Survivorman- Canadian Arctic
Closer to the North Pole than the Arctic Circle, Les Stroud is left stranded in the middle of the Canadian Arctic with the sole goal of surviving seven days. He has a broken-down snowmobile, a seal hook, a caribou bone knife, a kudlik (soapstone dish to be used as a seal oil lamp), seal blubber, a gun (required by law for protection against polar bears, but he cannot use for hunting), and some raw seal meat. On top of all this, he has laryngitis.
At -24° F in the middle of May, a shelter to sleep in is extremely important for survival. He smears oil from the snowmobile under his eyes to stop the glare and sets to work on building what he calls his “snow grave” – a semi-igloo shelter of snow with the snowmobile cushion to sleep on and a caribou skin for the roof. Because summer in the Arctic is characterized by perpetual daylight, Stroud works until 3:00 am before realizing he should stop and rest for the night.
Compasses don’t work so close to the North Pole, but Stroud must get off the sea ice- it could break apart, and he could be drifting off without even knowing it. Thus, he heads toward the only landmark in this bleak landscape- some mountains in the distance.
Heading toward the mountains, Stroud encounters a glacial tunnel. The cave provides good protection from the elements, but he must be careful not to fall down the crevasse in the back or get hit by falling chunks of ice.
Stroud climbs part way up the mountain to survey his surroundings. The shoreline is in the distance so he decides to aim for the ocean and follow the shore to safety.
The glare from the snow is so bright that travelers are at risk of snow burn, sunburned eyes. The corneas literally fry, and blindness is a real possibility. To prevent snow burn, Stroud cuts some leather from the snowmobile seat to fit his face, pokes holes for the eyes, and uses wiring from the snowmobile to tie them on like sunglasses.
Pulling a 120-pound sled is exhausting, but Stroud warns to take it slow- if he sweats, he is unlikely to survive. Further lowering his body temperature is the snow he eats to stay hydrated. During the day, eating the snow keeps him cool enough to prevent sweating, but if he eats too much snow before settling down to rest, he could become hypothermic.
Polar bears are one of the biggest risks any traveler in the Arctic faces. His gun gives him little sense of security, and sure enough, one morning there are polar bear tracks within 30 feet of him. Polar bears like to hunt along ice cracks and glaciers, two places travelers in the Arctic happen to frequent- ice creaks are good for seal hunting, and glaciers are excellent for getting your bearings.
Stroud realizes that sitting in the middle of polar bear territory eating his raw seal meat is not the smartest idea. He pulls out his harmonica and begins to play to fight the loneliness, but then he realizes polar bears are also attracted to strange noises.
For better protection from the cold, Stroud builds an igloo. Deep snow the consistency of styrofoam is best for making snow bricks. He uses a piece of the snowmobile windshield to dig up the snow, but after many hours, he is too tired to continue so he throws the caribou skin over his half-igloo and bundles up.
To generate more warmth in the igloo, Stroud lights the kudlik. He scrapes off seal blubber with the caribou knife into the dish, puts a piece of paper towel over it, and lights it with a match. The kudlik creates a surprising amount of warmth, and he is able to catch a few hours’ sleep.
On his journey the next day, Stroud comes across a grassy patch. This is his opportunity to create a real fire. Using scraps of wood, fluff from flower buds, and the gasoline-soaked foam he brought with him from the snowmobile, he decides to try to use the gun to get a spark- his producers said the gun couldn’t be used for hunting, but they didn’t say he couldn’t use it for other purposes. Emptying out the majority of gunpowder, he fires at the tinder. Wood flies everywhere, but after several tries, he gets a spark and makes a fire.
Travel towards the end becomes extremely difficult- he must rest every twenty minutes, he is dizzy from exhaustion, and he is sick from hunger. Stroud should be taking in about 6,000 calories per day to survive in this harsh landscape, but he has limit himself to a few bites of seal meat per day, making his calorie intake total a mere 200 calories.
On day seven, right as he is ready for the rescue crew to come save him, he encounters an Inuit hunter. The hunter offers him a ride to town, which is still a two-day journey by dogsled. Stroud has found his way to safety, and to celebrate, the hunter offers him the most prized treat of the hunt- the seal’s eyeball. Slurping down the eyeball, Stroud looks forward to returning to a home not made of snow, where a gun does not accompany him to bed, and his shoes aren’t frozen to his feet.
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