Alone (2015–…): Season 9, Episode 3 - The Law of the Land - full transcript

- Can y'all see that?

That, my friends,
is a bear print.

That's not good.

All right, a shelter
spot, let's settle in.

- Here we go, heck yes,
this is frickin' amazing.

12 trout day.

- I've spent 3 1/2 days
just hiking around.

- I'm really burning
calories like crazy

and not putting
anything back in.

- Oh, wow, look at that trash.

In survival situations,
I improvise a lot.



I'm going to be able
to make a stove.

Here is the assemble.

- Grouse, there it is.

Damn.

Cost me dearly.

I burned two arrows
trying to get it.

- I can't wait to have this
place try and break me.

Narrator: 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.

Narrator: 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 going to make

it easy for us, are you?

Narrator: 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.

Narrator: Last
one standing wins.

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

- I want to get some work
done on the permanent shelter,

long-term shelter today.

Bathing weather like
this just tells you, yep,

I'd better get that
long-term shelter going.

Something nice, and enclosed,

and out of the wind would
be awesome right now.

I don't know if anybody else has

their long-term shelters up yet,

but I'm guessing there's
probably a couple of people

that are further along
than I am anyway right now.

This is going to my shelter spot

from my temporary shelter spot.

See, it's just a hop,
skip, and a jump.

My long-term shelter is
what I'm excited about.

I've been building the
front, taking down big logs

and putting things in place.

I'm gonna jump in here

and dig out some of this
back wall of the shelter.

So this will be the front.

And I want to move some
of the duff and the sand

forward and come up
against this log.

I found just natural
spot here where I've got

four trees that are
in a good position.

I plan on using those for
my structural support.

I've noticed, like,
in all the seasons,

it seems like almost
everyone has made

freestanding structures,

and I really don't
understand that at all.

I would rather incorporate
living rooted trees

that are much stronger
and more stable.

And I am berming it, so like
one side is dug into the hill.

I'm just gonna pull
it down the hill

and put it up against there.

But with all the rain, it's
coming apart pretty easy.

This weather is crazy,
like, rain and then sunshine

for a while, and the winds
come in really intense.

I'm gonna need a
shelter that can adapt

to either warm or cold
and can block wind.

I'm really hoping I'm
gonna be out here a while,

and I want something
that's gonna be insulated,

and I'd really
like to get up away

from the moisture of
all the water and stuff

that's down lower.

Bring it up level with
the top of my log.

Bringing up poles,
that's the next stage.

I can be a workaholic
when I get into something,

and really get into it,
I'm like, go, go, go.

And my family is a
lot like that too.

Pretty heavy load.

I come from a line of women
that are not routine people.

They tended to
just go after life.

My mom was a single parent,
big into the outdoors.

She's an amazing fisherwoman.

She's just so strong and
been through so much.

Oh, good God, this
thing's heavy.

When things get hard,
I think about my mom

and call on that strength.

You just got to keep going.

You can curl up and die,
or you can keep going.

Which do you choose?

I feel pretty good about that.

This will be the
work done for today.

- Today on the menu, there
is a pot full of seaweed.

Get a good look at this, folks.

I don't think it gets
much better than that.

Seaweed is my staple food.
It is keeping me alive.

I haven't been
successful fishing.

I haven't caught any fish.

It's still got that
earthy, crunchy flavor.

Little elements
of sand and dirt.

As you can guess, I don't eat
this much seaweed usually.

I feel like my body is trying
to figure out what's going on.

I'm gonna try and cut down
a tree right after this.

Top priority is my shelter,
but I also just want

to make sure I'm putting
some food in my belly.

Just a dude eating his seaweed,

trying to build a
home in the woods.

Okay, let's do some
work on my shelter.

I'm doing a log cabin
as my permanent shelter

because it's sturdy.

We are in an area of
really high winds,

and I want something
that is rock solid.

I really did want
to be farther along

on my shelter than I am.

I just gotta keep a
more aggressive pace

than I have been and
just really push through.

This whole area is very wet.

I'm basically
building on a marsh.

It's a muskeg and I'm worried
about water coming up.

And so I think I'm
gonna try and do a floor

in my shelter.

