When was the last time you heard someone say their profession was mining for gold? It’s been awhile since the gold rush but America’s Toughest Jobs is bringing it back! The crew remained in Alaska this week, returning to Anchorage for their mining ordeal. With their bosses in tow the 11 remaining workers hiked to gold mining central: the creek. At the job site the crew was taught how to both pan for gold as well as drudge. Their first day was all about panning the good old fashioned way.

For the first three or so hours nobody was hitting any gold. The bosses said they weren’t necessarily looking at how much gold they found but how well they worked individually and as a team. After a few hours of no luck Sandy, once again, stepped up the game by finding a chunk! Rick and Michaela followed shortly there after and everyone was on the gold rush bandwagon. Although everyone found SOME gold, others were just not getting it. The boss couldn’t believe how some of the crew, especially Ben and Phil, were just sloshing the pans around. They felt after a full day of panning they should have got the hang of things but apparently its harder than it looks. Phil, who was lacking in the gold department, got knocked down another knock by actually getting knocked down. While crossing the creek (a big no no) Phil took a tumble and could have been washed away in the frigid water. Luckily only his bucket got washed away and he came out with only  a cold.

After a good 10 hours of panning for the shining stuff it was time to hit the hay. But first the crew had to set up their tent and it brought along the first drama of the season. Not only was everyone trying to be a “chief” to the “tribe”, Rie and Bryce were having their own spat. While Rie was tieing the rope of the tent down, Bryce spoke up and told her what to do…… as she was doing it. Rie didn’t take well to that and the two started quarreling, both called each other a bitch and it didn’t end there. The next morining while the crew was waking up they decided to do some chores: making food and getting fire wood. While Rie and some others tended to the fire wood gathering, Bryce sat back and drank a cup of coffee. When Rie returned and asked who wanted to go back into the woods with her, Bryce didn’t speak up, something that will come back to bite him come elimination time.

After a three hour “sleep” it was back to the job and this time it was drudging! Drudging was explained as taking a vacuum cleaner to the floor of the creek. The rocks would go through a machine that would force the gold to sink to the bottom and be caught in a rug. After the drudging was over the crew still had to pan for the gold so it still had some skill to it. For this part of the job the crew was split into four groups being: Rick/Chris, Phil/Bryce/Michaela, Eric/Ben/Rommel and Sandy/Rie/Steven. As Chris and Rick were working well together and throwing their weight in rock, they weren’t shown much on the show. The only thing that came from the two is that Rick doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s been poor his whole life. It will be interesting to see how Rick adapts to the jobs in the future as he says that’s his main strength: adaptability.

The other tree groups had their leaders and followers but ultimately did the same. Sandy, Rie and Steven were working well together and doing a ton of work. Steven slacked a bit, taking breaks to eat while the girls did most of the work. He also mentioned once that it was an easy, calming job. He probably regretted that though after Sandy overheard and battered back with the fact he hasn’t been moving the rocks. She was. Over on Eric, Rommel and Ben’s team it was another 2 versus 1 in the work ethic department. Although Ben was doing better then the day before, the boss still felt he was slacking a bit and wasn’t keeping up with both Eric and Rommel. The remaining team featured Phil, Michaela and Bryce. You would think having both Phil and Micheal they would have done well but Phil seemed to slack this time around. Both he and Bryce showed hardly any work ethic and were greatly upstaged by powerhouse Michaela. The boss was so ashamed how poorly Bryce and Phil were panning at one point he just had to walk away. I guess he’ll remember to hired skilled panners next time the show comes around.

When it was time to reveal the bottom four the judges weren’t very shocking. After revealing the crew gained only $400 in gold they weren’t very impressed. Josh, the host, then once again asked Rie who should be in the final four. Last week that question sent Amy into the bottom four and sent her home so Rie’s choice could do the same again. She once again took her hatred out on Bryce and said he should be in the bottom. The two went at it again but the bosses agreed, sending Bryce, Phil, Ben and Steven to pan and drudge all night for their lives in the game. With that loss came a reward though as after three weeks the four got to talk to a loved one. Steven’s as the most touching as his mom is diagnosed with cancer. She let him know her cancer had shrunk and that she was doing well. Something that seemed to spark a fire in him when it came time for the nights work.

As elimination loomed in their minds, the four guys went back to the creek. The one who had the least amount of gold after a 12 hour period of gold mining would be sent packing. All four picked up their pace and it was evident who got the groove and who didn’t. With Steven and Ben picking up some steady amount of gold it was really down to Phil and Bryce. Phil was chosen the strongest in the driving challenge so it was strange to see him in the bottom while Bryce was once again there. In the end and after a LONG night of drudging and panning, it was time to see who would be sent home. With Steven having the most amount, around 4 grams of gold, he was safe. Ben and Bryce were able to accumulate around the same amount, 3.5 grams of gold, keeping them in as well. Phil came up short this time around though with only a little about 2 grams of gold, sending him home this week. Although this was mostly based on luck it was also on skill. Since Phil couldn’t get the hang of panning that was his downfall and he was eliminated from the show. It was a life changing experience for Phil though as he now works for the truck driving business he did so well at last week. It’s amazing how the show seems to change the workers lives after only a few weeks and makes you wonder about your own job as well.

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