S03.E10: Day 87/S03.E11: Reunion Special

[Scaeva]

2 hours ago, Juliegirlj said:

Wow-that map is truly interesting!! The final four were all in the same area. Not sure about the scale but some of them appear very close to each other. 

I wonder if their lake was stocked with more fish.

The contestants on the other lake seemed to have more food struggles. 

[zamberlan]

Even if that map has errors it confirms some things I've suspected. Their territories are way too small and too homogeneous. The women got the best sites on the south side of the lake, closest to the lodge, the guys on the north sides would have fewer greens to eat. To catch an animal in a small territory like that you'd have to be very lucky to stumble across a duck on a nest, the other ones would have vacated after the first few pees in the bushes that people did. I wondered about all the trout. I bet the lakes were stocked and the poor guys not on the main lake got a raw deal.  

Like I said before they need to bring them to northern Canada! They could eat perch, rock bass and like all year here.

[HurricaneVal]

The saltwater fish (salmon and the like) from the Vancouver Island seasons are not only bigger, but they have a lot more fat content than the very lean lake trout in the Patagonia season.  I also think setting out gill nets and having the tide do all the work for you uses less personal energy than active pole fishing on the lake does.  Patagonia was beautiful, and the weather seemed kinder, but it seemed a lot more challenging natural resource-wise.

[Subrookie]

I feel for Fowler if that map is correct and Megan was actually across the lake from him. I can't imagine being sun deprived the whole time,  all the while seeing sun soaked campfire smoke across the lake. Seems like if the map is even slightly accurate you'd also be able to observe people being pulled.

I get that they can squeeze two show seasons in a year if they alternate hemispheres but it's really not that hard to geographically separate people and provide easy access for a medical crew. If they're that close this is completely about filming crew convenience. 

[Subrookie]

36 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

The saltwater fish (salmon and the like) from the Vancouver Island seasons are not only bigger, but they have a lot more fat content than the very lean lake trout in the Patagonia season.  I also think setting out gill nets and having the tide do all the work for you uses less personal energy than active pole fishing on the lake does.  Patagonia was beautiful, and the weather seemed kinder, but it seemed a lot more challenging natural resource-wise.

I can't think of any contestant on the VI seasons that caught king salmon or even any fish much bigger than we saw in S3. Yes, here on the west coast the fish are larger but if Dave had 40+ filets fishing wasn't the only issue. 

[lidarose9]

The solution to this starvation problem is very simple: the producers need to choose a location with more food resources. It's a matter of research and planning. Most of these people seem to expect to be able to find game or fish -- they have skills and weapons and fishing lines or nets, they build their fish traps and set their snares -- none of it does any good if the animals or fish are not there. 

[Snarklepuss]

I am far from knowledgeable on this subject, but I wonder if the contestants so far have had enough practical ability/experience to handle the hunting/trapping necessary to make it in their environments.  We have seen a number of them fumble and fail at trapping mice much less anything like a bird, boar or larger.  It may not be that there isn't enough wildlife in their environments but that they are just not up to trapping them.  I know in past seasons I complained that one of the prerequisites for this show should be to find people that were accustomed to being alone for long periods because so many of them tapped out after only a few weeks complaining about missing family, etc.  (which they seem to have addressed judging how well this season's cast handled the extended time away from human contact).  Well, this season I would like to add to that list that in the future they should find people who are adept at hunting small game without guns, too.  I realize in this day and age that might be hard to find, but hey, this is a show all about that kind of thing so perhaps they should put more of an emphasis on that with future casts.  Or if they are really putting them in areas that don't have enough wildlife to change that too.  But I would find it hard to believe that in a place as remote as Patagonia there isn't enough suitable wildlife available.

Edited February 18, 2017 by Snarklepuss

[Joan Z]

14 hours ago, zamberlan said:

Even if that map has errors it confirms some things I've suspected. Their territories are way too small and too homogeneous. The women got the best sites on the south side of the lake, closest to the lodge, the guys on the north sides would have fewer greens to eat. To catch an animal in a small territory like that you'd have to be very lucky to stumble across a duck on a nest, the other ones would have vacated after the first few pees in the bushes that people did. I wondered about all the trout. I bet the lakes were stocked and the poor guys not on the main lake got a raw deal.  

Like I said before they need to bring them to northern Canada! They could eat perch, rock bass and like all year here.

