History’s Alone season 11 episode three checks in on Isaiah, Dub, Dusty, Michela, Peter, and William. And by the time the episode concludes, the number of survivalists left in the competition has been reduced to eight.

Isaiah – Age 35, Ghent, West Virginia

Day 3, 8:01am – Isaiah admits that it was too cold to get up in the middle of the night to go outside. So, he urinated in the gas can that he found on day one. The wind is kicking his rear, and he pledges that today is the day he’ll focus on his permanent shelter. He announces he’s going to attempt to make the warmest shelter in Alone’s history.

Isaiah plans to build a super-shelter with a large frame that’s 10’x10’ or 10’x13’. One of his 10 items is a shovel, which he uses to cut into a hill. He’ll add walls inside his shelter’s frame, even as the days go by and the winter really sets in. By the time he’s done, he believes his shelter will be bombproof.

Thus far, he’s used about 3,500 calories digging out the shelter. As he works, he reveals his brother was killed by a distracted driver. Isaiah thinks about his brother, Josh, every day and it still feels like an open wound. Josh’s death is the most difficult thing he’s endured.

The hat he brought with him belonged to his brother.

Day 6, 12:14pm – Isaiah admits his shelter’s taking more time than he’d like. But there’s nothing that can be done about that. He gets busy digging holes for his four posts, and he’s happy with how it’s coming along. Isaiah’s well aware that people have gone home after spending too much time on their shelters, but he’s pretty sure he can outdo Roland’s Rock House from season seven.

Isaiah needs protein because he’s depending only on berries and expending too many calories building. A squirrel chirps nearby, and he grabs his bow and arrows. He spots it, finds a clear spot, and takes a shot. Isaiah will be feasting on squirrel for dinner.

He’ll use one of its front arms for bait.

Isaiah and his wife have been trying to have another child, but she keeps miscarrying. His daughter was born through IVF, which is very expensive. That’s why he’s competing on Alone.

He cooks up his squirrel on the riverbank and notices his line’s moving. Isaiah reminds himself not to freak out as he pulls it in. He laughs and says, “Man, today is the day!”

Dub – Age 44, Frederic, Michigan

Day 4, 8:38am – Dub puts together a gill net, admitting it’s not pretty. As long as it works, that doesn’t matter. He has a rough time getting it to sink, but finally manages to set it.

Dub’s getting a bit delirious from hunger and, now that his shelter’s basically safe from grizzlies, he’s turning his attention to food. All he’s eaten thus far are mushrooms and berries, and he heads to the river to fish.

Dub used to be a fly-fishing guide and none of his customers ever failed to catch a fish. Suddenly, he sees a wake and realizes ducks are coming his way. He does a duck call and prepares to take a shot, but it’s too risky. Dub doesn’t have much time to think about it as he spots something else moving in the river. It’s another duck, and it’s working its way in his direction. He takes a shot and misses as three ducks fly off. Dub tries to retrieve his arrow, but it’s too far out. He’s forced to swim for it before it sinks. If he loses this arrow, he’ll be down to just one flu flu arrow.

The water is 51 degrees as Dub gets in and out quickly. At least he managed to find his arrow but is kicking himself that he missed having a duck dinner by waiting too long to take a shot.

Day 6, 7:52am – Dub’s sure today’s a good day to get food. It’s 41 degrees as he heads to check his gill net. He’s frustrated he hasn’t caught his first fish yet.

Whiskey jacks are on his net as he makes it to the river. He can see a fish head in his net as he gets closer, and it turns out to be a big pike. He pulls it out and challenges season 10 competitor Wyatt Black to a big pike contest. Wyatt caught a 42 incher. Alone believes Dub’s is about 36 inches.

He scales his fish while noting he’s really just competing against himself. Dub puts half the pike in his pot, which will provide him with about 2,400 calories. His strategy is to eat what he catches and not save it since preserving food hasn’t always worked in previous seasons.

The first bites are delicious.

Dusty – Age 35, Fifty-Six, Arkansas

Day 5, 8:42am – 12:15pm – Dusty’s done an amazing job of putting up his log cabin shelter and finishes up building a worktable about 3’ off the ground. He plans on keeping some of his supplies on it. A chittering squirrel gets his attention, and he takes a shot. It just misses. His second shot does the trick.

His stomach’s been hurting, and he hopes it’s just from hunger. Dusty pulls off the squirrel’s fur, setting aside the parts he’ll use for bait. So far, he hasn’t been successful fishing. However, he has shot four squirrels.

He sits on a log and uses his paracord and fishhook to sew up the squirrel’s fur after stuffing it with moss. Once it’s done, he’s made his version of a hacky-sack – a squirrely sack.

Michela – Age 33, Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, Canada

Day 5, 3:03pm – Michela’s covered with horsetail ferns as camouflage while she waits at the edge of the lake for ducks. She’s set out her duck decoys, and there are a few live ducks nearby. Michela does a duck call which actually does the opposite of what it’s supposed to do; it scares them away.

She hasn’t caught any protein and has been getting by on berries. Michela gets excited when she sees a nearby plant she believes is burdock, which has an edible root and is full of carbs. She pulls some up while Alone points out it is actually arctic dock, which is used as a laxative, astringent, and blood purifier.

