Today we have a pseudo-celebrity, staring on Naked and Afraid on The Discovery Channel, and her longtime boyfriend, coming to us from the wilderness of Alaska. When we say the wilderness….we mean the WILDRENESS! From 20 miles south of the Artic Circle, we’d like to introduce Gwen Grime and Nate Harbour!
Nathan Harbour retired from the Air National Guard after 20+ years of service, multiple deployments overseas, serving his country during peace and war times. He now homesteads in the remote Alaskan wilderness, travels worldwide as an avid adventurer, and loves his lifestyle. Hunting is his favorite activity. He has a passion for helping fellow veterans. He enjoys talking to fellow veterans and sharing stories. He’s a genuine bad ass in the life of badassery known as Eagle, Alaska. Can you think of anyone you’d rather share a beer with around a campfire?
His girlfriend may one up him though…she began her adult life as a firefighter/paramedic, worked as a correctional officer in the borough jail, as a Sgt in a medium security men’s prison, then decided her heart was into police work. She began her patrol career at 34, working for the North Slope Borough Police Dept as a Police Officer. She worked my way to the villages where each officer would work solo in a fly in village for 2 weeks, then fly home for two weeks off. She was forced to learn independence and how to handle people when your solo out there, (and we always thought our backup was too far away)! Her writings were published in the book, “Women Warriors, True Stories From The Thin Blue Line.”, along with a segment in Law Officer magazine, where she wrote an article about cold weather survival in policing. She transferred to the Wasilla Police Department which is in South Central Alaska where she could be home on a more even schedule for her 5 kids, which she was raising by herself. While on duty, she was struck by a vehicle in 2014. After battling to have surgery to fix the nerve damage sustained from that accident, continuing to work, doing physical therapy, and trying to heal her broken body, the state finally decided she wasn’t getting fixed. It was a permanent injury and they retired her, which destroyed her mentally, physically and emotionally. She packed up and moved off grid for solitude in Eagle, Alaska, where she was contacted by a survival show and asked to do a 21-day challenge, naked, in a foreign country. Of course, she went and crushed that challenge to prove to herself and others that anything can be overcome. Her mission in life now is to reach out and help others, leading by example and showing them there is life after the badge. She now spends her time advocating for wounded officers as a peer support advocate at The Wounded Blue.
Nathan and Gwen are the co-founders of Wyldwoodz Wilderness Retreat Incorporated, a place for wounded veterans and police officers to come find peace and healing thru nature and adventuring.
Find more information on www.wyldwoodzadventures.com and www.thewoundedblue.org
