Week Twelve

Kichagani Tribe

A few days after the storm Kichagani’s campsite was a mess. The shelter was ruined, the food was spoiled, and the tribe’s spirits couldn’t have been any lower. They have lost two immunity challenges in a row, and they didn’t even feel up to a challenge today. The five remaining members tried to fix everything up, but it was just too much work. Kyle, who just celebrated a birthday knew that he had the toughest Tribal Council ahead of him. He was indebted to Scott for all the loyalty that he brings to the table, but his alliances with the other three people in the tribe were newer, so Mandy, Cowin and Micah felt that they had to work to almost gain Kyle’s approval. Mandy and Micah felt a lot more confident than Cowin did. He has seen all three of his allies get voted out at the tribe’s last three Tribal Councils, and he didn’t want to be next. He knew that he would have to make some promises to Kyle, and he was ready to do that. The tribe didn’t eat anything today.

Margolo Tribe

Winning immunity last week couldn’t have come at a better time than it did. The tribe was getting demoralized as it kept losing, but that win helped instill some confidence in their abilities. But the storm almost undid all that progress. The tribe was sore and tired, and they didn’t want to even get up from the puddles they were sleeping in. But soon Steve and Beckie got up and began cleaning stuff up. Jord and Elliott went out into the jungle to find coconuts that had been knocked out of the trees during the storm hoping that they were not moldy. German was in worse shape than expected, as it seemed he rolled his ankle during the storm. So he sat there, worried about the challenge ahead, and about not being able to help his tribe much around camp. Soon enough, Elliott and Jord returned with some coconuts and other roots and things that they could find. So German set to cooking whatever he could. As their work in the camp progressed, Steve and Beckie could see that camp slowly looking more and more like it used to. German decided not to tell his tribe about his ankle, hoping that nobody would notice and vote him off.

The Harteema Gang

After losing their second immunity last week, and the terrible storm, Harteema was not in good shape. Numerous people were hurt and exhausted, and nobody wanted to do much of anything. Tyler, Silas and Lauren were all in various states of uncomfort, while Pitman, Trotman and Dirks were left to try and get most of the work done. Slowly and surely, Silas and Lauren started to get to work, but Tyler was still in pain as a tree had fallen on him during the storm. Like the other two tribes, Harteema was in poor shape and needed food. They wanted to win this challenge more than any of the other ones, because if they do, then they will have a two person advantage on the other tribes. Lauren was feeling pretty down especially today, because after Cait was voted out last week, she knew that her time in the game was limited. Unless she could convince someone other than Tyler that she was necessary to keep around, then she may be going home this week.

Immunity Challenge

I know that everyone in the game is exhausted after lack of sleep and even less food. But that won’t stop the challenge schedule. This week’s challenge is mainly based on strength. Each tribe will stand on its own balance beam which is stilted above the ocean. The goal of the game is to pass down more planks from the back of the line to the front of it. Each time a new plank is placed, the tribe will shift down towards the beach. The first tribe to pass all the planks down the line from the back to the front and gain access to the beach will win immunity.

These planks are easily over 50 pounds so strength will be important. Teamwork and balance will also be important, but so will speed. As the line shifts towards the beach the tribe will get farther and farther from the pile of planks so the person at the end of the line must run back and get planks and bring it to the other members. Only that one person running back and forth may move their feet, unless a plank is placed then they shift from one plank to another.

So four people from each tribe will be the line that passes the planks towards the beach. Their attributes weightings are as follows:

Speed: 0%
Strength: 80%
Problem Solving: 0%
Strategizing: 0%
Teamwork: 20%

There will be one runner from each tribe. The runners are chosen and they are Scott, Elliott and Tyler. Their attribute weightings are as follows:

Speed: 40%
Strength: 50%
Problem Solving: 0%
Strategizing: 0%
Teamwork: 10%

As Harteema has one member they have to sit out one person. They choose to sit out Silas, as he has not sat out yet. And without further ado, the contestants are in place, and the challenge begins.

As the tribes pass down their heavy planks it is apparent that they are all very up to the task. They all looked exhausted, but they all want it bad. Margolo was getting to an early lead, as they worked out a precise passing method, and it was setting them apart from the Harteema and Kichagani. But as Elliott was getting farther and farther away from the pile of planks, he was slowing down significantly. Tyler was also beginning to slow down, his injuries from the storm catching up to him. It was at this point that Scott began to separate himself from Tyler and Elliott. His speed and endurance was catching his tribe up to Margolo.

Harteema was not out of it though, as they were beginning to work out the passing process. About minutes into the challenge, all the tribes were exhausted. Guys like Chris and Cowin were still able to do all the lifting, but the girls, specifically Mandy and Lauren were beat. Soon enough however, all three tribes were nearing the beach at around the exact same speed. It then came to the point where each tribe had only one more plank to place, and Scott, Elliott and Tyler were running back to retrieve them and bring it to the line.

Scott is the first person to bring his plank to Kyle in his tribe, followed by Tyler and Elliott. While Margolo and Harteema pass the plank faster than Kichagani, the lead was enough to seal the deal for Kichagani, as they will Immunity! That means that Kichagani is safe this week, and Margolo and Harteema must go to Tribal Council.

Keys to Victory (defeat):

Kichagani Tribe: Being the strongest tribe helped a lot. Scott’s speed was also a huge asset in this challenge. Mandy was the only weak link in this strength oriented challenge, but I guess that was to be expected. Essentially, Scott was the difference maker.

Margolo Tribe: It was a complete loss by the tribe as a whole. It was a super close challenge, but there were really no weak links. No one stood up and delivered an amazing performance like in Kichagani. Each person was pretty equal in the tribe, but some were just not as strong as others, and Elliott was just not as fast as Scott.

Harteema Gang: While Chris and Trotman were exceptional at passing, Dirks and Lauren just couldn’t take all that weight for so long. Tyler was very good, but just not as good as Scott.

So these are the people who have to vote by 11:59pm on Wednesday night:

Margolo Tribe:
Steve
Elliott
German
Beckie
Jord

Harteema Gang:
Silas
Dirks
Trotman
Chris
Tyler
Lauren

Cheers.