"Alone."

[TXyakr]

Work real hard on the not crying in front of the camera skill, please!

Ha ha ha. I'm with you Kyratshooter. It is possible they did not on first take then producers told them if they re-shot it and put cry drops in their eyes they would get paid a $$ bonus to increase the number of woman viewers.

I would need to work real hard on trying to convince my wife and kids that I missed them on every take and did not have any fun not even for 5 minutes per day. Mitch is a good actor on that bit. Make sure I video recorded removal of every single tick to make is seem like place was infested.

[Sarge47]

Work real hard on the not crying in front of the camera skill, please!

Yeah, remember, "There's no crying in survival!"... Wonder if they're going to change locations each season?

[jdbushcraft]

Again, a ferro rod does not require carbon or steel at all. If titanium is harder than ferrocerium it would work fine. Most rocks with a hard edge will work. Carbon is only important in traditional flint and steel, of which I understand that area is lacking.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[TXyakr]

A scuba diver friend told me Titanium would not work, he must have been talking about flint not ferrocerium or from something he read not from experience. I don't have a Ti knife and don't want to scratch up my Ti cook pot lid/handle but will need to try with some other bit of Ti some time, my Ti tent pegs don't have sharp edges.

What did you folks think of latest Alone episode. Performance by Mitch was very good IMO. Weathering a strong Pacific storm of cold rain with trees crashing down near by is very tough! I would be building a small, rough log hut/cabin with strong roof frame work as fast as possible! I have had tropical winds rip the roof tile and roof sections off the buildings and huts I was staying in. NOT FUN!!!

Many layers of fir branches and saplings perhaps to keep them from blowing off. I don't know? Most of my experience is with palm leaves and poles from saplings. I have let my yard get overgrown so now I have material to construct a debris/brush hut so will spend a few hours in early morning 1-3 days a week doing it. Not ideal because leaves dry up. Neighbors are always putting stuff by alley so plenty of leaves/small branches once a week to recover shelter. Fun stuff and no ranger at national forest or state park to yell at me. Truth is some private campgrounds, state parks are fine with you clearing out cat tails and brush just ask first, then put in designated area when done. i.e. beside road for easy pickup by their maintenance crews.

[hunter63]

....................................... Fun stuff and no ranger at national forest or state park to yell at me. Truth is some private campgrounds, state parks are fine with you clearing out cat tails and brush just ask first, then put in designated area when done. i.e. beside road for easy pickup by their maintenance crews.

Ask first...around here you even need a permit to harvest "weed worms" that grow in gall's in certain weed stems.
Cattails are a no-no....

[Batch]

I have camped in tropical storms and in some pretty nasty storms. That is normal weather for us during the wet season.

A 60 mph storm is pretty dramatic from inside a tent. When they were showing the guys inside their shelters it sure didn't look like the winds were blowing very hard outside. Or was that just my impression?

I also believe that they have given some kind of incentive to put on the water works. Otherwise who turns on a camera and says that they just spent the last 10 minutes on their knees crying. It does look like some are forcing the emotion too.

Ok, and so then there were four.

If you had to guess what is the order you would say they are leaving the island?

For me right now, I think it is this order.

Lucas (he said if he could be build a boat he would feel like he achieved something.)

Mitch (This guy seems very likable. I even have a freind who looks and talks a lot like him. But, I think the following two have personalities more suited toward isolation.)

Sam (Seems good with being alone.)

Alan (I don't know what it is. But, Alan just seems to be competitive and again he seems to be good with the isolation.)

Could be anybody's game and I am sure they are showing footage that would throw us off. But, no harm in guessing, right?

[TXyakr]

Good assessment Batch. Lucas has great skills. Frame canoe was impressive and useful but he seems to be very up and down emotionally, much of this is normal and could just be the editing by producers so not fair for me to judge over so few days. Very extreme weather and terrain/waters there, I would be very conservative about going out in a boat and building a shelter as well, i.e. small and stay close. I also wondered about putting tarps over branches/poles with knots/branches and rough spots, this seemed like it would get torn to shreds in sever weather. Hope they smoothed them off and tied down well so will it would give not rip at tie downs etc. I like to use willow.

