Alone (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 1 - A New Land - full transcript

[dramatic music]

*

- This is the hardest terrain.

- Patagonia is a different
environment entirely.

- Everything out here
is so hard.

- Patagonia's no joke.

- Are you willing to
give up who you are

for what you will become?

- It's Patagonia,
for God's sake.

- Patagonia!

- It's tougher than
I ever imagined.



- Just missing home right now.

- You get a feeling of
helplessness,

like, "why am I doing this?"

- Oh, my God!

- The last person left
wins $500,000

and is a badass.

- Bam!
- Ugh.

[animal growling]

- What is that?

- It's just
how far you can push yourself

and what you're able to do.

- Yeah!

- You don't have anyone
to lean on.

- Oh, my God, I got a fish.



- Go to bed hungry,
wake up hungry.

- Can't believe we did that.

- Ready, guy?

- It's gonna
come down to mental endurance

and food deprivation.

- [ces]

- Person'll be dead
in a week at this rate.

[animal growling]

*

- Whoa.

That's a big cat.

*

- We're about to get dropped
off at the edge of the earth.

Patagonia is some of the most
desolate terrain known to man.

- This is the hardest challenge
anyone can do.

Such a vast, harsh location.

And we're completely alone.

- We're all gonna be on
this new, foreign land.

Leading into winter,
it's gonna get nasty.

Snowstorms, the wind--

and it's just gonna
come down to pure guts.

- Holy cow.

All alone.

- The biggest thing to be
worried about are predators,

boars just running rampant,

and there's pumas.

I mean, who's not gonna be
scared of a cat

that weighs almost
as much as me

that wants to attack from the
back by grabbing my neck?

- [yells and laughs]

[yells]

Oh, my God, this is it.

- We don't know what the
resources are like down here,

so it's up to me to figure out
all the different ways

to live on a foreign land

for an undetermined
amount of time.

*

- What did I just do?

[laughs]

Wow.

*

*

- Patagonia!

*

I'll never be in
a more beautiful spot.

I see some cool things
around here, already.

I see some bamboo,

I see a stream
running into a lake.

I see humungous peaks.
I see awesome trees.

And I see a lot of
opportunity...

For me to succeed.

I'm gonna try to get a quick
shelter set up tonight.

Think I found a sweet
little spot.

I want to get something
set up quick

and easy so that I can just
get out of the elements

if it starts to rain
and I have a place

to lay my head for night one.

I need to keep myself warm,

I need to keep myself dry
and get a fire going

and stay out of the elements,
because those are the things

that are gonna kill me first.

This is no joke.

I mean, this is
the edge of the earth.

It's very remote.

This is rugged country
out here;

it's cold,
mountains are huge.

It's not easy living.

This is the real deal.

I feel that I'm ready
to be tested

and to really put my mind
to the test

and my skills to the test
for this journey.

*

Let's go.

Hey-o.
- [giggles]

- Come here, baby.

[whistles]
Come!

My current job is
a high school teacher.

I did start
a survival class there.

[whistles]
Come here.

Probably about eight years ago.

So my knowledge of survival
from when

I started that class
till now

has grown exponentially.

Come here.
[whistles]

Here I come.

My strongest skill set
is probably

my positive attitude.

PMA is what I teach
all my kids in all my classes.

Positive Mental Attitude.

I'll have kids walking down the
hall, you know,

they'll be like, "PMA,
Mr. Shields, PMA,"

I'm like, "PMA!"
You know?

And that's what I teach
in my classes,

because it makes a difference
between everything in life.

My wife and I,
we had some trouble

having our own children.

It was a little bit sad
for a while,

but we kind of feel like it's
happening for a reason.

We're in the process of
adopting three boys,

and, you know, we've been
involved in this process

probably since last summer.

We were looking for siblings,
you know.

We didn't just want one child.

So as soon as we kind of, like,
started the process,

they're like,
"Wait, you want three?"

