Alone on the Alaskan Frontier

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura

Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What drives a person to live in isolation? Meet Sue Aikens, who thrives in the icy expanse of the Arctic. She shares stories of survival, self-discovery, and the wild encounters that continue to shape her life. Her memoir, "North of Ordinary," was just published.

Transcript

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0:00.0	So for the majority of the people who listen to this podcast, they won't have the opportunity to see the world that you live in.
0:12.0	So I'm curious if you could describe what it's like.
0:17.0	Ooh.
0:19.0	That would be a mouthful. Ooh.
0:23.6	That would be a mouthful. The name of the camp that I have is called Cava.
0:33.6	It's called Cava.
0:36.6	An old oil camp.
0:42.3	I'm only a few miles from the Arctic Ocean.
0:46.3	I'm hundreds of miles north of the tree line.
0:52.3	My closest town is 500 miles south.
0:57.0	There are no roads to get there.
1:00.0	I obviously can't walk that far through three or four mountain ranges.
1:07.0	You have to fly.
1:10.0	There's no electricity unless I create it.
1:12.6	There is no running water unless I collect it.
1:15.6	If I'm hungry, I can hunt for it.
1:18.6	Sue Aikins has lived this life nearly 200 miles above the Alaskan ArchArchic Circle for over 20 years.
1:28.2	It's not the only place that she's lived, but it's the place that makes her feel most like
1:32.8	herself.
1:35.6	I choose a life of isolation.
1:38.4	From late August, September, of any year until the following May or June, I usually don't
1:42.9	see more than one or two people.
	...

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