In 1987, I had this idea that a great way to teach wilderness survival would be to head out into the woods and do exactly that.

Survive.

Now I need the skills because I'd be filming myself alone.

And you, the viewer, would be made aware of that.

And I thought, what a great way to make these skills more relatable to you.

Problem was, the technology was not available for me to film myself beyond the old grainy camcorders as we used to call them.

Well, fast forward to the year 2000, 13 years and indeed the technology became available.

the take home information.

And the skills that you would learn from this series would make you more confident in nature.

You'd stay warm, dry and safe, and therefore you'd be able to reconnect to the natural world.

What you're about to watch is raw and real, and not to be confused with reality television.

These are my journeys into the world of survival and around the planet.

These are the skills that can keep you alive and open the doors to nature.

The only reality that matters.

Those guys, if I just slip and that sticks into my finger, Those guys, if I just slip and that sticks into my finger, I'm on my way to the hospital.

I'm on my way to the hospital.

Bordering the states of Georgia and Florida, deep in the American South, lie the swamps.

The domain of alligators and poisonous snakes.

How could anyone last seven days here alone?

The plan is to have me taken deep into the swamp by a local.

A guy named 3 Rivers Charlie.

I'm blindfolded before the trip, so I'll have no idea how far or what direction we're headed.

The mosquitoes came on pretty thick, pretty strong for about two hours or so, maybe three hours.

Now what that means is this is a perfect and prime area for alligators.

So all I have is a spark, (lighter clicks) no flame, (lighter clicks) and my little prison match.

You can see the fish down in there and there's, the maggots crawling around them, lots of 'em.

this represents my first real meal in a couple of days.

well this represents my first real meal in a couple of days.

Nice big set of frog legs.

Nice big set of frog legs.

Nice big set of frog legs.

So, what I'll do is I already gutted him and I'll use the guts and I'll use the head and that for hopefully baiting in some big catfish.

I have to build something or try spearing them, but find some way if I can bring in a big fish or keep looking for turtles too.

I see turtles out there, it's just a matter of if I can find one.

(tired breaths) Well that's good.

A little bit of meat into my system.

Bring back some well needed energy, I think, 'cause I'm really starting to wear out.

It's only been a couple of days, but all this work burns all your calories.

but all this work burns all your calories.

(branch crackling) (upbeat music) Rain might not necessarily come from only that side, so I better get a little bit more protection here.

Oh man, I'm getting tired.

(calming music) What I decided to do is make a trap.

See if I can catch me some catfish.

Yuck.

Or some turtles.

Basically, I've gotta make kind of like a weir of some sort.

Along with the weir, a funnel trap.

So I'll make this tight weir and then, and then a funnel with a little opening, like a big M, and then I'll have all the bait up in there.

This is not only, a survival method was used for many years by natives as well.

What I'll do is put a few more sticks, kind of poking inward like that, which helps to kind of dissuade him from coming back out.

(water sploshes) I'm just gonna dig this out a little bit.

(water sploshes) And there's this passageway, hopefully to come in, but not to go out.

(branches cracking) All right, I'll see how that works.

(upbeat music) I had never had frogs legs before, and this is the one meat they say really does taste just like chicken.

Oh man, just peels out just like fish meat.

Mm man, that is good.

Mm man, that is good.

Mm man, that is good.

And the first real food to pass my lips in a while.

Just like chicken meat.

Mm.

I could catch me a few more of those.

That'd be all right.

And there's lots of 'em around here.

I'll take the head and the bones and all that and put 'em in for some catfish bait.

See if I can get an even bigger meal while I'm out here.

This is a real prime survival food.

Mm, wow.

I'm hungry.

(birds chirping) The guts from the frog.

And last but not least, my leftovers from dinner.

(water sploshes) There.

Now, I would think that's rather appetizing wouldn't you?

Let's hope the turtles or the catfish feel that way.

(low energy music) (fire crackling) Oh, well that was quite the day.

Fairly productive I guess in terms of survival.

Ooh, but I could use some more energy.

I'm sleeping in the middle of the day, not able to sleep too much at night.

If I have to, I'll just keep going after frogs.

But one way or the other, I gotta get some, some food into me.

You know, as I sit here in the middle of the deep southern swamp, it's the scary stories that is the most bizarre aspect of down here.

of down here.

I mean, if you think about it, even the jungle doesn't hold as many scary images as the swamp does.

(shaky gasps) I'm so scared.

A legend of Boggy Creek.

(shaky gasps) A swamp creature.

(shaky gasps) The Blair Witch Project.

(gasps) It's spooky out here.

(spooky music) (owl hoots) This is by far the longest night I've had in a long time.

It turned cold, very cold.

I don't know what the temperature is, but there's a chill running through me.

I can't get warm.

This is completely the wrong kind of shelter for cold weather.

I wasn't expecting this in the swamp.

I thought it would be fairly warm.

