Original subtitles

[dramatic music]

This is going to be a bit--

[dramatic music]

I'm scared to death right now.

I feel like I'm starving.

[dramatic music]

See you.

Good luck.

[dramatic music]

I am not good in the head right now.

[dramatic music]

Hi.

I have chills right now.

Woo-hoo!

[dramatic music]

Some new technology to learn.

There's a learning curve to this.

[dramatic music]

The long wait is nearly over.

I'm ready.

[dramatic music]

ALAN KAY: Last year, I spent 56 days on Vancouver Island.

[dramatic music]

I don't know if life will ever be the same.

But I don't regret going for a minute.

After seeing what I went through on the island,

over 3,500 people applied to be on season 2 of "Alone."

Basically, all I'm going to do is

I'm going to cut off his legs and then eat them.

From these submissions, 20 were chosen

to spend a week with survival experts and producers.

Participants will be evaluated physically and psychologically.

Their survival skills will be tested.

And only the best will make it to the island.

In order to survive alone, you need three basic skills,

shelter building, fire starting, and the ability

to find food and water.

The assessment week begins with shelter.

It rains 217 days a year out on Vancouver Island.

So any structure you build must keep you warm, as well as dry.

The best shelters have pitched roofs that can shed water

and thick walls for insulation.

[dramatic music]

So the setups we're seeing are very interesting.

Everyone's come at a different angle.

Some of it strong--

some people approach it very strong.

Some people are very weak.

It's just a modified debris hut.

So its-- debris just means you scrape leaf litter

off the ground, pile it.

The stick is-- basically you have time to pile it.

Mine's not very specific.

[dramatic music]

I actually took some of this bark

and used the shingles in case it did rain.

ALAN KAY: At this point in the process, the best of the best

are in the running.

And only the truly elite will rise to the surface.

This is what I call cozy!

KIRAN: Debris shelter.

Great job-- exactly what we asked for.

ALAN KAY: I can tell you this from personal experience.

On Vancouver Island, shelter is life.

In the winter months, the average temperature

on the island is 39 degrees.

And that means shelter won't be enough.

Fire building is absolutely critical for heat and water

purification.

Failure, failure, failure.

It will not ignite.

ALAN KAY: In order to really last out there,

you need to know how to start a fire with friction.

A great piece of bow wood here.

The spindle, you want to be fairly soft wood.

You want to have the pointed end for where it's

going to go into your handhold.

And then you want to have it carved down here

a little flatter.

This first thing I looked for was a nice, light wood

to make the board.

I know this wood here will probably work.

If I scrape this with my thumbnail,

I'm getting a good dent, which means it's nice, soft wood.

And soft wood isolates the heat.

This is a new skill for me. So.

That was my first hole right there.

By the time I got close to getting to an ember,

it burned through the bottom right there.

The wood-- it could be the humidity in the air.

It could be so many different things.

[sawing]

The color of my dust--

it's very dark.

And it's not a fine powder.

It's kind of a gritty dust.

And that's a good sign.

I bet I've done it 1,000 times.

It's so awesome.

ALAN KAY: After having a good shelter and fire,

you've got to find food.

And on Vancouver Island, if you can't catch small game or fish,

you can't eat.

[laughing]

I caught a fish.

Ah!

ALAN KAY: Participants must prove they can build

a wide range of working traps.

Nibble, nibble, nibble, boom.

I definitely am going to make a fish trap.

I'm going to make a M shape out of sticks.

And the fish swim into the channel at the V of the M.

And then they don't have the sense to get out.

This is a South American Arapuca bird trap.

When the bird comes in, it falls.

And what you end up with is a live bird trapped in a cage.

I think it's really clever how you've managed

to get that built so quickly.

He's built a Paiute dead fall.

But he's modified it to make it easier to set.

Robbins will cruise the ground.

And they'll go for wriggling earthworm under there like it's

the last day on Earth.

Perfect.

When a ground animal gets stuck in this,

it strangles itself.

And you usually find them hanging.

And then you just simply pull them out in the morning,

and there's your food.

[dramatic music]

ALAN KAY: At orientation, the participants

go through training with their camera gear.