This is also an environment where I prefer a stainless steel 5-7" blade over 1095 or similar carbon steel due to the marine environment i.e. salt spray everywhere and most of your food is from the coast no ready source of oil. I don't like brittle steel (less tough due to chromium) or the fact that it get dull fast (tiny breaks at edge) but just the facts of adapting to your environment that are part or intelligent survival that come with experience in multiple situations and geographic locations over many decades.

So repeating what I said before: comes down to psychology and adaptability. My bet is with Mitch and then Alan but I could be very wrong, I have been wrong before. Cody Lundin was they guy I thought would say on Dual Survivor and he left first, I was wrong there, wishful thinking perhaps.

Simple/short summary of blade steel types: http://www.bladehq.com/cat--Steel-Types--332

[hayshaker]

mabey they should find some crusty ole ice fishermen they like to get away from the wife
for the whole winter. oh but you would have to have a lot of beer on hand too i guess..

[Sarge47]

Lucas (he said if he could be build a boat he would feel like he achieved something.)

Mitch (This guy seems very likable. I even have a freind who looks and talks a lot like him. But, I think the following two have personalities more suited toward isolation.)

Sam (Seems good with being alone.)

Alan (I don't know what it is. But, Alan just seems to be competitive and again he seems to be good with the isolation.)

Could be anybody's game and I am sure they are showing footage that would throw us off. But, no harm in guessing, right?

My money's on Alan staying. He reminded me of myself when he broke out into song...it's a great way to release tension.

Sam's starting to crack, missing his pregnant wife and all.

Lucas has mad woodcrafting skills and might hang on a bit more.

Not sure about Mitch, but then others have already left that I thought would stay around....

[Batch]

My money's on Alan staying. He reminded me of myself when he broke out into song...it's a great way to release tension.

Sam's starting to crack, missing his pregnant wife and all.

Lucas has mad woodcrafting skills and might hang on a bit more.

Not sure about Mitch, but then others have already left that I thought would stay around....

You know whats funny is I sing all the time also. I can't carry a tune. But, I sing all the time. LOL

I think Sam is doing what the crew told him to do. I think he is put together better than is being let on. He seems to be enjoying himself.

My thing with Lucas is I think he misses his family and am I the only one that thinks he is in a relationship with the guy they showed him going over his gear with? Just the words that he used to describe who he was leaving behind. Just an observation.

I think he was holding out for a big accomplishment so that he could go home having done something great. It seems like he has the most inner turmoil of the last 4. That could be entirely misleading through editing and theatrics.

At this point though, given the first 6 leaving. I have respect for all 4 people. I have never spent that much time alone.


Oh, when they came and picked the last guy up after the storm. Did anyone notice a lighthouse just down the beach from where he was?

[TXyakr]

Fairly sure Lucas was going over his gear with his younger brother in that earlier show. And yes there is a fair amount of boat traffic by all their campsites in that area. It is not as remote or "ALONE" as thé show makes it out to be. Few coastlines are. I think they fudged mile scale to fool people about where it actually is. Many fishing and logging crews there. Might not be hunting season but a lot of that activity as well part of year.

[Batch]

One of the guys I work and camp with is an avid fisherman and went fishing up that way with his uncle. They went by Vancouver Island and he said there were logs piled every where and that it was a pretty busy place over all.

On Lucas:

He’s leaving behind his parents, four siblings, eight nieces and nephews and his girlfriend.

I guess I was wrong. LOL

[Grizz123]

I'm shocked that half of the guys tapped out in 7 days or less. I expected some to go that early but not half.

[TXyakr]

Good point Grizz. More people should go into a National Forest Area near them during the off season like winter but NOT hunting season and spend at least a week there, with minimal gear like men on this T.V. show. I limit my self with small rucksack or WW kayak and dry bags. It is very good to clear the mind and get some physical exercise. Should have been a prerequisite for this Alone show. The 4 that remain seem fairly good. Sam exceeded my expectations, I wrote him off to soon because he was young sloppy and seemed extremely clueless but "tent" strapped to logs appeared to hold up to gale force winds. I expected him to be under a tree with a few scraps of tarp on satellite phone calling for evacuation. Ha ha ha. Was wrong again.

