Alone (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 10 - The Gamble - full transcript

[dramatic music]

*

- Oh, yeah.

Dungeness crabs!

I love them.

Yes, that's number six!

Whoo!

- Hi, sweetheart.

Whoo!

I've been able
to catch so many fish,

I do not need more salmon.



We're gonna let you go today.
Whoo!

- My surf lines
caught me this today.

And now, my paiute deadfall
is down again.

Bazinga!

- The kayak is finished,
but it's very unstable.

Whoa!

I can help myself out with an
outrigger to stabilize my boat.

It's working fine.

Now we're talking.

- Who are you when everything's
been stripped away?

[bleep].

- [yelping]

- It's scary out here
in these woods.

- I have not had
a serious meal in a week.



- If I can't get a fire,
then I can't stay here.

- It's always in the back
of your mind,

"Well, I could tap out."

- Putting up with
this filming bull[bleep]?

- Running into a predator,
it's not an if.

It's a when.

Get the hell out of here.

I see you.
Get out of here!

- I'm living
a hand-to-mouth existence.

Yes!
Ah!

- $500,000
is a lot of money.

- It's just gonna keep
getting harder.

- It's not the world
that needs to change.

It's me
that needs to change.

- [moans]

*

*

- Oh, finally
out in the water.

Very, very happy the boat
is working as well as it does.

The outrigger is a success.

It stabilizes the boat.

It's basically right now quite
difficult to capsize it,

even if you tried,
so maybe I'll

cross to the river
and check out to see if

maybe that the salmon
are running

and hit that salmon run.

But still, it costs energy
to get there and back.

I only have some food
for the day,

so I have to find
those salmon

and have a steady income
of food from the ocean.

*

*

Yeah, there's like an inch and
a half of water in here already.

In half an hour,
that's not good.

I think I need to go back
right now.

*

Can't have that.

Yup,
there's water in here.

*

I don't even know how or where,
but on the side there,

she got punctured.

[sighing]

Every time, there's another
[bleep] problem to solve.

Oh, God, yeah,
there's a hole.

There's a hole there,
and that's probably it.

That's all it takes.

*

I'll do some tests,

but I think I could
try to patch it.

This tarp is very
heat sensitive,

so you can't really
do it very hot.

But it is repairable.

The black plastic I have here

was just the right
amount of heat.

Can seal a little hole,
as long as it's not too hot.

*

It set me back on my plans
a little bit, though.

*

- * This is my limpet song

* This is my limpet song

* Making fun of Lucas is wrong

* But this is my limpet song

*

I am very, very happy
that I discovered

that I can catch crabs
with a hook and a line.

And I can't tell you
how much that means.

To have a tangible,
visible, repeatable

source of food gathering.

I'm gonna grab my fishing pole,
and I'm gonna see if

I can get some crabs
and some fish today.

And...

I'm pretty sure the tide
is still going out,

which is a good thing.

All of this fishing
has reminded me

of my dad, you know?

And our family had
a house at the beach

on the Jersey Shore
and Point Pleasant.

And, you know, we would
go down there ever summer

and my dad was
an excellent fisherman.

*

Those early childhood memories

are coming back to me
really strong.

*

I get to eat tonight!

*

I caught a fish.

It's not a big fish, but there's
other ones down there.

I'm gonna try
and catch some more of them,

'cause I get to eat
fish stew today.

I'm a happy man.

*

Boy, that's not much of
a landing pad right there.

I'm just so afraid
of falling in.

But that water is frigid.

I have to be really,
really careful.

How good you are
at wilderness survival

could very well
come down to how well

you can walk on slippery rocks.

*

Yes!

*

No, come on,
get the line.

*

Yes, and he's bigger
than the other one.

Yes, look at that.

That's two large fish,
and I'm not done.

I am not done fishing.

So I'm gonna leave
these guys over here.

I think I'm gonna move on.

I'm gonna go back there
and try to get another--

yet another one of these.

Come on...

You love the limpets.

*

Got him!

And look at this bad boy.

That's gonna be a good meal.

Time to pack it up.

*

[birds cawing]

Oh, come on!

This is a tragedy, people.

