13x04 - Cold Omen

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music]

[Pedrosa] Holy [bleep].

It's the moose.

♪

[bleep].

Maybe I will have
second opportunity.

[Poldi] I'm feeling
really, really good.

♪

Nature is like
the ultimate freedom

and just the open schedule.

It just seems
so right for my brain.

[Aaron] My strategy is to get
my shelter built right away.

Then I can focus on hunting,
fishing, and acquiring food.

[groans]

We just caught Moby d*ck.

[Andrew] At the moment,
it's just about spray and pray

and try and put out
as many passive means

of getting food as possible.

Trap line produces.

[howling]

♪

[tense music]

♪

[suspenseful music]

♪

[Aaron] I'm contemplating
doing something

very silly
and maybe very stupid.

Thinking about
falling this tree.

Fashion up a wedge.

The only crazy thing is,

it's leaning towards my shelter,

which I don't even know
if I should risk,

but the reason why I want
to cut this tree...

it's perfect
for finishing off my...

for finishing off my shelter.

It's got all the wood
I think I should need.

And I'm thinking,
if I can saw it enough,

get this wedge in here,
bang it in,

I should be able to get it
to fall the right way.

I just, uh... taking a few
minutes to think about it,

'cause it could go very bad,

and it'd be extremely dumb.

I just need to push it this way.

Like, but do you need
the tree that bad?

Nothing ventured,
nothing gained.

This might be the dumbest thing
you've ever seen on "Alone."

[suspenseful music]

I feel great.
I got lots of food.

♪

I feel I need to really

take my time with things,

especially decisions
that hold a lot of weight.

I don't need to rush,
but I need to get things done,

because there's only a limited
amount of time to do it.

Don't go this way.

This might have been dumb.

[thudding]

No, go that way.

[cracking]

Holy! Thank goodness.

[sighs]

Just out here
being a lumberjack.

The old grandpa would be proud.

[tense music]

♪

I've been working really hard,
but in doing so,

I'm also burning
a lot of calories.

♪

Yeah, what a guy could do
with a chainsaw around here.

You never know when your next
meal is gonna come, so...

[thuds]

Trying to balance the working

and the hunting
and fishing is...

we just got to keep doing
what we're doing.

♪

A buddy said, before I left,

if I'm not hunting,
fishing, or working,

I'm slowly quitting.

♪

It stuck in my mind.

I don't want to be a quitter.

♪

Yeah, so now I kind of...

gonna make somewhat
of a vise, a holder,

so that I can put
my firewood or small wood

that I'm gonna cut, put it here

and make a vise system
that I can lock it down,

and I can saw on this side,
just without,

like, trying to hold it and saw.

Just...

I don't know if it's gonna work,

but what else do we got to do?

[pensive music]

[sawing]

The amount of work, off the bat,

is hard on the body and mind,

getting yourself set up
for the winter months

that we know are coming,

and doing that with
a limited amount of tools,

limited food,
and in bear-dense population.

You got to be on your toes,

always doing... always
looking out for yourself,

but working extremely hard.

♪

It's go fast, but slow down.

Go in the crack.

It's a weird mixture.

♪

This is coming over.

I'm willing to push my body
to the limit.

Obviously, there is a limit
that the body can take.

So if I'm not feeding it
or taking care of myself,

then the body will break.

Mother Nature is undefeated.

♪

Now, this is your
locking mechanism here.

It locks it down.

And this is your thing.

So if you got a smaller piece,
you just unlock it,

twist it a bunch, push it down.

[groans]

And then put this on.

Ting. It ain't going nowhere.

OK. Now to make the X.

♪

Everything out here
is a learning curve.

You definitely learn.

You know,
it's a familiar place, Canada,

but it's unfamiliar ground,
essentially.

I haven't stayed in a swamp.

I've hunted 'em, I've seen 'em,

I've been around 'em, but this?

Yeah.

No, I've never built stuff
in it either.

♪

Nothing you can't do
with two feet and a heartbeat

and a little work ethic.

[sawing]

There's a lot of...
like, do it wrong,

figure out the right way,
then, you know, build.

OK, now we've got it
figured out.

Everything I've done
so far is like,

there's been issues,

but then we've overcome
those issues.

♪

It's gonna be lots
of problem-solving out here,

and I think I'm doing
a good job at that,

but I still need to slow down.

Last wall.

Should be able
to get her done tonight.

[tense music]

♪

Oh, that just came
off the bone nicely.

I just thought...

[spits]

Episode one is usually

the first five people.

Episode two is usually
the second five people.

