Naked in Montana

I always hoped an episode of the reality program Naked and Afraid would be filmed here in Montana.  I mean, I have seen plenty of naked folks around here and there is plenty to fear in the nearby wilds.  So, I knew it could be done.

Last night, I got my wish.  I watched an episode of the show filmed near Trego, Montana.  Trego lies a bit west of Glacier National Park.

Two survivalists—a man and a woman—were dropped off in the wilderness at the onset of winter.   They each scampered naked through snow to reach a clearing where they found a few furs, a pot, a fire starter, and a machete.  After hastily covering themselves as best they could with furs and making moccasins, they trudged off to attempt survival in the mountains for fourteen days.

Things did not go particularly well.  After shivering in a makeshift shelter for a couple cool days, and nights that dropped temperatures into the teens, the woman tapped out.

The man, a Montana native, continued on alone.

A day later, producers dropped off a second naked woman.  She shivered for two days and similarly tapped out.

The man pressed on alone.  He even managed to catch a few trout from a clear stream.  But, just a few days before reaching the end of the allotted time for the challenge, he became ill from eating some mushrooms he found.

The cold didn’t take him out.  A grizzly didn’t run him off.  A slimy clump of mushroom rendered him debilitated and confused.

I give this survivalist much credit.  I have enough trouble with my own naked scramble from my back door to the hot tub.

It’s scary out there.

—Mitchell Hegman