Interesting article, Crudos! I'm curious what kind of cactus it was that defeated this dude. You can, and I have, eaten fruit from several different cacti, as well as the pads of prickly pear cactus, but something like a saguaro cactus would be difficult (if it doesn't squish you like a bug when it topples over). I already had it in my head that alcohol increased chances of hypothermia and I'm a little put off that homeboy a) went anywhere without a knife, especially a desert, and b) isn't willing to drink his own piss to survive, regardless of how viable that option is...
As far as snake bites, the current thinking is that you shouldn't bother with pumps or tourniquets, they can cause damage and, the more you move, the faster your heart will be pumping blood and spreading the venom. You should remain as calm as possible, keep the affected extremity above your heart if possible and get to a hospital.
Rattlesnake myth: I was always told that they have different anti-venoms for each type of snake and if you didn't know which kind bit you, you would have to get injections of all of them, but Walker recently dispelled that myth. There's one rattlesnake anti-venom and here in NM, we only have one hospital that keeps it on hand. It may be smart to know what hospitals in your local area keep things like anti-venom on hand.
This is a great article to spark inquiry, but I think the author is liberally applying his knowledge. When I get the chance, I'll delve into what cacti are edible and what shade of yellow means let it mellow (regarding your new favorite beverage- pissade)
BTW, JM, you do have a better chance of drinking "safe" water from a spot in the creek where it's being aerated, like a small water fall or rapids. Even when we're throwing iodine tabs in, we still try to collect the water from such a spot.
