Alaska Experiment – Episode 1 “Into the Wilds”
Can 10 regular people leave the comfort of home to actually survive in the Alaskan wilderness for three whole months…in the winter? In Discovery Channel’s new show, Alaska Experiment, four teams put it to the test. They leave behind their urban lives to prove that they can battle the elements, survive the wildlife, provide for themselves, and, ultimately, come out alive.
In episode 1, “Into the Wilds,” bush pilot and survival expert Paul Claus flies each group of two or three to a remote spot in the Alaska wilderness where they must navigate the hike to their shelters, which for some includes quicksand-like marshes, steep and rocky glacier faces, and kayaking along a bay filled with precarious ice chunks.
The first group, Greg and Bernice Pierson, now call a tiny trapper’s cabin on Hawkins Glacier home. Bernice’s passion is adventure racing and thus this challenge is an ultimate adventure for her. Her husband Greg, however, has little wilderness experience outside of the occasional camping trip and is far outside his comfort zone. The temperature in their home in the river valley will drop as low as -40º F once winter hits.
Three friends, Allen, Jasmine, and Tim, make up the second group. While they are all into extreme sports and adventure, none is a survival expert. For the next three months, they will live in a log cabin in the densely wooded Flower Lake area, where buffalo, moose, and, most dangerously, grizzly bears roam.
Jeff and Elizabeth have been dating for a few months, and with Jeff’s search-and-rescue background and Elizabeth’s survival experiences in the Australian outback, they believe they can succeed at this challenge. After kayaking through the dangerously-icy Icy Bay, they are among the first groups to find their shelter, a “wall tent,” which is basically a waterproof canvas tent attached to a metal frame. They quickly discover the challenges of living on the lake. The moisture level is so high that they can’t start a fire inside, and at night, the moisture condenses and drips down on them. They are forced to build a separate lean-to right away so they can keep wet equipment outside and hopefully keep dry inside.
The final group consists of Dennis Wise and his two daughters, Jennifer and Carolyn, who want to use this survival challenge as a bonding experience. They will live in an old fishing cabin on a beach on Icy Bay, which is open and exposed to the worst of the extreme weather. By the end of episode 1, the family is already experiencing cabin fever, fighting over which direction their shoes should face.
It took some groups days to hike just a few miles to their new homes, but once they arrived they were greeted with their rations for the next three months –basic food supplies, a survival manual, basic tools (such as fishing poles and knives), and a wood-burning stove. They have just a few weeks settle in and prepare for the coming winter, which is sure to include food shortages, subzero temperatures, and the biggest physical and mental challenges these volunteers have ever faced.
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