What Happened to Heimo Korth? The Last Alaskan Returns with a YouTube Channel and Life Updates from Fort Yukon

After years of captivating audiences on The Last Alaskans — which last aired in 2019 — Heimo Korth has quietly returned to share his story once more. In 2025, the beloved trapper reemerged online through his own YouTube channel, giving fans a rare and personal update on life after the cameras stopped rolling. For those unfamiliar, The Last Alaskans was a critically acclaimed Discovery and Animal Planet series which aired for four seasons on Discovery and Animal Planet that documented the lives of a few remaining families — including Heimo and Edna Korth — permitted to live within Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The show stood out for its quiet realism and lack of drama, focusing instead on survival, craftsmanship, and the emotional bonds that hold a family together in isolation. Filming alongside his wife, Edna, Heimo now offers an unfiltered window into their post‑TV wilderness routine, blending everyday work in Fort Yukon with the timeless rhythm of life in the Arctic refuge.

Life Between Two Worlds: Fort Yukon and the Arctic Refuge

Heimo explains that he and Edna spend four months of each year in Fort Yukon — April through July — before returning to their remote cabin in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the remainder of the year. The time in town allows them to restock supplies, hunt, fish, and earn income to sustain their off-grid life. “I work some in the summertime as a heavy equipment operator,” Heimo says, noting that the money helps prepare for the long Arctic winters.

Their rhythm reflects a balance between wilderness solitude and the small comforts of modern life — running water, electricity, and the rare luxury of a nightly shower. “It sure is nice to take a shower every night,” Heimo remarks with a chuckle. Still, the Arctic remains home: “We spend eight months at the cabin — that’s really home.”

Spring Duck Hunting in the North

In this first YouTube episode, viewers follow Heimo on a spring duck hunt — a legal practice for rural Alaskans who rely on traditional subsistence rights. With snow still on the ground in May, Heimo explains the delicate art of crossing spring ice safely, tracking waterfowl, and distinguishing between desirable species like pintails and less-favored ones like shovelers. “Edna doesn’t care for ducks,” he laughs, “but I like duck soup a lot.”

Heimo eventually bags a specklebelly goose — a “white-fronted goose,” he clarifies for viewers — a prize that will feed them and provide bait for future trapping. Every part of the hunt has purpose: meat for sustenance, wings for bait, and the story for sharing with those who’ve long admired his quiet resilience.

From Wilderness to Wi-Fi: A Modern Twist

The episode also touches on how the couple’s daily life differs between their two worlds. In town, they have a truck, a four-wheeler, and access to basic infrastructure — all brought up by barge during the brief summer season. “There’s no road to Fort Yukon,” Heimo notes, describing the unique logistics of Alaska’s interior. Yet even with modern amenities, the Korths maintain their old rhythms of chopping wood, net fishing for salmon, and preparing for months of isolation.

Heimo uses the platform not only to share hunting and trapping footage but also to preserve the hard-earned knowledge passed down from Native elders who once guided him. “A lot of what I learned came from older people here — about living in the bush,” he says. “They’re long gone now, but I’m glad I got to know them.”

Closing Out Episode 1

The first video ends on a quiet but meaningful note. After weeks of goose hunting, woodcutting, and preparing for summer work, Heimo reflects on how much has changed—and how much hasn’t. He shares memories of arriving in Fort Yukon in 1975, meeting Edna, and learning the old ways from Native elders who taught him how to survive in the bush. As he speaks, the tone shifts from the practical to the personal: an acknowledgment that time, age, and isolation shape every decision they make. “We still go there,” he says, smiling, a simple statement that carries the weight of four decades in Alaska’s wilderness.

From Fort Yukon to the Brooks Range (Episode 2)

Weeks later, Heimo returns with his second upload — filmed in early June — capturing a spring bear hunt in Alaska’s Eastern Brooks Range with his friend Max. It’s a detailed, day-by-day chronicle that blends wilderness observation with the unpredictable realities of backcountry life.

