Big Trek, Big Trouble, Big Surprise

Big Trek, Big Trouble, Big Surprise is the season premiere of .
==Story==
===Day 1===
Jeff Probst walked into a clearing of Maya ruins that were thousands of years old.
The sixteen castaways divided into two tribes, Yaxhá and Nakúm, were seen walking through the thick, luscious jungle under the instruction that they going to an unknown destination with no idea what surprises awaited them.
The warring tribes met Jeff Probst. He welcomed them to the game, provided their tribe banners, and explained that waiting at their campsites were items similar to the ones that the Mayans used - as well as one extra "tool" to aid them in this game.
Standing atop of the temple that shadowed the tribes stood Stephenie LaGrossa and Bobby Jon Drinkard from ; the tribes cheered and applauded the returnees.
As they reach the base of the temple, Jeff hands a Nakúm buff to Bobby Jon, while Stephenie joins Yaxhá.
After Stephenie and Bobby Jon met their tribes, Probst explained that both Bobby Jon and Stephenie were fully fledged members of their respective tribes, stating they can use their skills to further their tribe in challenges or be an easy first vote off the first visit to Tribal Council. He then outlined the details of the Reward Challenge, a grueling 11-mile hike through the jungles of Guatemala with the finishing line the better of the two camps available and a share of flint, while the losers will trek to a lesser camp without flint.
Waiting at the starting line were several amenities such as water, corn, and other items to take with them on their trek, although they were advised to take only what they can carry if they wish to reach the finish line faster.
During the trek, Nakúm's eldest member, Jim Lynch, took on the orienteering as he directed Blake Towsley acting as the point man. With Yaxhá trailing, Gary Hogeboom was immediately thrust into the leadership position which made Rafe Judkins quite happy, as he would not take an early target on his back for being outspoken.
At a point during their trek, Gary was asked about his work back home where he lied, claiming to own a landscaping business unawares of his true profession. However, after Gary retired from the NFL, he did become a landscaper.
Fearing that he would be a potential vote-off based on his history, he chooses to hide behind the alias of Gary Hawkins. With Gary and Stephenie leading Yaxhá on their trek, they hit a roadblock and realized they made a bad decision and went the wrong way, they went back around on themselves and attempted to pick up from their last point.
By sundown, Nakúm was showing great progress. But the men begin to show signs of weakness when Blake gets struck by the local fauna.
Margaret uses her skills as a trauma nurse to aid Blake to a better state, but with him being taken down a few notches, it could affect their hike. Meanwhile, Yaxhá continues on, but due to several younger members trailing behind, decide to bed down for the night and continue the hike at sunrise for fear of losing Nakúm, who they believe to be in the lead.
On Nakúm, Blake again is still affected by being hit by the thorny plant and was continuously vomiting. Margaret deduced that it's an involuntary reaction to the thorns and the tribe decide to bed down as well and await sunrise. With the first day on over, thirty-eight days remain.
===Day 2===
At the makeshift camp, Amy O'Hara awoke to the screams of a howler monkey, citing it reminded her of the movie Predator. Brian Corridan urged the tribe to continue their hike, while Jamie Newton opted to stay for "another ten minutes". His request was turned down, as the tribe continued on.
Coming to a clearing, spotted walking down a dilapidated road. With quickly catching up, kicked into high gear to increase their lead.
Stephenie urged her tribe to push onward, but with Lydia Morales and Amy struggling behind the pack, their attempt to catch their rivals faltered and lost their sight of the yellow tribe.
Some time later, Bobby Jon began getting cramps in his leg and became dehydrated which surprised Cindy Hall as she believed he was more equipped to play Survivor due to his experience in .
As reaches a river with the two tribe boats, they were instructed to paddle to a small wooden pier "south, south-west" where they would find the better Mayan camp. Halfway out from the beach, appears and immediately jumped into their boat to give chase.
Approaching the dock, Judd jumps out and immediately regrets the decision, for he landed on very viscous mud.
Bobby Jon struggled again with dehydration and was stuck in the boat itself. Knowing he had to suck it up against the excruciating pain, he went out of the boat anyway and limped to the finish line.
Jeff Probst congratulated Nakúm on a job well done and provided their tribe flag and flint. As approaches, their defeat comes with a crushing home truth as to their hike not being done yet.
