Season One Talk: Wolves And Cougars And Bears, Oh My!

[HurricaneVal]

Due to how harsh the conditions are for these guys, I imagine the producers may have expected a pretty fast burn-down in the beginning, then a tapering off and a hunkering down of the grittier types who found a groove.

[riverheightsnancy]

They should have sent Benji the Savior of Turtles and Building of Tree Houses to help these guys who were freaking out in the woods! (The Island reference for those who don't know). 

 

I have to wonder, is the vegetation so diverse that Alan is the only one who has the bull kelp, or is it that these guys don't know as much about it as he does? If so, then he has a leg up on the others. He seems to be doing just find with food. Although Mitch's 5 pounds of salmon is going to sustain him for a while (but he will burn it off running from a cougar!). My Benji love has gone all to Mitch now! Lucas' mushrooms looked like a good meal too. Mushrooms elicit the savory sensory experience, so they make the person feel full. They are hearty. The show keeps getting better. 

[rainsmom]

Nah, that bull kelp is everywhere up here. Isn't Alan the one whose bio actually mentions wild edibles? Could just be he has more general plant knowledge and so felt more comfortable reading up on wild edibles in the area. Dunno.

 

Yeah! Let's get Benji on here. The camera work will rock, and he's so awesome he'll have a cabin and a garden and a trade route established. When they come to get him, he'll say, "Nah, I'm comfortable in my castle!"

[walnutqueen]

Benji would rock this challenge, I'm sure.  Isn't he the one who has also worked on Life Below Zero?  At any rate, I'd just like to see his pretty, pretty eyes some more.  Ahem!  :-)

 

Alan is just more willing to eat stuff, methinks.

[muffkins]

Walnutqueen, if I could figure out how to post pictures on this site, I would post a couple of Atluck, also a map of where it is in regards to Quatsino Sound.  It is a beautiful lake with a nice beach, trout in it and berry bushes all around.  We used to camp there or at Anutz all the time.  Anutz is smaller though, and it had a sunken wharf that we always sat on.  Of course then you get those itchy little bumps all over your legs and behind from the mites in the slime, but kids don't care.

[walnutqueen]

muffkins - maps & pics I can find, but words are worth a thousand pictures to me.  I can taste the pan fried trout and wild salmonberries from here!  :-)

[humbleopinion]

Dustin munched on kelp that had washed up but declared it is not as crunchy as it should be.

He said he didn't want to eat too much because it makes him more dehydrated.

His energy is flagging as demonstrated when he dragged that washed up pole a few feet and then dropped it because it was too heavy.

Because he is being edited so skewed towards not being there for the long haul makes me think he is a gamer and may be amongst the last few.

[Quilt Fairy]

You could say that everybody left is among the last few!

[Neurochick]

I think every one of these guys is married and has a family. I bet that wasn't coicidental. I bet they were casted for the most drama.

 

 

I wonder about this too.  Maybe the producers were afraid that if they picked 10 single men, they MIGHT really be out there for a year.

[LittleIggy]

You would think these guys would have tried to be more mentally prepared. They seem to be getting freaked out so easily.

Alan is the man! When he was staring into the camera as if he was going nuts then was like "just kidding'" I liked him even more.

I agree with others about catching rain water. Why aren't we seeing that?

I wish someone would actually try to build a cabin

[muffkins]

I'm gonna give Dustin a break on dragging that pole.  He'd just wiped out on a slippery log and those things are HEAVY when they are all waterlogged.  They don't look too bad, but as soon as you pick them up, its like they're made of cement.  I would drag them above the high tide line, and let them sort of dry out. 

I was happy to see the one guy using the inside of the cedar bark.  I said to my husband last week that we used to scrape the inside of cedar bark and  put it in our pockets to dry out.   Or just stick it in your tent out of the wetness.  Moss is also good that way, once you squeeze the water out of it.  I've never heard of char cloth, so I wasn't sure what he was doing at first, but it seems like a pretty savvy idea. 

