Ed Wardle gives us lessons in wilderness survival
I decided when watching “Alone in the Wild,” I wanted to write about what could be learned from the program rather than just review the show. I enjoyed the first episode quite a bit, and the opening scene where you see Ed Wardle at the end of his stay is such a marked contrast to the upbeat, healthy, clean-shaven man who gets dropped off by a bush pilot weeks before. At the end of Wardle’s journey, he looked haggard, gaunt and sounded sick. And, more than that, he sounded like a beaten man. I guess that’s what spending several weeks in the wilderness will do to you.
Did you see the show? What did you think?
My take (SPOILER AERT):
He had some luck fishing. Looks like he cooked up three grayling, a trout-like fish common to western Canada. Was it enough to live on? Hardly. I was reading a book called “How to Survive in the Woods” and it noted that the average man bushwhacking in the woods needs at least 3,000 calories a day to maintain weight, including muscle. Four-thousand would probably be more advisable.
So how many calories are in each of those grayling? I can’t be totally sure, but they look like pan-sized trout. If that’s the case, they’d be about 200 calories apiece. In other words, you’d need to catch and eat 15 to 20 of them a day just to get the minimum calories you need. Can you see where this is headed? Salmon is another story. They’re larger and much more calorie-dense. Still, food suddenly becomes a HUGE priority, as in something you think about and work for all the time. Now you know why it is that when you see animals in the wild, they’re constantly eating or looking for something to eat.
He seemed squeamish at first about killing squirrels and porcupines. Glad he got over that. You take food where you can. It’s a good thing he’s got a gun. The snares didn’t seem too effective yet.
One really smart move Wardle made: consulting with an expert on edible plants. The difference between life-saving calories and vitamins and being poisoned.
Something else I found interesting: His reaction to seeing a plane flying overhead. He became very emotional. It’s as if he was reacting to the extreme isolation he was in, really realizing how off the grid he was. I could see a lot of people, who upon getting lost, could lose it when they hear or see a sign of other people come and go. Wardle did the smart thing by continuing to make decisions instead of wallowing in his plight.
And then there the bears. Funny how quiet the wilderness is. Yet you know there’s things out there. And some of them could be hunting you. Unnerving.
Bottom line: Wardle put himself in a situation of constant stress. Not work stress, not relationship stress. But real, life-or-death stress. And it never goes away.
Something to think about on your next foray into the backcountry.
Bob Doucette
bdoucette@opubco.com
Thank you for joining our conversation on Out There. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy.
Comments
oh COME ON! The guy never, ever, looked like he was even vaugely mentally equiped to succeed. He totally underestimated the task and went about it like he wanted to make an emotional drama of the thing. He gave no indication that he had enarly enough knowledge of the locally available carbs from plant life. If he had spent more time hunting and gathering and less time bleeding his heart out he might have done a lot better. And what kind of idiot tried to do that much fishing with a rod!? And walking to a different lake instead of making use of his boat! ….. Moron. He started off shaking and shivering in fear of bears and thas where he stayed, scared, hungry and terrified. The whole thing was a failure and for anyone except those who revel expending valuable compassion in watching someone fail miserably it was only good television because it was really funny to see him start bubbling over at every possible moment! Well done Ed, i will be giggling for years!
Wow, two vastly different takes on the show. A few things to keep in mind: He wasn’t just living out there. He had a film to produce. So there was work involved outside of simply gathering food and such. And in the editing process, you do try to capture some drama. I’d say most people would do well to last a week in that part of the world alone. And I wouldn’t underestimate the toughness of someone who has reached the summit of Mount Everest (while doing filming). But I do appreciate everyone’s thoughts.
David’s an idiot and a moron!
He wouldn’t make it through the night out there, let alone a week, I have had a few close encounters with bears in the Northwest USA and it was not fun.
Ed did an amazing thing by lasting 50 days!
My hats off to you Ed, Outstanding job you did man 
Peace.
After reading quite a bit today, I’ve found the show to be more of a “I love it” or “I hate it” type of deal. It seems as though some people think they could have done it better. I am content watching Ed do it.
An argument I’ve seen from several other people is that he went into this without the proper knowledge to survive in the wild. I liked this about the show. He was learning, as was I.
