Survival Shows

In this episode of Survivorman Les was in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert.  The desert spans from Mexico to Colorado and is the largest desert in the American southwest.  The desert is dry, dirty and someplace you would not want to be without a good supply of water.  The Sonoran Desert is the hottest North American desert!

Les is pretending to be a stranded biker in this episode.  He is left in the middle of the desert with nothing but his motorbike, some water and his trusty multi-tool.

Les sits through the first night next to his bike, I wondered why? He had enough time to gather some brush and small trees to use as a blanket for the COLD nights. (Yes it get’s into the freezing temps. even in the desert where it can be in the 90s (F) during the day!)  My guess would be he was simulating a confused person who had just come to realize they had to spend the night out there!  In the morning Les complains of no sleep and waking up all coveredin frost!! Brrrrrr!

Now this show was different than the others in that they gave Les 1 gallon of water! On other episodes he could have spaced this out for the entire 7 days and been fine however out here in the Sonoran Desert that water will last time 1-2 days max!

This episode was packed with TONS of information, even moreso than his other episodes.  I will now briefly detail some of the great information learned from this episode of Survivorman with Les Stroud.

• Wild pigs are a danger, they attack in numbers.
• Grass makes a good blanket, weave it and it becomes portable.
• Hand drills can cause serious blisters and are NOT easy tools to start a fire with.
• Building a fire and tender bundle are not easy tasks and take serious time and preperation.
• To eat a scorpion cut the stinger off and chew the rest up and swallow, yes really!
• You can clean yourself with certain types of plans/brush by burning it in a fire and standing in the smoke.
• The above mentioned brush also works great for TP.
• Harden wood under a fire to make a strong weapon.
• Strawberry Pin Cushions are very tastey and taste like a Strawberry Kiwi mix.
• The Sonoran Desert only received 7″ of rain PER YEAR! Yikes.
• Les belives even in the desert you should have a fire as it not only keeps you warm in the night but raises your spirits and will to survive.
• You can use the Agava PLant to make needle and thread. You simply bight around the top/needle then pull it up with your teeht pulling the needle(top) off and the thread coming from the inside of the leaf.
• You can pound the leaves of the agave plant with a rock to break it apart and get at the strong fibers inside.
• Wild boars can not look up, so if you stand on a rock ledge above them you can kill them easier or hide.
• Grasshoppers make good food but can contain tape worms so cook them!
• Pulling off the head of a grasshopper will pull out their insides/stomach and make a nice hole to put them on a small twig to cook.
• Watch out for black widows as they are more dangerous than a rattlesnack and harder to see.
• Chew grass blades to get the juices. DO NOT SWALLOW. (Good source of chlorophyl)
• Prickly Pear ’s can be eaten but require work and know-how.
  You must cut off the outer area, skin it, and then eat the green slimy pieces between the white veins.
  You can eat it raw or boil them to remove the slime.

Speaking of boiling I was surprised Les did NOT boil his water before he drank it.  It’s already terrible being stranded in the desert but having Giardia on top would be terrible.  You would die a lot sooner from dehydration if you had severe diarrhea or vomiting!

Overall I was very impressed with this episode of Survivorman as he did a lot “right” in my eyes and the viewers learned a LOT too.

Great job Les!