Strange Bedfellows: Kate Gosselin, Sarah Palin Go Camping

Dec. 6, 2010— -- Sarah Palin and Kate Gosselin -- say what?

In a much anticipated matchup, the two reality-show moms and their broods meet in Palin territory for a camping trip that will air on "Sarah Palin's Alaska" on Sunday.

"Our ruggedness is really a mystery in the lower 48 states," Palin says on the show as an explanation for why the moms are getting together.

Maybe so, but it can't hurt that both have shows on TLC. And Palin, whose show is already proving to be a hit -- five million viewers tuned in for the premiere last month -- will likely get a boost from Gosselin's guest appearance.

As for Gosselin, maybe Palin can do for her career what the former vice-presidential candidate has done for South Carolina Governor-elect Nikki Haley.

At the start of Sunday's episode, Palin turns to her nine-year-old daughter Piper and says, "How would you like to go camping with Kate and her eight kids -- that TV show you watch?"

"Yay!" Piper squeals.

Gosselin, who happened to be in Alaska with her eight kids taping one of her "Kate Plus 8" specials, also for TLC, practically squeals herself when she first meets Palin. The pair develop an instant kinship over their mutual disdain for the media.

"There's not a whole lot of people that I run into that can understand the scrutiny [by] the media and beyond," Gosselin tells Palin, no doubt referring to the media frenzy sparked by her crumbling marriage to Jon, which she documented on their old TLC show, "Jon & Kate Plus 8."

But don't expect these strange bedfellows to become BFFs anytime soon. As the episode quickly reveals, Gosselin is no happy camper.

Spoiler alert: stop reading if you don't want details of Gosselin's initiation to the Alaskan wilds.

To prepare for their camping trip, "Mama Grizzly" Palin takes the mom of eight to a bear safety class. On the way, Palin somewhat jokingly tells Gosselin that, in case of a bear attack, "You need a partner with you who's slower than you."

"Oh, my gosh!" replies Kate, already clearly spooked by the bear rug in the Palins' home. "Sacrifice your friends?"

Sarah Palin and Kate Gosselin Together?

At the gun range, where Palin takes Gosselin, the former vice presidential candidate says, "She's going to rely on me to protect her."

Meanwhile Gosselin, looking more miserable than in her last days with Jon, covers her ears and later cries while holding a sandwich, "I'm hungry!"

As if things couldn't get any worse, the day of the camping trip, it's pouring rain.

But that doesn't put a damper on Palin, who, smiling and literally loaded for bear, chirps, "Rain or shine, Alaskans still camp. We still find a way to have fun."

And everyone -- Gosselin's twins and sextuplets, and Palin's daughters, Willow and Piper and husband Todd -- all seem to be having fun, while Gosselin grouses about her freezing toes.

"The kids are having fun, so I'm tolerating it, but this is my new home," grumbles Kate beneath a tarp separate from the group. "I am miserable, but, I mean, somebody's got to be."

Meanwhile Palin Sarah pronounces the area "the most luxurious camping spot I've ever seen!"

Soon, everyone but Gosselin is enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs and s'mores cooked over the camp fire.

The final straw comes when Gosselin finds out the hot dogs are made of moose meat.

"I don't see a table, I don't see utensils, I don't see hand-cleansing materials," she says, losing it. "This is not ideal conditions. I am freezing to the bone, I have 19 layers on, my hands are frigid. I held it together as long as I could and I'm done now!"

Only hours after they arrived, Gosselin gathers her flock and flees.

"C'mon, it wasn't that bad," Palin says in the end.

Looks like Alaska's ruggedness will have to remain a mystery for Gosselin.