This program has just been advertised on UK TV to start soon, i am sure it will be show there too

That is a good point Susan, even if I disagree with your idea of how prepared he was.
The fact that he failed might just be what I like about this show.
There are a ton of shows that give the idea that it is real easy to go native and just live off the land.
Here you have a guy who is just a bit better than your average Joe and really well equipped.

He had experience as a cameraman on other expeditions which gave him a bit more experience than many of us would have.

He had all the gear a woodsman could wish for.

He had a food supply with him at the start, and even had a good canoe to carry it in.

He only lasted 7 weeks.

If he had been really stuck out there he would not have survived much longer.

He certainly would not have made it through the winter.

Those should be sobering points and hopefully the producers will point them out to the people who might not realize how extreme it is.

A note:
During the Klondike Gold Rush people going into the Yukon over the Chilkoot trail were required to have 1 year's worth of supplies. About a ton of stuff. About 1/2 of their supplies were expected to be food.

I'd only add that the folks enforcing those "rules" in the Klondike also owned the businesses where the miners had to buy their goods.

The rules were actually enforced by the RCMP. That is not to say commercial interests had nothing to say about it but it was not just about predatory pricing.
The year before the rule about supplies being brought in there had been severe food shortages at the gold fields, with everything that goes with that.

I admit I'm turning around on this show. I now want to see it to find out where everything went wrong.

Poor choice of words on my part in my original post, the folks who enacted the rules were the business owners, they graciously let the law enforcement folks do their dirty work for them.

On an sidenote, how many folks here would go along with a mandatory gear and food list before being allowed to venture into the frozen north?

Thats OK JohnE.
I think most people serious about going into a place like Dawson Creek during the gold rush would comply with a mandatory supplies list.
Try to keep in mind that the people heading through the only pass available were not just going for a holiday.
They were all on their way to become multibillionaires (at least that was the idea) and the RCMP were in control of the pass.
The RCMP simply did not allow anybody unprepared through the pass.
The miners were just as capitalist as the suppliers were and the grub stake was just an investment.
I think most people getting into a business adventure today comply with demands that are just about as hard on them.


You know, the RCMP didn't really care where the supplies were bought. The miners could be outfitted in Victoria, Seattle, San Francisco or Skagway. That didn't matter. All that mattered is that they were equipped to survive for one season in the gold fields.

All bush pilots have a mandatory gear list they must have before takeoff. And if I am not mistaken ANY pilot or plane mut have the same gear. This is one that Doug would know by heart. And I also think that the RCMP also inforce that rule.

So expand that notion, should users of national parks/forests be required to have a minimum of gear/food/water before being allowed to go into the back country?

[Thread hijack warning:

Perhaps this fine chap should have spent a little time with the locals before he beamed in. There are many fine Yukon traditions to help you get into the spirit of the place. For example, there's the sourtoe cocktail (google it, love it); dunked in four ounces of Black Bush Irish whiskey, it set me straight promptly. I have the official card in my wallet. Next time I'm up there, I'm doing the whole foot.

My uncle runs a Yukon winter trapline, solo, and has invited me to tag along. Think I should go?

Now back to the original thread.]