Alone (2015–…): Season 8, Episode 6 - Smoked - full transcript

♪ ♪

- I am officially tapping out.

No amount of glory
is worth harming yourself

to the level
that starvation can do.

- Yes! Oh, thank you, fish.

I am all in right now on fish.

I'm going to spend
a lot of time on this boat.

- There's so many reasons
I want to make a pit house.

They are incredibly efficient
at keeping in heat.

- I'm not living up
to what I want

to live up to
as a survivalist.



I am officially tapping out.

Family is more important
then my ego.

I want to be driven
by what's in my heart.

♪ ♪

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.

narrator: In "alone's"
most terrifying location yet,

10 participants face
the deadliest predator

in north america.

- There he is right there.
- Grizzly bears.

- Hey, bear!

- There's a lot
of grizzly here.

I'm gonna have
to live with them.

- Go on, get!

- Every second we're
on the land,



we're being hunted.

- Holy *bleep*, mountain lion.

- It's circling around
my shelter.

Narrator: Bone chilling cold.

- Winter is coming.

You combine the wind
with the rain and the cold,

this place could make
the arctic look easy.

Oh *bleep*.

Narrator:
And complete isolation.

- You cannot hide
from yourself,

mentally and emotionally.

- Ahh!

- There's no place to go.

- I am suffering
from loneliness.

Narrator: Who will survive?

- Yes, yes!

- This could be the end.

- I don't want to tap,
but I don't want to die either.

- You have to suffer
before you can succeed.

narrator:
The last one standing wins.

- At what point do
I push the button?

♪ ♪

I just shot a buck.

♪ ♪

oh, my god.

Oh...

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

oh, my god.

♪ ♪

I killed it.

Yeah!

♪ ♪

mm. Whew!

Hunting is something
that I've done my whole life.

But I've always had support,

I've always been able
to bring things.

But to do it completely
on your own, self-supported,

just from
what the land provides,

that's a different story.

♪ ♪

backstraps tonight!

I'm going to go ahead
and drop the guts right here,

and then drag him away.

Cut those hind quarters off
and take those.

this location is different

because there is
a major predator here.

So I have to get
this thing gutted,

I have to get it
quartered out,

I have to get the usable,
good meat,

because the last thing
that I want to do

is have to deal
with a bear coming in here

and wanting to take this kill.

♪ ♪

I don't have my pack, so I have
to start shuttling the meat

in stages back to the shelter.

oh, man, first load done.

♪ ♪

- checking myself here
real quick.

I don't remember having
any gray in my beard

before this started.

Maybe a little.

I haven't seen any deer.

But every morning,
I pick 100 onions,

rose hips, and cranberries.

I'm just working on foraging

'cause that stuff's gonna
go away when the snow comes.

♪ ♪

mmm, mmm.

Plants, man, they provide.

♪ ♪

oh, there's my onion friends.

Be with you shortly.

♪ ♪

cranberry hole.

♪ ♪

tiny, but sure are tasty.

♪ ♪

these cranberries have been in
this hole for almost 3 weeks.

Still are good.

it's calories over comfort
right now.

Every spare minute
I have has to go

to trying to acquire calories.

♪ ♪

moderation,
eat 'em in moderation.

I have to pick onions.

♪ ♪

I don't know
when they disappear.

Unfamiliar with the land.

All right, let's go.

♪ ♪

if they disappear and I don't
have 1,000 or more,

that's a big shame on me.

It's almost like harvesting
out of the garden,

which I would be doing
right now if I was at home.

I'd really like to start
community farms

in rural alaska.

I want to use the money
that I could win

to expose people to wilderness

and wild places
and intact ecosystems.

Two thirds of our planet
lives in urban areas,

which is fine, but it's hard
to get a population

that care about
wild places like this

if they've never been in it.

♪ ♪

so, for me, winning the money

means being able to start
my dream of a school or a camp.

I want to build that.

I like this
foraging business, man.

Sitting on my ass
picking calories.

