S03.E05: The Lone Wolf

[formerlyfreedom]

The remaining participants struggle to adapt to life in Patagonia.  One survivor comes face to face with a stealth cat, and another takes on a major build project.  As the days go by, one participant tries a novel strategy to outlast everyone else.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Drogo
Added description.

[riverheightsnancy]

The Good: I adore Fowler and find Greg's humble optimism refreshing. I do think that he takes a lot of risks though. Fowler is an artist. I want either of those two to win. Not digging Callie, not sure why. Normally, I am all for the ladies. She is creative though. 

The Bad: Dan. Man, they are not being subtle at all. The lazy against the worker bees. I do not want the lazy to win. Period. Anyone who is trying, will be a superior win in my eyes over Dan. I really think it will be Dan vs. Fowler at the end. 

The Unhinged: Dave is looking like he is 70 years old. I don't think he is long for the show. 

[MostlyContent]

I'm sure enjoying the views we're getting of the shelters this year.  I feel like we've been waiting for some really great ones for a long time.   Loved the scenes of Fowler building his.  In fact, watching Fowler build anything is a treat.  He's so talented with his hands.  His shovel continues to be his bestie.  

I agree with rhn about Dave.  Wow, his face looks like he's lead a hard life.  While I enjoy real faces that aren't botoxed to the max, with fillers etc, he looks a bit rough.  

[dgpolo]

Did anyone else feel like Dan could see Fowler walking up and down his hill? That remark sounded very pointed to me. And 8 stories, WoW! maybe he should build an elevator next.

[LittleIggy]

I like Callie. She had me going! I thought she was one of those disappointing people who leave because they had done what they "needed to do." She had the dialogue down pat! :-) Her shelter is awesome.

I can't stand Dan either (steel jaw traps...grrrr). Lazy punk. Fowler's shelter will be great when he gets it done.

Good on Greg for making the raft to find better fishing. How's it going, eh? ;-)

Edited January 6, 2017 by LittleIggy

[Quilt Fairy]

Well, at least now we know why they're not trying to catch mice.

I think we saw everyone except Megan this week. Nice to know Carleigh (sp?) recovered from her roof collapse.

Callie had me going, too!  After seeing her gorgeous hut, complete with stone floor, a closet area and shelving and then the spa and suddenly the "I think I've done everything I came here to do" speech, I was yelling at the TV.  But when she asked to speak to the President, I thought something might be up.

Anyone except Dan FTW. What a prick.

[SRTouch]

Tonight starts with Fowler, day 35, singing about fish head soup, which tastes like poop. Up til now, Fowler has a minimal tarp shelter, but with snow coming closer and the temp in mid 30's he figures it's high time to built a winter shelter. Remember, he's planning to have his shelter up the hill,  so what we see at the tarp shelter is not what he plans to live in. As he heads up hill he tells us he's actually been working for 2 weeks on his shelter, but I get not moving until it's ready, as that is quite the climb up and down to get to the lake. As he shows the construction, I keep thinking that's what Carleigh was doing with the double walls with leafy insulation in the middle - well except his is more elaborate and looks stronger.  As he's off cutting bamboo building material he runs across boar sign, so he's thinking of setting traps now with hopes of bacon and ham being part of his fare. Hey, didn't someone suggest a pit trap with punji sticks. He digs at least one pit, and also rigs a spike trap. Not sure of his paracord string bait. Was he just using that as an example for the camera, or was that his bait. I'm not a trapper, but I would expect the critters, especially hogs, to be relying on their nose more than eyesite. Ok, day 39 and we're back to check on Fowler. Something is stealing his bait - how close is Greg, think foxy came over here. Says he needs more traps, but first off he's hauling stones up the hill to the shelter for his version of a hearth. According to a pop-up, Fowler's shelter is the equivalent of 8 stories above the lake. More shelter building, stone hauling, with a break to make a rake to clean up the camp site. Then come night time he's carving a rabbit to take home to his little girl. Day 42 , again a mention of low energy as he has to sit to rest as he worries that he may be pushing too hard and doing to much. Hmmm, Fowler is the only one who did't choose to bring additional rations.

Next, back to Greg to see if he's made pals with foxy yet. Ah, still trying to find a reliable food source. He's given up on trapping where he's at, his fishing has dwindled, so he's thinking to expand his range with a raft. I like his dovetails, but his first raft attempt is kind of wobbly. I like his attempts and his "I'm not quitter!" attitude. Back to Greg on day 37. He's been thinking, and hopes he's figured a way to add stability to his raft, which looks a lot more substantial than when we saw it earlier. He wants to get to a river he can see where he hopes to find better fishing. He really sounds a lot like last season's David, really wants to get money and build a house for his daughter. He makes it to the river, and hallelujah, biggest fish since day 1. 

