07x04 - The Fly

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Black bear cutting across.

We're gonna try
and cut him off.

Gotta move quick.

- My net never
catches nothing.

We gotta make a move.
There it is.

Catch a fish, baby.

- Yeah, baby!

Oh, [bleep]!

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

Every little success
out here

definitely puts you
in a better mental spot.

Oh, my gosh.

- No!
Oof!

[grunts]
Stupid.

I need to think about
every single move

and every single step.

I can't afford to make
this mistake again.

[arrow thwacks]

- [gasps]
A porcupine.

This meat and fat
is gonna fuel me

to get through this next week.

♪ ♪

male narrator:
For the first time,

ten participants will fight
to survive the Arctic

for longer than anyone
in "Alone" history--

a grueling 100 days.

- This is the ultimate
challenge.

♪ ♪

- A hundred days in the Arctic
is no joke.

narrator: If they can endure,

they'll win
the biggest prize ever:

$1 million.

♪ ♪

- Whoa!

- Holy [bleep]!

- You can't tap out

when there's a million bucks
on the line.

- Oh, my gosh.
- [growls]

- How hard can you work
for $10,000 a day?

- It looks like frostbite.

- [screams]

- Oh, [bleep].

narrator: This is "Alone:

Million Dollar Challenge.

- They're just surrounding
my shelter.

[animal growling]

♪ ♪

[soft suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- So, my hair started
to get knotted and stuff,

so I decided to make
a comb real quick.

This is the worst comb
in the world,

but it does the trick.

Um...

And I need to cut my hair.

Man, I'll take it.

I'll take it for, uh,
using a knife.

Pfft.

Done.

Who do I have to impress
out here?

Absolutely nobody.

[light dramatic music]

Started a fire.

Gonna make some hangers
for some of this fish,

'cause it's getting ridiculous
on how much there is up there.

♪ ♪

I came out here thinking that

it was gonna be hard
to find food,

and I was dead wrong.

♪ ♪

This is totally
a dream come true.

So we come out here,
catch all your food,

make everything yourself,
survive.

♪ ♪

All right.

But I have nowhere to put them
as of right now,

so I gotta make a tepee.

♪ ♪

My racks are full,

and I don't want to be waiting
till the last minute

to set up a smoker.

♪ ♪

This is gonna be good.

Put a fire right there
in the middle,

nice and small.

Cover the rest of this.

I'll tie an early warning
device to it, and--

any little critters
decide to try and come in here

in the night whenever
the fire goes out,

well, I'll hear them.

♪ ♪

Two days before
I came out here,

my son, Max,
turned a year old.

It was awesome
to be able to be there

for his first birthday.

And I'm very fortunate

that he has a mom
that he has because

she's a saint.

Me and her
aren't together anymore.

We split and went
our separate ways.

But I wouldn't be able
to be out here

and have the right mindset

of knowing
that I can go 100 days,

and my son
being perfectly fine

if he didn't have
an awesome mother.

♪ ♪

But leaving my son when he's
probably just started walking,

starting to talk more,
that's for sure--

that's hard, that's real hard.

[knife scraping]

I'll never be able
to get that time back,

but I'm hoping that
me being out here

teaches him something in life.

So I'm gonna treat this
like a three-month deployment.

Well,

not bad for a day's work.

Um, half day's work.

[thrumming ominous music]

♪ ♪

- All right.

We're fixing to grind out
a primitive tattoo needle.

What?

Yup, that's what
we're fixing to do.

We're gonna juice up
some crowberries,

lay on some ink here.

And we're gonna have the first

"Alone" tattoo go down.

You guys are all like,
"He's an idiot.

He's gonna get infected."
It won't get infected.

Doing tattoos
in an environment like this--

yeah, there's a risk
of an infection for sure.

And, you know, I'm positive

my immune system's down
a little bit right now.

But I can die from slipping

and hitting my head
on a rock today,

so you just gotta
weigh the risk versus reward.

♪ ♪

[sniffles]
I think that's gonna work.

[clicks tongue]
Check it out.

Yeah, we can
lay some ink in with it.

I don't have any
modern tattoos.

I have a lot of tattoos
from cultures

that existed where I lived
before me,

and even before recorded time.

Caribou bone
and crowberry tattoo.

I've done this with different
natural elements before.

It's not gonna be, like,
tattoo parlor-grade ink.

But it's gonna be a piece
of naturally-made rough art.

[sighs]

I like that spot right there.

♪ ♪

This is the ultimate way
to connect to this place--

using the bone from an animal
that passed through here,

using just naturally-occurring
materials from this place.

They will be with me until
I'm back in the earth again.

Then the whole cycle
starts over.

♪ ♪

[sniffles]
So there it is.

An "A" and a seven,
for a long season seven.

♪ ♪

Pretty nice.

♪ ♪

[bird caws]

Really hope
I get the net finished up.

♪ ♪

I'm hoping that
that will go a long way

towards
regular food procurement.