Keep doing it.

♪ ♪

- close up of my face.

Look at those cheek bones.

Seriously sunken in.

Look at that brow.

Look at that skull structure.

You think that that's not,

like cro-magnon
or like early human?

Those high ridges.

it's a tough skull.

Trust me, it's a tough skull.

it's getting dark.

♪ ♪

I'm gonna head up
and check my lines.

♪ ♪

I would like to believe
there's a fish on my line.

♪ ♪

tell you what,
I miss my family.

♪ ♪

the struggle for me
is the value

that I place
on my responsibility

to be a dad,
since I didn't have a dad.

♪ ♪

when you don't have
that resource,

especially for boy stuff,

you kind of learn
from another kid.

But there was no heart in it.

That's what I think
is interesting for me.

Not having a dad
that has a passion.

I feel like my passion
is my family.

Maybe that's because
of my own upbringing.

♪ ♪

super exciting.

♪ ♪

we all come from a struggle.

At some point, we all struggle,
no matter where we come from.

♪ ♪

big fish.

♪ ♪

easy, big fella.

come on, come on.

♪ ♪

*bleep*!

No!

♪ ♪

*bleep*!

♪ ♪

*bleep*.

Damn it.

that was a huge bull trout.

♪ ♪

my jacket's wet.

♪ ♪

I saw that it was just
barely hooked on the nose.

son of a--*bleep*. Dang it.

♪ ♪

I saw him slip off right when
he got in the shallow water.

God dang it.

All right,
we're gonna set it again.

♪ ♪

that's a meal for a few days.

That's so many calories.

I could start
to replenish stored fat.

It's just such a blast
to your time spent.

♪ ♪

so I've got to figure this out.

Can't let that happen again.

♪ ♪

- I just got back to camp
with the last load.

I don't think I've ever--
I know I've never--

I've never reacted
like that to--

to killing a deer or an animal.

But there's--I don't know,
being out here and...

♪ ♪

being--having the fish
situation be what it is

where it's just, like, staying

maybe just a day or two ahead,

you know, that's all I can do
is stay a day or two ahead.

It's just, it was kind of--

that was worrying me.

That was stressful.

And to have all of that
just poof,

lifted off your shoulders
is like...

♪ ♪

that is a beautiful sight.

man.

♪ ♪

I have to get all this stuff
cut into strips.

Gotta keep it from spoiling.

Gotta keep a bear
from taking it.

♪ ♪

backstrap.

♪ ♪

that's the rib meat.

♪ ♪

tenderloin.

♪ ♪

that's dinner tonight.

Heart.

That's always the first thing.

You gotta eat the heart first.

I've got to take it all
back there and hang it now.

♪ ♪

there is a real risk
of having meat

hanging in your shelter
where there's bears around.

I want to make sure
that it's up off the ground

and protected,
because that is my future.

♪ ♪

never had to haul meat
so far without a pack.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

yeah, that'll work for now.

Revamp it later.

Man, that deer heart
is gonna be good tonight.

the first meal of any deer
or elk that I ever kill,

I always eat the heart first.

It's just kind of
a significant thing to me.

♪ ♪

buck heart fried in buck fat.

Man, oh, man.

there's the end of the heart.

♪ ♪

oh, my god.

♪ ♪

mmm.

Oh, my god, that's good.

Whew!

That may be the best thing
I ever ate.

Thank you, young buck.

Thank you, thank you.

Mmm.

♪ ♪

- mm...

Having a slow, slow morning.

It's windy and rainy, cold.

Kind of set it out where
my goal is, like, 100 days,

so I'm 23% of the way there.

Every day
is just one more percent.

I put that goal out there, mm,

but food,
I need food to get there.

I need to get
some passive fishing going,

so I think I'm gonna build
a fish trap.

before I get to work,
it's breakfast time.

all right, shelter,
see you tonight.

♪ ♪

my little breakfast
cranberries, have a few.

Gonna stop by
ol' cranberry hole.

