Bear Grylls’ 5 Tips for Celebrity Wilderness Survival

Gregory E. Miller July 20, 2015, 6:00 am

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Running-Wild-with-Bear-Grylls_S02_TVGM — Mark Challender/NBC

"This season took some of the biggest stars in the world to their very edge, and it is powerful to watch," says Grylls (left, with Ferguson).

Only one man can convince Hollywood’s A-list to trade in their Louboutins for hiking boots. Eccentric survivalist Bear Grylls once again strips celebrities of their glitz and glamour to get down and dirty in the great outdoors on the second season of Running Wild With Bear Grylls. The show tests the limits of stars like Kate Hudson, Kate Winslet and James Marsden, and tonight, Grylls takes Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson 6,000 feet down Italy’s snowy mountain peak Croda dei Toni. If Mitchell Pritchett can make it out there, the rest of us should be able to as well, right? To find out, we proposed a scenario to Grylls: We’ve awoken in unfamiliar woods, alone, sans supplies. How do we get out alive?

1. Worry about the weather. “If you are wet and it is windy and cold, you will die very fast,” Grylls warns. “Ditto if you are in a desert with no water or shelter. Don’t underestimate the power of the elements. Seek protection from the cold or heat as a top priority.”

2. Turn yourself into a pinwheel. “To get warm, swing your arms around with relaxed fingers and straight arms,” he advises. “It drives blood centrifugally into your extremities.”

3. Expand your palate. “Eat bugs like earthworms, scorpions or maggots. In the wild, you are never far from a meal if you know where to look. Bear poo sounds like it isn’t edible, but I once picked all the bits of undigested fruit out of it and cleaned them off—good food.”

4. Stay hydrated at any cost. “When you’re on an adventure out in the wilderness, the most important thing you need to find is drinkable water,” says Grylls. “In this situation, if all else fails—as disgusting as it may seem—you can drink your own pee if you are still well hydrated. I have had to do this many times.”

5. If you see a bear, run. “Or climb a tree,” Grylls suggests. “If not, make loud, aggressive noises and make yourself look and sound big and scary. And if none of those works, attack it and fight aggressively until you win. Your life depends on it!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0UmguUjl8g

Running Wild With Bear Grylls, Season premiere, Monday, July 20, 10/9c, NBC