Original subtitles

I've been a wilderness survival instructor for over 35 years.

People come from all over the world

to my school to learn how to survive.

[sighing] Ah.

Oh, look at these tracks.

You can see that they're an efficient expression of a life.

No calories are wasted in nature.

At our school, we teach shelter, water, fire...

-[blowing] -...and food.

What do you think lives in here?

Look at the diameter of this hole,

and it's right next to this small little brook.

And now, I've got an opportunity to really test my skills as an instructor,

to put my livelihood on the line,

with skills that I've been practicing

and sharing for most of my life.

And I'm going to do it naked.

[yelling] Are you still cold?

[growling] Ah!

What could possibly go wrong?

[opening theme music playing]

[woman 1] I'm just not sure anybody can survive here for 21 days.

-[woman 2] Oh, my God. -[elephant trumpeting]

[screams]

[narrator] Two strangers...

-[man] Ah! Run! Go, go, go, go! -[insects buzzing]

Oh, God.

[narrator] No food...

[woman exclaims]

[roaring triumphantly]

-[bow fires arrow] -[whispers indistinctly]

[narrator] No water...

[man yelling]

[narrator] 21 days...

[man] Don't tap.

-[lioness roars] -[yells]

Die first.

[narrator] Naked And Afraid.

There is a lot going on here.

Having my own school, being an instructor for so long,

there is some serious pressure on my shoulders to perform and do it well.

I want to prove to myself that I'm more than just talk.

I'm gonna walk that talk.

And if my skills are up to par,

I'll come out of here in good fashion and not debilitated.

It's put up or shut up.

[woman] I'm a little nervous

about not having any clothes or protection out here.

There's quite a few venomous snakes. Um...

So, I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for those.

My name is Skye. I'm from Southern Oregon.

I'm a survival instructor for women.

I've been teaching survival skills to women for over two years now,

from fire making, to foraging, to different bush-craft survival.

I started Rewilding Women, because of the many traumas that women face.

I've experienced a lot of those over the years,

and wasn't properly caring for myself.

Rewilding was the way to get back to my true nature,

and now the way I help other women.

-[women talking indistinctly] -[Skye] Gorgeous. [giggles]

And part of healing was going out and being in nature,

-and learning to be self-reliant. - gun fires]

Rewilding isn't just nature-based,

it's rewilding your inner parts as well.

It's the best feeling in the world.

Being a survival instructor

definitely comes with a little bit of pressure

being out here. But I'm always up for an adventure.

[chuckling] It's making me know I'm alive, that's for sure.

[engine whirring, switches off]

This must be me.

[exclaims nervously]

[narrator] As a seasoned survival instructor,

Skye begins her challenge with a primitive survival rating of 6.8.

Well, [sighs] time to leave my old self in the truck and go find the new.

[narrator] With over three decades of experience,

Mike begins the challenge

with a primitive survival rating of 7.2.

-[engine starts] -Let the adventure begin.

Okay. It just got real.

[truck engine starts]

So far, it's not so bad.

My feet, definitely being careful.

My feet are pretty tough and conditioned.

So, I'm doing good.

I'm taking it slow and steady.

[Mike] Hello!

Hi, I'm Skye.

-I'm Mike. Pleased to meet you. -Nice to meet you, Mike.

-Can I hug you? -Oh, of course,

-of course. -Oh, I'm so glad we finally get to meet.

-I know, right? -It's incredible.

It's like Christmas. I was just waiting.

-I know. Waiting and waiting in anticipation. -[sighs in relief]

-So, where are you from? -I'm from Southern Oregon.

-Pacific Northwest. -Southern Oregon? Okay.

-Yeah. Where are you from? -Maine.

Maine? All the way on the other side of the country from me?

-[Mike] Right? But... -Oh, my gosh.

-...we don't have to worry about tan lines. -Right.

-I know, we're both white, pale, yeah. -[chuckles]

So, what do you do?

I'm actually a survival instructor for women.

[laughs softly]

-[Skye chuckles] -Nice.

Nice. And what do you do?

I am also a survival instructor.

-Are you serious? Oh, my gosh! -[chuckling] Yes.

[Mike] My partner and I are both survival instructors.

It's unbelievable. Uh, just... The synergy is unbelievable. I... I'm, um...

[sighs in relief] Overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.

-This is awesome. -[titters]

-We have so much to talk about. -That's great.

-[whispering] Oh, I know. -[chuckles]

-[in normal voice] I know. -[Skye] I'm so excited.

So, I'm super thrilled to have somebody that's also a survival instructor.

Huge relief.

I'm thankful, especially being in a place that I don't know.

It's a big relief.

We are definitely gonna combine our skills and--

-Yes. -...and crush this.

-We are. We're not gonna suffer. -That's right.

-We're gonna totally thrive. -That's right.

-All right, let's do it. -Okay, I love it. Let's do it.

-[chuckles] -[Mike] Let's see what we got.

Okay.

Okay. So what did you bring?

Well, I made a blade

-for this challenge, which-- -[Skye titters] And you made this?

I did. I did.

Only because I needed a tool for this environment,

and it just seemed appropriate.

I can't wait to show you this. [chuckles]

So, I made a knife as well.

-[gasping] -[Skye laughs]

[laughing] I know. This is so cool.

[narrator] In addition to their blades,

the survivalists have been given a fire starter,

-and a fishing kit. -[Mike] Looks like we have

a... fishing rig.

[chuckling] Nice.

I think we're totally set.

-Ooh, I have our map. -[Mike] There's the map.

[Skye] Yes. Okay.

-So, we must be here. -Mmm-hmm.

Okay. And extraction's

way over here.

[Skye] I know, that's quite the distance.

What do you say we aim for this body of water here,

as a way to beat the heat

and regroup, and figure out our next move?

I think that's a great idea.

It's probably in between these mountains here.

-I agree. -We're just gonna go straight through there.

We're gonna have to be careful of the snakes.

[Mike] All right. You got the map,

-I'll follow you. -Okay. Let's go.

[narrator] In order to reach their water source,

Skye and Mike will hike northeast, 4 miles,

through the dense, mountainous jungles of Palawan Island,

shadowed by towering limestone cliffs.

The jungle floor is covered with piercing thorns,

and crawling with tarantulas,

and the highly-venomous Redback spider.

The area is also known for a patchwork of caves and waterways

that are home to some of the world's largest and deadliest snakes,

including the coral snake,

and several species of the king cobra, which can grow up to 15 feet.

And can inject enough venom into its prey to kill a full-grown elephant.

[Mike] Oh, this is going to be a tricky one.

All right. [strains in effort]

-[Skye] Okay. -I need to get a good purchase here.