We're like, "Yeah, that's
exactly what we want."

And we have three boys
coming to us.

Guys gonna miss Daddy?
Huh?

- Are you kidding?
Of course they will.

*

How's it gonna effect me,
knowing that the kids

are on their way, so to speak,
and my wife is sort of

dealing with this on her own.

I knew that it was happening
and she knew

and we had a long talk--
well, many long talks--

and this is what
I wanted to do,

and she wants me
to live my dreams,

and this is one of my dreams.

*

My strategy is to kind of
mentally block that stuff out.

I mean,
I hate to say it, and--

but to get through this,
I think that's gonna be

something I'm gonna
have to do.

Not bad for just a little bit
of a day's work.

*

So I'm trying to get
some fire stuff together.

[sighs]

Got some of this shaggy stuff,

and bark, as you can see.

Kind of want to scrape it down.

*

Matter of fact,
this is looking pretty good.

So let's give this a shot.

I just want to test a little
piece of this tinder

and see if it goes up.

*

There we go, baby, come on.

*

There's no messing around now.

I have a long way to go.

But at least I got fire,
I got a little shelter set up

for the first night.

So I'm feeling...

feeling pretty good.

*

- [sighs]

Still trying to get situated.

I figured I would just
take a quick little walk...

and see what my new property
has to offer.

And I'm just gonna try
and take in the whole area

and just examine the landscape
and then figure out

what my first step is gonna be.

I should probably go over
towards where the sun is.

But that also might be
where it gets more wind,

because of the exposure.

I'm looking for
a spot to set up

for at least tonight.

And then when first light
hits tomorrow,

finding a nice spot for a long,
long time.

Just trying to get a feel
for the landscape right now.

Pretty steep.

Very gnarly and wet.

Better make sure you're careful
with your steps,

everything's slippery.

Watch your feet, Campbell,
that's what I always tell you,

watch your feet.

Watch your feet.

See if you see any
tracks in the mud.

- Here's a deer track.

- Yup, which way is it going?

- This way.
- Yup.

My son, Campbell,
he's so special to me.

And everything I do
is for his betterment.

- And we have a bobcat
around our house

and we're gonna
try to catch it.

This is my fort.

- Everything I learned through
the culmination of my life,

I get to share
with that little boy.

And I'm trying to build him
into a great person

and he's already
well on his way.

Do you want to know anything
about the way it looks

or the animals or anything?

- Yeah, I want to know
what the animals are.

- I'll tell you what, there's
gonna be something like Zuko,

but it's much bigger.

- Bobcat.
- Bigger.

- Lion?
- Not a lion.

But a mountain lion
or a puma.

These are cool,
aren't they?

- Mm-hmm.

Are you gonna
really hunt them?

- I'm not hunting those,
and hopefully they won't be

hunting me.

- How long will you be gone?

More than 30 days?

- We'll see how long
I'm gonna be gone,

but it could be 30 days.

It could be 40 days.

- 50, 60, or 70?
- It could be 50, 60, 70.

- It could be 300.
- [screams]

- We'll see.
- Not 300!

- But you'll be fine
while I'm gone.

I work in accounting,

which is such a contrast
to the things

that I enjoy to do
outside of work.

Bushcraft is kind of
instilled in my brain.

It's something that
I've always been doing.

I want to show what I can do.

What I'm capable of.

- Bye, Daddy.
- Bye, buddy.

Take of Mommy, right?
- Okay.

- Be a good man.
- Mm-hmm.

I'll be the man of the house.
- There you go.

*

I'm looking for a plot

that's about 20 by 20 feet
and is flat.

And that's gonna be hard.

*

Let's see what's over here.

*

Oh.

Hello, hello.

I like the feel,
this is nice and soft.

Oh, it's really soft.

All this pincushion moss.

That would be just
so delightful to sleep on.

And the view.

And this tree.

And the water.

It's nice and flat.

This is one possible location.