[finallyME]

At this point, I think Alan is going to do it. The first few shows, while everyone is quitting, he is finding food. To me, he seems the most at ease and comfortable. Lucas looks very comfortable as well....I think he is a wild card. He definitely has the potential. I think Mitch had the advantage of having to work really hard at first to find a good site with water. It kept his mind occupied and focused. If he leaves next, I still have respect for him. He stayed the night after seeing a cougar in his camp. Of course, he did the dumb thing of cooking in his sleeping area. I think Sam made a dumb decision putting his camp right on the beach. Those tarps won't last with all the wind. Sam is definitely the weakest of the 4, but he may be crazy enough to stay the longest.

[Batch]

When Alan was in his shelter weathering the rain he sang a tune "Dum dum diddley i o i o".

We used to listen to Alex Beaton sing this song all the time at the Scottish Festival. The Drunken Scotsman!

[Sarge47]

I like Alan...liked him from the start. He seems to have it altogether. He reminds me of me! If anyone is going to get the booty it'll be him IMO. To be honest, I thought that Sam would have been long gone by now! I know he's missing his family, maybe thinking how much that money would help the family.Mitch is a weak link I think. Lucas was teetering on the edge until he built his canoe. Both Alan & Lucas got a bit ill from eating the seafood. Maybe their stomachs were not ready for all that food after doing without for so long? Boredom, loneliness, and fear/panic are the things that you can have the most difficulty with in a scenario like this one. I was surprised nobody tapped out in the last episode....

[TXyakr]

When Alan was in his shelter weathering the rain he sang a tune "Dum dum diddley i o i o".

We used to listen to Alex Beaton sing this song all the time at the Scottish Festival. The Drunken Scotsman!

About 14 years ago I told my daughter about 3 years old to go up and ask Alex Beaton when the fireworks show at the Texas Scottish Festival was going to begin. He was going on and on with his guitar. He said the people contracted to do it had bailed and run off with the money, everyone laughed or booed and my daughter has been afraid of large audiences ever since, LOL. Alex was actually better than a fireworks show. Also his son's band Seven Nations is good but they drink so much rarely make it to TX anymore. I heard their "Under the Milky Way" song on an airplane channel recently and occasionally on alternate radio stations. It is a good one to sing or listen to when sleeping out under the stars.



Make a penny whistle out of some hollow wood or deer/elk bone. Some indigenous people I lived with make good flutes from the femur (thigh) bone of a deer, it was more religious than entertainment for them, but whatever works.

They also spent bad weather days weaving baskets (for food gathering, traps for fish, other animals), making arrows, fishing spears, and many other things. Best psychological thing to do is keep busy. They cooked and ate food in separate location from where they slept, mostly due to insects but to avoid predators is another very good reason. Also clean your self off well after eating before going to sleep. Bears don't see well even in day light and at night may just bite down on what smells tasty.

[TXyakr]

Mitch's You tube on his 10 "Alone" items. "NativeSurvival" channel

Sorry if someone else already posted this link, he has some other videos I have not checked out yet.



Just looked at that freeze frame from video more carefully, is Mitch holding his arrow incorrectly? Are the fletchings turned 180 degrees around is he going to strip off the orange feather?

[TXyakr]

I have a lot of respect for Mitch and all the guys who stayed at least 18 days on this History Channel "Alone" show. Mitch especially has great primitive and bushcraft skills but he was a little slow at adapting to a new environment. I laughed at him freaking out about all the mold! (aka fungus) It is a big deal you really need to figure out how to deal with it or it eats you alive, seriously!

I have had the common species of fungus on/under my toenails, in my ears, but also under the upper layers of my skin, in my gut and growing on my hair. There are several species that grow in/on human hair, I think the type that I and several of my childhood friends had in the tropics (Amazon Rain Forest) was Black Piedra. We learned real fast to never go to sleep or head on pillow or hat on wet hair, let hair dry out after a shower or cut it very short if this is an issue. Also after swimming shake water out of ears if no alcohol and dry off in the sun, just assume water and air is full of fungus spores. Thin fast drying towel to scrap or push most off water, not sponge it off, use a stripped willow branch or whatever just get water off.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2938571/

Humans live in more environments than almost any other species of life-form because we (some of us) are highly adaptable.