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- Mar 22, 2011
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This is something that actually happened 2 nights ago. I hesitate because it is such an over the top story you might think I am a bullshitter. We have it on film but it might be a year or two before the film is produced. I have personal footage that I can show you privately but I cannot put it anywhere publically because of the contract.
Here goes. We boarded a wooden freight ship headed from the last port between Tabatingo and Iquitos. It was supposed to come at 2PM but it did not arrive until 8PM. What can I say? It was on Peru time. When I say port I am using the term loosely. It was a muddy spot on the bank of the Amazon and the ship was big enough that it would not stop for us.
We loaded five people and 400 pounds of gear into a smaller boat that is not much bigger than a wooden canoe. We had to bail water out of the bottom of the canoe with a cut-off 2 liter bottle. We came alongside the ship and had to climb up the side with our packs. Every time someone went to step off the boat it would rock and almost tip over. Water would splash over the side into our small boat.
The big boat was a lot higher than our canoe so it was about a 6 foot difference that we had to climb and there was not a good handhold. There was pigshit and water on the floor and I had to do a pullup with my pack on and that was the handhold. If I slipped I would fall into the Amazon and either get chewed up by the prop of the motor on our canoe or by the engines of the big boat. Neither of these boats are going to stop their engines for one person. If I survived that, I would have to swim all the way to shore. The Amazon river is bigger and wider than the Mississippi river and it had just rained so the current was up and there was a lot of floating debris. On top of that, the river is filled with things that would like nothing better than to eat you. So falling in is not an option. The sun sets at 6PM so all of this was done in the dark.
After we all succesfully made it aboard, we climed to the upper deck and got ready to sleep. I do not know why but I had a sense that something could go wrong with the boat. Every once in a while I would catch a whif of smoke that was not normal diesel smoke. I knew that I would not be able to swim with the pack, so I prioritized what I would grab from my pack if I had to jump overboard and put it on top. I strung my hammock but I had a plan for 3 difference ways of escape should something go wrong.
I fell asleep. At about 2 in the morning I heard the engines stop abruptly. I knew something had gone very wrong. I quickly went down to the deck to see what was up. I saw smoke coming from the engine room and I grabbed Dalphine (one of the native guides) to ask about the fire. He said it was on fire. I ran back up to the upper deck, which was filling with smoke. Mickey Grosman was already yelling at our party to get ready to get the hell out of there. Mickey being Mickey, he asked Nixon (a native of Equador) to start filming. Nixon refused and even raised a fist at Mickey. Mickey fired Nixon on the spot and promoted me to camera man. LOL! We had time, but not much, so we gathered the gear and went to the deck to abandon ship. Meanwhile the other passengers of the ship were milling around like zombies waiting to be told what to do. Most of them did not even get out of their hammocks. If you want to know why people die in disasters, that is why.
When I say ship, you have to understand that it is not a ship like you are thinking. It is a wooden structure, packed to the ceiling with cargo and people in hammocks. There are pigs, chickens, monkeys, buffalo and most importantly, barrels of gasoline. If the fire hits a barrel of gasoline - KABOOM! We had to be ready to get off in a milisecond. Meanwhile the ship starts drifting with the current and turning in the river. Not good.
Luckily before the fire got too far another ship came alongside and we were able to jump aboard. It was pure luck that there was another ship travelling at night, close enough to help us. Suffice it to say that even if the ship had not come, we would have figured a way out of the situation. I do not have enough time to tell more, but it all ended well.
All of this is on film. I am sure Mickey would be happy to verify my account. And that was only 6 hours of an expedition that has gone 2100 miles and has another 3 or 4 thousand to go.
Mickey wants me to stay but I have to get back and earn some money. Student loans and all that must be paid. We have already made plans for me to rejoin the expedition in the not too distant future.
Carried on person: Hat, shirt, belt, pants, passport, DL, credit cards, ID, Marathon Tritium watch with date,
Cash, BK16, HEST 2.0, sharpening stone, lighter, jungle boots and socks.
So here was what was in my pack:
Fire
Fire Steel
Vaseline cotton balls in an ibuprofen bottle wrapped with ranger bands
3 bic lighters
Food/Water
MSR Titan Pot
Snow Peak spork
two 32 ounce nalgene bottles
Coleman's water purification tabs
4 ounces soy sauce
4 ounces Sriracha
Sleeping/Shelter
Outback single rectangular mosquito net (just in case)
MSR E Wing Tarp
Blackbird Warbonnet single bottom hammock
Gossamer gear ultralight sleeping pad
ear plugs
Feet
crocks
2 pairs of thin wool socks (one to be kept dry)
Clothing
Arcterix nylon short sleeved shirt
3 bandanas
Utility/Nav
My newly modified Altoids fishing kit (updated after much experimentation in the field)
Fenix LD-20 with head band and red cap
two AA Lithium batteries for extra
Base plate style compass
Garmin Rino 655T GPS/Radio
95 feet of orange paracord - one 25 foot length and the rest in 10
Gloves
Knives
My lawnmower blade parang/sheath
Leatherman Juice 2
First Aid
4X4 gauze pads
Various band aids
mole skin
duct tape
athletic tape
my modified ball point pen needle safe with needles/thread
a big tube of petroleum jelly
a container with ibuprofen/benedryl
sun screen
purell
baby wipes
cipro
malaria pills
MISC
Toothbrush/toothpaste
write in the rain notebook with pens
Loksak bags of various sizes
What do you grab out of the pack and why? Keep in mind you will only be able to carry a pound or two without sinking. You cannot take everything.