I really had a hard time using the five cameras we were given.

By day 2, I wanted to toss mine into the ocean.

Come on, man.

Do what you're supposed to do.

You hook your Moleskin up.

Put it like so. You see that?

Right hhere?

No, just on your clothes-- you see where it is?

I kind of got it on the mic.

See what I've done there?

Yeah.

My next thing is to--

Jose is already on it.

Your good, old weather cover is on.

ALAN KAY: Once they're dropped off,

each person will be totally alone.

There are no producers with them.

And they must be ready for whatever they encounter.

There's a learning curve to this, you know?

Look into the lens, not into the thing.

ALAN KAY: The crew continues to teach the participants to use

their cameras.

So the top handle actually has a separate slot

that it moves into.

OK.

ALAN KAY: I've got to say, it was a lot to learn.

And it was not easy.

I don't look at the viewfinder.

So you just look at what the--

Look-- look at how the-- the line of this shutter thing--

- Yeah. - To me, that looks great.

- OK. - I mean--

Yeah, I got you.

OK, cool.

Yeah, that makes sense.

ALAN KAY: At the end of an intense week of observation

and skill tests including camera training, safety briefings,

shelter building and fire starting,

the final 10 are selected.

These are the participants of season 2 of "Alone."

MARY KATE: I love you.

Give you a kiss before you go.

Can I have a kiss right now?

Are you going to miss me?

Yeah.

No!

I am.

I'm a stay-at-home mother.

I have two daughters.

Out in the field, I think that this

would be a good knife for me.

My other weapon of choice is going to be an ax.

It serves as a hammer.

It's going to cut my firewood.

It's going to cut my lodge poles.

It's going to keep me alive.

It's a really good tarp.

I think, if they're going to give you a tarp as an option,

you better take it.

[scoffs]

I'm not, like, the normal person that would sign up

for the show, that's a survivalist, that's--

that's gung-ho about studying their skills.

I'm not that person.

My work experience have been tests of my own strength.

[inaudible]

Hotshots are wildland firefighters.

I'm joining the hotshot crew.

And it's extremely stressful.

What I learned was that mental strength can get you just

about anywhere.

Let's go check it out.

I'm the person that says, I can do this.

I might drop you down in the hole.

I grew up off the grid and learned many different skills

or how to survive.

My kids-- that's the big part, leaving the kids.

[daughter yelling]

I mean, who would want to leave that face?

Who would want to leave that face?

I wouldn't do it unless my mom was watching my children.

So there you have it.

I want my kids to say, my mom did that, or I can do that.

There's no stopping me.

Why would something stop me?

I want my girls to grow up with a backbone, with a voice,

with strength and courage to do what they want to do.

I may break.

I may thrive.

I may do something really stupid that gets me in trouble.

I don't know.

All right, I'm out of here.

ALAN KAY: The remote location of Vancouver Island

will present enormous challenges for each of the season 2

participants.

And the endless hours on your own can be brutal.

But our next survivalist is looking forward

to the solitude.

[dramatic music]

RANDY: Just being outside in nature

does a lot for-- for my spirit.

You always come back feeling good.

You know, I call it, like, a wilder high,

a little bit-- you know?

When you get back, you're just, like,

sort of floating in cloud nine for a couple of days.

It's great to have stability, and a great house,

and all that sort of stuff.

But I've never really been a conventional type person.

The idea of, like, going to work from 9:00 to 5:00 and, like,

having a regular job--

I'm more interested in the growth of the human spirit.

I have a girlfriend.

We've been together for five years now.

She's excited for me.

She's a little nervous.

So how long do you think you're going to last?

I have a great relationship with my family, too.

They're super supportive.

They're really stoked for me.

And they're definitely my rock and my support system.

He's going to do a great job out there.

Choosing a career of being a wilderness survival

instructor--

initially, my parents were like, you

could be doing anything else.

It's a great job for me.

Throughout the entire time, they've been super supportive.

This is sort of like a culmination of all of the years

of training, all of the books that I've read,

all of the going out and doing it, and getting in the dirt

time.

