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Post by ineffableone on Jul 4, 2015 4:11:07 GMT
Jussi, I have grown up in the PNW. I regularly drive out into the woods on logging roads. Distance from point A to B gets dramatically longer when your winding up and down switchbacks as you go from one valley to another and at night you tend not to go too fast due to worries about impacts with deer, rock slides, and driving off large drop offs. I am so used to those roads and driving them I tend to drive rather fast compared to others. But most people don't drive them very fast. I also don't think your taking into account the bushwhacking once they left the road. Trying to go through the woods and undergrowth in the dark like that is no joke.
Could they have sent a helicopter in? Maybe, but they clearly said no one was willing to fly or go by boat. I don't doubt this. Night flying is not a simple thing. Especially in coastal areas where there is a heat differential between water and land. There can be some difficult air to negotiate and if you can't properly see the topography this can be quite dangerous. Similar with boats, driving a boat in the dark long those coves is no simple task.
Now would things have been different if he had called after being mauled and he was badly injured. Probably. At that point I think they would have gotten a helicopter or boat to go, but for someone who was scared in the woods and not definitely in danger just possibly. Yes a 3 hr drive and hike in is not unreasonable.
Did the show producers hype the rescue, of course they did. However I think you are reading way too much into it.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jul 4, 2015 6:12:02 GMT
Some good research and info there Jussi.
I have no doubt situations are edited after the fact to make situations seem more exciting. It *IS* a TV show after all... and just hanging out in the woods all day in and of itself would not make for a particularly exciting show for most folk. For example... while Wayne was waiting for rescue they showed footage of what seemed like a bear walking around his shelter. I'm not certain that footage was actually happening at the same time Wayne was waiting there... I think it was just clever editing to make the situation seem more dangerous.
That said... while I'm sure they edit scenes, play with time and distance, and do a lot of other things to increase the drama... that does NOT mean that they contestants are not actually alone, that there are camera crews and others around them when the whole premise of the show is that there are NOT such things. I think making that assumption is a bridge too far in this case.
The contestants will have absolutely signed non-disclosure agreements until the series has ended. If any of them were talking at all about what happened publicly it would ruin the show. This is standard with all reality shows. However, AFTER the show has ended they will likely have a lot to say... many reality show participants have opened up a LOT about the experience after the program has aired. It will be very interesting to hear what they have to say when they are permitted to talk.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jul 4, 2015 6:14:32 GMT
By the way ineffableone... what part of the PNW did you grown up in? I lived in Oregon for a couple years when I was younger. I loved it there, and strongly consider going back.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 4, 2015 7:45:49 GMT
By the way ineffableone... what part of the NW did you grown up in? I lived in Oregon for a couple years when I was younger. I loved it there, and strongly consider going back. I grew up in Bellingham WA. I have also lived in Eugene OR for several years. And am currently living just outside Seattle. I have been to most of the islands in the Puget Sound, and camped a lot of the Olympics as well as the Cascades. In fact I worked trail maintenance in the Cascades for a season. Best job of my life. Lived in the woods and worked in the woods. I am hopefully getting land over in Eastern WA in the next year or two. Once I find a permanent job, I will be doing serious land hunting.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jul 10, 2015 5:12:58 GMT
Wow...
Episode 4 spoilers... you have been warned.
So... looks like Brant ingested a goodly amount of bad water and had a rough time of it. In the end tho... that is not what he was talking about tho... he, like others, was going on and on about the horrible solitude. How tough it was to be alone out there... ...for 5 days?!?!?
I'm a bit confused... I've been off in the woods by myself for 7-10 days before... and I loved it. I've spent weeks and months at a time not having any meaningful contact with other people. Everyone knew what they were signing up for... I have to admit I'm a little confused by everyone having such an issue with the solitude after such a short span of time. Its very odd to me. Now Mitch... he both impressed me and disappointed me this episode. Impressive... the idea to make char-cloth. VERY clever. Not sure I would have thought of it. I'd like to think I would... but I can't say for sure I would have. Very smart move. Disappointed... why did he decide to harvest his nets in the dark of night... and... much worse... why the &^%$ did he decide to cook his fish in his camp in the dead of night???? He might as well be ringing the dinner bell for everything out there. Will be interesting to see what comes of his cougar encounter. So... he's gone. If it really was his bubble guts from the bad water and not the weight of being alone then very well... but I was just surprised to see him complain so much about only 5 days by himself.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 10, 2015 8:23:02 GMT
I agree with you Mitch both impresses and disappoints. What you wanna bet he didn't even bring a weapon with him when checking the net at night. And yes, in an area you know is heavy with predators, you make sure to set up two camps. One to sleep at and one to cook at. The smartest thing Mitch could have done, was to yell really loud when he saw the cougar, not get quiet. Bang around shout and make a racket. Now did Mitch go to sleep with fish still there in camp? Did he eat all 5 lbs of fish, probably not. So while there is food in camp and spilled in your lap you don't go to sleep when you just saw a cougar 10 feet from your fire.