♪ ♪

this fish trap,
I'm pretty excited

about catching fish
for me passively, 24/7.

Lots of excitement.

♪ ♪

ooh.

Something has been here.

♪ ♪

something big.

♪ ♪

tore up my fire pit.

Ate my cranberries.

Hey, bear!

I think we had a bear.

That ain't to squirrel
moving those rocks.

Ate half my cranberries.

Oh. Any good ones left?

Smell them and see if I
can smell the bear's breath.

I'm worried about bears,
but I need to get calories.

I am building
a fish trap today.

♪ ♪

god, it'd be sweet
if this works.

Some passive fishing.

♪ ♪

last year
there was a land slide

that blocked the chilko river,

so now it's made it
inaccessible

for the salmon
to reach the lake.

Got a little system
going here, guys.

Migratory bears
are showing up to get fish,

and there ain't fish there.

Now they're hungry and they're
moving through your territory.

Those bears probably
scare me the most

'cause they're
the least predictable.

Oh, that smell.

Hey, bear!

I just caught wind
of something.

it's a little unnerving
to know,

like, what are they gonna
turn to, skunk cabbage?

"alone" contestants?

These bears aren't gonna come
here and turn around and say,

"oh, the fish aren't here"
and back out of here.

They're gonna stay here,

and they're gonna
get desperate.

Ah it looks fantastic.

There's the entrance,

this comes out
and there's the trap.

Fish go right in,
can't get out.

I'm gonna tie it on
and go get it in the water.

It's gonna be a producer, man.

♪ ♪

- here we go,
setting the fish trap.

♪ ♪

I have no idea how deep it is.

All right, trap,
catch some fish, please.

Fish trap in.

That's my buoy.

It didn't sink.
We're good, man.

Let's get the boat put away.

♪ ♪

- is there a point in getting
out of my sleeping bag?

Mm.

My lips are okay and I can
still smile so it's alright.

My shirt needs a wash though.

The reason I want to move
into the pit house,

'cause then I can wash clothing

even when the weather is nasty

and then I can dry it
over the fire.

Yep, really, really ready,

really ready to move
into my house.

♪ ♪

all right, before I move in,

I need to get
this fireplace area sorted.

With the tarp
over the smoke hole,

I'm not really sure
how this is gonna work out

ventilation-wise,
so this is kind of a test.

♪ ♪

so far it's a smoke house.

♪ ♪

it's pulling all the air
in from over there,

just bringing the smoke inside.

I have to figure out a way
to temporarily open

part of the smoke hole up top.

Let me just go--

I'm gonna grab a pole
and see if I can do that.

It's not calm here very often.

It's very, very windy,

and I have drafts
around my door.

So when the wind
comes from the north,

my fireplace
does not function well.

Potentially that actually
made it worse.

♪ ♪

this isn't working.
I can't move in.

This is not gonna be good
for my lungs.

Smoke inhalation
over a long periods of time

can make you feel
utterly rubbish.

It's low level
carbon monoxide poisoning.

But I can't completely
not have a fire.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- good morning.

It's about five degrees
colder today, noticeable.

I'm gonna drink
some hot water

for my morning wake up,
hot like coffee.

wow, that's warm.

Holy warm. That's really hot.

Might as well go back in
for seconds, though.

Just dumb enough.

yep, just as hot
as the first time.

all right, back to work.

♪ ♪

first thing's first.

Let's remedy
the fishing situation

so we don't lose another fish.

♪ ♪

I'm just gonna evenly space
these around it,

and just keep
sectioning it down

until we get to the desired
size of the net we want.

♪ ♪

awesome.

It's a good start.

♪ ♪

fishing, it was almost
what's for breakfast.

I would say I'm in one
of the worst of times.

I'm not catching any
or killing any food.

♪ ♪

this is the longest
I've ever gone without eating.

♪ ♪

well, task one
has been completed.

I'm happy with it.

It should serve its purpose.

Perfect.