-You got it? -[Skye] Yep.

-Thank you. -[Mike] Anytime.

[leaves rustling]

[Skye sighs wearily]

Starting to feel a little bit dehydrated.

How are you holding up in the heat?

[Mike] It's overwhelming.

[Skye] Yep, it's been really, really hot.

We need to make fire, still.

And, uh, we need to get... [sighs]

-boiling some water. -Yeah.

I think water is going to take first priority, because I'm dehydrated.

[Skye] And me as well.

[bird cawing]

[Mike exhaling sharply]

It looks like the sun's going to be going down behind that mountain there.

-[Mike] Yeah. -So, we don't have a whole lot.

[Mike] Maybe we should start considering campsites

before we run out of daylight to do anything.

[Skye] I agree.

-[Mike] Because this place is looking pretty gnarly. -Yes.

Okay. I see water.

And it's a big body of water.

This is a huge find. This is big.

This is a good water source for fishing.

[Mike speaking]

[shudders]

-[Skye] Is it really squishy? -It's very squishy.

And I don't see the bottom.

[Skye] Who the heck knows what's in it? [strains softly]

[Mike pants]

[Skye breathily] Okay.

[pants]

I think this is, like, the best route right here.

-[exhales in comfort] -[water sloshes]

[Skye] All right.

[breathing heavily]

[Mike] Whoa, [bleep]. Snake.

[Skye] Oh.

[breathing heavily]

[Mike] Don't go this way.

[Skye] Okay.

We're out here in the jungle. There's cobras, there's vipers,

spiders that are poisonous.

-[Mike] Let's get out of the water. -Yeah.

-[exhales in exhaustion] -[Skye] Okay.

Well, everything in the jungle is trying to kill you.

But you can only do so much surviving at home.

And I feel like this life is all about expansion

and growing, and evolving as much as we can.

-[breathily] Wow. -Wow, that just keeps going.

[Skye] Yeah. Plus, I have no idea

about thunderstorms and rain--

-Right. -...coming through here. It could rush into here.

-So... And I don't see a spot for us to actually stay. -And... [sighs]

If it's water and cold,

-there is mosquitoes and black flies-- -Yes.

-...all kinds of biting critters. -Yep.

-So... [sighs] -Yeah.

-If we-- -It'll be good to know

that this is a good water source,

-but let's not... Let's not stay here. -For sure.

[Skye] Oh, this is a cool spot we're coming up on.

-[Mike] Oh. -[breathily] Oh, my gosh. [pants]

This is... [pants] This is beautiful.

[Mike] Yeah. It's certainly cool.

-[Skye whispering] I know. -This would be a great place to escape the heat.

[Skye] This is great, just in case we get some crazy rainstorm.

We've got covering there. [pants]

Our fire is going to be well-protected. If we get enough smoke,

then we don't have to worry about mosquitoes and stuff, right?

-What do you think? -I'm all for it. Let's... Let's stay here,

at least for the first night. See how it shakes out.

-[Skye] Yeah. Okay. -All right.

Next steps. What do you think?

-So, I think I'm gonna go explore. -Mmm-hmm.

I need to find some bamboo,

gather water, make fire, and boil the water.

Perfect. I'll do the same along this ridge here,

-with an emphasis on gathering fuel for fire. -Yeah.

-[Mike] All right. Good luck. -Okay, you too.

[Mike] But we don't have a pot, which means...

we've got to create water containers off the landscape.

We have to find bamboo to hold the water,

and boil it. And we'll have a routine

where we start rotating through those containers.

[sighs] It's just looking like it's just these small pieces of bamboo,

which I don't love.

Uh, the biggest I can find... [sigh] is right here.

It's not going to hold a whole lot of water,

but it will get us through tonight.

We can survive without food.

You can't survive without water. It's critical.

Four usable ones for now.

That will work for tonight.

Hopefully, this bamboo system will get some water in us.

Both Mike and I, at this point, really need it.

Next priority is to go gather water,

set this back at camp, and then...

help get the fire going.

Aw... Hello, tinder.

This is a good score.

I could use that as a coal extender.

The goal, is to get through tonight.

I don't mind getting rained on at this point,

because that's the water [chuckling] we need, right?

I just need...

to get a fire going, so we can purify water.

[water bubbling]

Okay, that holds.

[panting] Okay.

I think I just need to get these tonight, and then get back.

Hopefully, uh, [sighs] it'll get us through the night.

[grunts softly]

[thunder rumbles distantly]

[Mike] I've got some kindling in my bag.

[Skye] Okay.

-[exhales] -[Mike] Where would you like these?

[Skye] Let's, just, maybe tuck it up underneath that little...

Yeah, right in there. That would be great.

-[Mike] Okay. -[breathily] All right.

Being we're both instructors, it's worked out really well.

Because our style of teaching is a together approach.

And so, we learn together.

We're happy to teach, and we're happy to learn.

-I'm gonna... -[Mike exhales exhaustedly]

...gonna try to get some of that magnesium. Let's just see.

[Mike] We don't really need a shelter to keep us from the elements.

We're in a cave.

But we need water.

These temperatures encourage bacteria and viruses

to grow in all of these waterways,

and we have to kill it.

So, fire is essential.

We've got to bring our water to a boil,

and for that, we need fire.

[Skye] All right.

-[Mike] Promising. -Yeah.

[Skye] Come on, baby.

I'm striking this,

and what I thought was dry tinder bundle, is not lighting.

There we go. [blows softly]

Okay, let's blow on it.

-[Mike] Okay. Ready? -Yep.

[blowing gently]

[Mike exhaling]

[exclaims softly, exhaling]

[exhaling in exhaustion]

[Skye] Mike?

-[Mike grunts] -Are you okay?

Mike?

[Mike groaning]

[Mike groans]

-[pants] -[Skye] Damn.

-[grunting] -Mike? Are you okay?

[Mike exhaling]

[exhaling intensely]

[inhales deeply]

Gotta catch my breath.

-[exhales sharply] -[Skye sighs in frustration] [bleep].

-[Mike exhales] -You've got to be careful.

[Mike] I'm tired. I just don't have the energy.

[Skye] That's a bit of a wake-up call.

Mike's definitely feeling dehydration,

and I could... I could see that on him.

We need to get that water boiling, so we can get it in Mike.

[Mike exhaling]

[breathily] All right. Sorry.

[Skye] It's okay.

[Mike] Quest for fire is always a challenge. Always.

I wouldn't expect anything less

than what I'm experiencing right now.

Now, I just gotta be really watchful.

Dehydration is no joke.

[Skye] So, I'm gonna go see if I can find some more tinder bundle,

-anything else we might need. -Perfect.

