Alone?

Alone is an American adventure reality game show on the History Channel. It follows the self-documented daily struggles of 10 individuals (seven paired teams in season 4) as they survive alone in the wilderness for as long as possible using a limited amount of survival equipment. With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans. They may "tap out" at any time, or be removed due to failing a medical check-in. The contestant who remains the longest wins a grand prize of $500,000. The seasons have been filmed across a range of remote locations, usually on Indigenous-controlled lands, including northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentinian Patagonia, northern Mongolia, Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, and Chilko Lake in interior British Columbia.

All of the participants on Alone have significant outdoor and survival experience, and before beginning their stay in the wilderness are provided additional survival training. After going through a copious number of applications submitted prior to each season, the makers of Alone select twenty potential contestants to attend a boot camp. The boot camp does not occur in the same area that the following season is filmed, and this is no 'sneak-preview' for contestants.

Instead, hired survival experts will take the twenty contestants through various tasks and tests and evaluate both their physical and mental skills/weaknesses in an isolated, 'wild' context. After evaluations, half of the potential contestants are cut while the other ten advance to the show.

The winner in each season lasted between two and three months, with many of the contestants "tapping out" well before that time. While there is some artificiality to Alone - there is a built-in safety net (participants can call for rescue at any time, and there is a limitation on gear that may be carried (i.e. no firearms or steel traps, only a limited amount of rations) - the show is a reasonable representation of the challenges one would face when loading up a rucksack full of gear and "bugging-out" to the wilderness.

Some past contestants have given pieces of advice they wish they had received prior to competing, while others who were more successful on Alone have offered public tips they followed while tapping-out later than others. However, both types of former contestants seem to always mention mental preparation.

A commonly-cited symptom of a contestant's experience is missing loved ones and growing homesick. Season six runner-up Woniya Thibeault claimed this was the reason for her tapping out on her birthday. It's important to note that both the mind and the body have to persevere through the indefinite time.

The Alone Winners - Duration (survival time) can be seen here: https://www.history.com/shows/alone/articles/alone-winners

And a list of the gear chosen and carried by the participants can be seen here: https://survivalskills.guide/alone-gear-list/

 

One thing that is made very clear by the show Alone is that "bugging-out" to the wilderness in NOT a realistic or viable option for more than a few weeks at best, and for most people that time is going to be considerably less!