The Lewis House on the map is the British billionaire's house, Joe Lewis. He owns the whole Escondido Lake and from what I read, he filled the lake with trout which would explains all the trouts the contestants caught. 

From what we know, Dave and Fowler (and maybe Callie too) caught quite a lot of fish so if it's correct that the contestants dropped on those 3 lakes, Fowler's, Dave's and Callie's spots on the map are probably correct. Megan and Carleigh probably placed farther west or on another lake since they seems to be struggling with fishing. Greg is probably on the east side of Lake Montes cause he mentioned a stream when he built the raft. There's a stream on the east side of Lake Montes, in between Lake Montes and Lake Escondido. 

[cooksdelight]

I know people who have survived off the grid for years. A guy I went to high school with lived in the wilds of Alaska in a cabin he built, ate well, etc. No electricity, no contact with the outside world. And he wasn't playing for half a million dollars. Sometimes, I think the people who come on this show tout their skills but when put to the test they falter. Homeless people live by their wits every day across this country.

Then, there's this guy...

http://www.bookoftips.net/man-lived-alone-nearly-30-years-mountains-alaska-log-cabin-built-hands/

[riverheightsnancy]

What is interesting about that map is the final 5 were all in a similar area and closer to each other than the others. Maybe just an illusory correlation, OR despite the starvation, they may have had better fishing in that area allowing them to stay longer. Who knows?

[zamberlan]

Thanks for that link cooksdelight, that was really a pleasure to watch and reflects my values entirely. 

I've never trapped but I do know it is harder than it looks. The pro trapper on Alone didn't bother with trying to trap. It might have been his lazy strategy but my guess is he knew it would be near hopeless without the lures that trappers use which are very specific to each animal. They use animal hormones as bait, not food, at least  around here.  

[holly4755]

Quote

 He hunted, fished, raised and gathered his own food, and also had supplies flown in occasionally. 

From the above link - he brought in food. and the fishing might have been with a pole, and the hunting could have been with traps... we are talking about a show that wants to be wrapped up in a few months, not years, and provides them with limited supplies to prevent long term survival.  the wire they could choose was not flexible Not suited to hunting. The paracord was not suited to animal teeth.  The idea is to discourage them to leave, who knew they would be n a starvation race. 

 

Somewhere in my googling, I read that the rainbow trout were not native to south america and were brought in to  stock the lakes, but all the other fish were native,  I don't think I would know where to look for those links again,

Edited February 19, 2017 by holly4755

[ProfCrash]

There is a show Alaska Railroad, or something like that, which includes a good number of off griders on the train route. While the vast majority of them hunt and grow food, all of them know the railroad schedule and use the railroad to have supplies delivered or to go to town to get what they need. Pretty much every show I have seen about homesteading in Alaska acknowledges that the people deep in bush country still get planes to drop them supplies or folks manage to find a way to get to town using snow mobiles or dog teams or ATVs. While I am sure that there are some hard core homesteaders in Alaska, I would bet that the vast majority of the folks homesteading are interacting reasonably regularly with a town or supply store. I remain impressed that they live that way, god knows it is not for me, but almost all of them have a series of emergency cut outs if something should go wrong. So I doubt that we would see people wasting away like we did on this season of Alone.

Let's face it, long before we began to farm, humans were nomadic. We moved where the food was based on the seasons. We did not stick it out in an area with no food. None if these contestants would normally hang out in the same location if their food source dried up. In a real survival situation, they would move to try and find a better spot.

I suspect that the Producers are starting to understand that people were not happy with the starvation race. If they want to prevent a starvation race and the never ending season, they could start people out earlier in the year so there are more foraging opportunities and set an pre-established end date but not let the Contestants know what that day might be. So call it 30 days from the last tap out the season before, in this case 117 days. Production knows when it will wrap but the Contestants do not. If the date is moved around a bit and is always longer then 90 days, I think Production will find that they end up with only a few people left any way. This is the first season that they went this long. Most people are going to drop out in the first 30-45 days. If they set a cut off point then everyone remaining at that time splits the winnings.

It would be better then watching the starvation game and feeling like someone got screwed because of a medical discharge from the game.

[cooksdelight]

I'd submit that idea to production if I were you, @ProfCrash.

[qtpye]

6 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

@ProfCrash.

