''Out of the Wild'' (known in the first season solely as ''The Alaska Experiment'') is a

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

reality television series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

. The first and second seasons followed volunteers from urbanized backgrounds as they use

survival skills Survival skills are techniques that a person may use in order to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life which include water, food, and shelte ...

in the back-country of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

during the fall and

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

. The third season saw a relocation of the series to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, while keeping the same general format of season 2. The series was produced by

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

in the first season, and by Pilgrim Films in seasons 2 and 3.

Season 1: "The Alaska Experiment"

In the first season of the series, 4 teams of 10 urban professionals are dropped off in the Alaskan back-country with directions to shelters they would spend the next few weeks in. The series follows these groups through the weeks as they struggle to live off the land at their shelters. Paul Claus starred as the wilderness survival expert and Neil Webster helped guide several of the participants on a

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

hunt which included training in firing

.338 Winchester Magnum The .338 Winchester Magnum is a caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are co ...

and

.22 .22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm). Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO. .22 inch is also a popular ...

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

s for mountain goat hunting (which Claus and his son separately took participants to do). Locations include Camp Riou Point and Back Bay (both in Icy Bay), Flower Lake (in the Upper Chitina River Valley), and Hawkins Glacier. Tributes: Bernice Pierson Greg Pierson

Season 2: "Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment"

In the second season, the series was retooled and renamed, with nine volunteers working together as one team traveling across the wilderness rather than staying in one place. Due to the greater difficulty for survival of large and inexperienced groups

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

so remotely, each participant had an emergency

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

unit that could summon a

rescue team Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

to evacuate them from the experiment. After the first few days, almost half the participants leave the show via these GPS units. 4 people finally finish the experiment after almost a month. They are rescued by a train. The filming for this season began September 2008 and was aired on April 14, 2009.

Volunteers

* Penny Jo Johnson: Body Piercer and Landlord, Burnside, KY - First Evacuated. Evacuated because of hunger. * Joe Harner: Fishing Outfitter, Ashland, WI - Second Evacuated. Evacuated because of how frustrated he was with everyone having no experience. * Frederic Birt: Customer Service Rep, Chicago, IL - Third Evacuated. Evacuated because of tiredness and multiple accounts of passing out. * Dan Rac: Police Officer, Brick, NJ - Fourth Evacuated. Evacuated because of not getting enough food and his body wearing down. * Carolyn Yamazaki: Lawyer, Chicago, IL - Fifth Evacuated (Evacuated the day before other teammates reached civilization) Evacuated because of depression from not getting enough food and having low serotonin levels. * Trish Bulinsky: School Bus Driver, Middletown, NJ - Survived the Wild * Jake Nodar: Horse Trainer, Darnestown, MD - Survived the Wild * John Ulmer: Assistant Director of Housing, Bronx, NY - Survived the Wild * Kimberly Wise: Personal Trainer, Chula Vista, CA - Survived the Wild

Special Guests

*Billy Fitzgerald: Taught the crew how to correctly hunt bear. Came on days 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22.

Season 3: “Out of the Wild: Venezuela”

The format was very similar to the second season with nine volunteers being dropped off on the remote

Mount Roraima Mount Roraima ( es, Monte Roraima; Tepuy Roraima; Cerro Roraima pt, Monte Roraima ) is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepuis (table-top mountain) or plateaux in South America. It is located at the junction of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. ...

in the southern wilderness of

. The volunteers were given a map,

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

and a variety of modern and native survival gear. They were tasked with finding civilization without any other outside assistance. Along the way they were directed to designated

camps Camps may refer to: People *Ramón Camps (1927–1994), Argentine general *Gabriel Camps (1927–2002), French historian *Luís Espinal Camps (1932–1980), Spanish missionary to Bolivia *Victoria Camps (b. 1941), Spanish philosopher and professor ...

as indicated on the map. Some camps provided pre-built huts and at other locations the volunteers had to construct their own shelters. Just as in the second season, each volunteer could activate a

beacon to summon a rescue team via helicopter to remove them from the experience. The series followed the group through jungle, savannah, swamp, scrubland and finally a river portion for which the group had to build a raft. Four volunteers were evacuated and five reached civilization after twenty-six days. Casting took place in July 2010, and the series was filmed in the fall of 2010. The third season premiered on the Discovery Channel on February 17, 2011

Volunteers

* Carolina Dellepiane: NYC, NY - 1st evacuated (Day 8) * Tara Filer: Grants Pass, OR - 2nd evacuated (Day 12) * Rob Lacombe: Rocklin, CA - 3rd evacuated (Day 14) * Samuel Ebeyer: Jefferson, LA - 4th evacuated (Day 15) * Nick Albini: Tarpon Springs, FL - Survived the Wild * Ryan Van Duzer: Boulder, CO - Survived the Wild * Brad Strand: Ironwood, MI - Survived the Wild * Melissa Mahoney: San Diego, CA - Survived the Wild * Michael Merchant: Hampden, ME - Survived the Wild

References

External links

*
''The Alaska Experiment''
at Ricochet
''Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment''
at Pilgrim Films * *
Season 3 Casting
{{Discovery Channel programming 2008 American television series debuts 2000s American reality television series Discovery Channel original programming Works about survival skills Television shows set in Alaska Television shows filmed in Alaska Television shows set in Venezuela Television shows filmed in Venezuela