My go-to way of making fire

is getting a very large tinder bundle,

making sure that there's lots of air pockets

in between small, small, little pieces.

[bleep]. Not dry.

It's just so damp and so humid

that even the things you think are dry are not dry.

Vines right here might actually work.

Completely dry and dead?

[Mike] All right. [pants]

I'm within an hour of passing out if I don't get hydrated.

[Skye] We're gonna get fire.

[Mike exhales in exhaustion]

Okay.

[Skye] Mike is definitely feeling dehydrated.

I'm feeling dehydrated. We need to get that water boiling.

Mike and I really need it.

A few of these are starting to catch. Blow on it.

[Mike] All right.

[blowing gently]

It... It's working.

[continues blowing]

Oh!

-[Skye laughs triumphantly] -Good, good.

Finally, we got fire.

[whispering]

We can now finally boil water,

and that is everything, out here.

[Mike speaking]

-[Skye] Yep. -[Mike speaking]

[Skye] That means we can go on, because we have water.

[Mike grunts breathily] Oh, great. They're boiled.

I can see the bubbles.

[exhales]

Hey, Skye, you want to try some of our purified water?

-[breathily] Yeah. -Time for tea.

[Skye breathily] Yes. [chuckles]

-[Mike] We'll do a toast? -Yes.

To 21 days?

-To 21 days. -All the way to the end.

In style.

-In style. -[mimicking glasses clinking]

[chuckles] Okay.

Oh, it smells sweet.

-[chuckling] Oh, it's good. -It tastes amazing.

-[whispering] Yeah. -[Mike] Mmm.

We've got fire now, so that's great.

But it's not quite finished.

Priority is getting hydrated

so that we can really jam on what's needed.

-Mmm. [gulps] - Our bedding,

and then food.

What a treat. Holy mackerel.

-I can feel it, Can you? -Yeah.

-It's, like... [mimicking water gushing] -Good stuff.

[sighs in satisfaction]

[Skye exclaims softly in pain] Ooh.

-[Mike] More thorns. -Yeah.

[Mike] Oh, here's a good find.

Oh, yeah.

[Skye] These are gonna make the beds so much more comfortable.

All right. Perfect.

-[leaves rustling] -[Mike grunts softy]

[Skye] Yay!

Nice.

-Ooh! Yeah. -[Mike] Okay.

[Skye] The materials we're looking for to improve our bed

is palm fronds, we make a bedding underneath,

and then we're putting these banana palm leaves on top,

because they're the smoothest.

Okay.

All right. Now, I'm gonna take it for a test drive,

see what we got.

[Skye] Yeah.

[Mike] Oh, my gosh!

[Skye laughs]

[Mike] Oh, yeah. This is already making a heck of a difference.

[Skye chuckles] It's gonna be so much better.

[Mike exclaims in comfort] So much better.

[Skye] Yay. [chuckling] Nice.

Oh, we're gonna sleep so good tonight.

[Mike] This pillow's as hard as a rock.

[Skye laughs]

I wonder why. [giggles]

[Mike speaking]

-[Skye speaking] -[Mike] Well...

[Skye speaking]

[Mike speaking]

[Skye speaking]

[Mike] This is going to be a loud noise.

[Skye] Okay.

[Skye groans softly] Oh.

[leaves and branches crunching]

-[Mike] No "booms." -[laughs]

[Mike] Feeling pretty good, Day 2. Uh, drained, obviously.

Uh, it wasn't a solid night's sleep for either of us,

and it wasn't enough.

But it should be okay.

[Skye] I'm hungry today. Today is definitely a food day.

Now that we have our other systems in place,

like fire and water in place, we have a really good system.

So, food is of utmost importance.

Hey, millipede.

Could use that as bait.

And cut him up into little pieces.

Ah, their exoskeleton is rock-hard.

[bait drops into water]

Yeah, that's got enough weight on it. [grunts softly]

Uh...

I'm wondering what all the ripples are.

They're big.

Very big around.

Maybe a really big fish?

I wish I had more line,

because there's a lot of ripples happening right over there.

[foot splashing water]

Holy [bleep].

Oh, my God. Big-ass snake.

He's coming this way.

[foot gently splashes water]

Holy [bleep].

Oh, my God. Big-ass snake.

He's coming this way.

Ooh, [bleep]. He's coming right towards me.

[bleep]

[exhaling softly] Oh.

Holy [bleep].

That is a big snake.

He's 12 feet, probably.

And 3... 4 inches in diameter?

The biggest snake I've ever seen.

[narrator] Philippine cobras are highly aggressive,

and can spit neurotoxic venom into the eyes of their victims

from a distance of up to 12 feet,

causing permanent blindness.

I'd be tempted to go get him. That's a lot of meat.

That's a whole lot of meat, but I don't know if he's poisonous.

I don't know enough about these snakes.

I don't know enough...

to get in there, and that freaks me out.

I don't want to be bit by him.

But, wow, that's a lot of meat.

He goes right up into the bank.

That means they're on the ground around here, too.

As a survival instructor,

my style of teaching is not to take high risk.

I'm a very cautious person. So, I don't just do things

that are gonna injure me, especially out in the elements like this.

Oh, my gosh. [shudders]

It gives me the chills all over.

I was gonna set my lines out here,

but I don't think so now.

Reel it back in,

and head back to camp.

Mike?

[Mike strains softly]

You're not gonna believe what I just saw [whispering] down there.

12-foot snake.

This big around.

And not afraid of me.

-It came right at me. -In the water?

[Skye] In the water.

And now, he's up on the bank somewhere, because, you know--

That's a lot of meat.

I thought a lot of meat, too. That's what I was thinking.

Like, "Oh, it's a lot of meat." No. I'm pretty sure he's poisonous.

Diamond-shaped head.

Like, [tittering] he's big. [titters]

So, I should make a bamboo spear.

[Skye] Yeah. And we need to be really careful.

He's definitely aggressive.

[Mike] Might still be there, do you think?

[Skye] He's up on the bank somewhere now.

[Mike] Okay. Colorful?

No. Definitely some white markings on him, but not brightly-colored.

[Mike] Based on Skye's description of the snake that she saw,

and its behaviors,

there's only one snake that large.

And that's the cobra family.

There's two types here, the spitting and the king.

So, I've got to be really careful with this,

because I don't want it to spit and hit me in the face.

There's only one little bit that's venomous,

and that... That's the part you chop off anyway.

I don't feel like that's very safe,

-[Mike] No, but the return-- -I mean...

I mean, you can do what you want to do.

You're a grown man, but...

[Mike] I think the risk versus the return is pretty good.

