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

[pagooey]

Hey, Bear! I'm in!

 

Right now I'm rooting for Eye Hat and Julia Child, and pleasantly surprised by how "interestingly quiet" this show is, as several folks noted upthread. This is what I always wanted "Survivor" and even "Lost" to be: fewer smoke monsters/running an obstacle course in your bikini, more TRYING NOT TO DIE. I mean, I know they can tap out, but. And I too was sourly amused that the first two departees were weepy with relief to get home to their...guns. 

 

I'm a Seattle native, and all I could think of when they plopped these guys down on Vancouver Island in the fall was this diorama they used to have at the local history museum: a vignette of the Denny party, landing on Puget Sound. In it, the menfolk are trying to build a cabin, and the wives are sitting on a log crying (historically accurate, I later learned). As a kid, I didn't get it--they were founding Seattle! How exciting! What was there to cry about??

 

As an adult, imagining them there in November...on the raw, sodden beach...oh my god, I would nut-punch a husband who dragged me to such a godforsaken hellscape. It is beautiful, and I am whatever the polar opposite of a wilderness survivalist is. Mesmerized by their suffering, though--good TV!

[cooksdelight]

And I too was sourly amused that the first two departees were weepy with relief to get home to their...guns.

Of all the men I know locally who are big gun enthusiasts, if any of them were put out in the wilderness without one, they'd cave. It's their shield, their armor. Without it, they are powerless. Good example is Jim Murray, a local guy competing on "The Island". Former cop, is an idiot on the island and is clueless about everything. Most disliked person, ever. If these two guys who tapped out had stayed, I suspect they also would have gone bonkers, hiding in a bunker and waiting it out instead of trying to build themselves a stable shelter that would protect them from the wildlife.

[Quilt Fairy]

.....all I could think of when they plopped these guys down on Vancouver Island in the fall....

IIRC, they started "at the beginning of the rainy season". Would that be fall in the Pacific NW?

[walnutqueen]

IIRC, they started "at the beginning of the rainy season". Would that be fall in the Pacific NW?

 

Yes, although looking at the rainfall charts for the area, it's wet all the time, just moreso in fall/winter.  Here's a link to average monthly temperatures and precipitation for the general area : http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Winter-Harbour-weather-averages/British-Columbia/CA.aspx

or

http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Holberg-weather-averages/British-Columbia/CA.aspx

Edited July 3, 2015 by walnutqueen

[cooksdelight]

Two guys out in one episode. Is it just me, or are they all wimping out really quickly? Two out on day four! What did they expect, catered meals and a nightly turndown service?

That bear was probably more afraid of him then he was of it. And I guess the other guy who lost his firestarter never heard of how to make a fire the old boy scout way. You've got a knife, an axe....a variety of different kinds of rocks....hit one against the other until you get a spark.

Alan.... you're supposed to yell "safety!" when you fart. Geez, dude!

Everybody's missing home. Four days. Y'all are playing for a half million. Suck it up!!!

"How much is the time away from your family worth?"

I dunno, you chose to do this. I bet the camera crew and medics are having drinks and a good laugh every night. I'm hoping we get another cooking lesson from Alan.

[riverheightsnancy]

I think that the guys that we see little of last the longest. Dustin and another guy, we have seen very little of, so I bet they last pretty long. I was glad to see so little of Mitch tonight, however, one of the preview voices sounded like him and it was not a good statement (I recognize the New England/Mass accent). 

I think that Alan and the young guy really have the best attitudes. The guy with the hat on the eyes, seems pretty bummed out when his idea for clay wasn't going to work. Why not still make some type of structure? You could still use the "mud" in the cracks between the logs, not just for the fireplace. I believe that mixing the mud with ashes and sand helps it to become more stable.  I think having the fire at the entrance helps to alleviate some of the fear of predators. Having your sleeping area against a "wall" of sorts, like a felled tree helps as well. 

[walnutqueen]

Dude - have you ever heard of chinking a log cabin's walls with moss?  I guess not.  The clay may not be good enough to fire a cooking vessel, but it's still viable for your cabin, mixed with other stuff.

 

4 days, 4 guys.  So far, Vancouver Island is winning.

