Bear Grylls has recently starred in a riveting series of TV survival programs. He introduced his Mexican adventure as follows:
"I'm Bear Grylls. My challenge is to survive one of the world's largest canyon systems - Copper Canyon, Mexico. It is a Mecca for hikers and climbers but hundreds get lost every year. I am going to show you the skills needed to survive there."
My cynical step brother has been listening to my enthusiastic comments about Bear's survival skills. I told him how Bear used seaweed to steam some fish. This caught his attention as he is, himself, an experienced steamer of fish.
He later asked: "Why does Bear Grylls steam his food?"
He supplied the answer himself: "Because he can't bear grills!"
His Phd has clearly not been wasted! In fact, Bear frequently eats his food raw in survival situations.
Back to Bear Grylls in Mexico. He is standing tall on the helicopter landing gear as it prepares to touch down.
"I am entering Mexico's Copper Canyon, 300 miles south of the US border - hundreds of deep twisting canyons cut through this vast desert.
"It is four times larger and a thousand feet deeper than the Grand Canyon. This place is wild. The landscape has remained untouched for centuries. That is why it is fast becoming one of Mexico's hiking hot spots.
"Last year, half a million people visited the Copper Canyon. Parts of the Canyon are so remote that they are still unmapped. Without a guide, getting lost is almost guaranteed.
"I shall put myself in the position of a lost tourist to show you how to survive in a place like this. There is little sign of life down here making starvation and dehydration a big threat to anyone stranded."
He was dropped on a cliff top over nine and a half thousand feet up:
"All I have with me is a water bottle, a flint and a knife. A film crew can follow me. It feels like the top of the world. It is just breath taking. It is huge. It makes me feel pretty small here. Trying to work my way through this landscape is a massive challenge.
"I can see over 25 miles and there is no sign of human activity. I do have a plan but first I need to get my bearings".
Bear realized that the cliff faces with extra vegetation must be facing north where they would receive less sun but more moisture. He could now move west with confidence.
He was headed on a dangerous journey towards the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railway, known as El Chepe. It runs for 400 miles through the Copper Canyon from north to south.
The tracks pass over 37 bridges and through 86 tunnels. The railway took nearly 100 years to build and was finished in 1961. It is a big tourist attraction and is used everyday for transport. Bear continued west towards El Chepe:
"It is 24 degrees right now but at this height it will get dramatically colder at night. I need to descend fast. Temperatures will plummet to minus ten degrees at the top but at the bottom it should be 20 degrees warmer."
But that's over a vertical mile down and would take hours to reach even if Bear could find a way down. He walked dangerously close to the edge of the cliff faces so that he could spot a potential route down.
"Finding a route looks just impossible. I am looking for, what climbers call, a line of weakness where the rocks are eroded. These often give you a route down."
He found some coyote crap which he did not eat but which suggested that there must be a way down since coyotes could not survive on top all the time.
Bear eventually found a possible route which was worth the risk of climbing downwards. Down climbing is always more dangerous because you have to lean out to find your foot holds:
"The key is to have an escape route back up if you can't descend any further."
Further down the overhang became more extreme and it was harder to see where he was going. At one point Bear commented:
"I'm stuck on a ledge and there is a fifty foot drop in front of me and there is no way down. My only option is to climb back up and face a freezing night on top."
However, he spotted another route down to his right if he could jump across a steep eight foot wide gully. He performed the jump and found some manageable terrain at about 7000 feet.
The temperature rose two degrees for every thousand feet he moved down. But he needed to find shelter and to know how much time he had left to find it.
He used his hand as a clock by holding out his right arm towards the sun at full length. He bent his right hand to the left with his palm facing the sun. He measured four fingers from the lower rim of the sun towards the horizon.
He then had to move his hand another hands width down and measure another four fingers to reach the horizon i.e. eight fingers in all.
Each finger stood for fifteen minutes so he had about two hours to find shelter.
He came across an unsuspecting scorpion which he ate live for its protein after cutting off the tail end which included the poison and the sting:
"It tastes like cheese that's been sitting around for about three weeks but worse."
He was pleased to find a suitable cave to sleep in. The Aztecs once used these caves but for the last 400 years they have been used by the Raramuri Indians.
The Raramuri or 'Foot Runner' Indians live in the Copper Canyon. They fled there in the16th century to escape the Spanish Conquistadores.
He made a fire saw to create an ember and light a fire: "Now I can sit back and watch the sun go down knowing that tonight I should be warm"
The cave gave him a good night's sleep and he was up at 6.30 a.m. with the sun. To get his bearings he rubbed a bit of wire in his hair and put it on a leaf in some water from his water bottle. The leaf spun towards magnetic north.
He had not seen the sun rise so he knew East was behind his cave. West was now obvious but his breakfast was less so.