[Skye] Yeah, but you didn't see this guy.

-[Mike] But you'd eat it if I brought it? -Of course.

-[Mike] Okay, good. -Yeah, I was thinking meat, for sure, but...

[blows raspberry]

You've got to be careful.

If you got bit by that snake,

you... you'd either be dead, or definitely med tapped.

Well... time to craft a spear.

I'll see you in a little bit.

[Skye] Okay. Be careful.

[Mike] Will do.

[Mike] My plan is to find a stray piece of bamboo,

and make it into a trident.

That way, I keep far enough away from it, while dispatching it.

Oh, look at that.

That looks like a big, old stray piece right there.

There are some pretty frightening, venomous snakes in the area,

and this one seems pretty aggressive.

But if there's a snake

out there that's 12 to 15 feet long,

that's a lot of meat.

That will carry us through for the rest of the challenge.

Yum.

The reason I make a trident, is because...

with adrenaline, my aim may be off a little bit.

Plus, when three prongs stick in,

as soon as I pierce its skull,

it's going to want to writhe and wrap around the spear.

So, I have to make sure that there's at least three spears going through it,

in case one breaks.

This is a reminder we're not the apex species out here.

Suddenly, our tropical paradise...

has a monster in it. [grunts softly]

[bird cawing distantly]

I'm looking for any movement.

Any movement in the trees.

Any ripples...

through the water.

But there's nothing in it.

If it's a snake that big, it's had to feed on something on a regular basis.

So, it's out there.

How you doing, Skye?

[Skye] I'm very tired.

I didn't sleep much last night, so...

But I'm feeling okay.

Last night, I was up most of the night.

I didn't sleep because our bedding is still not...

really on point.

I'm gonna go get more leaves, banana leaves.

[Mike] That's perfect. Me too.

[Skye] Kinda venture this way, but be really careful.

I don't know what's down here.

And keep my eyes peeled for everything around me.

Ah. There's a nice, nice snail. I'll grab him.

There's another big snail.

I'm gonna take him back.

It's not a whole lot of protein. Well...

It's more than we've had.

Being observant of my surroundings

has always just been kind of built into me.

Banana palm, right there.

So, I'm always looking for opportunity,

always just looking for food source,

or tools that you can use.

It's just part of my nature.

Three banana palms, to improve our beds.

[Mike] Hey.

[Skye] I found snails.

There's not much meat on him, but it's great protein.

Oh, yeah. That's worth eating right there.

We just need a container big enough to cook them in.

One of the easiest ways to prepare anything,

is to wrap it in clay and put it in the fire,

until that clay turns into a brick.

The insides, whatever it is,

in this case, snails,

won't burn.

All the moisture will be kept in.

And when it does start to crack the clay,

the moisture will slowly be released, like a pressure cooker.

All right, I'm gonna put it in the coals.

It's almost a bomb-proof way

to make sure your food is cooked well done,

without it charring.

[whispering] Okay, here we go.

All right. I'll meet you over at the table.

[Skye] Okay.

[Mike] Our first meal together.

[Mike] Oh, my gosh.

This is restaurant-quality, right here.

-Right? -[chuckling] It's really good.

[laughs] I'm so shocked.

[Mike] The snails, they were, psychologically, a great breakthrough,

I think, for me.

I'm really thankful for Skye.

-First meal. -[Skye] Yeah.

Good job. [high-fives Mike]

[thunder roaring distantly]

[wind howls]

[thunder rumbling]

[thunder cracking]

[thunder roaring]

[thunder continues roaring]

[rain pelting continuously]

[whispering]

[thunder rumbling]

It's...

[sighs]

[thunder rumbles]

[thunder cracking]

[Mike speaking]

[Skye speaking]

[Mike speaking]

[thunder cracking]

[Skye speaking]

[thunder rumbling]

[Mike speaking]

[thunder roaring]

[Skye groaning]

How are you feeling?

Wiped.

[Skye] Yeah.

It was rough last night.

Really, really rough.

I didn't sleep, hardly at all. I... I was a little cold.

So, Mike and I shared some body heat.

I was thankful for that. And...

Yeah, I'm tired today.

What do you want to do this morning?

'Cause I was thinking,

set a few traps and snares in that area by the water,

so we can get this snake.

-Okay. I'll put a couple of lines in the water, too. -Perfect.

So, I'm gonna go...

out on that peninsula, set up my snake trap.

I'd like to see that snake, but it's a little too early.

From what Skye told me,

its behaviors, the way its head was up above the water, its length,

it was probably a king cobra,

the largest venomous snake in the world. And...

It's very territorial.

So, I want to get this snake trap up

and ready before it gets back here.

Apparently, this snake came up, and through in here.

So I'm going to use this as a natural funnel.

This V notch is going to be part of my trigger mechanism.

I'm making the specific trap for snakes.

So the snake trap is a snare.

It's basically a loop folded on itself, spread out flat at the bottom.

And there's a pressure plate held in place by tension

created by a bent stick.

And the pressure plate rests on a trigger.

So the snake comes through, hits the pressure plate trigger.

Boom.

Pulls the snake right up off the ground.

Listening to how this snake exited the river,

it came all the way up through to the last point of water

and then out.

So I'm making the last point of water

the noose for my trap.

Nice thing about traps and snares is that

they don't discriminate.

Any meat that moves through them, they're going to grab.

So hopefully, it'll be a big tube of cobra meat.

But if not, I'll take a rat. Meat is meat.

The only fish I've seen down here so far

are really little guys.

So I'm hoping there's bigger ones in here.

I'm pretty excited because fish is a good resource here.

Fish is great protein. It'll taste good.

I am setting five passive fishing lines.

I'm hoping they get down in the deeper water

and the little fish don't nibble all the clams off.

If they don't, or even if they are nibbling it,

maybe the bigger fish will come and try to eat them and get one of the hooks.

I give it a leader line.

So I'll put the sinker, give it some leader.

Drop that, and then that hook and the bait should float up

a little bit.

I'm assuming that this... I don't know how deep that

is over there, so I'm not gonna give it too much lead.

Okay, here we go.

Come back and check it in the morning.

All right, I'm going to go look for bedding for the fronds.

Not sleeping is taking a huge toll on me.

I'm a person that is used to getting a decent amount of sleep,

so this is definitely affecting me.

My body just doesn't want to move.

Everything's slow.

My brain's not super foggy, but it's slow.

Motor skills, everything is just slower.

I think that's enough of the fronds.

I'm not super worried about it,

but I don't want to continue on many more days like this.

Oh, my God. Nausea is a bitch.

Ooh.

[exhales]

I found a bunch.

But I'm having serious bouts of nausea.

Take your time.