 

What is up with all these people who can't be alone (asks the recluse)? 

[bclines67]

ok, first i'm gonna keep watching the show

 

2nd, i know how these "reality" shows work, if they had 10 guys week after week, then we'd only get to spend 4 minutes an episode with each contestant and would never get to know them

 

but really?!?!?!?

 

these outdoor peeps are that afraid of Black Bears?? ... i see one once a week by my house ... yes, they are big, but they don't seem that interested in humans

 

and Wolves or Woofs (don't understand why they are called that many places :) ) ... i can't remember the last time a Wolf attack was reported

 

now i did see another show where a cougar jumped on the back of a bike rider

 

but, these guys tapping out after 1, 2, 3, 4 days b/c they are scared of Black Bear and Wolves ... not realistic ... they just need to thin the numbers, so we can get to know the contestants ... i mean they last 21 days on Naked and Afraid, of course, that show is unwatchable, b/c i don't need to see an hour of  ugly butt cracks

 

ok, just had to vent, i feel better now :)

[Quilt Fairy]

4 days, 4 guys.  So far, Vancouver Island is winning.

I was thinking along the same lines, but you put it more eloquently than I could. This is changing from a reality show into quite the psychological drama. These guys are self-styled survival "experts" and they're crumbling after a few days alone.

 

Although I recognize that there was - potentially - a reason for urgency to get to Wayne, driving 3 hours on remote logging roads and traipsing through the woods in the dark just seemed stupid. Josh had 3 bears by his tent, and they told him they couldn't come until the next morning. I don't understand why the situations were handled so differently.

 

When Wayne was walking on the beach and kept going "Oh, look at that" I kept thinking he was going to find Joe's fire-starter.

 

And apparently Brant hasn't manage to light a fire yet.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[ramble]

Even with the chyrons I still can't keep these guys straight so apologies on my weird names. Howls With Wolves left his pregnant wife at home with the possibility of missing the birth? That's a big decision on his part. Shallow me thought if he won they should designate part of the money for the wife's orthodontia & dental care.

Mr. Julia Child is still making me laugh. His seaweed taste test was well done & his attitude seems relatively healthy so far. The small clip they showed of him at home made me aware how much his beard seems to age him.

Other than the two tappers the rest of the guys are still clumping together. Depressive guy, cabin fail guy, etc. I'm with those of y'all who wonder if the ones who have gotten little screen time are the longer lasters, either that are they are horribly boring & they can't make anything out of their mumblings.

The men are falling hard & fast. The wet, cold conditions & long, lonely nights must be wearing them down in some type of magic exponential way. The fact that these are supposed survival experts & outdoors men speaks to how soft we westerners are.

With how beautifully quiet this show is, the occasional musical moments feel intrusive & manipulative. I wish they'd just let the men & the silence do the talking. There is enough drama & interest in what's happening that I don't think the music really adds very much.

[mlp]

I was actually nervous watching that guy alone in his shelter in the dark with a bear outside.  I can understand why he would have been less afraid if he'd had another person with him.  

 

Having said that, I don't understand why being alone is getting to so many of them so quickly but I'm a solitary person by nature and have lived alone for years.  Still, they haven't been out there for months and they knew going in they'd be alone.  I don't get it.

 

So far, I think I like the guy who was eating the seaweed.  As someone else noted, he looks much older with a beard than he did at home.

[humbleopinion]

We are going to have to either use the Aloners' real names or nicknames to sort them out.

 

Joe didn't even last long enough to see his only fire burn out.

Guess it was a domino effect- he was spooked by the bear across the river, lost his ferrrous rod by his carelessness, the thought of having to keep a fire lit or game over was too much for his psyche.

He will be pleasantly pleased he was was the third to wuss out.

Small victories.

 

Disappointed that Wayne-Buoy Boy tapped out day 4/5.

His bravado came from his primitive knives, stone hatchets.

Why did he get a night time rescue?

[Tracer34]

As others have mentioned, it's very surprising that 4 guys have called it quits after just a couple of days.

 

That guy (Joe?) who spent all day chopping down trees for a shelter, was obviously not thinking clearly when he gave up just because his marvelous plan for a fireplace wasn't going to work.

