Alone (2015–…): Season 9, Episode 1 - Drop Shock - full transcript

- I can’t wait
to have this place

try and break me.

For the first time on "Alone,"

ten participants
fight to survive

in the hunting ground

of the world’s largest
land predator.

- Oh, my God, where’d he go?

Those are bear.

- I heard a big animal.

- Hey, bear.
- Oh, no..

- Sometimes you eat the bear...



- Sometimes the bear eats you.

Battling merciless conditions.

- This is some
hardcore bushwhacking.

- Why does it have to be
such a struggle every night?

I hit it. I hit it. I hit it.

- I feel more alive
every day I’m out here.

- Here comes the rain again.

- Labrador,

you’re not gonna make it easy
for us, are you?

In complete isolation.

- The most dangerous thing
out here is myself.

- Look at that!

- The cold ground is just

pulling all the warmth from me.



- How many days can this go on?

- Very, very hungry.

- I feel like
I’m hitting a wall.

Last one standing wins.

- Only gonna get harder
the longer you stay out here.

- We’re
in the middle of nowhere.

Labrador
is an extreme environment.

The isolation
and that constant stress

of being in some degree
of danger at all times

is undoubtedly
gonna be one of the most

difficult challenges that
I’ve ever faced in my life.

- And there goes
our last connection

to the outside world.

This is living life, amplified.

- Labrador is a very cold
and wet environment.

Avoiding frostbite
and hypothermia

is going to be a big challenge.

- The weather
is a serious threat,

and if people get wet and are
not taking care of themselves,

that’s deadly.

We are our own worst enemy.

- We are entering
a very wild area.

Wolves, coyotes,
fox, black bears.

But the top predator
are polar bears.

- Polar bears spend their time
stalking prey,

which is not what most bears do.

They’re not omnivores.

They don’t mess around
with berries.

They kill stuff.
That’s what they do.

- This feels like
that moment on a blind date

where you see them
for the first time...

and you just
kind of fall in love.

- Last one standing

wins $500,000.

There’s many, many
strong participants here.

Anyone could win.

- It’s pretty simple.

No holds barred, 10 items,

as long as you can go
completely alone.

Whatever we get on our cameras

is what’s gonna tell our story.

There they go.

Holy shamoly.

I’m here.

Oh, my gosh,
this place is incredible.

First thing I’m gonna do,
like I said,

is take a big breath.

This is so amazing.

Look, the river’s
right there, the big river.

But not much time to enjoy this.

I gotta find a place to put up
the tarp just for tonight.

I’m not a weekend warrior
of the primitive skills.

I’ve got 50 years of preparing
to do this kind of thing.

I’m living that lifestyle
in my home life.

Brain tanning is my favorite
of the primitive skills.

It really gives the animal
a second life.

My love is to just
be in the wilderness.

I live in a yurt where
I’m not connected to anything.

I collect my own rainwater.

My only source of heat
is firewood.

Sometimes in the winter,
I have to snowshoe in

and ski back out.

Ooh!

Gotta do a town run.

I forage for my foods,

I make my own medicines,

and I do my own hunting.

Got a bunny!

Aww, little guy.

I’m a primitive
skills instructor.

Nice!

Ouch.

And we have fire.

If I win half a million dollars,

I want to build
a wilderness school

so that I would have a place

to do my own classes
and retreats,

and so this money
would help me start

living my dreams
of what I really want

to be doing
for the rest of my life.

Ah!

I have my boyfriend,

and he’s a sweet man.

Bye, honey.

I’ll miss ya.

My whole family
is super excited.

I know they’re at home
supporting me,

and I’m really gonna
be thinking about them.

Okay, so this
is what I’m looking at.

That, my dear,
is a little storm coming in.

I need to get some tinder
and get it in my pocket

so it’s nice and dry

and put up the tarp,

because that’s
gonna be a downpour.

I don’t have a lot of time.

The weather is going to be

all over the map.

It’s windy, constantly rainy,

and the humidity level’s so high

that everything’s wet.

Even when it’s sunny,
the ground is like a sponge,

so starting a fire
is going to be difficult.

