12x03 - Thirst Trap

[bunniefuu]

It's getting very hot.

I'm freaking thirsty as hell.

I don't know how contaminated
this water is.

So I need to make sure from
now on, I filter it somehow.

It's crazy that something so
simple becomes a challenge.

Man, this water is rank.

You can smell it.

All right, let's let this boil,

scout some hunting spots.

There's a big kudu bull.

, he saw me.

It'd be a bad idea
to take an animal that big

right now, though.

Here's this warthog.

It's so exciting
that I have food.

It is a morale booster like
you can't even imagine,

to stay out here
for a long time.

I'm just lounging in South
Africa, eating a warthog.

No big deal.

It's real hard to find
anything positive right now.

Caught a fish,
wasn't happy about it.

Something's wrong.

I'm officially tapping out.

Depression is real, people.

They call this place
the land of great thirst.

The Great Karoo Desert,
South Africa.

We are in one of the most
inhospitable places on Earth.

10 participants,

whoever can stay
the longest wins.

It's pretty simple.

I found the baboons.

There's 10 of them,
but I only have 5 arrows.

This place is dry, dry, dry.

The sun's beating down
on you every day.

I'm so tired
and I'm so thirsty.

Oh, man.

I really don't feel safe
drinking this water.

This is a place to be,
if not feared,

treated with a lot of respect.

I changed my mind!

Look at the size of that thing.

There's a big herd
of wildebeest right there.

Rhino tracks.

Meat's back on the menu, boys.

They call Cape Buffalo
the Black Death for a reason.

They'll just straight up
k*ll you.

We don't control the game.

Here we go, flooding.

This is nothing
compared to what's coming.

It hurts so much, man.

It's freaking ice.

So the question is,
how strong of a mind

do you need to have
to win this?

Whoo!

What the
did I get myself into?

Long, cold night.

The last one to tap walks
out of here with 500 grand.

This is one of
the hardest things

that a person can do
in their life.

Oh, my gosh.

It's another great day
in Africa.

What's going on, guys?

Time to go fishing.

I already got
all my stuff ready.

All I need
is the last of my bait,

which is the scorpion
that we pinned under a rock.

Go ahead and cut his tail off,
cut his pincers off.

I want to show you
something cool, though.

Let me turn off my light.

And bust out this UV light.

Isn't that cool?

Look how they glow.

They freaking glow in the dark,
dude, with this UV light.

All right, I just wanted to
show y'all that real quick.

Turn my headlight back on.

But that's it.

It's gonna be bait
for us, guys.

We'll go ahead
and take it down to the lake.

Time to go fishing.

And now we wait.

Catfish are active at night.

Not only that, but daytime
temperatures are hot.

You don't really want to
be out on a lake shore

being beat by the sun.

The morning is real cool
hours, as is the evening,

so you want to utilise
that time to do other projects

that are otherwise
labor intensive.

Come on,
daddy needs some calories.

Let's try this spot.

Check that out.

That's what I'm talking about.

That's a catfish.

I think it's
a sharptooth catfish.

That's what's up.

He's dead now.

This is gonna be my main
staple of protein and fat.

I'll save that for later.

But it's funny 'cause
I don't like fish.

Don't like shrimp,
don't like crab,

don't like anything
out of the water.

So my strategy
on dealing with that

is just to absolute
power through it, man.

I know in my mind
that this is what

I'm gonna need
to keep me alive.

I'm hoping I'm hungry enough
that it won't be a factor,

that I'll just scarf it down,
man.

Catfish on the fire, baby.

Yeah.

All right.

It's not bad, but [bleep]damn,
there's bones everywhere.

Dude, I don't know
if I'm just hungry or what,

but that doesn't
taste fishy at all.

Just tastes like

white, tender meat.

Has fish always
tasted like that?

What the hell
was my problem, man?

And that's it, guys.

First meal on "Alone."

The first catfish
William Lamb has ever eaten.

Aren't you proud of me?

Warthog holes,
a bunch of warthogs.

Good to know.

So I definitely got to drink
more water today.

Drink more water.

You, drink more water.

Yeah, you,
sitting on the couch,

lying in bed,

on your phone watching this,

drink more water.

We all need it,

no matter what.

Unless you just chugged one
gallon of water right now,

you need to drink more water.