 

6 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

think Production will find that they end up with only a few people left any way. This is the first season that they went this long. Most people are going to drop out in the first 30-45 days. If they set a cut off point then everyone remaining at that time splits the winnings.

I think this is an excellent idea.  Whoever is left could split the money.  This is a show where is is heartbreaking to come in second.

[piequinn35]

Or have the 2nd placer get 10% or $50,000 (like in Survivor).

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, piequinn35 said:

Or have the 2nd placer get 10% or $50,000 (like in Survivor).

Second place in Survivor gets $100,000. I totally agree these people need to be compensated.

[piequinn35]

I am sure they are compensated but they are not telling how much, same as in Naked and Afraid.

[Liberty]

42 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

I am sure they are compensated but they are not telling how much, same as in Naked and Afraid.

This is an important point.  Is it a safe assumption that the longer one remains in the contest the larger their stipend?

[zamberlan]

I guess it makes sense, considering they are paid for their time there. More time should mean more pay? I like the idea of a fixed end point and some other benchmarks to determine the winner. They could earn scores for best shelter, best hearth, biggest stash of food, least weight loss etc... If the contestants didn't know what they were going to be ranked on it would encourage them to make the most of the experience, not just take the lazy way out like the trapper did.

[ProfCrash]

There is a difference between the stipend, which everyone gets for each week they are there, and prize money. So Big Brother Contestants receive a weekly stipend for each week they are in the house and sequester. The first and second place players also win prize money. On Survivor they receive a weekly stipend and prize money for where they finish. I think Alone is more like Big Brother, everyone receives a weekly stipend and only the winner wins prize money.

I do think it would be cool if they had some type of bonus for achieving certain goals. Make those bonuses equal for everyone, ie who ever build a great shelter first doesn't get more money then the second person, but have a good number of them. I suspect that there would be additional motivation for people to be a bit more active if they received a $500 bonus for building a hearth or building a raised bed with appropriate insulation. Develop a list of these things, like a fish stash, greens stash, a shelter that can withstand a 24 hour long rain storm, a rain barrel, set X number of traps in appropriate locations, build a raft/canoe, find and harvest 10 different plants for food.

The folks have cameras, they should be able to show what they are doing and explain why they are doing what they are doing and how the trap/rain barrel/canoe/whatever they are doing should work. Then the pros at camp can determine if they agree. $500 bonuses for individuals things would total $5000 if all the Contestants earned the reward. So figure how much you can totally afford to give out if everyone completed an accomplishment, and use that to determine how many monetary goals will exist. Ten goals would be $50,000. I suspect the extra $500 would be a good incentive for people who are bored and trying to survive to push themselves. The fact that they would have to explain what they were doing and why it might work should increase the amount of usable footage that is available.

[zamberlan]

That sounds like a great format, the part of the show I liked best was learning about all this wonderful stuff. The shelter testing could be fun too, I'm imagining a three little pigs scenario with huge fans and deluges from a firefighters hose.  

As an audience we fall for the bait of conflict and resolution, hook, line and sinker. Maybe it could be like a Miss Universe pageant with the swimsuit, the special talent and the ball gown segments?

[seasick]

for the past 2 weeks I have seen commercials on NBC affiliates for "ALONE" ('all new 'it says) but it shows S3 contestants.  Says the usual time slot--thursdays.  It does not appear to be advertizing S4-- they seem to be  "old' commercials" still playing.  Anyone else seeing these?   strange since the show is over...

[beatu]

On 2/17/2017 at 3:36 PM, zamberlan said:

Even if that map has errors it confirms some things I've suspected. Their territories are way too small and too homogeneous. The women got the best sites on the south side of the lake, closest to the lodge, the guys on the north sides would have fewer greens to eat. To catch an animal in a small territory like that you'd have to be very lucky to stumble across a duck on a nest, the other ones would have vacated after the first few pees in the bushes that people did. I wondered about all the trout. I bet the lakes were stocked and the poor guys not on the main lake got a raw deal.  

Like I said before they need to bring them to northern Canada! They could eat perch, rock bass and like all year here.

ha, when the place is arse deep in snow and the ice is 2+ ft thick everywhere and the bugs eat you alive for  4 months of the year?  I dont think so. No veggies for half of the year, etc. They were in BC for 3 seasons, and it was a horror. 

[LennieBriscoe]

Fowler stuff:

https://www.fowlersmakeryandmischief.com/shop-t-shirts-autographed-pictures-fowler-alone