"Alone In The Wild" - Nat Geo

[610Alpha]

I recorded this show a while back and finally got a chance to watch it. Background story - this guy from the UK wanted to spend 3 months in the Yukon by himself. He did a 6 day test in 2008 then came back in 2009. He lasted 50 days before he called in for pickup.

1. He had no plan even after his 6 day trip.
2. Wasn't really prepared to live off the land.
3. On his first day he couldn't make a decision on where to set up camp.
4. Relocated his camp to another lake/river but there wasn't the fish that he was expecting.
5. Wasn't prepared mentally for the isolation.
6. After 1 week of eating fish he hardly fished after that.
7. Kept expecting the Salmon to come up the river but didn't.


He should have done more research on the Yukon, known when salmon would run and on which rivers, had several trout lines, and more knowledge of plants and wildlife in the AO.

IMO he did not have the right mentality. He said several times this was his boyhood dream, well his dream turned into a nightmare. By the end of it he was crying all the time and he just wanted to hug people.

Anyone else see this show?

[WiseOwl]

Yes I saw this poor whiny sap. Me and my wife realized we wasted our time with this show. He was so amped up about it in the beginning but ended up just wah wah'n. Gosh I wish I could have the connections in the world to get to do stuff like this........after 50 days, I would have me a recliner built out of twigs and I would be just chillin.....I would look so at home. And he even had some good gear and a gun if I remember correct....

[Briar Wabbit]

Well ... He had company and community, all around him ... plenty of "folks" to talk to, if he had a more open and flexible outlook.

I was stuck with barracks watch, one xmas ... I was the only guy there, for over 3 weeks ... It was cold, but the nights were cozy ... I had a small reading lamp set up and on the third night, I noticed a small movement, out of the corner of my eye, on the floor, down behind the heating-radiator. When I looked, nothing was there ... "going nutz", I thot ... The next night I thot I saw it again ... I stole a glance and saw a small mouse (literally) peeking at me, from behind the pipe . ... I turned my head and he/it was gone, again ...
... The next night, I got some cheeze-n-PB crackers, out of the vending machine, and ate most of them but put a healthy little portion, right by the pipe ... As I read ... My new "friend" deftly snagged the cracker, and disappeared.
... and, so-on ... By the end of one week, the little critter was sitting at my feet, munching the tasty treats, quietly, as I read ... We got on a reqular schedule and we would just hang ... I'd say "Hi, there" ... It would squint, in acknowledgement and we would just hang ... Then, everyone came back from vacation and we never saw each other, again ... but a nice little friend ... good company.

There is another story, about a Blue-Jay ... Was making a racket, on the phone-lines, above our drive-way, between Monterey and Carmel ... I went outside and mocked him (a guy, fer sher) and we went at it, back and forth ...
.... In a few weeks, he was eating saltines, from my dad's hand, while perched on the gutter, of our car-port ...
... This was happenning almost every day, around 2pm ... Then ... after a few more weeks? ... He would come right into the kitchen, thru the open door (if we had not fed him), and he would jump up and down, on the kitchen floor, and "biotch" like crazy, DEMANDING that we choke-up his daily ration ...
... In the end? ... That crazy bird brought his mate and they built a nest, right at eye level, (not kidding) ... 5 feet off the ground and less than a dozen feet from out car-port ... They laid eggs and had chicks, right there ! ... We would walk right up to them, face to face, inches away, and they would show-off their kids and demand our subsidies ... Sort of a "Welfare-State" co-dependent situation ... We then moved down to Big-Sur ... Too bad, SO sad ! GET-A-JOB !

Now ... we are not really "critter-people" ... My point is ? ... Animals can very easily be made into friends and neighbors ... they interact and will sustain a fairly complex conversation, over a season, or two. A few choice crumbs and they are yer best pal (BFF) ... The real issue is not getting "overly" involved/dependent.

Be careful with bears, tho ! ... They can get pretty cranky ! (very pushy!) ...

I know another lady who, when she empties her vegetable compost, at the edge of her yard, Texas White-Tail Deer jump out of the woods and almost knock her down ... nightly ... they DO eat from her hand ... NO prob ... have names.

I'd club them and eat them, myself, but, that's just me.