So what I want to do,

get me some rocks
to build me a water cache.

This is a good one.

Oh, frog, cool.

Hi, little guy.

You're lucky I'm not starving,
I'd use you as bait.

You can live today.

No sense in taking
more than what I need.

Harvesting my warthog

was a plan that paid off
very quickly.

It's so exciting
that I have food.

So I'm not sh**ting anything

until I have about
two days left of jerky.

There's just no need.

Physically, I'm feeling great.

I'm feeling strong.

And so I'm gonna focus
on water.

I'm hot.

The heat is a huge factor.

Super important
to stay hydrated.

I'm drinking about one pot
a day,

but it's not enough.

I'm making this water cache

so I do not have to rely on
building fires

every single day.

Then that's less work
that I need to do

in the heat of the day
to boil water.

I can just get it
right from my water cache.

This should hold
four to six quarts.

That's like three pots full.

I can always build it up more.

I am putting a piece
of my tarp

inside of that circular
structure to make a trough.

Yeah, nice water cache.

Let's get some water.

If I drink all my water
in the pot

while hunting
or out on a hike,

I can come back and know

that there's water
available readily.

All right,
I think I can hold two pots,

so that's way better than none.

Then I just need to find some
rocks to put on top of this.

Another one on that side.

I mean, that's pretty decent.

OK, let's get some food in me.

I've been on great highs of
harvesting my first big game

with my recurve bow.

I can definitely separate
my life of saving animals,

my life as a vet tech,
rescuing animals,

and then my love
for the outdoors

and providing food
for my family.

Warthog by the pond.

I wonder if anybody else has
eaten warthog by the water.

We need to hunt and harvest
animals to survive as humans.

And that's what I do
and that is my passion.

That's my duck.

That's my duck.

Hey, buddy.

Can we zoom out?

Yeah.

Damn, I'm beautiful.

My shelter is
coming along good.

I'm happy with it.

But I'm spending too much time
trying to keep the fire going

and boiling water.

I don't have time to go
hunting or fishing.

I need something to store
the water in after I boil it.

This looks like some kind of
agave or something.

And the Native Americans
would take some yucca

and would take the bottom part
and then make a water bottle,

drink container, whatever.

So I'm gonna see if I can
do something like that.

So water's a big thing.

We're in a desert.

And I worked at a water plant
for 24 years.

I understand the bacteria

and other creepy crawlies
that are in water.

So I'm not tapping out
for water at all.

Personally,
I couldn't live that down.

Dehydration is a k*ller.

You know,
water is the three-day thing.

You don't have good water
for three days,

you know, that'll k*ll you.

So water to me is the
number one skill that I bring.

I'm gonna take it back to camp
and kind of process it some.

All right,
so I got this agave home.

I like how I call this home.

And I'm gonna try
to burn it in half right here

so I don't have to...

use my machete

and waste a bunch of, uh,

chopping.

I didn't invent it.

Your Southwestern tribes
did this in America.

And I've never done it
like this before,

but normally
I have a bigger saw,

and I'd have just sawed it.

I don't know
how many people said

they weren't taking
a water bottle.

And I was like, are you crazy?

Because if you don't bring
a water bottle,

you boil the water and you're
drinking out of your pot.

Every time I think of a fire,
I think of so many memories.

I think of sitting around
a fire with Steve Watts

and Errett Callahan,
my teachers and mentors.

They were masters of
their crafts--geniuses--

and they taught me so much.

All right.

So I'm back to the hard stuff.

They embraced me into the
world of primitive technology,

but I didn't just learn
primitive technology

from Steve and Errett;

I learned about life.

Some people don't have
a father figure in their life,

but I was fortunate enough
to have three of them...

A lot of room.

That all taught me
different things about life.

And I want to win for them.

I have, uh,

no idea of volume
on something like this,

but it's over a gallon.

I got a freaking

container here.

Agave root ball

container.

Damn.

I saw a little bird on a tree.

I tried to hit it with a rock.

Yeah, right.

I haven't eaten much,
but doing all right.

Still feel good,
still feel strong.

But I need a substantial
amount of meat

to survive here.

I'm going back up the mountain.

Hopefully, I'll k*ll something
big like that kudu

that I saw the other day or
any of the other big animals.

I gotta get something before I
can't make that climb no more.

I just hope I'm hydrated
enough to get there and back.