It's about growth and, uh--

and sort of, like, figuring out who you are

and what you're made of-- so.

I regularly do solo trips.

But I haven't really spent more than just a couple of weeks,

you know, alone on a trip.

That's the hardest part about this whole experience.

Wire for snares and for traps, for lashing and for a cordage--

I mean, wire's obviously super strong.

And it's also something that I can use over and over again.

Packed and ready to go.

DAD: Here he is-- his senior picture.

We're going to miss him.

I'm excited.

But yeah, definitely sort of mixed emotions right now.

ALAN KAY: The participants are making their way

to Vancouver Island, the same location as season 1.

It's so remote, it takes multiple planes to get there.

And to me, the journey felt like forever.

RANDY: Departure, ticketing, and valet.

I said goodbye to my girls.

That was a very difficult thing to do.

Really hard saying goodbye to the kids.

I've been through some really difficult things in life.

This won't be the first time for me

that everything's been stripped away--

15 years in Brazil as a missionary.

I think I'm emotionally well equipped

to handle the isolation.

To a certain extent, that kind of experience

really does-- does me well.

It kind of reset something very basic in me.

I taught survival in two venues on a ministry basis.

The other was with paying customers.

I'm no longer in the ministry.

I am leaving behind my three kids.

I wish I could take you guys with.

Um, no.

DAVID: Well, you haven't lived till you've

wiped your butt with moss.

[daughter laughing]

I am not married.

I do not have a girlfriend.

I am as free as a man can be at this moment.

I'm really glad you finally get to do this.

I don't want to fail technically.

As the weather progresses and it might get very hard to stay--

to stay fed, that's my main concern--

is being able to eat enough.

And that raw, wet cold is about the worst.

I take him to the park.

I sit here on the bench.

And he climbs trees and does the slack line.

Then there's the psychology.

I don't know what the psychology of being alone for that

long is going to do to me.

That does kind of scare me.

He climbed stuff before he could walk.

The biggest and bulkiest item I'm taking is a 0-degree bag.

The second item is a US Army bivy sack--

basically, a Gortex cover that goes over the sleeping bag.

Because I know, on the island with that much rain,

I just do not want to have--

take any chance of getting my bag wet.

So this is the most dangerous thing I'm taking with me.

One slip with this, and I could very easily take myself out

of the show altogether-- off the island.

My faith is a huge part of what I'm doing here.

This show is called "Alone."

But I don't ever feel like I'm alone.

This is not the first time my faith will have been tested

or tried.

I just want to get out and do it.

I'm really tired of talking about it.

I'm going to go out there and get my butt kicked.

[music playing]

ALAN KAY: As participants make their way

to the island from all over America, anticipation builds.

I'm getting a little excited.

I'll be a little bit more excited once I actually

make it there.

The isolation issue out there--

I don't think it'll bother me at all.

You know, I'm used to being by myself.

I've been alone pretty much in everything I do.

I joined the military at age 19.

I enjoyed every moment of it-- love to serve my country.

All those tours in Iraq--

if I was going to die, to me, I should have died a long time

ago.

What's going on, everybody?

How's everybody doing?

[cheering]

That's my sister, my auntie.

That's my cousin here-- the oldest of all the grandkids

in my family and cousins.

My brother right here. Everybody, this is my brother.

This is my grandma right there and the rest of my family

right here. I don't have any kids.

I'm not married.

I think that's an advantage to me over everybody else.

I grew up in a small town.

It was a little violent--

my wonderful mother right here.

My mom put us into Boy Scouts and things like that.

Desmond is my adventurous child.

DESMOND: Some of the solace that I had was coming out

to the lakes and going fishing.

My mom started to notice.

So she brought us out to get us away from the city life.

And instead of going out and partying with our friends,

we went fishing, instead.

This is pretty much the fishing string of hooks

I'm going to have, OK?

A 40-pound test line.

I looked at the history of the island and what the people

before us did.

A lot of their food came from fishing.

300 yards of fishing--

fishing line.

So that is my strong suit.

I think it does give me a leg up.

Nah, if the bear-- if the bear come around me,

I'm going to say, hey, bear.

