The History Channel’s Alone season 12 episode five ended with Dug passing out. Episode six doesn’t make viewers wait to find out what happened, picking up Dug’s story moments after episode five ended.
Episode six, “Purpose,” begins with five participants surviving (but not thriving) in South Africa’s Great Karoo Desert. By the end of the hour, only four remain in the quest for the grand prize of $500,000. The following is a detailed recap of what went down, and there are spoilers. You’ve been warned.
Dug North: Age 53, Nashua, NH
Day 14, 12:08pm – Dug comes to after fainting, describing his fall over the camera case and into a non-spiny bush. He’s well-fed and well-rested but hasn’t been drinking enough water. This is a wake-up call, reminding him to drink and take more breaks. Dug admits he was really lucky that he fell near camp and not out where he could have fallen down a cliff. He’s also lucky he fell into a bush instead of onto a boulder.
He returns to his shelter and lies down, ready to rest and drink more water.
4:11pm – Dug looked at the footage and realized that if he had fallen anywhere else, it would have been a disaster. He needs to think hard about his safety, and although his ego wants more than 14 days, Dug says he needs to consider his future. Dug believes it wasn’t just lack of water that caused him to pass out, and he decides to tap.
“It’s been a hell of an adventure, for sure,” says Dug. Passing out crossed his safety line, and he’s surprised it wasn’t a dangerous animal or reptile that ended up being the cause. He promised his wife he’d only stay as long as it felt safe. Fainting was a warning signal that he needs to leave the competition.
Kelsey Loper: Age 35, Winnett, Montana
Day 14, 1:13pm – Kelsey’s hanging out in her shelter thinking about the food she could be eating. A personal favorite? Cookie dough. Break over, she heads out hunting while admitting she’s tired. The rain’s moved on, but she’s exhausted from the storm.
She’s still rationing her warthog but needs a fresh kill.
Kelsey is stunned to spot two giraffes nearby. They run off, but she hears grunting, indicating something else is close. She spots two warthogs, but they run up the hill before she gets a shot off. They have bad eyesight but have great hearing.
Day 16, 11:26am – Kelsey does some pushups outside her shelter and then tests to make sure she can still pull her bow back. She can, but it’s getting harder. Every day she walks in a loop, hunting while she still has energy. She doesn’t know where the warthogs have gone and must keep her potential targets to what a 50-pound bow can take down.
There’s a wildebeest nearby, but it requires a 60+ pound recurve bow. Kelsey thinks her competitors might have taken down bigger game than a warthog and believes she came in as the underdog. She heads back on her loop to camp, telling herself she’ll try again tomorrow.
12:42pm – Kelsey returns to camp and admits she probably went too far. She heads to the river and learns her bobber has been snagged in the weeds. Carefully, she attempts to work it free and realizes there’s a fish on it. She reminds herself to take it easy as she pulls in a small catfish. It’s 15 inches and worth about 480 calories.
1:26pm – Kelsey builds a small stove to cook her fish, which she thinks will be enough for one full meal.
2:19pm – The makeshift stovetop explodes due to heat trapped within it while it cooks. Fortunately, Kelsey’s far enough away that she isn’t injured. She gathers the fish, which she was just about to take off, while asking THC to show it in slow motion. THC obliges, and it looks pretty cool as it explodes in slo-mo.
2:53pm – Kelsey’s ready to eat her fish, dirt and all. She cooked it with rice and salt and uses a utensil she made earlier in the season to eat. This catfish took very little energy, and she does a happy catfish dance as she eats. She wonders if her competitors have full bellies while admitting that in order to be mentally and physically strong, she needs to do daily walks.
Nathan Olsen: Age 52, Buhl, Idaho
Day 15, 9:43am – Nathan’s loving the sunshine after the unexpected rainstorm. He needs to start working on his long-term shelter and begins to construct a permanent rock house out of shale stone. He’s targeting a 5’x10’ building and believes he has the calories right now to actually complete the job.
Nathan thinks stone makes sense using the dry stack method, with sand in the middle. It’s an old technique, and The History Channel notes he’s burning 300 calories an hour working on it. Hours later, he’s got the walls about a foot high and calls it a day.
Day 16, 9:41am – Nathan has a mouse out on a hook and finds a False Karoo Burrower scorpion to use as more bait. Fishing stopped for him when the rain hit, and he hasn’t caught anything since day nine. He’s trying to figure out whether to concentrate on fishing or hunting, and for now he thinks he’ll stick with fishing.
He returns to his shelter project and admits that people watching are probably saying building something that requires so many calories and so much energy is what contestants do right before they tap out. But Nathan thinks building this fort like he’s 12 is fun, and working on the shelter brings up childhood memories.
He stops to check on his fish lines, but nothing’s hooked yet.
Nathan stops work on his shelter when it’s about hip high.
Baha Mahmutov: Age 50, Wharncliff, Ontario, Canada
Day 15, 2:12pm – Baha says the sun feels good as he explores a new area for hunting. He spots a greater kudu but isn’t within bow shot range. (He’d like to be within 30 yards.) Baha decides to try and intercept him by climbing up the hill. He stops on his climb and realizes he’s lost the kudu. It’s blended in with the hill.
Baha’s disappointed and knows he needs food fast.
4:16pm – He opts to have buffalo thorn leaves for dinner and heads out to collect them. As he picks them up, the needles sting him. He brings back two handfuls of buffalo thorn leaves and cooks them in his pot. Baha says he’ll do anything for his family and describes the leaves as tasting like strange spice-flavored potato chips.
Day 16, 3:26pm – Baha’s in his shelter thinking about a weird dream from the night before. He knows it’s going to be a cold night and decides he needs to build a stove. The clay in the area is good for making bricks, and he started work on some on day four. Fire inside his shelter will make him much more comfortable.
To make the fireplace, he needs bricks and wet clay as a mortar. He didn’t bring a blanket but did bring a warm jacket and overalls. Baha thinks that with the fireplace, he should have enough heat. It’s not long before he’s exhausted and finishes up three layers before stopping.
9:27pm – Baha stands by his fire, happy to see stars again. He hopes his wife and kids are okay without him. If he wins, it will help his entire family. His sister passed away at 40, and he’s raising her two children. “I feel like I have to provide; I have to support my family as much as I can,” says Baha. “I cannot quit that responsibility. It’s just in me.”
He wants a better, brighter future for his family. Baha misses his sister a lot, but she’s always with him in his heart.
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- Alone Season 12 Episode 2 “Best Laid Plans” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 3 “Thirst Trap” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 4 “Finding a Foothold” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 5 “The Tempest” Recap
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