Over to Carleigh, who we haven't seen much of and last saw homesick and crying when her roof collapsed. We join her as she's collecting firewood, and when we get to her shelter we find that her solution to the roof problem seems to be switching to tarps, covered with sheets of bark.  Inside her shelter she has a smaller version of a Megan's stone hearth.  Hmmm, think these folks talked over plans much before coming out. I see similarities between Carleigh, Megan and Fowler. I kind of like Carleign, with her star gazing and thinking of sleeping on the beach at least one night. Oops things bumping in the night, and high pitched cry. I agree, Carleign, I would like to know what that is, too. The pop-up mentions birds, but then we see two glowing eyes checking her out. Hmmm, I can't remember what Britt's noise in the night sounded like. Sure looks like a kitty in those bushes when I slow it down. Glad to see she didn't freak - just a sighed "that was close", and a fatalistic "if I see a puma, that's better than not seeing one, if they want to eat me I'll  probably never know. No worries." I like her, but she seems fragile.

Ok, over to manic Dave. He started skinny, and he's looking rough when he isn't smiling showing his white toofies. Not sure what's going on when we open on him, at first he's checking the camera, then I wonder if he's going to break down and cry as he tells us "I'm hungry!" He hasn't caught any fish in weeks, I imagine gathering is getting tough with colder weather and having already collected the easy to find plants, and even with two ration packs it's been 36 days or so. Ah, new info, Dave tells us this batch of contestants were warned to avoid trapping rodents because the local population has hantavirus, which is potentially fatal. Day 38, more whining about hunger - and he looks skinnier every time we come to visit. Happy Birthday Dave, he makes his own feather fly fishing lure and catches s fish for his 50th bd.

Ah, day 38 and finally another visit to Dan, our lazy trapper man. Ok, we get a glimpse of work he's done on his shelter, but we join him as he's laying up in his shelter talking about food he's been dreaming of. Then he gets up, washes his pot, and tells us he's all about conserving calories. BORING! Ok, maybe good steategy, but BORING! Bad thing is, he has a decent wood pile, is catching fish, has a tripod set up for cooking, a decent shelter from the little I saw - so he IS DOING STUFF, but everything he talks about ends up downplaying what he's doing. Did I mention I find him a tad BORING! He may end up winning, he was my pick to win, but I'm beginning to think the editors aren't so much saving him for the final few, I think they just can't find much worth airing. Heck, he doesn't even film catching a great fish. He walks around a corner, then comes back with a fish. Day 39 we come back to Dan, the boring trapper man, and he tells us he doesn't figure it's worth setting traps, he just doesn't see enough animal sign. Says he uses modern traps, so I guess he figures the survivalist type is beneath him. The editors are really pushing the contrast between "conserve calories", Dan the lazy survivalist, and always busy Fowler. We go from day 40 Fowler sitting around the campfire carving a toy to Dan on day 41, making fun of folks who keep busy, even making a joke about how useless it would be for him to carve a Santa Claus.

 Another visit to a long time missing contestant. We go to Callie on day 43 - geez how long since we saw her. I swear, as she greats the morning, "It's an absolutely STUNNING morning," just her voice reminds me of why I liked her so much on the first episode. We haven't seen much of her lately, but she's  been busy continually making her shelter site into the home she talked about in the beginning. Geez, even bamboo windchimes.  Today's project, a sauna/sweat lodge. Again, geez, Callie's sauna needed a mossy carpet leading inside, since of course she'll  enter/exit barefoot and well... bare. Oh no, as we go to commercial Callie is making those "I feel closure to my journey" noises. Morning of day 43, another N&A moment as she crawls into the sweat lodge. Next scene we find her with sat phone in hand, her journey is over, she's pulling a Lucas and calling it quits while she's going strong. Ah, big fake, she pretends to call, then asks to talk to the President. Show ends with her saying, "no way, we're just getting started." And, yes, she had me faked out, I thought she was quiting, and all along she was faking it! Every time we come visit her I end up hoping she'll win. 

Hmmm we saw 6 tonight, and it took me a minute to figure out Megan is a tonight's missing contestant

Edited January 6, 2017 by SRTouch
Clarification

[SRTouch]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

Did anyone else feel like Dan could see Fowler walking up and down his hill? That remark sounded very pointed to me. And 8 stories, WoW! maybe he should build an elevator next.

Yep, and we leave Fowler carving at the campfire to hear Dan say how silly it would be for him to be carving - well, yeah, carving a life sized Santa may be stretching, but his carving comment seemed aimed at Fowler. I'm almost wondering if the contestants might have gotten some "talking points" before heading out. A lot of what he says seems to be an answer what is going at other sites. Course, OTOH, before they headed out they had all had a chance to meet and get to know each other, he IS intelligent and highly education (masters IIRC) so he could just be reacting to watch he THINKS others are doing, not what he KNOWS.

