The History Channel’s Alone season nine episode seven begins with seven survivalists still attempting to thrive in the woods. Most of the shelters are complete or close to it, and food continues to be a struggle for the remaining contestants. However, it’s been illnesses and loneliness that have gotten the best of those who’ve tapped prior to this episode.
Episode seven, “The Birds,” begins on Day 34 and goes through early morning on Day 43. We check in with six contestants – Terry, Jessie, Tom, Adam, Karie Lee, and Teimojin – and lose one more when Terry is forced to tap out because of his declining physical condition. Terry’s departure means both survivalists who killed beavers have left the challenge.
Jessie, Age 49, Pagosa Springs, CO
Day 34: Jessie’s still working on her shelter while retrieving water off its roof. She’s got a nice little water cache up there and she’s pleased with how it’s working out.
Jessie claims Hodge Podge Lodge will get done when it’s supposed to get done. She’s been brought up not to quit and is determined to keep going. She believes if she pushes through the suffering, it’ll all be okay.
Jessie finishes a 12’ wall, complete with moss and other insulation.
Night falls and she’s cooking up a bedraggled squirrel that something else chewed on after it was caught in her snare. She reveals its head fell off while she was cleaning it, making her think it might have been a fox that got to it before her.
Adam, Age 36, Fayetteville, AR
Day 35: Adam’s chopping wood as a grouse flies overhead. He continues to work but keeps an eye out, finally taking a break to shoot it. “Sometimes dinner wanders into camp while you’re cutting wood,” says Adam, laughing.
Another grouse lands close by and he’s now shot two birds without leaving his front yard. He wonders if he’s the only competitor that’s this lucky at getting grouse.
Adam’s looking forward to seeing the area covered in snow. However, not knowing if his family’s okay worries him a little. Still, he’s determined to stick it out.
After plucking the grouse by the river, he heads back toward camp when something catches his attention. It’s part of a floating dock and his mind fills with possible uses for the item. This is the first time he’s seen anything manmade, and contestants can use whatever they find.
Adam decides the dock won’t float however he’s a carpenter and now he has a bunch of nails and boards. He’s got the skills and imagination to put them to good use.
Adam brings a load of boards back to his shelter.
Day 39: Adam uses the boards to make a bench outside his shelter. He also builds a hefty door to keep out animals and the cold, filling in cracks with moss.
He thinks his shelter’s now in good enough shape to keep him safe.
Tom, Age 34, Earlysville, VA
Day 36: It’s dark inside Tom’s shelter as he works on making a lamp with a mushroom. It’s a nifty little item that’s lit by his headlamp and casts a cool glow around the shelter.
Tom’s not quite finished with his shelter, which has one of the best fireplace and stove setups of the season. He needs to get some food but really wants to finish working on the shelter’s sides.
He loves the freedom and the lack of worry that comes with living out in the wilderness. Being outside humbles him, and he knows he’s lucky to be in such a beautiful place.
He sounds a lot like Mister Rogers as he thanks viewers for spending the morning with him.
Tom’s kills thus far: 15 squirrels, 19 trout, five grouse, one rabbit, and one Whiskey Jack. Plus, a zillion bunchberries. He reveals he always cooks and immediately eats whatever he shoots.
Tom takes a walk looking for food and adds a squirrel to his kill count. He’s harvesting more bunchberries when he hears a grouse flutter nearby. It’s on the ground 10’ away when he shoots it, too.
Tom cooks the squirrel over a fire without skinning it first. He uses a piece of wood to scrape off the fur when the skin cracks.
Tom cares about conservation and wants to honor the land and its animals.
Day 40: He made some tea earlier in the day and is determined to get more food since he’s super skinny. His bird snare isn’t working, and he needs to adapt it to the environment.
Missing the beaver messed him up for a week, and he only shot two things during that time.
Tom heads out to hunt and gather lichen (a good source of carbs). When he makes it back to camp, his snare’s triggered because he didn’t have it set exactly right.
Day 42: Tom cuts a tree and counts the rings, figuring out it’s 48 years old. He continues to work on his shelter, which is huge and not quite done. He has a newfound appreciation for food after surviving this many days in Labrador.
Tom’s working on his shelter when he takes a bad tumble. A stump hurt his back right by his kidney and ribs, but he’s able to continue. He hopes walking it off will make him feel better. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
Tom rates his pain as a seven and decides to get some rest.
