Wisconsin farmer taps out of HISTORY Channel's 'Alone' after nearly three weeks, moose hunt

Ann Rosenquist survived nearly three weeks of extreme isolation in the boreal forest of northern Saskatchewan during her effort to win the reality television show "Alone."

But a bout of dizziness, racing heart and weakening body, likely due to the lack of food, forced Rosenquist to "tap out" on Day 19. It was an emotional moment for the 56-year-old organic farmer from the Bayfield area, and it came at the end of the third episode of The HISTORY Channel program's 10th season. She was the second person of 10 contestants to call for help.

The show aired Thursday night. It's now available for streaming on The HISTORY Channel website.

"Alone" records the victories and travails of 10 people who are dropped into into deep wilderness and have to use their abilities on their own to out-survive the others. The last person "surviving" in the harsh conditions wins $500,000. Contestants rely on their skill and luck to find "sources of food and build their own shelters. The show bills itself as the "ultimate test of human will." There are no camera crews accompanying the survivors; each is given multiple cameras and they self-record their efforts.

When the "Alone" crew showed up to bring Rosenquist out of her spot in the isolated forest, the disappointment showed on her face and dripped from her voice. She expected to be out there on her own for much longer — 40, 60, 80 days, she said.

"Even though I didn't do as well as I projected, I did as well as I could," Rosenquist said. "I did as well as I could. And I'm satisfied with that."

Rosenquist was able to build an impressive shelter and she was able to kill a grouse with a bow and arrow. She cooked the bird in a pot she brought with her and savored the hopeful moment. But then she wasn't able to get any more birds, and as she grew weaker from lack of food, she attempted to kill a moose.

It was on her quest to get that massive animal, which could have fed her for weeks, she estimated, that she went through a bout of dizziness and racing heart. She feared that she was having a heart attack, an ailment that she said killed her mother.

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She called for help after deciding that even if she were to have a successful moose hunt, she was too weak to butcher the animal. "Just skinning it would take days," she said.

Tapping out "was a very hard decision. It feels way too early," Rosenquist said. She speculated that she might have spent too much energy building her shelter.

"I sometimes wish I could get a do over," she said.

Leaving her spot in the secluded area was difficult, Rosenquist said, because it "feels like home."

Overall, the experience was "a gift, it really is ... It feels like my whole life I've been trying to live up to some expectation that is not there. Or be somebody who I am I not. But I don't need that validation any more," Rosenquist said. "I like myself, I've decided."

Keith Uhlig is a regional features reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based in Wausau. Contact him at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on Twitter and Instagram or on Facebook.