I hope it has been long enough to be sensitive, but not so long that you don’t remember. I have to say it angered me greatly to listen to the news about the man and his dog that survived 5 days in the wilderness on nothing more than 3 packets of taco sauce. They not only completely misrepresented what it takes to survive, they essentially made the idiot a hero. The media going to the extreme and Taco Bell stepping up to salute the young man for being so resourceful and rewarding him is ridiculous and dangerous.
This is probably the worst thing that could have happened. It sets up a lot of ignorant albeit well-meaning people to fail in a survival situation. The facts are that this young man failed at everything but death. His situational awareness was non-existent, had he even the slightest bit he would have recognized that he was getting in over his head. He would have seen all the warning flags that were flying around his head. If he had any sense at all he would not have gotten in the bad situation in the first place. It is not as if some exigent circumstances caused the problem, it was sheer carelessness, and we paid for it. Who do you think paid for the search efforts?
Don’t get me wrong I’m happy he and his dog survived, but it wasn’t because of taco sauce. He did enough things right after the fact, that he survived, and he would have without the taco sauce! What is being missed here by the media, and all those watching it yet ignorant of reality is the rule of threes and how it relates to survival.
The rule of threes
- You will not survive for longer than 3 seconds without staying calm
- You will not survive for longer than 3 minutes without air
- You will not survive for longer than 3 hours without shelter
- You will not survive for longer than 3 days without water
- You will not survive for longer than 3 weeks without food
- You will not survive for longer than 3 months without community
As you can see from the list above he would have survived an additional two weeks without any food, let alone the taco sauce. It was completely irrelevant. We need to take our survival and preparedness seriously and not propagate these aggrandized misconceptions about survival, that helps no one.
I am an advocate of getting out there and exploring, pushing your limits, and expanding your skill sets. But I am wholeheartedly against being foolish and reckless, let alone the media making a circus out of such foolishness.
Remember, Knowledge is the easiest tool to carry!
- Know where you are going.
- Know who you are going with.
- Know what you are taking with you.
- Know the limits of your own skills.
- Know when to turn around.
- Know better than to foolishly put yourself at risk.