But you know, I ain't going to tap out.

And then if the bear grab me-- if somebody see the bear fight,

they need to help the bear fight.

[laughter]

I'll come back 20 pounds heavier and with a bear-skin suit

on for beating the [bleep].

Go off in there with everything else.

Oh!

As he go out on this adventure and this journey of this life,

Lord, that he will experience great and awesome things,

that you will protect him.

You will guide him in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

[cheering]

You're going to come up there and cook for me while we

- out there? - Hell, no.

DESMOND: I'm not the type of person to give up.

I was always raised to go and continue to do something

until the bitter end.

[dramatic music]

ALAN KAY: After traveling from across North America,

the participants arrive at Port Hardy on Vancouver Island.

The Quatsino had lived on Vancouver Island for over 1,000

years.

These First Nation people have a tradition

of going off into the forest alone as a rite of passage.

As the participants witness the ancient dance

given for warriors embarking on their journey,

it's a chance for them to pay respect to the First Nation

people and for the Quatsino to bless the 10 on the journey

they're about to take.

[chanting]

For one of the participants, the connection to native people

is personal.

LARRY: It sounds funny.

But when I was a kid, I wanted to grow up and be

a Native American.

I mean that's-- when my parents asked me what I wanted to grow

up to be, that was it.

How they lived with nature rather than against nature--

there's a method to living with the wilderness

rather than against it.

This is my wife, Rachel.

So we've been married for--

how long's it been?

How long's it been now?

27 years-- something like that.

26, right?

LARRY: So this is my son.

This was a graduation picture.

This is my daughter.

[laughing]

See you, goofball.

You can practice in your backyard all day,

every day all you want.

You're never really, truly tested

until you go into the woods for an indefinite amount of time.

I constructed just a big lean-to.

Can someone sustain themselves out there?

Absolutely.

Can you do it by yourself at this particular time

of the year?

We'll find out.

I want to step back away from the life

that I'm living right now, get a little more introspective,

and find out, what's my next step in life?

I've been married since I was 18.

I've had my first kid when I was 21.

That's what I wanted to do.

That's what I should have done.

I decided to have those kids.

I devoted my life to them.

A lot of people got to experience stuff like this

before they got married.

I never did.

It's going to be an amazing journey.

And it's-- it's my time.

I've got my hooks in here.

I've got an assortment of hooks.

I need to make sure that I keep my calories up, keep

hydrated for sure, find a source of water.

This fishing line, it's also a very strong cordage.

This can be used for snares.

My ax-- if I have to give something up, I'll

give up something other than a tool.

In other words, I'd like to go very tool heavy.

This is kind of a unique little saw.

RACHEL: I'll miss him.

But we love him.

He needs this opportunity.

He's really excited about this.

I'm really excited. RACHEL: I know you are.

And when you're out there, remember us.

And remember that we support you.

And we love you. And we're really happy for you.

We love you.

LARRY: Love you, too.

RACHEL: He doesn't quit.

Something will have to take him out.

Because he won't take himself out.

That's the work.

I can't wait.

ALAN KAY: For the final 10, life on the island

can be incredibly challenging.

Winds can whip up to hurricane force during the winter months.

But for our next participant, the harsh winter weather

is commonplace.

One of my favorite sounds.

[loons crying]

Loons crying.

I hope you can hear it.

This is one of the reasons why I went, uh, to the north--

to hear the cry of the loon.

[dramatic music]

I consider myself to be an aboriginal-minded person.

I look at the world with the eyes of somebody

that is native.

This is a Yukon territory, a couple of hundred kilometers

south of the Arctic Circle in Northwest Canada.

That's what I call my hobbit table.

All sorts of things get done there.

I do leather tooling.

I work on arrows, as well.

I carve.

You can not impose your presence on the bush.

The bush can have you anytime.

So I don't perceive nature as hostile.

One pair of outdoor pants--

this is one of my underpants.

When all around you is olive drab,

and the sky is gray, and seeing bright colors

can have a positive effect on you.

Hey, what about the personal photograph?

My wife, Shauna-- here's a bunch of pictures.

My wife here is from Canada.

I will get my permanent residence here.