I mean, the first couple of nights it was warm.

That's why it was buggy too.

I just figured it'd just stay like that.

Now I've been freezing all night long, having to keep a bigger fire going.

I keep looking up and and hopening to see daylight and it just keeps being pitch black.

Well, now that was a horrible night.

Very, very cold.

Fortunately I do have a sweater Fortunately I do have a sweater and a toque with me and that helped, but my goodness, I didn't realize it was gonna be getting down to probably 40 degrees Fahrenheit, I would say.

Very cold.

And the shelter that I built is just a simple summer shelter.

So I'm gonna have to add to it and try and help keep it, keep myself from getting so cold tonight.

(motivational music) Sometimes you've gotta tackle your problems head on.

In this case it means rebuilding the entire shelter.

(high intensity music) Spanish moss is everywhere in the swamps.

It defines the look of the deep south.

It was used for centuries as bedding.

I'll use it as insulation on the cold ground.

(intense music) You know, when I first arrived here in Georgia, it was hot and muggy and that's why I only built a little wimpy, lean-to, and I laid flat on the ground.

But last night's drop in temperature, sure taught me a lesson once again.

Never lay flat on the ground, put down some sort of insulation.

And lean-tos are useless as a survival shelter.

This should be a little better.

So maybe now I can go and try to catch some more frogs or check and see how my catfish trap is doing.

You won't believe what I caught in the trap.

All the meat in there, got myself a good, full meal.

Big old turtle.

This is gonna fill me up.

This is gonna fill me up.

Get some renewed energy, I hope.

Well, here's one turtle leg ready for roasting.

I didn't bother bringing you in on the cleaning part of the turtle.

It's a bit of a messy operation.

You know, I don't recommend doing this for anything other than absolute survival necessity.

But in that case, turtle is a very readily available food source in swamps like these.

Okay, here we have it.

Four turtle legs.

A good bit of protein for me.

Well, let's try some of this turtle meat.

Ah.

See how it is.

(jaunty music) Not bad.

Kind of fishy, but not bad.

Still a little rare.

I'll cook it some more.

Well, that's a lot of good protein.

It'll make me feel that much stronger, that much better.

(sighs) You know what I end up feeling out here in the middle of nowhere?

Lonely.

Lonely for my family.

That can really play hard on your heart and mind.

You start missing them intensely.

(bird chittering) (crickets chirping) With a fire in front and a shelter behind me, I'm feeling protected.

The exception of the fact that I'm three feet from the water, where 10 foot alligators patrol.

(birds chittering) (fire crackling) I never thought it'd be cold enough that I'd have to be warming up my batteries beside the fire so I could keep filming.

Frost this morning.

Anyway, this shelter helped a lot.

Made a big difference now that it's rebuilt.

But I was still quite cold all night long and always close to shivering, you know.

Well, I gotta see if I can find some other ways to catch food and even start thinking about how I could make my way outta here without swimming, that is.

Let's see what I can do with some of the pack contents I brought in with me.

I've been taking that piece of credit card and I've just been cutting it into a spoon shape.

Bend it over a bit.

It gives me that kind of a shape to it.

Next thing I've got, the bubble gum.

Let's get chewing it.

Mm mm mm.

Wow.

What a boost of flavor from the gum and sugar.

Oh man, that's good.

So what I wanna do is poke holes into this little spoon here.

Go through it with the awl.

Now, piece of credit card with two holes in it, put the rope through the spoon.

The most remote places you go, it really doesn't matter.

There's always human garbage around.

It's a very sad, it's a real shame.

And sure enough, here I found some sort of little old spring.

Now that could come in handy.

Take my spring and just tie that off like that.

Now comes the bubble gum.

I went and grabbed the dead leech that was in the catfish weir.

So what I wanna do here is just take this hook, put the leech on.

Right like this and that end happening.

So I've got the hooks with the leech bait on there, the spoon, which really I would use if I was more, you know, jigging for fish, but this will still help to attract them, I hope.

Hmm.

And lastly, (birds tweeting) (slurping) there we go.

Gonna wrap that around the line like so.

And I've got a fish float.

See what we can do here now.

I know I've seen catfish here, so let's try it.

All right.

It's hard to see under the scummy surface, but the bubblegum bubble is just, just floating just beneath the surface there.

I'll leave that and who knows.

(chuckles) I could get lucky and catch me some dinner.

(upbeat music) (water sploshing) The only way out of a swamp is through the water, and I'm not about to swim out, which means I need to make a raft.

(water sploshing) Ah, crap.

This isn't good.

It felt to me that we headed upstream when they brought me in blindfolded.

So the way out, downstream.

(upbeat music) (wood crackling) (Les grunts) (wood cracks) I've never actually built a raft before, without an ax.

Breaking logs this size will be tough.

My only way is to burn them to size.

Seems to me that if I put at least three logs together to look like they'll hold me, I've got a good chance.