Here’s some nice tinder.

This is dead fireweed.

There’s a lot of downed debris.
Great firewood.

Wind’s picking up.

I’m gonna go grab my tarp

and kind of find a flat place

to hunker down
and do something quick.

Well, I’m sweating,
losing calories.

That storm is coming in.

I’m gonna make
a little bungalow right here.

It’s just big enough
to sleep in,

and then I’ll be okay even if
I have to stay here the night.

Hopefully, this is just
a afternoon storm.

I don’t feel old,

but you look at the numbers...

I’m in my 50s,

and I’m the second oldest
participant

that’s ever been on this show.

Here comes the first couple
of drops, just in time.

But I have to be
realistic with myself.

Keeping my energy level up
is a very big concern of mine,

and I’m not as strong
as I used to be.

So I’m trying to use my wisdom
to work smarter, not harder.

Well, here’s my first
cute little ramshackle.

That makes me feel better.

Okay, let’s go figure out
my next move.

- Whoo!

Sweet site, super stocky.

Oh, my God,
I am in bear heaven here.

Tons of good, thick cover,
and then some open bogs.

I’m gonna keep that bow
with me at all times.

It could happen any moment here.

Fishing looks like
it’ll be interesting.

A lot of slow water here.

So... so far, so good.

I think we’re gonna go take
a little walk around

and just see
where I might set up,

in case some weather
comes through.

So let’s go.
We got a nice beach over here.

Let’s see what we can find.
Here we are.

Foreign land, but it feels
like home, really.

I’m gonna go take a couple
walkabouts with these guys.

I’m a hunting and pack goat
adventure guide.

I’ve lived my whole life

in the Rocky Mountains,

and I’m totally at peace
in the woods.

I’ve been a hunting guide

since I was
right out of college.

My greatest skill is I’ve got

over 30 years
of traditional bow hunting.

I’m not one to sit in camp

and hope I’m gonna find
the caribou.

Big game is one
of my specialties.

I am a experienced bear hunter.

I know when you make
the shot, it has to count.

You can load this thing up.

You can make it big enough
to kill anything.

It’s a winner.

Being cold and hungry,

and then being alone,

it’s obviously
a mental toughness game,

but I have a warrior spirit.

I just am relentless.

I’ve done Division I sports,

I’ve been a world champion
in weightlifting,

I’ve raced motocross...

Everything to just test myself.

I know I’m gonna miss my
young daughter and my wife.

They are so important to me.

But when I win this show,

I’ll just be so excited
to share this with them

that I feel like
the trade-off will be awesome.

Records are meant to be broken,

and I’m coming here
to break the record.

I want to go 102 days,
and I know I will.

The weather here
changes really fast,

and that storm’s
coming out of the west.

The experience
of being dropped off

in the middle of nowhere

is just like nothing
you could ever imagine.

You know you want to be there,
but you’re also realizing

in the back of your head,
a warning light telling you,

"You have no food.

You have no idea
what you’re doing."

And yet you’re very excited

to figure out this puzzle.

We’ll slip into the forest here

and see if we can find
a decent spot

to get out of the wind
for the night,

because otherwise,
I’m gonna get hammered here.

You got some bunchberries.

Good edible,
not super sweet or anything.

Lots of that around,
which is awesome.

I gotta get a tarp up here
before dark.

I’m just having way too much fun

to worry about
sitting under a tarp.

Natives that I’ve studied
didn’t spend so much time

on shelter until they had food.

And in my case, a tarp
over my head in a half an hour

is a fine shelter
for a long time.

I’m looking for fish,
bears, rabbits,

edibles for at least
my first 30 days

before I even start
building a shelter.

I think we’re gonna make
a little stew.

I’m pretty stoked about that,

because I’m gonna
be eating today.

And...

A squirrel.

Game on.

Ah.

We got another shot.

Dead squirrel.

Thank you, Labrador.

Check out the squirrel.

Made a really good shot,
right behind the armpit.

I’m super happy with that.

Thank you, little buddy.

This is amazing.