The Raramuri sometimes resorted to eating rock and mud. It would give them essential minerals. As usual Bear was up for eating whatever was on offer:
"I haven't eaten much rock before! It tastes like a handful of flour mixed with sand."
He followed a trail down to the canyon bottom where he found some fresh springs where he could drink the naturally filtered water without boiling it.
He then came across a hundred foot waterfall. He decided to climb down some nearby but unstable trees. He needed to keep his centre of balance close to the tree; the further out you lean the more the tree swings:
"What I want to watch out for is dead branches. As I descend the branches become thicker and the tree more stable. Now I can move fast."
Beyond the waterfall the canyon walls become sheer and there is no way out. Almost forty inches of rain could fall in a day here and the walls would channel this mass of water straight into the river:
"Flash floods are a real threat...The rain might fall thirty miles away. A fifteen foot wall of water full of boulders and trees would thunder downstream at sixty miles an hour and hit with little warning."
"You have to keep listening and if you feel the ground starting to tremble, head for high ground immediately."
A couple of years ago, a man, accompanied by his son and niece, was fishing nearby when a flash flood hit them. He managed to pull his son to safety but, when he turned to grab his niece, she was gone and was never seen again.
Bear now moved to another canyon that led to the west as the canyon he was in had turned south:
"One of the most important elements of survival is to stay alert and keep making the most of opportunities."
Spotting the new canyon saved him days of walking. Soon he made the most of another opportunity - some fish in a stream:
"Dam the stream downstream first where the fish will not see you. Then dam upstream. Hit them with a stick. Even if you miss you will stun them. All freshwater fish can be eaten safely but gut any fish over three inches long."
Fish contain muscle building protein and can help build up the immune system. Bear ate the fish raw - sushi style.
He now came to a series of waterfalls. These can be really dangerous because of rocks hidden by the turbulent froth. Bear decided to jump off the top of one waterfall to show how it can be done safely.
He first measured the depth of the pool at the bottom of the fall with a small rock and rope made of yukka leaves before jumping out beyond the froth with his feet together.
When he came up he corkscrewed out of the current i.e. he back stroked to his left as he spun around and around until he reached land.
He lay between two fires that night to keep warm. The Raramuri call this type of set up a smoke blanket. They used these to keep warm when there where no caves around.
Within twenty minutes of being in the cold river, Bear was warm although he breathed in an unhealthy amount of smoke from the two fires in the night.
It was now Bear's third day in the Copper Canyon. He used a piece of skinned cactus to attract muck and silt from his river water before boiling it for five minutes.
He continued west but had to get out of his canyon which was now bending northwards. He spotted a deep cut in the rock which might be climbable. His dad had always told him:
"You can never tell how steep something is until you actually rub noses with it."
He did a chimney climb. Wedge yourself in and then place one foot on each wall and use opposing forces to lift yourself up with your leg strength. At the top he saw daylight and squeezed through.
The landscape now was almost flat and allowed him to keep going west.
One of the ways the Raramuri hunt is to chase animals over vast distances. A deer will run and run and then tire and the Raramuri would be close enough to throw stones and kill it.
Running always has been a key part of the Raramuri culture because it has been the only way for them to get around. It is said that Raramuri could run 70 miles a day and even 170 miles without stopping.
Bear found and ate a beetle larva which contained good protein and which he did not have to chase down. It tasted like an explosion of goo in his mouth:
"It is getting dark now and it is looking like I might be here for another night."
But he now saw movement up ahead. Over the hill were some people. Their bright coloured clothing showed that they were Raramuri. Bear commented on his adventure:
"Copper Canyon is a vast and intimidating wilderness to be lost in and it leaves me with a sense of awe at the people who have learned to live and survive here and call it their home."
Several survival and success lessons can be learned from the Copper Canyon episode:
Have a plan and a vision of where you are going.
Be ready for a massive challenge and don't let the obstacles intimidate you.
Learn from the all conquering belief of the Conquistadores but not from their goals and methods.
Put yourself in the position of the people you are trying to help. Think about their problems and offer solutions. Bear imagined himself to be a lost tourist.
Get your bearings at all times so you know whether you are on the right track.
If you lack navigation skills, pay a guide or mentor who will show you the way in person.
Always have an escape route - don't risk your life or anything you cannot afford to lose.
Move fast when you can.
Find alternatives rather than give up. If you need protein, eat a scorpion even if the thought horrifies you. If you need a clock, use your hand instead.
Make health and safety your priority. Boil or filter water and listen out for flash floods. Be aware at all times.
Look before you leap! Check out what is under the froth.
Get up close to find out what is involved in any risky venture. Remember the advice of your parents.
Appreciate the beauty of your surroundings.
Learn courage and endurance from the Raramuri.
Learn vision and perseverance from the builders of El Chepe.
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