The action picks up on day 45 on History’s Alone season 10 episode 10. Mikey, Wyatt, and Alan began the episode not necessarily thriving but at least surviving in the remote islands around Reindeer Lake in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Episode 10, the penultimate episode, ends on day 51 with all three remaining in the quest for the $500,000 grand prize.
Mikey Hilton, Age 32, Rome, Georgia
Day 45 – The temperature’s a chilly 38 degrees, and Mikey’s built an impressive snowman, complete with a broom and top hat. He’s anxious to get home and hug his son but determined to remain in the competition. However, it’ll all be up to whether he can catch some food soon.
It snowed overnight and Mikey’s hoping to spot some tracks, but he doesn’t have any luck. This is his first winter in this environment, so he’s at a disadvantage. The only thing he spots is rat activity. This is the longest he’s gone hunting without catching anything.
If he fails Alone, he’ll feel like he’s failed his family.
Back at his camp, he sets up a rat trap. Alone informs us that Mikey’s 6’5” and started off the competition at 300 pounds. Thus far, he’s lost 67 pounds. Although he hopes for a moose or bear, he’d be happy to catch a rat at this point.
Day 47 – Mikey caught two rats in his shelter overnight. He woke up at 1:40am to snare them, and now that morning’s arrived, he gets to work cleaning them. Mikey won’t just settle for rats but is determined to get squirrels or grouse still. (They look more like mice than rats.)
He makes a stuffed rat out of the skin using twine he made from rope that he found. Mikey stuffs it with moss and shows the finished project to the camera.
Day 49 – Mikey boils some reindeer moss and pretends it’s sauerkraut. He’s got a lot of it and will spend time processing it and before storing it in a bag in his shelter.
Mikey’s still hoping to kill a squirrel or rabbit, and can’t believe he hasn’t caught a single fish, even though he sees them jumping. He takes a bite of his reindeer moss and admits it’s not that bad, comparing it to Mini Wheats.
One of Mikey’s new projects is to make his wife a pestle and mortar. The hunger is starting to get to him, but he wants to keep going. As he’s working on the mortar, he spots a marten close by. (Martens can be shot but not trapped.)
Mikey grabs his bow, but the marten runs away. He reminds himself to man up and not waste this opportunity.
He returns to his shelter to discover that his stuffed rats, and the one he killed last night but didn’t eat, are gone. His gut can is also empty, and he blames it on the marten that he saw earlier.
Day 50 – Mikey emerges from his shelter and yells, “Good morning!” He’s all bundled up and appears to be having a great time in the freezing weather.
Mikey burned a lot of wood overnight, and he believes the winter’s here to stay. His task for the day is to cut 50 pieces of wood, and he’s aware that you can’t win this challenge without hard work.
Day 51 – Mikey sings “Happy Birthday” to his son who’s turning five years old. He shows off the toys he made for his son and hopes his son had a terrific birthday. Mikey’s son doesn’t know why he’s gone, and Mikey’s sad he’s not there to celebrate his special day.
Mikey promises his son he’ll be home soon. He cries as he says, “I want to hear you say I love you, Daddy, in person.” His son means everything to him.
James “Wyatt” Black, Age 51, Ontario, Canada
Day 46 – Wyatt greets the day with a weather report, happy that the snow’s melted off and the temperature’s now 41 degrees. He notes that he’s very familiar with this environment and believes that’s an advantage as the winter sets in.
“We’re in the serious stages now, boys and girls,” says Wyatt. He thinks the field has narrowed quite a bit at this point. He confesses he hopes his fellow survivalists aren’t having as good a time as he is. It’s all about focus. You can’t get caught up in thinking about home.
The waves are smashing as he checks his gillnet. He’s caught a fish but struggles to get it out of the lake before it’s released from his net. Wyatt’s latest catch is a three-to-four-pound whitefish.
Wyatt plans on eating a piece of this fish tonight and claims he has lots of days left in him. He warns himself not to think it hasn’t been too tough yet but believes that compared to his life, this hasn’t been bad. Wyatt wants to bring his family here when the challenge is over and camp for the night to feel this experience.
Wyatt grew up a social outcast more interested in hunting and fishing. Plus, he began drinking at 14, and everyone in his life tried to convince him to quit. However, the man he is today would try and guide that kid down a different path.
He believes the Alone experience can benefit a lot of people in getting rid of past troubles.