It’s starting to rain.

I got some dinner,
or some breakfast.

I think I’m gonna go worry
about a little shelter.

I got sidetracked.

Let’s go grab our main pack.

It’s gonna start dropping here.

This is wild.

It came up a lot faster
than I’ve anticipated.

Absolutely hammering right here.

Are you kidding me?

Should’ve got a shelter going.

Oh, my God.

Mother.

Well...

Our beautiful,
sunny day went away.

Got a little careless there,
I made some mistakes,

and you get punished,
especially out here.

There’s a good spot
under a tree right here

I think I just might
come back to and tarp out at

and get this camera dry.

So...

Thank you, oh, Labrador,
for reminding me

that a sunny day
can be a rainy day like that.

- I think I just did
my first rookie mistake...

And didn’t film any

of the working on this
beforehand.

So now I know I’m recording,

I can do just a little bit more

so you have something to cut to.

This is really weird being
on camera doing all this.

It really is strange.

I’m not used to speaking
all of my thoughts aloud,

what’s going on with me.

Walking stick!

"Alone" is known as being
the survival Olympics,

but, really,
we’re not doing survival.

We are doing primitive living.

And that, for me,
is why I feel like

my training has prepared me
to do this challenge.

Mmm.

So insects, right, they...

Yeah, they can be
really good for you.

Ah!

There he goes.

Bye-bye!

So this seems like a good place
to set up for the night.

Currently, I work
as a survival instructor.

I take groups out

into many different
environments or situations

and teach them
how to take care of themselves

if something goes wrong,
as they always do.

And you gotta step up.

Either somebody else
isn’t gonna make it,

or you’re not gonna make it.

And I like that challenge.

I-form! Yay!

I am a former Air Force
SERE instructor,

which stands for
Survival, Evasion,

Resistance, and Escape,

which means I would
teach our military members

how to stay alive
in hostile conditions.

We would make cordage.

We would make primitive traps,

bow and drill friction fires.

That’s my primary base
for my training.

There, we got some fire.

My main passion
is starting my school,

OWLS Skills:

Outdoorsy Women
Learning Survival Skills.

And I think it’s really
important for women to roar,

for women to step forward
and say,

"Listen up.
Let’s get this done."

Whoo-hoo!

I am leaving behind
an incredible support network.

I have a huge family, and I
have so many amazing friends.

And then I’ve got
my boyfriend, Blake.

Kisses.

All right,
want to follow me out?

The last person standing
is gonna need grit,

and I have the skills
and the ability

to stay out there and to win it.

And that’s my goal.

So thick, wet, pretty dense.

I’m going to first
scout the area,

at least get a base idea

of where I’ve been dropped off,

look for an initial
shelter site for the night,

and then start seeing
where my resources are.

Beautiful little creek going.

This is a log
I’m gonna try to cross here.

Jiminy Christmas.

You all see that?

That, my friends,
is a bear print.

Yeah, that’s fresh.

That’s not good.

It’s so thick.

I can’t see anything.

That’s just crazy.

This whole day has been.

Find a shelter spot
to settle in.

So I’m gonna set up a shelter
here for the night.

It has been really rough

watching season after season
go by

and watching
some amazing women get pulled,

so I would love to be
the last person standing

and the first woman to win.

There are so few
female survivalists

and primitive living
instructors.

It’s such a small niche
for women still.

I would just really, really love

for women in the world
to see that happen.

So I’ll go ahead
and put some tree branches,

some boughs down here
and make myself

a little rough bed
for the night,

and this will be home.

Oh.

That’s a bear.

I’d say he’s under 100 feet
from me right now.

It’s basically moving
from over here, across,

around, and now coming down
from there.

It’s just trying
to get around me.

I’m just a big obstacle to it.

It’s probably like,
"What the heck is this

in middle of my path?"

I almost feel sorry
for the poor guy,

but I might shoot him later,
so...

- Man, these black flies
are relentless.

Check it out.

Like, just all across here,
my chest.

Oh, my God.

Got ’em on my neck,
all the way around my neck,

my shoulders.

They just itch!