*

I'm looking up--widowmakers.

The thing about the big trees,

is you get something
falling out of this tree

and coming straight down,

that might be all she wrote.

It's not the spot.

I don't feel like getting
impaled in my sleep.

Let's keep on keeping on.

*

Definitely need to
shed some layers.

I'm getting hot in here.

Don't want to start sweating.

Then I'll get cold really fast.

So...

*

Look at that.

A complete skeleton.

And over here...

it's a cow skull
sitting up here.

Good gracious.

You know what?
Look at that.

There's another size
mandible in here

that does not go with
the size of that skull.

*

It's possible that it was
taken out by a puma...

and dragged it back here
and had a fantastic feast.

Maybe I'm sitting in
a damn puma kill zone.

*

What's that?

[trees rustling]

I hear a noise.

*

Something's around here.

*

[trees rustling]
What's that?

[trees rustling]

I'll dismiss it.

[chuckles]

You won't hear a puma.

*

Still on the search for a good
first night camp location.

Got a bunch of game trails
right here.

Pathways are trampled to death.

*

Oh.

Now, that is a lot of
very fresh boar scat.

Flies-still-on-it fresh.

That kind of gives you the idea
of the size of pig

I might be dealing with.

*

And I was worried about
seeing boar activity.

*

Boars like to come out
right when the sun goes down

and disappear right before day.

I might just set one little
snare, just out of curiosity.

*

So I just put a little simple
slipknot on the end

and made a loop.

I'm gonna have it hanging
head level,

maybe a little bit lower.

Not exactly sure of the size
I'm dealing with, so...

*

Anything coming down this path

in low light will go
right through there.

Hopefully, I'll hear it

and be able to
get out here to it.

And that'll be my dinner bell.

I plan on setting
a lot of these.

This is just the first one.

*

I'm worried about
losing daylight.

*

I'll tell you what,
right now,

I can make that into a nice
little shelter.

Keep it simple for today.

Venture out tomorrow.

*

Keep it simple.

*

- Whoo!

Oh.

Oh!

Ugh, okay.

That felt really good.

It always feels good
to jump in the water.

*

Yeah--ah.

[inhales]
Okay.

*

Anytime I come to a new place
where there's a body of water,

I go in it.

*

It's a way of deepening my
connection with the earth.

*

I'm really inspired
by the land.

I really see a lot of
possibility

for little things I want to do.

I was able to put up my little
temporary shelter.

It's cozy.

But I'm gonna take my time,

take it slow.

This isn't about trying to
survive out here.

That is not how
I'm looking at it at all.

I am totally...

looking at this as...

this is my home.

This is where I'm moving to.

*

We like to thrive in my world.

*

I am not planning on
being out here

and not being comfortable.

*

So I'm going to make a chair.

Check this out.

Now we've entered
the bamboo forest.

No, a chair
is not a necessity.

But being comfortable
is so important out here.

It's just a way of
feeling at home.

*

I would not claim that I'm the
most skilled by any means,

in terms of bushcraft,
but my lifestyle

lends itself to doing
something like this.

I've lived off grid
for many years

and I've been pretty much alone
most of that time.

Knowing how to problem-solve
and think critically

and self-soothe, all that,

is really what I think
separates the people

who make it long-term,
versus the people

who go home early on.

The prize money is a huge
factor for me doing this.

What I would do is buy the
piece of land that I live on.

You know, I don't have a
partner, I don't have kids,

but I have this incredible net
and support system,

my family and my community
and my friends.

When I'm out there, I can
draw upon that foundation.

But I've never,
ever gone more than

two weeks without
talking to my mom.

That's gonna be the biggest
challenge for me.

Okay, so we got
the frame of our chair.

It's kind of a recliner.

Digging it.

Dig it.

Okay, so now,
I'm gonna go--[rolls tongue] up

and [rolls tongue] out.

So we need to do
a little bit of...

fashioning of these.

*

Already, I feel like
I'm thriving.