Not sure when episode one cut...

maybe day four.

So it could have been...

Nero's boot failure.

So my foot feels quite wet.

Boot repair.

There's my temporary repair.

Nero explores land
and finds bunch of junk

down by the river.

What is this?

I just found a container.

Got some wire, a little cog.

Well, it could have been

the start of the success
of my trap line.

A good-sized snowshoe hare.

The trap line produces.

Got myself a muskrat.

♪

So...

It would be cool, though,
if it ended

on me bringing in

a beaver.

I got cameras rolling,
just in case.

That'd be a pretty sick ending
to the episode.

[tense music]

Today is about getting
the smoker sorted out,

because I do have excess food

that I need to start
making safe,

particularly in this wet weather.

So, yes, so I'm literally
just gonna have it here

and just gonna
just start weaving

and putting in
uprights and stuff

and essentially just build
the... the smoker here.

The fish is gonna spoil
quicker than the muskrat

and the snowshoe hare.

It's gonna attract more
predators and scavengers.

I've got around
about 40 snares out.

And it's a combination
of snowshoe hare,

beaver, and muskrat.

But I just needed to get
as many out as possible,

because the more snares
that I get out,

the more I increase my
possibility of getting food.

Quantity is better than quality.

And then, over time,
that quantity

will then turn into quality.

Beaver, 100%, is something that

I really, really want to get,

because there's a whole heap
of calories in them,

but they're small enough
that you can manage that food

in one go pretty well,

whereas trying to manage
a moose or a caribou

in this environment,
while it's still so wet,

there's, like,
a high risk of spoilage.

But the biggest thing for me
is the amount of fat

that I can get off it.

Fat is liquid gold out here.

It's what allows you
to stay warm.

It allows you
to process protein.

It's everything.

♪

[wind whistling]

All right.

Base complete.

[whistles]

[sighs]

OK, I am not gonna do
a door tonight.

I can do door tomorrow,
because I know, otherwise,

I'm just gonna rush it.

And then, hopefully,
we'll have game

to start this baby up soon.

[sighs] OK.

[ominous music]

♪

[beaver grunting]

[tense music]

♪

[rain pattering]

[Nero sighs]

I should repair that boot.

♪

I can see that the stitching
that I originally did,

at some stage, is gonna fail,

so I'm just going
a bit wider on it.

Gonna get the old
spruce resin out.

[tense music]

It might just break off
as soon as it dries.

♪

I really have no idea.

Having to deal with this rain
is really, really annoying

and having to, like,
just dry things out.

You know, my boot's broken,

and it's just
making things really,

really difficult to manage.

And there's just a cold dampness

to the air, which...

it kind of actually
gets into you more

and penetrates more than
what the actual dry cold is.

So I'm always constantly just
drying my socks and my liners.

Everything gets dirty and muddy,

and everything just
turns into brown,

and it just...
it's not what I expected.

[rain pattering]

She ain't pretty, but...

All she's gotta do is hold.

Keep holding
until the cold comes.

I need to go check my trap line,

'cause that's gonna determine
whether I'm processing food

tonight or working on my door.

♪

Nice. The rain stopped.

Cool.

So my family and I are, like,
avid board-gamers.

And one of the first board games

that I played with my son,

it was, like,
a cooperative board game.

You start at
a helicopter landing spot,

and then you go around
the island,

and, you know, complete
the different tasks.

Meanwhile,
the island is sinking.

So you're trying to finish
all those tasks,

working together,
and then once you finish,

you then need to get back

to that same
helicopter landing spot,

and then that's where
you exit the island,

and that's how you win the game.

♪

Instead of my island slowly
getting consumed by water,

it's gonna be slowly getting
consumed by snow and ice.

I need to complete all my tasks

before the bitter cold arrives,

and then a helicopter ride
back out of here.

I win the game.

[rustling]

Oh. [sighs]

The snare cinched down
on something.

[sighs deeply]

♪

Oh, got a little bit caught.

Just went straight past
my snare.

The snare was too small.

♪

But it looks like
there's beaver tracks.

Very exciting.

♪

Oh, see, I underestimated
the power of the beaver.

♪

We can't do this
back in Australia,

snaring and trapping.

So I can't practice this
and get better.

♪

[sighs]

I need to fix my snares.

Hopefully this land
believes in redemption.

Hopefully I can get that beaver.

[leaves rustling]

[dramatic music]

♪

[loud chittering]

[chittering]

I go check my snares,

and I need my bow and arrows.

I have so much to do.

