Five survivalists remain as The History Channel’s Alone season 10 episode eight gets underway. Snow’s falling and the weather’s wreaking havoc on the survivalists’ ability to procure food.
By the end of episode eight, “Infestation,” the field has narrowed to four.
Mikey Hilton, Age 32, Rome, Georgia
Day 35 – Mikey declares war on rats that have invaded his shelter and are keeping him up at night making noise. The rats are actually field mice, and he’s caught four thus far using a prop stick and string. These mice are the smallest animals he’s ever skinned, but he’s thankful for the small number of calories he gets from each one.
Mikey eats two and saves two for later. He’s determined to outlast his competition to make his son’s life easier.
Day 37 – Mikey grinds up some meat and bones he’s been saving using two stones that work as a mortar and pestle. He’ll make Pemmican, which tastes disgusting but is full of fat and protein. As he finishes work, he wonders if anyone else has a powdered meat bag. He’s pretty sure they don’t.
Mikey heads off to hunt and finds some berries. He always carries forage bags with him, and he collects a batch to make fruit leather out of. That’ll extend their usefulness.
Mikey makes it back to his shelter with a huge bag of berries. He crushes some of them as he describes himself as a modern-day caveman. He shoves the crushed goo into a jar he found on day 12 and explains that he knows people online bash survivalists who’ve competed on Alone. He expects to receive a bashing, given that he discusses his special needs child. But if he wins this, his son will never want for anything.
It doesn’t take him long before he finishes making his first piece of fruit leather.
Day 39 – It’s hailing outside, and Mikey hates being stuck in his shelter. He makes a puzzle piece – a symbol of autism awareness – for his son. He won’t be home for his son’s fifth birthday, and he’s sad he won’t be there to celebrate. Mikey’s never missed his son’s birthday before, and it’s causing him physical pain.
Day 40 – Everything’s frozen inside Mikey’s shelter.
Mikey’s 10 Survival Items:
Axe
Saw
Ferro Rod
Multitool
Fishing Line and Hooks
Paracord
Cooking Pot
Snare Wire
Bow and Arrows
Sleeping Bag
Alan Tenta, Age 51, Columbia Valley, BC, Canada
Day 35 – Alan’s also having mouse problems, with one even staring at him in his bed at night. He named the mouse Scottie and shows off the hole the tiny creature chewed in his sweater. Scottie has made an enemy, and Alan works on setting up a deadfall trap.
Next, he heads off to fish with his new and improved Lake Trout Baby #2 lure that he insists is pike-proof. He tests it out, but he isn’t hopeful since it’s so cold. Alan remains upbeat about the experience of being out in this gorgeous remote wilderness.
As he’s fishing, he hears a grouse nearby. He nails it on his first shot and celebrates his first grouse kill.
Alan’s lost 41 pounds thus far.
Day 36 – It’s 9:30pm when Alan’s little friend Scottie wakes him up by chewing on his bed. Alan smacks him with his hand, killing him. He doesn’t feel any remorse. RIP Scottie.
Day 40 – Snow covers Alan’s fishing rock, but he still wants to try and get a fish.
Alan’s 10 Survival Items:
Ax
Saw
Ferro Rod
Fishing Line and Hooks
Bow and Arrows
Sleeping Bag
Cooking Pot
Paracord
Snare Wire
Multitool
Tarcisio “Taz” Ramos Dos Santos, Age 35, Becket, Massachusetts and Sergipe, Brazil
Day 36 – Fishing is Taz’s number one priority this morning, and he’s currently running on empty. He wants to hunt but needs to eat more to have enough energy. Taz’s gillnet broke, so he’s concentrating on active fishing for now.
Taz catches a baby lake trout and keeps fishing, reeling in a decent size pike which means it’s fishhead soup day. He’s going to eat enough to pump himself up so he can track big game. As he’s feasting on soup, he hears a sound nearby. It’s a marten, and Taz races off with his bow and arrows.
He shoots the marten and shows it off, happy to kill his trout-stealer. He’s going to eat the organs first, and that night he feasts on the head, which he notes is an acquired taste. He admits he’s anxious to hunt a moose.
Day 37 – Taz heads off to check his snares and look for moose tracks. Big game is a game changer, so he ate more yesterday and this morning to get pumped up. He’s got the energy to hike right now, but he knows expending calories is a gamble.
The wind kicks up where he thought the moose would be, and he doesn’t spot any tracks so he heads back to the shelter empty-handed. He’s decided to build a guitar to lift his spirits and bring positive energy. Taz values the arts and is an actor, but music is new to his life.
Taz finishes his guitar and strums it; it sounds surprisingly good.