*

I get my third fish over there,

come back to put 'em
on the stringer,

left the stringer with
my tripod up here on the flat,

up on the flat part
of the rocks up here.

Stringer's gone.

With both my fish.

It's just not here.

It is gone, gone, gone.

*

There is no way that fish
wiggled all the way from here

up on the flat all the way
down there in the water.

I'm thinking something came by,
swooped down, and grabbed him

while I wasn't looking.

Man, I can't believe that.

*

I have one fish now.

Rather than a three fish stew,
it's a one fish stew.

And I still don't know if they
got back in the water,

which, to me,
is inconceivable.

"Princess Bride"
reference there, anyway...

Or if some giant bird of prey
swooped in--a raptor, that's it.

A raptor came in
and swooped in and took off--

A bald eagle!

That's what it was.

Yeah, when I wasn't looking,
a bald eagle came in

and took my fish!

Both of 'em!

*

'Cause up here,
they're not the national bird,

you know what I'm saying?

They have no--they have
no love for us Americans.

American eagles, now,
down South...

American eagles said,
"No, that's an American,

"I'm not gonna steal his fish.

"'Cause he's a patriotic man,
he's proud of his country,

and I'm his symbol."

Up here, these Canadian eagles,
they just--

they don't know who they are,
that's what it is.

They just don't even
know who they are.

And they'll do things
like that.

They'll swoop in
and steal your fish.

*

*

- It's a beautiful day
right here.

I'm just watching
the tide go out.

Oh, the sun--
the sun came out,

which is really nice,
so I'm just gonna sit here.

*

Got a couple sit spots here.

A sit spot's a place
that you go every day

and, well, you just sit.

If you don't have
a place in nature,

it could be your front porch
or your backyard,

as long as there's birds around
and trees around,

or something like that.

Then animals
and everything around that,

they all get used to you.

Then you become
part of that nature-scape.

Part of that ecosystem.

*

I haven't heard any
salmon going up this river

since that one
I caught with my hands,

so I think the salmon run's
just about dry,

so this is like the last chance
of catching fish.

*

My friend the seal is out here.

What you doing,
little seal?

Huh.

The harbor seal seems to be
fishing at my fishing spot.

I wonder if there's not
something in that gill net.

And that seal is fishing it.

Or maybe it's
just there randomly.

I mean,
it's been there before.

See, it's not up yet, it could
just be hanging out there.

It seems to like it
right there.

I need a fish today, you know?

*

- So to try and redeem myself

from my dismal performance
yesterday of losing two fish,

trying to get something
to eat again today.

I am really, really, really
stoked about the possibility

of getting a large crab.

I mean, some of these crabs,
these big Dungeness crabs,

they have claws
that rival lobster claws.

They're huge.

They rival lobster claws.

You know, just giant...

So yeah, that's what
I want to do today.

*

I have caught crabs out here.

I can do it again.

So, yeah, getting
crabs, crabs, crabs--

that is the thing I want to do.

They are so delicious.

They're better
than big limpets.

Now, being able to crab
also is contingent upon

having dead fish.

I need a fish head or two.

It's not like you can just
go down to the fish market

and say, "Hey, do you got any
fish--fish heads for crab bait?"

And they'll, like,
"Yeah, here."

I'm gonna try everything
I can think of

to get food out of this bay.

Basically, that's what
my job is right now,

is to experiment with new
food-producing

devices, methods,
or game plans

for getting protein seafood

out of my bay
and into my body.

*

Yes!

Got ya!

*

When I was a kid,
we used to get blue claws,

or just take a fish head
and tie it to a string

and drop it in the water,
and then you just wait.

And if you had two blue claws
on the same fish head,

you could just pull them up.

*

Yes!

Here you go.

Fish number two.

I'll eat one, and I can use
the other for crab bait.

*

Crabbing,
that's the order of the day.

See if I can get some crabs
the old-fashioned way

with a fish head.

It's an experiment.

And if it pays off,
I got a giant crab in the pot.

So, yeah,
I'm gonna try it.

Now, the idea here

is to tie on the fish head.

All right, now...

whole idea of this thing is

the crabs will
grab on to this thing,

and then you can pull them
out of the water.

Really not that complicated.

But they've got to
sit there for a while...