[chittering]

[tense music]

I'm here to test my limits
and myself.

You get stronger.

You get self-confident
by being outdoors.

That's why I'm here.

I want to prove to myself

that I can stay here
much longer,

that I can,
and that it's possible.

I have the will to survive.

♪

Yeah.

I catch a rabbit in the snare.

Look.

It's broken.

Look.

Look.

Something took it first,
maybe a fox.

♪

[sniffs]

♪

That's why you need
to check snares in the morning,

in the first daylight.

♪

[sniffs]

Everything that lives
in this place want food.

Damn.

♪

I lost one rabbit.

Yeah, what a shame.

I have a lot of things to do.

I have my shelter to finish.

I want to go fish.

I need to hunt.

I need to have food.

This is a bad sign for me.

I call this the dead walk,

a walk where you found nothing.

The way to starvation.

♪

Rose hips...

will be my lunch today,

because you are a bad hunter.

♪

Dealing with problems

and being calm
in difficult situations,

to go ahead and adapt
and overcome yourself

is necessary.

♪

Let's go back to the camp.

♪

That's it.

I'm learning with mistakes.

[rustling]

[tense music]

♪

[chittering]

Squirrel again.

♪

[bow cracks]

[dramatic music]

[Pedrosa] Squirrel.

♪

[bow cracks]

Damn.

♪

It's a waste.

[tense music]

My hands are cold.

♪

I need to go back
to the shelter.

♪

I am all wet.

No more.

I cannot sh**t no more
for a squirrel in a tree.

♪

Yeah, I found my arrow.

♪

Yes.

Let's go back to the camp.

♪

You know, the first day,
the ground squirrel

that I catch, it felt so easy.

I start with so much
confidence in my bow.

Let's remain calm and humble.

It's a grouse.

[suspenseful music]

♪

I shot the grouse, finally.

♪

Finally.

[breathing heavily]

Finally.

♪

Thank you.

[wings thudding]

Thank you. Thank you.

♪

I don't know if
it's a grouse or ptarmigan,

but at least I know
where they are.

Thank you, God.

Awesome, man.

Awesome.

[dramatic music]

♪

[Aaron] I definitely don't
want to get out of bed.

I'm pretty cozy here.

I slept really good last night.

Feeling pretty homey in here.

Today's project is probably
to work on the fireplace.

I want to get
this fireplace started,

and then I can... because I want
to start concentrating

on hunting here really soon.

It's starting to get
that cold, fall feeling.

So it should make
the moose start rutting,

make all the animals
start moving.

So rain stopped.

We're gonna get up
and get at 'em.

Coming at ya.

♪

I still need to figure out
my fire and my shelter.

So I plan on building a frame
out of 2-inch sticks

and then mud and have a chimney

going out through the roof,

and I could be good
for a long, long time.

I need to calm down and relax,
not push my body too hard.

Breathe.

Like, this is a marathon,
not a sprint.

And just work
a little bit slower,

a little more methodical.

I keep telling myself,

don't get hyper-focused
on things.

And I don't think I am,
because, like,

the shelter's have done,
the smoker's half done.

It's like, I got
so many projects half done.

OK, let's tie these together.

Oh, yeah.

If I can maintain, like,
the projects,

where it's like, I feel like
I'm playing catch-up

or I'm behind,
and I need to keep working,

I think my time here...

I don't want to say
it'll be easy,

but, like, right now, I...

it ain't bugging me one bit.

♪

OK, that's the base.
That will sit on the fire.

And now we'll just go,
boop, boop, boop, boop.

And then those will sit
on top of that.

[thudding]

[bleep] off.

Bugger off.

[thudding]

So I swear I started talking
like my grandpa.

He'd always be like...

[chuckles]

Son of a bear!

[thudding]

Like, obviously, I miss home.

I miss everybody,
I miss family and loved ones

and whatnot,
but we got a goal in mind,

and we're going for it.

You mother trucker. [sniffs]

[light music]

It's not gonna be much more
than three months.

Like, if it's four months,
you know,

four months of my life
will set me up for life, so...

I don't think it'll take much
to heat the little cabin.

I think there'll be a lot
of trials and tribulations

and problems
you have to work through,

but as for now...

keep it rolling.

She's a slow,
tedious project, folks.

♪

We're gonna go down
and check our fish lines.

Hopefully they're full.

Fishing, to me,
is very important.

I think if I catch


I can be here 90 to 100 days.

That's the plan.

[tense music]

♪

Nothing.

♪

That one might have one, though.

This one's gonna be tricky, boy.

