Port Protection, Alaska represents so many things to me. It was the first show I was ever really proud to work on, the muse to my personal photography, and where I met some of my dearest friends. For example, Paul Taggart, the co-founder of this website.
I had spent most of my early career shooting silly house reality shows for MTV. Paul had been a conflict photographer in a previous life, the kind of person who points a camera at things most people run away from. We were an unlikely pair to end up on the same tv crew flying into a remote Southeast Alaska fishing community, but that’s how it happened. It didn’t take long for us to become friends. That tends to happen when you’re stranded together working in freezing rain on a weird Alaskan Island with nowhere to go and nothing to do but drink and fish.
Between Paul and I, we shot every episode of Port Protection Alaska for National Geographic. We weren’t always together, freelance camera work is unpredictable, but when I wasn’t there, Paul was. When Paul wasn’t there, I was. We were the only crew members to do that across the entire run of the show.
Here’s what Port Protection, Alaska is actually like, from people who were there for all of it.
“Port Protection is not set up for visitors. I say that not to be discouraging but because I’ve seen what happens when people show up uninvited to small remote communities that didn’t ask for tourists.”
What Port Protection Alaska Actually Is
Port Protection is located on the northern end of Prince of Wales Island, the fourth largest island in America. It sits in a protected cove on the shores of Sumner Strait, almost hidden amongst the trees. As you approach by boat or seaplane, you see a handful of cabins, and clusters of sea otters bobbing up and down in the green water. It looks like they’re waving at you but in reality they’re busy smacking shells open on their bellies. As you pull into the protected cove Calder Mountain looms in the background. There’s a trading post, a fuel station, and state float dock filled with old wooden fishing boats, skiffs, and the best kind of riffraff.
A quick glance suggests there may be more boats than people in Port Protection. That’s not far off. The community is built around the water, fishing is the economy, the culture, and the daily rhythm. At least it used to be until sadly, Trident took it off its fishing pick up routes. Since then the show was the main economic driver, these days it mostly seems to be a place for solitude and the occasional fishing charter.
The Wooden Wheel Trading Post is the center of daily life. Groceries, fuel, hardware, liquor, showers, and laundry. There is a community building where people occasionally gather for ping-pong, potlucks, and in times past the annual solstice festival. When I first arrived there was a “school”, but I think it was really just one family that had collected enough children to qualify for state educational funds. There are no roads connecting Port Protection to anywhere. There are no medical facilities of any kind. If you get help you fly to Ketchikan or drink enough port wine to pull your own cavity out with fishing pliers.
It is genuinely one of the most remote communities in the United States. That’s not a travel brochure description. It’s a fact.
What Port Protection Alaska Looks and Feels Like
It rains constantly. Not dramatically, Southeast Alaska rain is usually more of a persistent mist than a downpour, though it can do both. Everything is some shade of green, except for the sunsets. The Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States at over 16 million acres, surrounds Port Protection Alaska completely. Former resident, Gary Muehlberger, taught me how to identify all of the forest’s trees, forge for golden chanterelles, and what Devil’s club was and how to avoid it.
The dock smells like diesel, fish, and rolling tobacco. The trading post has a candy from the 1990’s and the most expensive cheap whiskey I’ve ever seen. The community building has a surprisingly nice basketball court and a wooden boardwalk system that the Ewoks would envy. There is a community garden where folks at some point grew Kale and other hearty produce. There are more dogs than you’d expect for a community this small.
It’s a strange beautiful place.
The Fishing
The waters around Port Protection are some of the most productive fishing anywhere in Alaska. And not just for salmon, but also for monster lingcod, halibut, and yellow-eye rockfish. There are hundreds of miles of coves, islands, and points, many of which have barely been fished with rod and reel.
Sumner Strait is the main fishing ground. Jiggy ran a commercial salmon troller out of here for decades on his boat the Longshot, and he knows these waters better than anyone I’ve met. He’s the one who handed me a piece of White Ivory king salmon the first time I was there. White Ivory is a rare genetic variant, roughly one in a hundred kings in certain Southeast Alaska rivers produces a super fatty ivory-colored flesh instead of the typical red. It’s arguably the finest eating salmon in the world. I’ve been dreaming of it ever since.
Just across Sumner Strait is Kuiu Island, possibly even wilder. It’s host to black bear and wolves, with open ocean access to Warren and Coronation Islands in good weather. The fishing out there is what serious anglers come for.
Underdog Sport-fishing is the only charter operation in the area, offering guided and self-guided packages with cabin accommodations overlooking the cove.
The Show: What We Were Actually Doing There
Port Protection Alaska premiered on National Geographic in 2015. It ran for ten years under various names: Port Protection, Life Below Zero: Port Protection, Port Protection: Alaska. Disney acquired National Geographic and cancelled the entire Life Below Zero franchise in 2023. Not because the show failed, but because Disney shifted strategy toward celebrity-driven streaming content and Alaska-based unscripted shows “no longer fit their model“.
