Episode 6 of History Channel’s Alone, Season 9, takes place over days 28-33. Seven contestants remain at the start of the episode.
This is a recap and review of episode 6 At the end, I’ll provide some guesses as to who will last until the end and who might successfully hunt a bear.
Spoilers to follow!
Terry
Terry started off the episode by eating meat off the skull of the beaver he hunted, followed by its brains and eyeballs. Afterward, he built a smoker in which to preserve all the meat. He smoked the pieces for twenty hours, producing a good stash of jerky. He also cooked some pieces down to make “beaver bacon” and made a drink out of the rendered fat.
Terry also spent some time in this episode talking about his mom and how much he values her. While it could seem he’s getting lonely, I think it’s more that he’s keeping himself in the game by remaining appreciative of the nature around him. For example, he locates a stream he believes his mom would enjoy and dedicates it to her. That was so incredibly sweet.
Tom
At the start of his segment, Tom makes his girlfriend some earrings. He then checks his snares to find them devoid of any kills, so he decides to go out in the early morning to hunt beaver. He talks a bit about his conservationist background, so when he spots a beaver and misses it, it makes sense why he appears very downtrodden about it. He’s less upset about the missing food than how he’s potentially wounded the animal using an unethical shot. We leave Tom stewing on this.
Teimojin
Our resident doctor has mice in this shelter. Unlike Larry from Seasons 2 and 5, who almost lost his mind over mice, Teimojin sets up Paiute deadfall traps for them. He then has quite the morning, where he shoots at a grouse, misses, and has to climb a tree to get his arrows.
After this, he explains that while having no one to cover him when he was in the tree was a bit lonely, this isn’t the worst loneliness he’s experienced. He explains how he was without housing while finishing med school due to debt, and that hiding his circumstances from his family back then made him feel more alone than being on this show.
Afterwards, the tone shifts, as he manages to shoot three grouse in one day! He cleans them while wearing gloves (as every other contestant should probably take note of) and builds a second shelter on the beach to serve as a smoker. He does this so the smell of meat won’t attract predators to his camp but would also serve as bear bait.
Jessie
Jessie does what I would likely do if I were all alone: sing constantly. She’s also still working on her shelter, which she calls “Hodge podge lodge.” The arrival of snow on the nearby mountain encourages her to finish. The shelter is indeed more like a cabin, with a moss roof and a massive firepit utilizing punkwood and an air vent.
At the end of the segment, she admits to missing her boyfriend, but her biggest concern is not catching any food.
Juan Pablo
Juan Pablo is surviving by eating a (rather gross-looking) congealed fish soup. He attempts to fish but cracks his rod, which he dutifully wraps tightly with cord. He attempts to hunt a grouse but only wounds it and cannot find it, which he feels bad about.
A day or so later, he is on the hunt again, stumbling across the carcass of the grouse he’d wounded. It’s apparent some other animal has been eating it. He decides to eat it anyway, which grosses me out (valid, after what happened to Benji!).
A white weasel tries to steal it, so he takes a shot at it. He manages to kill it but feels very bad about it, as the creature is too small to provide any real meat. This leads him to contemplate his partner, Jennifer, and how much he loves and misses her. While this could have led him into a spiral of loneliness, instead, it appears only to motivate him further.
It appears the contestants this season are a bit heartier emotionally than others we’ve seen, but it’s only been a month!
My Assessment
My top three are Tiemojin, Adam, and Terry. If Jessie starts getting food, she’ll move back up in my estimation!
Juan Pablo is still my bear hunter.
The next episode airs July 7, on History Channel.