With the underdog take on the situation, I was really hoping that he could make it to the end!
Its a reality show….it was real and he didnt finish the goal he set for himself. But thats OK….failure and disappointment are part of life. We always can’t win or succeed in everything. He did the best that he could. Give the guy a break. The world is so used to seeing happy endings and where everyone is a winner.
I found the show one of the best reality shows out there….i liked it alot!
You …, CRYING, WHINY woman. Grow a pair of balls and man up! OMG!! I lost all respect for the National Geographic channel. Ed is nothing but a damn CRY BABY…Waaaaah…I want my mommy…
I’m done with Nat Geo after THAT abortion! Will never watch NGO again.
I finally saw the 1-hour summary of the show on Nat Geo. It is a little weird that he was so unprepared, but at least the post-production spin has been, “that’s the point – to send an outdoorsman who is NOT a survival expert…” but that’s neither here nor there. It’d be nice if that were actually the truth…who knows.
What has been MORE amusing to me is that all these “armchair hardcore” folks with user names like “Storpy” and “Golferboy” and “Cheezsteak” are coming out swinging on these blogs (Storpy is so enraged at this show’s insult to his masculinity that he has posted the same response on at least 5 different blogs). Get real boys, there is about a zero percent chance you could last half as long as Ed Wardle did. I’m real impressed that you spent a night outside the cabin at your deer camp last year, in your sleeping bag “Hey, it’s cold in North Texas”, but seriously.
To do it with 8 of your buddies and a 3 4-wheelers, for 4 nights, is one thing. To do it by yourself for 7 weeks is another.
Excellent comment. I’m going to throw my two cents out here concerning Ed Wardle and his show. First off, it is a show. It’s a show that had been edited at times to increase the drama. Safety measures were in place, though dangers were real. But keep in mind, this is a show. There are people who have had wilderness experiences far more severe than this. Second, never underestimate the power of isolation. Most people I know need human contact of some sort every day. 50 days by yourself, no one to talk to? That is extreme. Lastly: Just because you have some outdoors experience does not mean you can do what he did. I’ve done some backpacking, camping, mountain climbing, fishing and a little hunting. But there’s nothing in my resume that would remotely compare to what Ed Wardle attempted. Not even close. And I’d say that’s probably true for 99.9 percent of all outdoor enthusiasts out there right now. I admire what he tried to do. Few have the guts to try, and fewer still would make it that long. Don’t let the tears fool you. This is one tough dude.
I just don’t think he was mentally ready for the trip. He had all the equipment/tools to survive, but not the knowledge.
This guy is, mentally, a weak human being.
He defeated himself. He couldn’t stop crying! He even got a FOOD DROP (and it looked like a ton of food from the little we saw) and he STILL couldn’t last another, what, 3-4 days? What a wuss.
If you’re even remotely capable and you hit the Yukon in summer with a gun and a fishing rod you have no excuse not to survive. What a major league wuss.
Well you can’t take away from the man that he did survive for seven weeks in the isolated wilderness. What he did gave us was an example of what happens when you immerse yourself into the wilderness with little survival knowledge. Wardle had more than enough gear to easily survive the three month duration givin he had a little more knowledge on wild edibles and how to hunt and set traps. I’m sure if he was authorized to shoot a moose or caribou that he would have been able to sustain himself quite well and not require an emergency ration drop. Ed’s biggest defeat was mental. He had a very difficult time keeping panic and fear at bay, bringing back the issue of knowledge. He suffered greatly from lack of confidence, as his knowlede on suvival was limited. All his mental issues increaed ten fold with the onset of hunger.
Now he has the experiance, he’s been taken near death and survived. I’m sure if he attempts it again he will succeed. My hat is off to Ed! It takes a deal of courage and dedication just to get there let alone live in it for seven weeks, not being at the top of the food chain. He’s more man than most. Just a word to all the swivle chair quick to judge jockey’s out there. Feel free to strap on a pack and head out into the bush on your own….if you make it seven weeks feel free to talk.
