Sartaj Singh
Season 11 of ‘Alone’ took contestants to the Arctic Circle, where they faced one of the most challenging environments yet. Survivalists endured extreme cold, limited resources, and isolation. Each participant aimed to outlast the others to win a $500,000 prize. As their skills were tested in building shelters, hunting, and keeping healthy, so was the extent of their will. In one of the toughest seasons in the show’s history, Timber Cleghorn emerged as a focal figure who took to the Arctic Circle as a second home, earning himself admiration for his adventurous spirit and sheer grit. Having achieved all his personal goals, Cleghorn decided to step back from the competition on day 83, finishing as the runner-up to William Larkham Jr.
Timber Cleghorn Does Diverse Work and Propagates Bushcraft Skills Even Today
Already a driven individual, Timber Cleghorn’s journey in the Arctic Circle seems to have further elevated his priorities. The Salem, Indiana native shared a message that encouraged surrounding oneself with highly motivated individuals and striking a balance between unyielding hard work and complete relaxation. A hunter and trapper from his early days, Timber did not rest for long. He headed outdoors with his hunting equipment once again, cleaning and sharpening his weapons. In March 2024, he bought a copy of ‘The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook’ by Joshua Piven and David Borgen, which had a foreword by his friend David Holder. He admired it for its quirks and intriguing scenarios.
In May, the ‘Alone’ survivor revealed that he and his friends have been doing construction work on a large property for over a year, which is what caused him to lose weight leading up to his time on the show, making survival in the cold much harder. Timber is no stranger to hustling; he paid for his college education by trapping coyotes and beavers and found his calling in doing humanitarian aid work around the world. As such, he is well-traveled but still prefers the wilderness to urban environments. When visiting London in the same month, he expressed how he felt more alone in crowds than he did in true wilderness and joked about struggling more with social situations than with surviving in the Arctic Circle.
Wrapping up his visit to London, Timber continued his travels across the world, heading to an arid village he had worked in three years prior. He was shocked to see that it had transformed into a bustling urban hub with towering highrise buildings. The man with the perfect name for participating in a survival show has his own website, which advertises his Bushcraft-related skills and services. He is known to teach workshops relating to the survival skills he has honed since growing up in the forests of Salem. His website also contains a merch store that is advertising the eventual availability of custom Damascus blades made by Timber, suggesting that he is also an adept bladesmith.
The ‘Alone’ runner-up has documented the details of his survival story in ‘Timber Cleghorn: Memoir of a Wildman.’ In it, he does a deep dive into every day of adventure that he faced on the survival show and what carried him through those grueling 83 days. The book also renders a compelling retelling of his backstory, childhood, and anecdotes of his global travels for aid missions. The survivalist is looking forward to heading to Tajikistan in the winter of 2024, inviting four other adventurers to join him on a trip to hunt the enormous Bukharan ibex.
The Father of Two Centers Himself on Family and God
A father of two young sons, Levi and Elliot, and husband to Cara, Timber Cleghorn loves to spend time with his family. This is doubly true for taking them on adventures into nature, whether it is to teach them basic Bushcraft skills or a fishing, camping, or hiking trip. The ‘Alone’ alum’s humanitarian work is directly tied to Cara, as they met in college and have worked overseas together to provide aid to underdeveloped communities in conflict zones. The couple has been expecting another baby, and they thank God for the newest member of their family, a daughter.
On June 26, 2024, the Cleghorns’ neighborhood was hit by the powerful winds of a tornado. As they watched out of the window of their RV, a massive red oak tree fell right on top of their truck and took down three other trees as it did. The other trees feel around the RV, and one barely missed it by five feet. Timber Cleghorn thanked God that his family was safe and didn’t mind the damage to the truck over what was important.
Now in his mid-30s, the family man is also a devout Christian and speaks to church groups and men’s groups at retreats. His talks are based on themes of fear, resilience, wilderness survival, humanitarianism, and the pursuit of Christ. He is an admirer of the ancestral ways of living off the land and being rooted in nature. For much of what Timber does, he finds strength in his family and God, often praying that he sets an example worth following for his children. One of his main motivations in ‘Alone’ was also to make his children proud of him and provide a safer and more comfortable upbringing for them.
Read More: Sarah Poynter: Where is the Alone Contestant Now?