It works.

get to test out our net.

♪ ♪

I'm always optimistic
about tomorrow.

♪ ♪

but I find myself very thin

and concerned at
how much weight I've lost.

I know that physically
I'm in a dangerous place.

All right, I think
I got a fish.

I don't know how big it is,
but it's moving the line.

Oh, wow.

*bleep* here we go.

Whoo-hoo.

♪ ♪

there was a bull trout

with this 12-inch rainbow
in his mouth on the hook.

I'll take it.

You can see his teeth marks.

So this guy was food.

That's crazy.

It means the fish are back.

I'm sure happy to see 'em.

It means we're
still in the game.

♪ ♪

well, there's no flies on it,
so good,

I'm just gonna leave it.

It's kind of a race now.

I have got to get my deer meat
dry so I can preserve it.

I'm gonna have to build
a smoke house.

Here's what I'm thinking,
let's do a log cabin style.

It's going to make it
stronger, simpler.

I have to build a smoker
that's pretty sturdy.

And I know
I can't build something

that's going to stop a bear.

I mean, they're
so incredibly powerful.

But I can build one that'll
slow one down long enough

for me to hopefully
come outside and deal with it.

♪ ♪

man, I'm glad
I brought this saw.

It was a last-minute item.

I don't have the advantage
of cold weather like they have

with other big game kills
in past seasons,

where you can just leave
whole quarters out here.

In order for this meat
to dry out enough to keep,

you have to reduce
the moisture content so low

that bacteria and things like
that won't grow.

I think my shoulder is gonna
feel this tomorrow.

I gotta get this done.

Ideally what you want to do
is dry those quarters,

and it creates a rind on the
outside and protects them.

In relatively warm weather,

they'll be good
just hanging for days.

Stringing this wire in there

so I'll have a place
to hang that meat.

Gonna chink the cracks.

♪ ♪

all right.
I'm gonna do the roof.

Now I just need some moss.

♪ ♪

I think once I get
all this done,

I'm gonna have to start
just chilling a little bit.

♪ ♪

I have some little projects
that don't really

require a big expenditure.

I've been working hard,
burning a lot of calories.

♪ ♪

but I have to protect
this meat.

I'm not about to give this up
to a bear.

♪ ♪

all right.

This thing is gonna
be perfect size

to fit all this meat.

I just need a fire.

♪ ♪

started with some of this pine,

and then I'll put
that alder on there.

Oh, look at that. Bam.

Now, that's just cool.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- so not gonna lie.

Yesterday after the rain
when I got up that morning,

I had left my pot lidless,

and it had collected
that 2 inches of water.

It wasn't very light out
when I was drinking out of it.

And when it did get light,

I swear there were
squirrel turds in my water.

Not gonna lie.

I think I drank
squirrel poo yesterday.

Hopefully there's
nothing wrong with it.

But I didn't get sick.

♪ ♪

what to do today?

Well, I'm getting lighter
by the day,

so I got to build up
my caloric intake.

Plan is to build
a fishing rod and reel.

Being able to cast out
quite a ways,

might be able to pull
a bull trout a day.

♪ ♪

that's gonna fit into there.

I think that the fishing rod
and reel might change things,

put more gas in my tank.

Trying to, you know,
open this belt up some more.

♪ ♪

so after seeing the size
of the bull trout,

I think it's advisable
to use the 15-pound test,

if I'm gonna throw
that big minnow lure on.

I need that extra fat back.

Otherwise, it's gonna
be a daily battle.

All right.

I think we should do
a double wrap to a single.

I definitely don't want
to go anywhere.

My desire is to stay here
the longest.

That's what I want to do.

But I always miss my family.

Let's see how well it winds.

I miss cooking them dinner.

I miss hanging out
with my boys.

Miss my wife.

I need to stay positive
and stay healthy.

I want to see this
through for them.

♪ ♪

I'll tell you right now,
if the fish keep coming,

I am not going anywhere.