[holly4755]

I would think being a few miles apart, shouldn't they see each other's fire smoke?  I know the trees block some vision. 

Kind of discouraged on these episodes - last year the red tide robbed them of abundant food, this year the hanta virus. And while we are at it - rabbits and squirrels are also rodents - so why are they hunting them. I know one person was hunting rabbits. 

[Scaeva]

1 hour ago, holly4755 said:

I would think being a few miles apart, shouldn't they see each other's fire smoke?  I know the trees block some vision. 

Kind of discouraged on these episodes - last year the red tide robbed them of abundant food, this year the hanta virus. And while we are at it - rabbits and squirrels are also rodents - so why are they hunting them. I know one person was hunting rabbits. 

Dan the trapper was saying he didn't see any sign of rabbits or other small mammals worth trapping, so he wasn't going to bother. Of course he's committing to the 'do the least' approach, but since he is a trapper I would assume he's right about the scarcity of small mammals.

I wonder if that is the case for everyone, since some of them are miles apart. 

[ProfCrash]

Hey all. Late to the posting party but I have been watching this season. I have been enjoying it a lot.

My overall observations:

1) Patagonia seems to be more resource laden then Vancouver Island or the terrain made it easier for Producers to find sights that have an ok food supply and safe water supply.  We have not seen anyone struggling for water and pretty much everyone was doing OK on getting some type of food for the first part of the show. It does seem like there are some sights that are a bit better for fish or it could be that some contestants are simply better at fishing then others. The first few seasons had several people struggling to find a good water source and others right in the middle of a bear den which was problematic.

2) I think they did a good job picking contestants this season. We are already coming up on Day 50 and only three people have dropped. One early because of family concerns, one due to an accident with his ax and the other a good deal later because of home sickness. Not bad at all. Most of the contestants seem to be pretty content to hang out on their own and are prepared for the long haul. On top of that, the vast majority have legit survival skills. We have not seen any real fire scenes, which tells me that they all knew how to make fire and no one struggled with it. We have seen some pretty nicely built shelters. We are starting to see some of the specialty builds/carvings and the like.

3) The contestants are all pretty likeable and doing a good job with filming. I know that there are Jose fans who thought that he was being hidden because he went far but I still think he was hidden because all he did was film making his boat. And he was boring. We don't seem to have that this time. We have a group of people out doing stuff and filming some good stuff. I did like how they showed the development of Fowler's shelter over a longer period of time. That worked nicely. The only person who seems not to be doing much is the trapper who wants to conserve energy and is boring as all hell and gone.

I think this is my favorite season. The Contestants are engaging, the environment is gorgeous. I suspect that we are going to be looking at 90 days, maybe even over 100 for the winner because the Contestants are far better prepared mentally and skill wise.

[ClareWalks]

Trapper Dan: all the negativity of Fuckin' Larry, with none of the charm.

[humbleopinion]

Carleigh needs to take a page out of Lucas' book...put fake eyes on the back of your hat so the puma won't attack because of the whites of your decoy eyes.

Callie is the new Mike, making objects to amuse (Mike's football dice game) but hers is more Zen...bamboo wind chimes, chic bamboo hangers(no pointy shoulder dents on the fleece), mossy path to the sweat sauna.

Greg sounds like the plaid wearing character Doug McKenzie of Bob and Doug McKenzie fame from SCTV's The Great White North.

Old Man River Greg (rocking a 70's throwback shag hairdo) built himself a Tom Sawyer raft and wobbled himself over to a good ol' fishing hole.

Dan, pulling a Kayne... "Ima Justifying My INactions"

If he wins, it will be a bummer.

Dave, Keith Richards look alike, lamenting the scourge of the hantavirus keeping him from a belly full of mice.

Youtube "Love To Eat Them Mousies"with a strumming B. Kliban Cat. because we have a long wait until a new episode of Alone.

Fowler, we all want to AirBnB in your double walled basket hut for a couple of nights.

Resourceful, hardworking, industrious fan fave Fowler is the antithesis of Dan who is a Debbie Downer (wah wah   wah...)

[riverheightsnancy]

32 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Trapper Dan: all the negativity of Fuckin' Larry, with none of the charm.

