Man Vs. Wild does some good (sort of)

Well, looks like ol’ Bear Grylls is in the news for teaching a kid something that was actually useful. A 9 year old was separated from his group on a hike and said he used what he learned on Man vs. Wild to handle the 18 hours out in the wild while rescuers were searching for him.

From the article:

Grayson created a small shelter overnight under a fallen tree. The next day, he decided to follow a creek in hopes of finding help.

“I (thought I) might find the lake, that there might be somebody at the lake,” he said.

He made a couple of bad decisions like not staying put and tearing up his rain jacket to use for signaling, but, much more impressively, he didn’t freak out and was able to keep a level enough head that he could try to think through his situation. Sure, he could have done things a little differently, but his actions were better than half of the adult search and rescue stories that I read.

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What do you do when you are sick and there is no help?

I wasn’t feeling all that fantastic earlier today, with a nice little fever from an infected sinus or two and vertigo as a result. Walking around or even just standing up resulted in masticated Costco hot dog (damn I love those things when they are still inside my belly) being sprayed all over the place, so I just stayed in bed all day. I have had sinus and allergy problems for most of my life and spent several years in a row with chronic sinus infections, and as a result, episodes like the one today are not an unknown occurrence.  I have had three sinus surgeries and quite a few procedures over the years that have surely helped, but I still take medication twice a day, get shots once a week, and do all the other fun stuff that comes with being allergic to dust, pollen, pets, air, water, food, etc.

Lying awake in bed for several hours gives one time to think, so I started thinking about what I would do if I felt like this on the trail. I’ve had the occasional headache on a hike, maybe a rumbly tummy or two, but nothing that stopped me from being mobile. Even a sprained ankle will just make me favor my other foot while I hop along in a gimpy fashion, cursing every pebble and twig on the trail. What happens when you are so completely sick that simple acts like standing up and walking are not possible, unless your desired result is falling down after a couple steps? My wife will be astounded if she reads this next part, since I always at least have a smart ass answer, but I really do not know what I would do. Today, I just popped a bunch of pills and stayed in bed until a little while ago, when the pressure subsided to only feeling like someone pressing their thumbs on the inside of my skull.

What happens when that lasts for days and you are not within a quick walk of your car or help? What if what happened to me today happens to someone that has never gone through it, does not have medication, and does not know how to deal with it? What if I had heart problems instead? What if I were with my wife and something struck the both of us? I would love to be able to carry every product a modern pharmacy stocks, just in case, but we all know that is not feasible. I am not a worrier, but I do like to be prepared for foreseeable outcomes, especially since that is the whole point of this site and all.  Do I carry a PLB and set it off when sitting in a tent for a day or two has not helped? Do I set the PLB off immediately? Do I ditch my gear and crawl the 20 miles back to the car, 1/10th mile per hour? Do I wait for SAR to show up when my family has not heard back from me by the appointed time?

I hate relying on others to get me out of my own messes, but I realize that there is a point where that thought process becomes stupidity. I would like to think that I would know what to do in any situation, but anyone who does not live in a bubble knows that life always finds a way to surprise you. What would you do? Let me know in the comments.