Ugh!

Constantly!

Just sharing some misery
with you.

Ah!

It’ll be okay.

Yeah, right.

I don’t have very long

to find my shelter location.

I know intense weather’s coming,

and I need
to be prepared for that.

So I kind of want
to get a bigger scope

of what this land has to offer,

and I’m bringing my bow

because there’s gonna be bears.

This ain’t so bad for...
Shelter-wise.

It is on the hill.

We’re up in... oop.

Hi, little bug.

I’m gonna keep looking.

That’s what we’re here for,
scouting it out.

It’s very overwhelming for me
to figure out where to start.

The trees are so thick.

They’re intimidating.

And I know there’s bears here.

And I don’t want
to build a shelter

in a exposed area.

So neither one
seem like a good place

for me to build a shelter.

I just entered the woods
on the other side of that bog.

It’s getting thicker,
but this is the first sign

of animal tracks I’ve seen.

Someone big has gone
right through here.

You can see they
stepped on this moss.

Maybe that’s the way
to the water.

Maybe I’ll follow this animal
trail for a little while,

see what takes me there.

I don’t want to make
a bad decision

while I’m out here.

I do have a little bit of fear
of, like, what if I’m wrong?

I need to be taking my time

and be smart about my actions

and not taking extra risks

that some other people
might take.

There’s a grouse right there.

Oh...

I’m gonna quietly see if
I can flush him out of there...

’Cause I’m hungry.

He’s right in front of me.

Now he’s in the thick
of the brush there.

I should have stopped
about two steps back.

- He was right in front of me.

Now he’s in the thick
of the brush there.

Oh, I got him.

Oh, my God, I got him.

I got him.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my gosh.

I got a grouse!

Whoo-hoo!

Second day, I got game!

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

Oh, my God.

I’m so blessed.

Getting a grouse
on the second day

is really boosting my
confidence of, like,

yes, I can actually do this.

I can get food for myself.

Looking good.

Into the pot.

I see wilderness survival

as not just about the skills.

It’s about the attitude,
the positive mind-set,

and being in a place
of gratitude and awareness.

My first meal off the land.

Mmm, it’s so good.

Could definitely use
some salt and pepper

and some seasonings.

But... yum, yum!

This area here sucks.

This is very hard
to walk in this terrain.

This is rough.

I’m gonna go up this hill

to see if there’s a spot
for my permanent site.

I’m expecting this
to be a miserable time.

Ah!

It feels weird to say this,
but for this experience,

I think it’s good
to be negative.

I’m expecting nothing,

so I’m starting
at a very miserable place.

That way, if anything
that’s good happens,

then I’ll be thankful.

This is my opportunity
to take myself to the limits

of what my body
and my mind can do.

The town over there,
that’s where I live.

If you go through the ice,
you’re dead.

Ever since I was a teenager,

I really wanted to do
difficult stuff.

I’ve never been afraid
of a challenge.

I was born and raised in Mexico.

As a kid, I was always
running around in the forest

trapping rattlesnakes
and lizards and scorpions.

It’s a grouse.

That really kickstarted
my love for the wilderness.

Recently, I did
a 100-day expedition,

foraging and hunting
and trapping

in a very remote part
of Manitoba.

I feel tired. I feel weak.

I have a headache.

I have 60 more days to go.

I got super thin
very, very fast,

so I truly knew in my bones

what it is to be cold and alone

in a state of starvation.

Minus 27,
pretty nice day, actually.

Being alone is very difficult,

and I’m gonna miss
my partner, Jennifer.

We’ve done
so many adventures together.

She’s everything to me.

I see $500,000 as an opportunity

to buy land
and to establish a home

where we can start a family.

I wouldn’t want
to be my competitor.

I can win this thing.

I’m not willing to quit.

Oh, wow, look at that pile.

Bear scat.

It’s fresh.

That’s very good news.

If I can get a bear,

that’s basically
the golden ticket.

That’s sustenance for a month.

But bear encounters could
be potentially pretty scary.

Hunting with just bows,
it’s no joke.