You know?

I can see that...

already, I'm using projects

as a big form of distraction.

And, um...

I feel very good about
the home I'm creating here

and I have so many projects
in my mind.

*

That should do it.

*

[sighs]

Oh, yeah.

[sighs]

*

Even something
as little as a chair...

can make all the difference.

*

I hope I see a UFO
while I'm out here.

*

This would be prime
UFO locating.

*

[fire crackling]

[animal squealing]

[animal squealing]

- I hear a noise.

[animal squealing]

And it--
I'm trying to figure out

if it sounds like
a distressed call,

like something is
stuck in my trap...

[animal squealing]

That's what it sounds like.

I want to confirm before I go
running off into the woods.

[animal squealing]

Something's--whoo.

Let's go check it out.

*

[animal squealing]

Got my knife.

*

[animal squealing]

[animal squealing]

Sounds like something
in distress.

*

[animal squealing]

It's a creepy sound.

*

I can...hear my heartbeat.

I set my trap over here.

[animal squealing]

That circle right there.

*

So...

[animal squealing]

*

[animal squealing]

What is that?

[animal squealing]

*

Sounds like something
in distress.

Got my knife.

*

My trap is still set.

*

Right there.

[animal squealing]

What is that?

*

[animal squealing]

It's way up there.

*

I do have my, uh,
sheath unsnapped.

In the unlikely occasion

I do have to put it out
and fend off something.

*

I'm no easy win.

*

I guess I'll just
head back to the fire.

*

Predators out here--

or something
that's definitely lurking

in the recesses of my brain.

I just have to be very careful
and mindful

and not be careless
and just try

and stay focused.

Sleep time.

*

*

- Day two.

Feels good to say day two.

Feels really good
to say day two.

[sighs]

Been waiting a long time
to start day one,

and now I'm on day two.

I like that.

Got big plans for today.

But I got to take advantage
of all the daylight.

I think I'm gonna try
and make a tepee today.

*

Hey-oh.

I'm gonna have to build
a pretty kick-butt shelter

to withstand the winds,
the snow that's gonna come.

*

It's gonna be one of the most
serious winters

I've ever experienced.

One of the primary concerns
is thermoregulation

and keeping my core body
temperature

where it's supposed to be.

So I've decided to whack down
a couple trees with my axe,

put up my wrap and frap
kind of tripod.

Could work.
Maybe.

Now the moment of truth.

*

And just add probably five
or six more logs to that.

And then wrap
the tarp around it.

*

The reason I like this design

is because you can keep a fire
in the middle of it

to keep you warm
through the night,

and also the smoke will escape
through the top.

*

Hey, America.

How are you?

Hey!

*

Time to try to get a bed going
real quick.

You don't want to
lay on the ground,

it's too cold.

Suck the heat
out of your body.

*

And then you get sick and die.

*

Single bamboo stick
wouldn't hold anything,

but you get
all of them together,

pretty sturdy.

It's weird to think about that
this is not me just

teaching a class at school or
messing around

in the woods near my house,
it's--this is real.

*

- My body is so

awesomely tired right now.

You know when you've had a
really great day

of working hard, physically?

And your body's just like,

"blah!"

*

Today, I spent the day doing
some more exploring.

Coming out here,
it was very clear

that I was not going to be
hunting boar.

[chuckles] You know,
I'm not a huntress.

I really wanted
my focus to be

on foraging and fishing.

*

I just set one line out.

*

I found a nice little stash
of firewood,

which I think I'm gonna go and
try and gather more of tomorrow.

I also foraged.

Found a lot more mushrooms

and tons of berries.

Look at this beautiful
bowl of fruit.

*

This place is
unbelievably abundant

and so beautiful.

I'm just so looking
forward to the future here.

*

Oh, my God!

Wow, what a beauty.

Okay.

[sings]

So--oh.

Thank you for your life, fish.

Thank you so much.