♪ ♪

At home,
I just set bank lines,

and I don't have a problem.

But I have caught
only one fish so far,

and I wanna catch as many fish
as possible before ice up.

Getting this dude
deployed out may be the trick.

♪ ♪

I'm pretty decent
at tying nets.

I don't use the shuttle.

I just use
the overhand loop method.

My wife actually
showed me how to do that.

I think about her every day,

you know, just in little tasks
that I do out here--

you know,
the wood splitting,

and just stuff we do
around the homestead.

And, you know, I miss her.

But I also know,
when it's all over with,

the money will allow my family

the lifestyle
we truly wanna live.

I mean, it basically
would mean early retirement.

♪ ♪

Well, we'll see.

It ain't
the prettiest net ever made,

but it's a net.

I'm ready to throw this baby
in the dye pot.

♪ ♪

This water's so clear,

I think a lot of times,
these fish,

they're following
that lure in

and they see me
standing there,

and they kinda act like
a game animal.

So if I can get this white net
dyed to more of a water color,

I believe
it'll help immensely.

♪ ♪

Got my crowberries.
Check it out.

♪ ♪

Well, let's dump her in.

♪ ♪

Hopefully, this takes some
of the shine off of it.

Maybe at night,
if they're cruising along,

they won't even notice.

All right, so check it out.

It gave it a real nice,
almost a water color, so...

That'll work.
I like that.

I like that a lot.
So let's get it strung.

♪ ♪

[birds chirping]

♪ ♪

I'm liking this spot
right here.

Looks like
about 2 foot of water

to about 8 foot.

I'm sure fish probably
cruise that edge.

Put it in the water,
see what happens.

♪ ♪

Ooh, fishy, fishy, fishy,
we're coming for you, buddies.

I need you guys.

♪ ♪

The key to winning
is making the most

out of every opportunity.

And you can bet
that I'm gonna give it 135%

to be there to day 100.

♪ ♪

Now we wait.

Now we wait.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[animals chirping]

- I've been having
a little bit of a challenge

finding a good shelter spot.

But I feel good
about this spot.

It's a little far to water,

but it's worth it
to be out of the wind.

So, I've been having
so many vivid dreams.

One was this morning,
and I was digging moss

for the shelter,
and I found two turtles.

They were, like,
that big each.

And I woke up thinking,

"You know, that is a message."

'Cause I was bumming out
a little bit, like,

"Oh, man.

I've got so much to do.
I'm just too slow."

But that was a message,
I feel, like,

that it's okay to be slow.

Yes, it's okay to be a turtle--

just as long as this turtle
doesn't freeze come winter

'cause she doesn't have
food and a shelter.

[laughs]

That's all.
[chuckles]

♪ ♪

The porcupine
has served me well,

and I'm so appreciative
of the porcupine.

But now,
I'm just down to broth.

And it is time for me
to find my next meal.

I have a new trap on spot,
so hopefully,

the new trapping area
will be productive.

I'm feeling hungry.

I hope we got something today.

I hope, I hope.

Doing something like this,

you realize
what a gift food is.

Coming up on my first snare.
It's empty.

♪ ♪

Making 100 days is gonna
be full of challenges.

There's so many little things

that could just take you out
in a moment.

You need so much food,

and everything's
just gotta work out.

Second snare.

[music fades]

[gasps]

No way.

♪ ♪

No way.

[gasps]
No way.

No way!

♪ ♪

[soft suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- [gasps]

No way.

No way.

[gasps]
No way!

Oh, my gosh.

There's a rabbit
in one of my snares.

Oh, my gosh.

♪ ♪

Sweet.

The snare got him perfectly
around the neck.

Oh.

This morning,
I was a little bit worried.

I ate all that porcupine,

and I was just
starting to feel it,

so I am so grateful
for this rabbit.

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, all right.

Let's get you home,
get you processed.

♪ ♪

Right down the color line
that's on most animals,

it's nice to just make the cut

right down
where the color changes.

Like, white to brown
right here.

White to brown.

♪ ♪

Don't creatures look
so much different

without their fur on?

It's pretty crazy, huh?

It's crazy.

That's what we look like too,
underneath our skin.

♪ ♪

When I was 15,
I made this pact to myself

that I wasn't gonna
eat any meat

until I learned to hunt
on my own.

So that really pushed me
into the skills.

I've taken apart
hundreds of animals,

and I've been preserving
food for myself

for years and years.

I'm gonna have to get crafting

with all this--
these animal parts.

So many fun things to make.

For me,

using all the parts
of the animal--

that's how I am.

I don't want anything to go
to waste in any situation.

I want to use everything

to its utmost potential.

You guys wanna see
a cool party trick?

These are the--
the rabbit lungs

and the heart right there.

Check it out.

[light music]

♪ ♪

[exhales]

So those are the lungs,
inflated.

Pretty wild, huh?