Is this supposed to be a good one of me?

Yes. [laughing]

Oh, OK.

It was a nice shot there.

SHAUNA: No.

JOSE: I have a good background for solving

all sorts of problems that can come up there.

But I can't solve every problem.

I'm interested in, what did the local native people do?

Pretty much 80% of their resources

or more came off the ocean.

This gill net, it's a 3-by-3-inch mesh.

I'm targeting big fish.

That's when I'm going with a big gauge.

OK, this is a multi tool that I modified.

What good are screwdrivers to me out there in a place

without screws?

This, I made into a small chisel that can

cut holes real quick and easy.

And this guy here, I ground into a miniature version

of a crooked knife.

SHAUNA: I'm happy you can go.

But I'm going to miss you.

JOSE: It's nice that there is a prize and all that.

But, uh, it's a wonderful opportunity

to-- to reach out and inspire people to spend more

time in nature to try to get in touch with their ancestry.

For the longest part of our history,

we have been Stone Age people.

What we are is cave people with CDs.

And we're really confused.

[music playing]

ALAN KAY: With only five days till launch,

the participants are training extensively, learning

about the local area and continuing to practice

their camera skills.

JIM CLAIR: We're from the Department of Fisheries

and Oceans Canada.

ALAN KAY: The participants must abide by all local hunting

and fishing laws while they live on Vancouver Island.

JIM CLAIR: Red tide plays a big factor.

The levels are still too high.

It can bring death very quickly.

You guys have been given permits that give you

the privileges that a BC resident has to hunt and fish.

Where you are going, it's fairly simple.

Because there's not a lot of diversity-- maybe deer.

There's black bears.

There's wolves.

There's cougars.

ALAN KAY: They are then walked through the emergency

kit they'll be supplied with.

The basic first aid kit--

these are your handheld flares.

Three people used these last year to scare away bears.

[dramatic music]

TRACY: Each person has to dig deep to be able to make it

past whatever it is that they have to endure to get to where

they want to be.

[gun shot]

I'm hoping I can put myself in a presence of mind

to be able to be accepting of what that island has to teach.

I am former law enforcement and former military.

I'm currently living out on the Appalachian Trail

trying to find hope and peace.

I'm very fortunate.

I still have my parents.

I have my daughter and my son.

I have two of my three grandchildren

here with me today.

These are dove breasts and a couple skewers of dove hearts

from dove we harvested yesterday.

Come give me my hug.

Owen, hug, kisses.

I'll see you when I see you, OK?

It's the last time I get to see him till I get back.

I've been through quite a bit in my life,

been witness to a lot of very difficult things

that have been very, very emotionally

and physically trying.

That island will renew my sense of hope

in people, as well as myself.

Molly.

[dog barking]

Molly has been with me from day one.

The longest I've been away from Molly is been about a week.

I think she's upset with me right now,

because I am leaving.

I was so relieved to find this pot because of the spout,

and the handles, and everything.

The KA-BAR is a fantastic, awesome knife-- high carbon,

very, very, very strong blade.

I can use it to drill holes.

I can use the end to flint map or rake.

My biggest fear-- quick and easy--

it's that I will not be there long enough to find the answers

to the questions that I have.

[dramatic music]

ALAN KAY: This season, 10 new sites

were selected for the participants.

Every location had to be as equal to the others

as it could.

Each had to have a water source.

There must be food resources, whether that's

plants, mushrooms, or fish in the area and timber for shelter

and firewood.

The sites were randomly picked by each person.

Each fortune cookie has a number in it.

Pick a cookie.

Crack it open.

And that's your site.

Site number 6.

Site number 4.

7.

5.

ALAN KAY: Each site is different.

One may have easy access to fresh water

but may require a rugged walk to find flat ground,

while another may have access to a nice-sized cove

but lack direct sunlight.

I don't know how I feel about this--

site number 10.

I only have one person next to me.

That's probably good.

All right. Awesome.

Want to bring this to the fire?

I'm rotating wood today and getting things just battened

down and ready for when I'm gone.

It's going to be harder to leave these guys--

my son, Colton, who's 12.

