we were extremely grateful for the opportunity you can imagine my surprise in 2017 when I got the call just nine months after season four that I'd been selected for a lone season five I was going to travel to Mongolia and compete once again with ten items in the wilderness for half a million dollars I couldn't believe it you're not gonna believe where I am I am in Mongolia huh I know yep it's real I'm in Mongolia across from our camp before the launch of a lone season five and I'm climbing a peak I want to get to the top check out the awesome views this place is amazing like right now you can do always do one more day you can always do one more day and that what I mean say is the mind will always give up before the body does this is particularly difficult because it becomes an absolutely mental challenge it's you against you that's all it is [Music] season five right here I love you girl in the woods fans [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] oh well it's launch day it's a clear day and it's very chilly yeah ready to do this just had a big breakfast and it's best you can hope for stuff your belly one last time that's it see you on the other side back two days now I lasted 28 days out in the field just for the simple fact that I hadn't caught any fish in five days and I'm getting really skinny I was just lonely got some broth and and fruit crackers it's all a really really basic limited diet it's on a reef eating plan right now where when you come out of the field very limited food as far as like no big meals so if you're wondering what I had my first meal was broth and a cracker well guys this is it for me I'm leaving camp heading back to Allah and Betar today last day had orientation camp and Tapout camp after all good things must end I will miss it these days we split our time between Alaska and Michigan and we now have teenagers you can still find me on YouTube as well as my husband Dave his channel is called Bush radical my whole goal with my channel is to share my love of the outdoors and to inspire you to get outside and get happy so what are you waiting for Wow come walk with me feel the breeze come walk with me oh and dance come dance with me chef for your feet come dance with me and that will tell you when you're older how I loved you just the same it only matters where we're going it never might you came [Music] that's like feathers I'm sorry in here where the light is the fitness it gets you down steals you crowd [Music] embrace your will Oh I'll pick you up brush of the and old you still I will tell [Music] how are to say you don't live master [Music] my room where you [Music] and go to sleep [Music] you can dream up to [Applause] [Music] and that will tell you when you're older [Music] how I loved you just the same it only matters we're going it never not sit from where you came [Music] how to say [Music] it never [Music] it never lied to you you can [Music] not from where this is why you climb mountains right here so you get to see all of this that's crazy good I'm bite here take a bite

Channel: Girl in the Woods

Views: 334,113

Keywords: life story, girl in the woods, brooke whipple, brooke whipple alone, outdoor girl, survival girl, girl outdoors, women survival, girl fishing, girl adventure, adventure life, life of adventure, story of my life

Id: 1MWLo8V5cWc

Length: 22min 11sec (1331 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 25 2019