History's 'Alone' features Blairsville man Alan Kay

If they get injured, they can press a button for medical. If they decide to leave, they have a SAT phone to call but as Blairsville participant Alan Kay noted, "it couldn't be used for chit chat."

He entered the game by taking a one-year leave from his job at the Department of Corrections, drawn to "Alone" by the simplicity of the idea and the challenge itself.

Kay said he had no idea how long he was going to last. History didn't tell them where they'd end up. A wilderness survival whose expertise is in the North Georgia mountains, he had never faced a jungle-like atmosphere like Vancouver Island.

"It was the wettest environment I've ever been in," Kay said. "Even when it wasn't raining, the ground was wet... Sometimes, the weather would push you back into your shelter."

They indeed had to create dry shelter, find food, make fire and ensure they consumed clean water, while keeping predators such as bears and cougars at bay. Jeff Probst never popped up to provide food prizes. And there was nobody to cuddle with - or yell at.

But Kay said the toughest part was making sure he captured everything he did on camera. They were given multiple cameras and plenty of batteries. "It divided your mind mentally and physically," Kay said. "You had your task at hand and had to figure out how to film it, too. It doubled our energies and our mental resources."

He said he tried his best to convey his feelings, how vulnerable he felt, the beauty of the forest, as well as the frustrations he faced. "I tried my best to stay focused and present," he said, "and not think too far ahead."

Kay has four children and a wife, none who were surprised by his desire to do this. "We've been married awhile," he said, of his spouse. "She already established I'm nuts."

In the first episode airing Thursday, one man, terrified by stalking bears, tapped out after just one night. Kay said the predators didn't bug him too much. "I know I'm not at the top of the food chain here," he said. "I'm living in their backyard. I just tried to stay hyper vigilant knowing where they were the best I could. They hunt for a living. They're pretty slick. I tried to do things like not take the same path all the time and develop regular schedules. Cougars are really patient."

Kay also smoked himself up after he ate to ensure any food smells were masked. "I live in bear country in the mountains,' he said. "I know how sensitive their sense of smell is. The best way to avoid danger is don't invite it. Give them plenty of space."

He is also an expert in medicinal plants but he said he recognized very little of the vegetation on Vancouver Island. "It might as well have been going to the moon."

Kay said the two key elements to staying alive was hydration and keeping his core temperature up. "That helps keep your  head clear," he said. And since the waters were a mix of fresh and salt, he said he had to avoid brackish water and ensure anything he drank had been purified.

The show allowed him to take ten items, including an axe, a sleeping bag and a saw. (You can see the entire list here.)

He said he was kept in the dark about the other men's whereabouts. Even after he tapped out, he had no idea how the other men did. He couldn't say how long he lasted but he honestly didn't think he lasted long enough to pocket the $500,000. He had met the other guys before leaving and thought they all had survival skills. "It really came down to how the environment gnawed at them," he said. "It was a matter of how badly you wanted it."

Not surprisingly, as a big outdoors man, he doesn't even own a TV. "I'll have to go watch the show at the inlaws or a friend's house," he said. "I really want to see what the other men's experiences were like. I want to see the similarities and differences in how they met their needs."

Once he returned to civilization, he said he bounced pretty quickly. And yes, he would do something like this again. "I'm pretty flexible," he said.

TV preview

"Alone," 10 p.m., Thursdays, History