Paul and I were there for all of it. I started as an Assistant Cameraperson, became one of the shows many Directors of Photography, and I eventually returned on the last leg of the series as a Field Producer. Paul was a Field Producer and Shooter for the entire run of the production. Between Paul and I, we covered every episode.
What we were doing, in practical terms: living in Port Protection for extended stretches, following the cast members on their daily routines, filming in conditions that ranged from beautiful summer evenings to horizontal rain and 70-knot wind. We were embedded in a community that was, at various points, ambivalent to hostile about our presence, and we had to earn the right to be there every single time.
How the Town Actually Felt About the Cameras
Most people in Port Protection, Alaska did not ask to be on television. The show came to them. Some residents were enthusiastic from the beginning, the cast members who signed on were there because they wanted to be, and they were genuine in ways that made the show worth watching. But Port Protection is a small, private community of people who moved to one of the most remote places in Alaska specifically to be left alone. Cameras were not universally welcomed.
One resident who lived on his sailboat in the cove fired live ammunition at our drones. Repeatedly. He was not representative of the community, but he was a vivid illustration of how some residents felt about the production. Port Protection Alaska is not a place that asked for its privacy to be invaded, and the conflict was real and understandable.
What changed things, slowly, was time. We drank with the “dock rats” as some locals fondly referred to them, my kind of people. We shot target practice with Gary and played pick-up basketball games at the local court. One time we got invited to the community easter party, where I inexplicably brought bourbon deviled eggs. (They were NOT a hit) But the thought counted and the community embraced us, most of them.
By the time the show had been running for a few seasons and people could see that we weren’t trying to make them look like the Ketchikan Kardashians, we had one most of them over. Some of us are still close with people from Port Protection today.
Gary Muehlberger
If you watched the show, you know Gary. If you didn’t, Gary Muehlberger was a former logger from Prince of Wales Island who had lived in Port Protection for nearly four decades, subsisting on fishing, hunting, trapping, and sheer badassery. He was 75 years old and could out hike most of our crew. Gary knew the forest better than anyone I’ve ever met and he taught me things about the forest I’ll never forget.
Gary tragically died on March 17, 2021, when his home in Port Protection burned down in an accidental fire. His dog Trapper survived and was cared for by neighbors.
He was my favorite cast member I ever worked with on any show, anywhere. Gary was our friend. He deserves more than a paragraph in a travel guide but I didn’t want to write about Port Protection without saying his name.
Jiggy, Gail, their Cabin and the Longshot
Before Port Protection was a television show Jiggy made a living as commercial salmon troller who worked the nearby waters for decades, Jiggy was our landlord, our fixer, our boat operator, and eventually a character on the show itself. His wife and a badass fisherwoman, Gail, kept the cabin where we lived for years during production, a place that became as close to a home base as I had at the time.
Jiggy and Gail would often eat dinner, drink wine, and play card games with us. (Except Paul, Paul hates games) We often used their boat, the Longshot, as a crew vehicle/mobile production base, for many of the shows stories. Including one of the favorite stories of my career, a 10 day moose hunt. Just Jiggy, myself, some serious southeast storms.
The Cast: Where Are They Now
Sam Carlson
As of 2025, Sam still lives in Port Protection, where he continues his subsistence lifestyle and remains active in the community. Known on the show as The Engineer, Sam has spent over 50 years in Port Protection and is regarded as one of the area’s longest-living residents. His son Matt returned to Port Protection after a stint in Ketchikan working as a boat captain.
Timothy “Curly” Leach
I last saw Curly in Craig Alaska, another small town on Prince of Wales island. I was filming for another Discovery show about Logging at the time and he came down to have a drink with Paul and I. He’s still in Port Protection, has lost a ton of weight, and is still as lovable as ever.
David Squibb
Based in Point Baker, Alaska, Port Protection’s neighbor north of the cove. Dave is living the same minimalist outdoor life he lived on and before the show. Fishing, woodworking, spending time with his partner and his dog. A true legend.
Mary Miller
The City Girl from Oakland who showed up in Port Protection and made a go at off the grid living. The show followed her move to Craig, where she still lives and works.
Jiggy
Gail and Jiggy are still in Port Protection, Alaska. Still fishing on the Longshot. Every now and then I get a fun txt from him sharing a photo of his latest International travels. He’s also now appearing on the YouTube Chanel Alaska-Vibes.
Mickey Ramos and @Alaska-Vibes
Mickey Ramos is a longtime friend and reality TV producer who worked with us on Port Protection Alaska and launched a YouTube channel called Alaska-Vibes after Disney cancelled the show. I got Mickey on the show, and she really connected with the cast. She’s one of the good ones, a producer who actually cares about the people she’s filming rather than just the story she’s extracting from them. That’s rarer than it should be in this industry.