[soft dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- So I just got two rabbits
with my bow.

Had, uh, issues with the GoPro,
and couldn't take it.

I cannot carry that camera
through the brush.

I'm gonna leave this guy here.

[sniffles]
Grab the camera.

Let's go see if we can show you
a couple tricks of the trade.

Rabbit hunting 101.
Rule number one.

Do not stalk rabbits.

They spend
their entire lives aware

that they are the bottom
of the food chain.

If you move like a predator,

and they see you
moving like a predator,

chances are they will run.

♪ ♪

Walk around like you look like
a big grass eater that has

absolutely no interest in
hunting absolutely anything.

This will give the rabbit
a false sense of security.

[whistles softly]

[imitates chewing]

♪ ♪

Do not make eye contact until
you're ready for the shot.

And then,
with very slow movements,

turn around
and make your shot.

♪ ♪

Okay.
Now, for the rabbit's reaction.

[light music]

♪ ♪

[imitates arrow flying
and striking]

[grunts]

Twitch is normal,
don't worry about it.

Okay, we'll go clean
these rabbits.

♪ ♪

Look at that.

It really is going...

♪ ♪

White very quickly.

Definitely gonna
make something with that.

That's fat.
Don't wanna waste that.

Fat is everything out here.

♪ ♪

Back in Africa,
I learned from the Hazda

that being an effective hunter

is not how well
you sh**t the bow.

It's how well you can pattern
the movements of animals.

When you know the habits
of those animals,

it's just a matter of time
before you get an arrow in.

Yeah, I think we're gonna
fry this up today.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[fire crackling]

In the pot,
we've got a rabbit thigh,

a rabbit leg,
and all of the organ meat.

I'm just so lucky.

I'm eating like
a freaking king.

Oh, that's the liver.

Oh, this is really good fried.

And this is why I'm a student
of primitive skills--

it's that I love relying
on myself and a few tools

to be able to take care
of all my needs.

It's very satisfying.

Very deep satisfaction
that comes with that.

I can just feel like
I'm getting a lot out of this.

Makes me feel good.

[birds chirping]

[driving tense music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- All right, so here it is.

Reindeer moss
for the first time.

Definitely never
had this before.

Smells like nothing.

Tastes like absolutely nothing.

You know what it does not
taste like?

Fat.

I really doubt
there's any fat in this.

I've been having nothing
but fish heads for lunch,

which is super fatty and oily.

Messed up my bowel movements
like crazy,

so I had to start eating
reindeer moss.

It's honestly not too bad.
This might be part of my diet.

Let's see how I react to this.

I've got, like,

[sniffles]

And I'm eating moss.
[laughs]

Never would've thought
that would be the case.

[brisk dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Today I'm gonna take a day
to veganism.

I'm still gonna catch
and k*ll things,

but I'm gonna eat only plants.

I'm gonna take some
blueberry roots.

[clears throat]

And I'm gonna
boil them up today,

in the hopes that it makes
my bubbly guts go away.

It's just a matter
if I can find them.

[sighs]
Nothing.

Then we come to a bear trail.

This, uh, trail,

thick trail,
you can tell was mowed down.

We got two piles of scat here
that are normal now.

This one, that's bear scat.

And the newer one right here.

And then we got another one.

So that happened last night
or this morning.

Close to my shelter.

♪ ♪

He likes to defecate
right there.

Claiming his territory,
apparently.

I can't be having
that happening.

The worst thing that could
happen is the bear rummaging

through my shelter
and stealing all my food.

That would be a bad day.

But not finding him.

Gotta keep a lot of stuff
up in the air.

I need to get that bear.

♪ ♪

Holy [bleep]!

♪ ♪

Ah, it's aggravating.

It seems like
every time I leave,

the [bleep]
comes to the berry patch.

Every time.
Why do I leave?

Don't leave the berry patch,
Mark.

The berry patch is where
you need to be, clearly.

Let's head back.

♪ ♪

I need to be
at the berry patch.

If I want that bear,

I've gotta hold out,
and I've gotta hunt it.

Having that source of protein
throughout the winter,

it'll be a big weight
off my shoulders.

It would change up my diet,

which would be really nice
to have steak

instead of fish steaks 24/7.

So I need to make this happen.

♪ ♪

All right.

Um, this is my main
hunting spot,

just because this is the one
that the bears visit the most.

I'm hoping.
Keep your fingers crossed.

It's today.
If not, very, very soon.

♪ ♪

Takes a lot of luck and a lot
of patience to k*ll a bear.

♪ ♪

The fish, they've been coming
to my net every day.

That doesn't mean it's gonna
continue to happen.

I gotta get a lot of it.

If I wanna last 100 days,
I wanna go out there,

I'm gonna find my next meal.

Hopefully it's a big
old black bear.

♪ ♪

[soft ruffling]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[birds chirping]

- [sniffles]

Well, it's time today to play
everybody's favorite game:

Will we have a fish?

So the big question is:

will we have a fish?

I sure hope so.

[light tense music]

♪ ♪

[water lapping]

♪ ♪

The food is just--
it's gonna be a problem.

Definitely starting to feel
the fatigue side of it.

And today is the first day
I've really felt lightheaded.

♪ ♪

But I just keep pushing on.

And you gotta burn calories
to get calories.

Anything can happen.

♪ ♪

Envelope, please.
Thank you.

♪ ♪

It's a resounding "no."
We did not get a fish.

[blows raspberry]

[sniffles]
Got to have something.

♪ ♪

Eating rock tripe.

♪ ♪

Think it's gonna
be a new thing.

♪ ♪

I don't really like
the word "tripe."

Doesn't sound that appetizing.

♪ ♪

For me, my grandfather
lit the fire,

as far as the outdoors,
because I hung around

with him a lot
when I was little.

He and my great uncle grew up
during the Depression.

They had very hard times.

They were very slick people,
as far as trapping,

hunting, fishing, foraging.

I mean,
you could drop them anywhere,

and they would figure it out

because they had
to figure it out.

So that kinda
trickled down to me,

and it's just part
of my lifestyle.

It's something
I've always done.

♪ ♪

All right, this is how
you eat black rock tripe.

First, you gotta have an old,
rusty can-bucket you found,

you boil it up,

and you just don't even
look at it, you just...

Ugh.
Swallow it, shake a little bit.

Move on to the next bite.

It's good.
Oh, so good.

So good.
Tastes just like filet mignon.

Ah, mmm.

Oh, I can't get enough of it.
It's delicious.

Here.
Here, try a bite.

Come on, try a bite.
No, really, try it.

Try it, it's good.

Come on, try a bite!

All right.
More for me.

Can't believe
you don't want some.

Mmm.

[sniffles]
Ah.

Now I feel recharged,
refreshed, and full.

All lies.
[sniffles]

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

- Oh, dreaming.

Dreaming is such
a luxury out here.

[laughs]

I get to do everything that I--
that I miss out here.

I get to hang out with people.

I get to eat
a variety of foods.

It's real entertainment.

At the same time,
there is a catch-22.

♪ ♪

Like, for instance,
last night.

I'm in the dream,
noticing and--

and know my son is on a little
stepladder right next to me.

And I realized, "Tyler's
right here next to you.

"Before you wake up,
make the most of it.

Hug him!"

I went and turned to the right,
and then, bam!

Freaking takes me off
into a different damn dream.

It is constant battles
and fighting out here.

Constant battles.

That magnetic pull--

I have to fight that battle
each and every day.

It's part of
the being-alone process.

♪ ♪

I gotta get a door on
the opening to my shelter.

To be honest, I'm most
intimidated about the weather.

♪ ♪

Flies are just relentless.

[insects buzzing]

I just can only hope
that things like having

a well-made shelter will
allow me to get through it.

♪ ♪

Okay, now I need a real shorty.

♪ ♪

You look like
the man for the job.

I'll cut you down.

[insects buzzing]

[grunts, groans]

Damn fly in the ear.
Jeez.

[soft tense music]

♪ ♪

Oh, [bleep].

♪ ♪

It's stuck in my ear.

♪ ♪

[grunts softly]

♪ ♪

Oh, [bleep].

♪ ♪

If I call for a medic,

and they have
to come intervene

and remove it from my ear,

that means they could pull me.

Okay, where did I put
my pliers?

[bleep].
I can't see anything.

♪ ♪

Great, I can feel it
moving in there.

♪ ♪

Oh.

Oh, come on.

♪ ♪

[grunts]

♪ ♪

[grunts]

♪ ♪

Where's the first-aid kit?

Let's try a couple things.

Hold this light towards my ear,

and see if that draws
the fly out.

♪ ♪

Come on, little dude.
Go towards the light.

♪ ♪

Really don't have a lot
of faith in that method.

♪ ♪

I don't wanna
do further damage,

but I gotta get this fly out.

[grunting]

I don't want something
like this to cause me

to have to leave this
competition.

[blows nose, grunts]

I think the next thing
is to irrigate.

Gonna put some water
in a syringe,

suck out some water,
turn my head down,

fill it up with water,
and then drain it out,

and just keep doing that
till hopefully it comes out.

[quiet tense music]

♪ ♪

[grunts]

♪ ♪

All right, let's just hope
for the best on this one.

♪ ♪

[grunts]

[exhales]

♪ ♪

[grunts]

♪ ♪

[birds chirping]

[music fades]

It's not moving anymore.

Yeah, well, I don't see it,

but tell you what--
that's immediate relief.

Well...

[breathes deeply]

That was a little bit
of an unforeseen...

Yeah, let's continue.
[laughs]

Where were we?

♪ ♪

Oh, that feels so much better.

Fly trapped in my ear
really makes me realize

that the hard skills out here,
being able to survive,

or making a fire,
harvesting your food,

are the easiest things
to accomplish.

It's all the other
small things

that in short-term survival
could take you out.

[exhales]

Don't want that
to happen again.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- Are you ready to lose
the staring contest?

Ready?
Okay.

[breathes deeply]

Oh, there's a breeze.
I have to blink.

[laughs]

Okay.
All right.

Ready, set, go.

Oh, man.

Usually,
I'm really good at staring,

but I think my eyes are dry.

[laughs]

All right, here we go.
Back to work.

Back to work, y'all.

Back to work, man.

♪ ♪

Gotta make clay pots.

Gotta make lots of clay pots.

Here's the clay hole.

I have one cooking pot,
which is awesome,

but containers are everything
out here.

If I can just make
a couple pots with lids

that I can cook in
and then store,

that would be amazing.

Oh, that is so nice.

Look how nice
and sticky that is.

I'm so happy I found it.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Did you guys see my clay ba*ls?

Look at all my clay ba*ls.

Aren't they nice?

♪ ♪

All right, I need containers.

♪ ♪

Do a little test coil
real quick.

♪ ♪

Oh, my gosh,
it's acting pretty nice.

So I'm gonna add the temper in.

Can't be too wet or too dry.

Everything's about having just
the perfect amount of moisture.

♪ ♪

And you kinda roll and pinch,
and it's a particular method

that's for cooking potteries
specifically.

It has more surface area,

so that it distributes
the heat better.

I was hoping for clay,

because being out here doesn't
have to be a suffer fest.

It's totally possible to have

all my needs met
and be comfortable.

And the more comfortable
and at home you are,

the better you're gonna
make it through the winter.

♪ ♪

If I can just get one pot
that survives a firing,

I will feel like
that was a big success.

Kinda looks like
a beehive, huh?

I hope I get to the point
where it's, like,

oh, my shelter's done.

And I have a bunch of meat
hanging up,

and I can just,
like, hang out.

But we'll see.

There's a long way to go
before I get to that point.

♪ ♪

Clay pots are done
for the night.

It's dark.

Two pots, ah!

Two pots, so nice.

Time to warm up the hands.

[soft suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- I'm starting to have
mixed emotions.

Let's put it that way.

Uh, there's only
so much black crud

you can scrape off a rock
in a bowl and call it dinner.

[sighs deeply]

Sometimes, you just
gotta figure out

what you want more in life.

You think you know
what you want.

And that's not it.

♪ ♪

I'm pretty sure
I know what I want today.

♪ ♪

Let's see.

♪ ♪

I don't know if this is
what I really want.

Yeah.
Yeah.

♪ ♪

I think this is
what I really want.

♪ ♪

chirping]

Yes, this is Keith.

I know what I want.

I want a large pizza
with everything, extra cheese.

Yeah, this phone doesn't even
work for something like that.

I doubt anybody delivers
out here anyway.

So that's not happening.

♪ ♪

All right,
let's get crack-a-lackin'.

We'll go check the trapline.

♪ ♪

A lot of snares
in this little area here.

♪ ♪

[grunts]

I would've thought this one
would've paid off.

That was a good set,
and I thought...

It's almost like
playing the lottery.

You go all in to try
and reap huge benefits.

But my immediate area
is not much

in the overall plan
that I had in my head...

♪ ♪

Tough little guys to trap,
sure enough.

♪ ♪

Winter is right around
the corner.

There's no time
to mess around.

♪ ♪

Oh, my gosh.

A miracle has just happened.

[dramatic musical sting]

I have finally
snared a squirrel.

[laughs]

I was really starting to doubt
my trapping abilities.

And I trap a lot.

♪ ♪

[grunts]

Wow, he's wound up in there.

Golly, I give you guys credit.

You are tough,
tough customers to trap.

[light music]

♪ ♪

Wow.

[chuckling]

Thank you, little buddy.

Starting to get some
good snow now too.

Huh, well, that's awesome.

At least I have
something to eat.

I was getting tired of eating
blueberries and rock slime.

♪ ♪

Awesome.

♪ ♪

That is definitely
a morale boost.

♪ ♪

These little guys
have been driving me nuts

on the trapping side of it.

It was almost like they
were digging at me a bit.

But, you know, eat this guy,

it'll give me that
boost of energy back up.

A little liver.

I'm not much of a liver fan,
but I'm learning.

You gotta constantly be upbeat
no matter how bad it gets.

That's just the way
you get through hard times.

♪ ♪

Holy crap.
Mmm.

♪ ♪

That right there.

Little squirrel drumstick.

♪ ♪

Tastes amazing.

And we'll have squirrel soup
all day tomorrow.

You know,

and one more day,

and eventually,
it'll be that 100th day,

and that's $1 million.

Wish I could find
a six-legged squirrel

running around here
and trap it.

That'd be awesome.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- You hear that?

[sniffles]

That's the sound of silence.

Deep silence.

I'm really hoping
there's a fish in that net.

Getting that food storage
put in is

what it's gonna be all about.

I don't need to be making
no little knickknacks

or tools
or bull[bleep] like that.

We gotta get some food put up.

And it's right here.

Yeah.

Yes!

We got two fish.

We've been blessed mightily
right here, just now.

♪ ♪

Big old lake trout
and a big old whitefish.

♪ ♪

Oh, my Lord,
I feel better now.

I was getting worried when
we weren't getting no fish.

It's a good fishing hole.

♪ ♪

Well, we gotta
pick this net now.

♪ ♪

I hate to break the silence
of this beautiful morning,

but there's a lot to do today.

[grunts]

Oh, look at that.

♪ ♪

It's gonna take
every little pinch

to pull through 100 days.

This is a bad spot.

I can't imagine doing that
when it gets icy.

[panting and grunting]

This is still the baby stages.

Hell, we're still living
in our tarp.

That's gonna come to an end
here pretty soon,

especially with winter coming.

Fishing and permanent
structure and food gathering--

that's how it's gonna be
till the snow flies.

♪ ♪

Oh, yeah, that's a biggie.

And that whitefish
is a damn good one too.

♪ ♪

[exhales]
Now we're talking.

What a blessing.

Give me, like,

and we're seeing 100 days.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

Oh, what a night.
What a night.

[sighs]

Had a dream that I was
eating a pumpkin pie.

[sighs]

Yeah, last night
was the worst night

since I've been here,
for sure.

I don't know, just--
stomach's cramping bad.

I'm mentally usually
a pretty tough person,

but last night
was humbling for sure.

But we'll get up
and do my thing,

keep my mind
in the right place.

[low dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[sniffles]

See where this broth is.

Uh, needs to be warm,

probably just a little
bit more, maybe?

Cool squirrel broth.

It's not where we wanna
be with it, at all.

♪ ♪

Needs to be hot, hot, hot.

Catching a squirrel
is just that relief

knowing you're gonna get
to eat something of substance

other than berries
and rock slime.

And knowing that, you know,
you have broken

that mental barrier
that has made it so hard,

because if you keep
that mental barrier up,

then you've already failed.

And now, what wasn't possible
is right here in my hand

and it's totally possible.

So I think it's gonna be okay.

[exhales]

[sighs deeply]

[grunts and sniffles]

Stomach's cramping again
pretty good.

I'm gonna try to drink
some of this.

[exhales hard]

[sniffles and grunts]

♪ ♪

[gulping]

♪ ♪

[sighs]

[grunting and sniffling]

♪ ♪

[burps]

[retching and coughing]

[foreboding music]

[sniffles and grunts]

♪ ♪

[grunts]

[retches and coughs]

Ugh, [bleep].

Oh, my God.

[sniffles]

[grunts]

That squirrel is the only thing
I had ate--

eaten in a couple days.

♪ ♪

I'm having
some terrible, terrible pains.

Stomach's cramping bad.

[burps]

I'm definitely hurting.

[retches]

♪ ♪

Oh, I gotta get
a little bit of water, [bleep].

♪ ♪

[retching and coughing]

[chokes]

[sniffling and grunting]

♪ ♪

I don't have anything
to throw up.

Good grief.
[sniffles]

[groans]

♪ ♪

[retches]

♪ ♪

Oh, [bleep].

I don't know what's going on.

[birds chirping]

♪ ♪

But the pain
I'm experiencing--

man, you can't keep
any liquid down.

[exhales deeply]

Dehydration is nothing
to play with.

And I'm smart enough to know
that if I push it,

it could get a lot worse.

[sighs deeply]

♪ ♪

[sniffles]

[breathes deeply]

♪ ♪

[device beeping]

[sniffles] Hey, this is Keith.

Uh, man, I'm--
[sighs]

I got something going on
with my stomach.

I'm tapping out.

[breathes deeply]

Ah, [bleep].
[bleep].

[solemn music]

♪ ♪

[sniffles]
Oh, my God.

I'm never gonna live this down.

Definitely like to win it,
but...

the possibility
of a long-term recovery

to get back
to where I need to be--

no amount of money
is worth that.

[grunts and spits]

♪ ♪

Here they are.

♪ ♪

[burps and sniffles]

This is not how I planned it
at all.

[sniffles]

Just a lot
of abdominal cramping.

[burps] I think I've thrown up
everything I can throw up.

And that was mostly water.
[sniffles]

[burps]

[exhales]

[retching]

[gurgles]

[grunting and panting]

Yeah, I've reached my limit.
I think so.

[groaning]

[sighs]

I never saw myself
going out sick.

Matter of fact,
this is the worst way

I could possibly go out.

[groans]

There's no hope
for any future here.

And you know,
in my head is the shame of it.

[retches]

The whole dream is over.

Oh, yes, [bleep] great.

I didn't want to let down
my wife.

That's the last thing in
the world I wanted to do.

