OK seriously, I live in the Chihuahuan desert and this show was laughable, to say the least. First of all you are not going to find rope that looks that good after more than about a week. Secondly I find the killing of the rattlesnake, despite the idea of the show cruel and unusual, and NO ONE with any sense runs in the desert! Are you crazy! You also do not drink from tinajas or springs without filtration. This is a very bad representation of the Big Bend area of Texas despite the desert dangers that are very real. I found this episode to be very misleading. So what other episodes are also depicting such fallicies? The general public are not knowledgable about such things, so I would like to know why such previously spectacular programming as the Discovery Channel has shown to us in the past is suddenly being downgraded to such ridiculous fallicies.
I live out at the Big Bend State Ranch, where this episode was filmed. I have drank out of the spring fed pools myself. In fact, one of these springs provides water to my house. I do ot run in the desert, unless I am on my horse...who does the running for me! As far as rattlesnakes go...if they are in my yard, corrals or even in the vicinity...it will be a dead snake for sure. I was surprised that it took him so long to kill it. The "devils walking stick" by the way, is called an ocotillo and is used for many things out here including fences. The show was really kind of boring compared to some others that I have seen, but he is welcome to come back and give it another go!There are a lot of interesting and wonderful things to see out here!
Originally posted by kgerbert: OK seriously, I live in the Chihuahuan desert and this show was laughable, to say the least. First of all you are not going to find rope that looks that good after more than about a week. Secondly I find the killing of the rattlesnake, despite the idea of the show cruel and unusual, and NO ONE with any sense runs in the desert! Are you crazy! You also do not drink from tinajas or springs without filtration. This is a very bad representation of the Big Bend area of Texas despite the desert dangers that are very real. I found this episode to be very misleading. So what other episodes are also depicting such fallicies? The general public are not knowledgable about such things, so I would like to know why such previously spectacular programming as the Discovery Channel has shown to us in the past is suddenly being downgraded to such ridiculous fallicies.
K.G., Agreed 100%....
I found it quite humors that he claimed that the border was one of the most patrolled in the US, which while well partolled is difficult to do since the area is so rugged. In addition, why was his exit strategy to make it to the river till he was found by law enforcement (which generally would be Border Patrol, or NPS), there are plenty of settlements on both sides of the border (depending on your location). What he left out was that while the Big Bend region is sparsely populated; there are ranch roads EVERYWHERE....following them is a better rescue strategy. Furthermore, that vast majority of west Texas is well protected private property, so you are very likely to be found if lost. Last, I love the fact that he travels with a camera crew, and the episode is well edited...to get to the Rio Grande from the spring where he jumped in and got water (I have been to it and mapped the preceeding canyon in a Urbanczk class), you have to cross TX Ranch Road 170...which is VERY well traveled...I guess it does not make for exciting TV.
Bear also seemed to glaze over the the real threat in the area, besides dehydration: smugglers.....
BTW, kgerbert, you and I know each other, but I do not like throw people's names out in an open forum like this.
OK seriously, I live in the Chihuahuan desert and this show was laughable, to say the least.
This seems to be a reoccurring theme amongst locals. Perhaps they should avoid doing shows in the US in the future if they intend to maintain the shows credibility.
did Bear give any good specific advise for surviving in that area?
1. That circling vultures can often lead you to a fresh kill, and that sometimes the most effiicient way to survive is to become a scavenger yourself.
2. We heard what a rattlesnake sounds like, for me this would be useful to know that sound in order to avoid one, rather than try to catch and eat it.
3. Making a grappling hook from a trap.
4. The old coyote bone anchor technique to retrieve rope after a down-climb.
5. And my favorite: he demonstrated how to make fire with a hand drill saying:
"The key with this is not tiring yourself out too quickly. Slowly build up that heat and then as the smoke starts to appear you can start to speed it all up a bit. And this smoke is such an enticing sight and you know you're near to fire... and you've also got to watch out you don't drip sweat off your nose into your ember pan ... what you want is a continuous plume of smoke from the ember pan and then you know you've got the potential to make fire. yeah, come on... super gently with this, just take that in and what you want to do is just tip it like this so it stays as one ember. This old bird's nest makes perfect tinder. And protect it... and imagine you're trying to hold a butterfly - not too tightly or you're going to smother it, but not too loose or it's going to get away. Ok there we go.. Fire...Phew and that is such a good feeling..."