I know this seems like so much
trouble for putting in a floor,

and people don't put in floors,

but I don't know if you can
hear how squishy that is.

This is just one big marsh.

Okay, I'm a little
worried about how marshy

this ground is.

But I just think this
is the type of ground

I have to work with
unless I go farther up.

But then it's just not level,

and I don't have
access to the beach.

So I'm gonna need
a lot more logs.

This isn't the first
shelter I've built,

but it's the first
shelter I've built

for a climate like this.

I'm just expecting
that everything is

gonna take ten times
longer than I think

it's going to take, but
I'm gonna figure it out.

Oh, boy.

It's getting dark.
It was a long day.

I'm pretty excited about what
I got done on the shelter.

I'm just cutting some firewood.

Oh, my gosh.

I got it. I got the grouse.

I got it with my saw.

Thank God, thank you, grouse.

I've never caught a
grouse with a saw before.

It feels surreal.

It feels like a gift.

I actually feel really
blessed by the land.

Oh, my God, that is amazing.

This feels like a
confirmation of this being

the right site for me
to build my shelter on.

Thank you, God.

Thank you, Labrador.

- Pay dirt, baby.

I'm gonna try this here,
chop it up with the ax,

and see how it goes.

Plan for the day, I'm
gonna build a fireplace.

I think I have an
idea on how to do it

without stones.

I'm gonna use the clay
that I have and mix that in

with a bit of grass
to make a type of cob,

and then build out the
actual fireplace from there.

Right now, there's no
way to ventilate smoke.

My shelter, it's just
getting a bit too smoky.

Ooh, it is smoky in here.

The house is so well sealed

that it's just
holding that smoke,

and that is really
bad for the lungs.

Like making mud pies as a kid.

Whether it will hold up a
chimney is another story.

But let's give it a go.

I've never built
with cob before,

but I don't have any rocks

here on my site,
just little pebbles.

Cob seems to me like the
best solution that I have.

And we're just
digging out the space

where the firebox is gonna go.

That's good right there.

And we'll build up the
framework with willow.

I'm gonna use a kind of
wattle and daub design

to build the walls
of the fireplace up.

I need to get into
a marathon mindset.

A slow, meticulous pace,
just like little Flash,

my pet tortoise.

I'm not someone that
gets easily flustered.

Being able to allow yourself
the room to do things badly

and not allow that to
affect your mental state

is an incredibly
powerful survival tool.

So far, so good, everything's
holding together.

Now we need to get it all
the way up to the top.

I'm gonna be out here
as long as I can,

and that's all that matters.

- I think I just heard
of grouse land outside.

I'm gonna go see if I
can take a shot at it.

I need to save
arrows for the bear.

I'm using my throwing stick.

There he is.

- There he is.

Flew away.

Oh, man.

Can I have someone tell
the grouse to come back?

That'd be great.

I'm starting to see
grouse on my site again,

and again, and again,
and I'm realizing

that I need to
adapt my strategy.

Gotta get better at
getting these grouse.

Gonna finish getting
the chimney done.

Priority after this
is getting food.

So far, I am having
success with fishing.

I don't have anything
stocked up in the pantry yet,

so I am still kind of
living paycheck to paycheck

in the food department.

But the fishing doesn't
seem to be dying off,

so I might try and hit
that a little harder.

I've never gone this long
on this few calories before.

I'm gonna call that good.

I made a little weather flap,

so hopefully, it'll
keep the water out.

The big question is,

what happens when
we put a fire to it?

Is the whole thing
just gonna crumble?

I'm gonna try firing
this thing up.

Structurally, so far, so good.

It looks like it's
holding up okay.

Side walls are
starting to dry out.

The vent's amazing.

There's like no smoke in here.

Just amazing.

I think it's gonna work.

So this was like a
total experiment.

I love moss house more
and more every day.

What we need to do now is get
the food situation on lock,

and I'll be cruisin' to a win.

- It is just bunchberry galore.

Look at this.

Huge bunches of bunchberry.

So I think it's what's
for lunch today.

Which is nice, because most
days I don't even get lunch.

I might need to come
up tomorrow and see

if I can collect a
whole bunch more.

I'm really getting
tired of bunchberry,

but it's what's on the menu.