Tomorrow we launch.

(birds chirping) (foliage rustling) You know, even these little dainty flowers, these little violets can also be eaten as a small source of nutrition.

And they're quite tasty actually.

And just eat the flower tops.

Mm.

Actually, most of the plant's not bad.

Throw it right in a salad.

(branches crackling) Holy (...), it's a rattlesnake.

(stick thudding) You know what this means?

Dinner.

Eastern diamondback rattlesnake.

Look at that guy.

And a big one too.

This area is full of, it's got six different types of venomous snakes here.

Four of them are rattlesnakes and this area is full of them.

Those guys, if I just slip and that sticks into my finger, Those guys, if I just slip and that sticks into my finger, I'm on my way to the hospital.

I'm on my way to the hospital.

I hate the thought of killing anything.

It's the last thing I would advise.

But as a matter of survival, all creatures are fair game.

Like the turtle, I spared you the vision of cleaning and gutting this rattlesnake, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake.

And this is just two-thirds of it.

There's still another third over there.

So this I will probably cook fairly slowly, almost like smoking it.

And as you can see, a lot of meat, which is gonna give me some renewed energy.

So, snake's quite an excellent survival food when necessary.

(calming music) Well, you know when you haven't eaten for a number of days or you've only eaten little bits here and there to eat something as substantial as a rattlesnake, like this guy here, really, you really start to feel the energy flow back into your body.

My only fear now is just how cold it's gonna get tonight.

Another night of 15 minutes of sleep, wake up, stoke the fire.

15 minutes of sleep, wake up, stoke the fire, and repeat.

Mm, this snake is, it's delicious.

(upbeat music) (fire crackling) (upbeat music continues) We're on morning of day six.

It was really strange last night.

After I ate all that rattlesnake, I had such a rush of energy.

I felt dizzy and lightheaded.

It was kind of spooky actually, to feel that way and be all alone out here.

I couldn't sleep at all for the first while.

I was just sort of buzzing, you know, I guess from the new food energy.

Anyway, I finally did get some sleep and it wasn't so cold of a night, actually.

It was, it didn't frost anyway.

It was cold, but we didn't get down to frosting.

So that was good.

So now I'm gonna keep my eyes open for more frogs and turtles and turn over a few more logs for crayfish.

And other than that, I'm gonna get working on my raft.

Well, actually, I kind of finished it, so I'm gonna try it out, see how it works.

(critters chirping) It's day six and time to put this raft to the test.

It's day six and time to put this raft to the test.

When it floats.

That's a good sign.

When it floats.

That's a good sign.

(water sploshes) I'm way better in a canoe, you know.

(water sploshes) Oh crap.

(Les sputters) Ah.

Nice.

Ugh.

(water sploshes) Back to the drawing board, I guess.

(water sploshes) (upbeat music) (water sploshes) I'm way too antsy to wait for Charlie to find me.

Maybe I can try navigating through these swamps on my own.

I'm surprised at how much wood it's gonna take to keep me afloat.

By far, the best thing about building a raft is the hope that it gives me.

I'm working on something that might take me out of here.

That's uplifting.

(upbeat music) Well, it's the last night, and I'll try the new raft out tomorrow morning.

See if I can make my way out to 3 Rivers Charlie and meet up with him.

Get to a warm bed and some good food.

Unless the swamp creature gets me tonight.

Seven days of survival in the southern Georgian swamps.

A rich and beautiful place, but I can't wait to get out and get cleaned up.

So I hope that second raft works and I can make my own way outta here.

(transcendental music) Once it's in my head to get out on my own efforts, nothing will stop me.

(upbeat music) As I lower the raft into the water, I'm thinking alligators have killed 11 people in the last 20 years.

I'm also thinking about the abundance of poisonous snakes in this area.

(upbeat music) Whoo.

Something went between my legs.

It wasn't there before.

(upbeat music) (birds chirping) (Les grunts) (birds chirping) (water sploshing) (foliage crackling) (upbeat music) It took me all day, and in spite of the maze of channels, I made it to the river where Charlie spotted me.

Hey Charlie.

- [Charlie] Hey.

How was your week?

- It was, it was something else, but take me home.

Many people fear the swamps, yet they are places of such great beauty and such rich diversity.

The spookiness is an unwarranted attribute.

It'll always be the classic domain of alligators and snakes.

A tough place to survive, maybe, but an awesome place to experience.

(upbeat music) Directly inspired by his own survival expeditions, journeys and challenges.

World renowned survival instructor Les Stroud brings you survival, essential skills and tactics to get you out of anywhere alive.

Available for 19.99.

In addition, the book will to live Dispatches from the Edge of Survival is available, featuring Les Stroud's own top ten survival stories of all time.

Just 21.99.

To order, please go to lesstroud.ca, and click on shop or go to the Les Stroud YouTube channel.

Survivorman Les Stroud.