As for Brant, I saw his troubles coming. The man was not ready for such a challenge. He couldn't get a fire, he didn't know that he had to find a better water source. I would have been licking water from the trees before drinking that water. Or instead of trying to filter with the moss, wring out the moss and drink the water that had collected in it from rain. The guy was doing nothing from what we have seen to improve his situation, he was just enduring the suck.
Alan seems to be doing ok, but he needs to get more proactive instead of settling into too much of a rut. The previews made it look like he was however getting into building a better shelter.
Dustin got a little more time, but not much. I saw in the back ground of some of his footage what looked like some decent camp structure building. So seems like he has been doing something, we just haven't been given any idea of his camp set up yet.
Sam really got shorted for time.
Man only a brief moment with Lucas. I really would like to see what he has been doing a lot more. I bet he has some great footage of seriously improving his situation. But due to every episode someone tapping out they focus on the person tapping out to tell their story. So we don't get to see much of the cool stuff that might be going on.
Pretty early on I sort of felt Lucas had the right mentality and skill set to win, and with each episode I see just a little more. Unless he really screws up, he would be the one I suspect goes all the way.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jul 10, 2015 9:05:06 GMT
Yup... Lucas and Alan are still my favorites to win. Tho Sam shows a lot of good positive attitude which is super key to not psyche yourself out I think.
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Post by freq on Jul 10, 2015 10:56:42 GMT
anyone care to guess how long the winner will last? my guess is less than a month. we dont have cougars in oz (except the female kind) but seemed silly to me to process meat at night in your camp then cook it whilst predators/scavengers are going to be most active. the rest seem to be getting set up pretty well,think a lot of them are really unused to bush noises and seem to be freaking themselves out due to natural sounds,still cant get my head around why none of them are catching the runoff rain from the tarps they have, would seem like a fairly obvious thing to do to me its clean and doesn't need you to go and look for it. most interesting to me is the variation of the knives the contestants are carrying, none of then are even close to the same type.what would be your blade choice for this situation?
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 10, 2015 11:27:07 GMT
Freq, Wayne did a water catch with his tarp. As did Sam, he chopped into a log next to his camp and laid a tarp into it. Brant is the only one who seems to have trouble with understanding how to get water. Even Mitch before crossing to find fresh water was harvesting rain water, it just wasn't enough for him.
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Post by freq on Jul 10, 2015 11:55:34 GMT
musta missed that bit lol
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jul 10, 2015 17:11:09 GMT
I've noticed the knives... Alan has a big as kuk he likes to play with, I saw a Dan Brown Style Trapper knife... I'm not sure what sort of knife I would take. I'd put some serious thought into it. I don't have any really good knives right now... I have a Zombie Tools Felon, but that is huge. I used to have an awesome Tinker custom kuk that would have been a great bush knife... alas... lost it to one of my many sales.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 10, 2015 20:13:13 GMT
For knives I would actually likely not opt for the fixed blade. Since your limited to 10 items you just can't take everything you want.
for a knife I would likely opt for a multitool rather than a fixed blade, and rely on an axe for any heavier duty needs. With a SOG Powerassist I would get 2 knife blades, a saw, awl, file, and of course pliers. I am looking to see if I can swap out the can opener or the hex driver I added for scissors.
