Jake's Take: "Out of the Wild" (1.6): Hunting bear with a straight guy.

Each week, Jake Nodar, one of the "volunteers" on Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment shares his first hand take with us about the latest episode.

It was day 19 when we set out for the sixth leg of our trek out of the wild. The hike itself was a lot like Gary Coleman: very short, but difficult.

A few hours into the hike, Carolyn spotted a porcupine (or what Trish would call a “furry rock”) up in a spruce tree. I loved when John said “Let’s get the binoculars and see what it is”…to which Carolyn responded “I really don’t care what it is, let’s just kill it.”

It’s kind of funny/creepy to look back on this and see just how savage we were becoming. The camera turned to Kim and I while John sawed the porcupine’s head off, and we were unabashedly grinning.

After completing the field dressing, we hauled ass to make it to camp before dark. Just before reaching camp we came to a river crossing, and everyone got a little glimpse of my rare bitchy side. John and I had butted heads a few times, but that was to be expected; between the fact that we’re both strong, stubborn personalities and that we were in this super stressful situation (and that I’m “the pretty one”), a little conflict is inevitable.

That's Jake butting heads on the right -- the "pretty" one.

We clearly had differing views over river crossing … but it’s not important who was right or wrong, but that we all made it across safely.

Plus, I was right.

We made it to camp just as it was getting dark. We made the necessary repairs to the shelter and got under cover just as it started to snow. What they didn’t show was me climbing up twenty some feet into a spruce tree in the dark while it was snowing like crazy, to hang the extra porcupine meat to keep the bears from getting to it. God forbid they make me look too butch!

One of the “finds” at this camp was the spiced rum. We had gone three weeks with nothing more than a taste of whiskey. I think I was starting to get the shakes (although that could have been because I was shivering from subfreezing temperatures).

After we finished having porcupine stew, we would use the same cups for our warm water/rum drinks. Since we didn’t have access to a dishwasher, there would often be remnants of porcupine in our cocktails. We appropriately named this cocktail the porcu-toddie.

On the morning of Day 21, John and I headed out for an overnight bear hunt … and although I’ve had my fair share of “bear hunts”, this is the first one that actually involved a gun and a non-human bear. We hiked several miles up a mountain to a location with a great viewing point in the hopes of spotting a bear. We set up our camp which was nothing more than a tarp with spruce branches on the side for additional wind block.

Just two of the bears Jake failed to bag.

The “tent” was probably all of thirty six inches wide and had to fit two adult men. I know what you’re thinking ... going on a bear hunt up on the mountain with a straight guy is many a gay man’s fantasy (I can hear you humming the theme to Brokeback Mountain right now).

However, after 21 days of malnourishment and the inability to ever get truly clean, the scenario made for more of a nightmare than any fantasy I’ve ever had.

Less this and more this...

John and I actually had a great evening. After butting heads a few days prior, it was wonderful to sit around the fire and just be able to talk. A moment where one can actually talk to another about family and friends was very rare under the stressful situation we had been living in, and the evening was a welcome change of pace. As we climbed into our tent, I thought it would be fun to freak John out just a bit: “I call big spoon!” Let's just say that went over like a lead balloon.

Meanwhile, back at camp, the girls were busy doing what they did best ... pillow fights. Well, not quite, but they did have an evening of beauty “cleaning their vajay-jays” as Carolyn so eloquently phrased it. The following morning, they took their time waking up in the warm siwash cabin as John and I awoke to single digit temperatures and fresh snow.

You didn't actually want to see girls having a pillowfight, did you?

The visibility was poor, so we ended the bear hunt (unsuccessful I might add) early and made our way back to the family. After realizing no one was successful at anything (what else is new), Kim and Carolyn opted to give fishing a shot.

After several failed attempts and Carolyn dropping the f-bomb on the salmon, they successfully landed our first fish of the trip. One of my favorite lines of the week came from Kim as she held up the half dead fish with loose deteriorating skin, “He doesn’t smell awesome, but we’re gonna eat him anyway.”

But it tastes like chicken, right? RIGHT?

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve said that…

The morning of day 23 was actually a little tough for me. After 22 days of intentionally not thinking about home, of food, or my dog, or the horses, I caved. I missed my boyfriend Andrew, I missed my family and friends, and I missed the feeling of being full after having a steak with an ice cold beer. But I didn’t want to quit.

Jake and Andrew

I was in this for all the right reasons, and I was going to do everything in my power to find my way “out of the wild”. But will I? Be sure to tune in next Tuesday night to see if the tribe has spoken and my torch is extinguished.