[Fiddler1]

This show has just sucked me in!  Half of me is surprised at how fast a few of these guys tagged out...they're supposed to be experienced and prepared and had to have at least SOME idea of what was in store for them.  But the other half of me can sort of empathize.  I hike with a friend every week in a 1300 acre forest that I like to think we know pretty well and feel totally at home in.  This is really my 'happy place.'   But one time I went alone and I was shocked at how scary and threatening my old familiar trails felt when I was by myself, and this is in no way an isolated spot.  There are black bears (which I've never seen) and coyotes and deer (which I have) but it wasn't that I was afraid of.  It was a very odd feeling of the woods being 'against' me when I was by myself.  Odd, but I'm willing to give these guys a pass to some degree.    I think right now I'm pulling for either Mitch (how cute was his daughter, calling him 'lovely') and Alan because his Julia Child routine killed me ;)

[Brooklynista]

Did Brant take his wife's pot back?

[cooksdelight]

He better have. Or she may find another one to hit him with. :)

[Quilt Fairy]

This show has just sucked me in!  Half of me is surprised at how fast a few of these guys tagged out...they're supposed to be experienced and prepared and had to have at least SOME idea of what was in store for them.  But the other half of me can sort of empathize.  I hike with a friend every week in a 1300 acre forest that I like to think we know pretty well and feel totally at home in.  This is really my 'happy place.'   But one time I went alone and I was shocked at how scary and threatening my old familiar trails felt when I was by myself, and this is in no way an isolated spot.  There are black bears (which I've never seen) and coyotes and deer (which I have) but it wasn't that I was afraid of.  It was a very odd feeling of the woods being 'against' me when I was by myself.  Odd, but I'm willing to give these guys a pass to some degree.  

Yeah, I'd really like to know what happened out there. Is it the lack of a fixed time limit or a set goal? Would they be OK if they were hiking through these woods on their way to civilization?  I'm more shocked now at their apparent lack of preparation (unable to make a fire, choosing an un-waterproofed tarp) when they apparently knew several months in advance where they were going.

[riverheightsnancy]

Yeah, I'd really like to know what happened out there. Is it the lack of a fixed time limit or a set goal? Would they be OK if they were hiking through these woods on their way to civilization?  I'm more shocked now at their apparent lack of preparation (unable to make a fire, choosing an un-waterproofed tarp) when they apparently knew several months in advance where they were going.

I was under the opinion, based on something from an early episode, that they did not know where they were actually going, just that they would be on the show and going somewhere. I think it was episode 1 or 2. One of the guys made reference to it in regard to what he was wearing (I think). That premise makes the show harder. 

[rainsmom]

I was under the opinion, based on something from an early episode, that they did not know where they were actually going, just that they would be on the show and going somewhere. I think it was episode 1 or 2. One of the guys made reference to it in regard to what he was wearing (I think). That premise makes the show harder. 

We know from the home scene in the most recent episode that they knew in advance they were going to VI. We also know casting BEGAN six months before the show was shot. What we don't know, though, is how long the casting process took and at what point they were told they were going to VI. My guess is they wanted them to choose their clothes and their 10 items according to the place they were going.

 

I agree that not knowing where they were going would make the show a LOT harder. I mean, do you risk choosing fish hooks if you could go to the desert? How would you dress? What if you gambled on warm and got sent somewhere cold?

 

I think for THIS show, the way they did it was tough enough. Obviously the survival part isn't the hardest aspect -- the mental game is. I wonder if the producers knew it would be.

[cooksdelight]

They always tell people where they are going. If they didn't, they could be held liable for God only knows what. I know on Survivor they know the destination and they pack a suitcase. Production chooses what goes in that little knapsack they have, and what they wear upon arrival. I'm sure these guys knew where they were going or else they'd not know what 10 items to choose, or what type of clothes to pack. I'd LOVE for someone to give us an inside scoop on how things worked before they all got there.

 

I'll see if I can get someone here who knows Alan to ask him.

[rainsmom]

Hey, cooksdelight, if you can, see if Alan would be willing to come here and do a Q&A -- even after the show ends (or he taps out). I'd love to pick his brain.

[riverheightsnancy]

Yes, I will have to go back and watch the first 2 episodes again, because I could swear that one of the guys said they didn't know, but, I could have misunderstood what was said between the crying, being stalked as prey, non fire-lighting, drinking toxic water and hallucinating, quitting, bellyaching and missing the family! lol

[cooksdelight]

Hey, cooksdelight, if you can, see if Alan would be willing to come here and do a Q&A -- even after the show ends (or he taps out). I'd love to pick his brain.

 

Message sent, we'll see!

[Quilt Fairy]

Obviously the survival part isn't the hardest aspect -- the mental game is. I wonder if the producers knew it would be.