Oh, I'm just ready for this nausea to be gone.

It's like any time I exert any energy, it's kicking my ass.

[hiccups, exhales]

[exclaims]

You have to listen to what your body's telling you.

I'll be okay.

I have to get more water in me.

I've only had one today.

I'm not sure why I'm nauseous.

It could be the heat, not enough food,

not enough water, a combination of everything.

[gulps] Oh, God.

Oh.

Shake it off. It's fine.

How's it going?

Just one second.

No worries.

[Mike] Skye looks wiped.

She has that glazed look, and she's kind of stumbly, mumbly.

I know she's working really hard

and trying to push through it.

But that also makes me worry about her hurting herself

or making some serious mistakes.

[groans]

[exhales]

[groans]

Skye's struggling with an upset stomach,

and water kind of makes her nauseous, which is concerning.

And knowing that I have more sleep in me

than Skye does for her, I'm going to take the brunt

of life-sustaining systems and try to make as much space

for her to get the rest she needs.

[groaning] It's pissing me off.

I'm starting to get pissed off about it at this point.

I hate nausea.

At home, when I'm nauseous, I'd much rather just throw up

and get it over with. But here, I can't risk that.

I can't throw up and get more dehydrated.

So I'm just fighting the nausea.

-I'm super wore out. -I think it's just calorie deficiency.

We need food.

Meat is where it's at. Meat and protein, that's what I need.

I think it's going to help Skye a lot, too.

She's going to need some food to recover.

So I'm going to do some traps and snares

and just going to keep an eye on her.

This is a really well-worn trail for something small.

Looks like a good candidate.

So I am seeking a hole to plant my spring stick,

but it's got to be at just the right distance.

So when I bend that stick and hang a cord,

it goes straight to where I want my trap trigger.

If it's off at an angle, any slight breeze

is going to wiggle that and trigger it.

[groans]

[exhales] All right, now.

So I'm just going to tie a clove hitch.

It's adjustable and slidable,

but it can grip once you secure it.

But I need to be able to slide this up and down

until I find the right spot.

This tunnel's a nice little funnel area.

So right about here's good.

Cinch that with a half hitch so it stays in place.

Bowline on the other side, which is just a fixed loop at the end.

And that allows for our noose.

This fork stick into the ground.

There we go.

So we have this forked stick here.

The pink stick comes down.

It will lock here with a little toggle.

We want this to hang but be able to flip up.

So the noose goes in.

It's secured by a stick.

Animal comes moving through, hits this trigger, and...

Hey, you drank some water today.

Yeah, I drank two.

Excellent.

I'm going to push water today, see if I can anyways.

I don't want to have any more headaches.

-Good idea. - Skye] I'm feeling slightly better right now.

Energy is not all the way back,

but it's probably just the normal part

of the challenge where you're just tired from no food

and sleep and little bits of water now.

I'm going to see if there's any tracks in our little track trap

and then get right on to...

creating a fish trap.

Okay.

I might go snail hunting.

Excellent.

Skye's been down and out for a while,

but little incremental changes towards the better.

I'm cheering her on.

I'm trying to get water into her at her own pace.

She's finding her own power again and getting under

her own two feet, and I love seeing it.

That's too bad.

I'm not surprised that our traps aren't yielding food.

We don't know the ecology of this place.

We don't know the animal behaviors.

But I am getting concerned.

We're on day nine with little to no calories coming in.

That's all right.

We'll keep checking over time, see what happens.

Last time I found snails, there were some over in this area.

So looking again.

I feel like I'm holding my partner back.

I'm holding myself back. And that's just, it's aggravating.

Days feel like they're wasted.

So I know I can tough it out.

It's just, it's frustrating more than anything.

I want to be thriving out here and not just surviving

and feeling like garbage every day.

So I'm just exhausted.

And not being able to help my teammate

is really pissing me off, actually.

[hiccups, and burps] Mmm.

[exhales]

Mmm.

I'm just tired of being nauseous.

[exhales]

It's just wearing on me.

[exhales] It's making me feel insane.

[exhales]

I don't want to be laying around all day today.

Oh. It's the only thing that I don't feel nauseous

is when I'm laying down and it's just pissing me off.

[exhales]

Okay.

[sniffles]

[exhales] I can make it.

It's all temporary.

[exhales]

Right now, I'm still battling with a little bit of frustration,

'cause I'm not doing what I'd like to do,

but this challenge has been really, really hard in some ways.

But that's how we grow.

We grow through the really bleep] hard,

challenging moments, and knowing that we got through that.

Even though it's frustrating,

I'm thankful.

I'm thankful because it's showing me all the areas

of my weaknesses and where I can grow.

Because that's why we're doing this,

so we can build ourselves more to be able to pour out more.

Because it's all about our community in the long run.

Well, the snails come out in the rain,

and we have not had much rain.

So...

I don't know.

I'm not seeing them.

So I'm definitely going to gather firewood

and then go back and rest.

[tapping]

[exhales]

So far, the traps and the snares aren't yielding food.

So today, fish basket is going to be my centerpiece.

I'm going to work on that as much as I can today.

If this fish trap works as good as I hope,

this is food security for at least two or three days.

Give us much needed protein and calories.

All right.

[exclaims]

Hey.

Grabbed a few little pieces of firewood so my trip wasn't wasted.

I went looking for snails for you, but...

-Any luck? No worries. -No.

Skye's exhausted, dehydrated.

She's going through some stomach issues,

but she always seems to rally at least three or four times a day.

I don't envy where she's at.

I don't want to put worry out there in the light,

but I'm concerned for Skye.

We're both gonna make it through.

There's no room for anything else,

but as far as whether it's walking out or in tatters, that's...

[exhales] I am a bit worried.

Oh, wow.

Those are going to be nice pieces of firewood.

-Good job. -Yeah.

Feeling all right?

A little bit pukey.

I should probably drink more water,

but I don't want to throw it up.

-[exhales] -Nausea is one of the things I'd hate.

I really, really hate it.

I'd rather just throw up and get it over with.

[exhales]

[hiccups]

Bitch.

But then there's this fear in the back of my mind,

don't throw up because I'm not ingesting enough water

and I don't want to be dehydrated.

So it's a frustrating mixed bag of emotions around that as well.

But you don't give up when you're a single mom.

You have to keep going.

Okay, I can stand up. [exhales]

I don't know how many more calories I have to spend

to get what we need done done.

And Skye and I working our best together

are in a situation where we're doing our best

and still just getting by each day.

If I lose Skye, I'm not far behind.

I'm just ready for this nausea to be gone.

[groans] I'm starting to get pissed off about it at this point.

I'm with you.