Hi.

My son, Quinn, who's 7, my partner, Carson.

The longest I've been away from my kids is seven weeks.

I love you more than you love me.

No, I love you more.

No I love you more than you love me.

No I love you more than you love me.

COLTON: I'm confident my mom will do well out there,

because she's awesome.

She's independent.

And she's reliable.

What's up?

I am a safari guide in Africa.

I work primarily with the Kalahari Bushmen.

I also work in anthropology, teaching at Prescott College.

And I am a primitive skills instructor.

And I love my life.

[laughing]

To test the skills that I've taught for so many years--

it's going to be really exciting for me.

I teach medicinal plants, how to make medicinal tinctures.

I make mostly all my own medicine.

I think my mental fortitude will help a lot.

I've had, uh, some major trauma in my life, both spiritual

and physical.

15 years ago, I couldn't walk.

I have multiple sclerosis.

I was put on all this medication.

A couple of years into that, I just said,

this isn't working for me.

Oh, and there's heal-all.

And it heals everything.

Nature was one of my biggest healers.

Mm.

There's not as much variety on Vancouver Island

as there is here.

So I'll be a little limited for some of the things

that I-- my common go-tos for medicine.

I'm a little nervous.

You know, I think, to to go into it with a big head thinking,

oh, I'm going to do great at this--

I think that's just silly.

I think anyone going in with that idea

doesn't realize how hard it is.

Hypothermia is probably my most serious concern.

There was no way I was going to not bring a sleeping bag.

It's a minus-30 bag.

A silky saw-- cuts through stuff like butter.

The cutting edge on here is extremely sharp.

My next item is a pan.

Voila!

We could have gone with a two-quart pot.

This is more like 10 quarts.

The drawback is that there's no lid.

I just thought, size matters in this case.

[playing guitar]

I've been through some trauma in my life, the death

of my stepson, um, two years ago.

And, uh--

[exhales sharply]

He drowned.

He was missing for a long time.

And I spent a month looking for him until we figured out

what happened to him.

And I've been able to come through it

and still have joy and happiness in my life.

I'm a happy, joyful person, even though I'm crying right now.

Um, having gone through traumatic experiences

will be a blessing, because I've had to deal with grief.

And I've had to deal with my [bleep]..

You know?

Like, we all have it.

Whew!

Vancouver Island, ugh, here I come.

[laughing]

[dramatic music]

We have a shirt, woolen.

ALAN KAY: In addition to the 10 survival tools

each person must select, the participants

must also decide what they'll wear.

They're only allowed a certain amount of clothing.

But they're on their own to select the specific garments.

Then we have to woolen sweaters, thermal underwear,

the choice of either a baseball cap or a brimmed hat,

or a light jacket.

Most importantly out here is the rain gear--

high-legged hunting boots, scarf, Gators,

three pairs of socks, a pair sandals, underwear,

two pairs of gloves, two pairs of pants--

and then that all goes down into the pack that we supplied them.

And if it gets damaged, they have to repair it themselves.

ALAN KAY: The dangers are real on the island.

The participants are supplied with emergency equipment.

Every safety effort has been taken to keep everyone

as safe as possible while they are alone.

DAN: This is all the essentials they need to help them survive.

And if a major issues happen, then they

can contact us-- basic backcountry medical kit,

their personal flotation devices, pepper spray, hand

flares, air horns, bear scarers.

They'll give a blast on these air horns.

And hopefully, that'll frighten away the game.

[blast]

So then it comes to communications.

Here we have the SAT phone if they need to contact us--

if they can't contact us any other way.

This is how we monitor them.

We can send messages.

And they can send messages.

This is their lifeline to us.

ALAN KAY: The yellow GPS not only allows producers to track

the movement of every participant,

it also serves as the tap-out button.

If you're in serious trouble, emotionally distraught,

or simply ready to go home, a push of the button

brings in the rescue crew in minutes.

This is your buddy.

Keep it on you all the time.

If you hit this button, it means--

You're out.

Yeah, you're tapping up.

Coast Guard will be alerted, stuff like that.

Because that is the emergency button,

where you're in deep [bleep].