 

These so-called outdoorsmen could have taken lessons from Richard Proenneke -- a man who lived in the Alaskan wilderness for years. Talk about self-reliance!

 

You can see his film on YouTube if you type in:

 

richard proenneke alone in the wilderness

 

 

[cooksdelight]

Alan aka Julia Child, teaches wilderness survival here locally. I spoke to someone who knows him and they said he is very knowledgeable about what to eat, what not to touch, etc. If he can get over missing his family, he ought to make it to the end. I'll be very surprised if he doesn't.

[rainsmom]

Still love this show!

 

Alan is definitely my favorite. I hope he conquers his loneliness and goes the distance. At the rate we're going, he won't have to last more than a week or two. Geez Louise people! They're dropping like flies.

 

It's amazing to me that the solitude is taking such a huge toll on them so early. I would be SHOCKED if every single one of them hasn't taken longer solo camping trips before. I guess a camping trip has a defined end, so it's not overwhelming. With no defined end point, this must feel permanent.

 

So many of them have children and/or pregnant wives. I wonder if the producers intentionally looked for that, since that would create more psychological drama? I'm also a solitary person. The idea of a year without other people sounds dreamy to me. (I couldn't go without my dogs, though.)

 

I'm also surprised that they're so freaked out about the bears and wolves. Just stop and think of the odds. Vancouver Island is FILLED with campers and hikers year round (not to mention the people who live in the remote areas who are active outside), and there have been just a couple of bear attacks (and no fatalities) on Vancouver Island. YES, it can happen. But it's not so likely that they should tap out over it.

 

Unless, of course, you're a dumbass who builds your camp right next to the active den of a mama bear and two cubs.

 

Oh, oh, oh -- and I was annoyed that cabin dude gave up when his clay didn't work. Um, you can chink with that clay, with mud, or with moss -- all of which is prevalent there. No, you might not be able to build a wood fireplace, but you can build a stone one. There are rocks everywhere up there!

Edited July 3, 2015 by rainsmom

[cooksdelight]

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

[Quilt Fairy]

I'm sure TPTB tried to select equal environments, but there seems to be an element of pure luck as to whether you got an area with active bear trails, fresh water, a good beach, etc. It also seems like no one is willing to move very far inland from their drop-off point. Presumably that would be their rescue point as well, although it looks as if they do have GPS trackers on them.

[Neurochick]

I was thinking along the same lines, but you put it more eloquently than I could. This is changing from a reality show into quite the psychological drama. These guys are self-styled survival "experts" and they're crumbling after a few days alone.

 

 

I believe there was an earlier post here where someone read that the producers told the men they might be there for a year.  If that's the case, I get why so many of them are tapping out.  On Naked and Afraid and Survivor, they know exactly how long they will be out there; on this show they have no idea, and I guess that can mess with someone's mind.

 

I'm not surprised they're freaked out about being alone.  Though many here have stated they are solitary people, man is a social creature; introverts need alone time to recharge, but they still want to be around people at some point.  And these guys are really alone, no TV, music, computer, books or anything.  I may think I'm solitary, but  I"m on the computer right now, so even though I am physically alone, I'm still connecting with others.  

 

But I do have another question.  Did the producers deliberately choose married men or men with SO's?  I wonder how different the show would be if the men were all single.  I keep hearing, "I'm missing my wife, missing my kids/family."  Maybe the producers were worried that if they had 10 single men the show might really last a year.

 

edited to add this:  When the producers went to get Wayne (I made a chart, that's how I know who's there), one of them made a comment, don't know if it was for the cameras but he said, "we haven't heard from him in a long time; hope he's still alive."  I was like, "shit, you hope he's still alive?  This is some hard core shit!"  I can see why the guys are tapping out.  If most of them have wives and children that depend on them, that is an incentive to leave; I mean no one wants to die making a reality show.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Neurochick

[cooksdelight]

I went by myself to England, Wales and France with nothing but a backpack and a camera to record memories. No phone. No real place to stay, I had found some people online who let me stay in their homes here and there. That is as close as I've come to "roughing" it. I stayed there two weeks, had a blast. But this situation is different. No other people to talk to. No fun places to go. Just you, the breeze and the trees. And the animals.

