History’s Alone season 11 episode two focuses on the remaining five survivalists we didn’t meet in episode one. The season premiere featured Cubby, Isaiah, Dub, William, and Michela, with Cubby becoming the first season 11 contestant to tap out. Cubby was forced to leave after a horrific accident left him with an arrow in his thigh, close to his femoral artery.
Episode two finds Sarah, Jake, Dusty, Timber, and Peter beginning to set up their camps and look for food sources. Beavers tease two of the survivalists and one contestant comes close to bagging a source of protein that would provide him with protein for weeks.
Sarah – Age 48, Skwentna, Alaska
Day 1, 11:33am – Sarah was overcome with emotions after being dropped off at her remote location. A couple of hours later, her spirits are high as she tries to figure out how to set up her cameras. Alone informs us that all survivalists get one large camera, two sport cams, and two trail cams.
Sarah owns and operates a fishing lodge in Alaska with her husband. She’s used to facing risks outdoors every day and has fishing, hunting, and foraging skills. If she wins Alone, she’ll use the money to retire with her husband. She’s counting on her mental strength to carry her through the competition.
Sarah searches for berries and boletes (edible mushrooms) while explaining she’s used to living around bears and wolves. Her primary focus right now is foraging before the snow falls. “My plan is to graze like a moose,” says Sarah.
She comes upon a small lake and spots a beaver. Beavers can weigh up to 60 pounds, and Sarah regrets not bringing her bow with her while foraging. She promises the beaver she’ll be back.
Day 2, 2:18pm – Sarah’s building a wickiup as her permanent shelter. She’s chosen a spot near the lake but protected from the winds by an alder bush.
Sarah takes a break and heads to the lake to search for the beaver. She’s foraged lingonberries, blueberries, bog cranberries, and boletes but hasn’t had any meat yet. Killing a beaver would be a game-changer.
Sarah waits patiently as the beaver gets fairly close. She takes a shot and her heart pounds. The arrow hasn’t moved and she’s forced to get into the water to see if she hit the beaver. Sarah’s worried about hypothermia but needs protein and convinces herself to strip down and go in.
She enters the water carefully and pulls on the arrow. There’s nothing there. She missed the beaver but got her arrow back. Sarah’s upset with herself for taking the shot since she could have cost herself an arrow.
Jake – Age 42, Fremont County, Idaho
Day 3, 9:21am – There are a lot of ducks in Jake’s area, and he spots a few peregrines. Jake’s a professional falconer who specializes in falconry-based bird abatement to protect crops. His father taught him wilderness skills and he’s been hunting since he could walk. Jake’s also a fourth-generation fly fisherman and has never been in an environment where he can’t find food or make a fire.
He’s divorced and the father of three kids, and he will use the winnings to support his family.
Jake reveals he lost his fishing line on the first day and has been searching for it for three days. He’s forced to work on making a net and reminds himself not to wallow in his shame. Jake believes this isn’t survival of the fittest; it’s survival of the most adaptable.
1:36pm – Jake sets out his fishing net in shallow water, the only water near his camp.
Day 4, 2:41pm – It takes him half an hour to start a fire without a ferro rod, which he chose not to bring. That’s too much time to spend each day, so he’s processing dry rot to make charcoal. He’ll use the charcoal to get a spark from his carbon steel belt buckle.
Jake makes a birch bark container stitched together with spruce root to keep his charcoal dry. It’s a tinder box design that’s been around for 5,000 years.
Jake demonstrates using the belt buckle and charcoal and strikes a fire in a matter of just minutes.
Day 5, 8:27am – Jake wakes hungry and checks his fishing net, still kicking himself that he lost his fishing line on day one. The net’s empty but he spots a beaver. Jake doesn’t want to shoot into the water and sets out beaver bait made of cut willow and aspen branches steps from the riverbank.
The beaver’s 500 yards away as Jake waits patiently for it to make his way to the bait.
10:53am – The beaver hasn’t returned, and Jake thinks he should have shot him when he first spotted him.
Dusty – Age 35, Fifty-Six, Arkansas
Day 1, 1:09pm – Dusty warns himself to be careful not to get lost. This area is cloud-covered 80% of the time, making it impossible to determine location using the sun. Dusty’s determined he’s going to put his shelter closer to the woods to cut down the wind.
He’s a welder and grew up in a tiny town. He’s been hunting since he could walk and believes his “hillbilly-ness” gives him an advantage. Dusty’s an experienced trapper and fisherman. He wants to better his family’s life and that’s why he’s on Alone.
Dusty gets to work on putting up the main frame of his shelter. He uses his saw and ax to chop small trees, describing his shelter as a lean-to/log cabin hybrid. It should go up fast and keep him warm. Dusty wants to get all the hard labor done first, and then he’ll have time to hunt and forage.
The shelter is coming along quickly, and Dusty admits the cold’s got him on edge.
Day 2, 11:26am – Dusty eats rosehips but is disappointed that he hasn’t found any blueberries. He uses his gaiters as a bag to gather berries, explaining that he’s not familiar with many of the area’s trees and bushes. It’s a whole new environment.
Dusty’s a meat-eater and sets up snares to catch squirrels. Next, he cuts trees to start a fire but is interrupted by a squirrel running through his camp. He hits it with his first shot and thanks the squirrel for providing a meal.
The squirrel reminds him of his young daughter, who’s just getting into squirrel hunting.
He cooks the squirrel as he explains he was raised for this sort of situation.