There’s quite a lot of things

that could go wrong very easily.

Wow, I’m liking this area.

It’s a nice flat spot
and dry-ish.

And it’s really open,
and I can have lots of sun.

Ooh, great access to the water.

This is such a good find.

My strategy for the shelter
is very simple.

I’m not gonna waste
too much time on it.

I’m basically gonna make a tent,

with the sidewalls
using the tarp,

and then I’m gonna block
the entrance

and the other side with wood.

I think I’m gonna cut
the ridgepole for my shelter.

I don’t feel that I need
to insulate the roof.

As long as I have a fire
with a chimney

and it’s quite tight,
I think I’m gonna be fine.

To prepare for this challenge,
I put 60 pounds on.

I am normally pretty skinny,
so I went hard.

I drank one gallon of milk

and 350 milliliters
of olive oil every day.

It was an insane effort,
but that’s my plan B.

Plan A is get a bear,

but plan B is basically
to be able to stay here

with no food around
for as long as I can.

Oh, there’s a squirrel.

Hello, squirrel.

Squirrel?

Chirp chirp.

Where are you?

What was that?

I heard a big animal.

Oh.

It’s gone now.

Ai-yi-yi.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

Look at that trash.
Lots of cans.

With these, I’m gonna be able
to make, like, a chimney

and maybe a stove.

In survival situations,
I improvise a lot.

One done, lots to go.

I wait to see
what the land has to offer...

And I try to adapt.

I basically just go
with the flow

and go with my intuition.

That gets the job done.

This is where
the wood will be burning.

This is the oxygen intake,
and this is

the connector for the chimney.

So here’s the assemble.

Looks pretty funny.

All right, I need to fireproof
my stovepipe.

I brought these gaiters,
and the bottom part

is a fire-resistant material.

So I’m going to sew
them together

so that I can surround
my chimney.

To me, when you have good boots,

you don’t need gaiters,

so that’s an item
that I could sacrifice.

That’s my needle.

What I’m gonna use
is a piece of wire,

and I’m going to bend it
like that.

For thread,
I’m gonna use paracord.

I love stoves.

To me, they’re so interesting...

How they’re designed
and the way they work...

So I’m so excited to get
this working in my shelter.

Okay, I finished sewing.

And the stove pipe goes in.

Looks good from here.

Now I’m going to surround
the whole skeleton with clay.

It’s going to provide
some thermal mass,

and it’s going to seal
all the holes.

Most of my life,
I have not cared about money.

Water, shelter, food...
Those are my priorities.

If I have that, I’m okay.

But the reality is that for me

to marry and to start a family,

I feel that I need
financial stability,

so it would be nice to win
and have that security.

So let’s see what I did today.

I’ve set up the foundation
around the stove.

I also did the door.

And that’s the inside.

This is my base for my pot.

Not bad, eh?

Not bad.

I’m gonna call it
a day and go to sleep.

I have no idea
if that little beautiful jingle

is copyrighted or not.

It’s just stuck in my head.

It’s been stuck
in my head for years,

and I can’t figure out
what it’s from.

And, of course, now it’s
stuck in my head out here.

Okay, it’s only day three,
and I’m already going insane.

It is very snowy here.

It will be hovering right
around 34 to 36 degrees.

I am a glacier guide,
specializing in ice climbing

along with bear viewing.

Little bit further this way.

Mountaineering has taught me
a lot

about how to problem solve.

Oh, my goodness.

I’ve been charged
by black bears,

and I’ve been charged
by brown bears.

I live in a place that gets
42 1/2 feet of snow,

so I know how to thrive
in the face of hardship.

I am the youngest person here
by almost a decade,

but I had a rough childhood.

Beautiful.

So I had to be an adult
from a very young age.

It’s taught me how to think
outside the box

to solve problems, and
it taught me resilience.

Bam, smack goes the weasel.

I got into bushcraft
when I was about 11 years old.

I’ve got the whole hierarchy
of survival skill sets...

Catching fish, shooting animals,

building shelter.

These will serve me well.

Hey, Pep, don’t want
to walk anymore?