[Neurochick]

And what makes it worse is they don't know who's tapped out.  I mean if they told the remaining six men that four have already left; they'd probably think, "shit, this thing isn't going to last a year," and they'd probably stick it out.  

[LittleIggy]

Team Alan here! Dude has a good attitude and sense of humor.

I too can't understand why Joe would give up building a cabin because of clay. WTF? I thought he said he really wanted 4 walls around him. And can't you mix sand in with clay to change the consistency?

The way Wayne said "Hey, bear" made it sound as if he was asking it a question. I thought you were supposed to try to sound scary. He had pepper spray, didn't he?

[humbleopinion]

Why Wayne wasn't singing/rapping at the top of his lungs when the bear was prowling around has vexed me.

Maybe VI bears attack singers/rappers?

He didn't even have his bear spray unlocked and ready if the bear entered his tarp.

I think it was Lucas who did the test firing of the clay he found by the water source.

The clay must have too much sand to allow it to be fired into ceramics which then can withstand high temperatures needed for a hearth.

You need less than 7% sand in clay for it to be useful for ceramic purposes.

[peaceknit]

 

What is up with all these people who can't be alone (asks the recluse)? 

 

Hahahaha! I'll join the recluse group with you, walnutqueen! *waves* I just knew I'd see all my Alaska show peeps here :) 

 

Seriously, there are a lot of people who just CAN'T be alone.

[muffkins]

4 days, 4 guys.  So far, Vancouver Island is winning.

 

Vancouver Island is the best! 

 

I was also surprised when the guy gave up on his cabin idea.  Clay is great to have, but even bad clay can be used.  Chink with moss and dirt on the outside, and the clay on the inside.  Build your fireplace and chimney out of stones, layer the clay all over it and even bad clay will keep the smoke from coming out the little holes.  Hopefully he was just a bit overwhelmed at the time, and a nights reflection will put him in a better mood.

[walnutqueen]

Hahahaha! I'll join the recluse group with you, walnutqueen! *waves* I just knew I'd see all my Alaska show peeps here :) 

 

Seriously, there are a lot of people who just CAN'T be alone.

 

Alaska is part of my beloved Pacific Northwest, so I'm all over the shit, peaceknit!  Nice to see you, too.  :-)

 

 

Vancouver Island is the best! 

 

I was also surprised when the guy gave up on his cabin idea.  Clay is great to have, but even bad clay can be used.  Chink with moss and dirt on the outside, and the clay on the inside.  Build your fireplace and chimney out of stones, layer the clay all over it and even bad clay will keep the smoke from coming out the little holes.  Hopefully he was just a bit overwhelmed at the time, and a nights reflection will put him in a better mood.

 

Vancouver Island KICKS ASS!

 

At the rate these guys are dropping out, I'd be royally pissed if someone won $500k for staying out there for less than 2 weeks.  Fuck me to tears, people last that long trapped in their crashed cars hanging upside down!

Edited July 5, 2015 by walnutqueen

[pagooey]

The way Wayne said "Hey, bear" made it sound as if he was asking it a question.

No kidding. A couple tentative "hey, bear"s while you sit quivering under your tent-tarp? They don't print enough money to get me on this show, but you can believe I'd be all Hey, bear! HEY, BEAR! HEY BEAR HEY BEAR HEY BEAR CAN YOU SEE BY THE DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT at the top of my ever-loving lungs. 

 

Meanwhile, if my man-child husband knocked me up and then ran off to play Wolf Boy for an indeterminate length of time, the biggest angry predator he'd need to worry about would NOT be a bear. 

[Quilt Fairy]

Meanwhile, if my man-child husband knocked me up and then ran off to play Wolf Boy for an indeterminate length of time, the biggest angry predator he'd need to worry about would NOT be a bear.

In all fairness, he's not running off to do it just to do it, but because it is, as Jeff Probst would put it, "A one in 10 chance to win half a million dollars". Those are damn good odds, and how many other opportunities to make that kind of money do most people have? In Sam's case, the timing does suck, but not the rationale.