♪ ♪

can't get me out of this game.

No, sir.

Okay.
Here's what's happening.

When you're out here

going through
this type of situation,

you pay attention to your body,

and about 2 hours ago,
I started feeling nauseous.

♪ ♪

so we're gonna just see.

Just gonna let it play out
and see what happens.

♪ ♪

that water I drank concerns me.

♪ ♪

but that would be crazy.

I mean,
it's squirrel poo, I guess.

But I don't know
what a nut, mushroom,

seed-eating squirrel
would carry.

♪ ♪

probably nothing, though.

♪ ♪

probably nothing.

Just a symptom of starvation.

♪ ♪

mm.

this, too, shall pass, I guess.

♪ ♪

I need to get my fire
going again.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

*bleep*.

well, that's *bleep* special.

Son of a *bleep*.

Now I have the shakes.

That's awesome.

♪ ♪

that concerns me.

I can be as optimistic
as I want

and as stubborn as I want,
but this is troubling.

♪ ♪

I know my body, and my health
is important to me.

and I'm not interested
in battling

whatever it is that's going on
in my body right now...

With also being
on a starvation diet.

♪ ♪

it's more important to me
to be healthy,

so I do apologize
if I let anybody down that...

But I'm not gonna get sick
or put my body

in any harm for anything.

So I wish I could
have gone longer,

but 24 days is my limit.

♪ ♪

hi.

Um...

I'm officially tapping out.

I'm done.

I'm out. I'm done.

Just like that.

♪ ♪

- you seeing this weather?

This is the day
when it happens.

♪ ♪

the second I tap out,
it starts snowing.

♪ ♪

- how you doing, nate?
- Um, I'm all right.

Emotionally, I'm all right.

I've got waves
of nausea still.

My body's in a process now

where I think it's slowed
everything down,

including heating itself.

So it's enough for me to know
my priority is my health,

and I'm not
gonna compromise it.

♪ ♪

my family rely on me.

And I have to remember
that it's not about me.

So I have to stay healthy,
and I have to recognize that.

And I'm conscious of my body.

♪ ♪

life, when you're
mission-focused,

it's like a train on a track.

And I've just been
on the tracks.

I've been so mission-focused
on the homestead

and getting my family
in a comfortable place

that I've neglected
other places,

my family, my kids.

I gotta give my kids
more of me.

♪ ♪

this provided me a station stop
on my train.

It forced me to stop
and take a break

and look at my life

and remember
what's most important.

And that's what I did.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- good morning.

Let's read
my personal rules list.

Carry bow always
for potential game/threat

any time you're out.

Be aware. That's a good rule.

Wear gloves any time
I'm using a blade.

Keep track
of all critical gear.

And last but not least, don't
push the *bleep* tap button.

Trying to keep that one going.

sounds pretty calm out there,
so I think I'm gonna get up

and go try some fishing.

♪ ♪

wonder if there's any fish
hunkering down

in my fish trap yet.

♪ ♪

it's worth checking
my fish trap, right?

Maybe something's
hiding out in there.

♪ ♪

I definitely expected to have
some fish in me by now,

'cause back home,
I'm a pretty big fisherman.

♪ ♪

but out here, it's, like--
it's different.

I haven't been able
to catch one fish.

Please have fish in there.

♪ ♪

you don't have
no fish in there.

oh, well.

Gonna try something different.

♪ ♪

it's funny, when I was
gearing up to come out here,

I wanted lure fishing to be
my last resort fishing.

I didn't want it to be, like,
my main fishing thing.

So it's kind of funny to find
myself in this situation.

♪ ♪

trying not to get mad,
but it's hard.

Hard not to get mad
when things don't work

all the time.

Normally, I love fishing.

It's relaxing, it's fun,

but fishing out here
just frustrates me, man.

♪ ♪

but so much rather be doing
this than my old job.

I mean, there's no comparison.

Breathing in fiberglass,
building trailers all day.

My dad thought I should bring
a photo of my old work.

