woMAN vs. Wild

Susan Taylor, aged 47, who was missing for exactly 7 days, turned up alive! She had taken a taxi to Black Mountain one morning alone and got lost in the woods, with no food or water to sustain her for more than a couple days. Amazingly, Taylor was able to survive by eating leaves and drinking creek water. She found small shelter on the porch of a wood cabin while the owners were away.

I don’t know if anyone recognizes this scenario, but it is very similar to a day in the life of Bear Grylls, better known as the star of ‘Man V Wild.’ Bear is often dropped off in remote wilderness areas and tries to make it out alive within 7 days or so. In one episode he is dropped off in the arctic, with a parachute, a tin cup, and a knife. He survives by taking off his clothes and swimming naked, catching fish and eating them raw (EW!), and sleeping in a small cubby like hole he carves in the side of a glacier. It’s all very interesting and the his tips are PROBABLY useful. Although, not being a nature lover I have never tested any of his theories. Anyway, I think Ms. Taylor deserves credit for being able to survive without even a knife or tin cup or anything.

However, although Taylor deserves praise for her survival skills, her story is a little out of whack. Or maybe it’s her. Taylor had lost 20 pound and was in weakened, disoriented condition when a rescue team, which she ironically belonged to, found her. Police said she had walked in circles in the small area that she knew well, repeatedly walking past the road where she could have gone to get help. No one knows why she was out in the woods to begin with or why she didn’t simply walk out on to the road in a clear area. After being rescued, Taylor kept asking why people came to rescue her. I think there may be something more to this story than was revealed.

P.S. If you are an adventure enthusiast, go to the Man V Wild Website and check out Bear Grylls (who is very cute ) and his survival tactics. If you don’t find anything useful, at the very least you will get to read some interesting stories and watch some very entertaining clips.