I'm with you for the whole ride.

Mm-hmm.

[sighs]

I'm [bleep] tired. I'm really tired.

It's frustrating being tired. [sniffles] It's just kicking my ass.

[Mike] You got this. You got this.

[exhales]

Don't quit.

I'm [bleep] tired.

It's just kicking my ass.

You got this. You got this.

[exhales]

Thank you for taking up my slack.

I feel like I've really been...

-Skye, there's no slack. -I'm not pulling my weight.

Don't feel that way.

I think we both kind of cut off the same cloth

of wanting to do the best by our partners.

We're getting there, kid.

You just got to take it one day at a time.

I don't envy Skye for where she's at,

but I certainly want to support where she's at

and offer water, hopefully catch this big snake

and make steaks.

We're going to figure this out together.

I just feel like I've been putting a whole lot of

extra pressure on you that you don't need.

No.

I feel you help give me purpose and focus.

And when we're back online, it's going to be

freaking amazing.

-It's true. -All right.

Thankful to have a good partner.

He's such a good guy. Thankful for that.

I've been really trying to keep my mind on all the positives out here.

Tomorrow's a new day.

We got this.

We do. We got this. Appreciate you.

Appreciate you too.

-How are you feeling? -I feel much, much better today.

-Oh, good. - Skye] Finally feeling better.

Not all the way at par, but much, much better

than I've been.

It's quite frustrating these last days

not feeling well.

Excited to really explore around here

and excited to see if I can find any food,

any other resources for us.

I've never seen bamboo work like that, Mike.

That's really cool.

Oh, thanks.

I'm so thirsty.

The plan of the day is to finish that fish basket

without food coming in.

Big concern. It's a big concern of mine.

Skye seems to be feeling a lot better,

but she hasn't had hardly any fluids.

And I haven't seen her eat since we got here,

except for the snails, which... insignificant calories.

Yeah.

Inside funnel is done. I've got these little barbs.

And it'll fit snug as a bug in a rug.

Almost looks like I knew what I was doing.

Fish is going to come in. [whistles]

Once it passes those little barbs,

they'll be stuck in this big basket.

That's the idea anyway.

I'm going to go to the water to set this basket.

So I'm making a stockade funnel.

And I'm going to plant my posts to follow the current.

And that's where my trap will be.

Yes.

Normally, I'd bait this trap, but until we get bait,

I'm just going to try to herd fish into it

by letting it sit overnight as part of the landscape.

And then I'd like to think the next time I stare into

this basket, it'll be full of fish.

It's another method of trying to get food.

There. It's up to the fish at this point.

So good.

I definitely feel better today than I have the last few days,

but I have not really been sleeping, drinking,

or eating, so all of those things

are important for me right now.

I was able to drink three of those, which is good.

I actually didn't get sleep.

Hold on.

My lower intestines are, oh, they're going crazy now.

So hold on a second.

[exhales]

[exclaims]

Like stabbing cramps. [exhales]

Hold on.

Ugh. Oh, God.

And it wasn't fully boiling. It was just simmering.

I got frustrated. It was taking too long.

[groans]

[exclaims]

It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.

[exhales]

[sobs]

[producer] Need a medic?

Maybe I should see a medic. It's started to hit both sides,

not just this side anymore.

[sobs]

[sobs]

I'm sorry, what's happening?

I'm just having sharp pains.

I think I drank a bunch of water.

I think I just need to move

and pass gas or something.

Right after I drank the water when I was doing the...

interview, I think. I don't know.

You had too much of the water?

Yeah, I drank three things of it at once.

Which side of your stomach is the worst?

This side is the worst, but I have it a little bit over there, too,

there's something painful.

It's not painful to touch?

-It's painful, yeah. -This side.

Yeah, that side.

It fluctuates from like a five to a nine, sometimes 10.

It's sharp, really, really sharp.

That's why I think it's gas. I think it's just my body's trying

-to wake up or something. -[beeping]

[sobs]

It wasn't boiled all the way, I don't think. I don't know.

I might have made a mistake. I was so tired.

Come on. [sobs]

[sobs and exhales]

I might have made a mistake, I was so tired.

Come on.

-[panting] -Okay. You try to relax.

Try to relax.

Okay, just deep, deep breathing.

I don't wanna go, I just wanna, I just wanna walk.

Skye, what's happening, you okay?

I'm fine, I'm just, I don't know.

I think I drank that water too fast.

I'm having cramps.

[sobs]

I don't want to throw up.

Let it go. Let it out. Let it out.

-Skye. -Yeah.

I want to update our doctor about what's happening to you.

-Okay. -For him to know what's going on.

I'll come back. I'll come back quick.

I'm here for you.

[Skye] Thank you. I'm sorry.

[groans]

I don't want a medic to come. I just want to go to bed.

Maybe if I get to bed, they won't come, right?

I don't know, Skye.

If you start losing fluids, I can't keep up with bamboo,

-especially at night. -But I'm not going to.

When nothing's coming out, I'm fine.

And these cramps are going to go away.

I'm no doctor, but she doesn't seem as well

as she's making herself believe.

I'm fine. I just need to sleep it off.

What bothers me is it's a strategy that I use.

Hide it, deny it, focus on all the good stuff

until it goes away.

Works about 85% of the time,

but when it doesn't, holy mackerel.

I'll get up and walk, and I'll show the medic I'm fine.

I can do it. I can push through.

I'm not leaving.

Let's get up and walk. Okay.

Let me get in position to help support you, okay?

Okay.

Three, two, and up.

[grunts]

Okay. See, I'm okay.

I can stand.

I don't want to lose my partner, but you're not okay.

I am okay. I really am.

I really am okay. It's not that bad anymore.

-But you can't move, Skye. -I can move.

I can move. I'm getting better.

-Yeah. -Skye. How are you doing?

I'm good.

I don't want the medic to come, okay?

-A medic is already here, okay? -I'll get you to sit first.

I just wanted you to see I'm okay.

-I can see now. -I want you to sit down first.

Just be careful.

-I'm fine, though. -I spoke with a doctor.

I asked for some advice.

You have a fever.

Also, you're having stomach cramps.

Stomach cramps that doesn't go away.

But they're not bad right now.

They're spaced out a lot longer. Like...

What's difficult is we're not sure what's causing it.

It's just gas.

But we have to find out the cause of it.

-I don't... It was... -Because with the situation

that you have right now, I'm really sorry.

-I have to medically tap... -No, no.

No, I'm really fine. Please don't say that.

Please. Please. No, I'm really okay.

Yeah.

I'm not in that much pain anymore.

I understand what you're trying to say.

[Skye] It's getting better.

It's really getting better, I promise.

