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Post by ineffableone on Jun 26, 2015 16:56:50 GMT
Anyone watching History's new show Alone? For folks who might not know, History Channel is airing a new survival series called Alone it has had two episodes aired already. Set in the wilderness of Northern tip of Vancouver Island, there are 10 participants, each considered to be "experts". Each is left alone, without any teams, producers or camera crews to offer any form of assistance (much like Les Stroud style). At the end of Alone, there is a prize of $500,000 to whoever is able to survive the longest. Which is interesting as this is a show of who can survive the longest, which will make for some interesting decisions and camp craft. Each participant has a single backpack, carrying whatever they can fit into it to aid them in their survival. Being I am from the Pac NW I have already had a few laughs seeing how out of their elements some folks are. The Pac NW can be a harsh place or an easy one, it all depends on your skill set and knowledge base. I also like how this is a longer term survival concept. Which means more permanent camp set ups will be applied. Longer term methods of survival should be displayed, like trapping, and even preserving meat and edibles for leaner times. It has been pretty interesting so far. A lot more like Les Stroud's Survivorman with self shot footage instead of the typical survival show drama. Did the producers pick the more dramatic footage, sure. But it is a lot less of the cheap drama crap most of the survival shows do. A couple of the participants are BCUSA members (Joe and Dustin). Which should make things interesting to see how they do. And plenty have youtube channels. Both Joe and Wayne have some videos describing their gear choices for the show. Joe aka JoeRobinetBushcraft Mitch aka Nativesurvival Wayne aka Kullcraven Bushcraft Alan aka AK Guardian Sam aka Samuel Larson Someone over on BCUSA made a great easy to read list of the gear for the people on the show, since this forum doesn't have the same table code set up here is a screen cap of it. A picture of a map for the participants as well as a google maps link to see the area might be helpful for folks. And while we are at it, might as well post the link to google maps of the location too. www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.4939759,-127.9470847,12313m/data=!3m1!1e3 For more info on the show and the bios of the people in it and other good stuff check out History channel's site page www.history.com/shows/alone You can also watch full episodes on the site page.
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Post by chrisperoni on Jun 26, 2015 17:53:04 GMT
Well I'm looking into this with interest. I grew up in Vancouver and often camped on my own on Vancouver Island, but not as far north as this. Been as far as Quadra and Sonora Islands which are pretty close in latitude, but that was living in a cabin and travelling by canoe around the area. I hope the contestants who come from much farther south are ready for the climate shock they are going to experience up against the pacific ocean. I am assuming this is filmed in the spring/summer seasons?
Just saw there's a guy from where I live now in the show - wonder if I know him through any friends
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 26, 2015 18:07:30 GMT
Well I'm looking into this with interest. I grew up in Vancouver and often camped on my own on Vancouver Island, but not as far north as this. Been as far as Quadra and Sonora Islands which are pretty close in latitude, but that was living in a cabin and travelling by canoe around the area. I hope the contestants who come from much farther south are ready for the climate shock they are going to experience up against the pacific ocean. I am assuming this is filmed in the spring/summer seasons? I haven't seen anything stating the season, but it looked like early or late spring to me.
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Sean (Shadowhowler)
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jun 26, 2015 21:47:51 GMT
Looking at the placement... its not at all impossible that some if not many of them may meet up. How do the rules handle that sort of thing? Are they allowed to work together... are they allowed to sabotage each other?
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Post by chrisperoni on Jun 27, 2015 0:03:17 GMT
Watching it now. Will check in after
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Post by chrisperoni on Jun 27, 2015 0:07:21 GMT
Looking at the placement... its not at all impossible that some if not many of them may meet up. How do the rules handle that sort of thing? Are they allowed to work together... are they allowed to sabotage each other? they just answered your question- each of the 10 are separated by water or mountains. I'd imagine they have instructions to keep to their side of the natural borders. Edit/add - already liking it. In reading the bios earlier I noticed most of these contestants seemed to come from areas that would have different animals, weather and forest type compared to what they are going to be up against in BC. Seems they are all noting these differences and it has them questioning things . There is one guy who comes up on a black bear and her cubs up in a tree lol. I've been face to face with a black bear 2 times and both times it was a "nervous" moment for me to put it lightly. I can just imagine how it would feel on your first day all alone in an unfamiliar wilderness to come up on bears living right next door! Ha!
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jun 27, 2015 1:11:39 GMT
There is one guy who comes up on a black bear and her cubs up in a tree lol. I've been face to face with a black bear 2 times and both times it was a "nervous" moment for me to put it lightly. I can just imagine how it would feel on your first day all alone in an unfamiliar wilderness to come up on bears living right next door! Ha! I've encountered black bears several times in woods in California, Oregon, and here in Georgia. I am cautious in those moments... but I was not really worried. I've had a couple encounters with Mountain Lions... and THOSE moments were VERY nervous. However, when I was around 7 or so I encountered a brown/grizzle bear with my dad. THAT was scary. :-(
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Post by chrisperoni on Jun 27, 2015 1:16:19 GMT
I can't believe these guys are quitting so quickly.