Six Days in the Brooks Range

The hunt begins May 31. Snow still blankets the valleys, the wind bites through layers, and daytime highs barely reach the low 30s°F. The first few days bring only caribou herds, two rabbits, and ptarmigan darting across drifts. The men navigate deep snowfields and hidden creeks, where water runs beneath the crust — “no other way to get by this,” Heimo says, carefully picking his steps.

By June 1, sunshine breaks through. From a small ridge, they glass the slopes and spot moose with twin calves, four sheep (including one ewe with a lamb), and the occasional rock ptarmigan that seems unbothered by humans. Still no bear. “At least we’re seeing some animals,” Heimo says, keeping the tone steady.

As the days stretch on, they witness the tundra waking up — caribou trails cutting across meltwater, porcupines wandering out on open ground (“A lot of people think they need trees, but they don’t”), and even wolves at a distance. A white wolf crosses the far ridge one morning, too far for a shot but close enough to etch into memory.

By Day 5, weather turns again: rain, sleet, and snow in cycles. The tent becomes home base — batteries die, fingers go numb, and hope flickers between persistence and resignation. “Just crappy weather,” Heimo mutters, rubbing his nose red with sunblock after one brief hour of sun.

Hunt Cut Short

By June 6, the trip ends abruptly. “There was a death in Edna’s family,” Heimo explains, his voice quiet. They pack camp early, return to Fort Yukon, and put the hunt aside. “I kind of wish Max would have got a bear,” he adds, “it would’ve made a really good video — but it is what it is.”

Yukon River Mishap: Engine Seizes

Not long after returning, Heimo and the family take a small-boat trip up the Yukon River — Edna, Debbie, Jeremy, and Mike joining for a rare day in the 80s. The outing turns unexpectedly eventful when the motor locks up mid-river. They paddle to shore, stranded but calm, and make the best of it: cooking hot dogs on a camp stove, joking about the breakdown, and waiting for Mike to tow them back to town.

While waiting, Heimo passes the time beachcombing — finding small agates in the gravel and recalling his early days gold panning in Nome. He tells stories of how he and Edna once prospected together in the 1980s, discovering flakes and one tiny nugget. He muses about miners who claimed they could identify where gold came from by its color and even jokes about reading that gold “came from space.”

The anecdote broadens into a reflection on Alaska’s history: how copper, not gold, was once the prized trade metal for Native communities, used for arrowheads that clinked like coins. “That was money back then,” he says, showing how the past still echoes through their present.

Edna’s Voice: Quiet Rules for Bush Life

As the video winds down, Edna’s voice carries the calm rhythm of experience. She shares that she was homeschooled until fourth grade, raised in remote camps much like the ones she and Heimo maintain now. Her days still follow that same structure: keeping the stove fed, sewing, baking bread every few days, and finding peace in the quiet. “When Heimo goes trapping, I keep myself busy,” she says. “It’s so quiet, peaceful.”

She recalls one frightening moment — a winter bear coming near the cabin — but otherwise emphasizes routine and resourcefulness. “You just go ahead and do it,” she says of remote life, “instead of sitting in town and trying to mope around.” Even minor injuries or illness are met with practical calm: “You try to use natural things for a cut and all that stuff.”

Episode 2 Closing

The second video captures what life beyond The Last Alaskans really looks like: unpredictable weather, family interruptions, mechanical failures, and small joys in between. It’s less a cinematic adventure than a lived one — the Korths adapting, teaching, and continuing quietly, just as they always have.

Channel Status

As of this episode’s upload (June 24, 2025), no new videos have been posted. We’ll update this page if Heimo and Edna add Episode 3 or publish from the Refuge.

What Heimo and Edna Are Doing Now

Today, the Korths continue their quiet rhythm between Fort Yukon and the Arctic refuge — living largely off the land, filming when they can, and sharing glimpses online. Their YouTube channel serves as a bridge between past and present, keeping their story alive for longtime fans who wonder where they went after the show ended.