Man-vs-Wild saves 9-year old's life

[Racerx2oo3]

My kids (9 and 6) always have a whistle with them on any hike, and they know that if they get lost. Stay put and start blowing that thing.

They also each have one of these and a space blanket. That way if they do end up spending the night in the woods. A bit of light should help, plus it's a backup whistle.

 

[valcas1]

I am happy to see that it ended with the child being found.

I think he was doing the best that he could with his 9 year old mindset.

+1 on him finding shelter under a fallen tree.

We also don't know what he had in his backpack that he dropped because he was so nervous? It might have had survival supplies that his parents packed for him. I guess we will never know for sure.

I am leaning towards giving him the thumbs up for thinking and acting the best way he knew how. Even though one of us would have done it differently.

 

[hector81]

this is the part that I really liked about the whole story.
"Grayson created a small shelter overnight under a fallen tree."
Im glad he was found.

 

[ROCK6]

I agree with the other posts... But I do have to say that the show provided him with something to think about.

I would agree. Thinking is the first big step as most would just panic and worry. I know most 9-10 year olds would be crying all night if they had to stay out in a situation like that (my son is begging me though).

Another reason I wanted a small kit that my son could wear as a belt and could be left on even when sleeping.

I also agree that the kids made some mistakes; fortunately he's alive to learn and for others to learn from. I use to have some marking tape in my son's older pack...it wouldn't hurt to role several feet up for his small kit as well...?

I think most agree that Man vs. Wild is more entertainment and if you put it into perspective, it can be enjoyable. I would prefer that show for my kids over cartoons or video games!

ROCK6

 

[koyote]

Well, the kid didn't Follow The Sacred Book Of Proper Procedure. Guess he's gonna be a brownshoe instead of a bubblehead when he grows up!

Okay- 1: He acknowledged that leaving the backpack behind wasn't smart- re RECOGNIZED what had gone wrong.

2: While my kids have the stay put rule (good luck with that) there's another side to this: "Stay put, the grown ups will rescue you" sounds a lot like "Stay put, the gummint will come to the rescue".

3: We get a bit freaky here about details- like being able to cut .005 more depth of wood per stroke with a handsaw. It's all fun and max performance is a great goal to have- but reality is that most of the time, unless there's really extreme situations, just Doing Stuff will see you through, even if it isn't the One True Way. Hell, the boy didn't even have a .44 magnum! How the hell could he possibly have survived a night in the woods??!?!?!?


Okay, some of what he did was flat out dumb, some wasn't. Making the decision to keep moving may not be the top choice, but it's probably better to stick to it than to hem and haw and start and stop and get your panties bunched. Tearing up the rain slicker? I dunno- was it really a rain slicker or just a nylon windbreaker? how intermittent was the intermittent rain? what was he wearing? what other trail marking options did he have?

I am gonna toss a little bit of pink surveyor's tape in the kits, though. The one orange bandana may not be enough.

 

[Pahtoocara]

I can relate to that story. Ironically, while hiking just a couple nights ago in the Smokey Mountains I had a 15 year-old relative decide to wander off and follow a deer trail.

 

[dougo83]

I can't believe those calling a 9yr old stupid. The kid did what it took to be found. Yea, he tore up a jacket, an uncertain term that could describe any number of garments. It was yellow, so it helped him mark his trail. Also, following a river is a fairly acceptable solution, especially if it is in a well-populated or traveled area. any creek I follow near my house is gonna run into a lake and about 20 or so boaters in any one spot. Seems reasonable. Should his parents have taught him better? Sure. But what they really should have done is watch their kid.

 

[ROCK6]

I can't believe those calling a 9yr old stupid. The kid did what it took to be found. Yea, he tore up a jacket, an uncertain term that could describe any number of garments. It was yellow, so it helped him mark his trail. Also, following a river is a fairly acceptable solution, especially if it is in a well-populated or traveled area. any creek I follow near my house is gonna run into a lake and about 20 or so boaters in any one spot. Seems reasonable. Should his parents have taught him better? Sure. But what they really should have done is watch their kid.

I think it was more of him making some stupid decisions...but I agree, he's a 9 year old...heck I give my son a lot of credit but he still makes dumb decisions from time to time

ROCK6

 

[dougo83]

I think it was more of him making some stupid decisions...but I agree, he's a 9 year old...heck I give my son a lot of credit but he still makes dumb decisions from time to time

ROCK6

Yea...you kinda have a point. He didn't do what a bunch of monday morning qb's would have done. At 9yo, there ain't a whole lot to indicate that many of us, some have even admitted it, would be in the fetal position crying. I am 25. What I would do in that situation is irrelevant because of my age and experience.

 

[x39]

I'd venture a guess that he's stronger, wiser, and more self confident as a result if this little adventure than he would be had he "done everything right" and been found immediately or not gotten lost to begin with. I'd call that the best measure of a successful ending. Taking risks and prevailing is a vital part of growing up that is increasingly rare in our culture of security.

 

[popedandy]

I'm glad the kid is okay, but he got lucky. I think he deserves credit for regaining his composure, for building a shelter for the night, and for getting out in the open so the helicopter crew could spot him. They would have been calling his name over their loudspeaker, so he would have know they were looking for him. The markers he left must have helped them narrow down the area they had to search. There is an awful lot of mountain country out there and a person can get really lost in a very short time.

Having helped on one search in that area, I think it would have been better if the parents had instructed the kids to stop as soon as they realized they were lost. I'm also a proponent of making sure each person is carrying a whistle - the sound carries much better than a voice and you don't go hoarse from yelling.

