(soft music)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] At fewer thantwo people per square mile,

Alaska boasts the lowestpopulation density in the country.

And for people like Brian Heaphy,

that's one of the biggestreasons to live here.

After graduating from the Naval Academy

and a successful career as a US Navy Seal,

Heaphy needed a change of pace.

- The deployments are six months long,

and I did three back-to-back deployments.

I felt very fortunate to still be alive

at the end of those five years.

- [Narrator] So afterresigning his commission,

Heaphy went back to his childhood passion,

the great outdoors.

- [Heaphy] I was very blessed

to be able to grow up in a rural area.

That was always my draw, to theoutdoors, to the wilderness.

- [Narrator] Heaphy took ajob as a river guide in Alaska

and loved the wide open spaces

and the challenges of living off grid.

And his militaryexperience serves him well

when he's on his own in the back country.

- [Heaphy] Preparation, self-discipline,

learning to form realistic goals

according to the timethat you have available.

(ax thwacks)

- Chores like this area standard part of life

out here in the Alaskan wilderness,

but this is not a pastime or fitness,

this is survival.

The problem is it comeswith its own set of risks

because if you get hurt out here,

it's a long way to the nearest hospital.

And that means you'vegotta be extra careful

and very meticulousabout everything you do.

- Where I live now,

a little mistake at 60degrees below zero in the dark

can turn into a life-threatening scenario.

And it does.

Some people call it Murphy's Law.

I call it the law of opposition.

There's always things working against you.

- [Narrator] And survival is all

about making the best use of the resources

you have available.

But getting away from civilization

doesn't equate to a stress-free life.

There's always more todo than time to do it.

- Living here in a veryaustere environment;

one of the most unforgivingenvironments on the planet

I would consider,

because of the cold and the darkness

and the rapid change of season;

you begin to learn andfocus on economy of time.

There's only so many hours in a day.

It does add a sense ofurgency and intensity

and reveals to you whatreally is important,

what really does matter.

And a lot of what goes on inthe world, doesn't matter.

Living out in such a vast country,

you realize how small you are,and vulnerable, and fragile.

Learning to move with purpose,

form a careful plan witheach strike of an ax.

I'd rather do something well once

than have to go back and do it twice

when I've got other things to do.

- [Narrator] With all the dangers

he's confronted in 20years living in the Bush,

Heaphy has discovered

that nature isn't thebiggest threat he faces.

- The greatest danger to me is me.

If I'm not discipline,

and I don't keep God infirst place in my life.

It's as simple as that.

- [Narrator] Brian has learned

that by living an intentional life,

every chore can become aspiritual act of worship.

- Getting wood, hauling,water, cooking, cleaning,

keeping ahead of the seasonal changes

and making sure you're stockedup, exercising your body,

which isn't too hard toohard to do. (chuckles)

But I think my lifewould best be described

as the perfection of vital activity.

That's what I engage in,

how can I become better atany given task at any time

to become more efficient,more safe, more productive?

And there's a joy in that.

- [Narrator] Brian has taken the lessons

he's learned living off the grid

and put them into devotional form,

both with scripture-based greeting cards

containing his own photography

and in his new book, "Crystal Vision."

- It's for believersand nonbelievers alike

to consider eternal things.

- [Narrator] Ironically,one of the biggest lessons

he's learned spending years by himself is

the importance of fellowship.

- It's good and instructiveto have a getaway

where you can draw nearto God, focus on Him,

pray that He'll revealmore of his character,

and to reveal more of His wisdom.

But there's no wisdom havinga stay-away lifestyle.

You're not part of thesolution. You don't grow.

Fellowship is a huge partof the Christian walk.

We're strengthened byour brothers and sisters.

If the true friends andbrothers and sisters,

they're gonna help point out

where we might be slipping a little bit,

where there may be sin in ourlife that we don't notice.

My initial purpose in going outside

and striking out on my ownand in developing this life,

I had a general idea of what I wanted,

but there's that old saying,

"Make your plans in penciland give God the eraser."

I'm so thankful He took that eraser

and rearranged some of my priorities,

but it all worked together beautifully.

(gentle music)