My girlfriend,
Catherine, my dog,

and I are living away from
the trappings of modern life.

- The whole #vanlife thing,

that’s not camping...

That’s just me
living everyday life.

It’s gonna be definitely hard

to be away
for a long period of time,

but we learn
the most about ourselves

when we’re put
into difficult situations.

Be strong.
- Mm-hm.

- I know I have what it takes.

I’m ready, and I’m going to win.

Oh, you see that?

We have bear poop, first
sign of bears I’ve seen yet.

And it’s still wet.

That either happened
right before I got here,

or it happened while I was here.

That’s within eyesight
of my shelter.

Not ideal.

Black bear is a top predator
in this area,

barring
the occasional polar bear,

and there’s never been a season

with polar bears before.

There are only three things
on this planet

that actively hunt humans:

polar bears, lions,
and other humans.

That’s terrifying,
and you have to be insane

to say that doesn’t terrify you

that there are polar bears here.

Oh, check this out.

You won’t believe
what I just found.

This is sweet.

That’s so rad.

Dude, I bet you this thing
still even works.

Okay, welcome to Jacques
trapping school.

To set this,
we’re going to put it

on a nice, solid ground.

We’re going to depress
the spring here.

We’re going to flip that open,
set these jaws...

And the trigger fits
into the foot pan...

Just like so.

Boom, now we have a set trap.

Mr. Fox comes walking along.

And then he’s going
to come right here,

and, bam, pop goes the weasel.

I’m very excited about this.

That was not
my best night’s sleep.

Um... I ended up hiking
up to the rocks

because it might be good access
to building materials,

but it got pretty late
and could not find a flat spot,

so I ended up sleeping
on top of a rock.

And, yeah, didn’t even have
time to set up my tarp.

I just wrapped myself up
like a burrito,

which is kind of embarrassing.

So far, I’ve been hiking around,

trying to find a place
to build a shelter.

You can see
that spot right there

was where I was dropped off.

I went over there,
and then down through there.

I’m really burning
calories like crazy

and not putting
anything back in.

But it’s such a big choice.

So much depends on shelter,

resources, so I’m going
to keep exploring,

hopefully find where I can build

my little home here.

I love turkey hunting
because they’re so vocal.

They’ll respond
to pretty much any sound,

like a good cough.

I’m Armenian, Egyptian,
French, and Russian,

and I’m from generations
of diaspora

that have been forced out

because of war, politics,
religion.

And so my ethnicity has been

a very large influence
in my life

and also in my work.

I spend my 9:00 to 5:00

helping create
programs for refugees,

but I have a background
in traditional bow hunting.

And just growing up
in Utah, you get

a lot of time out
in the backcountry,

hunting deer, fishing,
living off the land,

and I got to go on two
amazing bison hunts last year.

So I got the poles up
for the lean-to.

In a survival situation,

without calories,
without loved ones,

mentally, physically,
it’s going to be draining,

but I think survival
comes from desperation.

I love challenge
because I don’t panic.

I just focus on
building relationships

with my surroundings.

I did some lashings

at the dead trunk
and the living trunk.

It’s pretty secure.

I could jump up and down,
and it’s not going to move.

I’m leaving behind my wife
and my adorable dog, Enzo.

It’s gonna be long and hard
but 100 days...

You know, it’s a blink
of an eye in a lifetime.

- Bring me home a bear.

- I am ready for this.

- Bye.
- See you later.

- Goodbye.
- Good luck.

- Love you.

- I’m going out there,

and I’m going to be
the last one standing.

Trying to walk
through this thick of brush

with all this stuff is
just wearing me down,

and these flies are
just buzzing all around.

I’m wearing this neck gaiter
to try and get the flies from...

To stop them from biting me.

But I don’t think it’s working.

They are vicious.

This is a really harsh,
elemental environment.

An injury could be fatal,
and I could die out here.

But I also know
that the risk element of it

just feels like an opportunity
to really push the conceptions

of where I think my limits are.

I’m finding sheer cliffs

where it’s too steep to build
a shelter on.

I’m finding muskegs.