 

I was also surprised when the guy gave up on his cabin idea.  Clay is great to have, but even bad clay can be used.  Chink with moss and dirt on the outside, and the clay on the inside.  Build your fireplace and chimney out of stones, layer the clay all over it and even bad clay will keep the smoke from coming out the little holes.  Hopefully he was just a bit overwhelmed at the time, and a nights reflection will put him in a better mood.

Yeah, he had to expend thousands of calories cutting down, sawing and moving all those logs and he's probably doing it on little to no food or water. Everything he was doing was useful (clay or no clay, a cabin is a good idea) and I hope he sees that in the morning.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[OtterReality]

I think Wayne may have gotten a night rescue because he told the producers he was charged by a bear. My SO and I looked at each other when he said that like "what?" It looked like he was wandering around at night and stumbled upon a bear, we saw the bear turn his head and then Wayne was running. We never saw a charge, maybe someone else did?

[walnutqueen]

I think Wayne may have gotten a night rescue because he told the producers he was charged by a bear. My SO and I looked at each other when he said that like "what?" It looked like he was wandering around at night and stumbled upon a bear, we saw the bear turn his head and then Wayne was running. We never saw a charge, maybe someone else did?

 

Nobody but PeePants Wayne saw a bear charging.  The night is dark and full of terrors.  Most of which are all in your head.  Stupid fucker raised an emergency SOS, didn't answer his Sat phone, and the rescue team was worried,

[cooksdelight]

Since they are filming themselves, he might not have had the camera on at that point. But yeah, buddy, blame the bear. It's someone else's fault when it's not caught on video.

[pagooey]

Nobody but PeePants Wayne saw a bear charging.

Heh. Yeah, I wondered about this too; probably "a bear looked at me funny" wouldn't have summoned the rescue squad with a quickness. I did notice that the rescuers were "HEY BEAR"-ing it up loudly as they crashed through the woods, WAYNE. 

 

I also laughed like hell when Wayne leapt in the air when his sat phone rang, because jump scares are never not funny. 

[Fosca]

Didn't Wayne say that the bear charged him and he (Wayne) backed away slowly?  Um, Wayne?  According to the video you shot, the bear looked at you and you turned and ran (I don't think I could go that fast backwards even if I wasn't in the woods) shouting "Hey, bear!" as you went.  I have no idea if the bear charged, as all I saw was your headlong flight through the woods.

 

I'm not sure I blame him, as running into a bear in the woods at night would be freaky, but at least try to be accurate.  Then again, he probably remembers it that way (memory is funny like that), and didn't get to watch the video until we all saw it. 

[Brooklynista]

Well, just what happened to the bear after he CHARGED at Wayne?  Wayne ran, jumped in the tent and the bear said what?

 

"Damn, now he's in the tent! No way im getting thru that cloth tent.  Guess I'll move on."  ?

[rainsmom]

LOL. Yeah, I snarked a little about the "charged by a bear" comment, then gave him a pass. He probably *does* remember it that way. The mind plays funny tricks on you sometimes.

 

The first time I saw the cockroach episode of X-FIles -- "War of the Copraphages" -- I SWORE that the first guy who died was covered in cockroaches. Upon rewatch I saw that there are maybe a dozen, and they're all on one arm. Memory just isn't accurate, especially when there's strong emotion involved.

[cooksdelight]

Dude, when you cook fresh fish over an open fire and comment about how good it smells.... Why didn't he put it in a container of some type to keep the smell from getting to the cougar? I cannot remember what all he has, but it looked like a big container of some type out there. And build up that fire when it gets dark, will ya? Cats are afraid of fire. Didn't you watch The Jungle Book?

If Brant has been all over the world and in jungles, the knucklehead should have known to boil his water. He deserved to get sick for that, that was just dumb.

[muffkins]

I don't know why that Brant guy was drinking water from the creek outflow area.  That's idiotic.  All he had to do was walk upstream until he was out of the marshy area and he would've been fine. 
This show is making me homesick though.  Even though I live in the lower mainland now, not all that far away, the terrain is still fairly different.  Looking at all the mist, moss, ferns and dripping water (especially now in the middle of our mini heatwave) I really want to go camping at Atluck Lake.  To stay more on topic, I want Alan to win.  Or maybe Sam.  They seem to be the most level headed.  Looking at the previews for next week, I don't understand why they aren't covering their tarp shelters in branches and filling in the back of the shelters so there is only one way in and out.  Cougars like to attack from behind and above, so don't leave your behind uncovered and always look up before going anywhere.