For myself I never found Larry charming at all (disturbing-but that is my personal view on his anger), however, Dan is all about the "strategy" and it seems that he would have been better suited for Survivor or something like that and I probably would have liked him playing that role on a show like that. So, I find Larry above Dan because he did want to be there for a variety of reasons beyond doing as little as possible to win the money.  I think that Dan's trapping skills are only related to trapping for fur and is not in the same mindset as Fowler, Greg, Callie, and many other outdoorsmen (and women) that we have seen. His purpose for trapping is to get fur (remember how Mitch cared for the sea pelt he found-very different from Dan). That's it. It is completely different than Mitch, or Lucus, or Alan or any of the others that we have admired who actively want to live in nature or one with nature. Not saying that anyone who likes Dan is wrong, but I tend to root for the people who want something more from the experience besides the money. Of course, all of them could be there only for the money and aren't being truthful about it because they know that might not play well to the audience. But I personally see Fowler and Greg as being very authentic, Callie too. Can't say much about Megan, but I think that she would fall into that category as well. MMV

[Ocean Chick]

Quote

Not sure of his paracord string bait. Was he just using that as an example for the camera, or was that his bait. I'm not a trapper, but I would expect the critters, especially hogs, to be relying on their nose more than eyesite.

Hey SR - he was indeed just using the cord to explain the mechanics of the trap for us non-trappers.  He used fish guts when he set the trap for realsies.  I would be very happy with a Fowler win, or a Callie win.  She's got a good sense of humor.  In fact, I'd be happy with just about anyone except Dan winning.  Which means he probably will win.  Alas.

[ClareWalks]

2 minutes ago, riverheightsnancy said:

For myself I never found Larry charming at all (disturbing-but that is my personal view on his anger),

I wasn't a Larry fan either, in fact I was kind of baffled by his appeal here on the boards. At least, until the very end, when he mellowed out a lot!

[SRTouch]

Hmmm, new theory for why Dan, the lazy trapper man isn't getting much airtime. As we have been told, filming, moving and positioning the cameras - well that is WORK. And of course, Dan's master plan is conserve calories and do as little as possible.

[holly4755]

in episode 2 or 3 I think one person was showing a rabbit trap. Not the trapper, but someone else. 

[ProfCrash]

As the season progresses the animals are going to be in different locations in order to feed. Rabbits don't hibernate so they are still there but they might have moved to a different location because food will be easier to gather.

I hope that Dan taps soon. I suspect that his chosen approach to this is going to bite him in the ass. There are Contestants will stocked wood piles and full on hearths in their shelters who will be in a better place when the winter weather hits. The additional comforts that some people have made give them a sense that they are in a home and not just a shelter which will provide them with psychological comfort. I suspect that there has been more food stockpiling then we have been lead to believe. I know that almost all of the Contestants took one food ration with them, some took two, and I am sure that they can all make those stretch.

So Dan is going to be less comfortable and begging for people to go while others will be more comfortable and in a better place psychologically.

[ClareWalks]

Dan is a LOT weaker psychologically than he thinks he is. Think about past badasses on this show. Alan. Sam. David. They got very far without wasting energy on this ridiculous bravado (ironically, in this case, about how stupid it is to waste energy). I suspect Dan will eventually exaggerate some "good reason to leave" out of a situation that would probably have never happened if he'd invested more of his energy when he had it (like @ProfCrash said with the firewood, as one example).

[ProfCrash]

Alan lasted 56 days. I think that there will be 6-7 people who last that long. David won at 66 days. I suspect that the remaining folks this season are going to crush that. We are only half way through the show and on Day 44. I seriously doubt that we are going to see 6 people drop in the next 20 days. It is possible, a really awful snow could do a good number of people in, but most of these folks have already shown more determination and skill then the people in other seasons.

At this point in time, there were only 4 people remaining in Season 2 and 2 people remaining in Season 1.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_(TV_series)

[ClareWalks]

True that this season is lasting a lot longer so far. I am not quite sure if that's because the contestants are better (and/or know what to expect), the resources are better, the weather is better, or some combination of two or three reasons. I would be curious to hear what the crew thinks as far as any of those factors.

[dgpolo]

14 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

As the season progresses the animals are going to be in different locations in order to feed. Rabbits don't hibernate so they are still there but they might have moved to a different location because food will be easier to gather.

I think the poster was just curious about why they were trapping rabbits when rabbits are rodents and so may have the hantavirus.

 

7 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

I suspect Dan will eventually exaggerate some "good reason to leave" out of a situation that would probably have never happened if he'd invested more of his energy when he had it (like @ProfCrash said with the firewood, as one example).

Except he did have some firewood cut and waiting. I don't know how much compared to others, but he had some. Sitting in your bunk dreaming about cupcakes does not help anything.

[riverheightsnancy]

14 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

As the season progresses the animals are going to be in different locations in order to feed. Rabbits don't hibernate so they are still there but they might have moved to a different location because food will be easier to gather.

