The incredibly harsh environment has taken its toll, with just four survivalists out of the original 10 still competing on History’s Alone season 10 episode nine. The action picks up on day 41, and on day 43, season 10 loses another survivalist to loneliness.
Alan Tenta, Age 52, Columbia Valley, BC, Canada
Day 41 – Alan’s just been chilling in his shelter, making plans, and finally opens his door to a winter wonderland. He’s happy about how his teepee’s holding up and heads off to the lake. The fish he’s caught are all frozen, so they’re safely stored right now.
Back at his shelter, Alan notes he has six out of his original nine arrows left. He gets to work making some wooden blunts, creating “thumpers” that he plans on using on smaller game including grouse.
The days are getting shorter and the nights are longer, and Alan knows the hardest days, mentally and physically, are still to come.
Day 42 – The lake’s calm, so Alan calls an audible and fishes instead of grouse hunting as he had planned. His gillnet is empty, and he hasn’t caught a fish in it yet. Alan casts and hopes for a lake trout, even though it’s late in the season. He believes he’s halfway through the competition at this point, and he has food through day 55. If he reaches that milestone, he’ll fast until day 60.
He gets a bite but misses pulling it in. Another bite and a miss, followed by yet another bite without reeling in a fish. Alan believes he’s missed his opportunity for the day.
He heads out with his bow and looks for tracks. Although it burns calories, it makes him feel like a kid walking around in the snow. He’s on an emotional rollercoaster right now, thinking about his kids.
A short while later, he feels tired and lightheaded as he makes it back to his teepee.
Day 43 – It’s Alan’s birthday, and he’s turning 52 years old. It’s not a fishing day since the weather’s cold and windy, which bums him out. He’ll eat some of the fish from his bear hang, make some tea, and enjoy his birthday.
Alan makes a three-layer fish filet birthday cake, treating himself to an extra half of fish to stave off the dizziness he’s feeling when he bends over. He hopes the extra fish will give him a boost of energy.
Alan misses his family and thinks his fellow survivalists are feeling the same way. He’s determined to push through it and think positive thoughts.
His current strategy is to spend half the day in his shelter and half the day outside. His goal is to conserve calories.
Alan heads down to check his gillnet and is shocked when it looks like he’s caught something. He takes a closer look and discovers he’s caught a fish on his birthday. It’s a six-ish pound cisco (a freshwater whitefish) that he believes is his largest thus far. He thanks the fish for its life before ending it.
This catch is a real shot of happiness on his birthday.
Melanie Sawyer, Age 54, Essex County, NY
Day 41 – Melanie’s happy that her insulation is keeping her shelter warm enough that she doesn’t see her breath. However, overnight she felt a draft and discovered mice have chewed a hole in her sleeping bag. They’re probably using the lining in their burrows, and Melanie needs to figure out a way to sew it closed before they do any further damage.
She takes off to collect firewood to store in her shelter to keep it dry from the elements. She laughs and says, “You can never have enough wood.”
She’s impressed with the pile of wood she’s currently made and stops collecting to make a needle out of her underwire bra so she can fix the hole. It works perfectly, and the hole’s patched up.
Day 42 – Melanie does a countdown from 10 and then checks her deadfall. She’s caught a mouse that she’ll skin and cook before heading off to collect more rock tripe.
Melanie has always boxed up her traumas and placed them in the back of her head. This experience allows her to set her traumas free. She believes she has four things a lot of people don’t: love, a home, a choice, and freedom. Melanie considers herself very fortunate to have those four things.
She decides not to head out to collect rock tripe and instead remains close to her shelter.
Day 43 – She’s got a list of projects but will go with the flow and slow down. Melanie’s learning to take it easy and hour-by-hour.
First up is fishing to add to her diet of plants and mushrooms. The lake’s surface is smooth as she casts, but she’s unsuccessful at reeling in any fish. She’s only caught one over the past 43 days.
Melanie says this was never about the money; she’s always viewed this as a learning experience. “I’m wondering how much more learning can I do?” she asks.
Melanie’s incredibly lonely, and although this experience is amazing, she doesn’t want to spend another day away from her partner. She taps out, confessing she wasn’t prepared for how deeply being alone would affect her.
Melanie wants to spend her days making memories with her loved ones. She’s aware that every minute is precious.
Mikey Hilton, Age 32, Rome, Georgia
Day 41 – Mikey continues to work on a present for his son’s upcoming birthday in 10 days. His son probably doesn’t understand why he’s gone, but Mikey’s determined to do this to ensure his son’s taken care of.
Mikey reveals he’s made a cup-and-ball toy for his kid. Creating it has left wood shavings in his shelter, and he needs to take care of them quickly before they catch fire.
Day 43 – Hunting’s a bust, so he’s forced to just hang out in his shelter. He’s bored and his thoughts are eating away at him, and Mikey realizes he needs to turn his attention to something else. Mikey focuses on turning a nail into a knife, just as Biko did on season eight.
He heats up the nail and hammers it to straighten it out while explaining that he learned these skills from his stepfather. His stepdad was a real dad to four kids that weren’t his, and Mikey owes him a big thank you.
The nail has transformed into a bush knife, complete with a new handle and sheath.
James “Wyatt” Black, Age 51, Ontario, Canada
Day 41 – Wyatt’s going to spend the day cutting wood and stoking the fire. To help make it easier, he builds a wood processing holder to cut his wood on. He’s figured out he needs 20-30 pieces of wood each day.
The wound on his arm where he impaled it with wood is still sore, but he hasn’t looked at it today. Alone informs us that splinters can cause inflammation, infection, and toxic reactions. Wyatt acknowledges that it’s not healing, and that’s worrying him.
That night, back in his shelter, Wyatt cleans up his arm and takes a look. When he squeezes the wound, he notices it’s hard. He removes another piece of wood ¾” long from his arm. Apparently, he missed it when he pulled out the first piece two weeks ago. Wyatt’s arm immediately feels better but bleeds a lot.
The splinter is about half the size of the first piece he removed.
Day 42 – It’ll be too cold on his hands to fish, so Wyatt takes a chance and slices up a mushroom that he’s never eaten before. Squirrels and mice have been eating it, so he’s willing to roll the dice and eat it too. Alone points out that animals can eat poisonous fungi that humans can’t. People shouldn’t eat any mushrooms they can’t identify.
Wyatt knows mushrooms can kill quickly, but he’s got so many of these that he’s going to go ahead and place a tiny piece under his gums. He should know within half an hour if it’s okay.
Wyatt heads off to check his snares and look for grouse. He’s not out long before he sees grouse and squirrel tracks. He takes a shot at a grouse in a tree and hits it with his first arrow. Another grouse catches his attention, and he kills it, too. (That’s about 1,000 calories.) Plus, the mushroom hasn’t caused any side effects, so he believes they’re fine to eat.
Wyatt returns to camp to clean his birds. He plans on feasting that night and is happy his arm’s feeling better now that he removed that chunk of wood.
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