 

[rainsmom]

Wanted to watch the show from the couch, but I couldn't. I needed to sit at my laptop to take notes, so I wouldn't forget anything!

 

Alan growling at the camera in the beginning was a CRACK UP. I hope he wins. Let's give him his own show. So damned funny.

Interesting that Brant finds the woods so claustrophobic. I LOVE those woods. Those trees make me feel safe and protected. I don't find them depressing at all.

 

He was filtering the water through the moss. Did he have fire? I can't remember. If so, I bet the combination of moss and charcoal would be a lovely purification system.

 

I agree with Mitch -- toting the camera gear would suck worms. I always wonder if net fishing will draw bears and other animals to steal your catch.

 

Oh my. I hope Dustin just tripped. So from that backstory piece, we learned that casting began six months ago, and they knew in advance where they were going to be going. That's good. Gives them a chance to prepare some.

 

LOVE the char cloth idea. I hadn't heard of that. Man, it worked beautifully! I've been impressed with Mitch's knowledge. I hope he wins the mental game.

 

Ooooh, mysterious flashing lights. Hallucinations? Fairies?

 

God, it is so stinking gorgeous out there.

 

Of COURSE the creek has dead fish rotting on the bank. There are bears and other animals eating here. Good God, walk upstream!

 

Well done, Lucas! Chanterelles rock.

 

Hey, thirsty people. It's raining. Set up a catch system!

 

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.

 

Mitch, it has been five days. Neither you nor they are dying of loneliness. I would be SHOCKED if you hadn't taken longer camping trips in the last four years.

 

Mysterious symbols. See? Fairies! Or maybe Native spirits. Be respectful.

 

And Brant taps out. His fear of those woods is amazing, considering nothing bad happened to him.

 

Dustin's story about the skunk made me laugh. When I was in college, I delivered pizzas. One night, there was a deluge just as I delivered to the apartment building, so I hung out in the covered breezeway to wait for the rain to let up. What I thought was a cat came to stand beside me. It was a skunk, doing exactly what I was doing. He gave me a casual, "Hey dude," glance, and we just waited a minute together. When the rain lessened, he disappeared under the cars. I think skunks are cool.

 

Careful, Mitch! *shudder* I wouldn't have gone to check that net at night. I also wouldn't have left it for low tide. Whew. I was scared for him. Liked watching how he cooked the fish -- that was cool. I'm wondering, though, whether he cooked that away from the place where he sleeps. And there comes the cougar.

 

There are only 5 men left, but we didn't hear from one of them for the whole episode. Is it Lucas who's still out there somewhere? Maybe he got eaten by a cougar, and they just haven't told us yet.

[Quilt Fairy]

They did show everyone eventually, but Lucas and especially Sam got very little screen time. This was a very Brant-centric episode. It started to alarm me (more than this show already does) when Brant was trying to figure out whether he was hallucinating from drinking bad water or straight going crazy. This series is turning into The Blair Witch Project - Alone Edition.

 

Vancouver Island: Kicking ass and taking names.

 

ETA: At this failure rate, the winner might only have to make it for 10 days. We should start a pool.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[cooksdelight]

This series is turning into The Blair Witch Project - Alone Edition.

LMAO!!! True! Especially the camera work.

I'm glad Lucas knows a chanterelle from a poisonous mushroom. Talk about having visions if he ate the wrong kind.

[humbleopinion]

Brant stated that the isolation jarred him and broke his will.

Flashing lights and visions both hallucinations from drinking salty bacteria laden backwash plus his loneliness did him in.

Seems he made little progress in his 6 days there to set up a permanent camp and the forest terrified him so his time on VI was up.

 

Mitch has rallied and is starting to use his outdoor skills in making char fiber, setting up his net.

His prayer was very telegenic.

Adorable his daughter called him lovely.