He was like,

"that'll give you
more incentive to not leave."

totally right, man.

But I'm a fighter,

and I'm gonna hang on
as long as I can.

♪ ♪

I got one.

♪ ♪

come on, baby.

Come on in.
Come on in, baby.

Yes. Yes.

*bleep* yes!

Beautiful rainbow trout.

Thank you for your life, fish.

Thank you.

Oh, yes.

Finally, a decent meal.

Oh, that's so exciting.

caught my first fish.

♪ ♪

oh, I'm gonna eat fish today.

That's so awesome.

Thank you, gods.

Thank you, chilko.

♪ ♪

it's time to get
this sucker rolling.

I can't tell you how excited
I am to eat a sizable fish.

Gonna be tasty, my friend.

I'm gonna have
my first protein out here.

It's a morale booster,
and hopefully it's a turn

in my ability
to get food out here.

♪ ♪

that's gonna be
a decent meal, right there.

Super stoked.

♪ ♪

I gotta say, it kind of sucks
to be constantly, like,

stressed about my surroundings
while cooking,

'cause these grizzly bears
will just walk right up

and take what's yours,

'cause they know
they're big and bad.

So I try to make a lot of noise
while I'm cooking fish.

Oh, yeah! Fish, baby!

Smells like breakfast
over here.

I normally scrape out
the spine.

But out here, I'm eating
that black stuff.

I'm sure it's got some kind of
nutrients in it that I want.

All right. Here comes
my dad's favorite part,

the sucking out of the eyes.

Here it goes, dad.
This one's for you.

Let me see!

That was something my dad
used to do when I was a kid.

When we'd catch trout
and cook them up,

he would suck out
the eyes and yell,

"let me see," which of course
would freak me out as a kid.

But now I do it for him.

Well, hello,
little trout brain.

Do you mind if I eat you?

♪ ♪

- going to wash my hair
with hot water.

Hope I get smell of smoke
off me.

Oh, man, that feels lovely.

Yeah.

Sometimes the little things
in life

make everything better.

♪ ♪

I'm so tired of the wind.

The wind direction
is southwest in the fall.

It's from the north
in the winter.

If it's from the north most
of the time this time of year,

I'm in a real pickle.

♪ ♪

so all right.
We're gonna push today.

We're finishing the fireplace.

so I'm gonna keep on with
the rocking all the way up

to where I think approximately
where the posts will be.

Yeah. I think that'll help
a lot with the smoke.

So we are gonna set that
in sand.

♪ ♪

try to actually
make the chimney narrow

a little bit here.

See if that helps.

I need a nice,
long-ish big one.

♪ ♪

that's spot-on.

Fireplace and the chimney,
they're incredibly important.

Fall is probably
coming to a close here,

and winter is coming,
and it is gonna get colder,

and I want to have
a fireplace with a chimney,

and all sealed up
so that when it is cold

and the weather is atrocious,

we can sit all nice
and toasty warm in our house.

♪ ♪

and we can go there.

Is that tightened? Yeah?

We happy?
We're happy.

I think I might just steal
some of these rocks

just to make the chimney,
because they're really

unnecessary
where they are right now.

I have a well-managed,

but fairly strong component
of ocd.

I have very specific routines.

And to feel like
I have not completed a thing

makes it very difficult for me
to move on from that.

So that makes "alone"
an absolute juggling act,

both mentally and physically.

That works.

Da, da, da, da, da,
da, da, da, da.

This is the inside.

When all of this rock heats up,

it's gonna reflect a lot
of heat back into the house,

you know, overnight even after
the fire dies down

or even dies out.

And here is the chimney.

♪ ♪

oh, I can tell there's
a much better draw now.

The flames are staying lit
of their own accord.

Fantastic. It means that
I can go and move in here.

♪ ♪

- moved everything
out of the tarp

and into the pit house,
which is where I now am.

Feels really nice to have
worked in here all day,

and just crawl in bed.