*

So that the crabs can...

figure out that they're there.

*

I lost my line.

Dang!

*

Oh!

[grunting]

Oh, I just fell in.

Oh, my goodness.

*

[dramatic music]

*

- Oh, I lost my line.

Dang!

Oh!

Oh, my...

[grunting]

Oh, I just fell in.

Oh, baby.

Oh, slipped on the rocks.

Oh, baby.

*

Oh, my goodness.

I just took a dunk.

*

Ugh!

[panting]

*

Ugh.

I just went in up to my waist.

Oh, my goodness.

All right, all right,
all right.

Yeah, I get to go home now
and make a giant fire

and dry everything I own out.

I lost my heavy
monofilament line

when I got dunked.

I'm not happy with that
situation at all.

But hypothermia
is a very real threat.

I mean, I'm feeling
the cold right now.

And I'm not gonna
risk my life out here

for any personal goals
or any amount of money.

I'm gonna get in my sleeping
bag, 'cause I am cold.

I'm really getting the chills,
body chills right now.

*

My clothes are all
still slightly damp.

I can feel that.

And I know if I stay
in here long enough,

that they'll dry
just with body heat.

But I got to get warm.

All it takes is one stupid
decision on my part,

and I could be out of here,

because there is
no backup for me.

There is no one to help.

*

The most amazing resource you
have in a survival situation

is that other person
who's there.

Therefore,
the people in your life.

You know, they are the most
valuable asset you have

for getting through life.

I don't have that right now.

I am alone.

I don't know.

And it is possible
that I could tap out.

I could.

I mean,
I really don't want to.

[rain pelting]

What a bummer of a day.

If I can't get warm,
if I really am

at risk of hypothermia,
I'll tap, I know it.

So I've got to, got to,
got to keep warm.

Good night.

[tense music]

*

*

- Well, I know I caught a fish.

It's, uh, low tide,
and I'm gonna go

check my gill net,
but I was out at the point,

and I saw this chum salmon
swimming in the shallows,

and there was nothing in my
gill net that I could see.

And I saw this chum salmon swim,
and I really almost wanted

to jump into the water
and grab it.

[laughing]

And then,
it got caught in my gill net.

I watched the whole thing.

Probably about a couple
of hours ago, it got caught.

I just had to wait for
the tide to go low enough

for me to grab it.

So it's in there,
and I'm gonna go get it.

*

Oh, my God,
are you kidding me?

*

Sugar.

Ugh.

This is a bummer.

So I had a lovely salmon,

as you can see here.

Just part of the head
is in my net.

Not even enough
that I could, like,

pick part of the head off
and eat it.

Like, the seals ate
every bit of this thing.

*

See, they really--
this is all that's left.

*

I've got competition now.

The seals know
that I've got a gill net.

*

I need protein.

Fighting those seals for food
is gonna be bad.

*

*

- Last night,
I spent a lot of time here

by the fire
repairing that hole.

Uh, she is stable,
which is fantastic.

Everything here takes
longer than anticipated.

The boat took 19, 20 days
to build and patch and fix.

She is a good boat.

We'll just be extremely careful
putting her into the water,

taking her out.

Still stubbornly wanting to go
out around the corner,

check out that creek,
catch the salmon run.

I'm just wanting to find
big amounts of food.

*

If I can reach a salmon run
before it's over

and harvest the greatest number
possible of salmon,

however many--
the more, the better.

*

I'm very happy to see the boat

finally, really sea-worthy.

*

As far as sailing,
she goes beautifully well.

It lifts a little bit
to the side.

*

Hopefully get to places
and find some abundance.

I'm starting to really need it.

*

I've gone around the corner.

I'm seeing a lot of
sea birds over there.

That is exactly the sign
I was looking for.

[birds cawing]

*

Okay, here we are.

I did reach the fabled river.

I see just a few salmon
carcasses here on the banks.

I don't see any salmon
going up the water.

*

I don't see any
black bear sign, either.

Which is...

would be another
thing to be expected

if the run was happening.

And yet, there is a bunch
of seagulls here,

and there's a bunch of eagles.

*

This right here
is the kind of shallow place

where it would be ideal
to just stand here

with a gaff hook like this
and grab them.