Pretty much all
that's on the menu.

- Food is more of a struggle

than I thought it was gonna be.

I'm definitely not taking
in that many calories,

and my shelter is, you
know, just a lot of work.

I haven't seen any grouse yet.

I haven't seen any
rabbit droppings,

but there's a lot of
squirrel in this whole area.

So I'm gonna set
up a snare line.

What I'm noticing is
that they're mostly

running along the trees.

So doing squirrel
poles, putting up snares

where it looks like
they're moving up the pole.

And that's nice
'cause you don't have

to use much snare wire.

You can attach
right to the stobs,

right, the branches
that are coming

off the main trunk,
to your anchor points.

So this is one that I've
seen them running along.

So there's a nice,
narrow opening, right?

You can see where they would
come through right here.

At SERE, my training was
how to save calories.

It's all about survival, right?

So we did learn a lot
of traps and snares

'cause they're just so
much more energy efficient.

It's like a spring
activator, basically.

If that gets hit,
then it's more likely

that it'll close around them.

Keep yelling.

If you really knew
what I was doing,

you definitely... you're
justified in your yelling.

I've always been
really empathetic.

I don't like killing
things if I don't have to.

And I know... and
in this situation,

it's like, well, you have to.

It's like, no, I
could always push

a red button and go home, right?

I don't have to kill them.

- Yep, I hear you.

You don't want me here.
I don't blame you.

Every day of any of our lives,

we're killing things
indirectly, right?

I've killed way more
animals and damaged

way more environment
by building a house,

and owning a car, and
buying clothes and shoes,

and all of that than I
could possibly do out here.

Between transportation,
and manufacturing,

and packaging, and
all of that stuff,

many things have died.

All right, 15 snares up.

So it's good to remember
that balance and understand

this is a much more direct
and cleaner way to live,

even if some animals
die in the process.

There's been an awful
lot of complaining

from just that spot.

I should go check the snares.

Holy, wow.

I got one. I got some meat.

So you can see him
hanging right here.

So I got some food for tonight.

Thank you, little buddy.

So I haven't even
finished setting them up,

and I got a meal.

Our catch so far for the day.

Poor little guy, but my
tummy will be very grateful.

- It does feel good
to be able to start

providing for myself here,
but squirrel isn't much.

I mean, I'd want five
squirrels for dinner,

and I'm getting one for dinner.

But it's certainly
better than nothing.

That's for sure.

My hope is that once
I get the lodge done,

then I can start to
put a lot more energy

into getting more food.

That's really what I
want to end up doing.

All right, first
full-fledged meal.

With actual meat in it.

Mmm, lot like
chicken wings, mmm.

It's wonderful to have a meal.

- All right, we're gonna
do my video diary log

standing outside 'cause
it's just too pretty

to lay in bed any longer.

I literally opened
my eyes today,

I slept so well,
and just looked out,

and it was just pink,
and purple, and blue.

I need to get out of
here for sleeping.

It's just gonna get way
colder down in here,

and I'm kind of thinking
just a debris hut,

but I gotta get this
shelter up because I think

these nice days are
gonna end, and I could be

in for a real awakening
when the rain comes.

I'm thinking permanent
shelter just right over here.

Well, this could be the spot.

Number one reason is I like
this access to the beach.

The ground I wanted,

the wind seems to
be mostly east-west,

so I want to put the back
of the shelter like so.

I'm choosing my shelter site.

I'm trying to juggle a lot of
factors into this one area.

Building a shelter
isn't my first move

in a survival situation.

I felt that focusing
on learning my site

and finding some resources
like food would be time

better spent while
the weather was nice.

I chose this site
because it was out

of the main flow
of animal traffic.

The island I'm on isn't
a highly traveled area.

There's very little
sign of anything

other than squirrel.

All right, we got about
half the shelter built.

Coming together pretty well.

I like using earthen
type shelter ideas.

I like being the most
connected to the earth.

Like, I didn't want to build
a raised platform, or a bed,

or anything because it
puts you off the ground.

I like sleeping on the ground.

I sleep better
than I do in a bed.

My back hurts less. My
shoulder hurts less.

Today was the day
to get this done,

or at least get this started.

