NAKED AND AFRAID: BINGE WATCHING CAMPERS STRUGGLE

Naked and Afraid has aired long enough for me to ignore every episode.

Until last night.

What better way to shed light on the covid19 quarantine than watching people camp in the wild without clothes, food, or water?

Just watching one episode changed my garage from ‘stay home, stay safe,’ to, ‘no bugs in here.’

And I was off and running for more than one episode.

What inspired me to stick around for another show after the first was the quitter.

How do other people handle a quitter on a campout? Has this even happened among adults?

When kids get discouraged, then it’s time to pump them up, distract them with something fun, and create an enjoyable experience so they embrace a level of discomfort by finding other comforts.

What about a naked stranger who isn’t prepared for the outdoors?

This happened on a campout: One person wanted my food and water, my sleeping bag, and I said, “Honey, we’re married and sharing. It’s okay.”

Naked And Afraid Stars

The first show hooked me with: Two couples join up, one of the women isn’t up to the challenges they face.

And they don’t abandon her?

The good three talk about their mission, which is completing twenty one days in the sticks and making it to the pick-up point. They called it extraction.

The other woman explained to the ill-prepared lady, “You are a casualty on this trip, and we don’t leave people behind, but you are a casualty.”

And they all made it to the end without tapping out.

2

A man and a woman meet and start out. She’s an Army vet MP, he’s a Marine vet mechanic and self-described super Alpha male.

After a rocky alpha start, they hit their Naked and Afraid stride. But a clothed man walked in to tell the lady her ex-husband died and she tapped out.

The man didn’t fare so well alone and also tapped out. This was his second time to fail.

I was hoping he’d find a way to man-up with an extra dose of “OOOOOORAAAh.” But no.

And it made sense. He aborted the mission because it had changed from cooperation to endurance, from companionship to isolation. He admitted he wasn’t mentally prepared for that. Who would be?

3

The next two taking the plunge looked like tappers from the get-go.

The lady lasted one night. It made sense in the chilly weather. I’d have been in hypothermia before her.

Like the other man left alone, I figured this would end sooner than later.

The guy was soft and pasty and a bug magnet. The bites and stings and welts showed up with his pale contrast.

His lower legs were bright red. ‘Infection,’ I figured. Wife called septicemia; ‘same thing,’ I thought.

Day after day he got worse, but didn’t quit. He ate berries for twenty one days, with a snake dinner on the twentieth.

The guy was resourceful, tough minded, and had the internal fortitude to face down being naked and afraid and alone.

Lessons Learned From Naked and Afraid?

The bug bitten man was called ‘A self-taught survivalist.’

What’s that even mean? He read a few Tom Brown books?

Maybe he bought Bushcraft 101?

What makes a good Naked and Afraid partner?

Since it’s not a luxury experience, a military background should help. But not just the service. Add a good Boy Scout background to military.

The best partner would be one of these guys.

“Critical Skills Operators and Special Operations Officers operate as cross-cultural diplomats and global scouts, with the unique ability to exert influence in areas and situations that are absent authority. We are a Full Spectrum Force, and Geographic Combatant Commanders can and do send us anywhere under any circumstances.”

After SERE School, Naked and Afraid should be a snap?

It’s all a learning experience. Start by learning to walk across a gravel parking lot. Barefooted.