Michela’s happy she knows so much about the plants in the area. They’ll provide sustenance until she gets protein.

Day 7, 1:36pm – Michela continues to work on her shelter and has a breakfast of bush cranberries from a basket she made of birch on day five. She follows that with arctic dock root soup, which has a really strange flavor.

Belly full, she heads off to check her fishnet. She’s caught a pike worth about 3,600 calories. Michela prepares it as she says this area feels like home in a way. Unfortunately, she’s forced to stop working on the fish when she feels nauseous. She vomits multiple times into the water, away from the fish. (Alone says arctic dock is used to induce vomiting.) Michela has misidentified the dock root, so she blames her upset stomach on the berries.

She gets back to work on the fish and plans on cooking the fish head first because it has the nutrients she needs. Michela provides a brief demonstration of how to properly prepare the fish as she cuts it up.

Peter – Age 43, Castelgar, British Columbia

Day 5, 7:51pm – Peter’s busy carving a hand line so he can fish. Next, he works on a fishing lure. He’s hoping that if he can get one fish, he can use it as bait. He’s only eaten berries since day one.

Peter is making a lure with two treble hooks on it as Alone says a treble hook counts as three of a participant’s 25 allowed hooks. Lure completed, Peter heads to the lake while noting fishing is one of his better survival skills.

9:02pm – Peter casts his new line, hoping to finally be successful in getting food. He believes he’s down five pounds, but Alone says he’s actually dropped 11.

9:54pm – Peter hasn’t caught anything yet but keeps at it.

10:16pm – His patience pays off and he catches his first fish. It’s a pike that almost gets away, but he stops it from getting back in the water. Peter’s using a snare wire leader since pike have sharp teeth that can bite through the line. After five days of failing, Peter’s going to have delicious pike soup for dinner.

He plans on putting out four set lines tonight.

Day 6, 3:27pm – Peter gets busy stringing together a decent-size gill net and then sets it out.

6:32pm – He checks his gill net and the lines he set out yesterday. One of the lines caught a baby pike, and he’s also got a pike in his net. His next line has snagged a decent-size burbot (a freshwater fish also called a poor man’s lobster). But that’s not all … his final two lines have large pikes on them. The largest pike is about 36” long.

Altogether, he’s hauled in about 10,000 calories in fish.

Peter decides that with so many fish, it’s time to build a teepee-style smoker. He’s obviously happy about all the fish but realizes it’s a lot of work to preserve them. Peter wants to make sure the food doesn’t spoil or get stolen by bears. Everything around his camp now smells like fish, which will definitely attract bears.

Alone notes it will take Peter two days to smoke five fish. He finishes his smoker by covering it with moss and then topping it with his raincoat. He’s hoping to preserve these fish for the winter ahead. It doesn’t have a door yet, but his next priority is building a ladder to keep the food away from bears.

Day 8, 9:33am – Peter works on his ladder while admitting he’s tired. Right now, the area is getting 14 hours of sunlight each day, and he’s constantly fishing, foraging, or building. He cuts his hand but doesn’t think it’s that bad. He places a Band-Aid on it and gets back to work.

He’s only eaten one fish and is smoking the rest.

Peter heads down to check his lines and loses a fish because he pulls it in too slowly. His lines are empty today, so he heads back to camp. As he’s working, he talks about how stressful it is being a parent knowing the choices you make affect your kids. He wants to be a good example for his kids but is questioning whether he’s treating them right. His son feels “big feelings” and Peter admits to not being able to relate or empathize with him. Now, in this environment, he’s feeling an overwhelming sense of failure. His mind is being flooded by feelings of sadness and grief, and he can’t stop it.

10:11am – Peter sits by the river, watching ducks. His goal with Alone was to test his survival skills, and he believes he’s done well. His shelter’s good and his belly’s full, but he’s also had eight days of complete emotional release, which he wasn’t expecting. Peter’s wife hasn’t seen him cry in the 15 years they’ve been married, but he’s cried out here alone.

He needs to go home and fix his relationship with his family. Peter becomes the second survivalist to tap out of season 11. The emotional challenge was too much for him. He never thought he would defeat himself, but he needs to return to his family.

On a positive note, he feels more like a well-rounded human than he was before Alone. He won’t bury his emotions moving forward.

William – Age 49, Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador

Day 7, 10:53am – William’s in a great mood as he heads out to check his rabbit snares. He grew up in a remote town where there wasn’t anything to do. As kids, they were always out in nature, and that’s why he was so excited to do Alone. William believes that if you look after nature, nature will always feed you back.

His first snare has trapped a snowshoe hare that’ll be good for at least two meals. He places the rabbit in a hole that should keep it cool (21 degrees) where it will stay for a few days.

• Alone Season 10 Episode 1 Recap: “Game On”
• Alone Season 11 Episode 1 “Enter the Circle” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 2 “Opportunity Cost” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 4 “Legacy” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 5 “Something in the Air” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 6 “Murphy’s Law” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 7 “One Pike at a Time” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 8 “The Marten Chronicles” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 9 “The Wormhole” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 10 “Symphony of Solitude” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 11 “Collapse” Recap
• Alone Season 11 Episode 12 Finale Recap