Not have to faff about
with going back and forth

between two
different shelters.

This is my new reality.

In my adult life,
this is the first time

I have had my own home.

I have never lived anywhere
where it was just me.

It's me inside and out,
and it's solely mine.

If I wanted to do projects,

I could do projects
till 2:00 a.M.

There's no one
to keep awake but me.

It's warm enough in here
to actually stand up,

take all of my clothing
off normally.

Crawl up into my sleeping bag
on my nice raised bed.

Uh, yeah.

So...Okay.

Good night, camera.

♪ ♪

- good morning.

That was probably
the most restless night

of sleep I've had.

That wind is brutal.

It's a good indicator
for what's to come for winter,

so I want to make sure
that I get this door done.

♪ ♪

the cold weather is coming,
so I definitely need

to get this buttoned up
pretty good here.

♪ ♪

man, this wind.

It's not usually windy
right here.

I hope that that's not

what this winter
is going to be like.

I think I'll just make
that door a triangle shape,

so at nighttime
I can put up against it.

And I'd really like to have
that frame nailed,

'cause I'm gonna be
moving it all the time.

Let's see if there were
any other nails

that I could salvage.

He did have a nail.

And so did that guy.

the longer I'm here,
my life back home

weighs so heavy on my mind.

My life changed so much
4 years ago.

Someone had broke
into my little store

and stole a lot of stuff,

and so I suffered
a really big loss.

At the same time,
my marriage was ending

and my son went away
to college.

Everything that I knew,
being a mother, and a wife,

and my store just kind of
came to a screeching halt.

So I thought,
"what am I gonna do?

I don't know who I am anymore."

it was like someone kicked me
in the stomach.

♪ ♪

this is a good, solid frame

using those old nails.

That's pretty cool.

Now pine again.

♪ ♪

I think I'll just
start filling that in.

♪ ♪

I'm very purpose-driven.

And to just exist
without a great purpose

wasn't something that
I was gonna be able to do.

So I just started doing
what I loved.

So it became my quest to teach
the next generation hunting,

hide tanning, and why it's
beneficial to our environment.

♪ ♪

if I wouldn't have started
to do something

that I felt
so passionate about,

I would have been
in really bad shape.

I think maybe that's
how I have to feel

about this challenge
that I have taken on.

Being on "alone,"
I can do this.

There's no reason
that I can't.

I'm just gonna put
that wire up there.

And then it will just
kind of hang right there.

So at nighttime it will help
block that wind a little bit.

♪ ♪

- look at that.
That is just gorgeous.

♪ ♪

a double rainbow.

♪ ♪

I don't know what I did
to deserve this.

♪ ♪

look at that.
That is just unbelievable.

It's right there.

Can almost reach out
and grab it.

This is something that
I've always wanted to do.

I've always wanted to see
if all of these skills

that I've spent my life
developing

could actually see me through

a real-life wilderness
survival situation.

Nature is amazing.

And it's a test of will

when you grind against
having not enough to eat,

and in total isolation
from your family.

Those things suck.

But suck is the price you pay
to be out here.

You don't get that
sitting on your couch.

I don't know if I've ever
seen one so spectacular

and so close-looking.

Beautiful.

I've studied stoic philosophy
for years.

And you can know
these things logically.

But until you go through
a time of struggle,

you can't know it
in your soul.

Right now, that deer
is everything to me.

But it's not going
to last forever.

I want to win this thing,
but that is a long way away.

Maybe there's a pot of gold
at the end.

♪ ♪

- nate, thanks for joining me.

- Thanks for having me.
It's good to be here.

- You were a corpsman
in the navy,

which is essentially a medic.

You seem to really understand
your body and what it needed.

You know, when did you realize
that you were near your limit?

- I always had an idea.
I mean, I've been thin before.

My experience as a wrestler--
I know, I've been fasting,

and I've lost a lot of weight

and been below 3 percent
body fat in the past.

So I knew my limitations
in my mind.