'Cause I didn't bring
a canteen, I brought a pot.

So my pot's sitting
back at camp.

See that waterbuck bull running
up the hill already.

I'm gonna follow them
a little bit,

seeing if I can't track them.

I know my family, everybody,

they're rooting for me
back at home.

They know I can do it.

Do I know that I can do it?

It's freaking hot.

That sun is just right on you.

You know, my dad taught me
a lot of things.

He taught me what not to do.

I remember him raising a hand
at my mom.

I remember
him coming home drunk,

you know, and then just--

just stuff just spiralled
out of control.

And it definitely
had an impact on me.

And I don't want to be
like that.

This trail is like a staircase.

Now I have my own son.

I have a wife.

And, you know, my goal in life
is to learn as much as I can,

do something great,

do something amazing,

have some big boots
for my boy to fill.

I want to leave
the legend of Lamb,

not just my legend,
but my family name.

To win "Alone" would
be a good way for me

to create the legend of Lamb.

I kind of want to see
how close I can get.

All right, man,

I'm making it down the hill.

That was frustrating.

I'm tired.

That takes so much out of you.

I'm starting to feel hungry.

Damn, I'm kicking myself
in the a*s

for not k*lling that kudu now.

I don't know if I'll be
letting any more animals

go like that if
I see them again.

15, 20 yards away,
I should have just--

I should have just stuck him.

I should have.

There's a dead head.

I think it's a waterbuck.

Oh, my gosh.

How badass is this?

There's another one right here.

No way.

Whoo!

OK.

I really got to
get my shelter up.

That's the one, right here.

It's like the straightest one.

The design I'm going to use
for my shelter is very simple.

I'm going to cut
two bluebush trees down

to use as two main beams.

And I'm gonna lay the tarp
on top of it.

OK, we need to get
it stripped down.

They're gonna lay
on the riverbank edge

and come out
and be held up by two tripods.

Unless a giant storm comes,
this will suffice.

And if a giant storm does come,
then, you know,

lesson learned, OK?

My main considerations
for setting up my shelter

is location to the water,

being very close
to my water source.

The dry riverbed
is the best spot

because there's no rocks.

I don't have to take the time
and the energy

to move a bunch of rocks away.

Rocks are also home
and habitat

for snakes and scorpions.

I will have no worries
of any of those

if I'm sleeping
in the dry riverbed on sand.

The sand is a tiny bit softer
than the hard ground as well.

Yeah, that's what I wanted.

Yeah.

OK.

I'm gonna to have to sleep
diagonal, which is fine.

Actually, it's kind of nice.

This is gonna work.

It'll work, I just got to get
everything tied down.

I just need somewhere to sleep.

I'm not gonna
be in here all day.

Or if it were to rain,

you know, I'll be washed away
in this dried riverbed--

as long as I get it on film.

So I'm gonna get some reeds
for my little bed.

We are going
right into winter.

The nights are
going to get cold.

They're gonna get down
into the low 20s.

I'm going to have
frost everywhere.

I don't need a whole lot.

I just need to keep my stuff
dry from the frost.

Well, that's all I'm gonna do
for right now.

Breeze is getting cool.

I need to put on
my nightclothes already.

It's gonna be
a cold one tonight.

Let's go look at our birds.

So I noticed over here a
bunch of, like, swallow birds.

Oh, they're so pretty.

Oh, man, they're so pretty.

They're like kookaburras.

It's fun watching the birds.

It's like my little
National Geographic evening.

They're talkative tonight.

All I need is--

what's his name?
Um...

David Attenborough,
is that his name?

To be narrating.

This species of bird

only lives in cave dwellings

on the side of clay hills.

This very colourful bird...

is active
mostly in the evenings.

OK,
that's a terrible impression.

He does it--he just--
he just narrates way better.

All right,
time to go fishing.

Let's test it out.

Hopefully,
it will catch us some fish.

Let's see.

I'm not used to fishing
with a spool like this.

I came to love nature
as a young kid in Cuba

because that's where
I felt freedom.

I had communists everywhere
listening and stuff like that,

so I learned to be quiet,
be careful what you say.

I gotta learn to whisper.

Cubans talk loud.

I still remember
the first time

my dad took me fishing.

I remember him saying this,

"Right here you can tell me
whatever you want.