-I would not push my body. -Skye, unfortunately.

No, please.

-I'm not going. -Skye, you gotta go.

-Medic is in charge. -You can't.

-I'm really sorry, Skye. -I don't want to. [sobs]

Let's just prioritize your health, Skye.

[bleep]

-I'm so sorry, Skye. -No. [sobs]

This is not the way it's supposed to happen.

Mike, it's not the way it's supposed to happen.

You're the best partner anyone has ever asked for, Skye.

But you have to get better, Skye.

[sobs]

Skye, we need to get you to the hospital.

Okay. Mike...

I'm so sorry. Thank you for everything.

Thank you.

I don't know what I'm going to do without you.

I can't wait to see you finish this.

You were everything. You were such an inspiration.

You got this.

You got this. I promise.

It's all right. Down. Down.

-Don't... I can't... -There we go.

-We want to take the best care we can of you, all right? -Okay.

-[exhales] -Okay?

You do this for both of us, please, Mike.

-I will. -I'm so sorry.

-I will. -You got this.

You are amazing.

[indistinct chatter]

-[sobs] -[indistinct chatter]

Take care of my partner. Take care of my partner.

God damn it.

[Skye] This isn't happening.

[exhales and groans]

[bleep]

[narrator] Skye was evacuated to the nearest hospital 40 miles away,

where she was treated for an intestinal infection.

She returned home to Oregon and is now fully recovered.

About a half hour ago, I was convinced that Skye

and I were going to finish this in fine fashion.

That she and I were going to walk through this together,

laughing at the end.

But now it's just me.

My mental state right now, I'm just totally shattered.

Phew.

I gotta pick up the pieces and figure it out.

Because the greater half of my team just left.

This is a punch to the gut. This is a shock.

I did not see this coming.

But now my head and my body have to get back in the game.

All right, all right, focus.

Firewood.

Damn it.

Damn it.

All right. Let's rustle up some fishes.

I think my biggest concern is calorie deficit.

I don't know how I'm going to turn the loss

of 50% of the productivity of this camp

into something beneficial, but I'm going to have to.

All these leaves clogged it up.

Let's see what we get.

Nothing.

Well, caught a lot of leaves, but that's about it.

[exhales]

All right.

While I'm here,

no tracks near the trap.

So snake trap is a bust right now.

All right.

Today's reset day, Mike. Don't get distracted.

Gonna go get some firewood.

It's funny you never consider it,

but you do need the same amount of wood

for one person if you do two, but it's just one person gathering,

so it's hard without Skye here.

[exhales]

Holy [bleep].

Big old cobra.

-Where are you? -[rustling]

You can hear him, crunching through the leaf litter.

Tracking what looks like a big cobra.

Got my spear.

Go in.

Where are you?

This snake's a fast mover.

You can hear him.

It's just ahead.

It stopped. It knows I'm after it.

The body was thicker than my arm.

If it comes out fast and hard. I'm kind of screwed with this spear.

As soon as I heard it, I snapped up

and grabbed the spear and forgot the blade.

Next time.

When Skye saw that cobra down by the river

and was determined never to go in the water again,

I'll be honest, I thought, eh, maybe a little bit of an overreaction.

It's just a snake.

Until I saw the size of the snake.

Make sure I have my snake repellent by my bedside.

[exhales]

There's a new threat, and the threat is that

I am in their home, and they could have

a territorial aggressive response

while I'm asleep even.

So that's a new thing.

I don't know that I'm quick enough to come out of a dead sleep,

find my blade,

and be able to deal with it.

Yeah, I might be in danger.

Stay vigilant.

There's no safe place out here.

Now that I've seen a cobra thicker than my arm,

not more than 20 feet away from my cave opening here,

I realized those trails that I thought were

the size of a rodent, the size of a loaf of bread in diameter,

those are the snake's trails.

That's the size of the snake.

Here's one right here.

And if I go down low, you can see that it's a tunnel

that goes right through the jungle.

There are no footprints.

It's just compressed leaf litter all the way through

till it comes out.

It's big snakes.

So plan for today is to go to all of those "game trails,"

which are now obviously tunnels for snakes.

I'm going to remove those traps because

I don't want to tangle with a 15-foot king cobra

caught halfway into a snare and lashing out

at anything that moves.

So all these traps, they're coming down.

So this one's been triggered, but there's nothing in it.

And I'm kind of glad of that.

I don't need a snake hanging face high,

pissed off and just looking to strike

anything that moves since I'll be the only one here that moves.

These snakes, they're dangerous.

So now I'm just gonna go after fish.

I think my fish trap has become a leaf trap.

I'm bringing this up to the bank so that

when I get some bait for it, I can just put it in the deep end

and let it sit underwater so it's not sucking

all the leaves out of the river.

Right now, food is the big missing piece.

It's the thing that's sapping me.

I'm at a turning point. I definitely need bait.

That's top priority for me.

I'm just going to check out this little rock outcropping here,

because there's all kinds of lizards in here,

and some of them are pretty beefy.

So I'm going to scope out some lizards and hopefully catch them,

and use them as bait.

Let's see what's up here.

Oh, hello. [gasps] That's a venomous tree snake.

Oh my gosh, and it is not moving

because it doesn't have to.

This snake's too small for me to eat.

However, it would definitely be an alternative for bait,

so going to take a calculated risk

for a caloric return.

This is a viper, a venomous snake,

so I have to be really careful.

[whispers] Sorry my little brother or sister.

That was a powerful sacrifice, but...

[sighs] now we can go fishing.

Okay, my little friend.

Let's make the best use of you.

I'm going to take the skin off and wrap the entrails inside

the skin to put in the fish basket.

And then the meat, I'm gonna cut and put onto hooks.

On this log, I'm gonna float out to the middle in the hopes

of getting fish on that as well.

You know, when I kill an animal,

I make a promise to not waste its life.

It makes catching those fish more important to me.

Fish basket.

Most fish, the big ones, will hang out in the deep, cool water here.

These are the lines that Skye set on the log.

I'm gonna push this log out across the river when I'm done.

Okay.

This'll fish during the day.

That'll fish overnight.

Somewhere along the line, I gotta get a fish.

Day 16.

Not a lot of time.

Well, time to go to the fishing hole.

Get some water, hopefully get a catfish or three.

Calories, calories, calories.

[narrator] Since the start of the challenge,

Mike has burning an average of 5,000 calories a day,

but has only consumed a total of 200 calories.

I'm depleted at this point.

I can barely make it from the water to my bed and back right now.

And I am seriously concerned about the energy

it's going to take to extract out of here on my own two feet.

So protein is something I need.

I got to get a fish.