But I think it's got one.

♪

Come on, baby. Come on, baby.

No, no, no, no.

Get the [bleep] up here.

Oh.

Yes, sir.

♪

[thudding]

♪

Yes.

Whoo!

What a good day.

A fish a day keeps
the medic away,

so we're happy.

That's a decent-sized pike too.

♪

I need to be able to catch
fish so I get more fat.

There it is,
ladies and gentlemen.

♪

Fat out here is so important,

just because you burn
so much of it.

You need it to insulate you,
to turn to energy.

Just that's what
our bodies run off of.

It's a female.

A little bit of roe.

♪

Look at the heart still beating.

♪

Crazy, eh?

I've just got to keep working,

keep pushing the pace out here.

We got things to do,
things we need to get done,

so we just got to keep working.

So there. You have a clean fish.

OK.

Go get water, boil some fish.

Let's get after it.

♪

[tense music]

♪

[Andrew] Good evening.

Yesterday was productive.

I started my full-time shelter,
built most of the raised beds.

So today I'll be finishing that

and making a start on the frame.

And depending on how I feel,
I may even finish

the lean-to part of that today.

So it feels... it feels good,

except this continual concern

about where my next meal
is coming from.

And I know that's "Alone."

That's... that is the game.

Where do you get it from?
But same old story.

You're probably getting really
tired of hearing me say,

I can't find food!

But I can't just manage
on berries alone,

so I'm gonna have
to find something.

♪

With the temperatures dropping,

I'm definitely feeling
some pressure

to get this permanent
shelter finished.

I don't really want to be
caught under a tarp

with snow coming down

and temperatures dropping
to minus forty,

so there is a slight pressing
need to get things done,

but I don't really
beat myself up

if I don't get a lot
of things done in a day.

Essentially,
just keeping myself fed,

keeping my water boiled,

maintaining my morale,

they're all jobs.

And if I keep beating myself up

about not finishing my shelter
so quickly,

then I'm probably gonna get
much more uneasy

about the whole experience,

and so I'm gonna carry on

with my slightly
lackadaisical approach,

which seems to have
worked so far.

Now for the ridgepole.

So this is the piece

that holds everything together.

If we get a lot of high winds,
this will eventually

start to creep down.

So I figured, lash it on.

Bring it on, weather.

Yeah.

Almost feeling at home already.

Still a bit of work to do,

but I'm definitely
getting there.

♪

I'm going for a walk
with the bow.

So this camera is mounted
to the front of my bow.

So whatever I'm sh**ting at,
you will see it.

This bow is really long.

It gets in the way
when you're trying

to walk through the bush.

So it's only really suitable

for open areas.

I'm trying to get
through here now.

Tangled up.

One of the biggest challenges
of my location is,

the undergrowth is
way too dense,

so it's impossible to really
walk without making

a huge amount of noise.

It's very difficult,
especially with a bow,

because my bow is a longbow,

which, in hindsight,

may not have been
the best choice

for hunting
in very dense undergrowth.

I'm not sure how successful
this will be as a hunting trip,

but I found some lingonberries,

so it's not
a complete waste of time.

♪

They're a little bit sharp,
but in a good way.

♪

The undergrowth is very old,

and there's a lot of branches

that are catching on everything,

and every step you take,

you're having
to kind of pull things off.

And it becomes
very, very tiring.

You're stooping.

You're climbing over,

so you're using up
a lot of energy

in order just to make
very slow progress.

♪

Not entirely unsuccessful.

I found some berries,

but not quite
what I was looking for.

I'm just heading
back to camp now.

[rustling]

So I'm making the decision
that doing that

on a regular basis
is counterproductive.

I'm trying to conserve
as much of my energy

as possible,
which means sticking to places

that are far easier to get to.

[chittering]

I heard a commotion

and realized
I'd caught another squirrel.

So here he is.

Poor little guy.

Thank you, squirrel.

Much needed.

I'm gonna check
the other traps now.

Before I caught the squirrel,
I was feeling very despondent

about my ability to get food,

but it's not a constant
yearning for food.

It's more of an awareness that
I need to be getting food.

Otherwise, my body
weight will drop.

Nope. Nothing.

I hate snares. I really do.

Something about it.

It's just... it's not sporting.

It's not British.

[laughs]

But it is effective.

I would say,
if I have a weak skill,

it's hunting big game
with a bow,

because coming from the UK,
where bow hunting is ill*gal,

I don't have that experience.

I have bow hunted
with a compound bow before,

but using a primitive bow
is not something

I have experience of.