You can talk about
whatever you want."

I need something to eat, man.

My energy is draining.

I'm living off my fat.

We used to talk about
leaving the country,

wanting to be
in the United States.

My dad was trying to get out
of Cuba forever.

He would go to the embassy
every few months

trying to get the visa.

And they tell him, no.
No, no, no, no.

Come on, fishy, fishy.

Then in 1980,
my dad went to the embassy

and they said,
"You've been approved."

Me and my dad, my sister,
and my mom

got the visas
to leave the country.

My brothers had to stay behind
because...

No success.

I have to try later on

when I start seeing them
more active.

I have to get in
the shade, man.

Whoo.

That sun is no joke.

I'm gonna take a little break,

get more water,

boil it, and drink it.

Gotta go back to my normal
routine, making water.

It's already getting hot.

And I gotta stay hydrated, so.

The pot is almost full,
so I can have a sip.

So when it cools down--

Oh, [bleep].
Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.

That was not good.

Oh, man.

I just wanted to open the lid.

And this thing just
wanted to go overboard.

Ooh, that was close.

I feel like
I need to escape the sun.

The heat beating on me
is taking a toll.

I want to start working
on the permanent shelter,

but trying to stay hydrated
is becoming a big task.

I'm gonna make some kind of
dome shelter.

So what I'm gonna do,

probably make a hole so I can
put the branches in the ground.

And then I can bend them

without them slipping
off the ground.

So let's start
with a little hole here

and see how this goes.

Something so simple here
as just getting water

is about six steps.

You gotta go get water,
filter it with the bandana,

get some firewood,
heat up the water,

boil the water,
wait till it cools off,

and then you can drink
the water.

It's not as simple
as it looks.

I'm drinking just enough
just to keep up a little bit.

But still, it's not enough.

It's getting me dehydrated.

I feel it.

So with the sun
being so brutal right now,

this shelter that I want to do
needs to get done.

Because right now, my temporary
shelter is a lean-to

and part of the shelter
is open.

So I have to get out
of the sun.

OK.

Man, I'm tired just doing that.

The sun is just k*lling me.

Damn, man.

Take a little break.

Feeling a little nau--

nauseated.

I gotta go in the shade
and rest a little bit.

It doesn't matter
how much water I drink,

I'm always thirsty,

especially once it start
getting around this time.

Mm.

My throat is dry,
my lips are dry.

I don't have much energy
to do anything.

I can't keep going
like this, man.

I'm just running out of steam.

My energy's just drained.

Physically,
I'm feeling weak

and I'm having
more negative thoughts.

Yeah, we'll see.

I'm trying, guys, I'm trying.

Trying, people, I'm trying.

Not easy.

I don't think
I can keep going like this.

I can't keep up.

, I feel lightheaded.

All right.

Oh, man.

A little bit of water left.

It shouldn't be this difficult,

but it's been difficult today.

I feel a little nauseous.

, I feel lightheaded.

I think dehydration
and drinking this water

play a big part.

One of the items I wish
I brought was a water bottle,

just to keep it with me.

It's just like,
I will do something

and I get dehydrated,
I gotta boil the water,

drink the water.

And I'm always thirsty.

It's just k*lling me.

It's harder than it looks, folks.

Well, it is time.

It's just too much.

Hello, this is Pablo.

I'm officially tapping out.

And it's done.

There's no way I would have
made it, not with this water.

I think I hear a boat.

Yeah, I see it.

Sad moment.

Didn't want it to happen,
but it's very hard here.

During the day, I couldn't
keep up with hydrating myself.

I kept getting water,
boiling water, drinking water,

and then whenever I go do
something, I gotta do it again.

And it was taking a beat on me.

This has been a dream of mine.

And it was very hard for me
to tap out,

especially when you have fought
so hard to come here

and to be here.

I did not see myself ending
this experience like this.

I'm disappointed I didn't
get to win the $500,000

because that would have been
life-changing

for me and my family.

And it's gonna haunt me
every day.

But I'm not willing to risk

being so dehydrated that
something else might happen.

This experience has given me
a new perspective

on the sacrifices
my parents made for me.

Coming from Cuba with all
the struggles and everything,

they already gave me
the American dream.

I don't need to go through
all that ever again.

I want to honour my parents by
being the best possible person

I can be,

to never take anything
for granted,

to appreciate
everything I have.

