I'm a little disappointment in the new format this year (even though
it means people lasted a good bit longer thanks to moving up the time
line well ahead of winter) as I really enjoyed seeing and hearing
everyone's drop off location, thoughts at drop off, resources they
find on their initial walk around and their initial shelter setup. I
like the fact that people are lasting longer, but it's still summer
temperatures and everyone can camp in the summer, not everyone can
survive let alone thrive in the winter so making it there in the
winter is more of what I will be looking at.
Some other general thoughts that popped into my mind my top female
contestant, Nicole, hasn't got much air time nor has here Canadian
counterpart who I picked in the top 3 as well. Maybe that means they
will be around till the end or maybe they are just trying to throw us
off a little bit.
Some other ALONE news that hit the wire since the last article include
the big news that Season 3 (which starts filming this month I
believe) will be moving away from Vancouver Island to Patagonia in
South America. While a new location is exciting it will really
determine where they actually decide to place the contestants as
there are so many micro echo systems within that area which could
offer more hunting prospects and more radical weather.
Best Quote of the night: “It's not the world that needs to change
its me that need to change”
Want To Build Your ALONE Survival Kit? Start Here:
Justin:
Want To Build Your ALONE Survival Kit? Start Here:
Alright, time to examine the episode by looking at the material that
was shown for each participant this week!
Mary Kate:
Day
5-
She is still living out of the a-frame shelter she made in the early
going. Really surprised that she didn't work on fortifying that
shelter and making a raised bed especially with all of her problems
with that shelter setup.
She is hearing voices already..... Is she into bad water or just
letting all the time alone get to her? I see her going home the next
time she is featured in an episode.
Mary Kate is just getting around to making a shelter that is capable
of having a fire in it, but wont be using it for a living space? Why
in the world would you want a shelter just to sit by a fire unless
you're making a cooking camp close to your food resources? Why not
use that 20x20 tarp and make a nice big tepee with a raised bed and
throw a ton of pine and ferns on the outside of the shelter held in
place with more poles to offer additional insulation for the coming
winter. That 20'x20' tarp would make a tepee large enough for three
plus people with a fire pit, wood storage location, gear storage
location and much more!
She keeps making these wood ridge lines just to throw a tarp over. Is
it just me or is that way too much work when the fishing line would
have worked and she used cordage anyway instead of notching to save
on cordage.
Day
6-
Making a front door? You have a 20'x20' tarp... how do you not have
enough tarp to make a door? I like the idea of the swinging door, but
why not make a full sized door since you're not going to have a fire
in your shelter? Also found myself saying that raised bed will keep
you a lot drier than a door over and over as she built that.
Day 7:
She still doesn't have a fire on day 7? No wonder she was worried
about getting her boots and sleeping gear dry, one night by a fire
and those boots would have not only been dry but also smelled a lot
better.
Got to be careful with that axe, that's why I like batoning just for
safety purposes. Less than a minute after I say that, ouch. Can't say
I haven't got myself with a knife or axe before, if you spend a lot
of time in the woods mistakes happen, but that technique was what
caused the injury 100%. The graphic below will show the time line of
the injury for those who didn't see. If you're going to utilize your
axe in that manner simply set the axe the woods by pressing it in
firmly, then clear your spare hand from the area and tap the axe
deeper into the wood by lifting the axe and wood slightly and tapping
it against your splitting log. I don't think she got the tendon ,but
hard to tell without the bleeding being controlled and taking a
better look. The wound is easy enough to sew up with a fishing hook
and some like if it needs stitches. If not find some plantain to make
a poultice and then secure with your bandanna from your clothing kit.
Justin:
Day
5:
Says he wants to keep active to stay sane, so he is going to explore
the area and go from there. I would probably make my initial shelter
once I got off the boat and and then explore my 2.5 miles in each
direction for resources or a potentially better shelter location.
Finally, the show has cast a kindred spirit! Shorts and sandals to
explore, a man after my own heart! I would probably not wear them
when I don't know what I'm getting into, but around camp, trips to
check traps, etc would be shorts and t-shits for sure!
Not a lot of wildlife sign in the forest, but that is to be expected
in a predator dense environment. Gill nets, trout lines and fish
traps would be the main stay for securing meat in that environment as
I stated from the onset of season 1.
Why not at least cut the duck and check his organs to determine his
health? I would have at least examined the organs to determine if it
was sick or if it was still potentially edible, but that's just me I
wouldn't want to miss a meal that was that easy to get!
Not sure what his gear sling setup is but I like it a lot, use that
setup for my bottle bag and love the haversack style setup to keep
all of your safety gear and survival essentials on your person. I
guess one could easily be made with a shemag from your clothing kit.
Mike:
Day 5:
Mike set a great goal for himself , He wants to be be out there for
an entire year. Aggressive goal and I like it man, I guess that would
be a $78,000 salary plus the potential $500,000.00 in winnings not
bad for a year in the woods!
He landed in a great location, nice little cove he has there with
plenty of resources!