But...

I don't see them.

*

Here is one of the carcasses.

*

I could have
missed the whole thing.

*

*

*

- Well, I haven't been
filming much today.

There really hasn't been
a whole lot going on.

*

The boredom is starting
to set in now.

It's pretty boring to just sit
here and tend the fire,

which--it keeps me busy.

I mean, it's less boring than
other things I could be doing,

which is basically nothing.

*

Now it's starting to rain.

I just need to find
something to do, man,

'cause I'm bored.

There ain't nothing--
ain't nothing going on.

*

Well, I'm on my way
to making a spoon.

We'll see how it works out.

I'm not the most crafty guy

that never walked
the face of the Earth,

but I'll do the best I can.

*

The hard part here
is the calorie gain.

I could be doing
a lot of things,

but you want to try
to not do very much,

but on the other hand, you're
just bored out of your mind.

*

Oh, there's a knot
right where I--jeez.

Oh, whiz, man.

A freaking knot.

Damn it.

I'm at the point now
where I'm gonna have to

really start
conserving energy.

I've still got
energy to do stuff,

but it's gonna take its toll
on me before too long.

I got to just focus

and make sure
I don't hurt myself.

I don't know, man,
it's tough.

It's tough without
the calories.

*

All I'm doing is just
taking the point of my knife

and just trying to
slice little slivers

out of this bowl
of this spoon.

*

I feel pretty good doing
these little minor tasks,

because I'm not
really doing anything.

All day long, I'm not
really doing anything.

Keeping your mind busy
really affects your emotions.

Even with the lack of calories,
it keeps your attitude up.

I like it, man.

Hell, yeah.

*

It's not bad
for a few hours' work.

*

I got limpets
and periwinkles and stuff.

They'll be boiling in no time.

*

Gosh, I like this spoon.

I'm happy with this thing.

These are the dog days, man.

I mean, I've done everything
I came out here to do,

and now it's just trying
to suffer through.

If there wasn't
that big prize at the end,

I'm not sure how many
people would have

stuck it out this far.

I know I'm not sure
I would've.

*

'Course, that's kind of key
right there, is having a fire.

Having something to do.

My mind is totally occupied
by keeping this fire going.

And it was occupied earlier
by building my spoon.

If I'm just sitting here,
looking at the rain,

it makes it tough.

*

This is the stuff that'll
pull me through here, man.

If I can keep my
freaking mind busy,

this is the stuff
that can pull me through.

*

You did good, spoon.

[tense music]

*

- Well, it might
start raining.

*

I was able to look at my net,

because the tide's low enough,

but hopefully, knock on wood,
I'll catch something.

[geese honking]

Let's see,
did I catch something,

and the seals stole it,
or did I catch nothing?

[geese honking]

Oh!

The seals got into my net

and ripped a huge,
gaping...

hole in it.

Oh, man, those seals.

Yep, there was something here.

Then the seals got in

and tore my net apart.

This is a hard net to break.

The fish can't break it.

There is just no way.

Oh, those seals.

What am I gonna do?

I'm in a battle with the seals.

Like, I can't get my fish.

*

I'm gonna have to try
and repair it.

This net's kind of, like,
one of my lifelines, you know?

I really rely on this net
to be able to get me food.

The seals are taking that
directly out of my mouth.

So...

if I'm not able to
get food on this line,

well, that's not good.

So I'm moving it up.

Taking this whole thing out

and moving it up.

That's a big deal,
moving the gill net.

It's gonna expend
a lot of calories and time.

But it needs to get done.

I am not happy
with the seals today.

I'm not happy with you, seals.

Wherever you are.

*

Boy, we're competing,
that's for sure,

these harbor seals and I.

You know who's winning?

They are.

*

[dramatic music]

*

*

- Thinking through
my situation.

What it is.

Yesterday, it was frustrating
to reach that creek

and see the salmon carcasses
there.

I missed my big window
of opportunity

while I was building
the kayak to reach

that window of opportunity.

*

I've had a good talking to
myself about the options

of this place and the resources
and where the abundance is,

and the salmon
are hit and miss.

I certainly was hoping to hit.

I don't think I want to put
all my eggs in that basket.