I'm gonna make nice
fish head soup.

*

Whoop.

And all this,
I'm gonna save for bait.

Shall we see what was inside
the fish's stomach?

[gasps] Wow, look.

An entire shell.

Ooh.

Aha, look.

A beetle.

So the trout
seemed to be eating

full snails,
pieces of stick,

and a beetle.

So I'm gonna use the beetle

from the inside of the stomach

as bait.

*

Fishing.

A very slow
and patient process.

*

I feel like I'm starting to
get into a groove here.

*

Understanding
the different rhythms

and patterns and how you
interact with the land,

how the land interacts with you,

what resources the land has.

*

Oh, my gosh.

Check it out!

Wow, thank you!

Happened so fast.

*

I can't believe
I caught two fish.

It's an amazing feeling.

Da da da!

Hello.

[yelps]

*

[dramatic music]

*

*

[rain pattering]

- [sighs] I'm just
having a moment here.

[clears throat]

It's raining out.

[rain pattering]

What am I gonna do?

I have all these ideas--I want
to put in a stone floor,

expand my shelter.

I found a tree cache for wood.

[rain pattering]

But it's raining.

And I just...

[sighs]

It's dark all the time here.

And then it rains
when it's light out.

*

Day three, day three,
day three.

*

I keep thinking about my wife.

And I keep thinking about
the three kids

we're adopting this summer.

*

I thought, "If I can
just stay busy,

it would just go away."

But...

I'm just sitting here

and the thoughts
kind of just...

are overwhelming.

[sighs]

[rain pattering]

*

I can't get that
out of my head.

*

It just won't go away.

*

Number one rule of survival:

stay positive.

PMA.

Positive Mental Attitude.

*

*

*

I wouldn't be here
if I didn't have the skills.

It's just a matter of...

The one skill
that I can't control...

*

My brain.

*

Hello?

I am tapping out.

*

I do feel ashamed,
I really do.

Thousands of people would've
wanted to be in this spot.

And I got here,
and this is what I did.

*

Hi, guys.

*

[sighs]
I'm done.

I tapped out.

Ugh, just...

I have so much
going on at home--

I have my wife and we're
adopting these three kids

this summer and it's like,

I can't get it
out of my head.

I go crazy and work hard,
and, you know,

just stay busy,
but it just keeps

getting back into my brain.

And I can't--
I just can't get rid of it.

When you're really,
truly alone,

it's--it's another story.

Um...

so that hit me pretty hard.

That hit me hard
after just the few days,

and that was it.

*

I probably underestimated
Patagonia.

*

I really thought
I could do at least a month.

*

It's cold here.

It's wet, it's dark.

*

And survival's not easy;
it's not easy at all.

*

It's harder here
than you think.

*

Being alone...

it takes a special
kind of person.

*

It's just not something that

I guess I was ready for.

*

[dramatic music]

*

*

- All right, this is me.

On the third day.

Oh, I'm not doing it right.

I'm supposed to be looking at
the camera,

I'm looking at the thing.

All right.

This is me.

Ugh, do it again--
no looking at the lens.

All right.

[sighs] Man, I got to
turn that thing away.

I just cannot not look at it.

This is me...

on the third morning.

All right,
that's all you get.

*

I found myself a little area.

It's only, like, 15 feet
from where I was dropped off.

*

But my choices are limited.

And my site was almost
completely uphill.

It rained all night.

This whole area
was soaked with water

just coming down the hill.

All my stuff is damp.

I need to move further up
and further in.

When you're going somewhere
to settle a place,

you don't just stop at the most
miserable place you can find

and try to make the best of it.

You push on till you find
the Promise Land.

So I got to explore my
territory,

find a spot where it plateaus
above, where it's safe,

where I can make
something permanent.

*

Just looking at the best way
to go up this hill.

This is what
I'm working with here.

It's a 45-degree angle,

heading up into the woods.

It is really rugged over here.

This is one tough place.