[rustling]

Oh, hello.

I got a varying hare.

[tense music]

It would appear that
my fortunes have changed.

Ooh.

I mean, this is no guarantee
I'm gonna get anything

for the rest of the time
I'm here,

but it's certainly a step
in the right direction.

So hopefully, between
my squirrel and this guy,

I'll have a few days' worth
of food here.

So let's get busy.

[dramatic music]

♪

[Poldi] Whew.

Cut a lot of boughs.

Still got plenty to do,
but here's what I eat in a day

as a 24-year-old
survival athlete.

Rabbit bone tea for breakfast.

Already harvested
probably six spruce trees

for their boughs,
'cause I need, [bleep],

more boughs than a church
could ever bough.

Um...

[laughs]

Nice.

But, yeah, we'll be able
to keep on keeping on.

♪

I'm feeling great.

My plan is working,
and I'm just gonna

keep eating three meals a day,

so that I can
push myself physically.

[sawing]

Timber.

[cracking]

I got some pretty hard bits
done on my shelter.

Now it's just all fine work.

[thudding]

Probably time-consuming,

but that's one thing
I do have a lot of.

♪

Time.

♪

Huge, huge tepee.

And I'm only
justifying its size.

It's definitely quite a risk.

Pretty easy way to blow out,
mentally and physically.

But just because
I have access to food,

might as well utilize
that energy I've got,

because once this is built,
then I can store food in it,

I can smoke things inside
and all that good stuff

and hopefully be
a little bit more comfortable.

♪

But, yeah,

just a little thatch
by the little thatch.

♪

The amount of sunlight
and daytime

is very much so in my mind,

the amount of time
you have to work.

♪ And we just
keep on thatchin' ♪

But, you know, if you have


and you work hard for 16 hours,

you'll just tank.

♪

My strategy, in terms
of my permanent shelter,

will be, you know,
just days and days

and days of small snippets.

♪ Nearly time for lunchtime

♪ Yeah

I'm gonna take it
one day at a time.

And if that's too much,

I'll take it
half a day at a time.

I think, in this environment,
if you put a number on it,

you'll just hurt yourself.

This is the longest I've lived
off the land so far.

This is what's allowing me
to keep on.

You probably can't see,
but there's a bunch of fat

floating on the surface.

Fish head soup.

[slurps]

Ah.

Mmm.

Very honest day's work.

I walk up to my fishing spot

and have a couple casts,

just for a therapeutic walk.

And yeah.

[tense music]

Out here, being alone
has given me time to think.

I've just had my first,
like, positive daydream.

There's always thoughts
of, you know,

perceived hunger and whatnot,

but this was, like,
things I want to do.

And it filled me with joy,
and that felt really nice.

♪

You know,
the first couple episodes

I actually watched
of this show, I was like,

these people are not
what they say they are.

♪

And then I went on
a hunting trip with no food,

and I was like, I understand.

You know, everything
goes out the door.

[splashing]

Oh, no.

♪

Whoo!

Knowing that
I'm in a very healthy state

is an advantage.

There was a lucky one.

I can actually just relax.

I feel like there will be
some people here

who have a huge shock
to the system.

Hope you guys saw that,

but that bigger pike
just got off in the shallows,

and then I grabbed it.

[clicks tongue]

Time to go sit by a warm fire
and have dinner!

Yoo-hoo!

♪

[tense music]

♪

There we have it.

Thatch door
and a complete smoker.

I actually think...

[laughs]

I think it actually looks
a lot like

the cartoon character Grug.

If you don't know who Grug is,
go... go look him up.

So I think my smoker
is gonna be called Grug.

Grug doesn't normally
endorse smoking,

but hopefully he gets
plenty of smoking time.

[clicking tongue]

Job done. Boo!

All right.
Time to fill this baby up.

[soft music]

Well, that was
a fun little project,

but I want to be able
to take my time

and sit down and craft

and just do things
that bring me joy.

♪

There's some kind of noise
coming from down at the point.

♪

Down near my gillnet.

I'm gonna go check it out.

But that's a want, not a need.

What I need is food,

permanent shelter,

and to survive.

I've heard it
for the last 15 minutes.

Anyhow, it stopped.

♪

Just so much time goes into
just meeting your basic needs.

But everything
can't be polished.

Like, that's just not
the way it is.

It's not the way
that survival rolls.

This is life.

This is just raw, how it is.

No action on the snare.

There's only so much you can do.

You've just got to roll
with however it goes.

♪

Maybe that's one of the lessons

that was out here for me...

embrace the imperfection.

