by Ashley Thompson

Tawny is a 29 year old mom from Spokane who can build a shelter and skin small game. But she doesn't like teamwork. She also isn't a huge fan of being naked, but she does bring along a PSR of 7.2. Her partner, Julio, is a 28 year old spider lover from Florida. His father taught him to be prepared of the unknown and he brings along a PSR of 7.4. He doesn't care about being naked but he'd rather his naked partner be married to make it less awkward. But, um, I don't think that's how awkwardness works. Wouldn't you rather your naked spooner to NOT be attached?

They are in the Seminole Forest of Florida, where the Seminole Tribe settled. Their neighbors are 500 pound black bears, aggressive alligators (that kill twice as many people per year as sharks), diamondback rattlesnakes, venomous spiders like the golden slick orb-weaver with a painful toxic bite and don't forget the mosquitoes 20 times larger than the average mosquito. Can you say, NO!!!? I'm out. I'm so out.

They find water quickly but have to cross to the other bank to start their shelter. During their first night they are woken up by what they describe as "little big foot" which was probably a black bear. On their second day Julio runs into a rattlesnake and kills it, whilst apologizing to it. Who knew Florida would be this dangerous? Adios spring break. I'm out. Tawny is pretty pumped to have dinner... "it's going to suck out here but at least I'm with someone awesome". Truth.

After an extremely rainy night and only an hour of sleep, along with very little food, Julio is tempted to be done with it all. He's emotional about killing a small lizard and it's obvious the situation is already getting to his head. It's day 4. He's not hungry and he's refusing to eat the food that Tawny brings to the camp. But at least he's sleeping well (according to the snoring). Julio admits to his partner that he's having "dark" thoughts and honestly, it makes it so uncomfortable I'm surprised she's not concerned for her safety. Eventually he admits to Tawny that he thinks of harming himself and/or others. Are the producers allowed to let him stay? Actually, no, they take him out on day 5. But now Tawny has feelings of abandonment, a common theme throughout her life.

Now Tawny is left to her own devices and she is lucky enough to steal a fish from an otter. She's not so lucky when the bear comes to her shelter and she's all alone at night, when there's no crew near. To pour salt in the wound her shelter goes up in flames the next day. All she can do is watch it burn. She is doing so well mentally, it's really sad to see all this happening to her. Nonetheless she makes it to Day 21. She has to use the river as her guide to extraction, through dense forest and all it has to offer. While trying to follow the river, she loses it due to it's winding nature and is lost. Don't give up!

Since Julio had to leave, his PSR decreased to 4.1 (wowza). Tawny lost 21 pounds and her PSR rose to 7.9. Not good enough N & A. She deserves much higher.

Photo by: Discovery Channel