I don't know how long...
it might take weeks

to actually be done for winter,
but at least I got a roof on.

- I hear a squirrel.

Okay, he's gonna... he's
moving away, but let's see

if we can't get the
camera on him here.

I got a good shot right
here, so we're kind of gonna

just ambush for a second.

Nice, another squirrel.

Tag.

Thank you, buddy.

Man, we're grateful to have him.

- Seared squirrel, campfire.

This looks like I'm
roughing it, but I'm not.

I think you're
roughing it at home,

mostly because it's comfortable,

and you're not
challenging yourselves.

Never been a big organ
eater, but you know what,

They're the woods' vitamins
and minerals so going down.

Mmm, pretty good.

I really enjoy cooking my food.

I really enjoy eating my
food, savoring all my bites.

I am feeling amazing.

I'm having no problem
with the amount of food

I'm getting or the nutrition
I'm getting from this diet.

I feel more alive
every day I'm out here.

I don't feel more
like going home.

I feel more like
seeing what's coming.

I can't wait to see the snow.
I can't wait to see the ice.

I can't wait to have this
place try and break me.

And I'm gonna give
it all I got back.

I'm gonna swing for the fences.

And if I got a throw a punch,

I'll throw a punch,
but I'm sticking it out

until I get pulled out of
here or I'm the last one.

I couldn't live
with nothing less.

- Good morning!

It's the "Alone" Show with
your host, Jesse Krebs.

Today's topics, how to
build permanent shelters.

We'll be looking at roofs
in particular today.

- My goal today,
start construction

on the roof and walls, and
get out of this weather,

be able to have a
place that's indoor.

Just want to get the
support poles in place.

There are so many different
styles of shelter.

We have A-frames, and lean-tos,

and fan shelters, and
igloos, and quinzhees.

But what I'm designing
doesn't really fit any

of those models.

I feel like the best
shelters are ones

that combine a lot of elements.

Okay, I think that
one's in there as well.

It'll be more of
a lean-to design,

but it's hard to
really classify it.

- We've cut some
stakes for the walls.

So the plan would be to drive
stakes down into the ground,

then I can weave some things
in between them, like bark,

boughs, and then moss,

and fill the walls with debris.

Onto the other side.

Oh, God, okay.

As usual, I'm probably biting
off more than I can chew.

Everything takes me longer
than I think it will,

but better to just do it right
and have it be pretty solid,

and it'll make it
easier in the long run.

When my mom got pregnant
with me, she was 20.

After I was born,
my biological dad,

he wasn't around.

She decided that she
was actually gonna

keep me and not give
me up for adoption.

And I think about how she
struggled putting herself

through college with no help,
working, and raising me.

And, like, she still
somehow managed

in that time to, like,
travel to incredible places.

And she fell in love
with a Nepalese man.

She was riding elephants
in the Himalayas.

She's just amazing, and
she's always just been

such a fan, you know,
of me and supporter.

Here's some bark.

Lots and lots of bark.

That's how I'm approaching this.

There is nobody out there.

I'm alone, and I've
got to figure this out.

If you want to keep living,
there's nobody gonna

show up and plug you in
or make you feel better.

It's on you, so do
what you got to do.

What do you need
to do right now?

And that's got to be your focus.

I think it's looking
pretty darn good.

I think we call it. It
feels good enough for today.

It's gonna take a lot more
energy than I thought it was.

- There was a squirrel,
tried to shoot, missed again.

The squirrels around
here must be wondering,

"What the heck?

"I'm always getting
these weird projectiles

whenever this guy's around."

I've already explored
upriver very well.

There's nothing.

So now I just want to
explore a little bit.

I'm not gonna go far.

Just gonna walk a little bit.

So just for the record,
this is how difficult it is

to walk through
my piece of land.

After that grouse, I
have not eaten much.

I've been very carefully
looking at the ground

for signs of rabbits,

but I cannot see any droppings,

so that's not great news for me.

Look at that.

Those are bear tracks.

That's a bear track.

Holy.

And here's my hand
for reference so...

Holy.

I can do a few things
to try to optimize

so that if a bear goes nearby,
I can get a shot at it.