I hope that Dan taps soon. I suspect that his chosen approach to this is going to bite him in the ass. There are Contestants will stocked wood piles and full on hearths in their shelters who will be in a better place when the winter weather hits. The additional comforts that some people have made give them a sense that they are in a home and not just a shelter which will provide them with psychological comfort. I suspect that there has been more food stockpiling then we have been lead to believe. I know that almost all of the Contestants took one food ration with them, some took two, and I am sure that they can all make those stretch.

So Dan is going to be less comfortable and begging for people to go while others will be more comfortable and in a better place psychologically.

Dan did have some wood stored that I saw, I don't know if it is enough though. Fowler was the only one not to bring any of the rations.  The thing that struck me about Dan was how clean and fresh he looked. Dave and Greg look like wild men that have never seen water. Fowler and Callie look normal for a camper, but Dan, looked like a city person on a weekend jaunt. Even his clothes looked immaculate. 

8 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Dan is a LOT weaker psychologically than he thinks he is. Think about past badasses on this show. Alan. Sam. David. They got very far without wasting energy on this ridiculous bravado (ironically, in this case, about how stupid it is to waste energy). I suspect Dan will eventually exaggerate some "good reason to leave" out of a situation that would probably have never happened if he'd invested more of his energy when he had it (like @ProfCrash said with the firewood, as one example).

Personally, I think Sam was just doing what Dan is stating towards the end of it. He was just barely surviving on his body fat and not moving or doing much. Even his shelter left a lot to be desired compared to this season. Alan, on the other hand, was living and surviving and getting a lot out of his alone time. 

[ClareWalks]

3 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

I think the poster was just curious about why they were trapping rabbits when rabbits are rodents and so may have the hantavirus.

I was curious after you said this so I looked it up, apparently they are technically lagomorphs and not rodents (they were classified as rodents until the early 20th century, then the classification changed).

[ProfCrash]

I would edit my post but I can't see the button at work so...

Quote

 Hmmm, think these folks talked over plans much before coming out. I see similarities between Carleigh, Megan and Fowler.

They all went through survival testing and training together. We saw what they were doing in the intro special. The selection process not only tested what they knew but then taught them new skills in order to see how quickly they could adapt. So people who had great basket weaving skills learned how to start fire and build traps and fish. I am sure they discussed things like how to use stones and build certain types of structures that would withstand the cold and storms that were coming.

The shelters for the last few seasons have all been pretty similar with only a few people making something different then the lean too covered with debris. I am sure that worked fine for Vancouver Island but was not as well suited for the winters in Patagonia and so different types of shelters were taught to the Contestants.

[riverheightsnancy]

Regarding the talk of length of stay:

Spoiler

the description for next week's episode practically ensures tapouts as the weather seems to blindside some of them as it takes a turn for the much worse. 

[ClareWalks]

1 minute ago, riverheightsnancy said:

Personally, I think Sam was just doing what Dan is stating towards the end of it. He was just barely surviving on his body fat and not moving or doing much. Even his shelter left a lot to be desired compared to this season. Alan, on the other hand, was living and surviving and getting a lot out of his alone time. 

Yep, although there were several days where Alan would just try not to move, especially if it was pouring rain. It is definitely a valid survival strategy (at least short-term), I just think Dan needs to STFU about it because he seems to be clinging to his anger about "other people's shitty energy expenditure." Chill, brah. Chill. Maybe one of his ten items should have been a bottle of Valium.

[riverheightsnancy]

Did anyone think that the editing was setting up that Fowler would accidentally fall/trip into his boar trap and get punctured by his sharpened sticks? I sure did. I was worried for him regarding that and his carrying the heavy stone. Not sure why I felt that way though. 

[qtpye]

27 minutes ago, riverheightsnancy said:

The thing that struck me about Dan was how clean and fresh he looked. Dave and Greg look like wild men that have never seen water. Fowler and Callie look normal for a camper, but Dan, looked like a city person on a weekend jaunt. Even his clothes looked immaculate.

Some of this is attributable to Dan being a relatively young good looking guy compared to the other two.  I am sure Greg was quite the hot stud in the seventies, early eighties (Dave, not so much, but would not be surprised if he did a lot of drugs back then).

I am not liking Dan and what he could do with "steel traps" shudders.

I would love it, if as soon as the snow pours down if Dan suddenly remembers "how much his family needs him" and taps out.

On the other hand, if Fowler is out due to injury I will be heartbroken.  I love a man who is good with his hands and carves sweet little toys for his daughter.

I expect Callie's hut to show up in an episode of House Hunters...it is that good.  " I love the rustic elements and the stone floor, but I really was hoping for stainless steel appliances." (for those who do not know, I am just imitating the usual ridiculous house hunter that goes on that show.)