He cooked the big coho and hopefully fishing/crabbing will sustain him over the months to come.

BUT at the cost of a visit from Mr. Cougar.

Makeshift a torch to ward off the cougars/bears/wolves when checking his net at nocturnal low tide?

 

Dustin has a substantial house with a back wall and sides.

He is the Aloner who is NOT afraid of bears and cougars but afraid of skunks.

He took the header while filming.

His attitude last night was pitiful, he is feeling sorry for himself.

But he seems to be setting himself up well for the long haul.

 

Sam needs to get busy.

He hasn't made any notable improvements from the last episode.

But he had little camera time so hard to tell.

 

Alan opines that if you spend enough time in the wilderness you better like yourself.

Rolls up bull kelp and declares them the #20 mini burrito dish on the menu.

 

 Lucas is thriving and enjoying himself and the challenges of mastering his environment.

Not much camera time but the mushrooms were a nice find.

A victory to forage food from the forest.

[riverheightsnancy]

 

These so-called outdoorsmen could have taken lessons from Richard Proenneke -- a man who lived in the Alaskan wilderness for years. Talk about self-reliance!

 

You can see his film on YouTube if you type in:  richard proenneke alone in the wilderness

Yes, I was just going to mention that. I saw it on PBS recently. Quite remarkable, but this guy did have some help like getting plants from a guy on a water plane, and some other supplies (he had more stuff to build with). However, he felled trees and built his own cabin and filmed the whole thing himself. It was all about his attitude. He liked the solitude. But it wasn't solitude to him if you look at all the things in the forest as being alive and brimming with beauty. It is an interesting watch, I highly recommend it too.  The guys from Alone could learn a bit from that experience as well. 

[riverheightsnancy]

I think that we have now gotten to the guys who will last the longest, whatever that may be. I really like Mitch, I have a soft spot for him and his dreads and the red hair. Being from that neck off the woods I like him and his daughter-she is sweet. I think Alan will go far because he seems to have an interesting take on life and that humor can sustain a person. He seems good at finding food. Wolf-Boy (Sam?), I think will do well, he seems to know a lot about the area and doesn't seem too afraid. We got little of Lucas, so it is hard to say, but he seems to be doing well. I also like Dustin, as he is from my neck of the woods too. I think that he has a good attitude about it all, especially the self-talk to stop feeling sorry for himself. Felt bad for Brant. I think that he could have gone all the way. This guy made it the 5 days with NO FIRE. Never a complaint about the cold or wet from him, except for the forest being like a blanket and smothering him, but maybe that was the illness talking.. It is hard to tell exactly what this guy was doing out there, but he never really complained or cried about missing people. If he had not gotten sick, I would have been interested in how far he could have gone. 

[walnutqueen]

Small surprise that the next guy to tap out was the well trained para-military guy who was stupid enough to drink brackish water because he was too afraid of the forest to venture upstream.  One of the wettest places in North America and you can't figure out how to capitalize on rainwater and mist if you're too askeerd to go find a fresh water source?  Then he uses the "military objective" excuse of surviving just long enough to get out of Dodge.  Dude - your objective is to win $500k by staying out there for more than 6 days.

 

Alan has the best attitude.  When you're alone, you must find ways to amuse yourself.  He amuses me, too!

 

muffkins - I want to hear all about Atluck Lake (and everything else about my beloved B.C.) over in the Small Talk thread!   Watching this show makes me SOOO homesick.  :-)

[cooksdelight]

 

 

Alan opines that if you spend enough time in the wilderness you better like yourself.

Rolls up bull kelp and declares them the #20 mini burrito dish on the menu.

 

This is the place he's talking about. Their food is very authentic Mexican.

 

https://www.facebook.com/MonteAlbanMexicanRestaurantBlairsville

[HurricaneVal]

Either Wolf-boy is very boring, or the editors hate him, because we saw very, very little of him last night.  He does seem to have settled down, so maybe he will be less annoying than he was at the start.  I was actually wondering if I'd missed him tapping out on the last show, since he was only briefly featured last night, and then only at the very end of the show.