So I'm thinking that
having a bear nearby,

it's quite dangerous.

I need to really protect
myself and my food coming in,

so I'm gonna hang my food
scraps from the grouse.

Nice.

So here it is.

Grouse intestines,
and foods scraps,

and some cans, and hopefully,
if an animal is trying

to get it, it'll make
a little bit of noise.

Okay, so I just
had a great idea.

Why don't I make, like, a bell?

So I have this pot here,
so... and I also have

this huge, huge
nail that I found.

If I string this nail
through this hole...

now I have a loud bell.

I'll be able to hear this
from far away for sure.

Bear encounters could be
potentially pretty scary.

If I hunt a bear,

I'll be able to outlast anyone.

See if that works.

- Got ourselves a vice.

Now we can put
the hook in there.

I can put this between my legs.

I can work on my flies.

I'm gonna take a
little bit of this foam

off the edge of my boot.

I hope that doesn't make
my boots too uncomfortable.

As time goes on, I'm
realizing that I need

to make a few different flies
to match different conditions

and weather conditions that
are prevalent on the river.

For the legs, we're gonna
take a little bit of fly line.

I'm gonna make a couple
of flies that will sink

and a couple of
flies that will float

and give myself a
little bit of diversity

in my fly box to allow
me to catch some fish.

And there you have it,

the world's ugliest
Chernobyl Ant.

Let's see if they're
biting down there today.

Feeling hungry
this morning, man.

I need something in my stomach.

It's important that we
produce some food today.

The cupboard's pretty
much empty again.

The fishing seems pretty
reliable right now.

Just look how
beautiful it is today.

The wind is calm.

I think it's gonna be a really
good morning for fishing.

I do wonder what
everyone's doing.

My parents, I bet they've
got a little countdown board

or something going
on the fridge.

"He's doin' it."

They'll be saying stuff
like that all the time.

"Man, he's doin' great."

I have no idea if
I'm doing great,

but I just think I am.

500,000 bucks would
be a big deal for us.

A huge deal, the whole family,
it could help everybody out.

My parents live on less
like 20 grand a year.

They do not have a lot of money.

I'd love to be able to
sort them out with just

a little mini
retirement pension.

When you're living on
that kind of income,

it makes a big difference.

I know that I'm out here
for the right reasons.

I'm hoping that I
can make it happen.

All right, not a nibble
on the tenkara rod,

so I'm gonna put
up the casting rod,

and toss that line
out a little further,

and see if that does something.

I'm worried that the
fishing is drying up.

The river levels are
starting to drop,

and as the river starts to drop,

my shoreline gets
shallower and shallower,

and I'm noticing that
the fish are starting

to move further and further off.

I just lost my fly
in the back cast.

The river is getting colder,

the fish are getting a
little bit more lethargic,

and the simple
fact of the matter

is that I am fishing
two very small sites,

and it's just a matter of time
before I've taken the majority

of the fish that are hanging
out in those particular spots.

I just lost my fly.

The homemade one.

It's frustrating.

I don't know what to do.

What are the two
things that you know

will make it onto "Alone"?

Song and a dance.

How's that?

- So we will have a small delay

in the day's activities...

So I can do a little sunbathing.

Feels good to get some sunshine,

collect a little vitamin D.

That's part of the tune
I'm trying to work on.

I think that'll be the chorus.

Think it's catchy enough?

It was nice to see
the sun's face again.

All right, I suppose,
let's get to work.

Have to go check my traps.

I need to start
getting some more food.

I think the squirrel
around here are starting

to figure out what those
shiny metal things are.

Getting pretty good
at avoiding them.

So nobody in any of those.

Could be a problem.

Oh, I got one over here.

Poor thing.

I'm gonna get a good
stick to hit him with.

They are not happy with me.

I'm grateful for squirrels.

Felt really bad taking its life,

especially mom was there
chattering and yelling,

and she was really upset.

Yeah, they have the
emotions, right.

They feel like we do.

So it is really hard
to break up families,

but I know that's also
part of how it works,

and that here it's
direct, right?

I see it. I have
to be part of it.

I have to take an active part

if I'm going to
live and survive.

- You have every
right to be mad at me.

I understand.