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 27, 2015 5:47:45 GMT
I can't believe these guys are quitting so quickly. Both the guys who left quickly were also guys used to being armed constantly. I suspect a lot of their courage comes from having a firearm, and when that was removed they lost a lot of their confidence. In Josh's defense, he was pretty screwed being dropped right in a mama bear's front yard. I am not afraid of bears, respect them but not afraid. If I found myself in his location I would have packed my gear that night and started hiking until it was almost dark. But even that would likley not keep enough distance between you and the bears. He would have kept encountering them again and again. For those of us who actully know bear behavior, them up in a tree like that ment they were scared of him. He freaked out seeing them, but he just invaded their home and was poking around their bed room. Of course the return the favor that night. They wanted to know who the strange neighbor was who moved into their front yard. Maybe see if he had a jar of honey they could borrow. As for Chris, I was a bit disappointed in his tapping out. But saw it coming. He was used to being armed every day, and massively afraid of dogs. Being in the woods with wolves unarmed he felt utterly powerless. Even though the reality is he likely had nothing to worry about being there. Both of the guys really let their imaginations work against them and their fears were what took them out. Good thing is now there is less people so more camera time. Though I was a little bummed so little camera time for Dustin, Sam, and Brant this last episode.
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 27, 2015 5:53:36 GMT
Well I'm looking into this with interest. I grew up in Vancouver and often camped on my own on Vancouver Island, but not as far north as this. Been as far as Quadra and Sonora Islands which are pretty close in latitude, but that was living in a cabin and travelling by canoe around the area. I hope the contestants who come from much farther south are ready for the climate shock they are going to experience up against the pacific ocean. I am assuming this is filmed in the spring/summer seasons? I haven't seen anything stating the season, but it looked like early or late spring to me. So I just looked up when Mitch put out his farewell to youtube video. And it was 8 mths ago. So he departed for BC in Oct.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jun 27, 2015 6:22:01 GMT
Hm... I'll have to check this show out. I spent time in the Pac North West also when I was a kid with my father. He used to take us into the woods for a couple weeks at a time... sometimes he would give me some tools and a map and tell me I had 3 days or 5 days to get from where we were to a spot on the map. He'd tell me he would be nearby but I would not see him... but not to worry, he would be watching me.
The few good childhood memories I have are from those adventures.
I also am armed every day... but if I was in the woods as these guys are I don't think I'd freak out cuz I couldn't take a gun with me. You said they get a backpack full of what they think they would need right? A knife and a camp axe have to be options. I'd be cool with it. A shame if the lack of firearms was a motivation for a couple guys giving up. I'm defenitly going to look into this show and see what I think.
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 27, 2015 6:28:55 GMT
Hm... I'll have to check this show out. I spent time in the Pac North West also when I was a kid with my father. He used to take us into the woods for a couple weeks at a time... sometimes he would give me some tools and a map and tell me I had 3 days or 5 days to get from where we were to a spot on the map. He'd tell me he would be nearby but I would not see him... but not to worry, he would be watching me. The few good childhood memories I have are from those adventures. I also am armed every day... but if I was in the woods as these guys are I don't think I'd freak out cuz I couldn't take a gun with me. You said they get a backpack full of what they think they would need right? A knife and a camp axe have to be options. I'd be cool with it. A shame if the lack of firearms was a motivation for a couple guys giving up. I'm defenitly going to look into this show and see what I think. I agree that lack of firearms is a sad reason to quit. The first guy I can give a little empathy to because he was really placed into a tough location and while I would not have quit, he didn't have any experience with bears and so was very out of his element be placed right into a bear's territory. He said his camp was 30 yards from the bear family's den. Not a very good place to be at all. If you spent time in the PNW, you will likely enjoy the show. Being from PNW is a huge part of what makes me enjoy the show. Seeing people struggle with an environment I grew up with and consider par for the course.
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 27, 2015 6:32:20 GMT
BTW Chris is the author Angry American that wrote the Going Home Series. A post apocalyptic fiction series that has been getting a lot of praise in the prepper community.
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 27, 2015 6:33:53 GMT
There is one guy who comes up on a black bear and her cubs up in a tree lol. I've been face to face with a black bear 2 times and both times it was a "nervous" moment for me to put it lightly. I can just imagine how it would feel on your first day all alone in an unfamiliar wilderness to come up on bears living right next door! Ha! I've encountered black bears several times in woods in California, Oregon, and here in Georgia. I am cautious in those moments... but I was not really worried. I've had a couple encounters with Mountain Lions... and THOSE moments were VERY nervous. However, when I was around 7 or so I encountered a brown/grizzle bear with my dad. THAT was scary. :-( Cougars, are the scary ones. Bears and wolves not so much. Worth respect but less scary. Cougars however are the real worry.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jun 27, 2015 7:18:11 GMT
Mountain Lions are VERY dangerous... so quick and deadly. I had a super close encounter with one that was sleeping and I woke it up hiking past it... it was less the 5 yards from me and I swear that is top 5 pants &^%$ing terror moments of my life... and I've been shot at before. ;-)
I lived in Oregon when I was young and my forest experiences are mostly from there and Northern California. The Pacific North West is by far my favorite environment and the one I am most comfortable with and would stand the best chance surviving in. I saw an episode of Duel Survivor where they were in the PNW a couple months ago, really enjoyed that.