I suspect that the producers were hoping that the mental game would be the hardest aspect. That's what makes the show different. I already know about char cloth from Les Stroud, Cody Lundin and Bear Grylls.

 

However, the survival part is hard as well if, like Brant, you don't know enough not to thoroughly disinfect water from a swamp. And to think I liked him originally.

 

The remaining 5 do seem to be a bit smarter/tougher/luckier-in-location. I don't know how many episodes this series is supposed to last, but let's hope we get one episode where no one taps out.

[rainsmom]

The remaining 5 do seem to be a bit smarter/tougher/luckier-in-location. I don't know how many episodes this series is supposed to last, but let's hope we get one episode where no one taps out.

You know, it might be that 10 men = 10 episodes, and they'll show the time period necessary to highlight one tap per episode. Or if two happen in really close proximity, maybe one without any and one with two. I dunno. Just guessing.

[cooksdelight]

That's what I think too. Even if it takes two months for the next guy to go, we won't see what happens. They'll recap anything exciting, I guess. I hope.

[Quilt Fairy]

You know, it might be that 10 men = 10 episodes, and they'll show the time period necessary to highlight one tap per episode. Or if two happen in really close proximity, maybe one without any and one with two. I dunno. Just guessing.

I think it's a good guess. (I still think we ought to start a pool, at least to guess if anyone makes it past 2 weeks!)

 

I wonder about the paucity of footage from Sam. Are they saving it for the episode where he taps out, or is he just not a compelling character? I would have thought after the howling to the wolves in episode one we would have gotten a lot of crazy antics, but from the little we've seen of him the next 3 episodes, he seems to have turned into a Boy Scout.

[ethalfrida]

Yes, Sam seemed t0 be right at home. We need more of him.

[Carrickfergus]

It appears none of these people are from the Pacific Northwest; even the Canadian is from the other coast.  That makes it more difficult.  They think they know what to expect but they don't really.

The cougars are damned dangerous on the Island, and the fall is really wet, which is coming next.

Telling them they could be out a year seems to have messed with their minds, though the producers can't have imagined that they would last that long.  Watching them go bush happy is very unnerving, but not unexpected.  It happens to lost people all the time.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Carrickfergus

[rainsmom]

I'm all for a pool. SHould we start a new thread and guess winners and dates?

[walnutqueen]

These guys knew what they were getting in to.  Sam confirmed this when he was talking about predators and the highest density of cougars in North America.  He mentioned that three weeks ago, a sea kayaker who came ashore to whiz right in that area was attacked by a cougar.

[cooksdelight]

I checked the online database we use, and there are 10 episodes. So, as we guessed earlier, we'll lose one per show. I am taking a bet that Alan will outlast them.

[dustoffmom]

I'd not bet against you cooksdelight with Alan choice, but I have to add a secondary pick of Sam as well!  Initially thought Mitch would be there among the top finishers but after last week I am somewhat on the fence about him now.

[riverheightsnancy]

I want Mitch, but he had me at episode 1 because he is "Lovely". I think Alan or Sam maybe Lucas or Dustin (gee that is all of the rest of them), could do it. Probably Alan though because he will eat anything. I think that Mitch is getting a lot of screen time (thinking from Survivor editing) because they want the winner to have a story arc. He prayed over his food-I thought that was sweet, even though I don't believe and got stalked by a cougar-but didn't tap out, he had fire first and has been shown to be quite inventive. Even though others have been quite inventive as well, I think that we have seen more of Mitch than anyone else, who DIDN'T TAP OUT. So, my money is on Mitch and the more I think about it the more convinced I am. I will probably go into a catatonic state if/when he taps out though. I just lurve him (Benji from island too). A Benji and Mitch series would be heaven! lol

[Trek]

I like Mitch as well, and hope how the show left off this episode - with Mitch being startled awake (due possibly to the cougar getting more aggressive) is a mislead and not an indicator that the next episode will be his tap out one.

 

I like Mitch for being the most aggressive in trying to progress his situation into a sustainable one. Where most others are more or less near their start points (Brant, for example, appeared to have just stayed exactly where he was dropped off, drinking brackish water for 6 days. WTF?) Mitch scouted the most aggressively, to the extent of building a makeshift boat out of his tarp, to find the best location he could. On fire, he was the first to get one going with the curling technique and now he has char cloth to conserve his ferro rod. While others are still foraging – whether for mushrooms or bull kelp (essentially “hunter-gatherer” stage) – he’s taken a first step in trying to achieve a fixed sustainable/renewable food source (“food farming” stage)via fishing nets.