But I also have
a stubborn side,

which likes to take on
that challenge

and push myself as far
as I can possibly push myself.

And I pushed it.

I pushed past it
until I got sick.

and then that
was the end for me,

where I knew I had gone
beyond my red line

where I was comfortable
taking my body.

- I learned a lot of new ideas
watching you out there.

Your creative problem-solving
was brilliant.

Let's talk about that pier.

That was an engineering
masterpiece.

- I mean, I went through
a whole bunch of different

design ideas
and how to put it together.

But ideally, I didn't want to
use any of my cordage for it,

'cause I knew it would take
a lot of cordage

to hold something together
like that in those waves.

So I just decided to peg it
and build it that way.

What the *bleep*?

*bleep*.

I mean, I failed a bunch
of times on the shoreline

before I tried to carry
the second attempt out.

But, I mean, for me, failure,
that's the process.

- Yeah. It's the only way
you can make something work,

is by making
a ton of mistakes.

- Right.
- How did it feel

to finally have
that pier in place?

- I was super excited, 'cause
I had put so much into it.

And I saw so much potential
in fishing beyond it.

Perfect.

- You found some really
creative ways

to make yourself
more comfortable out there.

That bed spring mattress
was awesome.

- I've had two spine surgeries
in my life.

So my back
is a concern of mine.

It's great normally, but the
second you start losing weight

you start to lose
a lot of the fat pad

that you're used to having.

And that's your comfort
when you're lying down.

So I figured the best way
to remedy that would be

to make a suspension bed.

Oh!

- That thing was sick.

It must have been
just so nice and, like--

- changed everything.
- I bet it did.

so let's talk about
your mental game.

"alone" can be a
real challenge for people,

not just physically
but mentally.

How did you think
that your military training

and your experience was
gonna help you on the show?

- I think my
military experience,

or just my experience
over the last 3 decades,

it involves deployments
and being away from family.

I've been there before,
so I know

that my separation from home

and that trusting my wife
will take care of the house,

and not having to worry
about my kids,

and stuff like that,

that alleviates
a lot of stress.

Challenge is can you be alone?

♪ ♪

oh, I think I can be.

But this game is just
a little bit different

when it comes to that,
'cause you are isolated.

You don't have
that conversation piece,

except with yourself.

So it really does force you
to search yourself

and try to figure things out.

So it wasn't that I had

a tremendous advantage
in that sense.

It's just that I've been
through the process before.

But what I found
was the hardest part was that,

when I was in the military
and separated from family,

I didn't have a choice.
- Mm.

- It was an obligation
and I was there.

I couldn't just go home.

And being out here,
you had that freedom.

I had the opportunity
to get on the radio

or the phone and say, "hey.

I'm gonna go back
to where I'm comfortable."

so that was a challenge for me.

Almost completely
convinced myself

that it was perfectly fine
to tap out this morning.

What a weird day.

- There's a lot of long,
dark nights in our shelters.

- The rainy days
were the hardest.

You're in your thoughts
and in your head most of it.

It was a struggle.

When you're out there,

you start to put things
in perspective.

I know that
if I talked to my wife,

she'd be like, "you're done."

my life's just always been
this fast-paced

mission completion
and stay focused on the tasks.

And I never really
take time to pause

and think about
what's going on.

You know, you just make quick
decisions and try to adjust.

So this really slowed me down
and let me take pause

and think about my life
and what's going on.

- Nate, it was a real pleasure
meeting you.

I learned so much
from your journey out there.

Thanks for sharing it with us.
All the best.

- Thanks.

- Man, it's freezing.

*bleep*.

♪ ♪

- I think I'd like to start

bringing rocks up
for the fireplace.

♪ ♪

oh, *bleep*.

- Oh, *bleep*.

There are bear tracks
right through camp.

That little bastard.

I have to be prepared
to engage a bear.

- Oh, there he is.
Right there. *bleep*.

Get out of here!

there is a point
that this is not worth it.

♪ ♪