Did You Know.....

[Diane Amberg]

HA! Good ones. Could he have found dates on his palms too?

[readyaimduck]

And, being in the desert he feasted on the...'sand-whiches' there!
Couldn't help it either   
ready

[srkruzich]

Quite franklly stupidity knows no bounds!   First of all, travelling in the desert with NO food, No blanket but most importantly no water.  Dumb as a rock and A prime candidate for Darwin award.   Secondly he was within a short distance from a interstate apparantly.  Why not go to the interstate and wait 2 -3 hours for someone to come by instead of 5 days.  Even if he was having problems he could limp over there from what the article said.  Third and most importantly, being in the desert doesn't mean there is no water.  Simple, in most cars you have some form of soft platstic. Heck use a walmart sac, something to hold water, and dig a hole in the groud and put the cup at the bottom plastic over it a rock to weigh the center down and cover edges with sand.  In about a hour you will get enough water to keep you alive.

Last of all, Drinking washerfluid which is Ammonia, and Antifreeze?  I would settle for dying from dehydration and heat than the painful death that awaits you from antifreeze and ammonia poisoning!  Sheesh. What a idiot.

[readyaimduck]

Ammonia, and Antifreeze

darn near sounds like a meth made in heaven....

any cactus will give that refreshemnt, also.
Glad he wasn't found in ELK County....He wouldn have never lived that one down!
ready

[srkruzich]

darn near sounds like a meth made in heaven....

any cactus will give that refreshemnt, also.
Glad he wasn't found in ELK County....He wouldn have never lived that one down!
ready

yeah the cactus will do that, it even tastes better than the ammonia and antifreeze!
Thats not saying much

[srkruzich]

You won't find me without at least a half gallon of water.  I carry it with me everywhere i go and even when i go to wichita, i'll buy a gallon of water, and drink from that.  I drink 2 -3 gallons a day. 

Best thing to put in a car is hard candy, few cans of pork n beans and maybe green beans and a canopener.  Water, blanket, match's, and a bundle of wood if you have  the room, i used to keep a second car battery in the trunk that was hooked up to the charging system.  That way i could use it for whatever and then start the car with its main battery to recharge.  Don't know why his battery died on the car.  That was just plain stupid.

[readyaimduck]

I agree Steve. "Stupid is as stupid does".
Thank you for the tips on the survival...
perhaps his battery went dead as he used his headlights, which drained the battery, and he never had any routine maintence done on his rig. (car/truck, etc)

The trick to survival is never place yourself into harm's way.  However things do happen for a reason, and you just gave us tips to help!
ready

[srkruzich]

I agree Steve. "Stupid is as stupid does".
Thank you for the tips on the survival...
perhaps his battery went dead as he used his headlights, which drained the battery, and he never had any routine maintence done on his rig. (car/truck, etc)

The trick to survival is never place yourself into harm's way.  However things do happen for a reason, and you just gave us tips to help!
ready

Another thing i thought of is this, the reason you keep a blanket especially in the desert is that in the day the temps can get super high, as much as 117 or so and a blanket can be used to provide shade.  Second reason is that same desert at night can go below freezing even in the summer.   A lot of people do not know that.  Plus its awful hard to keep the local critters off ya if your out on the ground and nothing to cover up with. 

Never put your boots on without shaking them out.  Wouldn't do to have a scorpion in there or a rattler. 
and lizard tail makes a good snack to eat too if you have enough energy to catch them

[Diane Amberg]

Those Mylar rescue blankets are amazing and take up no space. Cactus water tastes really nasty and can give you an upset stomach, but if you know how to correctly tap a barrel cactus it will keep you alive.There are many ways to find water if you just know how.The desert Indian tribes know where to find seeps, dig in "dry" river beds and along sand dunes too.Of course the smartest thing is to have your survival supplies with you in the first place.

[Warph]

Great survival info, Steve... I always travel with water, fake ice cubes and a bottle of Chivas... just in case I get stuck out in the desert.  Hmmmmm... I'm thinking about heading out to the desert tomorrow.  (gotta remember to leave the GPS at home)

No, seriously... good info, Steve.  You need to be prepared if you live in the southwest.  You can get most of this at Big 5 sports.  A normal kit is:
1. A quality penknife or jack knife.
2. Condoms for water storage, unlubricated.
3. Water proof matches
4. Flint and steel or a metal match
5. Water purification tables
6. A long strip of aluminum foil folded up to cook with
7. Fishing kit, i.e., hooks, sinkers, and some line. Nothing fancy.
8. Commercial back packing first aid kit (with instructions). I carry a very small one.
9. One small pack of gum and one of hard candy (energy)
10. A small signal mirror
11. About 25 feet of cord
12. A space blanket
and of course, water

BTW... I heard the 84 year old has a bad case of dementia and looks like the state is going to pull his license and the wiper fluid was just water.