But there's definitely
no control out here,

'cause you're dealing
with Mother Nature.

And if you think
you're gonna control

anything that's gonna
happen out here,

then you have no idea
what you're doing,

and you should've stayed
wherever you came from.

♪ ♪

- Coming up, I'll speaki

[dramatic music]

- Welcome to "Alone:
Tales from the Arctic."

I'm Colby Donaldson,
and here tonight

with Mark, Keith, Callie,

Joel, and Roland.

This episode
starts off with something

people have become
very familiar with lately,

and that is cutting
your own hair.

Mark, give us some pointers.

What does it take to give
yourself a good groom?

- Oh, man, well, first,
let me just say that

I didn't plan on going
out there, cutting my hair.

I was so busy preparing
for this show and everything,

and living off the land that
I just forgot to get a haircut

when I got out there.

And I'll tell you right now.

I don't recommend doing it

with a Leatherman,
but it works.

- Yeah, it's not
a very big pair of scissors

on that multi-tool
you have there, is it?

- Oh, no.

- Okay, so this episode

takes us up to day 22.

Callie, checking in with you.

How are you feeling
at this point in the adventure?

- I'm feeling pretty great.

I mean,
I'm stoked to be out there.

I'm loving the experience,

and I was starting to feel,
like, at that point,

I wanted to have a lot done.

I wanted to have my shelter
fully finished

and have a bunch
of food laid in,

and there's just
so much to do to prepare

for an Arctic winter.

I felt like I was
kind of behind in the game.

And then that dream
of the turtles

just let me know, like,
"Nope, it's okay."

So it reassured me that moving
slow was the thing to do

and just take it easy.

- As this point,
I bet you're pretty happy

you brought the snare wire,
huh?

- Oh, yeah, that snare wire
was invaluable.

- What's the trick?

Is it the design
of your snare?

You know, the loop.
Is the placement?

What do you think the key
to your success was

while you were out there?

- My trapline
was very successful,

and I think it's because

I've spent a lot of time
as a tracker.

That's one of my winter jobs,
is tracking.

So I can see
where the animals are moving

and where the rabbits
are moving.

So I can just--I just know
where to put the snare.

So it's placement.

It's understanding
rabbit behavior,

and how you set up the wire
and the snare, of course, too.

- Roland, we see you finally
get some fish

in your gill net.

What'd that feel like
when you finally

started to bring some fish in?

- Yeah,
I should've been fired up.

Eating berries and moss
and a few ants

just ain't getting it,
so when the fish

started coming in,

then you got
a substantial food source.

But it's hard to keep
that net safely in the water.

And I tried shallower places

where if I would've
lost my net,

I could've retrieved it,
but there was no fish there.

You gotta have
that deep drop-off,

and I coined my deep drop-off
Danger Rock

because it was
pretty dangerous

getting that thing in there.

So when the fish
started coming,

I felt strong.

- And, Mark, at this point,
you're eating moss

because you're consuming
so much fish,

you've gotta offset
that fat intake.

Tell us about that.

- I was eating fish
after fish after fish,

and the one thing
I wanted to make sure

I had out there was fat.

And I was getting
enough of it.

That's for sure.

And so it just messed up
my digestive tract.

I mean, it's day 13 or 14.

It got ugly in my sleeping bag

at about 1:00 a.m.
in the morning.

I have had diarrhea pretty bad.

Then I woke up
and my entire sleeping bag

was completely covered.

And it was
as a horrible experience.

I decided, "You know what?
No more of that.

"That will never happen again.
I need to put something else

in my body other than fish."

- Okay, Joel, we gotta talk
about the fly in the ear.

I mean, I think those of us
watching at home,

we could feel it.

It would just--
I can't imagine

how annoying that is.

Talk us through
that whole experience.

- The moment
it went into the ear,

I felt like it was--
like a sensation

that you've felt before,
you get something in your ear.

But when I started
shaking my head

and trying to push
my finger in there

to actually feel,
I realized

that it actually penetrated
my inner ear,

and that I was not able
to take grasp of this fly.

It was literally flying around
my inner ear,

driving me nuts.

And I couldn't get it.

And so I had a little moment
of concern,

'cause what
was going through my mind

was if this thing
flies around--

keeps flying around in my ear,
it's gonna drive me crazy.

But eventually,
it'll die.

But if it dies,

is that gonna cause
an ear infection?

So that's kind of the concern
that I had,

was I didn't want
that infection to take place.

And I tried
a number of things,

as you saw,
but the irrigation

was instantaneous relief

because I think
what I did was just

basically drowned him
straight away,

and he stopped flying
and that was the end of it.

- Nice work.

There's lots to still talk
about when we come

- That is awesome.

So excited to have
a clay play day.

Containers are everything
out there,

so you start bringing in food.

Like, all of us that had food
had probably storage issues.

Where to put the food,
how to store the food,

and also, just basically,

we only had one 2-quart pot,

and so having another pot

means that one pot
could have food in it,

while another could one
have water for washing

or for drinking.

