The field has narrowed to just three as we arrive at The History Channel’s Alone season 12 episode eight. Season 12 marks only the third season in the series’ history with two women remaining in the competition as part of the top three. The weather’s chilly but clear, the fish are biting for one of the remaining participants, and the others are surviving on plants and days-old warthog jerky.
The following is a recap of episode eight, “Weak Spot,” which means there are spoilers ahead.
Kelsey Loper: Age 35, Winnett, Montana
Day 21, 12:13pm – Kelsey puts another line out while eating her warthog jerky. She jokes that she’ll starve when the final 10 pieces are gone. Kelsey admits she’s so tired she doesn’t know if she can still pull back her bow. She plans on taking a few days off from hunting to rest up.
Kelsey reveals half of the contestants were certain there would be so much game to hunt that they would last for a really long time. As she boils more water, she says she’s a great hunting guide, although some of her clients have been skeptical about her skills since she’s a woman. Winning Alone will help show that women are stronger than they think they are.
3:14pm – The weather’s chilly, so she’s going to spend a little downtime working on dreamcatchers. One of the dreamcatchers will be for her cousin’s baby girl. (She’s the baby’s godmother.) Kelsey’s using paracord, bird feathers, warthog hair, bluebush, and a porcupine quill to make the dreamcatcher.
Day 22, 1:06pm – Kelsey listens to baboons engaged in what sounds like a fight not far away. She spots at least 20 of them, but she didn’t bring her bow with her for protection. However, she does have bear spray provided by THC. More baboons have arrived and Kelsey estimates there are now about 40 of them. She yells at them to leave, and it seems to do the trick.
She heads to her lookout rock to improve her mood. Kelsey’s happy to see two adults and one baby rhino not far away. (THC confirms rhinos can’t be hunted by Alone participants.)
Returning to camp, Kelsey discovers her stuff is still there and baboons haven’t touched it. She finds a blister beetle and uses it as a topwater bait. Kelsey’s last fish was on day 16, and she’s disappointed they seem to have stopped biting.
The bug doesn’t attract any fish, so she gives up for a while.
Day 23, 8:39am – Kelsey grabs her bow and heads out in search of a warthog. She’s giving it her all and the sun feels good on her face. She spots two warthogs running in the distance and works herself into a position to take a shot if they run back toward her.
Kelsey takes a shot, but it’s too low because she can’t draw her bow back to her anchor point. She confesses this might be her last day hunting. Kelsey gets emotional but says she’s not giving up. She’s going to keep pushing herself since she still has food, water, and a shelter.
Katie Rydge: Age 45, Emerald Beach, AUS
Day 22, 8:21am – It’s 34 degrees as Katie eats a breakfast of buffalo thorn leaves and acacia seed soup. She hasn’t caught a fish since day one and has lost 22 pounds. Katie’s hopeful that something will change as she sets off with her bow to look for meat.
Waterbucks normally hang out on the nearby hill, so Katie finds a spot to sit and wait for the right opportunity.
9:21am – The wind’s coming from the right direction to keep her scent away from the waterbuck. Unfortunately, no animals show up so she returns to her camp.
Video catches baboons exploring Katie’s camp while she’s away.
2:58pm – The baboons took her insulated fur hat so before heading back out, she secures and closes up her shelter so they can’t steal anything else. She picks more plants to eat, including wormwood, cabbage, and mint. Katie also harvests Cape Wire Grass while explaining that wild plants have a higher nutritional content than what you buy in shops.
4:06pm – She digs a little in the clay by the water and finds wild garlic.
6:37pm – Katie makes a soup from wild garlic, wild mint, and acacia seeds. She’s dealt with the psychology of poor food security before, particularly with the Indigenous people in the Northern Territory of Australia. Katie believes she has an edge in the competition because she understands how to feed herself consistently.
Day 23, 1:47pm – She finishes her shelter and heads out to hunt. The grass seeds gave her a little extra energy. She sees a mom, dad, and two baby warthogs and follows them, bow ready. Fortunately for them, they head up the hill into impenetrable brush.
Katie believes she missed a great opportunity but now considers that it’s possible to still get a pig in the future.
6:01pm – She heats up plant food soup, hoping tomorrow will bring a different meal.
Nathan Olsen: Age 52, Buhl, Idaho
Day 23, 6:58am – He’s been out fishing for a couple hours and has already caught a massive catfish that’s almost 4’ long. But what’s cool is that he caught two-for-one. A small catfish ate the scorpion bait, and then the big catfish tried to eat the little one.
He believes the momentum’s back and says he’s been successful early in the mornings and at night. Nathan’s learned he can use catfish meat to fish for other catfish. He’s feeling good about moving forward with his shelter, now that he replenished his energy.
He cooks a full pot of catfish and thinks about how our ancestors always dealt with feast or famine. It takes a toll on you both mentally and physically.
Nathan works on his shelter, saving some catfish for lunch.
Day 24, 10:16am – Nathan starts his day with a big breakfast, knowing he has one more day of fish before he’s out of food again. Energy replenished and two fishing lines out, he returns to work on his shelter. He’s decided to concentrate on fishing and his shelter and not do any hunting.
Nathan walks a bit further away to retrieve flat metamorphic stones for his construction. He’s been working on his shelter for nine days and it is currently chest high. Nathan knows the shelter is overkill, but if the season goes long, it will be worth it. He’s lost 20 pounds since day one.
2:12pm – Nathan brings over more material and a substantial part of two walls topple over. His reaction is bleeped. One weak spot that he knew about ruined the construction. He admits he used stones where he shouldn’t have. Now, more of the wall might come down.
Nathan’s forced to reassess his shelter. He’s burned a lot of calories already.
He checks his fishing line and has two snagged hooks. He’s already lost nine of his 25 hooks, so the only choice is to dive for these. Nathan retrieves one, but the other is lost.
Nathan admires everyone who’s ever competed on Alone. It takes a lot of courage to not just try to survive by yourself but also put yourself out in the public eye.
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This post was last modified on August 21, 2025 10:08 pm