Alaska Experiment Episode 3 – “Hunt or Be Hunted”
Winter is beginning to set in, and some groups have not had protein for weeks. Bernice and Greg Pierson, who do happen to have a goat, are unsure if the meat is any good when Bernice’s stomach pains confine her to the cabin for days. It is up to Greg to care for Bernice and prepare for winter by himself, all while battling below-zero temperatures, fatigue, and hunger.
The friends at Flower Lake send one member to the rocky cliffsides to hunt for goat along with Jay Claus, son of the show’s resident survival expert, Paul Claus. Their trip begins on a dangerous note –first they must cross an icy river. If Tim falls in, he would only have 90 seconds to get out before hypothermia sets in. Next comes the 3,000-foot climb to the goats. Can Tim, who had never shot a gun before Alaska Experiment, shoot a goat? Less than 24 hours after leaving on his hunt, Tim returns triumphant. He managed to fell a goat with two shots, and while the challenges of gutting the goat on the mountainside and then hiking miles back to camp with over 100 pounds of meat in his sack were killer, the three friends at Flower Lake enjoyed a hot meal of fresh goat steaks. If preserved and rationed right, this meat should take them through winter.
Down on Icy Bay, Jeff and Elizabeth have barely been getting by on meager rations of salmon and the occasional clam. Neil Webster comes by to take them moose hunting as moose is the only game left this time of year. Elizabeth sits in a tree as lookout, Neil makes moose calls, and Jeff lays quietly with his gun raised, ready to shoot. After four days of tracking this moose, the couple must return to camp empty-handed.
The Wise family, too, is suffering from the cold. They decide to build bunk beds using crab netting and wood. Just getting one foot off the ground can be as much as 30ºF warmer. They also happen to be in the rainiest part of Alaska, where it rains up to 200 inches per year, so they set up a plastic tarp “slide” with a bucket at the bottom to capitalize on the fresh water. When the rain finally breaks, they go for a hike along the “berry trail,” where many fresh berries remain ripe for picking. While they don’t provide any much-needed protein, berries are high in calories and full of vitamins –very important for all the survivors, some of whom have dropped over 20 pounds.
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