 

Those cameras must be communicating or something back to production central.  Or are they truly waiting until each camper taps out to get the footage?  Maybe that would explain why they feature the person tapping out so prominently in the broadcast shows, since they've had more time to edit his footage together to show his story.  I would like to see the other guys and their daily activities like shelter building etc.  We did get to see the log dragging and the tripping, and the charcoal making, but there was a lot of Brant looking around all paranoid.

 

I'm not surprised he feels claustrophobic in the woods, if he was spending a lot of time in the desert being surrounded by trees can be intimidating.  A friend of mine met and married a girl from the New Mexico desert area.  They lived there for a while, then my friend got an incredible opportunity back home near the Seattle area, in a community kind of out in the woods.  She hated it here.  She felt trapped, like the woods were closing in on her, and the higher humidity levels than she was used to also made it feel like the very air around her was suffocating her.  She tapped out too.

[pagooey]

Damn, Lucas--nice find! A backpack full of chanterelles would probably cost me a car payment at the local market. Now he just needs to connect with Mitch and they can get all Top Chef: Vancouver Island out there. 

 

I felt a bit of sympathy for Brant; he seemed like a decent guy totally overmatched by the environment, to the point where he made terrible choices (start a fire, dude! maybe you are weak and dizzy because you need to eat something!). He got such a bad case of the willies from the forest that I started to wonder if he had some unresolved PTSD issues going on. At any rate, I give him (and the editors?) bonus points for not starting to heave in glorious HD closeup.

 

I'm still all in for Alan, and was quite amused when he "snapped"--an interesting juxtaposition with Brant slowly, actually losing his mind. Meanwhile, we saw so little of Sam that I suspect he's the guy to beat. 

[rainsmom]

Those cameras must be communicating or something back to production central.  Or are they truly waiting until each camper taps out to get the footage? 

I don't know for sure -- totally guessing -- but I would think there would need to be a drop off of batteries and new video cards occasionally. No way batteries would stay charged for a year.

 

Now, in this case, there was probably no need for drop offs and such. They haven't beent here a WEEK yet! If this was filmed last fall, they had plenty of time to run all of the footage through post-production.

 

 

I'm not surprised he feels claustrophobic in the woods, if he was spending a lot of time in the desert being surrounded by trees can be intimidating.  A friend of mine met and married a girl from the New Mexico desert area.  They lived there for a while, then my friend got an incredible opportunity back home near the Seattle area, in a community kind of out in the woods.  She hated it here.  She felt trapped, like the woods were closing in on her, and the higher humidity levels than she was used to also made it feel like the very air around her was suffocating her.  She tapped out too.

I've heard that from other people who loved the desert too. I'm the opposite, but, then, I've always lived in the trees.

[ethalfrida]

I can understand the feeling on both sides. When I was in the open up north I felt like the sky was nearer than in Los Angeles. That's because there was nothing tall to break up the heights of things out in the open up north. Nothing but road and sky. No mountains, hills etc.

 

The closest I have become to being an outdoors woman is being able to bait my own hook when fishing. Totally intrigued with this show. And, like the post above, so glad there was no need to show the heaving and results of such in blazing HD. OMG, do you think this show is going to set a trend where the quality of tv is going to go up instead of disintegrate?

[Quilt Fairy]

OMG, do you think this show is going to set a trend where the quality of tv is going to go up instead of disintegrate?

Well, it's certainly the best show History Channel has had on in years.  The best show since Top Shot, IMO. No ancient aliens, ridiculous fringe history, swamp people. The biggest question is what is this show even doing on the History Channel? Hopefully we won't find out that TPTB are releasing bears, wolves and cougars near the tent areas to up the drama à la The Hunger Games.

 

I wonder if TPTB are concerned at how fast people are tapping out? Half the contestants leaving in the first 6 days seems unreal. When Brant said he used his sat-phone to call for a medic, I wondered if that was the same as tapping out, or if they were able to get medical attention and stay in the competition. Of course, Brant made that a moot point (for the moment) when he told the rescue team that he couldn't spend another night there.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[cooksdelight]

If Brant were just sick and not afraid, I think he would have stayed. They could have given him something for the nausea and to kill the bacteria....and maybe a Boy Scout guide on how to boil water. He seemed so ill-prepared.