Alone TV show stars reunite for primitive bow making course

Two cast members from the television series Alone are collaborating to help others gain some essential survival skills.

Michela Carriere and Cubby Hoover were among the 10 contestants who tried to outlast each other on Gwich’in land – while equipped with limited resources – during filming of the 11th season of the show. The series is currently airing on the History Channel.

Following production, the duo planned a collaboration – through Carriere’s Aski Holistic Adventures and Hoover’s Cubbersons Custom Archery – to offer a primitive bow-making course that will teach participants how to make bows from locally produced wood.

“We became really good friends off of the show, and we’ve been talking back and forth. And I said, ‘You know what, I would love to get you to come to my place and let’s collaborate together.’ I’ve always wanted to know how to make a bow. My business is bringing people out to my trapline out in the woods here and I do lots of events,” Carriere told Cabin Radio.

“We combined our knowledge together and made this amazing course.”

The course will run from September 6 to 8 at an off-grid trapline near Cumberland House in Saskatchewan.

‘This is my calling’

On the show, contestants get to pick just 10 items from a specific gear list before they head out on the land. Carriere said one of the items she chose was a bow adding she was inspired by a bow Hoover made, which incorporated animal skins and bone.

Carriere said she “immediately fell in love” with Alone after binge-watching one season after another. That persuaded her to send in an application to become a contestant two years ago. Following a “really long process” of screening and interviews, she was eventually selected as one of the contestants.

“I really loved the way that people were connected to nature on the show and lived these really amazing lifestyles. For me, I grew up on a trapline in the middle of the woods, totally isolated, and I didn’t know there were other people like me out there,” Carriere said.

“So, when I saw the show, I just immediately connected to the contestants, and just felt like – Here’s my people. This is my calling. This is my community.”

‘We forged friendships’

Before contestants were dropped at their respective filming locations, they had an orientation meeting where Carriere, who is originally from the Saskatchewan River Delta, met with many skilled hunters, fishers and trappers.

“We forged friendships and we still stay connected to this day because of the kind of incredible experience that we all had. We can talk to each other about it and help each other through the ups and downs, especially post-production. But yeah, it was an incredible time,” Carriere said.

“The whole process of being on the show and like challenging myself and being totally isolated, I discovered that I really wanted to be with people and create community. And yeah, I found my life purpose through that.”

Hoover, who is from Seligman, Missouri, said six months before the show reached out to him to be a possible contestant, he had quit his full-time job to pursue his passion for making bows.

Through the show, Hoover said Inuvik was the first place he visited in Canada. Travelling to Saskatchewan to offer the bow-making course will be his second time visiting the country.

“I’m really, really excited to get to teach people how to make bows. I’m just really stoked about it. Whenever [Carriere] called me and asked me to do this, I was just beside myself. It is such a cool opportunity,” he said.

‘It really touched my heart’

Hoover had to exit the show during its first week after being injured by one of his own arrows. Despite that, he said he had an “incredible experience” coming up North. A memorable moment for him was a ceremony that Elders organized in Inuvik.

“I remember them praying over us in their language, and then also in English. It really touched my heart,” he said.

“It was really cool being able to learn new the new flora and fauna of the area that I don’t have down in the south. Being able to see in the high country, all the moss and all the wild berries and different trees. Being that close to grizzlies and moose, it was absolutely wild and the most formidable environment I’ve ever been in, in my entire life.”

Hoover, who was a carpenter for many years, said a friend encouraged him to take an archery class that made him want to master the skill. However, at the time he said he didn’t have enough funds to invest in a bow – so he learned how to make one himself and spent “a lot of time” researching about the process.

Besides making bows full-time now, Hoover also works at the Paint Creek Archery Club in Prairie Grove, Arkansas. He said it has been a big focus for him to get people involved in archery by helping them make their own bows.

“Trying to give people the ability to get into archery at a lower cost, or learning how to build their own bow. That’s kind of what I’m geared towards right now. It’s giving people the opportunity to get into a sport that’s really fun, really active and just get people outside,” he said.

The September course has a total of eight spots and at a cost of $750 per spot. To can learn more about the course or apply online.