 

With each move, what I see is a guy approaching this game almost like a settler rather than just “surviving day to day for as long as I can and hoping that it’s longer than the other guys.” That’s interesting to me and I hope it doesn’t end up costing him by drawing the attention of Mr. Cougar.

[Quilt Fairy]

Last night they had a marathon of the first 4 episodes under the title Alone: Only the Strong Survive. I recorded these under the assumption that they would be what they like to call 'enhanced episodes', i.e., with extra footage or even people's stupid tweets. Something to justify the altered title. But I've looked at episode 1 and I don't see anything different. Has anyone caught anything?

[bclines67]

well, they couldn't do the show with 10 peeps

 

so all that BS was just thinning the herd, please survival experts afraid of black bears, please

 

but, now with 5 peeps, they can spend 10 minutes per show with them, which is enough

 

so, i'm still watching

 

let's see where this goes, i'm expecting somebody to last at least 3 months

[allthatglitters]

WTF is it with all the military, police, and gun nuts going out early?  I guess I can see its probably a lack of control of the situation just as much as it is not having a gun handy.  But Brant....dude....That was the most pathetic display of wilderness survival ever. Like someone else commented, he just stayed in one spot drinking brackish water because he was afraid to hike upstream. And he hated his location with the disappearing beach, so why didn't he try and move? And why was he just wandering around his camp for 5 days not even attempting to light a fire? Did he try and just give up? If I were alone and afraid of animals and needed clean water, I'd be working on getting a fire going 24/7 until it was done. Did he really not read up and practice before he came?

 

My quiz came out Alan, so I'm rooting for him. I cannot  believe no one else knows about eating seaweed. Pretty much any of that stuff is edible. Not to mention little shell fish and cockles and mussels alive alive oh. Even a slug...gah though.

 

Mitch is a likeable guy. Brilliant with the char cloth and net. But checking it at night (low tide or not) was frightening. I had to cringe when he said "I just have to get back to camp where its safe".  Uh...taking a fresh fish to your camp and roasting it in the open on a stick at night is not "safe". I wonder about what he did with the extra flesh. No way he could have been foolish enough to just leave any of it around camp, and then went to bed could he? Or did he gorge down 5 lbs of fish? What about the bones? I'd probably wolf it all down and then throw the bones and scraps far away from the tent. Better yet, find a way to check the nets in the day, then you can eat safer, and away from your tent and dispose of the waste.

 

They all seem to have weaknesses and strengths. And those with more of the former tap out first. Great show though. I'm from BC and been up to that general area. Spent a night lost in the woods in Haida Gwaii, the islands to the north of VI. It wouldn't be as easy as some here think. Being alone in the woods is so much more difficult than if with someone else. Your mind is the worst enemy.  I don't think I'd catch a wink of sleep until I'd built some kind of log structure. Can't wait til next week!

[cooksdelight]

I wonder about what he did with the extra flesh. No way he could have been foolish enough to just leave any of it around camp, and then went to bed could he?

Yes, he could have been dumb enough to toss it to the side at camp. The guy didn't have a good-sized fire going to keep animals away. They are afraid of fire and won't approach if there's a big one burning. It's likely the cougar would not have come around had he not been cooking the fish and the smoke/smell was making it's way to wherever the cougar was. It's why you never cook in the dark. You cook in the daylight. I'm no survivalist but I've camped enough to know that. And if you don't have a safe place to store leftover food and scraps, you take it to water and toss it in so that it won't smell up your camp. I want to take another look at his camp in the daytime because there was a large box there in the background that I could see by the light of the fire. I want to know what that was.

[riverheightsnancy]

I think the box is the 40+ pounds of required camera equipment/Sat phone that they have to keep around and with then at all times. I think I remember Lucas lugging it around. 

[cooksdelight]

There has to be room in there to hide cooked fish.

[riverheightsnancy]

There has to be room in there to hide cooked fish.

Just another "Lovely" Mitch first!  ;)  lol

[Kelda Feegle]

I camp alone. But with my dog. And in a campground. With a bathroom and a shower. I wouldn't last long.

I camp alone sometimes too - in places that are 4 or 5 star and have room service - I am fascinated by this show.

[riverheightsnancy]

I camp alone sometimes too - in places that are 4 or 5 star and have room service - I am fascinated by this show.