I’m finding bogs.

Everywhere I step,

my foot sinks
an inch in to water.

I’m looking
for the right resources

for building a shelter,

and I need proximity
to a food source

and to fresh water.

I’m excited
that I found a good spot,

but as I’m expending calories,

I need to be putting them
back in.

That is the number-one challenge

for me.

I just have to trust that
it’s the right site for me

and I’ll find what I need here.

Polar bear do tend
to stick to the coast.

- Can you hear it?

The growling?

First stomach growls
of the "Alone" experience.

I think it’s gonna be
the first of many.

I ate so much food

leading up to this journey,

my stomach hasn’t growled
in a long time.

Okay.

A squirrel.

He’s looking at me.

Just gonna see
if I can get close to it.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

I shot my first squirrel.

Right out of the tree.

Oh, my God.

Thank you, Mr. Squirrel.

I appreciate you
and the sustenance

that you’ll provide me.

Killing something is
an incredibly final act,

can never be taken back,

but in order to stay alive
out here,

you have to kill things.

There’s no way around it.

You have to... have to... eat meat.

You have to have fat.

And if you don’t do that,

you will cease to exist.

Oh, I just spooked a grouse.

With my arrow, I’m going
to be able to get him.

Oh, my God,
I see him right there.

Okay.

I hit it.

I hit it.
I hit it.

Where’d he go?

Where’d he go?
Where’d he go?

Oh.

The arrow’s in him,
but he flew off.

I really hope that I killed it

and it just went off to die,

but we have to find it.

I cannot let it go to waste.

That would break my heart.

Oh, I see my arrow.

You see that?

I got him.

I got the grouse.

Oh, my God, thank you, grouse.

That is a game changer, man.

A squirrel-grouse combo

is pretty awesome.

It’s killing both
a mammal and a bird

within minutes of each other.

I’m gonna throw this pot

with meat on the fire.

Mmm, grouse and squirrel stew.

It’s gonna be so tasty.

What an epic morning.

That was some serious "Alone"

right there, man,

all within a few yards
of my shelter, too.

That’s pretty rad.

I had a traumatic childhood.

My parents were divorced

when I was
about five, six years old.

My father was a hard man,
old school.

You can kind of draw
the conclusions

of what that upbringing
would look like.

We had a lot of woods
behind the house.

I would just go hide
in the woods

to be away from the hurt.

I’m feeling super thankful
right now to get meat.

I’m feeling
very lethargic today.

And then, you know, growing up,

I was a bit different.

I was kind of like

this big, chubby, soft kid.

I wasn’t good at sports,

and I got made fun of
at school, too,

for being all those things.

And in a lot of ways,
survival skills were

the answers to all my problems.

I put the grouse feathers
on my hat

so I’ll always have a reminder.

So, if you are a young person

and you feel lost in the world,

my advice is to follow
your passions

because you never know
where they’re going to lead.

Ah!

Wow.

Hope everybody else is eating
as good as I am right now.

- All right, let’s check out
my body comp, day four.

I started this adventure
at 221 in my long johns

for official weigh in.

So as you can see,
I’m not ripped.

This is going to be
a video journal

of me going from as fat
as I’ve ever been

to, hopefully, Labrador-forged
woodsman/hunting machine.

Let’s see what happens
over the coming weeks,

days, and hopefully months.

So, today, goals are to get
a fishing rod built

and do some fishing.

Gonna look for a tenkara.

Got a nice little spot,
let’s see what we can find.

I like to start off
with simple approaches

to most challenges

and problems in life,

so I went
with the tenkara setup.

I need about 6 foot...

Ooh, there are some good ones
right in there.

Little flex.

A tenkara is a long branch,
relatively straight.

Ooh, ooh, I like it.

Generally, you use
a heavier, thicker line

for the first 8 to 10 feet,
and then a monofilament

for the second part.

Got my hooks.

I’ve got my fly line.

Oh, yeah, that’s about perfect.

Let’s see what we can do here

fly fishing in
15 mile an hour winds...

Whoa, miss.

My site floods every night.

Oh, two in a row miss.

