Beware of the Bayou
21 day challenge located in Louisiana swamp land (Louisiana, USA) – Dense swamp land, many alligators, 6 types of snakes, including pit vipers and water moccasins. Hurricane, storm surges, humidity, and an unseasonal cold spell. Extraction in deeper waters with many alligators.
| Billy Berger – Primitive Skills Expert 39 years old – Georgia Personal Item: Knife Starting PSR: 8.1 Ending PSR: 8.9 Lost 42.5 lbs | Ky Furneaux – Survival Expert 39 years old – California Personal Item: Fire starter Starting PSR: 6.3 Ending PSR: 7.7 Lost 18 lbs |
The recommendations will be written in bold italics and the analysis is on the bottom.
Day 1: Swamp
They walk through rugged, dense swamp.
9:15am 56°F – They see an alligator.
10:30am 57°F – They find a patch of land a foot above the swamp water. Ky finds a pot.
7:45pm 54°F – Builds A-frame shelter. Billy catches water snake. They build fire, cook snake and eats.
9:43pm 52°F – Freezing cold, yet mosquitoes are eating them alive. Mosquitoes prefer warmer temperatures, but there are times they do bite in the cold. There are many options to keep mosquitoes away.
Day 2: Cottonmouth 7:20am 58°F
9:15pm 61°F – Gather Spanish moss for bedding. Ky finds cottonmouth and Billy kills it for food.
2:19pm 68°F – Ky finds another snake. They eat snake again.
Day 4: Weatherproofing
8:30am 56°F – They continue to weatherproof their shelter in case of rain. This is something that should be done continuously until rain hits and it is indeed weatherproof.
Day 5: Heavy Rain
5:04am 43°F – Heavy rain begins, and water levels are rising.
5:57am 47°F – Camp area is flooded including the shelter. Fire is out completely.
9:12am 63°F – Billy builds fire on top of some wood above water.
Night 6: Leeches
12:01am 57°F – Leeches everywhere and on the survivalists. They remove and discard.
Day 7: Immersion Foot
Billy’s foot is hurting with 48+ hours of foot in water. It is the start of immersion foot, which can turn into trench foot which has severe consequences.
2:23pm 68°F – Billy is starting to show mental and physical stress due to lack of food. The rule is 3 weeks without food is bad. However, depending on your normal caloric intake, it can impact people in a few days of no food. Part of the daily tasks are water, firewood gathering, and food. Not so easy in the swamp.
4:17pm 62°F – Billy has a leech attached on him and he removes.
6:05pm 55°F – Baits crawfish trap
Day 8: Infected Foot
7:53am 58°F – Billy is hungry and entering depression state. Both of their feet are getting infected.
Day 13: New Plan
9:17am 61°F – They decide they want to relocate and come up with a strategy and location.
Day 14: Relocation
8:45am 57°F – They start their journey to the new location.
10:35am 65°F – The water level starts to get deeper.
11:15am 66°F – They are almost waist deep in water.
4:35pm 66°F – They find dry land.
5:53pm 63°F – Fire is started.
Day 15: Food
6:31am 58°F – Billy has no energy, and feels dehydrated, exhausted, and starving. When feeling this way, you must emotionally be invested in survival, or your mind and soul will bring you down further.
8:25am 58°F – They find deer tracks and decide to start making weapons (spears).
4:18pm 63°F – They find a large rodent and decide to corner it in a hollowed tree and Billy kills it. It is a nutria, which can be eaten. They eat finally after over a week.
Day 18: Clothes
8:23am 67°F – Made some clothes out of nutria hide. Making clothing from any hide is a plus when cold.
Day 20: Plan to Leave
10:35am 68°F – They plan their journey to the extraction point.
Day 21: Alligators
Heads out to the extraction point. As they move closer to their destination, more alligators are appearing, and they both keep an eye on them. The water is getting deeper so it is not easy to see alligators below the water surface. They are in waist deep water close to their extraction point, and there are large alligators in the water. They move as close as they can to the extraction point and the helicopter lands on the water. Successful extraction.
My analysis:
They did quite well for the location that they were at. Swamp land is no joke, especially if there is supposed to be inclement weather and colder temperatures. In situations like that, there are very little food options, and you need to stay covered from the elements. This is not as easily said than done, but mental strength and endurance is key to success. Ky did a great job of keeping Billy’s spirits up, so he didn’t tap out of the challenge. These challenges are much more difficult in real life than it is watching the show and commenting on a couch. For these two survivalists to do this for 21 days with a successful extraction, this shows, as a team, that they can survive Naked and Afraid.