And guys the above instructions on fire making are equally good advice for the art of love
1. That circling vultures can often lead you to a fresh kill, and that sometimes the most effiicient way to survive is to become a scavenger yourself.
Actually the idea that you’ll find a potential meal if you see vultures circling is a survival myth. Vultures gain altitude by riding hot air currents that rise in columns so if you see vultures circling this is most likely what they are doing. Even if they are circling a potential meal, vultures can see their target from miles away (and in the case of turkey vultures smell it from great distance) so the odds that’d you’d be able to pinpoint what they’re after are slim to none. If you see vultures on the ground feeding it would be worth the time to take a look since they are somewhat picky and prefer fairly fresh meat (no vulture would have had any interest in the carcass Bear finds) but chasing after vultures in the air is going to be a wild goose chase and waste of energy 99.9% of the time.
If you should happen to come across a trap your best bet is to wait right there. If there’s a trap that means someone is going to come to check it. Laws require traps to be checked within a certain amount of time, typically 48hours. Personally I’ve never know any trapper who would wait that long. The longer an animal is in a trap the greater the odds it will escape or be preyed upon by some other critter. You could search the area looking for more traps to be certain this was not one that had been forgotten when the trapper pulled his line and moved to a new location but this doesn’t happen very often. Traps are expensive and in most states there is a pretty stiff fine that will be imposed if a trap goes unchecked within the time frame allowed even if the trap was accidentally left behind.
Oh, and the idea that a trap would be tethered to a 30+ foot piece of rope was fairly humorous. A- Why on Earth would you need to give a critter that much room to run about? B- No one is going to fasten a trap to something that any animal would be able to chew through. They were obviously looking for an excuse to give Bear a piece of rope but just having him find one lying on the ground would have been more realistic. They could have said it had fallen out of a truck or something. At least that would have been slightly believable since a piece of rope that size would only be useful as a tow rope.
5. And my favorite: he demonstrated how to make fire with a hand drill
This was probably the best friction fire simulation that I’ve seen them do on the show but as usual it was edited to make it appear much, much easier than it actually was. You’ll notice that after he supposedly carves the notch in the hearth board (obviously it was already there) that when he sets it down on top of the bone the hole is already blackened from use. Another clue that things weren’t as they seem was when he tips out the coal all of the charred dust that had built up around the spindle was gone. With a proper hearth board there would not be so much dust around the spindle. My guess is the first attempt was a failure so they modified the hearth and started over.
Some critiques I would have about the advice, if anyone is interested, would be-
First, when you make the divot for the spindle in the hearth board you should then work your spindle in it before cutting the notch, Two reasons for this, one you’ll find out if the spindle/hearth combination will work if charred dust gets tossed out in the process; second, the spindle and hearth board will wear away making for a nice snug fit and a deeper, more efficient hole. If you cut the notch first it disrupts this process and you may end up with a notch that is not centered in the hole.
Second, the reason you use a long spindle with the hand drill is because your hands move down the spindle as you turn it. Bear stops and resets far too quickly, he should continue down the spindle until he’s almost at the bottom. It would be much more efficient which means less work and energy expended. With practice you can actually use a technique, often described as the itsy bitsy spider motion, that allows you to keep your hands in the same place or even work them back up the spindle while still applying downward pressure.
Third, you want to place your foot as close to the hole in the baseboard as possible. The further away it is the greater the odds that you’ll end up shifting the board and having to start over.
Finally, don’t add sand when you’re trying to get your coal started. The only time you’d want to do this is if the end of your spindle gets polished smooth and looks shiny. This is cause by too much downward force being applied which usually isn’t a problem with the hand drill.
did Bear give any good specific advise for surviving in that area?
This was an entertaining episode but, as usual, most of the “advice” given would best be described as- don’t try this at home…or in a survival situation…ever! For example, trusting your life to a piece of rope that you found under a rock, an old coyote bone and a “grappling hook” that you fashioned out of some scrap metal. I think it’s safe to say that Bear didn’t actually trust his life to those things so you shouldn’t either.