OK, you hit this.

And you need us in there as quick

as you can to come rescue you.

Because if not, you're going to die.

You're in immediate danger, and you're going to die.

ALAN KAY: I never tapped the button.

But I was glad to know I had an instant line to help

in case anything went wrong.

Our next participant knows a few things about staying safe

in dangerous conditions.

[dramatic music]

JUSTIN: I was in the Army for about 15 years.

I recently got out.

For the majority of that time, I was either a sniper

or working down at the sniper school.

I founded and I'm the director of an organization called Hike

to Survive, where we take veterans on overnight camping

trips.

There's a huge suicide epidemic in the veteran community.

We're trying to give guys a purpose and a connection

before they get to that point.

And to me, that's-- that's what keeps me going.

[insects chirping]

When I get out in the woods, everything just kind of

slows down.

I think that's, you know, partly from doing what

I did in the military.

You're sitting in a hole with, you know,

a couple other guys for three, four, five days.

You're pissing and [bleep] in your bag.

Survival is a big part of that.

Being in the military, you still have that human interaction,

which is vastly different.

This is a strange situation.

You look like a caterpillar.

JUSTIN: Very few people have ever

gone out by themselves completely shut off

from-- from everybody.

And they only historical ones I can think of

went crazy pretty fast.

So--

[laughing]

I'm about halfway there, anyway.

So it's-- it's not-- not-- not too big of a jump.

All the years in the military, if you have one thing,

it's-- it's going to be this.

So I have two blades, one regular.

The other one is serrated.

I have, uh, three stepkids, but I raised them.

I actually have a grandbaby.

Over the course of 15 years active duty in the military,

years of my life have been spent away from family, and friends,

and-- and everything else.

So that is a normalcy for me.

I'm getting ready to go through, uh-- through a divorce.

For some people, that might weigh heavy on them,

you know, going in, and doing this, and having that

in the back part of their head.

For me, it will allow me to release a little bit.

Some people want to challenge themselves.

This is that challenge that I've always

wanted to put myself through.

ALAN KAY: With only one day until launch,

the participants pack their bags with the 10 pre-approved items

they've selected from a list of 50.

A good sleeping bag.

ALAN KAY: Everyone has chosen to bring sleeping bags, ferro

rods, saws, axes, and either a pot or pan.

Knives, gill nets, fish hooks, and emergency rations

are common choices, as well.

But some have decided to bring unique items.

This is a hammock.

This blue rope here is basically braided fishing line,

a closed-steel ring-- a lot of stuff

I can do with a steel ring.

From the steel ring to the actual net of the hammock

is an extra 20 feet of paracord.

The actual net itself--

it's basically a gill net--

five or six different things in one.

So I went with smaller, sharp, high-quality saw with

the curbed blade and the large teeth.

This particular, uh, saw works on the draw.

There will always be those times where

I got to deal with my painful past and hurtful history.

Back in the '60s, Mom and Dad weren't

quite ready to be married and to have kids.

We were sent to a Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska.

I got kicked out when I was 15.

So like, where do you go when the orphanage kicks you out,

right?

I joined the Air Force as a survival instructor.

We would go to the mountains and learn

how to survive there, go to the desert, out on the ocean--

how to survive as a prisoner of war.

Wow.

Look at that guy.

If a bear comes after me, he better think twice.

I've been teaching men, women, and children

how to survive in the wilderness, how to set up

a trap, how to build a shelter, how to make friction fires.

I am so busy teaching it that I rarely have a chance

to go on missions.

Now, if you were going with me, we could share body heat.

Barbara is just this kind, compassionate woman.

I am blessed that she loves me and likes being married to me.

I'm going to, of course, bring a ferro rod

with an orange attachment for striking it that

will prevent me from losing it.

BARBARA: Fiona knows something is up.

I don't know how you know, but--

aw, poor baby.

I want to prove to myself that I can do it.

I'm not out there to beat nature.

I'm out there to cooperate with nature.

I have three children.

I'm a grandfather by three.

When my daughter passed, she was only 10 years old.

In those situations where I am alone, those--

those memories are larger than they are ever at any time.

