Ideas in Progress

Darwin works both ways, and man didn’t get to the top of the food chain by accident. The “Tough Guy Award” is the opposite of the Darwin Award.

Since I didn’t post a Tough Guy Award last week, I’ll do a double award this week. It is said that coyotes are so tough that they will gnaw their own leg off to escape from a trap. Coyotes don’t have anything on Coloradans when it comes to toughness. This weeks double “Tough Guy Award” goes to Aron Ralston and William Jeracki, both from Colorado. Mr. Ralston was trapped alone when a shifting boulder pinned his arm and after five days without rescue he had to cut off his own arm to escape. Mr. Jeracki was trapped alone when another shifting boulder fell on his leg. With a snowstorm blowing in he had to cut off his leg to escape.

Besides demonstrating extreme toughness, both of these incidents are good lessons on the dangers of traveling in the wilderness alone. Yes, plenty of mountain men were solitary but they also tended to die in unpleasant ways. If you are going to be in the wilderness alone, tell someone where you are going and/or invest in one of the new personal locator beacons.