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 27, 2015 7:22:39 GMT
Mountain Lions are VERY dangerous... so quick and deadly. I had a super close encounter with one that was sleeping and I woke it up hiking past it... it was less the 5 yards from me and I swear that is top 5 pants &^%$ing terror moments of my life... and I've been shot at before. ;-) I lived in Oregon when I was young and my forest experiences are mostly from there and Northern California. The Pacific North West is by far my favorite environment and the one I am most comfortable with and would stand the best chance surviving in. I saw an episode of Duel Survivor where they were in the PNW a couple months ago, really enjoyed that. One of the guys in Alone Lucas, wisely added some eyes to the back of his hat, to possibly prevent cougars from coming on him from behind like they like to do.
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Post by chrisperoni on Jun 27, 2015 16:22:40 GMT
After watching the first 2 episodes I'm in for the series. I've always loved how Les Stroud does his show and having these guys filming their own experience is a great call. I think the show does a good job of immersing the viewer in their world, especially given the time constraints of a 1 hour show.
I've been lucky and never been face to face with a cougar. Coyotes on the other hand were almost a regular thing when camping and even a few times in the city when I was out very early in the morning. They really didn't scare me though for whatever reason.
The first time I saw a black bear was on a school forestry trip and it was the teachers who were the most freaked out. I was at the front of the group and was nervous but not as worried as the teachers. The 2nd time I came up on a black bear I was all alone, wading thigh deep in water, barefoot going over jagged rocks and the bear just sort of showed up about 10 feet away on a hill that came down into the water right next to me. I had nowhere to go and no way could I have moved fast if needed. We just stared at each other for what felt like forever. Well, the bear stared, I kept my head down and looked for it from my peripheral or its reflection in the water. I waited until it decided I wasn't a bother, and then it turned and left over the hill. I kept waiting a while longer before doubling back through the water to where my canoe was.
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 27, 2015 16:37:08 GMT
Cool bear story, smart move not staring. They usually consider that a challenge.
Yes the show was smart to do the self filming route. Though I have a feeling part of why certain people aren't featured is they just aren't filming as much as others, so there is less choice of film of them for those days. Which sort of sucks. Also with so many people there is a big time constraint to show all the cast in just an hour when they have that many. Especially when they have guys tapping out and need to show the story of why they felt the need to quit.
Over all though I am enjoying this show, especially since I have some connections with some of the guys. Being on BCUSA I know two of the cast, Joe and Dustin, from the forum. Mitch I have been subscribed to on youtube for years. And Wayne I have been subscribed to on youtube for about a year. Just before he went to do this show. So it is kinda nice seeing them on this show though difficult to root for anyone. At this point I really hope no one else drops out and we get a couple weeks of them really digging in and setting up some awesome camps.
That is one of the more exciting ideas of this show for me, to see people really going for long term camps rather than temporary camp set ups. There is completely different mindsets behind short term survival and long term. When thinking long term you really need to do a lot more planning and investment in projects at the beginning.
So far Lucas seems like the man to watch. He has really been rocking on setting up a serious long term set up. Though sadly they aren't showing much of him.
Of course that both Joe and Mitch had to relocate their camps doesn't help, but hopefully now they will be able to start long term goals. That is if Joe finds his ferro rod.
I am looking forward to seeing what both Alan and Wayne start doing. Both being a bit older it will be interesting to see how they work through priorities vs the younger guys.
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Post by Daigoro on Jun 27, 2015 18:46:42 GMT
BTW Chris is the author Angry American that wrote the Going Home Series. A post apocalyptic fiction series that has been getting a lot of praise in the prepper community. Kind of kills his credibility that he quit so quickly. Oh well, guess the Angry American doesn't fare so well in Canada. (rofl) I'll probably watch this just because it's a change from HC's usual AmericanAlienPawnSwampPicker lineup.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jun 28, 2015 5:06:39 GMT
Just watched the first episode on History's website, gonna record the second on on DVR tomorrow and watch it... but am going to share a few observations. Josh just psyched himself out. Yes, he got unlucky being SO close to a bear family... but honestly, black bears as long as your careful are not as dangerous as some people think they are. He just got in his own head too much and freaked out.
WTF was Sam Larson doing... basically summoning the wolves? My father raised wolf hybrids, I was almost literally raised by wolves... calling attention to yourself be howling to them... BAD idea. :-(
It seems obvious from the choices the contestants made with their 10 items that they were required to select the items from a specific list. There was a lot more overlap in items then I would have expected otherwise. I found myself wondering why no one went for the sleeping method my father and I used when camping in the forest in Oregon... which is a tree hammock. Super easy to set up, keeps you off the wet cold ground so your heat isn't sucked out of you, set up a tarp over you to keep the rain off you... comfy as hell.
Look forward to seeing the next episode... its a very interesting concept.
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