[riverheightsnancy]

3 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Some of this is attributable to Dan being a relatively young good looking guy compared to the other two.  I am sure Greg was quite the hot stud in the seventies, early eighties (Dave, not so much, but would not be surprised if he did a lot of drugs back then).

I am not liking Dan and what he could do with "steel traps" shudders.

I would love it, if as soon as the snow pours down if Dan suddenly remembers "how much his family needs him" and taps out.

On the other hand, if Fowler is out due to injury I will be heartbroken.  I love a man who is good with his hands and carves sweet little toys for his daughter.

I never thought that Dan was "good looking". lol, especially his glee in trapping animals for their pelts, but I used to be an animal activist against all that stuff back when I was young, so I still have a knee jerk reaction to that stuff in general.  Fowler is my Mitch of this season. I was smitten with Mitch from season one. Plus he is a ginger and from about a half-hour from where my mother lives, so I just adore him. I could picture Fowler carving those cute bunnies and selling them at the shops in Bar Harbor, Maine to the tourists as Christmas ornaments. I pictured a rustic tree with white lights and all nature of hand strung bunnies. He seems like a really nice person. I like Greg too, but I think he takes enormous chances, like his pile of wood that he created as a raft/boat. 

[seasick]

12 hours ago, dgpolo said:

Did anyone else feel like Dan could see Fowler walking up and down his hill? That remark sounded very pointed to me. And 8 stories, WoW! maybe he should build an elevator next.

It did seem like a  strange coincidence that he mentioned that.  In fact, Dan spent much of his entire narrative defending all his decisions-- "why I'm not doing this--why it would be stupid to do that-- why this isn't what I do"--and coming from a negative, cynical defensive place.  which I found curious.   If you have enough to eat and can control your mind then why feel the need to explain  and be critical of others?   I hope he taps after realizing he's 'above' this whole challenge and has nothing to prove'  ( which I suspect will be his swan song)

I think he is denying the boredom mind /factor.  Despite his apparent physical success, ( and yes!  CLEAN too! ) his attitude is very negative.  (as I'm writing this, others are posting the same sentiments on his attitude showing signs of decline.)  And yeah, conjuring and focusing on donuts and cupcakes, instead of doing something 'silly' like carving a memento for your kid is great strategy.  

I find this season so odd.  Dave and Greg look as though they've been there 40 days in the usual hunger way,   but Callie and Dan look like they're car camping.  Even Fowler still looks a little hefty.  So there must have been plenty of fish in the beginning.  If I didn't see all the stuff Callie made I'm not sure I'd believe they had the number of days right.   And with seasons 1 and 2 they had crabs, some shellfish and kelp to help them along.   This is not the typical day 40 hunger. Fish had to have been easy.

I like that they are showing such great shelters-- the bamboo is really great for so many things but I wish they had focused more on the food getting these past eps.  to help explain why these people look so good

[qtpye]

1 minute ago, riverheightsnancy said:

I never thought that Dan was "good looking". lol, especially his glee in trapping animals for their pelts, but I used to be an animal activist against all that stuff back when I was young, so I still have a knee jerk reaction to that stuff in general.  Fowler is my Mitch of this season.

Oh, I agree.  In fact, it never occurred to me that he was good looking until this episode.

However, I guess he would be considered the most conventionally attractive of the remaining male contestants.

I am with you on the Fowler love.

[ClareWalks]

1 minute ago, qtpye said:

However, I guess he would be considered the most conventionally attractive of the remaining male contestants.

No way, man. GREG. He is giving me "alcoholic uncle at Thanksgiving" realness. Yum.

(I am totally kidding, LOL, although Greg is a cool dude)

[ProfCrash]

I think they did not focus on the food building or most of the shelter building because it has been relatively easy. There are a few folks who have struggled and we have seen that but in the end, they got their fish. I don't think they are eating the calories that they need, especially the men, but I think they are eating enough to do some impressive building and preparation. I suspect that the next few weeks things will get more difficult.

I suspect that Greg will be gone soon. I see him taking a major tumble in his boat. I hope Dan is done soon only because his approach is boring and annoys me. Other then that, I am pretty good with the Contestants.

[qtpye]

4 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

No way, man. GREG. He is giving me "alcoholic uncle at Thanksgiving" realness. Yum

I will take Greg as an uncle over creepy Dave any day.  Dave is really giving me a uncomfortable "unhinged" vibe.

[riverheightsnancy]

3 minutes ago, qtpye said:

I am with you on the Fowler love.