I am going to learn in a deeper, more amazing way

how to live with that painful past and hurtful history.

ALAN KAY: Like last year, the cast

is on Quatsino Sound, Northwest Vancouver Island.

This rugged landscape goes from fjords to the sea.

It's got abundant forests from cedar to hemlock.

A large population of cougars and wolves

roam free alongside black bears.

It's one of Mother Nature's gems, exposed

to the massive waves of the Pacific

and the treasures she brings in.

From ropes to plastic bottles, what was trash to others

became indispensable tools for me.

I could walk on the beach and find

100 feet of rope, which I could turn again

into 800 feet of rope.

It's all down to luck and chance.

And that is part of the game out here.

[dramatic music]

It's easy to have a romantic idea that fish can be picked

out of the water with bare hands and that hunting big game will

be easy and abundant.

That idea soon changes when you get out here,

and it rains for 30 days in a row.

OK, that wasn't too bad.

Before launch, the crew does a gear drop at each location.

The heavy cases they're hauling contain additional cameras.

So when each participant gets to his site, they're ready to go--

no handholding.

The location of each gear stash is marked with a bright ribbon

to ensure it's easy to find.

See ya.

Good luck.

ALAN KAY: I remember exiting my chopper last year

and immediately feeling that I was on my own.

So this is home.

We are here.

This is crazy.

I'm a complete lunatic.

[dramatic music]

After an intense week of training,

it's up to the participants to survive alone.

It's hard to describe how I felt standing there, excited,

anxious, scared, and determined.

I can tell you this, no matter how much they think

they're ready, they're not.

You don't know what you're going to encounter until you're

out there.

And sometimes, the biggest challenge

isn't bears or the cold.

It might just be the predator inside you.

TRACY: It's the anticipation, the build up,

the time that we spent from the applications, the screening,

the boot camp, everything all the way up till now,

all the traveling, the saying goodbye to family--

the last couple minutes.

I'm ready.

[dramatic music]

I just want to see where I'm going to be living

for the next couple months.

As we get my piece of ground, I can what I have to work with.

[dramatic music]

The long wait is nearly over.

[dramatic music]

Now I'm just ready to get out to my site and just start,

you know?

Keep it simple.

That's what I always say.

I'm just ready to get out there.

[dramatic music]

- OK, here we go. - Ah!

Ha, ha!

Woo!

[alarm sounding]

[dramatic music]

I shaved my beard.

It was kind of a--

I'm going to start changing the way that I live my life now.

I'm feeling really anxious.

But besides having kids, this is about the most exciting thing

I've ever felt.

[dramatic music]

You've been in these before, have you?

A couple times.

[beeping]

[engine whirring]

[dramatic music]

ALAN KAY: The 10 embarking on this adventure

are about to take part in something only a small handful

of people can truly understand.

The experience will test them, break them, build them up,

and tear them down.

No matter how their journeys end,

they will walk away profoundly changed.

It will be the first time in their lives

that they will be 100% alone, struggling

to survive in complete isolation, all

while the whole world watches on.

I wish I was on that boat going out again.

Good luck to them all.

[dramatic music]

Now they're on their own.

We're about to embark on an extended wilderness survival

experience.

This is it.

It has begun.

Oh, my god, I'm alone.

[laughing]

What the hell have I done?

When you're out here in the woods,

it's just amazing how hard everything is.

[dramatic music]

It is not easy going out here.

50-mile-an-hour winds-- I've got to go back to camp.

[groaning]

I swear to God, if that thing chews my sleeping bag up,

I'm blowing this place up.

I'm so disappointed in myself right now.

If you suffer a mechanical injury,

there's nobody here to help you.

If I don't start catching fish and soon, I'm a goner.

Look at that!

Squished mouse-- my favorite.

I'm starting to see more and more signs of bears.

I just heard a loud noise out there.

I'm not sure what it was.

[whistling]

Hey, bear.

Yo, bear.

I got to get out of here.

Oh, my god, the bears are here--

not good.

Hey, don't come over here.

Get out of here!

ALAN KAY: Season 2 of "Alone" starts now.

[dramatic music]