And having multiple containers
just makes life

so much more easy.

And so I was hoping
to find clay.

And on day one
when I was exploring

the territory
that I was dropped in,

I found that clay source,

and I couldn't be
more stoked on it.

- So the safety gear,
the camera gear.

You know, everyone's aware
that "Alone" is self-shot.

The safety crew
is up to an hour away

from you guys and gals.

What they may not be aware of
is just how much safety gear

you're required
to take with you

when you leave your camp
and go out.

So Keith is gonna give us

a little more insight
into that.

Take a look.

♪ ♪

- All right, so I'm fixing
to take off for the day.

I just want to show you
what I have to carry.

I've got two cameras,

GoPro and the big camera
with a tripod.

Extra memory cards for those.

I've got extra batteries.

Extra batteries for the mics.

Then I've got
my little safety bag

with my Yellowbrick
transponder

where they can find me
if something goes bad wrong.

♪ ♪

A sat phone if something
goes super bad wrong.

Then I've got
this little backpack,

when I go far, I have to carry,

and it doesn't have anything
but safety gear in it.

It's got tourniquets,

full first-aid kit,

bear bangers,
bear spray,

and then I have my bow
and my arrows with me.

So they're looking out for you
on the safety realm,

but they sure are
making you pack

a lot of crap through the woods

when you're trying
to slip around.

♪ ♪

- All right, Keith.

Was the gear
and lugging it around--

was it really that bad?

- Yes.

I'm not the kind of guy

that's used
to packing gadgets around.

Let's just say that.

And less is more in my book.

And, man, just--I felt like
a pack mule out there.

And the more area
you're taking up,

the more things
to clang and bang,

the more things
to spook game,

and I did not need any help

not getting game out there.

My camera tripod,

I wanted to wrap that thing
around a tree

three or four times.

Every time you would open up,

it made this horrible sound.

God, I hate this thing.

Yeah, the camera equipment
was that bad.

It really was.
- Mark, I'm curious.

Do you feel the same way?

- Oh, man,
it adds a whole other aspect

to this whole thing,
and it's frustrating.

And, you know,
you're used to going out there

and hunting and surviving
and living off the land,

doing it the way
you normally do it.

And you're not carrying
all this stuff.

It just doesn't make sense,
but we have to, you know?

I mean, I'm glad we had it.
Don't get me wrong.

But it definitely hindered
your ability

to do what you
wanted to do sometimes.

- Roland, in the end,
does it make sense, though,

to carry all
that safety equipment

that you're required
to lug around?

- You'd just
figure it out or die

if you didn't have
all that safety stuff.

But then the camera
in your hand all the time,

that makes you
a one-armed man.

We're doing this
one hand behind our back

'cause one hand's full
with a camera, always.

- Keith, it's time.

We gotta talk about

that agonizing tap-out
of yours.

First of all,
do you think there's any irony

in the fact that...

you know,
you joked about tapping out

and ordering a pizza?

- Oh, yeah.
Looking back,

I have to laugh about it.

And, you know,
I also have to wonder

if it wasn't
a little foreboding,

because it seems like
just a day or two after that,

you know,
I started really feeling

like I was hitting a wall
as far as physically.

Mentally, I still felt good,

but my body was just--
it wasn't having any of it.

- Shed a little light
for the viewers at home.

What happens
when they come retrieve you?

Where do you go?

What takes place immediately
following your tap-out?

- Yeah, I mean,
everybody thinks

that you tap out,
boom,

you're home,

and that is definitely
not the case.

I know for me,
gave me some shots

to stop all the cramping,

and I was still vomiting
when I came into camp.

And then you're going
in a refeeding program

because your body

is the one thing
you cannot control.

And you do not know
how it's gonna react

because you have never put it
under the kind of stress

that you have out there.

So you come back into camp,

and you are
attended to medically,

or, worst-case scenario,

you're flown out
to the hospital.

Put it in perspective.

I gained six pounds back
in 24 hours.

That's how dehydrated I was.

- Okay, I have
one final question for you.

That self-administered
primitive tattoo--

you had 25 dots on there
representing 25 days.

But you tapped out at day 22.

Is that a permanent reminder
of that situation?

- Here's a great thing
about primitive ink.

If you get on it pretty quick,
it won't set.

I was able to scrub
a few of them out.

- That's what I was gonna say.

Did you erase the whole thing,

or just take
three of the dots off there?

- You gotta be real careful.

You can get three
of the dots off

because I did not
want to have to look

at my ankle
the rest of my life,

and be like, "Jeez, you know,

Because that was my goal
at that point,

but, you know,
your body ultimately

is gonna tell you
when you're done.

- Well, then with that,
I'd like to thank

Mark, Keith, Callie,
Joel, and Roland.

Tune in each week
after the episodes,

when we'll be talking
with the participants

about their experience.