Mike started laying some edible sea plant knowledge on viewers:
seaweed, sea grass, bull kelp (can grow 2' a day) so he has access
to plenty of wild edibles just from the ocean. This was the best
moment of the show thus far I thought as it showed someone excelling
with their skills and teaching a skill to all the viewers.
If you have a fresh water creek that flows into the ocean near you
then you are golden! Fish and freshwater from one location is key! I
was surprised by the size of that gill net it's huge, so much more
potential coverage than the ones people used last year!
Bear scat everywhere, but with the resources he has I guess that is
to be expected. I mean after all he did see a mamma and two cubs on
his helipad on the way in!
Three fish from that gill net after a roughly 12 hour soak, heck of a
day brother. Smoke the heck out of them man for down the road!
How long did he smoke them? I guess he cooked them and is just hoping
to keep them for a few days at the refrigerator like temperature
found underground. I think I would have smoked the heck out of them
for a few days just thinking long-term in-case fishing does go well
or I find a boom in resources. Would try to take only small portions
of the meat each day with wild edibles to make sure it lasts awhile
in-case of bad results from the gill net some days.
Day 6-
Missing his wife, says it reminds him of his time in orphanage when
he didn't get any presents for Christmas. That sucks bad, most of us
will never know what that experience was like, but hopefully that
experience helps give you strength on the Island.
Randy:
Day
5:
That hemlock tea looks pretty good! Took people forever last year to
drink some last year it seemed. I think I would probably be drinking
it from day 1 just to keep my vitamin levels up.
Says he is not a fisherman. Well that probably takes him out of my
projected top 5 if he chooses to only do land based trapping instead
of shore based trapping. I would spend most of my time making fish
traps, placing gill nets, setting trout lines, shore based fishing
and then setting up a land based trap line with several bird traps
and figure 4's.
Cant wait to see how that condor Matt Graham survival knife works
out! I have been wanting to get my hands on one for a long time now
and that stainless steel would really help with durability long term
in that humid/wet environment.
He is setting up several paiute deadfalls for taking anything from
mice to rabbit, while I like a good land based trap-line as much as
the next person, it just seems like a less effective means of
obtaining meat as opposed to utilizing the ocean.
He has setup an a-frame tarp shelter, I keep coming back to the same
thought why is no one thinking long term shelter after a week? Your
energy will be starting to drain, I would want to get as much wood
in, set up my long-term shelter and get a trap line started in the
first week. Why is no one else doing that?
2000 calories in three days? Think its time to hit the beach and eat
what mother nature gives you! With all the wild plants the sea
provides it's hard to believe he hasn't been out there since day 1.
Why does everyone assume that since a trap is triggered it was done
by an animal? The wind could have easily triggered the trap.
5 days and your gill net isn't out? WHY WHY WHY? That's a day 1 maybe
day 2 task not a week in task. It takes 20 minutes to put the net
into place and is a passive means of obtaining meat.
Day 7:
Lost his ferro rod. Why in the world is everyone not strapping those
to your hip? I think that would be a major priority to have secured
100% of the time, especially after what happened with Joe last year!
Having lost a ferro rod in the past when I slid down a near 90 degree
slope during hunting season I always use shock cord to secure mine
now.
His ferro rod rolled into the fire pit and burnt up. Crappy man,
crappy. Preparedmind101 did a video showing this on his YouTube
channel this week using a thermal imaging video camera and it's 100%
true that the ferro rod just goes disintegrates.
He took a stainless steel blade (Condor Matt Graham Survival Knife)
so flint/steel is off the table unless he has something else that is
high carbon steel (i.e. his axe or saw). Advantage high carbon steel
blade and also advantage to wearing eye glasses! I'm sure he could
find flint or chert out there if he looked and grab a little char out
of his fire. Also why is no one making natural char as soon as they
get there just in case and to help preserve their ferro rod?
David:
Day
6-
Looking angry isn't a bad thing brother.... people say I always look
pissed off as well.
Got to love rope washing up on shore! I didn't select any cordage as
I know there would likely be a bunch wash up on shore, unfortunately
in the world today trash is everywhere!
Trout lines, gill nets and fish traps would be my primary thoughts
after fire/shelter/water then make a ground based trap line.
Day
7:
Caught some seaweed with his trout line and lost a few hooks in the
process. His fishing location just doesn't look idea to me as I would
want to be somewhere with a little more current.
Found a lot of shore crabs to use as bait so that's always a plus to
have an unlimited bank of bait!
Conclusions:
Randy and Mike switched places on my ranking of who's going to stay
the longest list this week. I'm interested to see if Mary Kate drops
out next week. Her skill level seems to be on the lower end when
compared to the other contestants from what has been shown and having
those two young children at home have to be weighing on here.
Assuming there are no nerves or tendons severed and no arterial
bleeding then sew that bad boy up, throw some plantain on it, wrap it
in cotton and call it good! Mike showed what a great instructor he is
and I can't wait for more content from him, he just started a YouTube
channel so be sure to check that out! Nicole and Jose are next week,
can't wait to see how two of my front runners fair!
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