I love a man that can weave a human sized basket! If my mom weren't ill right now (spine tumors), I would be pumping her, my step-father and brother for info on who knows anyone who knows Fowler and his cute family. My mom is a regionally known writer of Maine lore, so she has connections, and could probably find out for me, but like I said, she is ill, so I can't ask her to do something silly like that right now.  I am certain though, that I know someone who knows him, even twice removed. Where he is from is about 30 minutes from my mom's. And my brother is a hunter, so he might know someone who knows him. Small world. It makes me proud that he is so innovative. He is representing Mainers really well. 

[SRTouch]

2 hours ago, holly4755 said:

in episode 2 or 3 I think one person was showing a rabbit trap. Not the trapper, but someone else. 

As I recall, Britt tried trapping rabbits, only to find out rabbits can easily bite through nylon fishing line.

[Scaeva]

I'm hoping Greg, Callie, and Fowler are the final three, if for no other reason than I find them entertaining.

I don't think I'd be disappointed with any of the contestants winning however, except Dan. In every episode he's made an appearance so far he's been criticizing other contestants. 

[seasick]

5 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I think they did not focus on the food building or most of the shelter building because it has been relatively easy. There are a few folks who have struggled and we have seen that but in the end, they got their fish. 

Yes,  that was exactly my point.  I still think they should have shown it to keep us up to speed on that element.  Food is most important and hunger takes many of them out, so if you see people thriving it's good to know.

[SRTouch]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

I think the poster was just curious about why they were trapping rabbits when rabbits are rodents and so may have the hantavirus.

Not sure why, because as noted rabbits ARE rodents, but when I checked hantavirus carriers in the US I see different rats and mice, but no rabbits. I didn't find any explanation, but then I didn't try very hard to find out why.

Quote

 

Except he did have some firewood cut and waiting. I don't know how much compared to others, but he had some. Sitting in your bunk dreaming about cupcakes does not help anything.

My first thought is why worry much about firewood with all the down wood we see... but then I remember the Donner party starving while oxen were dead and frozen in the snow - they just didn't know "where da beef" - yes, I know, bad joke about real tragedy. 

ADDED COMMENT: Well, once again the pocket protector crowd is coming along changing well established fact ? This is even worse than declaring buffalo ain't buffalo no more, cuz there's rabbits everywhere and only a relatively few buffalo. I guess, from Google search, a rabbit isn't a rodent anymore because of its teeth. WTH is a Lagomorpha, anywho? Hmmmm wonder about guinea pigs? Nope, still rodents.

Edited January 6, 2017 by SRTouch
Added comment

[cooksdelight]

Dan talks too much about what other people may be doing, or what people will think of his strategy. If he'd shut up and just do it, fine. My own personal strategy would be to conserve as much energy as possible, but I wouldn't harp on it every 10 minutes. He doesn't even seem to have a solid winter shelter unless I missed something. 

Fowler is wearing me out. Hiking all day with one big rock. What a waste of precious calories. Couldn't he have done all of that a little further down the hill, closer to the water/food? With his building skills, he could have built a home on a platform, up off the ground, and not had the worries about rain and getting wet at night. I still can't understand why he hasn't built a raft. Greg did, and he's catching fish in the stream. THAT is where you want to fish.

Callie had me going for a minute and I was yelling at the TV, and my boyfriend was laughing because he figured she couldn't be serious. I think she could easily live there a year. 

[HurricaneVal]

2 hours ago, riverheightsnancy said:

Did anyone think that the editing was setting up that Fowler would accidentally fall/trip into his boar trap and get punctured by his sharpened sticks? I sure did. I was worried for him regarding that and his carrying the heavy stone. Not sure why I felt that way though. 

OMG.  I totally did.  I'm worried about him forgetting exactly where the traps are as time wears on and his mental state deteriorates.

 

I'm having a difficult time telling everyone apart.  Greg and Dave sort of run together for me, as do the hippie-dippie Callie and Carleigh.  Upthread, someone mentioned a Megan, and I can barely picture her.  She's the one who shaved her legs last week?

 

You really needed to carefully pay attention to the chryons at the bottom corner of the screen last night, because the editing has been skipping back and forth in time.  At face value, it looks like Fowler didn't get serious about his shelter until he'd been there five weeks, but it was actually something like day 20 or 21 that he started his permanent shelter.  Which also seems a little late, but then he moved it up to the top of the hill, right?  And did you notice he's cut stairs and put up railings along his trail?  He certainly hasn't been sitting on his butt (*cough*cough*Dan*cough*cough*) that whole time.  Not to mention he's been trying to feed himself without any of the optional rations that the other folks took.  Yes, Fowler is a favorite of mine.

 

I was thinking that raft was going to dump that guy (Dave?  Greg?) over, but it didn't and he got a fish!  Good on him!