Day 49 – Wyatt ate a big breakfast and reveals he’s being less conservative with his food since he has eight fillets stored away. He’s feeling great both mentally and physically and appreciates the sound of silence.
Wyatt’s gillnet caught a massive pike that should take him close to day 100.
Day 50 – It’s 6pm and Wyatt’s happy to be there for day 50. His water froze quickly; it’s that cold in his shelter. Wyatt eats fish he’s stored in a cooler bag made of plastic gaiters, frozen moss, and ice and says goodnight.
But at 9:30 pm, Wyatt wakes to discover the wind changed direction and his chimney caught fire. He quickly dumps water on the chimney and puts it out, realizing he was seconds away from a real disaster. Wyatt blames himself because he forgot to water down the moss on his shelter.
The wind’s really blowing, and Wyatt decides to stay up until his fire goes out. It’s blowing at 50mph, and the shifting directions are sending smoke into his shelter.
Day 51 – Last night was Wyatt’s worst night. The wind chill has plunged the temperature to minus 1 degrees. He needs to assess the chimney damage and plans on reinforcing it with stone instead of moss. But he’s really not looking forward to going outside.
He finally emerges from his shelter, takes a look at the damage, and heads off to retrieve rocks from his pit to use on the chimney. Wyatt believes the more he can build it out, the less chance the wind will get in and cause another fire.
Wyatt thinks his dad will be very proud of what he’s accomplished. It wouldn’t have been possible without his father’s teachings.
Alan Tenta, Age 52, Columbia Valley, BC, Canada
Day 46 – Alan’s shirtless and shows off his 53-pound weight loss. However, he’s happy to see he still has a little bit of fat he can lose around his tummy and sides.
The snow’s disappeared, and it feels like a warm front is passing through. Alan takes advantage of the weather and gets to fishing, confessing “hungry” is his new normal. He’s been eating half a fish a day but he’ll up that if he’s feeling too weak to continue.
He chuckles when he catches a lake trout, claiming it will help him last two more days on top of his other stored fish. He sets to work cleaning the fish and plans on tossing it in his smoker. He guesses the names of his fellow survivalists still in the competition and only gets Wyatt correct. (He seems to think that are many more people still out in the wilderness than there actually are.)
Alan thinks he still has a chance, but it will be a grind.
As he’s cleaning the fish, he notices it has cysts all over its insides. (They could be tapeworms.) Alan’s conflicted about what to do and rinses his fish, unwilling to toss it away. He fillets it and admits he’s been thinking a lot about home. Unfortunately, as he’s working on the fish, he cuts himself. He’s bleeding, but it’s just a small cut, so he’s not too worried.
Alan knows that if he taps, he’ll just be home by himself. His wife works all day, and his daughter’s in school. He’s determined not to have any regrets.
He smokes half the fish and boils the other half, hoping to kill any parasites in the meat. Alan’s nervous about it and will take a close look at the meat to make sure there isn’t anything inside it. He admits it’s overcooked, but that was necessary.
Day 48 – It’s now just 23 degrees outside, and last night was the first night Alan felt really cold, despite being inside his expensive sleeping bag rated for minus 40 degrees. He was shivering so much that he got up, put on his sweater, and sealed himself inside his sleeping bag except for an air hole.
The ground’s frozen, but he wants to get a little fishing in, despite the cold. Alan doesn’t think the fish will stick around much longer. His hands are so cold that his spool goes into the water. Fortunately, he has another spool back at camp. Still, he doesn’t give up on the spool and is able to retrieve it because he had tied his line to it.
Alan doesn’t catch anything and announces that he’s done fishing.
50 days is a huge milestone, and he’s looking forward to lasting that long.
Day 50 – Snow blankets the woods and it’s 22 degrees, and Alan shows off the area around his shelter. Despite the weather, he’s still hopeful that he can do a little fishing. He confesses it’s getting harder each day and that he really misses his family.
The approach to the lake is treacherous and slippery, and Alan’s super careful as he prepares to fish. There’s only one little area that’s safe to stand as he casts his line, contemplating the lake freezing over soon.
Alan studied the past seasons and is trying to learn from all the mistakes. He even took notes of potential problems he could encounter and researched answers before the season began. Adam considers his fishing days might have come to an end until he’s able to ice fish.
After five casts, he gives up and returns to his shelter. Alan confesses he’s feeling depleted and reveals he discussed the potential for these dark days with his family before he began this adventure.
Alan will need to eat from his stores until he can head back out again.
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