Embrace the raw,
the rugged, the real.

Holy [bleep].

♪

There's a beaver right there.

Oh.

Attached to that giant log
I had across the line.

He's snared up.

He's not going anywhere.

[tense music]

♪

I don't want to damage the pelt.

♪

He's dead.

♪

[grunting]

Yes!

Come on!

Oh! Oh!

I'll be happy with any beaver,
but the fact that it's, like,

a full-size adult one
is just incredible.

Oh.

This thing's about


I cannot even imagine
what it would be like

taking a moose in this weather,

or a caribou.

I'm not sure a caribou
would have as much fat on it

as our Mr. Beaver here.

♪

Oh!

[sighs]

I can barely hold it up.

It's so heavy.

♪

This gives me food security.

I don't know for how long.

Let's let the caption
tell us how much calories

this food's gonna give us.

♪

Thanks, caption.
I appreciate that.

Get smoking, Grug!

Whoo!

[sighs]

Let's go, baby!

Let's go!

♪

OK, so the main thing to do
is get the pelt off

and then gut,
and then this thing's

gonna become a lot lighter.

♪

The beaver just
gives me options.

Look at the size of that tail
compared to my head.

You know, it's early days,
and I feel that

it's a massive, big step
in the right direction.

It's the best food
that I've gotten,

and it's just incredible.

I'll never forget this moment.

I love this beaver.

This beaver is mine.

There are many other
beavers out there,

but this one, this is my beaver.

♪

I just had this feeling
that nature was waiting

for me to finish that smoker.

Look at the size of this liver.

It was like, Nero,

you build that smoker,
and I will provide.

But you gotta do
the work first, dude.

♪

Snowshoe kidney, beaver kidney.

[exhales sharply]

I am happy.

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

[cracking]

♪

[thudding]

Oh.

Really smoky out here.

Just hooking into
a squirrel head for lunch.

[sniffs]

Eating a lot this morning,

having a real slow one,
just because I feel

very depleted,
but bouncing back.

[camera beeping]

And then I'll do some
on the door.

[bleep] you.

I'm just gonna go get my saw...

♪ And an extra battery
for the camera ♪

Shelter-building time.

A couple hours of thatching,
spruce bough

and whatever you want
to call it.

I kind of need to make a ladder.

I'll just make
a small one for now,

just to get a little bit
further up.

I'll make it out of willow,
and then I'll need

to harvest more spruce boughs,

and then a few more again.

And then we'll start
having a sweet teepee.

[tense music]

♪

[sawing]

♪

I'm noticing
the weather's getting colder,

the wind's blowing
a little bit harder at night.

And I know
it's going into winter,

but it's happening quicker
than I'm expecting.

♪

And I feel like I've
put all my eggs in one basket

with my huge shelter.

♪

And I keep telling myself
that my decision is justified.

And, you know, if it all
works out, it can actually...

it could work
really, really well.

♪

However, I'm eating as much
food as I possibly can.

[thudding]

But I'm working
less efficiently.

My breaks are getting longer,

and I've still got,
you know, lots to do.

♪

It's worrying.

All these negative thoughts

are just gonna creep in
naturally.

♪

There's only so much
the land can give you,

and then it's sentimental
endurance and starvation.

It's a ticking time b*mb.

And that ticking time b*mb is
relative to what you've got

and what you're given.

♪

We're just gonna start
with three rungs.

We can always add more,
if we need.

And it's funny, you know,
how you prepare for this show

with bush craft
and bush skills...

no, you go out with nothing,

and you see how
you operate mentally.

♪

[sighs]

♪

It should be good.

Not-so-blue sky coming.

Good.

My theory is, short season.

Here for a good time,
not a long time.

Yeah.

♪ Doo, doo, doo, doo,
doo, doo, doo, doo ♪

♪

So I'm 24 years old.

I've never had a full-time job.

Right now, I just teach
whitewater kayaking.

The rain's setting in now.

Whatever.

Whitewater kayaking has
the whole mental aspect to it

that I enjoy, just because
the river is so strong

and, you know, water is
just so unforgiving.

All righty.

We're gonna do
a little bit on my door,

give it a little bit
of structure,

and then we can weave that in.

And if you allow yourself
to slip,

the river just
kind of eats it up,

and before you know it,
you're upside down

or out of your kayak,
in a really dangerous spot.

♪

And, yeah,
I've had friends pass away

from the smallest mistake.

♪

I think trying to survive
out here is the same.

It should be good.

You've got to be quietly
confident in yourself

and your ability.