 

I really kind of like this group, except for Dan, and Megan just doesn't register much with me either.  I'd be good with a Fowler, or Callie, or Carleigh, or raft guy (Dave?  Greg?) win.  I think those four will go deep.

[cooksdelight]

I don't know Dave, don't know anything about him. But if he's turning 50 in 6 months.... I'm going to say he looks like some of the recovering drug addicts I have seen from time to time. I know one girl who was on meth for a while and it aged her 20 years. His manic jubilation is long gone. As he was eating the fish eggs, it struck me that he's not thinking long-term, as they would have made great fish bait.

[pagooey]

Dan, grousing about how much further he'd get with steel traps, reminds me of the previous contestants who couldn't hack it without their beloved guns. Yes, yes, you could also stay out there a lot longer if you had a car, a condo, and a nearby 7-11, but THAT AIN'T THE POINT. I understand the "lazy" inertia strategy, but I think it really compromises the mental part of the game, and Dan is showing that through his default angry boredom, doing next to nothing and finding it excruciatingly dull. 

Meanwhile, Callie's shelter looked like a beautiful rustic spa before she added the sauna to her site. She's keeping busy, and still has the energy and wit to place an urgent phone call to the President. Horrified, I bought it for a second, until she started demanding to be patched through to the big red phone, and then I laughed my face off. 

I love Fowler's woven wattle shelter, too, though I worry about him exhausting himself. His craving for sunlight, though, I totally get. I live in Seattle, and watching the Vancouver Island series was hard because those long stretches of winter where it just rains and rains and rains and rains for days or weeks at a time are a misery, even from inside a cozy house. I'm sure the cold but gorgeous weather in Patagonia is helping these folks keep from losing their minds entirely. Except Dave, maybe. Was he sobbing? Laughing? during his opening segment? He's looking rough. 

[Quilt Fairy]

I think there are 2 big factors in the fewer number of dropouts we are seeing this season.  First, they are on a fresh water lake instead of an ocean inlet, so they don't have to worry about drinking water or developing systems to catch rain if they're not by a stream.  Second is the availability of bamboo.  I have always associated bamboo with China and SE Asia and was surprised to find it in South America. But what an incredible resource it is!  As waterproof and durable as hardwood, yet much easier to harvest and more malleable and flexible to boot. We are seeing all these fantastic sleeping huts because of the bamboo.  I remember all the effort Lucas put into his yurt.  Imagine if he'd been able to make it with bamboo instead of having to fell all those trees.

 

@ProfCrash, welcome to the party! Autocorrect is doing you no favors because I know you know the difference between "sight" and "site". 

[ClareWalks]

Excellent point, also Professor Google tells me humans can eat several parts of bamboo :) Considering how quickly it grows, that is a somewhat sustainable food source, which I don't think VI really had. Once you picked those plants, they were gone.

[SRTouch]

5 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Excellent point, also Professor Google tells me humans can eat several parts of bamboo :) Considering how quickly it grows, that is a somewhat sustainable food source, which I don't think VI really had. Once you picked those plants, they were gone.

Well, food wise I guess you could say the seaweed, which was renewable and came on the tides. But, really, as said early on, nothing better to find in a survival situation than bamboo.

[ClareWalks]

7 minutes ago, SRTouch said:

Well, food wise I guess you could say the seaweed, which was renewable and came on the tides

Ah yes, how could I forget the freaky bull kelp?

[Cassiar]

Did anyone notice Trapper Dan sitting on a black and grey storage bin by the fire?  In another shot, he was sitting by the fire on a wooden plank that he must have put together but to his left was a white plastic crate with firewood.  I just starting watching last season and "I think" I have only seen folks with a huge backpack when they are dropped off.  I remember last season contestants could keep whatever washed-up...  Could that be the container for the camera gear?  The white crate? Just curious...

The intense struggle between mind and body is fascinating and to push oneself to the brink of starvation is quite the game to play.  Some folks have no business being out there and leave quickly.  For others, after shelters are built and routines established, true sustainability is conquered with food.   Food is the game.

Trapper Dan is on the nerves of many and I guess I find his strategy interesting and maybe he will outlast the others.  I find it a bit annoying in his take-down of other folks and their strategy...but I guess that is his psycho-babble talk that sustains, justifies and feeds his focus and ultimate game strategy...keep your eye on the prize mentality.  Energy is a precious commodity in Alone.  It is a very anorexic environment. While others try to build a home for sustainability, or just stay busy, he is very frontal and raw about his journey and tight in his routine.....and it is not very exciting to watch.  I totally dig seeing all of the shelters being built and creative ways to get food...  In the end however, you don't get $$$ or style points for the best shelter, but it will impact game playing, same with energy dispersed, gear selection, routines, etc...time will tell...