*

This whole side,

it's so treacherous.

*

Almost impossible
to walk through.

*

There could be a whole different
ball game going on up there.

It's kind of the way
it is here at Patagonia,

you go around the corner
and over a hillside

or around the bend

and it's a different
environment entirely.

*

Must be a sign of game.

That looks like
big boar [bleep].

*

I just got to be careful.

[grunts]

*

This is crazy.

This is...

pretty freaking crazy.

Boar will aggressively attack.

You can't let your guard down.

*

I read somewhere,
the plan of attack

never survives first contact
with the enemy.

Already, I have found that
to be true.

*

Maine's nothing
compared to this.

*

Big spin.

- Whoa!
Wee!

- I live in a yurt
off grid in Maine

with my wife, Jamie,
my daughter, Abigail,

who's four,
and our daughter, Sparrow,

who was just born to us
almost a year now.

Yay!

We think of ourselves as
minimalists.

We don't have running water
unless we run and get it.

We don't have power
until we turn the power on

at night for lights.

My skills for survival
and things are self-taught.

I am living a survival
situation every day.

My greatest skill set
is my ability to build stuff.

If I can imagine it,
I can make it.

- So are you gonna miss
living in the yurt?

[both laugh]

- Run away!

The prize money's kind of
a big deal to us.

We could really use it.

We want to build
a bigger house.

It would be like
a ten year jump

in getting us towards
that goal.

- And you remember,
trust your struggle

and just don't give up
when it gets hard.

- I won't.
- I'm gonna miss you so much.

- I know.

*

I see this as an opportunity
and a stepping stone

to build a better life
for my family.

Down there, somewhere,

is my beach area.

*

Look at that mountain range.

*

Gorgeous.

*

The way I live at home
is so tough and rugged,

that I know about
not giving up

until you are safe
and secure for the night.

Further up
and further in.

Wow, look at this.

This massive tree tipped over.

The root base is up there

and it goes down.

And it's just...

it's huge.

I was thinking of
incorporating this big tree

into the back of my shelter
as the back wall.

So if I slept up against it,

and the rest of my shelter
came out from there,

it might protect me from
anything that fell

from the trees.

I think building a shelter here
will work really good,

but heading up and down
that hill every day

will be a real challenge.

*

Holy crap.

Look at this.

Big pile of bones.

*

This is unreal.

*

Could a puma take down a cow?

*

I move up here, I might be
moving closer to his territory.

*

My goodness, this is crazy.

*

*

- Down here,
setting up fish line.

I want to try out fish hook
way out in the water.

*

I found a spot where I plan to
build my shelter.

With all the resources of
bamboo and stuff

that are up there, I can build
a pretty damn awesome shelter.

I'll just go up and work on
what I can each day

and come back down.

Maybe a little work on the
trail as I go up the hill.

This'll be the interesting part.

[grunts]

I got one fish line in.

Get one in every day
and...

[branches crackling]

*

Heard something big
crashing around out there.

[trees rustling]

*

Just caught a glimpse
of his eyes.

*

Whoa.

That's a big cat.

[rustling]
Whoa, cat!

*

Whoa, cat.

*

Where did he go?

*

- A lot of people
go through life,

never learning
how to be alone.

- Out here,
there's no time off.

You take a break, you're done.

- Oh, my God,
it's like quicksand.

- I'm in Patagonia so that
I can evolve as a human being.

- [Tarzan call]
- Thank you.

- I am who I am and I got to do
what I got to do out here.

- I can't get warm.

I can't move my hands.

Water's coming up
about a foot from my bed.

This is a bad situation.

- When all of the things aren't
going very well for you,

then the isolation is what
starts to get to you.

- Got the fish.

- [shushing]

Haven't heard that noise yet.

- The duck trap-enator.

Gonna motor out there.

- Survival isn't about
being happy.

It sucks.

- Oh, my gosh.

There's definitely
something outside.

[growling]

*