Day 39 – Taz entertains viewers with a song about making lavender tea, eating pike, and fishing. After he’s done singing, he decides to take his canoe out to find some fish. Every survivalist was given a personal floatation device, and Taz puts his on before heading out.
He makes it reasonably far out and admits he’s worried about not having enough food. He’s also a little concerned about being alone at this point and the impact it has on his mental health. Taz reminds himself that he’s doing this so he can reunite with his kids.
His canoe trip is unsuccessful and back at camp, Taz is tired, hungry, and emotional. He misses the rhythm of his life back home.
Day 40 – The snow blows as Taz heads out, debating whether he should stay close to camp or head off. He’s walking slowly and reveals he’ll be out of food by tomorrow.
His energy is low as he makes it back to the cabin, and he confesses he feels like he could fall and just stay on the ground. He’s now lost 52 pounds since day one.
Taz reflects on his life and confesses he isn’t sure where home is. He’s missing his kids as he takes his last bite of trout. Taz’s legs are wobbly, and he doesn’t want long-term health issues. He makes the decision to tap out before his condition worsens.
Taz promises to figure out a different way to reunite with his kids. He can’t get food, has been feeling emotional, and believes he hasn’t spent enough time with his family. He loves his kids and vows they’ll be together for a new chapter in their lives soon.
Taz’s 10 Survival Items:
Sleeping Bag
Ferro Rod
Cooking Pot
Axe
Multitool
Fishing Line and Hooks
Paracord
Snare Wire
Bow and Arrows
Tarp
Melanie Sawyer, Age 54, Essex County, NY
Day 37 – The wind’s blowing at 26 mph as morning arrives, and Melanie reveals it was a wild and windy night. Today she plans on finishing up her shelter, and she’s happy she has a good supply of berries to keep her going.
Melanie’s determined to work smart and not waste calories. She remembers a trick from soldiers during the 1750s. Saturated birch can be used like putty to fill gaps, and she sets to work filling in crevices in the structure she’s built around her fire.
Melanie admits she needs to keep working but takes a break instead to consider the clouds. She doesn’t want to dwell on thinking about home, but she’s overcome with emotion as she looks in the direction of home. She takes a few deep breaths and pulls herself together.
Day 38 – Melanie confesses she had a “massive bout of homesickness” last night. Being away from home is making her miss her partner and her life, but she doesn’t give up.
She’s going to sit by the fire and drink something with carbs and starches, but first, she discovers her thermals are frozen stiff. She makes a rack and places them over the firepit to heat up.
Winter’s coming and she needs to prepare, with food the top priority. She fetches her supply of reindeer moss and rock tripe, describing the latter as surprisingly good tasting. Melanie calls these items survival food, and Alone tells us it’s got more calories than an equal amount of honey, cornflakes, or hominy.
Melanie has about 13 days’ worth of reindeer moss stocked up that she can mix with the rock tripe.
Melanie reveals that Brian asked her to marry him before she left. He staged it as if they were hunting for a bear and surprised her at the top of a mountain with a blanket, champagne, and roses. He got down on one knee and proposed. She couldn’t wear the diamond ring on the show, but participants are allowed to wear wedding bands.
Day 40 – Melanie’s got a little bit more reindeer moss to process. She’ll be able to keep warm by the fire as she’s working.
Melanie’s 10 Survival Items:
Bow and Arrows
Snare Wire
Fishing Line and Hooks
Saw
Multitool
Sleeping bag
Cooking Pot
Ferro Rod
Food Rations
Food Rations
James “Wyatt” Black, Age 51, Ontario, Canada
Day 38 – Wyatt examines the wound he kept a secret. 11 days after being impaled by a stick, it’s still draining. He doesn’t seem overly concerned as he replaces the bandage.
Wyatt begins the day fishing, hopeful the fishing gods will smile on him. The fish haven’t been biting much since the weather’s turned cold, and he hasn’t caught anything in his gillnet. Wyatt has a fair amount of food stored up, but he’s lost 44 pounds since the season began.
He thinks it won’t be long before he’ll be ice fishing.
Day 40 – It’s 29 degrees and Wyatt’s feeling the cold. He had to break ice on his water to brush his teeth, but at least the wind isn’t blowing hard. He does a little dance as he celebrates making it to day 40.
It begins snowing, and Wyatt reminds himself to walk slowly so that he won’t sweat. His main goal is to gather as many berries as possible before the snow covers them. Wyatt’s almost down to protein at this point and needs to collect lingonberries before the opportunity evaporates.
Wyatt’s 10 Survival Items:
Cooking Pot
Axe
Saw
Ferro Rod
Sleeping Bag
Snare Wire
Paracord
Fishing Line and Hooks
Bow and Arrows
Multitool
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