Oregon man survives off taco sauce while trapped in vehicle with dog for 5 days

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/02/us/oregon-snow-taco-sauce/index.html

Based on the article, he made a lot of good decisions. When he got stuck and it was dark out, he slept in his vehicle. When he tried to hike out, he realized he couldn't make it, and made it back to his vehicle. He was on his way to get gas, but had enough to run it periodically to stay warm.

Excellent. Taco sauce is cheap and lasts forever in those little packets. What a great all-purpose survival food Yeah... no — a truck kit can do much better. You can do better with lifeboat rations and those are awful.

Good for him for surviving. But after sharing 5 days of that diet, I'll bet his dog's never gonna want to accompany him to Taco Bell again.

No-one dies from not eating for 5 days. Hydration is the important thing, not food.

I agree, the hot Sauce is a great example of poor reporting and a totally irrelevant fact. Dress Well, stay warm, keep hydrated and you can last 30 days.

Imagine how different this would be if he had packed $10 worth of water and groceries...

I don't see how it would have turned out all that different?

He and the dog were found, and were safe. The only difference would have been they would not have lost a bit of weight?

The hot sauce would merely make him want to drink more. How does that help the situation?

Jeanette Isabelle

Well the dog is out of luck. The latest news is that the guy has free Taco Bell for a year.

Well, the hot sauce would at least provide electrolytes.

Given this photo of the vehicle, I suspect carbon monoxide was the greater hazard.



Source: http://time.com/5542542/oregon-taco-sauce-man-missing/


But a free year of Taco Bell? That might create an entirely new survival situation.

Thirst probably wasn't a big issue. He had a source of warmth (at least so long as his auto gas held out), so he could probably contrive a means to melt snow. Nothing wrong with eating snow, either, except that it tends to chill one. But again, he had a means of rewarming with his car heater. And snow in the Oregon Cascades tends to have a high water content (though not always on the East side where he was). This means one usually doesn't need to melt or eat as much to stay hydrated.

LOL


Yes! Carbon monoxide is a very serious hazard when running a car engine for heat, when the car is parked in a blizzard. If you ever need to do that, you absolutely must get out periodically to make sure the tailpipe isn't getting buried in such a way that CO will get into the car!

Aside from that, the heffalump in the room is: how did he disappear for five days without anyone noticing?

Likely the same old answer ... "a three hour tour / a three hour tour."

At least he had the sense to stay with his vehicle.

(Given my impromptu adventures when I was young and immortal, I'm not in a hurry to cast stones. )