♪

Trying to fill the tank
for tomorrow.

I'm very depleted
in the evening today.

It's fine.

Then the mind just runs.

It thinks about tapping out
and all that good stuff.

I'll move a little slower
tomorrow.

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

[Andrew]
I'm about to go and check

those snares in the new area.

Hopefully a lot of rabbits,
but we shall see.

Right, let's do this.

[tense music]

Yesterday,
I was feeling very, very down

about my long-term prospects.

So I've put a huge amount
of effort

into going to a new area,

where there was
a lot more signs of game.

I set a lot of snares there,
which hopefully will create

some more food opportunities.

♪

Nothing goes easy.

So, long story short,

I had a rabbit.

So I went to grab it,
but it somehow managed

to work its way loose,
but I got it.

So I've spared you
the gory details

of breaking its neck.

Ooh.

Bit of an
adrenaline-pumping moment.

I thought I was gonna lose him
for a second,

but I'm gonna make
my way back to camp.

[tense music]

♪

OK, I'm on my way back to camp,

and I spotted these...

very fresh grizzly bear tracks.

So at least we know
the bears are still around,

and they're on the list.
[chuckles]

Problem is,
I'm on theirs as well.

[laughs]

OK, may the best man win.

[chuckles]

Overall,
I feel really, really good.

My head's definitely
in the game.

So along the riverbank,

I've made my temporary
cooking camp,

which is just
a little dome shelter.

I think if I can keep
getting more food,

maybe some fish,
I'm in a good position

to do this as long as it takes.

I still have some of my rabbit
left from yesterday,

so that will keep me going.

So my plan now is
to use this energy

that I'm about to get
to further my chances

of getting more food.

Wow, this is gonna be so good.

So I'll fish more.

I plan to put more snares down,

and I'd like to try and maybe

not gain weight,
but at least not

lose any weight now
for the next couple of weeks,

if I can.

Mmm, mmm, mmm.

What a perfect day.

This new area has
a lot of potential.

There's beaver,
muskrats, rabbits.

I just need to keep
the pressure on now,

catch more, and get myself

back to taking in
enough calories

to be able to function.

If I can keep myself
in a good condition,

I know I can sit it out
for longer.

Ooh, right.

Well, I've eaten.

That was good.

That was a really good meal.

♪

So I think I'll light
another fire at camp,

do an hour on the shelter.

It's time to do some work.

♪

[bear panting]

♪

[tense music]

♪

[rain pattering]

♪

[Aaron] Still pretty ugly out.

Windy, some light rain.

But we didn't get
too much done yesterday,

so today we're gonna
have to try to be

a little bit more productive.

Running out of good days.

I don't know if this is
called a good day,

but a day where
there's no minus twenty, so...

It looks like there's... yeah,
there's snow in the mountains.

[laughs]

Look at that.

It's coming.

That's all snow,
ladies and gentlemen.

Oh, wow. Look at this.

[tense music]

Probably only a matter of time
before we get snow down here.

♪

And then my window
for shelter-building

will have gone.

Whew, mountains have snow!

Ah.

Snow in the mountains
is beautiful,

but also, it's a reality
that cold is coming.

Just how many days
of opportunity do I have left?

-We got to get that...
-the fireplace

just became number one, actually.

♪

It's coming, baby.

♪

There is snow in the mountain.

I need to finish the shelter.

I have no more time.

[Aaron] I'm gonna take
every piece down there

and start mudding 'em.

There's no waiting around now.

♪

She's coming here soon,
so we gotta get ready.

Hurry. It's a race.

♪

Something's pulled
my tripod down.

[Aaron] Things are
preparing for winter.

Bears are racing around,
trying to get all their food.

We got to work harder now.

Ooh. Wow.

I got the shivers. Wow.

[laughs]

[cawing]

[Poldi] Birds are moving.

♪

That's a [bleep] load of geese.

Leaving right now,
I gotta change my plan,

do more on my permanent shelter.

[sighs] That time of year.

Winter is [bleep] coming.

♪

[sniffs]

Let's fill this thing with mud.

Here's our mud shovel.

I didn't think the weather
would come this quick,

but here we are.

The only reason why
I feel this won't work

is because of
the silt in the mud.

It's not really clay, clay.

We're gonna try our best.

This is a very
unhospitable place

that we're gonna have to
dig deep to survive in.

[sighs]

If you're not set up for winter,

you're not gonna last...
it's just the way it is.

Like, I'm from Canada.
I know that.

So it's a race for me.

I don't think these people
know this.