I am a 49yr old man that has over his life time went solo several times (1-2weeks). I have never came close to 50 days I have experienced the fears and my hats also off to Ed who has walked the walk. You guys that try to take away from what he did are a pitiful shame at what it means to be a man. I totally agree mentally he was not prepared but as others have stated there is so much more to it than just whats on the camera IMHO he did damn good. A couple of pocket guides to edibles may have also helped tremendously and if he could have shot any large game he would have had no problem surviving full term. You can’t underestimate the power of a full stomach or an empty one for that matter! I loved the episodes and know being out there is nothing like watching someone else being out there. It is clear to me who the men are here and who are the children. I would be confident having a partner such as Ed by my side in a survival situation no doubt! So whens the sequel?!!!
i liked Ed and i was sad how it end. I want say something about fear from bears. I dont know if the gun he had, can kill a bear (it was shotgun i think so probably not), but he should take a gun with him then. A hunting rifle or big pistol. I think you can kill bear even with axe or big knife. And if you think bear is near, just make loud, sing for example. bear run away. It is dangerous only in bush where you can surprise him.
Hey I would give my eye teeth to have the chance to try what Ed did. Hiking, camping,hunting and this attempt at survival are vastly different.My hat is off to Ed.
Hey maybe I should go with you the next time Ed. We would either kill each other or make the time pass quicker playing cards.LOL
I agree that Ed seemed mentally unprepared for his journey. However, with that said he was extremely courageous to try what he did. I think I would have said 30 days up front and anything over that would be a plus. I think 90 days was a little ambitious. I also think that Canada should have given him an exemption on shooting something to eat. The show was a success because it showed what a regular outdoorsman could be expected to accoplish in that situation. I think Ed should try some other expeditions like Les Stroud. Good luck Ed. Well done.
Really good take. Definitely appreciate a well thought-out post on what I thought was a fascinating show and experiment.
I sat through the whole series, at times terribly difficult to watch. It is a given that survival skills, knowledge of plants and animals, and experience hunting and fishing, would be fully considered prior to embarking. But for Ed, there was a deeper,more insidious obstacle lurking. What Ed’s experience ultimately did for me, was make me consider that the impact of the isolation would be very easy to underestimate, and harder still to prepare for.
I have to confess, that I was initially very bothered by his decreasing ability to deal with the isolation. I suppose I expected a mythic superhero who would triumph over all obstacles emerging with the head of the Gorgon. What emerged, was a very human account of the efforts of one man. Not a hero; an everyman. Perhaps ironically , I have given this MUCH more thought and consideration than a hero’s tale ever would have gotten.
Ed seems a very sensitive and social sort. I believe he would be an excellent companion on an adventure such as this. In fact, I think he and Bill should get together and try it again! I’d watch that!
Great take, Carla. From what I’ve read, many people are quick to judge Ed and his mental toughness. But how many of us have really spent that long, alone, and having to fight to stay alive? Isolation plus stress can be huge. It was one heck of an experiment.
Glad to see that there are some “real” men out there that are not afraid of seeing what total isolation and hunger can do. Ed has given me motivation to pursue alot of life-long dreams. Here I am, almost 50 and a mother of 4 sons. One of them in boot camp and intent on doing ranger training. Ed mentioned that he wanted to have a “fulfilling” life (Something like that). How do you do it in an armchair in front of the tube? What better way then to stretch your limits and face your fears? Well, I am on my way! I thank Ed for bringing me back to the survival dreams that I have had all my life, but have only lived through books. I hope to shake his hand someday. First things first….learn how to trap and shoot.
If you have never spent the night in the “wilderness ” alone you cannot know the isolation that this man felt .
What happened to him was “reality ” and he was Man enough to publish it .
We all wanted to see him go the distance and shared in the disappointment of the early rescue.
His reaction was not a sign of weakness or failure.The experiment was a success.It revealed his humanity.
Good job Ed .I wish i was tough enough to try it .
I like this blog. I cannot deny watching Ed go through trying to survive in the wild has been a big inspiration to me. His heartfelt expressions of what he was going through I found to be really moving because even though you could never experience half of what he was going through unless you were actually there, he really made the experience very understandable on a human level. I have an enormous amount of respect for Ed and wish I could shake his hand. As far as bears, i have no idea how i would personally come to terms with the constant threat. Ed, you stuck it out a long time, this was no failure. You’re an inspiration. Period. We salute you.