Day 43: It’s early in the morning and Tom can’t sleep because he can’t find a comfortable position. “It’s brutal,” he admits.
Karie Lee, Age 57, Sandpoint, ID
Day 37: Karie’s shelter still looks the most primitive of all the contestants. Her traps remain empty and she’s currently at work simmering berries to make fruit leather (like wraps) to help her through the winter. (Fruit leather can last two months.) She cooks the berries down and explains the process as she goes.
Day 41: It’s her mom’s birthday and she holds up a patch of ground and moss that looks like a cake. She sends her mom birthday wishes and tells her she loves her.
She checks her traps, hoping to get something on her mom’s birthday. Her mom’s quiet and shy, and Karie’s the exact opposite.
She retrieves a squirrel from one of her traps, grateful to have it for birthday dinner. It’s delicious and she thinks they should sell squirrels in stores.
Teimojin, Age 31, Montreal, CAN
Day 40: Teimojin tosses a rock up and down, and like magic, it turns into Canadian flag underwear. Contestants can’t bring flags, but they can bring two pairs of underwear.
It’s time to find some food and he spots a squirrel running in a relatively clear spot. His first shot misses and so does his second. The third time is the charm, and he kills his first squirrel of the competition.
Teimojin heads to the beach to clean the squirrel and reflects on how much he wants to push himself to help the people he loves at home. He recalls riding in his mom’s car and telling her he wanted to be Indiana Jones or a pirate. She told him no matter what he decides, if he’s happy with it, she’ll be proud of him. He can always count on his mom to be there for him, and he calls her powerful, courageous, and kind. However, life has beat her down and it’s because her health declined that he wanted to be a doctor.
“It’s time for me to stop trying to be a good doctor. I need to try to be a better son,” says an emotional Teimojin. He hopes this journey inspires his mom; that would be worth more than the money.
Terry, Age 31, Homer, AK
Day 34: We’re treated to an out-of-tune song about Terry’s time in Labrador via a music video that took him more than two hours to shoot. Was it worth the calories expended? Maybe, just because it broke up his day a little.
Terry’s still harvesting meat from the beaver and takes care to make sure it’s safe to eat. He’s consumed most of the beaver in the last 10 days but he’s still down 49 pounds from the first day of the competition.
He finally takes all the meat off the hide and works on drying it out in his smoker.
Day 34: Terry picks out the crispy, meaty bits of beaver while stirring them in with the fat. He thinks he’s losing a pound a day and is happy to have rendered fat but knows he has to consume it in moderation. It’s not the way to sustain himself long-term.
Day 39: Terry sees a species of bird he doesn’t recognize. A banner tells us it’s a pine grosbeak, a species nicknamed “mope” because it moves slowly. It’s a pretty bird but small and not one worthy of an arrow.
Terry heads to the river to fish for a while and is really feeling the hunger at this point. He’s still thankful to be out there, but his stamina is low, and he gets lightheaded if he stands up too fast.
He only fishes for a short while and then sits to settle his stomach. He thinks he might be suffering from dehydration.
Despite how he feels, Terry believes it’s a true privilege to be out in the wilderness.
Day 42: Terry has a huge fire in his shelter and since it’s hot, he takes off his many layers of clothing to look at his ribs. He’s nothing but skin and bones and is shocked he can get his hand around his bicep.
He survived a plane crash and fell through the ice while fishing, and he doesn’t think what he’s going through now is nearly that hard.
The medical team pays a visit, and Terry admits he gets lightheaded and has had a little nausea. It’s painful when they push on his stomach. After a brief consultation, the medical team is worried because he’s showing a dramatic physical decline. They need to pull him.
Terry’s sad because he still had much more to experience and learn. He apologizes to hunters and fishers because he doesn’t feel he represented them. But he admits he hit his limit. He thinks he should have foraged more and hunted earlier. However, he wouldn’t change anything because this has been the experience of a lifetime.
Terry is leaving Labrador with the knowledge that everything you need is right in front of you. He’s going to live every day to the fullest and pursue his passions.
- Alone Season 9 Episode 1 “Drop Shock” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 2 “Consequences” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 3 “Law of the Land” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 4 “The Beaver” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 5 “The Land Giveth” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 6 “The Weasel” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 8 “Gut Feeling” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 9 “The Ice Up” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 10 “Winter’s Grasp” Recap
- Alone Season 9 Episode 11 “Fight, Flight or Freeze” Recap
