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After Natalie Anderson successfully decoding the first three clues to find advantages on the Edge of Extinction, she, alongside three other castaways, took part in an “effort challenge” where they had to transport 20 logs to earn a fire token.

The grueling task caused Ethan Zohn to collapse and Natalie and Amber Mariano immediately broke down after finishing. In a Twitter exchange, Natalie Anderson revealed how long the log challenge took them to complete.

Natalie Anderson log challenge
Amber Brkich Mariano and Natalie Anderson | Robert Voets

Natalie Anderson on the ‘Edge of Extinction’

In the premiere, the Sele tribe lost their first immunity challenge and had a day to figure out who they wanted to eliminate. Even though the targets were initially placed on Adam Klein and Denise Stapley, they decided to eliminate Natalie Anderson due to her strong ties with Jeremy Collins.

At the Edge of Extinction, she immediately figured out the first clue to find the advantage, an immunity idol, and sold it to Sandra Diaz-Twine for one token. Once Amber Mariano joined her, she found another advantage, one that saves the user from one Tribal Council, and offered it to Jeremy for a fire token.

Additionally, the San Juan del Sur champ successfully solved a riddle to locate a clue to a steal-a-vote which she sold to Sarah Lacina. With three tokens, she had more fire tokens than anyone playing the game. 

The ‘Edge of Extinction’ castaways completed a log challenge

In one of the most inspiring Edge of Extinction segments, the castaways, now joined by Danni Boatwright and Ethan Zohn, had to transport 20 logs from the top of the island to the campsite, one at a time, before sundown to earn a fire token.

Natalie, a CrossFit coach, seemingly kept pace the entire time as she jogged up and down the island. Amber and Danni, both mothers in their 40’s, also completed the grueling task.

With only four logs left, Ethan, a two-time cancer survivor, began feeling “wonky” and eventually collapsed. He received medical attention but continued going against the advice of the doctor because he wanted to show others they should never give up.

Inspired, Natalie, Amber, and Danni all accompanied Ethan on his last trip, bringing the Africa champ, and many viewers, to tears. 

Natalie Anderson shared how long the challenge took them

Winner of Edge of Extinction, Chris Underwood, took to Twitter to congratulate the four castaways for completing the 20 trips because he “knows how that climb feels.”

Edge of Extinction star Ron Clark agreed, and explained the “walk was brutal.” He continued, “Eric [Hafemann] helped me, and it felt like it took 30 minutes to get up there.”

One fan asked, “how long one time would take,” and Natalie answered she thinks they finished all 20 trips in a little over three hours. Therefore, it took them around 10 minutes to complete one trip. It’s unclear if she included Ethan’s time with his medical stop and their extra trip.

Additionally, the times are “guesstimates” because the castaways don’t have clocks. Watch Survivor 40: Winners at War Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.

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