Later that day, the men of Nakúm showed no signs of improvement. Bobby Jon begins to show signs of a seizure but is helped through by Margaret and Brooke Struck. However, the women show surprising signs of adapting and are able to recover from the grueling hike.
===Day 3===
Tree Mail arrived at both camps in the shape of an ore.
Stephenie immediately began providing her previous experiences to her team and how to deal with the pressures of continually losing Immunity Challenges. On Nakúm, however, the mood gets worse due to their ailing health and the possibility of them losing.
The tribes assembled for their first Immunity Challenge, where Jeff revealed that if Yaxhá wins the challenge, they would receive flint. At the Immunity Challenge, Yaxhá maintained a healthy lead throughout, while Nakúm struggled with pushing their boat up the beach leading to Danni tripping over the outrigger portion of the boat, Cindy getting her foot stuck underneath a log, and Jim Lynch tearing a muscle in his bicep, resulting in a makeshift sling being made for him. Yaxhá claimed Immunity and much needed flint; a first-time Immunity victory for Stephenie - while Bobby Jon is no stranger to losing.
Back at Nakúm, Margaret checks on Jim's injury and the tribe tends to their chores. But an almost nervous Brooke mentions to Danni that Bobby Jon was the worst of all the men who were hit by the hike.
With the men all vulnerable, they hike to Tribal Council. 
At Tribal Council, Jeff noted that they were at an authentic Mayan ruin where tribe chiefs settle any queries in their city. Jeff questioned the tribe about the hike and how the men were struggling with dehydration, eating and being beat down. Danni mentions she was surprised at the men's strength deteriorating but defended them by saying they carried a lot more weight than the women. Jim was questioned about his arm and that this injury will hurt the tribe, Margaret stated she was worried about putting the tribe in the winning position but will try their best to align their priorities and keep their well-being in check.
In the end, being the oldest and most ailing of the men, Jim became the first person voted out after a unanimous 8-1 vote. After Jim walked away, Jeff gave advised them to maintain their competitive spirit without losing their well-being.
==Challenges==
<tabber>Reward=Challenge: 11-Mile HikeWhile bringing all their supplies, the tribes must race through the Guatemalan jungle to reach a Mayan pyramid. First to reach the ruins wins reward.Reward: The winning tribe will live at the ruins and will also receive a piece of flint.Winner: |-|Immunity=Challenge: Paddle BattleUsing their canoes, the tribes would paddle out to buoys in the lake to retrieve a torch hung from each buoy. Racing back to shore, four members would run to the top of the hill and begin hauling up the canoe with a rope. The remaining tribe members would rotate logs underneath the canoe, allowing it to roll up the hill, much like the technique the Maya used to move large items. Once the canoe passed a finish line, each tribe's remaining member would run to the top of the hill with the torch and light the victory cauldron. First tribe to light the cauldron wins Immunity.Additional Stipulation: If Yaxhá wins, they would get flint.Winner: </tabber>
==Tribal Council==
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VotedAgainst	Voter
 	
 	
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===Voting Confessionals===
Edited versions of Judd and Brooke's confessionals were shown.
===Final Words===
===Still in the Running===
								
								
==Trivia==
* This marked the first time a standalone Reward Challenge was conducted in the first episode. All previous premiere episode rewards had been as part of combined Reward/Immunity Challenges.
* Jim's vote against Margaret was not revealed to the tribe.
* In Jim Lynch's exit interviews, he appeared wearing a sling.
* This episode marks the first time in her two seasons Stephenie LaGrossa has been immune from a vote.
** Jeff's statement that Stephenie was at every Tribal Council her original season is technically incorrect, as she was absent when Willard Smith and Ian Rosenberger were voted out. However, the former was as part of a Double Tribal Council (which she did partially attend), while the latter was not held in the Tribal Council area (which she would've attended under normal circumstances). Stephenie was still present at Tribal Council at least once in every episode of her original season.
* This marks the first season with both new players and returning players.
==References==
Category:Episodes
Category:Guatemala Episodes
Category:Season Premieres
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Episodes
Category:Survivor: Guatemala