Here goes. We boarded a wooden freight ship headed from the last port between Tabatingo and Iquitos. It was supposed to come at 2PM but it did not arrive until 8PM. What can I say? It was on Peru time. When I say port I am using the term loosely. It was a muddy spot on the bank of the Amazon and the ship was big enough that it would not stop for us.
We loaded five people and 400 pounds of gear into a smaller boat that is not much bigger than a wooden canoe. We had to bail water out of the bottom of the canoe with a cut-off 2 liter bottle. We came alongside the ship and had to climb up the side with our packs. Every time someone went to step off the boat it would rock and almost tip over. Water would splash over the side into our small boat.
The big boat was a lot higher than our canoe so it was about a 6 foot difference that we had to climb and there was not a good handhold. There was pigshit and water on the floor and I had to do a pullup with my pack on and that was the handhold. If I slipped I would fall into the Amazon and either get chewed up by the prop of the motor on our canoe or by the engines of the big boat. Neither of these boats are going to stop their engines for one person. If I survived that, I would have to swim all the way to shore. The Amazon river is bigger and wider than the Mississippi river and it had just rained so the current was up and there was a lot of floating debris. On top of that, the river is filled with things that would like nothing better than to eat you. So falling in is not an option. The sun sets at 6PM so all of this was done in the dark.
After we all succesfully made it aboard, we climed to the upper deck and got ready to sleep. I do not know why but I had a sense that something could go wrong with the boat. Every once in a while I would catch a whif of smoke that was not normal diesel smoke. I knew that I would not be able to swim with the pack, so I prioritized what I would grab from my pack if I had to jump overboard and put it on top. I strung my hammock but I had a plan for 3 difference ways of escape should something go wrong.
I fell asleep. At about 2 in the morning I heard the engines stop abruptly. I knew something had gone very wrong. I quickly went down to the deck to see what was up. I saw smoke coming from the engine room and I grabbed Dalphine (one of the native guides) to ask about the fire. He said it was on fire. I ran back up to the upper deck, which was filling with smoke. Mickey Grosman was already yelling at our party to get ready to get the hell out of there. Mickey being Mickey, he asked Nixon (a native of Equador) to start filming. Nixon refused and even raised a fist at Mickey. Mickey fired Nixon on the spot and promoted me to camera man. LOL! We had time, but not much, so we gathered the gear and went to the deck to abandon ship. Meanwhile the other passengers of the ship were milling around like zombies waiting to be told what to do. Most of them did not even get out of their hammocks. If you want to know why people die in disasters, that is why.
When I say ship, you have to understand that it is not a ship like you are thinking. It is a wooden structure, packed to the ceiling with cargo and people in hammocks. There are pigs, chickens, monkeys, buffalo and most importantly, barrels of gasoline. If the fire hits a barrel of gasoline - KABOOM! We had to be ready to get off in a milisecond. Meanwhile the ship starts drifting with the current and turning in the river. Not good.
Luckily before the fire got too far another ship came alongside and we were able to jump aboard. It was pure luck that there was another ship travelling at night, close enough to help us. Suffice it to say that even if the ship had not come, we would have figured a way out of the situation. I do not have enough time to tell more, but it all ended well.
All of this is on film. I am sure Mickey would be happy to verify my account. And that was only 6 hours of an expedition that has gone 2100 miles and has another 3 or 4 thousand to go.
Mickey wants me to stay but I have to get back and earn some money. Student loans and all that must be paid. We have already made plans for me to rejoin the expedition in the not too distant future.
Carried on person: Hat, shirt, belt, pants, passport, DL, credit cards, ID, Marathon Tritium watch with date,
Cash, BK16, HEST 2.0, sharpening stone, lighter, jungle boots and socks.
So here was what was in my pack:
Fire
Fire Steel
Vaseline cotton balls in an ibuprofen bottle wrapped with ranger bands
3 bic lighters
Food/Water
MSR Titan Pot
Snow Peak spork
two 32 ounce nalgene bottles
Coleman's water purification tabs
4 ounces soy sauce
4 ounces Sriracha
Sleeping/Shelter
Outback single rectangular mosquito net (just in case)
MSR E Wing Tarp
Blackbird Warbonnet single bottom hammock
Gossamer gear ultralight sleeping pad
ear plugs
Feet
crocks
2 pairs of thin wool socks (one to be kept dry)
Clothing
Arcterix nylon short sleeved shirt
3 bandanas
Utility/Nav
My newly modified Altoids fishing kit (updated after much experimentation in the field)
Fenix LD-20 with head band and red cap
two AA Lithium batteries for extra
Base plate style compass
Garmin Rino 655T GPS/Radio
95 feet of orange paracord - one 25 foot length and the rest in 10
Gloves
Knives
My lawnmower blade parang/sheath
Leatherman Juice 2
First Aid
4X4 gauze pads
Various band aids
mole skin
duct tape
athletic tape
my modified ball point pen needle safe with needles/thread
a big tube of petroleum jelly
a container with ibuprofen/benedryl
sun screen
purell
baby wipes
cipro
malaria pills
MISC
Toothbrush/toothpaste
write in the rain notebook with pens
Loksak bags of various sizes
What do you grab out of the pack and why? Keep in mind you will only be able to carry a pound or two without sinking. You cannot take everything.