I think she was coming
over earlier this morning

and like, you know,

she was yelling at me,

and I don't know if
she was yelling at me

for setting out the snares or
yelling at me to come help.

I would have liked to
have come help instead,

but it's not why I'm here, babe.

She's eating a pine
cone right now,

which could be comfort eating,

but I see it as a good sign.

She's gonna keep
living her life.

Every day we live,
other things must die,

and that is the law of nature.

That is the way things work.

And we don't realize
in our modern lives

that the same thing is
happening indirectly

because of our actions.

So even though this is hard,

to see it that directly,

it's more honest.

- Okay, I'm gonna do this.
I'm going to wash my hair.

My hair feels so dry and wiry.

I've got some warm water.

First, I'm just gonna
dunk my hair in there.

That'll be the easiest way.

Oh, my gosh, this feels so good.

Now I got a little leaves...

Where'd those all come from?

Okay, well...

I think I got it pretty good.

Could somebody hand me my towel.

Thanks.

My goal today is just
to get into the shelter.

Let's try not to get
my pink shirt dirty.

It's very overwhelming
for me to build a shelter

to settle into.

But the land told me how
to build the shelter.

I saw the hill.

That hillside is all clay
under those blueberries.

And I went to bed,
and that night,

the land told me, lift
up the topsoil, dig in,

build your little structure,
and put the topsoil on,

but you have to put
the topsoil back.

My plan is to have the
front wall lean back

so that I can pile
the clay up there

because the moss is rated
R5, the clay is R50,

so I'm going to use this
clay as much as possible

to really hold in the heat.

I feel so blessed
with all the abundance

that this land has to give.

It's like, it's
making it so easy.

I think I'm gonna level
this out a little bit,

and then start
working on the bed.

Brr, it got chilly.

I think I need to
put on my shirt.

- All right, so we can
get the tarp on there

and start living in it while
I'm finishing the roof.

I'm not eating enough.

I'm burning way more
calories than I'm eating,

but I also realize
I get so wrapped up

on the to do, to do, to do.

Now I gotta do this, today
I'm going to do this,

and not taking the
time out to just be.

I'm so happy. I moved in.

So here we are!

I moved into my shelter.

I got the tarp on. I
got some ribs going.

We got everything tied down.

But I've been really looking
forward to being able

to have a fire in my
shelter, and here it is.

Number one, first night, whoo!

Something I'm learning
about myself is

I am a visionary person.

I get inspired, and
I get these ideas.

Oh, it's only going
to take two days.

But then I get into the project,

and I get really detailed,
and I get very perfectionist

about things, and
I'm discovering

with myself there's a
balance between details

and just getting it done
so that you can survive.

All that's left is food.

I just... that's the
game. It's the food game.

And I can focus the majority
of my day on getting food.

Yeah, this is definitely
a game changer.

Definitely a game
changer, for sure.

- Nailed it. That's good.

I am taking target practice.

I'm just gonna shoot into
the opposite bank there

a few times because I feel like

my aim is just a little bit off,

and I need to start nailing
more of these shots.

So morning target practice is

going into the morning routine.

Try something a
little further away.

I'm ready to start
utilizing my bow.

The fishing spot is
totally burned out.

I mean, I've tried fishing
for a few days now,

and there's just nothing.

I want to spend more
time out on the landscape

looking for black bear.

Okay, I feel good about that.

Just needed a couple of
confidence booster shots.

- Check this guy out.

That's the first bolete I've
found since I've been here.

It's a little old,

but we are totally
going to eat that.

We're gonna go up onto the hill,

see what we can find.

I don't see a path to
75, 80 days here for me

without that bear.

I can scrape by on good looks
and charm only for so long.

After a while, things
need to get real.

So I gotta produce.

Wow, it's gorgeous.

If I'm gonna take
a shot on the bear,

it's gonna be up on the plateau

where I have a
good kind of visual

to be able to see
where he might go.

This would be a great
spot to glass for bears.

We have some bear scat,
relatively recent.

Think they might be walking
up and down on this ridgeline.

I'm gonna go explore inland
for a couple of hours.

I just walked two hours
in, good time to do it.

There's too many
bear signs for me not

to run into one at some point.

