Eric Robert Rudolph could have stayed hidden until he died of old age. Loneliness is what finally did him in. In that respect he was no Jeremiah Johnson but he knew how to live out in the woods.
They drop off 10 people in the wilderness(NW Vancouver Island, Patagonia, Mongolia, Northern Canada). It is not like some of these other shows where there is a film crew with them. They film themselves.
They check them weekly just to make sure they are not starving to death, etc. They give them a satellite phone to “Tap Out” or for an emergency.
I have watched through season 5. Almost all the participants are survival experts. They know how the trap, fish, hunt, etc.
They all have different methods to build a shelter. They allow them to bring 10 things with them: a tarp, sleeping bag, a saw, flint fire starter, fish hooks, a knife, bow & arrows, etc. They know what plants, roots and other stuff you can eat and what will kill you.
The thing that most can not handle is being ALONE. No one to talk to. It literally drives them nuts.
Most of the toughest guys can not handle being by themselves after a few weeks. In one season in Patagonia they had to remove two people because they had lost 17% of their initial body weight. The one guy was literally skin and bones. If they did not take him out, he could have died. So, it is not that easy to live out in the wilderness.