The story could have turned out a lot worse. I used to work on that forest and it isn't the sort of place I'd want my kid wandering around lost. He was probably up around 10,000 feet. It can get pretty cold at night. I've had water bottles freeze solid in August. He had about a million acres to wander around in (literally). The odds of running into another person are slim at best. In a full summer of hiking one of the main trails for three days every weekend I only ran into one other person. Even if the kid had followed a stream, it would have been a very long walk until he got to a road, assuming he was lucky enough to cross one. Forget about following a stream to town. There is only one town, and it is quite a ways from where he was at.

However, he did regain his composure after the first little bit. That says a lot for him. And things did work out well in the end.

 

[Wildewinds]

I called him stupid, but maybe that's a bit harsh. He's just ignorant. It's his parents that are the stupid ones. Really, really stupid. My 3 year old has gone hiking with me a few times already. She's well versed in what she should do if she ever gets lost. Tearing up her jacket and following a river is not part of the game plan. This 9 year old's parents should have given him a whistle and a simple set of instructions.

Those of you who are praising his initiative really need a dose of reality. No kid should be taught to effect their own rescue via the Bear Grylls style of making your way downstream/downhill towards civilization if they get lost. They need to be taught to make a lot of noise and stay put. Every step they take away from the point they got lost only makes it harder to find them.

 

[chuckinohio]

It's possible that like alot of todays kids he doesn't have alot of parental input, and the television is his babysitter.

Chuck

 

[attej]

Having helped on one search in that area, I think it would have been better if the parents had instructed the kids to stop as soon as they realized they were lost. I'm also a proponent of making sure each person is carrying a whistle - the sound carries much better than a voice and you don't go hoarse from yelling.

:thumbup: This, IMHO, is the most important advice for anyone hiking with kids. I think kids should always carry a whistle. Lost in a mall, being approached by some creep or whatever, blowing a whistle will draw attention.

For the actual topic; Im glad the kid is ok. I think there are a lot of adults out there that might have panicked and performed a lot worse.

 

[untamed]

My $0.02 worth: The kid did the wrong thing, but the fact that he did something is worth a lot. I'd have probably freaked out when I was 9.

Superbly well put!

My experience comes from teaching martial arts and personal readiness tactics for some time. In whatever kind of "wilderness", whether in the mean streets or the jungle, (we can nitpick and arm-chair analyze before and after), it may not be the most macho, the most ideal or the most effective method, but while we are in the thick of it, we must do the best we can to survive our predicament.

 

[C_Kyle]

That's a decent kit. I'm surprised to see the cravat. They're extremely useful for all kinds of stuff.

 

[dextersp1]

This is kind of where I'm at. I'm looking less at the specific skills he misinterpretted, and more at the lesson he learned about keeping a cool head and making a plan. So his plan was flawed. He's 9. I agree that a different 9-year old may have freaked out and done something REALLY stupid.

So, the lost 9y/o did a good job because some one might have done something dumber?

He did two dumb things that he learned from the show
1 - tore up protective clothing
2 - followed a stream thinking it would lead to a lake and help - moving away from help - The host of the show often says to do that and often does follow streams on the show.

As with most survival situations like this; the best option is to stay where you are; conserve energy and wait for help. A 9 y/o might not know that but a parent should tell them that and the child should rely on that info; not a TV show.

 

[bikerider]

I don't know if you guys remember but a year or two ago, some 10 year old kid got separated from his group and spent a few nights out in the woods. He even heard the call of searchers but didn't respond because he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. While this kid made mistakes he did somethings right.

My 7 year old is currently afraid to be in the house by himself... couldn't imagine what he would do in the dark forest by himself.

 

[kgd]

I'm usually one to chime in on a little rant about Bear and his show. However, here is a situation that turned out pretty good. Sure, maybe the kid made some errors in judgment, but he was thinking about his survival in a rational way.

I'll concur with the earlier statement, that he did something to take survival into his own hands and that shows real maturity for a nine year old. While us internet warriors like to debate the decision of ripping up his yellow jacket, the key point is that the action demonstrated he was level headed enough to think 'Signal'. It would have been smart to stay put. It would have been desirable to have a whistle. He didn't have those things. He worked with what he had. He built a shelter for overnight, again showing very level headed thinking. I haven't seen in this thread one of the survival tenants - Making a decision and acting on it is way towards attaining psychological stability and that stability - generating the will to survive - is a key to success.

Watching Bear's show gave the boy a sense of confidence that he might otherwise not have. He felt he had some way to take control of his situation. I'm glad it turned out all right.

For all of you who have lambasted him for keeping on the move while being lost. I'll only ask you to think about how many times you have been lost yourself. I doubt anybody can say there wasn't a time that you didn't get lost or disorientated. How many of those times did you just stay put rather than circle back and try to find your way on the trail? Well - I've pretty much always found my way out in those circumstances - but the point I'm trying to make is that it is a pretty common experience kid or not to try and find your way back.

Telling a kid or an adult to stay put might be sound advice. Actually acting on this is something that few of us really act on reality.

If Bear Gryllis is reading this - and that isn't going to happen - but I have to say kudos to your show on this one! Maybe making it entertaining is reaching the wider audience and teaching the some useful things. Now if you could just tone down the dangerous advice, I'll be willing to revisit my harsh criticism of Man vs Wild...

 

[j williams]

Glad the lil dude made it home safe. All else is secondary.