Getting a black bear
means that you have just

upped your chances of
winning exponentially.

So rather than sitting
at home and trying

to conserve those calories.

For me, I just
have to go all in,

and without doing that,

I don't feel like I'm really
deserving of being here,

deserving of being on this land.

I was never gonna come out
here and sit in my shelter.

I'd rather be out there hunting.

- Holy.

I got one, finally got a grouse.

Beautiful one.

I've probably shot at
ten different grouse,

and I've learned every time
how to get better at it.

I feel so, so, so
thankful for this animal.

Look how beautiful he is.

I get to eat tonight again.

Mushrooms and grouse.

We're making it.
We're doing it.

Back in the game, back in
the mother-freaking game.

The fishing started drying up,

and the bow is
starting to produce.

This is a food source I
could start to depend on

until that bear comes in.

For dinner tonight,
I'm gonna stuff

the entire grouse
with cranberries.

Sprigs of Labrador tea

and some sliced up bolete.

That's one stuffed bird.

Let's carve this turkey.

Mmm.

That is amazing.

You can taste the
cranberry in it.

Sitting in moss house
enjoying a whole roasted bird

in front of my fireplace.

If that's not thriving,
I don't know what is.

- We've got a bunch of fish,

so I'm gonna build a fish cache.

There we go.

The problems of having
a surplus of food.

The land's been awesome.

I came here to
hunt, but clearly,

fishing is a very
important part of survival

in any landscape.

So here's to still
living like a kid.

Homemade rod, simple fly,

about 40 years later.

Enough fish that I'm
not gonna go hungry,

at least for a few days.

So he looked a
little small there,

but I don't want
it floating away,

so we're gonna block off here,
and then put a lid on that.

That'll keep it cool today.

Keep bugs off of it.

Oh, I think I see something.

Look at this beaver trail.

There's just beaver sign
all over right here.

That's too good to pass up.

I got to sit this.

The best strategy
to hunt most game,

especially with bow and arrow,

is to find a high traffic area

and ambush them at close range.

These beavers are super active.

It's just a matter of time
before we cross paths.

There's this ambush spot where
this beaver hits right here.

Let's just take a peek and
just watch this corridor

here for a little bit.

- I think I see one
right over here.

Had one shot, just missed.

There, that one hit it.

Where would it go?

I know he's hit hard.

That's freakin' nuts.

These things are tough.

I'm just really hoping
he goes belly up here.

A lot of meat on this beaver.

Dang, I just can't
believe he's not dead.

Well, we got to go back
up around and go back down

where he just went and see
if we can't pick him up.

What a frickin' saga, man.

It'll be a real bummer
to not recover this.

I mean, make me sick.

I think it just crawled
out of this pond

into the main river.

Dang it.

I know he's hit hard.

I hit him really
close, shot him right

behind the ear, basically.

I don't see anything yet.

Oh, man, adrenaline.

That's a big chunk of
food I was going after.

It's getting darkish
now, and I see no sign

that he made it into the big
river right here, so hopefully,

I'm recovering a beaver
here tomorrow morning.

We're gonna head back,

recover some arrows,
get regrouped.

I think I would have
caught him in this channel

if he would have made it, but
I think he got up in there,

and laid down, and realized
he was hurt pretty bad.

Anyway, I really hope he's down

and I can recover and use
that hide and that meat.

That would be awesome.

This is hunting.

You just got to get out here,
and do the best you can,

and put in 100% effort
to recover this guy,

and hopefully, he's just...
He's expiring peacefully.

Still sharp.

Oh, it's just like
life, you gotta try.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda...

What an exciting night.

I got to say, I'm
alive, you know?

Heart's beating. Body's
functioning well.

I got no excuses, just
doing the best I can.

Folks, this is how you learn.

Get out here and get
your butt kicked.

- Oh.

- Come out, little guy.

- See if we can't catch a trout.

Holy.

- I really feel bear
is gonna be a necessity

to make this long haul.

- We'll see who comes looking.

- Well, I got some muscle spasms

and leg cramps,

the kind that curl your feet up.

- I'm coming to the limits
of my physical body.

And now my heart
beat's irregular.

Ba-boom, ba-boom.