Survivorman – Arizona Desert
Survivorman’s desert survival adventure opens with host and survival specialist Les Stroud riding into the southwest’s bleak Sonoran desert on a lime green motorbike at sunset. The picturesque scene quickly degenerates as the crew leaves Stroud in the desert with little more than a broken dirt bike, a single food bar, a jug of water, and his multi-tool. The sun sets and Stroud hunkers down near the broken bike for his first below-freezing night.
The frost that sets in overnight isn’t the only danger the desert poses. Scorpions, rattlesnakes, and wild peccaries (similar to wild boar) roam the desert. While Stroud spends his seven days alone in the desert in December, temperatures in the 70s (F) combined with the dryness and wind can quickly dehydrate a lost traveler. Even the cacti pose a danger- simply putting one’s hand out to catch a fall can cause a debilitating injury.
After spending a freezing night unprotected, one of Stroud’s priorities is to protect himself from the elements. First he strips the motorbike of useful materials. He takes the wiring to use as rope, the tire spokes to be transformed into weapons, and the seat later proves useful as providing a base for starting a fire. He leaves the tires behind but notes they can be set on fire to produce black smoke to signal rescue crews. To protect against the cold for the next night, he decides to gather grasses to make a mattress to stay warmer. Stroud bundles grasses and uses wiring from the bike to weave a portable mattress that will both keep him warm and get him off the ground and away from scorpions: “I sure hope there’s no spiders in there,” he says, thinking of all the dangerous insects of the desert. “Black widows, I mean.” Black widows, he says, have a bite 15 times more venomous than a rattlesnake.
In some episodes, Stroud is given a match to start a fire. In this episode, it is between him and nature to spark a flame. Fashioning a hand drill, Stroud explains that the bike seat provides stability, crumbled grasses are the fuel, and a dry saguaro spine is the spindle. After several tries and blistered hands, the spark catches. Blowing the smoke into a flame, Stroud exclaims, “This provides a whole new level of psychological comfort!” He has already mentioned several times the danger of the peccaries, who have poor eyesight but excellent smell and supposedly attack madly in groups several strong. While the fire may help ward off peccaries and mountain lions, the heat attracts scorpions, which like to snuggle in with a warm body for the night.
There is no point in rationing water, Stroud says. With his supply waning, he must move on if he hopes to find a water source. Walking several kilometers over hilly land takes its toll because he must make the hike twice- once to film himself, and a second time to lug his camera gear.
Finding a stream for water lifts his spirits, and he drinks constantly to rehydrate and to trick his stomach into feeling full. He drinks straight from the stream, but doesn’t explain the dangers of doing so nor why he is willing to take the risk. In the desert, there are copious plants to be eaten, but the trick is how to get to the edible part without being pricked by cacti needles. The barrel cactus has fruit coming out the top, which he uses the pliers on his multi-tool to get at, but in the process of cutting open to fruit to access the seeds inside, he gets stung by one of the plants’ needles.
Stroud also demonstrates that there is more to eat on prickly pear cactus than just its fruits. Using a stick to hold the “leaf” steady, he skins off the outer layer. In between the two white veins inside is a green, slimy bit that can be eaten raw or boiled. The inside of a prickly pear cactus is also good for soothing cuts and burns, he says.
The most exciting find for Stroud the strawberry pincushion plant, a spiny little plant with red, chili-shaped fruit. The fruit supposedly taste like a combination of a strawberry and kiwi, giving him a little extra sugar rush to keep moving.
As far as hunting goes, Stroud didn’t hunt mammals (although he did fashion a spear our of tire spokes and a big stick for protection) and instead opted to go for grasshoppers. He shows that pulling off the head also pulls out the stomach and insides, and the hollow body can be put on a long reed or stick. Stroud collects several grasshoppers on his stick (which continue to kick about even though they are missing heads), making a bug kabob. Grasshoppers can carry tapeworm so he roasts the kabob on a rock set in the fire to cook before he eats them.
The last few nights Stroud spends with a fire under a juniper tree. The big boughs of the tree create an overhang that keeps the frost out and retains a bit of residual heat. Juniper is also good to chew on to keep the mouth clean, and can be burned to provide a “smoke bath,” which Stroud has also demonstrated with several other desert plants.
The seventh day dawns and Stroud doesn’t look forward to the journey back. He is meeting his crew where they left him and the dirt bike, but this means he must make the long hike back again twice to get all his gear. Walking back he becomes paranoid the crew might not actually be waiting for him. But lo and behold the magic of a well-timed television show, there they are, waiting to take our host back to civilization where one needn’t bathe in smoke, eat bugs, and sleep on the ground. Unless that’s what floats your boat, of course.
If you found this page useful, consider linking to it.
Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
It will look like this: Survivorman – Arizona Desert
2 Responses to “Survivorman – Arizona Desert”
April 10th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
I found your blog when I was searching on yahoo. Great post. I’ll bookmark it and come back later
August 4th, 2010 at 12:47 am
This is a little off topic, which I apologize for, but would you and your readers mind giving your thoughts about the recent oil spill, you’re opinion seriously helps and I can’t thank you enough for taking a few seconds to give it. I left the link in the appropriate field, thanks!