I'm going to check these lines right now,

see how lucky I am or unlucky.

Nope.

Stripped of bait. No fish.

And this one's been completely stripped too.

All four lines stripped of bait.

So that retires this strategy.

Let's hope the basket trap worked.

It's feeling kind of light.

So the bait is completely gone and there's no fish.

Damn.

And there goes that strategy.

So with no more bait, fish is off the menu.

[exhales] I'm feeling it.

I'm feeling the calorie deficit pretty hard today.

I'm really also having a temporary bout

of disappointment in my own performance.

[sighs] It's all right. It's part of the game.

[rustling]

Get out of here.

I just had a 12 to 15 foot cobra move right across

the front of the cave.

There's one over here now too.

-[bird squawking] -There's another alarm.

[birds chirping]

This place is literally crawling with snakes.

I'm grabbing some quick firewood

to get flames when I need it put by my bed.

Just gotta make sure anytime I hear that snake getting

a little too close, I just throw these little pieces on

to get some flames up quick.

This could be a long night.

Trying to share a mutual bond of respect for something

that could kill me with one bite,

but it's a little hard when I know it's stalking me.

Oh, it's a scorpion. Nice.

I'm gonna roast this and eat it.

I've eaten scorpion before, but there's no scorpions in Maine,

so I have to order them freeze-dried.

We do it as part of our courses

as a survival challenge.

This is fresh, locally gathered scorpion.

Probably not enough calories or nutrients in here

to rival a bacon crumb, but every little bit helps.

Mmm.

Not bad.

Another 300 of those, and now you'd equal a catfish.

Ugh...

Last night, I had the distinct privilege

of feeling like I was being hunted and I was.

This large snake does not want me here

or I'm occupying its favorite space,

I don't know, but it felt like when you see sharks circling

and slowly closing in cautiously.

But it was in response to the height of the flames.

And the scary part was it got used to the fire,

and it started to get in closer and closer and closer.

I've never been actively hunted

by another animal before.

It was a little disturbing, I'm not going to lie.

So that snake changes the plan.

It's time to get out of here.

I will head to another campsite,

give myself a night to recover,

and then from that point, have less of a journey out of here.

I am starting from scratch wherever I land with shelter,

water, and fire.

But after dealing with that snake all night, it's worth the risk.

So I'm here.

Follow the river up to the Big Bend,

maybe camp in this area.

Well, that puts me halfway to extraction, so that's good.

And then last day, just follow this ridge out.

But it looks at least two and a half,

three miles through jungle.

[narrator] With two days left in the challenge,

Mike has decided to depart on the treacherous

five-mile extraction hike early.

He will head north, climbing through steep,

rocky jungle to a small river two miles away,

where he will have to survive the night before

a final push through dense jungle

and giant limestone cliffs to meet the extraction vehicle on day 21.

So I'm taking this fish basket apart to create a pack basket

to get my stuff out of here with me.

All right, that's not too bad.

This pack basket is essential in that it's going to carry

my water, blades, cordage in order to construct a shelter,

and whatever else I could fit in there that's going to help me

with my life-sustaining systems in a brand new place.

All right.

A little rock obstacle course here.

Got to be mindful of snakes.

I'm leaving a fairly known area,

and now I'm going into a completely different area.

It's tough.

For all I know, where I'm going might have twice as many king cobras.

I'd rather be in the jungle than on these rocks.

They're tearing up my feet even when I move slow.

Holy mackerel. All right, keep going.

[grunts]

Okay, rocks, I missed you too.

Getting tired, but once I get tired, I'll just stay tired.

All right.

Here's the river.

I'll choose camp here.

This is the most exhausted I've been since the Marine Corps.

[exhales]

And then add to that, no food for so many days

in this tropical heat.

Time to set up my shelter, water, and fire.

Here's my bed.

[exhales] There you go.

All right.

Three charges of water, a good dose of firewood for the night,

and a decent amount of cover on the ground,

and hopefully a sound night's rest.

Oh, yeah.

This is horrible.

But almost there.

Tomorrow's going to be a long day.

It's gonna be a hard day with my sore feet.

I'm gonna take everything I've learned through

my journey up to this point and put it to good use.

It's a long walk home.

Day 21.

One last very big hurdle.

Oh, one huge hurdle.

I got a blister right in the center of my foot.

I punished my feet to get here.

I pushed too hard on that first hike. Um...

I shouldn't have done that.

[grunts]

I'm also exhausted.

A little intimidated about what my body can and cannot do.

But now it's time to dig deep.

I guess I'm going to leave the backpack for the forest to eat.

[exhales] All right, here I go.

[groans]

[grunts]

It's okay. I got this.

[exhales]

Sore, bruised, blistered feet.

On this step, it feels like a combination of a knife

and a cigar burn.

But Skye's with me today, and I'm not going to let her down.

I hope I have adrenaline enough to override the pain

and the empty feeling of no energy.

[grunts]

Nothing in the tank, no calories.

And excruciating pain with each step.

All right.

Oh, yeah.

All right, slalom time.

This should help me stabilize.

There's only one outcome of this hike.

It might take all day.

But it's that I finish it.

Oh.

Come on, bud.

It's just a little hill.

It's all or nothing.

[grunts in pain]

[pants]

I'm so glad I didn't have to go over this thing.

Instead, I pulled through it.

[groans]

Big, sharp, pointy rock cave.

[exhales]

It's a cathedral.

Absolutely stunning.

But not easy on the feet.

Ah! It's okay. I got this.

I am so tired, but I can't quit now.

All right.

Back to the jungle.

This is the trail that never ends.

Nothing but more jungle.

But I think we're getting close.

[grunts]

-[engine spluttering] -What?

Is that the vehicle?

Is that the vehicle?

Hey! Whoo!

Oh, what a blessing.

Hell, yeah!

[grunts]

I made it.

Yes!

Whoo! Whoo-hoo!

Yeah! I feel fantastic.

A half hour ago, I had one foot in the grave

and I wasn't gonna tell anybody.

But this jungle schooled me.

I was humbled by the first day.

This is the toughest challenge I've ever had.

And I... I hunger for tough challenges.

This one beats them all, hands down.

Whoa!

I'd like to think that this experience is going

to make me a much better instructor for my school.

Getting my butt handed to me, adjusting, learning,

continuing, growing. How could it not?

If I'm not growing, I'm doing my students disservice.

And this certainly has helped me grow.

[narrator] After surviving 21 days, Mike lost 43 pounds.

His primitive survival rating went up from 7.2 to 7.8.

Everyone who loves me You carried me.

You carried me through. And Skye, did it for you too.

Woo!

Yeah! Day 21, challenge complete.