And I find
that a little pool exists

even when the tide
goes to rock bottom.

The tide comes in and brings
fish in, and when it goes out,

the fish that get stuck
end up in this little pool.

And they can’t go anywhere,
and it’s right by my camp.

Come on, fishies.

I’ve grown up in a bass boat
with my dad and brother

since I was six years old.

We fished for everything from
bonefish in Turks and Caicos,

to walleye and pike in Ontario,

and everything in between.

Fishing to eat tonight.

Oh, come on, boys!

Oh, come on, dude!

How am I
missing them every time?

All right,
let’s give them a sec.

You never know when these fish
are going to turn on and off,

so...

There we go.

We got one.

No!

No!

Ah! Oh, my God.

Hi, little brooky.

It’s not huge,
but first dish of the trip.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You will be so delicious.

All right,
let’s go get some more.

Man, this rod casts.

Boom!

Heck yeah, two, sardine size.

I could eat
about 10 of these things,

so we’re going to keep going.

One at a time, I think
I got the technique.

Gotta let them eat
the back of this thing.

To win this, you have to have
a relentless ability

to move forward in life.

Whoo-wee, sweet.

It’s going to come down to
those last seconds and minutes

where you’re going to put in
that one more cast

or you’re going to go look
down the shoreline

for that bear one more time,

check your traps one more time,

which could get you
through a few more days.

You have to just do
that basic work,

day in and day out.

Oh, there we go!

Tenkara!

Making a net wouldn’t be
a bad idea, too.

I’m pulling fish out for dinner.

It’s like a jackpot.

But it’s not obvious
unless you have fished

your whole life
in little creeks, and ponds,

and tiny waters as a kid,
exploring Huck Finn style.

Oh, good one!

I’m going to eat
almost a full fish

by hacking it out,
hooking brook trout.

Let’s keep it going.

Ol’ tenkara, I love you.

I don’t want to be greedy, land,

but they’re not going to be
like this every day.

Ooh, I just saw
a couple of big ones.

There we go.

Heck yes!

Yoo!

Holy, this is freaking amazing!

Yum, yum, yum!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11, 12...

12 trout day.

It may never happen again,
but it happened once.

I am going to eat
pretty much all of these

and just blow it up, celebrate.

I don’t really want to do
the rationing thing.

I’m sure that will happen at
some point, but right now,

I want to try and hold
this weight

and keep my body as well fed
as I can until I can’t.

I don’t know if I have ever been

so excited to have fried trout.

Don’t want to forget your salt.

When you fast or when you’re
on low calories,

you tend to burn up protein
really fast

and drain your electrolytes
and dehydrate really fast.

So the addition of salt...
It’s delicious,

but you’re really
kind of supplementing

your body with kind of
a woodsy multivitamin mineral,

if you will.

That is amazing!

It’s like popcorn,
salty popcorn...

And crunchy and salty.

Did I say salty?
It’s salty.

Oh.

I’m going to go with small steps

and just win little battles

until there’s no more battles
to be fought.

I know there’s going
to be a lot of things

that I will struggle with here,

and I’m going
to have to endure that.

But I really feel
I was meant to come here

and not feeling so much like
I’m on a survival mission,

but that I’m on
one of the greatest adventures

of my career.

Mmm, it just doesn’t get
better than that.

- Are you one of those
people who would love

to try something like this...

- Or one of those people

that are like, "Oh, hell no"?

- Oh, my God,
I really hope I killed it.

- When you’re
in a survival situation,

you need to be ruthless.

- Every calorie counts out here.

- Here’s my muskrat.

- And we feast.

- Labrador, you are
one beautiful son of a bitch.

- There’s definitely a bear
living around my site.

- To win $500,000,

I’m gonna have
to dig deeper in myself

than I’ve ever had to go before.

- Mother, I’m sorry
you have to see this.

- It’s harder than it looks
on TV, folks.

- There’s a point for everybody

at which you break.

I want to walk up to that line.

- It’s taking a lot out of me.

- Right now, it’s
not a good situation.

- Don’t forget to smile.