Alaska Gold Rush Diary

And so, the two men, armed with sharp machetes, trudged forward, cutting through the vines and branches that blocked their path.

Their clothes were already soaked, but neither of them cared.

"Watch out!" A Luo suddenly shouted a warning, then flew over and slashed at the tree next to Zhou Xin with his knife.

Zhou Xin looked down and saw a small, bright green snake that had been cut in half, but was still writhing and struggling on the ground.

"Thank you!" Zhou Xin said, a chill running down his spine.

This snake looks extremely venomous; if you were bitten, it would be very dangerous.

This made him even more cautious, like that emerald green snake, hidden among the leaves, impossible to spot without careful observation.

Every step from here on out must be taken only after confirming that it is safe to do so.

Besides venomous snakes, extra caution must also be taken with venomous insects such as spiders, scorpions, and centipedes.

Leeches are everywhere, so you need to try your best to avoid them.

This makes the travel speed even slower.

But there's no other way; safety has to be the top priority, because if anyone gets hurt, their speed will be further reduced.

And so, the two of them trudged through the jungle, not knowing how long they had walked, until it was nearly noon when Zhou Xin finally announced that they should rest.

The two found a relatively clean large rock, sat down on it, and started fanning themselves vigorously with their clothes.

"Let's rest for half an hour, and then continue our journey," Zhou Xin said.

"Hmm." Alo remained as taciturn as ever.

For lunch, the two of them ate compressed biscuits again, and because the biscuits were so dry, they had to drink more water to swallow them.

They then discovered that they had very little water left.

Although this place is known as a rainforest and seems to have no shortage of water, it is actually quite difficult to find safe drinking water when there is no water flow around.

Walking in the jungle causes a lot of sweating, so you need to drink water constantly to replenish the lost fluids.

They were already being very frugal, but the water they brought was still almost gone.

Fortunately, Zhou Xin had watched a lot of rainforest survival documentaries before, and he had also studied the relevant knowledge of surviving in the South American rainforest before coming here.

He circled around and quickly fixed his gaze on a few vines that were wrapped around the tree.

He tapped the vine with the back of the knife, producing a thumping sound.

Zhou Xin chopped the vine at the lower part of its length, and water quickly flowed out from the cut.

He first took a few sips with his mouth, then took out the water bottle and filled it.

Under his instructions, Alo followed suit, cutting down the same vines and collecting the water flowing out.

Although each vine didn't release much water, there were enough vines to fill each of them halfway through the two of them.

With the water problem temporarily resolved and the two having rested sufficiently, they continued their journey.

After walking for a while, Zhou Xin's eyes lit up, and he walked towards a half-dead tree.

The tree is dead, and many dark things have grown on its trunk.

"fungus!"

These wood ear mushrooms are already dried, but they will rehydrate once soaked in water.

These are very delicious things. If we had found them yesterday and stewed them into pheasant soup, yesterday's dinner would have been even more delicious and plentiful.

He collected all the dried wood ear mushrooms from the tree trunk and put them in his backpack.

Not knowing how much longer he would have to walk through the jungle to find a mining site, he had to consider his food supply during that time.

To lighten their load, the two of them each brought only ten compressed biscuits, a pack of noodles, and a very small pack of flour.

These things obviously won't last more than a few days; the remaining food will have to be found in the jungle.

Zhou Xin decided to minimize the consumption of the food he carried and use it as emergency rations.

Next, if we encounter anything edible along the way, we collect it.

Having made up his mind, Zhou Xin paid even more attention to collecting food as he moved forward.

He also taught Alo about several common edible plants, encouraging him to pay attention to them as well.

Then, as Zhou Xin passed a pile of fallen dead trees, he pressed his ear to them and listened, before chopping at them with his knife.

The inside of the dead wood was almost completely reduced to sawdust, which crumbled at the slightest touch.

Zhou Xin used the tip of his knife to dig inside and quickly found some plump, white insects.

Although these insects look disgusting, they are actually high in protein.

In addition, since their food is wood, they are actually very clean.

With A Luo's help, Zhou Xin dug out all the insects from the wood, filling a whole jar.

They continued on their way, and after walking for a short while, they saw several very thick palm trees.

The two men used knives to cut down the palm tree and took out the tender white palm core inside.

The palm trees in the rainforest were all very thick and sturdy, and even though the two of them only took the tenderest parts, they still harvested quite a lot.

Palm heart has a sweet taste, is rich in starch, and is very filling, making it a perfect staple food.

Of course, they didn't collect too many, because palm trees are very common in the rainforest and can be taken as needed.

After collecting them, the two of them each held a tender palm heart and ate it as they walked, like gnawing on sugarcane.

When it got to around 4 p.m., Zhou Xin realized that it would be difficult to find water today, so he decided to set up camp on the spot and not continue to go forward.

Darkness falls quickly in the jungle, and if we continue walking, it may be dark before we find a suitable place to camp.

They were currently in a relatively open area of ​​the forest with fewer trees.

This was also one of the reasons why Zhou Xin decided to stop and set up camp; such a place is not easy to find in the jungle.

This time, the two brought a hammock tent.

In the jungle, sleeping off the ground can help avoid most dangers.

This type of hammock tent has a hammock underneath. Once it's suspended, people can crawl into the tent and sleep in the hammock, completely lifting their bodies off the ground.

In this way, ground-dwelling venomous insects and snakes will no longer be a problem, and the sealed tent will also keep mosquitoes out.

The two of them each found two trees that were close together and sturdy enough, and quickly set up the hammock tent.

After the tent was set up, Zhou Xin and A Luo gathered some dry firewood nearby, cleared a space, and lit a fire.

As the fire was lit, the two felt not only warmth but also a strong sense of security.

For jungle survivors, a burning campfire is like a jungle television, bringing them mental uplift and a sense of security.

A campfire can effectively repel wild animals and even scare away venomous snakes.

Therefore, lighting a fire in the jungle symbolizes the ignition of hope.