Original subtitles

[Narrator] It's a naked and afraid first.

A 21-day challenge pitting two teams of survivalists.

I'm so excited for this.

[Narrator] Not just in a battle of the elements,

but one for the ages.

"The youngest person to ever complete

the 21-day challenge." That's the title I want.

My mom would probably call me crazy.

But I want to prove to myself that I'm okay with embracing the suck.

[Rhonda] I'm know that I'm one of the oldest challengers

but I'm physically super strong.

My age is just isn't gonna come into it.

I'm 47-years old which makes me.

One of the oldest people to attempt a 21-day challenge.

But I'm optimistic and tough. I got this.

But yeah, I imagine the first thing a younger partner might think is,

"get this guy a Walker."

[Laughs]

[Narrator] In this challenge, pitting youth against experience,

the teams will be dropped deep in the Sonoran desert.

Near the Mexican border.

A land so unforgiving and perilous,

you either adapt here or die.

Each team will have to survive in two separate camps

for the first ten days.

If they make it to day 11,

they will merge and attempt to complete the challenge as a single tribe.

My name's Joe, I'm from Visalia, California

and I'm a residential care provider.

I'm doing this challenge because at my age,

I wanna see if I'm still a badass.

I joined the military in my late '20s.

I was deployed to Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq.

So I feel confident in my experience in the desert,

yet at the same time, every desert is different.

[Men laughing]

[Joe] Some people might think that I'm crazy for doing this.

[Laughs] But I'm really into my Nordic heritage.

And I do this annual event.

[Man] Go!

That's been inspired by Norse mythology.

[Men exclaiming, groaning]

[Joe] The Loki run involves a log of firewood,

tying a cord around that and then tying it around your private parts.

The berries not the twig.

[Man groaning]

I came in second the first time and I won last year.

[Laughs]

[Chuckles]

I can tell you right now, this is gonna be murder on my feet.

But, uh, I'm ready for this challenge.

I'm feeling pretty confident.

[Narrator] Despite his age,

Joe's military experience should help him complete the challenge.

Joe begins with a primitive survival rating

or PSR of 7.1.

For me to complete this 21-day challenge,

it's just gonna mean the world to me.

My name is Rhonda and I'm from Maui, Hawaii,

and I'm a personal trainer.

Most of my clients are men.

For the most part, I'm stronger than all of them.

I can do everything, I'm on the move constantly.

If someone tells me, no, that I can't do something,

I'm going to do it.

That's how I've always done it and I always will.

I've been doing primitive survival skills for 30 years on my own.

I enjoy going out, hunting, fishing.

If I didn't do it, I didn't [bleep] eat.

And that was my life.

We've got a nice barrel cactus there.

I think all my ex dare triathlons

require a lot of mental strength

which mostly pertains to this challenge.

I wanted to take on this challenge because I'm gonna be 50 next year

and I wanna be reminded that I still have what it takes

to survive the way I did when I was younger.

Nothing less that 21 days for me is gonna be okay.

You can try a lot of things in life

but if you don't succeed, what have you accomplished.

[Narrator] Rhonda is two years older than her partner,

but is determined to prove age is just a number.

Rhonda sets out with a PSR of 6.6.

We're really gonna have to keep our guard up

all the time out here.

I'm Amanda, I'm a wildland firefighter and EMT

and I live in Montana.

I've always enjoyed a challenge.

Just because someone's young,

doesn't mean they're incapable.

I've been a wilderness guide for about three or four years

with people older than me.

I think in my experience, younger people

can be a little more flexible, into learning different things.

Seeing all the plants I recognize

is definitely giving me a little more sense of hope.

My survival skills would be plant identification,

and weaving.

I can also build lean-tos.

But this will be my first time using my survival skills in the desert.

I'm gonna have to keep my head in the game, for sure.

I wanna take on this challenge 'cause I wanna prove

youth is as valuable as experience.

I don't see myself tapping out of this

just because I'm kind of a stubborn ass [bleep].

You're gonna have to drag me out before I quit.

[Narrator] She may be young, but Amanda already has a world of experience.

Amanda has been given a PSR of 7.1.

I'm pretty stoked with this area out here,

it looks awesome.

My name is Calvin, I live in Oklahoma

and I'm going to vet school.

I don't wanna be a normal dog and cat vet,

I wanna work with lions and tigers.

That to me is the next level of becoming a vet.

The biggest misconception that people have about me,

I'm not like most other millennials.

I don't spend a lot of time playing video games

or hanging out inside.

That's not me.

That is the best stuff right there for hand drill.

That is the easiest wood you can use

for hand drill fires.

My strongest survival skills include fire.

I'm pretty good at traps as well.

Those would probably be my two strong suits.

[Narrator] Calvin's youth and hunting skills

could bag him the title of the youngest survivalist

to make it to day 21.

Calvin begins with a PSR of 6.6.

Twenty-one days, naked in the Sonoran desert?

Challenge accepted.

[Man howling]

There's nothing easy about this.

[Man groaning]

We got hail.

[Growling]

[Grunting]

Whoo! My heart's racing.

[Woman] If you don't fight, you won't make it.

[Grunts]

Why is it so hard!

[Woman] What did I do to deserve this?

This is my time to shine.

This is the moment of truth, right here.

Stressed, depressed and ready to get undressed.

Oh, my god.

All right, let's get this party started.

Time to meet my partner.

[Knocks]

Let's show the world what I got.

[Car starting]

[Joe] I don't really care whether my partner is a male or a female.

I pride myself on the ability to kinda get along with anybody.

[Rhonda] I hope my partner has the same work ethic as me

and we can work hard together to get this done.

- Hi there. - [Joe] Hey, how are you?

Good. How are you? I'm Rhonda.

- Hi. Joe. Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you too.

So, uh, how'd you end up in here?

Uh... you know what, I'm really into survival

and I think this is gonna be a good experience.

Yeah, I agree.

You look like more of a survivalist than me.

[Both laughing]

But, trust me, I'm gonna do my part.

- I'm your woman. - [Both laughing]

[Joe] She's in really good shape,

you can tell that she's athletic.

And I think that's really gonna help us as a team

to complete this together.

[Drums beating]

[Amanda] I hope my partner has skills that compliments mine,

since I'm not much of a hunter.

Hopefully, my partner is very, very skilled

in plant identification.

That would help me a lot.

- What's up. How you doing? - [Amanda] Hi.

I'm good. How are you?

- What's your name? - Amanda.

- I'm Calvin. Nice to meet you. - Hi. Yeah, you too.

[Calvin] Yeah.

I know you're not supposed to ask a woman her age, but I gotta ask.

[Amanda] I'm 23. How old are you?

I'm 22.

Is this weird for you?

Little bit.

It is a lot less awkward than I thought it would be.

Yeah.

You gotta be a different breed to do something like this, huh?

[Calvin] She's pretty cute. Not gonna lie. [Chuckles]

[Exhales]

I'm single and ready to mingle.

Do you wanna go take a look at what we got?

- [Amanda] Yeah. - [Calvin] All right.

[Narrator] Both survival teams brought blades...

I've been using this thing for, like, 15 years.

And a fire starter.

Nice, huh?

That's gonna be crucial. I was worried about that.

[Narrator] And because the extreme desert heat

can quickly bring on dehydration,

each team has been given a pot.

It's gonna be super important.

I also have my glasses.

I just need these at night.

[Calvin] All right, let's figure out the map right here too.

Let's take a look at that real quick.

- [Rhonda] We're here. - [Joe] And there's that saguaro.

[Rhonda] Okay, we got some critters to worry about,

but we're gonna have to head toward this water, right away.

- So should we start heading towards the water source? - [Amanda] Yeah.

[Narrator] Calvin and Amanda will be trekking

two and a half miles south-east to their water source.

- We should definitely start looking for a snake stick. - [Amanda] Yeah.

[Narrator] On the way, they'll have to watch out for black bears

and venomous snakes, including 13 types of rattlers.

Making matters worse, it's mating season,

when males are more aggressive.

And when most humans get attacked.

[Calvin] There's a lot of big boulders here.

[Amanda] Yeah.

[Calvin] So we're gonna have to be careful.

[Rhonda] Holy [bleep].

This is, like, freakin' hot, man.

[Joe] Water out here is gonna be a challenge

and then, ironically enough,

staying warm at night is also gonna be a challenge.

Argh. Thorns.

[Rhonda] Ow!

[Narrator] Once they reach their water source,

two and half miles west,

Joe and Rhonda will be surviving

in an equally threatening environment

alongside mountain lions.

With jaws so strong...

they can bite through a desert tortoise shell.

[Joe] A mountain lion will generally ambush you from the back,

and cut off your oxygen supply.

That's definitely not how I wanna die.

[Rhonda] Look at the size of the freaking spiderweb.

Not to worry, I can deal with it.

How are you at identifying plants and things like that?

[Amanda] That's kind of my best skillset.

Fires and traps are probably my strong suit.

Okay, cool. What kinda traps do you use?

[Calvin] Snares probably work the best.

[Amanda] I don't have much hunting experience,

- 'cause I am a vegetarian. - [Calvin chuckles] Oh, man.

[Amanda] But that doesn't mean, like, I am opposed to eating meat.

[Calvin] Well, whatever I catch in my traps,

you won't have a problem with me

butchering it and eating it in front of you, right?

[Amanda] Well, I might join you.

[Calvin] That's cool.

[Laughs]

- [Calvin] Ooh, look at your foot. - Yeah, I know.

[Amanda groans]

[Rhonda] I have done a lot of endurance challenges, and Xterra triathlon.

- [Joe] Wow, really? - I think, mentally, it trains you

for something like this.

[Joe] I was worried about... Like, I did not wanna

be paired up with a young female.

- I think we're tougher than they are. [Laughs] - [Rhonda] Oh, I hope so.

[Rhonda] This is definitely treacherous terrain.

My lips are drying up. So hot out here,

you can't even stand in the same spot for more than ten seconds.

Water is a priority. It's definitely the priority.

[Amanda] This is [bleep] hot.

Every step feels like I am doing one of those coal walks.

[Calvin] Yeah, I knew it would be hot but my feet are actually cooked.

They are well done.

[Bleep]

[Amanda] I think I definitely underestimated the insertion hike.

[Calvin groans]

[Amanda] Biggest concern right now would be getting out of the sun.

[Calvin] Something about this area just screams "water" at me.

Water! We got water!

- [Chuckles] Really? - That is awesome.

Look at that. And there is a [bleep] ton of bees right there.

We're gonna be have to be very careful getting that water.

But water is water, and we need it.

We just gotta figure out shelter now,

as our next priority.

You know, this place has a lot of prickly... lot of thorny bushes around it already.

Rattlesnakes are gonna have a hard time crawling up in there.

[Amanda] It's like a pre-made boma.

- Doing half the work for us. - Yeah.

- [Calvin] You relieved? - Yeah.

[Chuckles] I was really over that walk already.

I know, I could see it in your face.

[Amanda] The insertion hike really beat up my feet.

It was exhausting and dehydrating being out

during the hot sun.

- That was rough, that was pretty rough. - Yeah.

We're just gonna chill out tonight, we'll make a shelter tomorrow.

[Amanda] We just figured that we'd tough it out.

And just gather firewood for the night.

And hydrate and lay low...

That's our little firepit over there.

I don't feel like walking it over there every time.

A lot of green, the air seems cooler too.

I think we're getting, maybe, closer to the water.

Yeah, there's some water down here.

- [Rhonda] Oh, that's beautiful. - [Grunts]

[Joe] We have found water.

Start thinking about shelter.

There is a bit of a flat spot, right against that rock.

It's got a nice little flat patch.

It's super close to the water.

Gives us a clean view of this too.

-Yeah, it's super close. -You know what? I like that. Let's do that.

Now, we were lucky enough to find a really good shelter area,

that we can use the back of the rock face as part of the shelter.

And just kinda build onto that and add on to it.

And as hot as it gets here, it gets just as cold at night.

- [Joe] We're here. - [Rhonda] We're in home sweet home.

Phase I complete, and that's really encouraging.

We don't have any bedding yet, though, so that's kinda gonna be a struggle for us.

Because our feet are kinda pooched right now.

The work that we have left to do, we really need shoes to get it done.

[Rhonda] What about the prickly pear pads?

You know what? Yeah, that's actually not a bad idea.

- Okay. - And they are edible as well.

Okay, closest prickly pear... I'm gonna say over there.

It's super-hot right now.

It's a bit of a climb up the side of the rock face.

Oh...

But there's nothing about me that's just kick back and chill out.

Need something big enough for shoes.

And something small enough to eat.

[Joe] Yeah, I'm pretty tough, but that woman is tough as nails.

[Rhonda] Prickly pear pads for shoes might be a really stupid idea

but I'm gonna give it a go.

Definitely don't wanna touch these prickly pears,

you'll never get these thorns out.

I can tell already, there's just nothing easy about this.

[Sighs] Oh!

Okay, I don't know if you can see these,

these are thorns, and they do not come out.

I still gotta get back to camp with this stuff.

Oh, man. Oh, my feet are full of thorns.

Oh, my god.

What have I done?

These thorns are everywhere on me right now.

Everything has come to a grinding halt for me, all of a sudden.

I'm bruised, I can't get them off.

[Sighs]

Ow. Ow! Ow.

I can't believe I did something so stupid.

Everywhere.

Now I have it everywhere, on my legs, my hands, my arms.

Ouch!

[Sighs]

[Bleep]

Feel like all the hairs on my body are those thorns right now.

Well, they are actually.

Ow, ow, ow!

I'm sorry that... that you're struggling so much.

I wish that there was something I could do that... Make it better for you.

The prickly pear harvesting was a disaster

and I'm still suffering from it.

Well, I appreciate you doing that. You've done a lot.

I mean, you've gotten us food, you've gotten us water.

You know, gotta stay positive out here.

There's not a lot you can say to someone when they are struggling.

I really felt for her in that moment.

Think twice about going up to harvest prickly pear. It's deadly.

[Joe] Forget prickly pear pads.

Let's start over. Let's try some yucca for sandals.

There's a small part of me that's happy that I got enough for a few bites of it.

- All right. Cheers. - Cheers.

And it tears apart like beef jerky, but it doesn't taste like it.

[Laughs]

[Rhonda] It doesn't taste good. It taste like eating rotten cucumber.

[Joe] Despite all the challenges, it's been a very successful day.

We have fire, we have water

we have shelter, we've even had something to eat.

It's like chewing on the bottom of a shoe.

How you feelin' now we got to our shelters? Still pretty crazy, right?

Definitely didn't expect the ground to beat up my feet so much.

I also did not expect to have water, on the first night either.

After you drink some water, you can start making some yucca sandals.

I might have to go over there and hack off some leaves.

[Amanda sighs] [Bleep] Feet are already sore again.

Oh, god, they are barbed.

Things are gonna be a lot easier, once we have these sandals made.

[Amanda] So if you take the thorns off of the yucca,

you fold one in half,

and then you fold another one and, kind of, like...

Under one, over two.

Look at that, it's coming along. [Clicking tongue]

I wonder if our other partners don't have these.

- Oh, we're gonna [Bleep] flex on them. - [Laughs] yeah!

- 'Sup, nerds. - [Chuckles]

I think, probably another thing with water...

- Yeah, for sure. - And some firewood and then rest.

[Sighs]

[Amanda] Should have brought the walking stick.

Big mistake.

I feel like my body's been in the challenge for 21 days already.

[Bleep]

But again, it's the first day, and it's still shock, right now.

You're just thrown into the middle of it

and you've just got to adapt. You sink or swim.

- Okay, fresh water. - Nice.

[Joe] Everything gets twice as hard when you're thirsty,

and this is the most comfortable I've been all day.

- [Laughs] - Wish I could say the same.

[Joe] I'm happy with what we've accomplished.

[Rhonda] Yeah.

[Joe] Best part of this day was

- I got a good partner my own age. - Definitely. Right, right.

How would you feel about being paired up with a millennial?

- [Rhonda] It would just be weird. - [Laughs]

[Calvin] I don't know what to do right now.

So, we probably should have built some sort of shelter tonight

but we chose to just have a chill night.

[Amanda] I'm already starting to get cold.

I started shivering because it wound up getting quite a bit colder.

[Calvin] Put my arm under your neck.

[Amanda] I was pretty happy when he asked if I wanted to be little spoon.

I was just like, "yes, definitely."

[Calvin] I gotta say, I'm glad you're not some 40-yer old woman

that's gonna boss me around all the time.

[Amanda] Really? [Laughs]

[Rhonda groaning]

You may think this is just rock here,

but this is all prickly thorns.

[Sighs] Nothing like a bunch of thorns in your ass.

Ouch! [Groans]

At this point, I'm resigned to the fact that

I'm gonna be freezing cold by the time 3:00 or 4:00 rolls around.

It's a lot more tough than I thought.

- [Joe] Move your foot for a second. - [Amanda] Yeah.

[Joe] This morning we noticed we've got yucca in our camp area.

[Amanda] Joe and I are just making our sandals this morning.

[Joe] This might be more effective

than the prickly pear cactus for sandals.

Our feet are just scuffed up and still tender this morning.

We got about, what, 20 minutes sleep last night?

[Joe] Yeah, less than an hour of sleep.

Last night, of course, we didn't sleep at all.

And I think I'm just gonna have to give myself time to adapt.

The way that I have done this with the two layers,

it's made it pretty thick.

It's really gonna function, basically, like a flip flop.

It looks like it'll fit me.

How do you think the other guys are doing right now?

They're gonna have bomb sandals, and I'll be like,

"oh, I should've thought of that."

[Calvin] Last night, we got, like, no sleep.

It was very miserable.

So we're gonna build a shelter today, like, first thing.

I'm gonna go grab some of these long yucca stalks.

That is a good yucca stalk right there.

It'd be nice to get this done before the day gets hot, too.

It's a nice temperature out right now.

We're gonna tie a couple of these together,

and set up a frame, like a doorway.

[Amanda] I don't want it to be too tall, 'cause it'll

let too much body heat escape.

- [Calvin] Starting to sweat, getting hot. - It's getting warm.

[Calvin] We did built it a little bit low,

but that will be better for the body heat at night.

[Wolves barking]

[Joe] First pair should be good to go.

It's not bad, that's my first one.

We'll get some better yucca to get started on more sandals,

- for you. - Totally.

Just got hot all of a sudden.

[Joe] That feels amazing!

Sandals are definitely a game changer.

So the goals for the rest of the day is firewood,

more yucca, and bedding. Bedding is a really critical issue.

For Rhonda, and for myself,

that's one of the hardest parts of this,

is that there's nowhere to lay down that isn't painful.

And anytime you moved, you got stuck with a Thorn.

[Grunting and wincing]

- Here, take this. - Ouch!

[Joe] It's all about pace. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

[Mumbling] Frigging things.

[Groans]

Joe, I'm having doubts. I feel like I can't do anything.

I can't sit down, I can't stand up,

I can't leave the spot, 'cause of the sun.

Everything you touch is, like, painful.

Oh, my god.

Just the thought of no sleep tonight, and this frigging patch of thorns...

I feel this anxiety because of that.

You know, another day, we can have... we can have sleeping mats.

And I think it's encouraging.

I just think that we're still... the elements are gonna restrict us

from doing most of all those things

that keep up moving and busy.

And my idle hands and feet are just not good for me.

- It's not gonna get easier. - [Rhonda] No.

We just have to get better at it.

Yeah.

[Amanda] I'm feeling pretty hungry

after building the shelter,

so, right now, I'm just looking around

to see what I could forage.

I've already been seeing cholla berries.

This is a barrel cactus fruit.

When they're yellow,

they're pretty close to being ripe.

[Calvin] Oh, thank you.

First meal of naked and afraid,

we got some cholla cactus fruit.

This is a cholla fruit

and then this is a barrel cactus fruit.

Oh, those are good. [Chomping loudly]

Those are kinda like peppers.

The barrel cactus fruit

is definitely a lot more fibrous,

but the seeds on the inside are actually really pleasant.

It's like chewing into chia seeds.

We got food, water and shelter, all in one day.

That is fantastic.

[Ominous music playing]

[Calvin] Oh, my god, a [bleep] mountain lion.

[Amanda] Where? What are you [bleep] looking at?

[Speaking softly]

- [Joe] What's the matter? - There's something out there.

- [Joe] Where? - [Rhonda] Like, listen.

[Boars groaning]

[Calvin] Oh, my god. It's coming down in the wash.

It's standing up. That's a [Bleep] black bear, Amanda.

- [Imitates boars] - [Amanda] Hey bear! Move!

[Dogs barking]

[Calvin] It's standing up. That's a [bleep] black bear, Amanda.

That's [bleep] scary.

-[Amanda] Hey bear! Move! -[Metal clanging]

We haven't heard anything moving.

[Calvin] I don't see nothing at all.

[Amanda] Then I hope that it's gone.

[Loud animal sounds]

[Rhonda shouts]

-That was me. That was me. I threw a rock. -[Rhonda cursing]

Looks like we'll be getting very little sleep tonight.

I'm starting to get a little bit hungry.

Yeah. If we get an animal to eat, that'll help.

I definitely wanna go after some rabbits and some quails.

This morning, I'm gonna go explore little farther back

and see what kind of wildlife

we got going on back there.

There's some more rabbit holes.

See, this is a good spot.

There could be snakes in there too.

[Amanda] Calvin said that his best skills were in trapping,

but he hasn't done any of that yet.

I've been the one going out and gathering food.

These are dried up old pods.

Crack it open, there's some beans inside.

[Calvin] I wanna grab this and stick it in a couple of holes

and see if I hear a rattle.

There could be a rattlesnake,

there could be a rabbit in there.

They seem pretty much abandoned though.

[Inhales sharply] Damn it.

So, I'm definitely gonna take a nap in shelter today.

- [Joe] Last night... - Yeah.

There was a bar fight over there in the bushes.

That scared the hell out of me.

Firewood, obviously, is one thing that has to happen today.

Okay. That's important, but I gotta get some sleep,

so I don't know what to do about this bedding.

Yeah. That's not good, two days and no sleep.

My partner's only gotten 20 to 30 minutes of sleep

in the last two days.

I'm really worried about her.

This is just plain hard.

My brain's already telling me,

"you're just gonna have another sleepless night."

And things just get out of control

when you get to that level.

I've never seen or felt anything like I have

in just these last short three days.

I really think if I get you a mat to sleep on

so you're off the ground,

I think you'll be more comfortable.

[Rhonda] I go from one minute thinking, "I can do this,"

to feeling nauseatingly hot and thinking,

"get me the hell out of here."

[Groans]

I've never been so immobile in my life.

Ow. [Sighs]

Keep picturing, you know,

if I feel this crappy right now

then what am I gonna feel like five days from now.

[Groans]

I'd really be letting my partner down if I left.

Oh, my god. [Straining]

Joe, I can't embrace the suck. I just can't.

I'm not gonna be to do this.

I've given up.

If you tap, dealing with the regret,

I mean, wouldn't that eat away at you?

That's gonna eat at me more than anything else does.

Like, 100%.

I have to, 'cause I know I can't do this,

so I'm just gonna have to get over it.

I knew right way, there was no talking her out of it.

[Rhonda] Obviously, I bit off more than I could chew.

[Joe] I saw the fatigue and I saw her standing up all night,

I started seeing those things and going,

"okay, I think she's gonna tap."

Sorry, Joe.

Like, I'm so sorry for letting you down.

-[Phil] What's going on, Rhonda? -Tapping.

I can't take anymore.

- [Phil] Are you sure? - Yeah. Challenge was just too much for me.

[Phil] All right, Rhonda, let's get you out of here.

- I'm gonna miss you. - I'll miss you, too.

You were the best partner that anyone could've hoped for.

[Joe] It was a little sad to see her walk away.

That whole walk of shame, defeated thing.

I know she's feeling that.

But it was the mental game is really what she struggled with.

[Rhonda] People might think I'm leaving because of my age,

I don't feel that that's case.

But, um, I could be wrong.

Three days in and I'm tapping. I mean, that's pretty bad.

I thought I had a lot more in me that I don't.

This is a pretty tough environment.

It's tougher than I thought.

And I thought it was gonna be really tough.

[Narrator] Rhonda's early departure

drops her PSR from 6.6 to 3.8.

[Grunts]

[Joe] I didn't wanna be prepared to survive alone for seven days,

but I know I can do it.

This isn't the way I wanted to do it,

but now that I'm alone,

I am really looking forward to meeting the other team and emerging as a tribe.

[Amanda] Did you get anything?

[Calvin] No, there's really nothing out there.

[Amanda] I am getting a little frustrated with my partner right now.

He sleeps the entire day.

He told me in the beginning that his big two skills were fire and hunting.

He still hasn't setup a trap.

I got a [bleep] ton of beans.

[Calvin] See, I was looking for those yesterday, too, and this morning.

Even if we don't finish them all before merge day,

we can just bring them with us.

And hopefully we got some protein in our stomach by then.

Yeah.

[Calvin] Today was the first sign that things could go sideways.

Because Amanda, she hasn't talked a lot today.

And I got the vibe that she was a little bit irritated

that I was sleeping most of the day.

Some of my friends didn't think I could do this challenge.

And one of them bet me $1,000, so after day 21,

I got a cool 1000 bucks waiting for me when I get home.

I think that he's here more for bragging rights.

I feel like I'm out here for much different reasons.

I'm drawn into the rawness,

but I think maybe his ego was enough for him to overshoot his skill set.

I'm definitely making it to day 21, that's no question.

[Wild dogs barking]

Now it's a totally different game. It's just mano-a-mano.

[Barking continues]

But I'm not feeling my age yet. Not yet.

I am resilient. I will figure it out.

My hunger level this morning was pretty high.

I'm starting to feel the growling in the stomach.

I'm gonna go see what I can forage.

Everything that you do requires a lot of energy,

a lot of calories, you lose a lot of fluids.

It's hard to get that stuff back with a limited water supply.

Everything is a struggle.

This is where the snakes are hanging out.

In the morning like this is when they're active.

If I hit the rocks, that vibration in the ground, they'll feel that.

Which gives them time to let them know I'm here so I don't surprise them.

Think I see a barrel cactus.

Barrel cactus has a fruit on the top of it.

They're pretty easy to get off.

Oh, wow!

[Chuckles]

[Laughs]

Tastes like kiwi.

First thing I tasted was moisture.

This is probably the first thing I've actually bitten into

and enjoyed since I got here.

Oh, man!

It's one thing to hydrate with water,

but there's all the, you know, electrolytes and sugars

and salts and all those other things

that you just don't get from the water.

[Laughs]

Another barrel cactus.

I'm stoked about all the fruit that I found.

But I'm really worried about how much fluids I spent getting it.

[Amanda] I'm starting to feel a little weaker,

especially when I'm in the sun.

I'm feeling pretty hungry.

[Calvin] We're both exhausted, we're both kinda losing energy.

Anything to eat at this point would be good.

It's just getting harder and harder with each day.

[Bleep] It's right there.

Got him. Look at that guy. That guy's gonna be delicious.

[Amanda] He did catch a grasshopper.

But otherwise, Calvin, he hasn't done much.

Makes me question the integrity of my partner.

[Calvin] It's really what I wanted. Some good protein.

[Amanda] It tastes like fatty chicken.

It's pretty good. Yeah.

[Joe] Woke up thirsty. I'm too dehydrated.

At my age of 47, I'm getting cramp in a finger

when I'm trying to hold something.

Probably my biggest concern out here right now is

the water that I have is not gonna last me to do the merge,

because I'm dipping into it too quickly for it to refill.

I'm gonna hope that it's a spring,

because so long as that water supply doesn't run out,

I got this.

But you can't do it without water.

I was gonna set some traps tonight,

but I think I'll do that tomorrow morning.

I'm feeling very, very exhausted.

So, I'm on my way to the water source.

I'm gonna put some water on my face

and get some wet water in my mouth and spit it out.

[Calvin groaning]

I'm so [bleep], man.

My stomach is really [bleep] hurting.

It burns really [bleep] bad.

[Calvin] I'm really pissed at myself for putting that water in my mouth.

[Grunts]

Ooh, ooh. [Bleep] It [bleep] Hurts.

I can't even [bleep] move. Like, it hurts.

This is really [bleep] bad.

[Calvin] Oh, [bleep]. It's getting worse every [bleep] Minute now.

This is really [Bleep] serious pain.

I shouldn't have swished that water in my mouth without boiling.

Oh, [bleep].

- [Calvin speaking] - [Amanda] You want me to call them?

- [Calvin] Yeah. - [Amanda] Medic?

Calvin thinks he'd like to call the medic in.

Oh, it just hurts so [bleep] bad.

- Yeah. - [Bleep] Damn it.

[Medic speaking]

[Bleep.] It really [Bleep] hurts, man.

[Medic] One to ten scale. What's the pain?

Like a nine.

I can feel it on the other side of my stomach,

but it's right here under this rib cage.

- Everything's been boiled? - I didn't swallow anything that's not been boiled.

[Randy speaking]

Calvin, putting anything with bacteria in your mouth

gets absorbed into the body.

From parasites to bacterias

that are introduced into the GI tract.

[Calvin] Oh, [bleep]

[Medic] Calvin was in a great deal of pain.

In order to provide Calvin with the best medical care,

we need to move him to a facility where we can actually find out

exactly what's going on.

We're gonna need to medtap you

in order to get this checked out.

[Calvin] [Bleep] I really don't wanna go.

[Erika] This challenge is over.

- [Amanda] Calvin, don't be ashamed, okay? - [Calvin] [Bleep]

[Grunts] I'm good.

Slow down.

[Bleep]

[Amanda] I'm gonna miss Calvin.

Just being alone here is going to be really hard.

Now, I am my own responsibility.

[Narrator] Leaving after just six days,

drops Calvin's PSR from 6.6 to 4.2.

I really did want that title of being the youngest person

to complete the 21 day challenge.

I know, Amanda, this is gonna be pretty hard,

but you are a very strongminded person.

Just finish out the challenge. 'Cause that's what you came here for.

[Amanda] At this point, I have everything I need.

I have fire and water.

So, going forward, anything I'm doing it's just to get myself through

until the merge day.

[Wild dogs barking]

Right now, I'm looking for snakes.

So I'm seven days in, no protein,

and I can feel the fatigue in my body.

How many people do you know that are actually looking to bump into a rattlesnake?

I got a hike ahead of me in a couple of days.

The vegetation, it's got some vitamins, it's got some nutrients in it.

But the lack of protein is really getting under my skin.

I have to say, I'm a little surprised.

Have yet to see a snake,

or see evidence of a rattlesnake.

My ability to defy gravity seems to be diminishing.

[Grunts] And the sun's already hitting me hard.

I'm already getting a little lightheaded.

So I think I'm gonna... Call it a day.

[Amanda] Right now, whenever I get up and walk around,

I'm feeling very lethargic.

The combination of probably being a little dehydrated,

not eating enough, and then losing sleep every night.

It's like the trifactor of things

that I think are definitely affecting how I feel.

It's a little scary.

I feel like if I can get to merge day,

then it'll be easier, because I'll have people there to help me.

It's hard to kinda stay motivated.

[Twigs snapping]

[Shouts]

I'm hearing a lot of movement.

Slow heavy movement.

- Bushes. Twigs snapping. - [Twig snaps]

There. You here that?

There's something right over there somewhere.

It bothers me. [Metal clanking]

It's time for my Norse battle cry.

[Metal clanking]

[Growling]

[Growling]

[Metal clanking]

I think it's quietened down. Haven't heard anything move.

I'll try to get some rest. I got a big day tomorrow.

Last night was the first night that I had something sneak up on me.

Something was out there walking around with very heavy feet.

There's a lot of big cats in this area.

And when you're naked, alone in the middle of nowhere,

everything's a threat. [Laughs]

Day nine, I have two days until merge day.

I'm definitely missing out on food and hydration.

So I need to drink water,

but I've noticed that the water source is starting to smell bad.

It's definitely worrying me.

Especially since Calvin got sick from it.

But I have no choice.

There's a little wormy guy swimming around in there.

It's just nasty water.

I'm not a complainer, but I tell you what, I'm hungry.

I really, really, really want a piece of meat.

Flat tire.

[Groans] I blew out my sandal. Damn, that's some [bleep].

So at this point, not seeing snakes.

I'm gonna shift gears and my next goal is gonna be

catching a couple of birds.

I'm looking for a decent sized flat rock

to make a trap or snare or dead fall.

The merge is gonna be in two days.

The merge is a real big hike. It's gonna be rough.

It just makes protein that much more important.

Maybe that one.

It's worth the time and the effort

to look for the best rocks that you can find.

It's gotta fit the scenario of the way the trap works.

And you need something flat and a little thick.

This is what I was looking for.

That's money right there.

I'm working on the pillar for this dead fall.

I want it to be really thin, but yet strong.

I've had birds around my camp and even in my camp.

And I'm gonna use my spear as a trigger mechanism.

This is my spear that goes into my boma.

When they come to get the bait from the dead fall,

all you gotta do is just give that just a gentle little tap,

and it'll drop the rock on 'em.

And now I'm just gonna sprinkle some barrel cactus seeds.

And I'm hoping that they'll come down to investigate,

and stick their head in there.

And that thing's gonna come right down on top of 'em.

And feed Joe.

[Grunts]

[Sobbing]

I drank about half a pot of water

before going to bed,

it made me sick almost immediately.

[Sobbing]

Oh, gosh. I'm feeling like [bleep].

[Groaning]

This has knocked me off the horse pretty hard.

I really don't wanna deal with it on the merge hike.

Right now, I'm a little worried about making it any further.

[Groans, sobs]

[Whimpering]

[Amanda] Sometime in the middle of the night, diarrhea started.

Oh, gosh.

I've been feeling like [bleep].

[Narrator] With the merge two days away,

and having lost her partner on day six,

23-year-old Amanda finds herself fighting to stay in the challenge

after drinking contaminated water.

[Shouting]

[Narrator] Seven miles away, 47-year-old Joe,

who's also lost his partner

is struggling to get through the next two days

with predators moving in.

Still don't know what it is that comes creeping around here at night.

[Thunder rumbles]

[Amanda groaning] What did I do to deserve this?

Oh, god, just kill me now.

Last night was horrible and I couldn't really get any sleep.

Today I'm still feeling pretty queasy.

I'm worried that it's the water that made me sick.

So gross.

But I definitely still need to drink water

'cause the merge hike is gonna be really taxing.

Really gotta make sure I boil it for a long time.

I hope it figures itself out.

[Joe] Been laying here for a while.

I got this bird right at the trap,

eating the seeds that I laid out for bait.

All I have to do is pull on the trigger stick

and that rock will fall down.

Whoa. I got it.

Holy crap. I need this.

I see a ton of feathers. Oh, my god, it's all about breakfast now.

[Laughs] Ah!

Ah! Bird got away.

[Sighs]

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. It's... it's a little disappointing.

The idea that all these feathers are right here.

And the body's not, you know.

It would have been nice to be having a little roast bird right now.

I'm gonna burn a lot of calories and a lot of brainpower.

I'm just gonna burn a lot of fuels just getting to the merge,

so I need protein.

[Bleep]

Damn.

[Amanda] Definitely feeling a lot better.

I'm bringing a lot of water so I can stay hydrated on the merge hike.

It's a good feeling to be leaving here.

I'm a little worried about the walk.

But I think it'll be good to start anew.

Two minds could be a good resource for the team.

Especially two older people who probably have a lot more experience than me.

I just hope they don't belittle me just because I'm younger than them.

I'm here.

I need to go up over this hill.

[Bird screeches]

Looks like a pretty long walk up to here, where we merge.

I have been looking for a big old rock

with a couple of people standing around it.

The fatigue that's hitting me is draining my body.

[Grunts]

The ground is just filled with thorns, and sharp rocks.

It's gonna be rough.

Ouch.

It's me against this northern desert for the next couple of hours.

[Narrator] To reach their merge point,

Joe and Amanda will have to travel four miles from their respective camps,

along a landscape littered with cactus thorns

until they arrive at a large Boulder at the base of a mountain.

In their weakened state, Joe and Amanda will be easy targets

for the rare but dangerous north American Jaguar.

The biggest cat in the western hemisphere.

They'll also have to be on the lookout for Gila monsters,

that attack with an extremely painful bite.

Smell their prey with their tongue,

and use sharp curved teeth to chew on their victim

while delivering venom into the wound.

[Amanda] Nothing is gonna stop me from getting there.

[Panting]

[Joe] This merge hike is brutal.

Sun's up, it's beating down.

[Bleep]

[Breathing heavily]

I'm really looking forward to getting on that hill, and meeting my new tribe.

- I know they'll be a lot younger. - [Grunting]

I just hope they are not typical millennials, all spoiled and entitled.

If they don't have their [bleep] together

this is gonna be a long 11 days.

[Grunting]

This is the time of day rattlesnakes will be coming out looking for warmth.

And this is definitely prime territory for them, in all this grass.

Hopefully, they bite the stick before they bite me.

[Joe] The yucca appears, a lot of razor sharp blades.

[Groans] Just in a sec.

[Amanda] The heat sucks.

Still a little queasy and nauseous.

If I can just make it to the merge point,

it'll be easier because...

Even if I am still feeling sick, I'll have people there to help me.

[Bleep]

I think I see the top of the hill.

[Groans]

I'll tell you what, this keeps on dragging.

[Exclaims]

The good news is, it's downhill from here.

But that could work against you.

Gravity, try to take you down.

[Groaning and grunting]

The heat's just sucking the moisture out of my mouth and my nose.

I'm sweating like a dog.

I can feel my heart pounding.

[Amanda] I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere.

My body's, like, burning.

That big Boulder's the merge point.

Where the hell is everybody?

Did they both tap out?

[Breathing heavily]

[Joe] I can see what looks like the merge rock.

Looks like I'm about to find me some naked people.

Whoa, there's only one person.

[Amanda] What the [bleep].

My new partner is father time.

[Amanda] What the [bleep].

My new partner is father time.

- Hey! - Hi.

You alone?

- Yeah, you too? - Yep.

- Hi. I'm Joe. - Amanda.

- Amanda, nice to meet you. - You too.

[Amanda] Definitely surprised to see just one person.

And he walks with two canes?

[Sighs] What happened to your partner?

He got a med-tap on day six.

Yeah, mine tapped out on day three.

Oh, wow. [Chuckles]

[Joe] Is she even 18? Three of my four kids are older than her.

I'm 47, about to be 48.

- Okay. - And my partner was just a little older than me.

Yeah, my partner... We're actually... I’m only a year older than him.

- I'm 23. - Well, you still get points for being

one of the younger ones and completing.

I'm still gonna take the win for being one of the older ones.

- [Chuckles] Yeah. - [Chuckles]

Joe looks surprisingly well for someone as old as he is.

So, hopefully, it's not too weird.

The merging of two generations. We're gonna...

Well, we'll make a landmark of our own.

- Yeah, I think so. - Sounds good.

[Joe] I have reservations about surviving with a millennial partner.

But I hope she can carry her share of the weight.

All right, so do we know where we are going?

I have a map.

This is where we are right now.

That's the big, giant Boulder, right there.

- I think, make it to that water source. - Yeah, that sounds good.

- Do you wanna lead the way, set the pace? - All right.

[Narrator] From the merge point,

the newly-formed team will hike north

to a small pond, over three miles away.

The largest water source for miles,

it attracts thirsty predators,

and scavenging packs of hungry coyotes,

who are most dangerous after sunset

because of their excellent night vision.

- How'd you do for food? - Well, you now, cactus fruits and things.

- And... - [Joe] Yeah.

[Amanda] My knowledge of the plants in this region is pretty good.

- [Joe] That's good. - [Amanda] How'd you do?

Oh, not as good as I wanted to.

I set up a bird trap.

Caught one, but it got away.

Oh, no.

I think it's pretty clear that Joe has a lot more experience than I do,

but I don't know if I can handle another partner who can't catch any food.

This isn't good.

So, yeah, I haven't really eaten much.

- Sorry, I'm slowing you down. - No, you're okay.

[Joe] I'm not sure what Amanda thinks of me.

Probably that I can't keep up with a younger, millennial partner?

But my age hasn't slowed me down.

This old guy's still got it.

Hey, Joe, we're at the water source.

- Yeah! - It's huge.

[Joe] Oh, this is the best thing I've seen in 11 days.

[Amanda] It's like a pond.

This location is so much better than the last one.

Obviously a huge water source...

And the ground is really spongy and soft.

Oh, that was worth the trip.

[Amanda] A lot of really nice shade trees all around

we gotta find a place to call camp.

Something flat in the shade.

- [Amanda] Like, right here? - I like this spot.

I'm not feeling a lot of breeze right here.

[Amanda] How's it going over here?

So far so good. We have fire.

[Amanda] Way to go.

[Exhales] This makes such a big difference.

- [Amanda chuckles] - And I don't think we need to build a shelter

if we're both just good with spooning by the fireplace.

I get cold pretty easy at night,

and it's windier here,

so I'm gonna build up a little windbreak wall here.

Yeah, that sounds good. Let's do that.

[Narrator] Joe and Amanda are placing boulders around their sleeping area

to block the wind at night.

The boulders will also serve as a reflecting wall

to draw more heat from their fire.

[Joe] Well, so far Amanda I are really working well together.

[Joe grunts softly]

She's young, but she's a very hard worker.

Maybe I was wrong for judging a millennial too quickly.

- Looks pretty nice. - This works.

[Coyotes howling]

[Amanda] Coyotes are out tonight.

We're at the bottom of a little bank,

up against some rocks, so it's a really good wind-break.

The problem with it is we can't look back

- and see what's above us. - [Coyotes howling]

If some predator comes barreling out of the darkness at us,

I grab this thing, I hand it to Amanda

because I know she's gonna jump up and defend me

and protect me from anything that darkness can unleash upon me.

- [Joe laughs] - [Amanda] Of course.

Use me as you shield.

We need to help each other to survive out here.

[Joe] My partner and I will be surviving here for ten days.

We're gonna need some protein if we're gonna be able to do this.

So, there's a lot of quail that come in from this area.

I see 'em running across this Ridge.

From about here to here, this is kinda like a funnel.

[Grunts]

So I think this is probably the best place to setup a trap.

I'm making a figure four.

The birds peck at the seeds and the stick,

and that's what'll set off the trap.

Kinda seeding the area, maybe that'll bring 'em in.

[Amanda] The plan for today is

to find more substantial edibles out here.

Hoping to find something that I haven't seen yet

or maybe a big abundance of barrel cactus or something.

But I'm not seeing anything new so far.

I kind of hate the barrel fruit.

Do you want a barrel fruit cactus?

I'll take one. Something to nibble on.

Please and thank you.

Here's a big one.

Wow, that's the biggest one I've ever seen.

The beginning of the challenge,

I actually... The first half of it,

I really liked the barrel fruit

and I was enjoying it. But now I'm like...

Choking it down.

I'm choking it down, too.

But I really appreciate you getting this for us.

No problem.

So far, from what I can tell,

Joe seems like a nice guy.

I haven't sensed any ego in you.

- Oh, I have none. - Yeah.

A lot of people come out here, like...

Like, the cocky marine kind of thing.

And they're just like,

"oh, I'm gonna make mother nature my bitch..."

- [Joe laughs] - And all of that.

I think we're on the same page in, like, terms of, like,

- how to survive out here... - Yeah.

Now, if we could just get a pizza delivered here,

- well, we'd be okay. - [Chuckles]

[Joe] Kinda giving up on the trap.

I'm watching the bird movement...

And once that trap went up,

it was like giant stop sign.

All the birds still go to water,

they just don't go anywhere near the trap.

Not even close to it.

Nothing walks past it or near it.

I'm not familiar with any of the birds out here.

You know, I don't know what kinda seeds they favor.

Maybe it's just the bait I'm using.

I know how to do this.

So I don't know why it's not working.

Really, really, really need some calories.

I'm just waiting for it to lighten up

just enough to see where I'm walking.

I'm gonna have to start scouting out and looking for yucca.

I know the roots are edible.

The temperature is really nice and cool.

Um... So I'm gonna dig it out, harvest it,

and bring back the heart.

Uh, and we can make a fine meal of it.

Gonna go get some yucca.

And come back... And we are gonna feast.

[Amanda] I'll start boiling water.

- I'll be back. - Godspeed.

[Joe] Being in a survival challenge,

it's all about food.

It's all about helping my partner.

I know Amanda's hungry,

I know she's disappointed, too.

The yucca root, they got a lot of starch and a lot of sugars

and starch and a lot of good stuff.

And they're pretty Hardy. And that would be a big score.

Yeah, that's good one.

Definitely worth the trip.

Getting into it's gonna be a challenge, though,

to get this done and get out of here

before the sun tries to kill me.

Digging a yucca plant out of the ground

is a complicated excavation.

You have to remove a large portion of the blades

just so you can have access to the base of the plant.

At that point, you gotta start digging...

You just kinda start clearing away the dirt.

It's just a hard game of brute force to get in there.

This is a... This is a rough one.

[Exhales]

[Sighs]

Now I feel a little lightheaded.

[Amanda] Joe's been gone for quite a while.

I know he's tough,

but he needs to calculate how many calories he might be burning

versus how much we might be getting back from it.

I hope he's just kinda slow-rolling and taking his time

and not actually expending that many calories.

[Joe] The sun is finally up, I'm starting to feel it on my back.

I still got to navigate all the way back with this plant in the sun.

Ha! There she goes.

Oh, my god. That root's huge.

With the clock ticking on the sun and everything,

that really kinda intimidated me.

Felt like I bit off more than could chew.

The good news is the heart's gonna be twice as big.

And that's... That's a big meal for us.

So let's get this thing whittled down

and get it back to camp...

Get some shade and get some lunch.

[Grunting]

[Sighs] Oh, man.

This thing feels like it's 70 pounds.

I'm chasing down 50.

And today I'm really feeling it.

[Sighs]

[Amanda] Holy crap.

[Joe] Hello.

- [Amanda] That's huge. - Yeah, it is.

That's got all the succulent leaves at the top of the heart.

That's massive. Thank you.

Oh, my god, we really needed this.

The old guy finally came through for us.

[Joe] That's a huge gamechanger.

Not only is that a ton of carbs,

that's enough for both of us.

And if we're conservative,

and with our stomachs being shrunken,

that might even be enough for more than one day.

We're gonna, like, hack that up I think.

[Joe] At this point, the plan is to chop it up,

shaving that root down layer by layer

down to the actual heart of the plant,

which is the part that's edible.

Cut that into two or three pieces,

get that in a pot and get it boiling,

really soften this thing up.

And we'll have something that we can chew on.

- [Joe sighs] - [Amanda] Oh, my god.

We're eating good tonight, I tell you what, yeah.

[Amanda] Got three big chunks of yucca.

My body's like, "feed me."

- First course. - Yeah, are you excited for the feast?

I am very excited for the feast.

Um, first piece of yucca.

It's real fibrous. You wanna taste it.

[Joe] Mm.

Wow.

It's like mostly fiber.

You think this is gonna be how it is?

[Joe sighs]

Man, that's disappointing.

All that work... Hard as a rock

and it's completely inedible.

Obviously that plant is ancient.

The most succulent part of the plant, the heart,

is literally just petrified.

I'm definitely at the point right now

where I don't have much energy left.

- [Joe] Yeah. - I feel weak just existing.

[Amanda speaking]

[Amanda speaking]

[Joe speaking]

[Eagle screeching]

[Amanda] Oh, no. Oh, no.

- [Joe] What happened? - Some animal took all of our barrel fruit.

Holy [bleep]!

She keeps her barrel fruits stashed over here...

I keep mine here, back behind my head, and it picked me clean.

All of our fruit storage, they're completely gone.

Something got it.

[Joe sighs]

That pisses me off.

Hey, there's a roadrunner in my camp.

That's a big one, too.

There was a roadrunner right here,

and he was almost the size of a rooster. He was big.

- Yeah? - I think that might be where our barrel cactus is going.

The idea that it came in so close,

and it's been taking our food literally while we were asleep.

- Right by our heads. - Yeah.

Um, it's actually kind of encouraging to me

that, uh, it's not so much afraid, it's just careful, and smart.

So setting up a figure four somewhere back here.

If you did set one up, do it right there.

Right there, that little ledge would be perfect,

'cause there's this flat space on that rock.

- Yeah. Obviously, it likes barrel fruit. - Yeah.

I haven't had roadrunner before,

but, uh, there is a first time for everything.

I kind of feel like Wile E. Coyote right now.

Just licking at the chops, and biting at the bit,

trying to figure out how I can get that thing.

Need to bust out my acme credit card,

and go get some supplies.

Dead fall at my last camp,

had a kind of a gap in it.

So when this came down, it didn't compress,

and that bird was able to get his head out of there.

I don't want the rock landing on another rock so it doesn't seat right.

I want it to seat as flatly with the ground as possible.

I'm learning from my mistakes.

That's my Wile E. Coyote trap.

I feel pretty good about this one.

[Birds chirping]

[Fire crackling]

[Joe] No!

[Amanda] Really?

It's not set off, but the fruit's gone.

Somebody picked the lock on my safe.

Man, that's some [bleep]

Something stole the bait off the trap, without setting off the trap.

We have been that roadrunner's Wile E. Coyote.

It's been taking us for fools.

That's so frustrating.

I mean, when you're hungry, and you're trying to eat protein,

and that protein is stealing the little bit of food you have,

yeah, that's no bueno.

[Snake rattling]

[Amanda] Today is definitely the worst I've felt during this challenge.

My muscles are kind of like feeling sore,

my hips are starting to hurt pretty badly.

It's just this lack of food, and especially lack of protein.

Obviously, out here with probably an average of 20 calories a day,

I'm really starting to feel it now.

Feel like my balance isn't as good as it was.

Even breaking tree branches for firewood

has been a little more dangerous than it normally would

where I break it and I can't really catch myself,

or, like, stabilize myself once the branch breaks.

I'm really getting my ass kicked out here.

[Joe] I'm 47, about to be 48.

I'm feeling my age for the first time in my life.

That lack of protein, I'm feeling it in my joints,

everything's snapping and crackling and popping.

Amanda is a really strong-willed young woman.

I know Amanda's hurting,

and, uh, it's killing me.

I want to be able to do something for her.

And not 'cause she's a woman. 'Cause she's my teammate.

The extraction is just a couple of days away.

And it's a long hike.

I am just not having any luck.

I'm not gonna make it without protein.

- We are gonna catch that little sucker. - Yeah

So... that animal is back.

And I keep hearing it...

rustling around.

I'm waiting to see if it triggers the trap.

[Coyotes barking]

[Amanda] The coyotes are out tonight.

It's the wildest I've ever heard the coyotes.

[Joe] It's the closest I have heard them too.

[Amanda] Yeah, they're real close.

[Amanda speaks]

I was thinking that if I get a naked and afraid tattoo,

I feel like the best location would be on my butt cheek.

Yeah, that would be cool.

I just feel like its apt, for naked and afraid.