While I wouldn't look as cool and bad ass with just a multitool, it would be a lot more practical and give me a lot more versatility than a single fixed blade. And I know how to use my axe for a lot of knife like chores. So my axe would be my fixed blade.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jul 10, 2015 21:02:51 GMT
For knives I would actually likely not opt for the fixed blade. Since your limited to 10 items you just can't take everything you want. for a knife I would likely opt for a multitool rather than a fixed blade, and rely on an axe for any heavier duty needs. With a SOG Powerassist I would get 2 knife blades, a saw, awl, file, and of course pliers. I am looking to see if I can swap out the can opener or the hex driver I added for scissors. While I wouldn't look as cool and bad ass with just a multitool, it would be a lot more practical and give me a lot more versatility than a single fixed blade. And I know how to use my axe for a lot of knife like chores. So my axe would be my fixed blade. Smart thinking. I was thinking about just that very thing the other day... as much as I'd like to have a knife... if I was limited to only 10 items, I might forgo it for other things when my options are so limited.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 10, 2015 22:30:08 GMT
For knives I would actually likely not opt for the fixed blade. Since your limited to 10 items you just can't take everything you want. for a knife I would likely opt for a multitool rather than a fixed blade, and rely on an axe for any heavier duty needs. With a SOG Powerassist I would get 2 knife blades, a saw, awl, file, and of course pliers. I am looking to see if I can swap out the can opener or the hex driver I added for scissors. While I wouldn't look as cool and bad ass with just a multitool, it would be a lot more practical and give me a lot more versatility than a single fixed blade. And I know how to use my axe for a lot of knife like chores. So my axe would be my fixed blade. Smart thinking. I was thinking about just that very thing the other day... as much as I'd like to have a knife... if I was limited to only 10 items, I might forgo it for other things when my options are so limited. Over on BCUSA they have a thread on what 10 items you would pick. Here is my list based off what the contestants brought and what is known to be allowed. I found out after making the list that they were given a 12X12 and 5x7 tarp, so edited out my choice of a 12x12 oilskin tarp. Previously I had not had paracord because I had run out of options in narrowing down 10 items, so not having to fill a spot with a tarp allowed me to choose paracord. Really for a good minimal kit I think you need c loser to 15-20 items rather than 10. BTW BCUSA has a thread all about the knives of Alone. You might like to check it out. There are some interesting knife choices. bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php/153477-Alone-tv-knives
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Post by Paul on Jul 10, 2015 23:07:01 GMT
I'd agree with your line of thinking, I'd bring my Gransfors Bruks small forest axe and my Leatherman Wave. My Gransfors Bruks has an amazing edge to work with and can double as a knife blade for some tasks. Ive also been considering picking up the hunters axe version as well.
Though faced with the choice it would be hard not to bring a decent knife, I'd want to bring either my Fallkniven A1 or my new Bark River Aurora.
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Post by chrisperoni on Jul 11, 2015 2:26:52 GMT
Sean said it --five days!?!
C'mon man these guys have GOT to be able to stand it out there longer than this. All this talk of psyching themselves out and their wandering, worrying thoughts -- they just plain should be able to maintain better mental focus than this.
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jul 11, 2015 2:36:59 GMT
Alas, I can not view the thread. :-(
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Jul 11, 2015 2:38:39 GMT
Sean said it --five days!?! C'mon man these guys have GOT to be able to stand it out there longer than this. All this talk of psyching themselves out and their wandering, worrying thoughts -- they just plain should be able to maintain better mental focus than this. Yeah... I get that the human is a social animal... and that I am much more anti-social and solitary then most. However, all these guys knew what they were signing up for... and the amount of complaints regarding the solitude after only 5 days is very, very surprising to me.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 11, 2015 3:23:06 GMT
Alas, I can not view the thread. :-( Dustin is carrying a BECK WSK Joe is using an Adventure Sworn Mountaineer Wayne's knife is BK2 Mitch is using a Jacklore that he designed... calls it the Native Survival Knife Chris had an L.T. Wright Genesis Allan is toting the Condor Kukri Sam is using a Green River Hunter Lucas is using a Jason Hawk custom I don't think we ever saw Brant use a knife Josh didn't bring a knife
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Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Jul 11, 2015 15:02:20 GMT
It cracks me up every time they put up the disclaimer saying, These are expert survivalist, don't try this on your own. Expert survivalist where, at a KOA camp grounds. I keep seeing stupid mistakes being made by some of these guys most of who are already gone. One item that I didn't see any of them take was a water purifier, you can survive about three weeks without food but only three to five days without safe water. I've drawn water out of mud puddles through a purifier to drink. In some ways the show is starting to get a little annoying with the childish whining and stupid mistakes. Right now if I had to bet, my money is on Sam or Mitch and that's only because someone has to win.
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