And I've been
too stubborn about that,

I believe.

*

I've been using an approach that
I tell my students not to use,

which is trying to
push my idea on the bush.

*

The thing is that,
the waters here,

just judging from the amount
of seals around

are very, very rich.

I want to try and learn
how to fish offshore

and spend more time
right here in these coves,

near my shelter,
minimum energy expenditure,

and try to see what I can--
what I can catch.

*

Today, I want to concentrate on
making a proper jigging stick

to fish from the kayak.

Years ago,
I spent the winter with

Inupiat Eskimos
in Northwest Alaska.

Wonderful people,
the Inupiats.

I have very fond memories
from that time,

in the native village
of Kotzebue.

I saw a type of jig they use.

Just a bent branch,
basically.

It lets you store lots of
thread on it

and deploy it easily.

So it's the next best thing
to a modern fishing rod.

I spent quite a bit
of time in the forest

just looking for
the right stick.

*

So, after a lot
of searching,

I found one that I think
can do the trick.

*

I just try to make things
beautiful, besides useful.

Scratch out
some beautiful lines,

make it a little bit
animal-like.

Make it so that
the objects that you use,

everyday objects,
become meaningful.

These little things
that are emotional assets,

they can carry you.

If it's a rough day,
that can be just the difference

between wanting to leave
or willing to go another day,

maybe another few days,
and then conditions get better.

Who knows?

There we go,
this guy is ready for traveling.

Got about 50 meters of line on,

which should be plenty of.

*

Missing this darn salmon run is
frustrating and discouraging,

but it made me realize that
maybe I was being

too stubborn
with just one plan.

So I want to diversify
a little bit more

and listen--
listen to what the bush,

what this place,
has to say.

Maybe there is
an extreme abundance

right here at my feet
in the cove.

*

There is other ways
to get food here

and it's maybe
right in front of my door.

*

And I'm learning
bits and pieces every day.

Every day,
there is some new thing

that I'm realizing about...

the tides, about the winds,
about the currents,

about the forest.

*

Each day has its own rhythm
dictated by the land,

and I just try to adapt to it.

*

Holy cripes.

And big, it is.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[mumbles indistinctly]

Stay there, stay there,
stay there, stay there.

Look at this fantastic fish.

Oh, my God.

Finally, things are
happening for me.

Finally.

*

Come on.

Get this in the bag, at least.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you--
finally, all those efforts.

*

I'm so glad.

Make a big difference.

*

If the fishing continues
the way it was today,

I don't see a reason to leave.

*

[dramatic music]

*

*

- Good morning.

Um, today...

What's on the agenda for today?

*

I'm gonna start cooking...

early afternoon.

I've got a bunch of limpets
to add to my stew.

So that's gonna take
a little bit of a fire,

'cause I was to boil it
for about an hour.

Boil some of the liquid down
just a tiny bit,

thicken it up.

Nothing really to do
for a few hours,

so I'm just gonna
cut some wood.

Keep my mind occupied.

Every day,
I've done the same routine.

Wake up in the morning.

Process firewood.

*

Check my lines.

I'll check my traps.

If I catch food,
I process them.

*

Make a fire,

get me a rolling boil,

and then I'm cooking.

*

Eat dinner.

*

I have my tea.

And then waiting and waiting

maybe three, four hours
for darkness.

*

Then just crawl
in your sleeping bag

and go to sleep.

*

Every day that I spend here,

nothing's different.

It's boring.

*

Soon as I get bored,
I start wanting to work.

And as soon as I start
wanting to work,

I start cutting wood again.

Exerting myself a lot,
burning calories.

I got enough freaking wood here
for ten days, probably.

*

The length of the days are
really starting to get to me.

I'm just trying
to get the day over with.

They're really lasting
a long time.

I am wore out.

You look up "wore out"
in the dictionary,

my face is right there,
just like a mug shot.

Just wore out.

*

It's a struggle to get out of
bed in the morning.

*

I just don't
feel like getting up.

*

What's really irritating me
is time.

Every minute is dragging by,

barely moving.

Tick...

tock.

*

Tick...

tock.

*

I don't know
what to do with myself.

Just sitting...

sitting here,
watching the world go by.

