On his 54th day in the Vancouver Island wilderness, one in which whipping, frigid wind confined him to a tarped tent that kept flapping in his face, Sam Larson appeared to reach his breaking point on the final episode of “Alone.â€
“I’m getting some weird seasickness thing from this tarp just banging against my head and just flapping all over the place,†Larson, the 22-year-old contestant from Lincoln, said into one of the cameras he had to operate. “The noise. Everything about it. The rain coming in, just trying to … ugh. I’m totally just depleted. I don’t have any energy. This is by far the worst set of weather I’ve gotten. This sucks.
“I’m starving, but I can’t go. I just hate the thought of tapping out.â€
But he soon came to the conclusion that it was time to come home. Larson finished second to Blairsville, Georgia, contestant Alan Kay, 41, in the History channel show that pitted 10 experienced survivalists against each other (but mostly against themselves) in a last-man-standing competition. Kay was the last one to leave the wilderness.
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“I totally got my chops handed to me by this place, but it’s over,†Larson said on the final episode as the cameras showed the rescue boat pulling up to his campsite to retrieve him. “There’s no way to describe the feeling after you’ve been in the woods solo for eight weeks. It’s just the most bizarre thing. It’s not like real life at all.
"I always just try to tough things out, but it’s been a slow, brutal decline of just losing passion for this. Wanting to be out. Wanting to be home, taking care of my pregnant wife. She deserves to have me home at this point. She’s going through one of the craziest times in her life with her first pregnancy. She deserves to have someone there to hold onto when times get really, really tough. She deserves it. I can’t wait to see my wife again.â€
Larson’s wife, Sydney, gave birth to their first child, Alaska Thatcher Larson, shortly after Sam Larson returned home from nearly two months spent in isolation in the Canadian wilderness.
On History’s website, there’s bonus footage from the night he returned to Lincoln. They hug as soon as he walks in the door.
"It is good to see you," he said immediately upon greeting her. “Sorry about the smell."
On that clip, the two measure part of the physical toll of surviving on mice, crabs, kelp and little more over the course of his time on “Alone†with the help of the Larsons’ bathroom scale. He went in at 245, they said. He came back at 162. (The 4-minute clip is worth watching for the list of airport food he ate on the travel back.)
Larson on Friday tweeted for the first time since the episode aired: “Thank you for your support! Congrats to my bro @AlanKaySurvival. Just getting my thoughts together now, but wanted to say thanks #AloneShow.â€
Kay, shortly after the episode aired, took to Twitter to thank viewers and the contestants before pointing out his final opponent.
“P.S. Sam is a BEAST. MAJOR RESPECT!!!â€
Keep an eye on Larson’s website, , where he blogs frequently about bushcraft skills as well as his experience on the show. (Before the final episode aired, he used his blog to thank both his parents. There’s also a hint at what’s to come for the young adventurer -- a set of expeditions and survival courses led by Larson, who showed he’s ready to lead them.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7438 or cmatteson@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSMatteson.