Naked and Afraid (2013–…): Season 15, Episode 2 - Haunted and Hungry - full transcript

Dad, you wanna go outside?

- [zach] sure.
- Thanks.

I guess
we're gonna start our day.

How do you feel about your
mom doing naked and afraid?

Kind of weird if you're...
My friends mention

that they saw your
butt or something

- on the show, but...
- Well, yeah.

[zach] it's the
day before I leave.

How are you feeling about it?

Tap out 'cause
you're a cry baby.

[zach laughs]



I'm pretty sure you
can count on one hand

how many times
you've seen me cry.

[zach's wife] it's true.

- But you've also never been in this situation.
- Yeah.

Gonna be gone for a little
while, but I'm gonna come back.

Daddy, I'll miss you.

I'll miss you, but I'll be back.

This is [bleep] stupid.

This is nothing like texas.

There's bugs everywhere.

I've no idea how I'm
gonna respond to it.

This place actually kind of
reminds me a little of home

with the heat,
all the vegetation,

and there's probably
gonna be a lot of mosquitoes.



There are a lot of thorns
out here on everything.

That usually doesn't
go well with being naked.

[narrator] in the
north of colombia,

lies the dense jungle
of santa catalina.

This rainforest bordering
a 1,700-foot-wide marsh

is the perfect breeding
ground for mosquitoes

and multitudes
of biting insects.

While the sweltering 90-degree
heat and 95% humidity

can bring on dehydration
in a matter of hours,

the dense canopy
hides razor-sharp thorns

and some of the
continent's deadliest animals,

like the jaguar, the
largest cat in the americas.

It is also a land full of lore

with a bloody history that
is rumored to be cursed.

[zach] I've done a lot of
research about the area.

I know back in the
mid-1800s, there was a war

between the farmers
and the indigenous people.

A lot of indigenous were killed,

so there's a lot of
bodies out here.

My name is zach.
I'm from austin, texas.

I'm a former marine scout sniper

and private security contractor
for the us government.

I grew up on 3,300-acre ranch.

We'd go out on the weekends
and sleep in a teepee

and practice primitive survival,

animal tracking,
hunting and fishing.

I joined the marine corps
two weeks out of high school.

Did three tours in iraq as
a scout sniper team leader

and about 17 as a
government contractor.

I've been in gun fights.

I've been shot at, blown
up, hit with rpgs, mortars.

I had a bounty on
my head in iraq.

I've always been drawn
to risky adventures.

If there is no risk,
then what's the point?

The time that I've
spent overseas,

you see death sometimes
on a regular basis,

and so I've become acutely
aware of my own mortality.

It really doesn't take a
whole lot to kill a human being

and so, for the time
that I have here,

I wanna do and get as
much out of that life as I can.

[narrator] zach's extensive military
experience gives him an edge,

but he could struggle
without his gear.

He begins with a primitive
survival rating or psr of 7.0.

I think this is gonna
push me to limits

that nothing in my life
has ever done before,

and I'm really excited to get out
there and see how well I handle it.

[ann] I grew up in the
backwoods of arkansas.

Pretty much we were nothing
more than feral children.

We very rarely wore shoes
unless we were forced to.

Hunting was a
big part of our lives.

It was a everyday thing.

The woods, that
was our grocery store.

These are crawfish, mudbugs
whatever you wanna call them.

In the south, we
eat a lot of them.

They're good to eat.

I wanna know that that
little hillbilly is still in there.

[narrator] ann's
spartan upbringing

forced her to develop strong
tracking and foraging skills.

But her childhood ruggedness
may have diminished with age.

Her psr is set at 6.3.

I think I'm the most
nervous about my partner

'cause that is gonna make this a good
experience or a not-so-good experience.

Ah, we're here.

Time to get naked.

This is scary.

It's an environment that
I've never stayed in before.

I'm used to having armor.

I'm used to having equipment and clothes
and helmets and bulletproof plates on

and to now be
naked in the jungle,

uh, it makes you just
hyper alert and hyper aware

of everything that
might try to touch you.

Big, tall trees everywhere.

Hopefully, I can build
a shelter out of that.

Get my ass off the ground.

Bugs are gonna suck at night.

You can see them everywhere.

[ann] it's getting real now.

Me being naked in front of
someone that's the opposite sex

and a complete stranger

is really not a big deal to me,

I mean, unless, he has, you know,
four sets of testicles or something,

then you know,
shouldn't be a big deal.

Now to go find another
naked person in the woods.

-Hi. -Hi, how are you?

- Fine, how are you?
- Uh...

I'm assuming you're my partner.

- [zach] I think so, yeah.
- [chuckles]

- zach.
- Ann.

- [zach] it's good to meet you.
- [ann] good to meet you.

I'm from texas, austin area.

- How about you?
- I'm from hattiesburg, mississippi.

- But originally from texarkana, so...
- Okay, awesome.

- We got the same blood, then.
- Yes, exactly.

- Good deal.
- Exactly.

So, what are, what
are your skill sets?

- Uh, you know, fire-making, shelter-building, um...
- Good deal.

- I'm not gonna go hungry.
- Yeah.

- We're gonna, we're gonna eat.
- Good.

- Good, I like to eat.
- So, how about you?

Uh, fishing, hunting, trapping,

you know, hopefully, all the
milestones that we're gonna need.

- I've been studying a bunch for it.
- Yeah, I think we got this.

I think we're gonna do good.

- Absolutely.
- Twenty-one days is gonna be a piece of cake.

- I'm excited. I'm ready to get started.
- [chuckles]

me, too. I'm ready to
have nerves go away

- and just let's [bleep] do it.
- Yes, exactly.

[ann] I agree. I agree.

[zach] cool talk.

[zach] all right, ann
seems really great.

She's got tenacity.

I'm excited to have
her as a partner.

We got some bags here.

- Let's check them out.
- Okay, great.

[narrator] zach and ann have
each brought a personal item.

[zach] all right.

[narrator] a knife
and a mosquito net.

They've also been
given a fire starter

and a pot to boil water.

And I brought my glasses
'cause I'm blind as a bat at night.

- Seeing is a good thing.
- So, that way...

- [ann] yes, exactly.
- Yeah, it helps.

- And it looks like I've got the map.
- Oh, good.

- Here's where we are.
- [zach] yeah, looks like that's right.

This looks like a marsh,

so, I think we go down
along the marsh here

because looks like we have a
water source, some things to eat.

- Yeah, I like that, too.
- [ann] you'd think...

We're gonna have to watch out for
some of these jaguars and coral snakes...

- [ann] the mapana.
- And caiman. Sweet.

- We need to get started then.
- Yeah, let's do it.

[ann] looks like there's
a little game trail here.

- [zach] yeah.
- [ann] oh.

[zach] we'll follow it.

[ann] so, um, are
you married? Single?

[zach] I'm married, yeah.

I got a little boy who's three.

- Oh, wow.
- Yeah.

[zach] until three, it
was kind of mom's world,

- but once he turned three, it was all monster trucks...
- [laughs]

And, of all the times
I've left, this one was tough.

- [ann] yeah, I bet.
- [zach] he kind of understood it.

[ann] my last one just
graduated from high school,

- and, now, it's time for me to do something.
- [zach] yeah.

- [zach] sweating yet?
- [ann] I'm sweating a lot.

[both laugh]

- [ann] it's just too hot out here.
- [zach] oh, yeah.

[zach] and everything out
here is covered in thorns.

Oh, sweet. They
built us a house.

[ann] that's the abandoned
structure I heard about.

And they say it's haunted.

- [ann] yeah. Yeah.
- [zach] I'll take their word for it.

[ann] they say a
family lived here,

and they heard noises
and nobody's there.

And there was a dog that
appeared and disappeared,

so, they, uh, they got out.

I'd be heart broken if
my dog disappeared.

- [ann] let's go, let's go inside and look.
- [zach] okay.

[ann] what you think?
Anything you wanna use?

- [zach] I haven't found the candy bar yet.
- [ann] yeah.

[ann] there's no roof. Watch
out for that nail down there.

[zach] yeah, thank you.

[ann] you don't want
to start out injured.

There's no water.
There's no food.

So, yeah, we can't stay here.

- [ann] it would have been nice, though.
- [zach] yeah.

[ann] so that was
a little disappointing.

Just dried, rotted wood.

Nothing we could really use.

But, uh, you never
know what else awaits us.

[ann] hopefully, we don't
carry any bad juju with us.

[zach] try to leave
the thorns here.

I know. After I get this
sticker out of my foot.

Even the trees have thorns.

They'll be glad when
we're out of this area.

All right.

We should get sticks
because of the snakes.

- [zach] good idea.
- [ann] we need something to protect ourselves.

[ann] mapana. We definitely
don't want to run in into any of those.

[zach] yeah. [laughs]

[narrator] the mapana snake

is a deadly south
american pit viper.

This patient predator will lie in
wait for hours on the jungle floor

for the right moment to ambush
its prey with hemorrhagic venom.

- [ann] okay.
- [zach] there you go.

There we go.

My feet are getting beat up.

It's not like when I was five.

At 47, running across
the rocks is totally different.

[ann] ow! Are you
not stepping on these?

Uh, no, I feel them.

[zach] the sun sure is warm.

[ann] and the ground is
getting a little warm, too.

- [ann] the marsh.
- [zach] finally.

[narrator] marshes like these

are home to the
spectacled caiman,

a crocodilian that grows
up to eight and half feet long.

During rainy seasons, the
males become aggressive.

And will strike at humans
if they venture too close.

[ann] hopefully, we are getting
close to somewhere that we can stay.

- We don't have much daylight.
- [zach] yeah.

- [zach] this is good and clear.
- Yeah.

There's lots of tree
options to cut down and use.

It's close to the water.

But it's not on the water.

[ann] I agree.

We just need to find a
spot where we can actually

build something that we
can get it off the ground.

We don't want to be on
the ground with the snakes.

[zach] we're gonna need
a lot of wood, though.

It's so humid.

Do you wanna try the
find a route to the water?

- 'cause I'm gonna need something to drink...
- Probably. Yeah.

- Tonight, for sure.
- I agree. I agree.

- All right, let's get started 'cause it's not getting...
- Okay.

- Any earlier in the day.
- Yeah, right.

[zach] uh, so I'm just
trying to get us a platform

that we can get
up off the ground,

and dangle that
mosquito net for tonight.

So, I'm creating some y's.

I'm gonna cut them
off at the same level.

I'm gonna lean them against
these trees that are already here.

Uh, lash them to it
with some, some vines

so that they'll stay there

and use the compression
of the wood to hold us up.

[ann] well, I got us water.

It's definitely not
fresh spring water.

- [zach] no?
- [ann] but, uh, we're gonna boil it.

- And it's better than nothing.
- [zach] good.

- I'm gonna attempt at getting a fire started for us...
- [zach] yeah, let's do it.

- 'cause we're gonna need that.
- Yeah.

This wood sucks.

It's just super, super soft.

I mean, I can almost
hack through it

with a single
slice of the blade,

and it's full of ants.

[ann] I'm really thirsty.

We've hiked a lot today

and he has done
a lot of cutting,

so we definitely need water.

[narrator] in humid heat, sweat
can't evaporate as easily into the air.

But the body continues to
attempt to regulate its temperature

by sweating more,

which can cause it
to dehydrate faster.

Thirsty.

[ann] we're gonna do
our best to get this started.

Yeah, I'm gonna
have to, I think.

Yeah, let's try this.

[striking fire starter]

- [ann] it just doesn't wanna light.
- [zach] uh-uh.

[zach] so, at this point, shelter has
taken a backseat to needing some water.

- You got this.
- I [bleep] hope so.

[zach] there's so many factors
out here that change on a dime.

The ability to adjust with
a new priority list quickly

is paramount to
making it out here.

Fire is the only way
we could get water

and if I don't get water
tonight, it's gonna be hard.

[ann] damn.

[zach] you think you could
fill the pot completely up?

- Yeah. Yeah.
- If you don't mind.

- Yeah, I'll get that done.
- Uh, maybe just fill it as much as you can.

- Yeah, I'll get that done.
- Ann, thank you.

I will try my best
to get this done.

[ann exhales]

[bleep]

poor feet.

We've got the tinder bundle.
We've got the magnesium.

We get the ember.

[ann] fixing to be dark and we
don't have anything to sleep on,

and we don't have
a fire as of right now,

and we haven't had any water,

so, um, it might
be a long night.

[zach] oh, my god.

I can just feel it right now,

that dial going from
green to yellow to red

'cause I am thirsty.

I just need some water
before I hit a hard wall.

[striking fire starter]

keep it up. Keep
it up. Keep it up.

Get some air.

[ann] ooh, do I see a fire?

Yay! I see light.

- [zach] you see it?
- [ann] I see light.

[zach] you ever had a
fire quench your thirst?

[zach laughs]

[ann] awesome. All
right. We needed that.

We needed it.

[zach] this is the little
wins that I came here for.

But now we got a
baby that's gotta be fed.

So, the responsibility
for this just began.

It took really too
long trying to get fire.

So, it looks like we're probably
gonna sleep on the ground.

[ann] how does it taste?

Honestly.

- [zach] honestly...
- [ann] like [bleep]?

[zach] no, it's awesome.

- [ann] okay, good.
- [zach] it's a little bit earthy.

- [ann] I'll hold off just a little bit longer.
- [zach] are you sure?

[ann] I like it more, a little
more room temperature, yeah.

[zach] all right.

- Ann brought this mosquito net...
- [ann laughs]

- And it's saving our lives.
- [ann] I love it. I love it.

[zach] you can
literally hear them.

So, battling the bugs is gonna
be at the top of our priority list

if we plan on getting any sleep.

[zach] how are you
feeling after last night?

[ann] it wasn't the ideal night

and I hope tonight
we're not on the ground

because the ground is very hard.

[zach] did you hear
anybody whisper your name?

[ann] no. [laughs]

I didn't hear anything either.

No, I don't think we
brought any haunting

from an abandoned house with us.

- Not yet.
- Not yet, anyway.

I may go for a
walk this direction.

If you wanna tend the water...

All right.

Bring some berries
back with you.

- [chuckles] if you see some.
- I will find something.

- If you see some.
- I hope.

[grunts]

[exhales]

[ann] the current
water method we have

of having to walk out into
the marsh, bring it back, boil it

and then we have to probably
wait 45 minutes to an hour

for it to get cool
enough to drink

is a long task.

And then you gotta
go boil more water,

so you have to track
back to the source.

So, what you just drank

is sucked right out of you

and you come back

feeling thirsty again.

[zach] found my
new favorite tree.

Damn it. Where did that go?

These are like the little green
kind of colombian strawberry.

They're pretty good.

And we haven't
had anything to eat

in at least...

Twenty-four hours.

So, a little bit of sugar
would be a good pick-us-up.

That's nice.

I do worry about the
lack of calories out here.

To go from like
4,000 a day to 40,

it's gonna be a real
challenge to deal with.

- [zach] do you mind helping me with the groceries?
- Yeah, I don't mind.

- [zach] milk's still...
- Oh, look at that, look at that.

- The milk's in the truck.
- Look at that, oh, look a that.

[zach] but, uh...

- Awesome, awesome, awesome.
- Yeah.

There is a giant tree
that is full of them.

- [zach] how's the water?
- This is really good.

- [zach] isn't it?
- Yeah.

- [ann] this sugar is gonna be great.
- Yeah.

Noice.

- [ann] clear, a little clearer.
- [zach] yeah, it looks good.

[ann] it is hard
to drink the water

because it doesn't
taste very pleasant at all.

But you know you
have to drink it,

so you just hold
your nose and do it.

It tastes like what I think
bark might taste like or...

It reminds me of lake water.

- Yeah.
- You know, water's nasty.

- Fish [bleep] in it. Like, who wants to drink that?
- Yeah. Yeah.

- [coughs] do you need some more?
- No, no.

[zach] we really do have
to get some firewood.

- Like, we don't have anything.
- [ann] yeah.

[zach] here's a, here's a
standing dead one over here.

Fire has to eat, and
we have to feed it.

It's not cold. We don't
need it for warmth.

At this point, we only need it
to keep ourselves hydrated.

We're just pouring sweat the
moment we do anything physical.

If we can't stay
hydrated, we're worthless.

[ann] I'm ready for some water.

[zach] yeah, I don't think you've
had a whole lot to drink today, huh?

[ann] no, I haven't.

[zach] I'm concerned about ann.

I think she's dehydrated, but
the water tastes really bad,

so she's not real
excited to drink it.

- Mmm, nutty.
- Yeah.

[zach chuckles]

[thunder rumbling]

[ann] yep, this
sounds like thunder.

- [zach] that sounds like serious thunder.
- [ann] yeah.

[zach] we need to
prep for the night.

Right now, I'm, um, instead
of the lean-to over us,

I'm trying to put
it over the fire.

Uh, if we can preserve any
bit of this, that would be great

because it wasn't easy to make.

[ann] it sprinkled for like a
half a second and stopped.

But, now, I've got
a different problem.

I, uh, went to try to pee.

Set my girl on fire.

I'm pretty sure

it's a uti, so...

[narrator] symptoms
of urinary tract infections

can occur within 24 hours of mild
dehydration or exposure to bacteria.

If the bacteria is not
adequately excreted in the urine,

it can multiply and cause an
infection that can result in acute pain.

If it is left untreated, it
can lead to kidney failure.

- Hey. How are you doing?
- [ann] hey.

And I, when I move,
it makes me sick.

Now my mouth is like cotton.

And I, I'm tired.

- [zach] we'll muscle through.
- Yeah.

[zach] we'll get
the next pot going.

- Sounds good.
- Okay.

[zach] ann didn't use the
bathroom at all yesterday.

She needs water real bad,
so we've gotta fix that problem.

[ann] the day's
been a little rough.

I've been drinking water, but I
still feel like I haven't had any water.

Feel nauseous.

I want my vagina
to quit burning.

[narrator] out of an
abundance of caution,

a medic comes
in to check on ann.

[medic speaks]

[ann] um, very nauseous.

[narrator] the medic
confirms ann's fear of a uti.

Drink a lot of water.

That's a main fact here.

- All right?
- [ann] okay.

No. [groans]

[inhales]

okay.

[sniffles]

- hey, how are you doing?
- I'm feeling rough.

- [zach] yeah?
- [ann] yeah.

[zach] anything I can get you?

I don't think so.

Thank you, though.

[zach] I'm concerned
about my partner.

I don't know how much
of this she can take.

[ann] I think I'm done.

- [zach] you sure?
- I'm sure.

- Diarrhea has set in.
- [zach] yeah.

- [ann] nausea and yeah, and...
- [zach] you're still nauseous.

[ann] ...I know they don't
wanna wait till it's too late,

and, and I end up in a colombian
hospital somewhere. [chuckling]

I hear you. I hear you.

You've had a... A rough
hand that you were dealt.

- [andrea] hey, ann.
- [ann] hey, andrea.

[ann] um, you know,

I've got to listen to my body,

and I'm not getting any better.

I need to tap.

[zach] I knew that that decision
was kind of right around the corner

if something didn't turn
for the positive for her,

and it got worse.

And so, I don't, I
don't blame her at all.

She's a trooper
and I applaud her

for coming out
and giving it her all.

- It was great to meet you.
- Yes, it was good to meet you.

This won't be the last time
we see each other, definitely.

- [zach] sounds good.
- [ann] good luck.

- [zach] I'll hold you to it.
- [ann] good luck.

Give me a shout out when
you get that first bite of steak.

[ann] yes, I will.

Yeah, I think I am a
little softer than I thought

after all these years.

But I just got sick.

I came out here to be
out here 21 days, not four.

[voice breaking] so, it's,
uh, very disappointing.

[narrator] four days
into the challenge,

ann's dehydration, combined
with a uti, proved incapacitating.

Her early exit drops her
psr from a 6.3 to a 5.9.

[zach] I'm on day four,
but it's almost like day one.

And I don't know what it's
gonna be like alone in the jungle.

To do it on my own, I'm
gonna have to dig deep.

And I hope that I
can do this by myself.

The storm put my fire out.

It's been dark for a few hours.

It's probably not midnight yet.

But, um...

[clicks tongue]

I don't have a fire,

nor do I have a partner
to keep me warm.

I still have probably
four or five sips left.

I am gonna stick my
pot out there, though.

So, maybe,

I can get some
water through the rain.

But tomorrow, god willing,
the sun will come out

and I'll dry out some tinder

and I'll get a good fire going.

This is day five

and the pot I had put outside
for the rainstorm last night,

a frog jumped in it.

In order to stay hydrated, I
need to be able protect the fire,

preserve the fire and
do it for my shelter.

The rocks will save me.

Claying time.

There's a lot of
clay in this area,

so that opens a lot of doors.

Particularly trying to put
together a rocket stove.

[narrator] a rocket stove
concentrates the heat given off by a fire.

Air comes in through
a port at the bottom,

feeding the flames with oxygen.

Its tapered design
focuses the heat

into a narrow opening up
top where a pot can be placed,

allowing water to be boiled
faster than on a conventional fire.

[zach] a man dying in the
desert would take a bottle of water

over a bar of gold.

[exhales]

and that's where
I'm at right now.

Nice.

I did a lot of
construction today.

I've got a lot catching
up to do on hydration,

but this is putting
me back in the game.

[zach grunts]

[bleep] damn it.

[mosquitoes buzzing]

these damn mosquitoes, man.

They don't have any
trouble getting in.

I'm getting these little
pricklies all over my body,

and I scratch them and
they don't stop itching.

Bugs tonight are just savage.

This is [bleep] stupid.

[birds chirping]

I itch all over.

I don't know how
much of it you can see

all over me.

I mean, they're getting me now.

[bleep] adds up out
here, it really does.

All right, so I'm gonna pull the
other side of my shelter down.

I can't sleep in
there another night

if I had to.

It's so full of just
mosquitoes and bugs,

all the decayed plant life,

and still air, it's awful.

Couldn't even
take a nap in there.

If colombia is not gonna
give it to me, I gotta earn it.

It's always nice to find

a massive ant
mound in your shelter.

I really figured by now I'd
sitting pretty comfortable

and focusing on food,

which I still need to do.

You'd think I'd
have that by now,

but I do not.

[buzzing]

slats about every
four to five inches,

and these are the
only wide-faced leaves

that we have in the area
that I've found so far,

and so I'm just putting
them as shingles,

and we'll see how that works.

Much easier night on the bugs.

I think I actually
did get some sleep.

Storm's coming.

[thunder rumbling]

what I'm really trying to do is

get as much as I can
to just put on the shelter.

100% waterproof
roof is wishful thinking.

I have most of the roof covered.

I'm gonna try
to fill in the gaps.

That'll help 'cause
it's about to get frisky.

There's only so much
I can do, you know.

[thunder rumbling]

I just saw a snake.

I just saw a snake.

Got a snake.

He ain't much...

But he's meat.

He doesn't appear poisonous, but I
don't know a lot about the snakes here,

so better safe than
sorry, I'll bury the head.

I'm just peeling the skin off

until I get a good purchase

and then I should be
able to deglove him.

Really stoked about this.

Ah.

Not a lot.

He's pretty small.

And the stick was dirty,

so it's not pretty, but...

This is awesome.

I can eat about
117 more of them.

Good day, though.

I'm gonna chalk
this one up as a win.

Can't complain.

Last night was
my best night so far.

I've had more food intake

than I've had in just
about any other day.

So I'd like to hunt,
put out some bird traps.

See what I can do for
putting some food on the table.

[narrator] this type of snare is activated
when a bird perches on the trigger.

The weight of the bird
makes the trigger drop

causing the tensioned
branch to snap away,

tightening the snare

and trapping the
bird by its feet.

We'll see what happens.

There's nothing in
my bird trap today.

That's a bummer.

My feet are just destroyed.

You see pockets where the
thorns are making my feet bleed.

Every step I take is a potential
infection waiting to happen,

and some of these
black palm thorns,

they've got a toxin on
them, it causes inflammation

and it hurts for days.

So, I've never
made shoes before,

but I read a book on native
american basket weaving

and the first thing I thought
of when I saw this basket

was that I can make
a shoe sole out of it.

So, I am weaving
grass and tree bark.

I am excited to
get this figured out

and put a pair of
shoes on my feet

so that I can walk around
here like a normal person.

It's such a silly thing,
but, man, it feels so good.

Starting to think
about food a lot.

I'm missing my family now
and can't wait to get home.

The protein battle has
been my number one thing.

I'm not catching a lot of food,

but just gotta keep
moving forward

and, hopefully,
catch me some fish.

I've got five little
fish hooks here,

made out of ironwood
and quite a bit of cordage.

I've got a piece of larva,
either grasshopper or butterfly.

Tie the fishhook in as bait and toss
him in the water and see what happens

we'll see how far I
can even get out here.

See if I can't toss this
through these lily pad holes.

Holy [bleep].

The, uh, larva came
off when it hit the lily pad.

[sighs in exasperation]

maybe I can find something else

around here for bait.

It's a major bummer.

I thought that larva was
gonna be a pretty good chance.

I was hoping the juice
was worth the squeeze,

and as far as
fish go, it was not.

Be real easy to just
wake up tomorrow

and say I'm done,
I'm going home,

and that's what I'm gonna go do.

And I wish there was a shortcut

'cause I'd be home right now,

reading a story to my boy

and... And kissing my wife,

but...

There's no shortcut.

I noticed all of these
drag marks in the trail,

and it looks like
quite a big lizard.

This place might
be a really good spot

to try to put a trap.

This trap is actually
a squirrel trap.

It goes on the ground.

You anchor it in the center,

and you lift up the other end

with a couple of forked sticks.

And then you lift
up this end here,

in which case it would
balance on a spike

that will pivot
and want to close.

So when that's bumped,

it'll come down and smash him.

As long as he takes
his normal trek,

I think that, you know,
this has some hope.

We're gonna find out.

Good morning, lizard trap.

Still set.

Didn't see leo this morning.

I named this lizard leonardo

because it starts with an "l"

and I figured why the
hell not? [chuckles]

kind of disappointed
in the bird trap.

They just keep on flying by it.

I don't know. We'll
let it sit and see.

Not everything is going
the way I hoped it would go.

As far as me versus
wildlife out here,

they are very much winning.

There's nothing.

And it's showing.

I'm losing a lot of
weight out here.

One more day down.

Can't wait to hug
my wife and son.

Their maddest little voice.

"dada, where'd you go?"

"dada, I miss you."

[boy] daddy, I miss you.

"you wanna play monster trucks?"

I miss you, too, man.

So much.

A little bit of meat can
go a long way right now.

I could really use a win in
the food department right now.

[narrator] zach has consumed
less than 200 calories a day

since starting the challenge.

A daily intake below 600
is considered starvation.

Well, looks like he
came through here.

I can see the tail marks.

I guess it's cursed.

Or I'm just a [bleep] trapper.

[bleep]

[scoffs]

I'm being humbled,
for sure, out here.

This is absolutely
the most difficult thing

I've ever done in my life.

But I want my son
to know to not give up

when things are as bad
as they can possibly be.

And how, um...

[sniffles]

[exhales]

[sniffles]

I just want to leave something
behind for him to draw from,

in case, one day,

I'm not there.

[zach] would it help if I poured
some cold water over your back?

- Maybe your head?
- Uh...

Cool you down?

- [ann] how about I not sit down 'cause...
- [zach] yeah.

[ann] I don't
want to sit in mud.

Okay.

Oh, it's cold.

Just close your
eyes and let it go.

- Let it go.
- Yeah, yeah.

Just feel it.

Last time I let it go I
ended up pregnant.

We don't want that. [chuckles]

- yeah, I'd have some explaining to do.
- [laughing]

little bit.

[ann laughing]

[zach] if I quit early I
carry it around forever.

I absolutely don't
want to feel it forever.

Uh, I will endure it

and then I will put it
down and I'll walk away.

Checked my traps and went
and had my berry breakfast.

Everything out here has
gotta have thorns on it.

[chuckles] ow.

[birds chirping]

in the morning,
I get out of here

and I never come back.

And I am so happy about that.

I can't even put it into words.

I can hear the skeeters
just buzzing outside my net.

But I'm going
home so I don't care.

Pretty stoked.

Don't want to burn
the jungle down.

Now when I want a fire,
I'm gonna flick a lighter.

[chuckles]

and be done.

I've got a walk to do.

This is where I'm at. It
looks like I've got to head

a little over, maybe, six miles

for extraction linkup.

Find this truck.
Get me out of here.

I'm ready.

I am ready.

Last bit of marsh water.

I am not going to miss this.

Trying to stay hydrated

before I get out of here.

[exhales]

beautiful day.

[narrator] in his
weakened state,

zach will need to trek through
six miles of dense jungle

where jaguars are known to roam.

He'll then ascend
several hundred feet

into areas where
deadly venomous coral

and fer-de-lance
snakes lie in wait

before reaching
his extraction point

on an abandoned dirt road.

[zach] this time of the morning,

it's really important to
keep a lookout for snakes,

particularly along the trails.

Snakes like to lay along trails

where animals
travel, and ambush,

so really trying to
keep an eye out.

Last thing I need to do is

get taken out of here on day 21

due to a snake bite.

I can't wait to see my wife

and my son.

It's just motivating every step

of the pathway to
get me out of here.

Every step is one step closer.

Just keep stepping.

[sighs]

day 21 energy levels.

[panting]

the, uh...

Excitement and motivation
only carry your muscles so far.

And hiking up this hill,

I... Feel it.

The dirt's really loose,

so my footing's not real stable

and my shoes are
not exactly strapped on

with anything too advanced.

My body is smoked.

[exhales deeply]

oh, there's a road here.

Please be a truck.

[vehicle engine revving]

oh, I hear it.

[breathing heavily]

it's over.

[knocking]

I did it.

Twenty-one days.

I have no idea if
there's a curse out here,

and I think the
curse is a great story

to keep the legacy alive

of the sacrifice that the
people of this area made.

It's been eye opening.

This is a real
self-awareness gut check

to learn who you
are and how you tick.

It wasn't easy at all.

This was the hardest thing
I've ever done in my life.

[narrator] over the
course of 21 days,

zach lost 30 pounds.

His psr rises from 7.0 to 8.2.

[zach] it isn't just going out

and knocking it out
without a care in the world,

and just blowing
things out of the water.

It doesn't work that way.
Life doesn't work that way.

This is one scary
look in the mirror.

You're gonna see
exactly who you are,

and exactly what you can do

in the face of nature
doing what nature does.

Fix the things you can.

Forget the things you can't.

Don't concern yourself
with more than you have to.

And I think that that's what got
me through these last three weeks.

And I intend to
take that with me

for the rest of my life.

Now back to my family.

Hi, buddy.

How are you?

Oh, give me hugs.

Come here. Give me big hugs.

Oh.

What's this?

[zach] it's my shoes
that I wore.

- Oh.
- You wanna see?

Twist it over the top.

And then wrap it around
the back.

And tie it just like that.

Oh, yeah, that's cool.

Yeah.