*

After a while,
there's just not very many

redeeming qualities
about this place.

*

I just feel like
I want to crawl up in bed

and not get back out again.

*

All I do is go to sleep,
dream about food,

wake up, and be like,

"Oh, that's right,
I'm [bleep] here."

I'm still here.

*

How many more days, man?

How many more days of this?

*

How long can a person
go out here?

It's getting tough.

But I still don't
want to go home.

I want to stay out here.

I want it to be over,
I don't want to suffer anymore,

but unfortunately, I might
have to suffer a lot more.

*

So here's the deal.

I finally did break down
a little bit and start crying.

And I'll tell you why.

Um...

yeah, it's hard out here.

Not for the alone thing.

It's--I thought maybe I'd
get in my head with my demons

and my own issues back home,

but that's not the case.

It's just freaking hard, man.

It's freaking hard,
eating a freaking sea snail

and calling that dinner.

And doing it over,
and over, and over again.

*

I'm trying not to
think about tapping.

And I'm thinking about tapping
all the time.

You have to keep freaking
plugging away,

keep plugging away.

You always have to just
give it your all,

give it all you got, man.

And that's what
I'm struggling with,

is giving it all I got,
'cause...

there damn sure
ain't a lot left,

I can tell you that
right now.

*

[sighs]

*

*

- So I moved my gill net.

The seals are still
eating my fish

off my line
and off my gill net.

*

The calories, definitely,
these last couple of days,

have been down,
without having any fish

and only relying,
really, on the limpets.

I've cut my
energy expenditure down.

Just trying to
conserve calories.

Feeling just a little bit off.

*

And I'm a little spacey.

Feeling really light-headed.

The salmon run's almost over.

Now, anything left...

It's this sort of game, like
the seals have their niche,

and the bears can also
eat it in the river,

and they can also eat it
in the higher intertidal area

when the tide is out.

So the bears and the seals
aren't really competing.

They don't really overlap.

Well, I am
right in the middle.

So I'm competing
with both of them.

*

Yeah, very empty net.

Nothing caught in it.

I need to eat
to sustain myself.

It's--well, you know a good
survival strategy?

Scavenging for food.

If the seals weren't
stealing my food,

I'd be fine.

Scavenging's a great
survival strategy.

Lots of people use it.

Maybe not in our culture,
but it works.

*

All right, I'm gonna go
check out where the bears live.

Maybe they come here,
but their main river.

See if I can, uh...

steal some food from the bears.

'Cause, you know--hey, if
they're done with their carcass,

I'm cool eating it.

Yeah.

See the path to the--on
the right side of the screen?

That's a bear path,
right there.

That's how the bears get down.

How 'bout I take their path?

See you later.
Wish me luck.

Maybe I'll scavenge
some food.

I'm gonna go
take this bear trail.

*

Look at that.

Someone's been eating well.

*

If there's anything left
that the bears have been eating

that still looks decent enough
that I can chop it up

and put it in my frying pan,

I'm eating it.

*

Hello!

Human coming!

I'm, like, on their trail,
so I want to let them know.

'Cause it's the mom and cubs.

*

I just want to let them know

so I don't surprise them,
you know?

Want to make sure
they know you're coming.

That's when they do things
like charge.

*

We're on their trail--
oh yeah, there's salmon.

*

I'm not gonna eat that piece.

Tail.
It's not big enough.

*

Hello!

Human coming!

[shouts indistinctly]

*

I got a weird feeling--
a cougar over here.

*

Huh.

*

I just feel like...

Back in there, there's...

Really strong feeling
of mountain lion.

*

I have pretty good senses.

Right in here, somewhere.

*

All right, yeah, I feel like
I've gotten far enough here.

I'm worried that the predators

will keep stealing my food,
and, uh, I'm hungry.

I need to eat.

*

- * All I'm doing
is suffering *

* Why are you suffering?

* I'm trying to
make life changes *

- My green food sources
are freezing, I think

with with the weather.

It's not looking very good.

- There's ice falling
out of the sky.

The wind is bone-chilling.

Yeah, it's weather like this
that makes people tap out.

- Oh, man,
look at all these mussels.

They may make me
sick like a dog.

But life is risk.

*