Timber – Age 35, Salem, Indiana
Day 1, 9:41am – Timber prepares his safety kit, provided to all the survivalists by Alone. His nickname comes from his first job cutting timber, and he admits he grew up among an anti-government group. Raised off-grid, he spent his days training for warfare and learning to survive in a harsh environment. Now, he and his wife work in different countries providing humanitarian aid in conflict zones.
He hopes to win Alone so that he can better take care of his family and leave a legacy his sons will be proud of. Timber would use the money to buy a home in the States, and he promises he’ll do whatever it takes to outlast his competition.
The thick brush makes it difficult to hunt making no noise. As he heads out looking for game, Timber explains that working in conflict zones has made him more aware of potential life-and-death situations. He knows awareness is key to survival.
Timber spots moose and grizzly tracks, showing they come this way often. A squirrel gets his attention, and he kills it with his first shot. He plans on using much of the squirrel as bait to catch pike.
Timber pushes up his shirt sleeve, exposing a tattoo of a large toothy jaw with a pawprint in the middle. He takes a little of the squirrel’s blood and feeds the teeth. It’s his tradition whenever he draws blood.
Day 1, 5:17pm – Timber kills another squirrel and sets out fishing lines with its innards. That accomplished, he works on a temporary shelter. He finds a homey spot and quickly puts up a shelter using his tarp as cover.
Timber checks his fish lines and pulls in a 25” pike. Alone says this fish should provide Timber with 1,750 calories and 370 grams of protein.
8:23pm – He doesn’t have enough time left in the day to prepare the meat, so Timber cooks the fish and the remaining parts of his squirrels. The meal’s delicious and he’s pleased with himself for landing a pike on the first day.
Day 5, 11:32am – Timber’s got a raging fire going and shows off a new trick he’s created with his quiver. He sealed his quiver with beeswax, which created a waterproof seal. His quiver will now store four quarts of boiled water so he’ll have it on hand. He didn’t bring a canteen as one of his 10 items, so now his quiver will serve as one.
Since his quiver has a new purpose, Timber makes a new bow quiver out of his arm guard. Alone tells us contestants can bring a finger and arm guard as part of their bow and arrow set. He cuts holes and slits, and using snare wire he fashions a holder for four arrows. Timber’s extremely happy about the makeshift bow quiver.
He heads to the shore and finds more bear and fresh moose tracks. He follows the moose’s trail and explains his strategy is simple: “Be opportunistic.” The big game will help him do all the other survival stuff and can help him win the show.
He sees a bull moose lying down, but it’s quite a distance away. Timber moves downwind and closer, approaching from a spot where willows are between him and the moose. He gets in position and mimics a cow moose call. The moose stands and looks in Timber’s direction but turns and moves away. Timber calls again and the moose stops walking. It’s a stand-off, with neither the moose nor Timber sure what to do.
Timber makes the cow moose call once more and claims this the hunt of his lifetime. Timber is patient and the moose steps toward him, now only 300 yards away. Once it’s about 150 yards away, Timber takes a shot. The moose makes a quick move and then stands still. Timber takes another shot and misses. The first arrow landed under the moose and a twig deflected the second about 10’ from the moose.
The moose fled.
Back at camp, Timber can’t even describe how much he wanted that moose. He feels defeated and numb. Timber knew the odds of having a moose that close and doesn’t think he’ll have another chance like that again.
Peter – Age 43, Castelgar, British Columbia
Day 2, 6:42am – Peter got a good night sleep after an exhausting first day in the wild. Today, his first priority is to enjoy the sunrise. Priority two is to get water. He hasn’t had any since he was dropped off.
7:34am – Peter prepares to set up a fire to boil water, which is difficult because the tender is damp. 45 minutes later and he still hasn’t started a fire. He presses pause and puts the tinder in his pocket to dry it out.
Peter’s a librarian and feels that his creativity will help him survive. He volunteers with search and rescue and alpine rescue groups and learned most of his skills from books. Peter’s participating in Alone to show his kids that you can achieve your goals if you don’t give up.
9:26am – He finds a kettle lake (formed from blocks of ice) and he names it Teapot Pond, as suggested by his son, Ethan.
Peter spent much of day one second-guessing himself, and he’s behind on locating the perfect place to set up his shelter. He’s returning from Teapot Pond when he spots huge bear paw prints. Peter will not build his shelter anywhere near their path.
10:51am – He finally gets his fire going to boil his water.
Day 3, 4:07pm – Peter shows off his tummy and jokes his kids are lucky they look like their mom. He’s going to build a small, dome-like shelter, but first, he’s building his bed. He’ll put an 8’ long by 6’ wide shelter up around it.
His shelter is nestled in the spruce trees to provide a break from the snow and rain. Peter is building in an area that isn’t covered by moss since moss will absorb wetness. The weather is cooling off as he gets the first branches of his qaluurvik-inspired shelter in place. Having a dome should be efficient to heat in the winter, and he’s not burning a lot of calories putting it up.
Peter got his weight up to 238 pounds to help survive the harsh environment.
Once his tarp goes up, it’ll look like a turtle. Peter calls it the Turtle Lair and is pleased at how it’s coming together.
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- Alone Season 11 Episode 4 “Legacy” Recap
- Alone Season 11 Episode 5 “Something in the Air” Recap
- Alone Season 11 Episode 7 “One Pike at a Time” Recap
- Alone Season 11 Episode 8 “The Marten Chronicles” Recap
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