The survival competition show is back! Episode 1 of History Channel’s Alone, Season 10, takes place over Days 1-6. Ten contestants remain at the start of the episode.
This season of Alone takes place in Northern Saskatchewan in an area called Reindeer Lake, which is like an ocean (two million acres!) of small islands. The contestants have to survive heading into winter. The first episode focuses on Luke, Alan, Lee, Jodi, and Cade, but you can find a more detailed list of the contestants here, or you can watch the “Before the Drop” episode (if you watch it via streaming services) which gives a bit more background on the survivalists. Like previous seasons, my recaps outline the entirety of a contestant’s actions in each episode rather than jumping back and forth as the show does.
This is a recap and review of Alone, Season 10 episode 1.
Spoilers to follow!
Luke
Luke Joseph Olsen (39) finds moose scat and bear tracks upon landing on a beach. He is a glass artist and entrepreneur from Maui, Hawaii. His parents were big in the survivalism world, though he claims he’s not really a hunter. He leaves behind a wife and son, and his goal is to live up to his parents’ reputations.
He has experience with black bears, so he claims he’s not worried as he takes a walking assessment of the land. Luke finds a grouse on his travels and nails the shot (and then rips off its head).
On day two, he stumbles upon a bear he decides to follow. He takes a shot, misses, and takes another. It takes off. He claims he needs to find big game to keep up with the other participants. We’ll see if he can accomplish this in later episodes.
Alan
Alan Tenta (52) is a high school teacher from Columbia Valley, British Columbia. Alan starts his segment by going for a swim in his mustard-coloured underwear (an underrated color, in my opinion). A survival hobbyist inspired to the field by his now-deceased dad, he has also lived in areas like Reindeer Lake before. He leaves behind his wife and kids, who are very supportive.
After his swim, he creates a fishing plug to attempt to get food right away. He hopes to catch a pike or lake trout and quickly lands a trout that is stuffed with roe. He is wary of eating the roe and attempts to cook it. He manages to choke it down.
On Day 2, Alan films a circling Great Horned Owl, who reminds him of his dad.
Lee
We meet Lee Ray DeWilde (59) on day 2 while he’s building his structure. He lays down some moss and brush for a bed. Lee is a pilot from Huslia, Alaska. He’s of Indigenous heritage, of the Déné peoples, and grew up hunting and fishing. His first goal is to make a fishing rod. While doing so, he finds a pile of sticks, indicating that something else has been making a bed. He discovers it’s a river otter.
On day 3, Lee decides to make a raft to fish properly. One of his items is a 32,000 safety wire, which he uses to bind his logs together. It’s a successful creation, and he goes down the river to find a place to put his net.
On day 5, Lee is floating out again to lay and check nets. He tells a cute story about his mom net-fishing when he was kid, and then he catches a lake trout. Unlike Alan, he eats the roe fresh (Yum! I love roe, though mine is normally relegated to that found on maki rolls).
Lee catches a pike in his second net, too!
Jodi
Jodi Rose (45) shows us the huge bed of reindeer moss that she found, which appears to be as soft as cotton. Owner of Wild River Tables in Worland, Wyoming, she’s been a homesteader her whole life. After retiring from teaching after having her fifth kid, she started a cattle ranch. Unfortunately, a few years back, she was thrown from a piece of machinery, which severed most of the ligaments in her leg. It took her three years to recover, so she’s doing the competition to prove herself that she can.
By day 4, Jodi claims she’s been eating a copious amount of reindeer moss and berries and is going to start putting a cabin together. She has lots of experience with woodworking in this way due to the time spent with her dad growing up (and her job helps, too, presumably).
I was so happy to see her doing this! It’s my favourite part of the show when the Alone contestants make cabins.
Cade
We meet Cade Cole (28) on day 3. He leaves behind his wife and two-year-old in Crowheart, Wyoming, and he works as a professional hunting guide. He already has a shelter and is now going hunting for moose. He uses rolled birch bark to call for game, then stays in place and waits for one to approach. He spots an antler through the trees.
It turns out to be a caribou, which the contestants are not allowed to hunt because caribou are an at-risk species. He settles for blueberries, which is all he’s eaten since he arrived.
He manages to land a grouse on the way back, thankfully.
Day 6 for Cade has him reinforcing his shelter with rocks, then spying on the ducks across the lake. He goes hunting again, then starts freaking out because his quiver, with all his arrows, came off his bow.
Back at his camp, Cade realizes he’s screwed. Yet, he doesn’t want his kid to watch the show later and think it’s okay to give up, so he convinces himself to give it his all and stay.
My Assessment
It’s hard to make any predictions, given we’ve only seen half the contestants, but here we go!
I think Cade, despite his motivation and drive, will go first. If he can’t hunt anything, he will get hungry very quickly, especially given how lean he is. He also has a two-year-old and mentioned his wife had recently miscarried; he might throw in the towel once he starts missing and/or worrying about them.
Regarding the others, Alan and Luke are hefty boys, and Jodi also bulked up due to her injury, but Lee, like Cade, is quite lean. Yet, Lee has been doing this his whole life, so I think he might surprise us. My preference is Jodi at the moment because I want to see that cabin! What’s your favourite aspect of Alone? Tell us on our socials!
The next episode airs on June 15th on History Channel and StackTV.
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