I don't know what's gonna be
the next step for me,

but I know my family
is gonna be proud of me

no matter what.

All right, back to
cooking with William Lamb,

South African cuisine.

Got our first piece
of prickly pear.

I just want to burn
the needles off.

Burn them real good, though.

They got big needles,
and then they got

real fine needles,

like hairs almost,
at the base of them.

You just want to make sure
you get everywhere.

All right.

Dice it up.

Throw it in the pot.

I've been kind of
shying away from it

just 'cause I know
it tastes like crap.

But, uh,

I'm gonna have to start
eating something,

something more
than these beans.

What is it, day five now?

One catfish,

and I don't even know
how much acacia beans.

I'd have to say maybe
like a pound?

Two pounds?

It'd be nice to roast this up.

This is good enough
to make a turd.

That's what my dad
used to say--

"That ought to make a turd."

We'll call that good, guys.

Desert survival food--

cactus and acacia beans.

There's one.

And it does,
it tastes like acacia.

Mm.

It's hot,

it's good,
and it's going in my belly.

Well...

first day since that catfish

that I've had
something substantial.

It may just be cactus and
freaking beans, but whatever.

I'm gonna scarf this down,

get this tarp up.

I just gotta figure
this stuff out, man.

That's all it is.

I just gotta figure it out.

I'm just out here
problem solving.

I sure hope my stomach
don't hurt tomorrow.

I've never eaten
this much cactus

without eating anything else,
you know?

My body might act weird,
but I know you can eat it.

It just takes some adjustment.

I'll tell you guys,
it sure does feel good

to get something in my belly.

I gotta throw up.

What the [bleep]?

There's a lot of blood
in there.

I don't know what the hell--

I don't know why
there was a lot of blood.

It's like half blood.

It couldn't have been
that cactus.

It was too quick.

I just ate it today.

It doesn't have enough time
to go through me.

Something's not right.

There's a lot of blood.

I don't know what it means.

I don't know
what to do about it.

Something's wrong, man.

All points, all points,
we have a red button alert.

Mobilise at the boat.

Copy that.

That's him there.

Hey, Will.

You know where you're at?

Yeah?

Yeah?

You warm enough there, Will?

- I'm cold as [bleep].
- Cold?

- I'm sweating.
- Let's get you warmed up.

Stuart, do you want
to pass me that sweater?

Sorry for what, Will?

So, Will,

what have you ingested today?

What have you been eating
and drinking?

Acacia?

Roasted acacia beans.

Yeah?

And some prickly pear
cactus today.

Prickly pear cactus?

Did you roast the
prickly pear cactus?

Boiled it?

So lots of acacia seeds?

Did that come with
the vomiting or before?

Before?

You all right there, Will?

Yeah, I'm gonna cut off
the connection, Stuart--

- Will?
- I'm gonna fold it--

It's all right,
I just want to check

you're still with us,
all right?

Just keep talking to me.

So we'll take a little bit
and fold it over, OK?

Listen,
we're getting a stretcher

to come take you out, OK?

We think it's very unsafe
for you.

Listen,
we're gonna start attempting

to get you to the boat now.

From the boat, we can take
you back to forward base camp

and take it from there.

We got you, buddy.

Everything you do can have
a positive or negative effect,

and I'm tired
of starting over.

- Watch your legs.
- You're doing well, Will.

I'm tired
of making bad choices

that's gonna set me back,
you know?

From now on,
I'm only going up.

This is definitely
an important chapter

in making my story
and my legend.

One, two, three.

You know,
that legend of Lamb.

'Cause, you know,
we get all kinds

of opportunities in life.

And I'm just a poor
ranch worker from Texas.

If it wasn't for
this opportunity,

I would have never been able
to even set foot in Africa,

never even have
the opportunity to try this.

What I want to take away
from this experience

is I want my boy to grow up
with more than what I had.

$500,000 would have been
a good start

to take care of my family,

but hopefully there's
many chapters in this legend

and hopefully there's a lot
more triumphs than failures.

What is that?

Oh, my God, guys.

I can't afford to
let opportunities go.

All of my plans,
it kind of all

goes out the window
when you're hungry.

What kind of survivalist
would I be

if I had never tried
a scorpion?

Wow.

Hold.

Oh, my God.