There's one piece to the puzzle.

[sniffs] Let's go get the other.

♪

I think if we turn this
upside-down, it'll be easier.

This is what I work in.

This is what I grew up in.

This is my advantage.

So let's see if these other
countries get what we get.

This is Canada.

This is cold.

The cold is gonna
destroy people.

Like, it's coming.

Hypothermia is real.

People will get it.

I think I might start
a fire in that right now...

♪

Just to help dry it,
because it is wet.

♪

Holy [bleep], that's heavy.

♪

We're surviving.
We're having fun still.

No worries whatsoever yet,
like, of wanting to go home.

Nothing like that's
crossed my mind.

I said I came here to win,
and I mean it.

I ain't tapping,
I can tell you that much.

This'll get dried right out,
and then we'll, uh,

take it up there,
get it in place,

and fix what we can
with light mud on the inside.

Put it in, and...

we'll be sitting pretty.

December, here we come.

[dramatic music]

♪

[tense music]

♪

[Poldi] Nothing in the snares
this morning.

[sighs]

Whew.

Far too exhausted.

I could barely go for a walk
and enjoy it.

[tense music]

I'm just gonna hang tight,
stay dry,

and just try to do
as minimal as I can.

I'm just depleted.

I'm guessing just
a little bit too ambitious,

thinking the bigger shelter.

[rain pattering]

♪

All of a sudden,
my creativity...

on how exciting
this whole shelter is

compounds on itself.

My mind's going down
these rabbit holes

that feel like it's impossible
to pull them out of.

♪

Usually, I can keep them
under wraps,

but right now, I'm confused.

I'm eating every day.

I don't have the energy
that I think I should have.

Why?

And now, becoming afraid...

are my energy levels
gonna come back?

If so, when?

How much will they come back?

Yeah, very much so
confused and afraid.

♪

[gulps]

[breathing heavily]

Things were feeling really good,

and then I decided
to build this teepee.

I need to get spruce boughs

from over there and finish it.

I just feel like
I've got nothing,

nothing in the tank.

[tense music]

♪

At home,
my strategy from the burnout,

you know, I'll eat more,
try to do some projects

to try to calm my mind down...

[sobbing]

But these tactics
that usually work

are just getting overridden
like I've never felt before.

♪

Do I suffer for another


And it's just
a ticking time b*mb, you know?

♪

I just can't see myself
finishing...

finishing the shelter.

I'm not enjoying myself,

and I'm feeling confused

and unknown
with the amount of damage

I could be doing to myself.

[sobbing] I'm so sorry.

[sobbing]

Those are some cues that,
I told myself,

prior to the competition,
that it'll be time.

[beeping]

Hello.

My time's come,
and I'm officially tapping out.

[tense music]

♪

Feeling very, very weak...
full body,

you know, from foot and your
mind at the same time.

The sort of mental
hardship I came to,

I just haven't felt it
before like that.

You know, money's money.

And I mean, yeah,
it would have made for

a pretty crazy
kick start to my life.

But what I thought I could do,
all of a sudden, I couldn't.

As soon as you're not
doing anything,

you're just in your mind.

And I thought I might as well
just cut my losses

and remove myself
from this place.

It's giving me
quite a lot of pain.

♪

The decision's been made,

and now I have to really
live with it.

♪

I'm just a little bit
disappointed in my ability.

♪

This experience has
definitely given me

another depth
of the mental perspective.

I think the biggest thing
I learned is that

I've still got so much
to grow mentally.

♪

A lot of people will think
it's pretty early on

in the competition,

when I made the decision
to tap out.

I don't know how people
are gonna perceive me.

But right now, I actually feel
completely OK with that.

It doesn't matter
what anyone else thinks.

That's been like another
little, like, stepping stone

in, you know, the life I choose.

If you're happy
in your decision-making

and you really want something,

then you just have to go for it.

That's, I think,
one of the biggest things

that I can take away
from this whole experience

and implement that on my choice

to try and live
that very free schedule

and potentially earn some money

in a different sort of avenue

than the average Joe,
and then, you know, be able

to buy that block of land
and live that life

that I really want to live
and not feel judged.

♪

My long-term food source,
is going to be big game.

Big game trail here.

I need to find moose.

Definitely a moose trail.

[Aaron] Right now, it should
be prime time moose hunting.

[imitates moose grunting]

[Ziga] If I harvest moose,
I wouldn't have excuse

not to last very, very long.

[Aaron] If we get moose,
we win this competition.

There's not a doubt in my mind.

[bleep].

♪