‘Alone’ Season 11 Episode 2: One Survivalist Makes an ‘Embarrassing’ Mistake 

Five more survivalists embark on the Alone journey in the latest episode of the History Channel reality series. 

In last week’s season 11 premiere, five people were dropped in the remote Mackenzie River Delta, more than 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. That episode ended in a nerve-wracking tap-out from a participant who appeared poised to do well in the competition, proving that anything can happen on Alone. This week, the season’s other five contestants start their Alone journey. They quickly come face to face with the harsh reality of life in the wild. 

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Alone Season 11 Episode 2.] 

Five more survivalists begin their ‘Alone’ Season 11 journey  

The premiere followed Michela, William, Dub, Cubby, and Isaiah as they set up camp and began constructing their shelters and searching for food. In episode 2, Peter, Dusty, Timber, Sarah, and Jake start their Alone experience. 

Things get off to a rocky start for a couple of participants. 

Peter, a 42-year-old librarian from British Columbia, experiences a serious case of “drop shock,” a feeling of disorientation that some people experience when they’re first dropped in the wild. He accomplishes little on his first day beyond setting up a basic shelter. By day 2, he’s thirsty, since he hasn’t had anything to drink since arriving at his camp. But due to soggy conditions and damp woods, he struggles to start the fire he needs to boil water. Eventually, he gets a blaze going, but it’s not an auspicious beginning. Fortunately, his dome-shaped shelter-building efforts go much more smoothly. But it raises the question of whether he’ll be able to put the skills he’s learned from books to use in the real world. 

Jake, 42, also suffers a setback early on. He loses his fishing line – one of just 10 items he was permitted to bring with him – while scrambling in the woods. The loss of any survival item is a blow, but not having one that would help him get food is particularly devastating.

“Losing my fishing line is embarrassing,” he says. “This was the tool I was going to rely on the most to provide food for myself.” 

But Jake isn’t going to wallow in regret. He quickly pivots, weaving a fishing net from paracord. And he proves crafty and adaptable in other ways as well. Unlike most Alone participants, he’s opted not to bring a ferro rod to help him start a fire. Instead, he fashions a DIY tinderbox that he can use to start a fire, along with his carbon steel belt buckle and charcoal. 

Timber misses out on a moose, Sarah fails to harvest a beaver

Jake is not the only Alone cast member who shows off some creative problem-solving skills. Timber, 35, was raised in an off-the-grid anti-government group and now works in humanitarian aid in conflict zones. In other words, he has plenty of experience with both the outdoors and managing stressful situations.

Timber wants to use the quiver he brought with him to store water. So, he makes a replacement quiver using leather from his arm guard. He also demonstrates his skill as a hunter when he shoots and kills a squirrel, which he plans to use as both bood for himself and as bait for fishing. The latter strategy pays off, and he pulls in a 25-inch pike. 

Sarah, 48, is one of just two women competing in this season of Alone. Her first focus is to forage for whatever food she can before the weather turns bitterly cold. “My plan is to graze like a moose,” she says. Unfortunately, her attempts to hunt aren’t quite as successful. She tries to harvest a beaver with her bow and arrow, but her shot misses the mark. She quickly realizes she made a “dumb” move out of “desperation.” 

“I think I just got excited,” she says. “I need to make sure that I don’t make mistakes.”

Dusty, 36, is a self-described hillbilly from Arkansas who plans to rely on his skills as a trapper to survive. That approach doesn’t take long to pay off when a squirrel gets caught in his snare. He also manages to forage some berries. But Dusty admits that he doesn’t have any experience with extreme cold. Will his luck continue to hold as temperatures drop and the days turn dark?

The most dramatic moment in this installment of Alone comes late in the episode, when Timber gets an opportunity that could set him up for lasting success in the competition. He spots a moose, which he thinks he can take down with his bow and arrow. Killing the massive animal this early on would be a major coup. It would be a rich food source that could sustain him for a long time, provided he can preserve the meat. Unfortunately, Timber isn’t able to kill the moose, and he can’t hide his disappointment.  

“I cannot describe how much I wanted that moose,” he says. “That was my golden ticket … I mucked it so bad. The feeling of defeat is deeper than I can tell you.”

Alone Season 11 airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on History Channel.  

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