I am certain that the wolves and cougars would be happy to supply some room or "tent" service to ya! 

[Kelda Feegle]

I am certain that the wolves and cougars would be happy to supply some room or "tent" service to ya! 

hahahaha actually when I do the wild animal thing I make sure I am prepared by taking two armed guards LOL (been on quite a few African safaris - before the lions got all clever-like in their lion-y behaviour - see Zoo)

[walnutqueen]

hahahaha actually when I do the wild animal thing I make sure I am prepared by taking two armed guards LOL (been on quite a few African safaris - before the lions got all clever-like in their lion-y behaviour - see Zoo)

 

I hope, for your sake, Kelda Feegle, those were photo-safaris.

 

Nevermind the lion-y behavior - beware of the Defiant Pupil!!!

[Kelda Feegle]

I hope, for your sake, Kelda Feegle, those were photo-safaris.

 

Nevermind the lion-y behavior - beware of the Defiant Pupil!!!

No animals were harmed in the making of my holidays :-)

[cooksdelight]

Mitch quit.....why??? He just decided he was done?

Sam seems to be falling into the "why am I here?" mode. "I try to just be goofy as much as possible." "You're out here alone for so long..." Dude... it's been two weeks. Chill.

Alan is smart. Efficiency. :) And the boy has a voice!!

Lucas' canoe... omigosh, how cool!! Huge fire... very prepared. I think he could live out there forever.

[muffkins]

Man, that wind storm brought back some memories.  We used to spend some sleepless nights all stuffed into the kitchen waiting it out listening to the trees creak, groan and occasionally snap.  Cedar and Douglas firs are very flexible, but it's still scary.  And I was in a house, not a tent.  I was surprised that Dustin only lasted one more day, but the last  4 seem to be in it for the long haul.  "O Solo Mio" indeed.

Too bad for them that the weather is only going to get worse, not better.

Edited July 17, 2015 by muffkins

[Quilt Fairy]

Mitch quit.....why??? He just decided he was done?

Not Mitch, Dustin (although I wouldn't be surprised if Mitch is next). And you're right there wasn't a predictable build-up as to why he picked that day to tap out. 

 

I can comment on this episode, but I can't snark on it. Seeing 2 grown men literally crying on camera is just sobering.

 

I'm OK with anyone of the final 4 winning. No assholes, it's a first in reality programming.

[humbleopinion]

Lucas' dialogue on how his dad is his hero was very touching.

His canoe success is the morale boost he needed to carry on.

He still is my horse to win.

 

Dustin went through the motions of setting up camp and settling in but he never looked at ease.

His fear of crashing trees did him in.

 

Alan is performing for the camera.

For his and our entertainment.

 

Am surprised Sam is not seeking more substantial food other than the 33 little crabs.

When Sam was crying he looked like he was 12 years old.

 

Mitch finds a bear den near his camp.

Where are the bushes of berries that he saw in the bear poo?

[riverheightsnancy]

No, I cannot hear that my lovely Mitch will be next. Nope, not having it. I think it will be Lucas or Sam. As interesting as Lucas is, mentally, I think he is really fragile. He talked a extensively about being or doing something special and how that is super important for his sense of self, and then gets crushed the minute it doesn't pan out. He becomes despondent. (I mean Mitch already made a leaf-tarp boat days ago). In a moment of that despondency, I think he will tap. It is a little bipolary in behavior. When we start seeing the guy talk about all their intrapsychic baggage and continue to perseverate on it, you know it isn't long. Both Mitch and Alan had a few low moments, but they never went to that place and stay there (yet).

 

I still think Mitch will win. I think that the editing is showing the most complete arc with Alan a close second. I think that Alan has a fantastic personality. Food Network should take notice. They could put this guy in a show TODAY and call it "I'll Eat Anything and Show You How". Have this guy go around the world, eating off nature or foraging and demonstrating cooking and survival skills (and his fun personality). He has such a fantastic personality that I think he would have a huge following right away and he is very natural. Sort of like he Who Shall Not Be Named was supposed to be from last season of Food Network Star, but a real person who is not vile and sexually gross about food and people. I did think that Dustin was starting to tap. It is that hesitancy and back-and-forth on doing anything that day which becomes a tell-tale sign. Did we really jump a bunch of days? The show started at what day 5 or 6, and then it was day 14? Did is misunderstand that?