‘Alone’ Season 11 Episode 9 Recap: Another Survivalist Taps Out

One more contestant succumbs to brutal conditions in the Canadian Arctic in the August 15 episode of 'Alone.'

And then there were three. On the August 15 episode of Alone, one more survivalist made the difficult decision to tap out. That leaves just three cast members to soldier on in their quest to win the show’s life-changing $500,000 grand prize.

​​[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Alone Season 11 Episode 9.]

Sarah Poynter’s ‘Alone’ journey comes to an end

As one of just two women competing on Alone Season 11, Sarah Poynter has proven that she has what it takes to survive a tough situation. While she struggled with hunting and fishing, Sarah (who owns an Alaskan fishing lodge with her husband) nonetheless made herself at home in the remote Canadian wilderness, building a solid shelter and foraging for most of her food. In the process, she discovered a resiliency that she didn’t know she had, which boosted her sometimes fragile self-confidence.

But after more than 40 days on her own in the Arctic, Sarah reached the end of her journey. She starts experiencing a “screaming” pain in her left kidney. At first, she tries to push through. But even standing upright is a challenge. Sarah isn’t sure what was causing her pain, but she knows it’s serious. Tapping out was is only option, especially considering the vow she’d made before embarking on this journey.

“I made a promise to my husband that I would tap out one day before I broke, physically or mentally,” she explains.

While she didn’t win, Sarah doesn’t see her time on Alone as a failure. “There’s a certain inner strength that I found,” she says. “I was out here for 42 days. That’s an accomplishment … I slayed some demons out here.”

Dub battles stomach illness and William’s food cache goes missing

Sarah isn’t the only Alone contestant battling health challenges in this episode. Dub has spent several days fighting a serious stomach ailment and diarrhea. He also breaks his glasses, again. Fortunately, he’s able to repair the spectacle using willow, snare wire, and melted paracord. It’s a clever, if not exactly stylish, fix.

Later, he discovers a tapeworm in a fish he’s been eating. But he’s so desperate for food that he considers not throwing the fish away. At this point, Dub is beginning to consider tapping out. “It would be so easy to just push the button and go home … I’m not sure how much of this I can take,” he says.

But Dub powers through, and on Day 53, he catches a massive fish. It could provide up to a week of food. Will that be enough to take him to the finish line?

Perhaps. But then he makes an unsettling discovery. Mice have been chowing down on the frozen fish he’s stashed in his shelter. The droppings they’ve left behind are the likely cause of his illness. He’s able to salvage some of the fish, and he still has the fish he just caught. But the loss of so much food is a major blow.

Meanwhile, William is still fighting to keep critters out of his food caches. He’s stashed some precious beaver meat (a valuable source of fat and key nutrients) in a rock cache. The fisherman from Labrador is trying to stretch what little food he has for as long as possible. The beaver seems like it should be secure, so William is understandably stunned when he discovers that the meat he’s saved has gone missing.

“This has got to be a trick,” a baffled William says. “There’s no way … I’m puzzled. I’m truly puzzled.”

It’s a devastating loss, and one that has William wondering how much longer he’ll be able to continue in the competition. His best option is to try his hand at ice fishing. But as he’s building his ice ladder, an even better opportunity presents itself. William spots a grouse, which he manages to snare, much to his delight.

Timber continues to thrive

Finally, there’s Timber, who continues to show that he’s the one to beat in this competition. He’s solved the ventilation problem in his shelter and now has a fire to keep him warm inside. He’s also keeping himself entertained by having imaginary conversations with a medieval English lord and whittling toys for his kids.

Later, Timber snares a hare. Hare meat is lean and high in protein, and on its own, it’s not enough to keep someone from starvation. But Timber can pair the hare with some of the lard from the moose he killed earlier this season.

“I think that will be a good balance to keep me with enough fat to process the proteins from the hare,” he says. “And I think that way I could have a ton of longevity,” he says.

New episodes of ​Alone air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on History Channel.

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