That's a more suiting place, on your bare butt.

[Joe] I don't I need a tattoo.

After sleeping on the ground for three weeks,

gonna have all these scars on my ass.

[Both chuckle]

- Take that. - [Laughs]

[Coyotes barking]

[Amanda] I keep hearing an animal rustling around

on the rock ledge right above us.

I'm waiting to see if it triggers the trap.

[Coyotes barking]

[Amanda speaking]

[Joe] Last night was the first night that I heard a coyote

that was what I would call danger close.

[Amanda] I didn't get any sleep.

[Joe] All right, moment of truth, I am gonna check the trap.

Holy cow.

- My trap has been triggered. - Really?

[Joe] Yeah.

Let's find out... Is there anything

underneath the trap?

Only one way to find out.

- Yes! Yes! - Oh. Really?

-[Amanda chuckles] What did you get? -Big rat.

- [Amanda] Not that roadrunner. - [Joe] No.

[Amanda] Wow. It finally worked.

[Joe] Yeah. That's revenge protein, baby.

[Laughs]

- Oh, wow. That is big. - Yeah.

Rat's been taking our food.

[Joe] Bam.

Hard to say how totally excited I am

to finally get just a little handful of protein

and how validating it is to have a trap actually function.

And here it is day 20, and I finally, finally

got these [bleep] figured out. [Laughs]

To see the excitement on his face where...

All of his efforts finally pay off... A nice feeling.

Got this thing all cleaned up.

Took it away from the camp to clean it.

Might already have the guts and the blood and the fur smell

and bring predators or bugs.

Did you see any barrel fruit?

I did find little barrel cactus fruits.

Seeds and stuff in the intestinal track. Yeah.

[Amanda] I think it pretty much solved the mystery

that it was probably the culprit.

[Joe] Yeah.

Revenge protein is a dish best served

slow roasted over the fire.

[Amanda] I am really happy for Joe.

It is purely just from Joe's own Patience

and fortitude to keep trying things over and over again.

The engineer in me is like, "yes!"

[Amanda] It's just impressive.

[Amanda chuckles] Come on, get your first bite.

Ah! [Exclaims]

It means everything to get some protein in my body before the extraction.

Even though I am vegetarian, my first rat.

I really don't wanna say it,

but... it does taste like chicken.

[Joe laughing] It does.

- It's really, like, lean, white meat. Yeah. - Lean, white. Yeah.

[Joe] To share this meat, this protein,

and to see her smile and perk up,

that's gold, that really makes me feel good.

After all those years of being vegetarian,

and I broke it.

I'm actually excited to try the organs.

Yeah, I am pretty sure that's the testicle.

Oh, nice.

I ate the other one. It's awesome.

It's very oyster-ish.

It's an explosion of flavor.

Whoo-hoo!

Not only was I able to provide a meal for both of us,

but I got a vegetarian to eat a rat,

that was kinda cool.

And every part of it. The testicles were good.

They were, huh?

[Amanda] It's the morning of the day 21.

We did it, Joe.

[Exclaims] Ah! We're about to get out of here.

Audi 5000.

[Joe] It's a big one right here.

Bam.

Twenty-one.

Joe and I are like greyhounds waiting at the gate

for the gunshot and the rabbit.

We're itching to leave.

Ready to go?

- I am ready to go. You? - Yeah.

[Joe] You know, it's not gonna be easy, we got a long road ahead of us.

[Amanda] Shall we take a look at the map first?

- Yeah. - Yeah. Got it.

We're here, and it looks like

we're gonna make our way past this mountain to extraction.

- Might be some rattlesnakes. - Bring it!

[Narrator] As Joe and Amanda begin a grueling three-mile hike.

They'll need to watch out for western diamondback rattlesnakes.

That bite more people in the U.S.

Than any other venomous snake.

After an exhausting climb over a rocky steep 60-degree incline...

Their final mile will be a painful trek across a landscape

of needle sharp cholla cactus spines...

To a clearing where their extraction vehicle will meet them.

[Joe grunting]

- It's going to be a really hot day. - [Amanda] Yeah.

[Joe] And, uh, this is where the snakes are hanging out.

[Amanda] I'm kinda trying to find the path of least resistance

and the path of least snakes.

Been seeing molts...

So I know they're here.

[Joe] Gotta be careful. The wrong bite from the wrong snake,

that's the end of your life.

[Rattling]

[Joe sighs]

Starting to feel real sting on the skin.

The sun is just searing into my body.

Man, am I feeling it.

[Amanda] I already feel like throwing up.

[Amanda retches]

I knew coming into this, it was going to be

primarily a mental game.

But if Joe can make it at his age, so can I.

[Joe] These rocks are so coarse and sharp.

Every step is painful.

[Joe grunts]

[Amanda groans]

[Bleep]

[Joe] Ow, ow, ow!

[Coyote barks distantly]

- You hear that? - [Amanda] Yep.

I've been keeping my eye out for them.

Looks like a path is up and over this hill.

[Joe] Really steep.

That fatigue over the last 21 days...

Really kicking in right now.

My legs and my calves are tight.

But I came out here to finish a 21-challenge.

The idea of not making it to the finish line, that's not an option.

[Amanda] Starting to warm up.

[Joe winces]

[Joe grunts]

[Joe] This place is just havoc on the feet.

Every third step, I get one of those tumble weeds.

[Amanda] It's a minefield. They're tiny and they blend in with the pebbles.

[Joe grunts]

[Bleep]

[Joe] It's like running on Legos.

[Amanda] I am fatigued, dehydrated and feeling sick.

But under a high stress situation... [Joe groans]

[Bleep]

[Joe grunts]

[Amanda] I got to embrace the suck and...

Just kinda push through even if I have to crawl to the finish line.

[Joe] These things are murder.

The finish line is right out there in front of us somewhere.

I feel like we are getting pretty close.

[Joe] Yeah, this could be it.

[Birds calling]

[Vehicle approaching]

- [Joe] I hear a vehicle. - Oh, I can hear it, yeah.

Oh! I think I see it over there.

Hell yeah!

Yeah.

Whoo!

Yeah!

I've never been so excited to sit in back of a pick-up before.

- [Joe] Ah! - Yeah!

[Joe] This challenge is a punch in the face

and how you handle that for 21 days.

Despite all the lack of resources,

we made it. And we're both going home winners.

[Amanda] Something I'll take away from this challenge is

that I can thrive in even unfamiliar places.

I think that's something to be proud of.

I'm proud of us. We did a good job out here.

We made a great team.

Talking about millennials, some of the stereotypes, like,

how they act and they're entitled

or they're this or they're that...

But Amanda, she doesn't fit that mold. She's a badass.

The whole millennial gap, I think it's a myth.

We're gonna be all right.

[Narrator] Joe is heading home 31 pounds lighter than when he began.

His PSR goes from 7.1 to 7.9.

[Amanda] I'm gonna miss Joe,

- but... - [Joe] I am going to miss you, too.

I am not going to miss here necessarily. [Chuckles]

My partnership with Joe has been really good

even though we grew up a generation or two apart,

I feel like I have gained a good friend.

One of my many anxieties in life is that life is too short

and I have all these things I want to do

and I am going to run out of time.

But Joe is having the time of his life right now.

I might find my groove when I am 50.

[Narrator] Over the course of 21 days,

Amanda lost a total of 23 pounds

her PSR rises from 7.1 to 7.7.

We did it. It's over.

We crossed that mountain.

[Joe exclaims]

[Speaking other language]