The History Channel’s Alone season 12 episode two introduces five of this season’s survivalists: Douglas Meyer, Dug North, Baha Mahmutov, Nathan Olsen, and Colton Gilman. In the season’s premiere, Kelsey Loper scored a warthog kill, while Jit Patel was forced to tap out due to medical issues on day four. Episode two’s featured participants didn’t fare quite as well with food, and one opted to leave South Africa to preserve his mental health.
Season 12 takes place in South Africa’s Great Karoo Desert, with new episodes airing on Thursdays at 9pm ET/PT. The following recap is full of spoilers, so read on only after you’ve watched episode two.
Nathan Olsen: Age 52, Buhl, Idaho
Day 1, 1:23pm – Nathan’s ready to fish and spots grasshoppers to use as bait. He describes his strategy as “belly first.” Eating every day is a goal because it will keep his mind strong.
Nathan is the son of Larry Dean Olsen, who wrote Outdoor Survival Skills. Basically, their family business was survival, and his brother, Luke, competed on Alone. Nathan is a co-owner of a software company and wants to honor his dad through this experience.
2:17pm – A fishing line’s out and he gathers grass for his bed. He explains that he has a balanced set of skills—hunting, old-school skills, fire starting, and outdoor camping. Nathan’s research shows rain isn’t a big worry here, so he makes camp where he’ll have shade. He’s not worried about building a shelter and instead puts down a comfortable grass bed. His energy will go toward getting food.
The small grasshopper worked, and Nathan pulls in a smallmouth yellowfish (a large minnow).
Day 2, 9:17am – Nathan heads out with his bow for a walk downwind from anything on the slopes. His dad believed you should store your food in your belly, and he’s already eaten the small fish he caught on day one. There’s lot of poop in the area, including a white rhino’s. He spots a herd of red hartebeest that seem to be staring him down. Nathan sees the bull, and it’s almost in shot range but not quite. Suddenly, his attention is drawn to a wildebeest that runs right by him. Wildebeest are a prey species, so they’re always alert.
Nathan knows fish will be easier to get than mammals. Plus, the meat would spoil quickly if he killed big game now.
Douglas Meyer: Age 57, Kannapolis, NC
Day 3, 1:58pm – Douglas is impressed with the flintknapping resources and shows off a rock that would make a nice tool. He’s always wanted to visit Africa, so this is a dream come true. Douglas has been teaching primitive skills for years and wrote a book on making blowguns. Winning the money would really help out his family, and he recently found out his dad had cancer. His dad told him to go on this adventure anyway.
Douglas starts work on his shelter around an existing tree. He’ll leave his fire outside.
4:57pm – Douglas hears noises nearby and heads out to see what’s making them. He’s worried about Cape buffalo and rhinos, aware his bow wouldn’t scare them away. Whatever made the noise is gone, so Douglas heads to bed.
9:26pm – Douglas is awakened by something moving around and blowing. The camera catches a rhino not far away.
Day 4, 7:09am – He had a hard time sleeping after the noises the night before. Douglas heads out with his bow to check the watering holes and finds fresh tracks. That’s good, since it means game is nearby.
Dug North: Age 53, Nashua, NH
Day 2, 3: 18pm – Day one found Dug starting on his shelter, eating berries, and making a fire. He thinks sleeping on the ground with a boma made from acacia will work. Zebras watch him from the top of a nearby hill, but regulations prohibit participants from hunting them.
Dug travels south as we learn this is his lifelong dream. A flashback shows a slingshot rifle he created. He’s a web designer who’s driven by figuring out how to make things. Friction fire got him into bushcraft, and he studied lots of different things, including hunting and fishing. He hopes what he’s learned over the years will amount to something useful.
His hike has led him to a small river with crabs. He catches two, happy to have found his first bit of protein. Dug cooks it with purslane and buffalo thorn leaves and intends to immediately eat what he catches instead of storing it.
Colton Gilman: Age 35, Red Lodge, MT
Day 1, 7:18pm – Colton threw out his lines but forgot to film it. When he pulls his line in, he’s caught a 10 lb. African sharptooth catfish. The History Channel (THC) says it’s about 2,800 calories.
8:48pm – Colton will turn the head into soup and air-dry the meat. He knows how to smoke meat but doesn’t think it’s necessary here. The warm breeze and low humidity should pull out the moisture.
Colton’s a carpenter, and bow hunting is his bread and butter. He’s really excited about being in this new ecosystem and thinks he can be successful because of his bow hunting skills. He’s killed 700 lb. elk and believes that gives him an advantage.
He’ll miss his girlfriend of nine years back home, but winning will let him set up a better life.
Day 2, 7:53am – Colton’s sleeping off the ground in a hammock made of his canvas tarp and paracord. He heads out to scout the area and figure out what food might be available. THC says 65 mammal species populate the Great Karoo region. Colton will watch them from a distance first to figure out how they react. He spots two female impalas, but their excellent hearing gives him away before they get closer than 60 yards.
Day 3, 8:44am – Baboons yell at Colton because he’s in their territory. He heads out to look for red meat after catching that huge fish. 300 yards away a waterbuck runs off, and Colton thinks his location is like being in the center of a football field. All the animals can see him.
11:33am – Something about the catfish head soup doesn’t seem appealing, and he spends a little time making a spoon. He thinks about his dad, who passed away years ago, and admits that he suppresses his emotions just like his dad did.
His first bite of soup is just fish slime, and he gags. Colton’s hopeful the dried catfish will taste better.
Day 4, 9:21am – He had a rough night because his tarp ripped, dumping him on the ground. Today, he’ll work on a permanent shelter even though he’s not sure what he’ll build. He’s got rocks and bushes nearby, but no trees to make a shelter out of.
11:49am – Colton finds a better spot to set up camp while reflecting on how much he misses his dad and being at home. Because there aren’t any distractions, his emotions are surfacing. Colton notes he hasn’t been hungry in four days, which is weird, and knows he needs to eat something.
He’s grossed out by everything smelling like fish. He coughs and gags, thinking about the catfish slimy soup. He checks out the fish he’s drying out and confesses he doesn’t want to eat it. “Something’s wrong,” says Colton. “I just can’t believe I’m having these thoughts. I don’t know if I can get through this. I’m starting to wonder if I should even be out here.”
Day 4, 2:03pm – He says he caught a fish, but it didn’t make him happy, nor does being out on a sandy beach in Africa. None of this excites him, and he doesn’t know what will make him happy. Colton confesses he’s dwelling on the negative and says, “This is hell.”
After declaring that depression is real, Colton taps out. He says he spiraled into a bad place and can’t explain why this has affected him so strongly. Colton feels like he needs help and to talk to somebody. He realizes what’s important is your own happiness, and he’s certain he made the right decision to tap out. Colton also realizes it doesn’t make you weak to show emotions and is excited to get home and start his next chapter.
Baha Mahmutov: Age 50, Wharncliff, Ontario, Canada
Day 1, 10:09am – Baha is dropped off and jokingly screams that he’s changed his mind. He’s a homesteader and part-time CP Rail employee and was born in the Soviet Union. He’s a Russian army vet and learned his survival skills there. Baha immigrated to Canada and currently lives paycheck to paycheck with his wife and kids. He’s sure he’ll be the last one standing and will use the prize money to take care of his family.
First off, he assesses his site and puts up a sundial. The direction of the sunrise indicates his mornings will be cold, and he decides a spot two miles away would be better to set up camp. He realizes it will take a lot of energy, but now is the time when he has the most.
Day 1, 2:51pm – Baha’s tired from walking to his new camp. He spots a Cape buffalo poop pile and reminds himself to be alert as he gets hotter, more tired, and thirstier.
3:58pm – Fortunately, he makes it to his new spot, and it looks like a much better location. There’s firewood, water, clay, and rocks. First up, he tries to start a fire using a bow drill made of dead acacia because he didn’t bring a ferro rod. He brought bank line instead of the stronger paracord because participants can bring 1,575 feet of bank line. They’re limited to 262 feet of paracord. Bank line can also be used for an assortment of things, including fishing lines.
4:52pm – All of his attempts at starting a fire have failed. THC notes the wood needs to be of medium hardness to work. Baha’s forced to go the night without fire, water, or shelter.
6:18pm – He knows if he goes another day without fire and water, he will probably be forced to tap out.
Day 2, 10:49am – Baha finds poop that could be used to start the fire. He’s already feeling dehydrated and needs water ASAP. He tries again to make a fire, but the poop’s not quite hard enough. Baha’s attempts at fire are interrupted when he spots a monkey.
2:09pm – He picks up a different type of wood, hoping for a better result. It doesn’t work, so he fetches another type. Smoke rises as Baha blows on his kindling, and he’s exhausted but happy. He’s also hot and needs to move the fire into the shade. The environment’s more difficult than he thought, and he needs to keep feeding the fire because the wood burns really fast.
Baha takes his first sips of boiled water and lets out a burp.
Day 3, 7:12am – He’s feeling stronger and starts work on a shelter to keep him from being exposed to the wind. Baha learned shelter building in the military and plans to construct a three-sided tarp shelter with wild willow. He believes it will protect him from weather and wildlife and will be a sturdy configuration.
2:29pm – Baha’s shelter isn’t going to be big; it’s just for sleeping. And moving this shelter should be easy if he needs to change his campsite. He thinks shelter building should take as little effort as possible. THC notes his shelter construction is similar to a range tent.
- Alone Season 12 Episode 1 “The Land of Great Thirst” Recap
- Season 12 Episode 3 “Thirst Trap” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 4 “Finding a Foothold” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 5 “The Tempest” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 6 “Purpose” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 7 “Echoes of Emptiness” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 8 “Weak Spot” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 9 “The Promised Land” Recap
- Alone Season 12 Episode 10 Finale Recap