After the cancellation Mickey flew back to Alaska alone, shot everything herself on iPhones, and launched Alaska-Vibes on June 1, 2025. She’s continuing to document Port Protection and the cast members on her own terms, without a network, without a crew, without anyone telling her what the story should be.
If you loved the show and you miss it, Alaska-Vibes is on YouTube.
Where to Watch Port Protection Alaska
All seasons are currently streaming on Disney Plus, Hulu, and fuboTV. You can also buy individual seasons on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. Spectrum On Demand carries it free for Spectrum subscribers.
Watch the original series:
- Disney Plus — all seasons
- Hulu — all seasons
- Amazon Video — buy or rent by season
Watch new content from the community:
- Alaska-Vibes on YouTube — Mickey Ramos’s independent production, free, ongoing
Should You Visit Port Protection?
Here’s the honest answer: probably not.
I say that not to be discouraging but because I’ve seen what happens when people show up uninvited to small remote communities that didn’t ask for tourists. Port Protection is not set up for visitors. There are no hotels or restaurants. The trading post rents cabins but they fill fast and exist primarily for fishermen. There are no medical services. Getting there requires chartering a boat or floatplane from Petersburg, and the weather can strand you for days.
More importantly: the people of Port Protection moved to one of the most remote places in Alaska to live their lives away from the outside world. The show brought them a level of attention they didn’t all ask for. Showing up as a fan is not going to be welcomed by most residents the way it might be at a more tourism-oriented destination. Some people will be friendly. Some will not. That’s their right.
Who Port Protection is actually for:
Serious anglers who want to fish the waters around Kuiu Island and Sumner Strait. Waters with hundreds of miles of coves and points that have rarely been fished with rod and reel. Underdog Sport-fishing is the only charter operation in the area, offering guided and self-guided packages with cabin accommodations overlooking the cove. If you’re going to Port Protection, fishing is the reason.
Boaters doing the Inside Passage who want to stop somewhere genuinely off the beaten path. Port Protection is a legitimate waypoint. Show up, be respectful, spend money at the trading post, don’t overstay your welcome.
People who want to be somewhere truly remote. If that’s what you’re after, Port Protection delivers it completely.
Port Protection Alaska: Practical Information
Getting there:
Floatplane from Ketchikan, Wrangell, Craig, Petersburg. Or by private boat. No commercial scheduled service. Charter flights only.
Where to stay:
The Wooden Wheel Trading Post rents cabins. Underdog Sportfishing offers cabin accommodations as part of fishing packages. That’s it.
Fishing:
King salmon, silver salmon, halibut, lingcod, and yellow-eye rockfish. Underdog Sport-fishing offers 4-day guided packages and up to 7-day self-guided trips. They also participate in the GAF halibut program which allows clients to harvest two halibut per day of any size.
Wildlife:
The southern portion of Prince of Wales Island has one of the world’s densest populations of black bears, plus wolves, beaver, mink, sea otters, sea lions, seals, and humpback whales.
Medical:
None. Medical emergencies result in medevac by floatplane or helicopter to Ketchikan or Sitka.
Season:
Summer. Port Protection is best experienced during the summer months. Winter here is can be miserable and the community largely closes to outsiders.
Cell service:
Non existent. The residents rely almost entirely on Star-link.
Port Protection Alaska FAQs
Is Port Protection Alaska a real place?
Yes. Port Protection is a real community of roughly 40 year-round residents located on the northwest corner of Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. The show documented real people living real lives there.
What happened to Gary Muehlberger from Port Protection?
Gary Muehlberger died on March 17, 2021, when his home in Port Protection burned down in an accidental fire. He was 75 years old.
Is Port Protection Alaska still on TV?
Port Protection Alaska was cancelled by Disney/National Geographic in 2023 along with the entire Life Below Zero franchise, despite stable ratings.
Can you visit Port Protection Alaska?
Technically yes. Practically, it requires a charter floatplane or private boat, there are almost no services, and the community is private and not set up for tourism. The only charter fishing operation is Underdog Sport-fishing.
How do you get to Port Protection Alaska?
Charter floatplane from Ketchikan, Wrangell, Craig, Petersburg, or Sitka. Or by private boat. No roads connect Port Protection to anywhere. No commercial scheduled service exists.
Who is Jiggy from Port Protection Alaska?
Jiggy is a commercial salmon troller who has worked the waters around Port Protection for decades. He served as boat operator, and cast member during the National Geographic production.
Where can I watch Port Protection Alaska now?
All seasons of Port Protection Alaska are currently streaming on Disney Plus, Hulu, and fuboTV. You can also buy individual seasons or episodes on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.