Montana Hikers, Take Note: Teen Survives Days Lost on Toothpaste

If you’ve ever spent any time in the Montana backcountry, you know how things can go sideways in record time. One wrong turn, a sudden pop-up storm, or faulty gear, and you’re in a survival situation. And that’s how it unfolded for 18-year-old Sun Liang. But he hadn’t disappeared in the Bob Marshall or the Beartooths. He had become stranded on one of China’s deadliest trails, and his only food for five days? Toothpaste.

A Hike Gone Wrong

Sun went hiking on the Ao-Tai Trail in Qinling Mountains. (No big deal. It is ONLY a 100+ mile long trail.) A trail that was closed in 2018 following several deaths on it. But that didn’t stop him. Loaded down with 70 pounds of gear and a map he had downloaded, he assumed he was prepared.

Sound familiar? Every year, search and rescue teams in Montana get called out for similar incidents. Hikers who got lost, people who weren’t ready for the wilderness, people who don’t read signs.

How He Survived

Sun got by with toothpaste for five days. He rationed it out so that he could convince his stomach he’d eaten. He melted snow for drinking water, sheltered from the wind and high-altitude storms, and curled up behind boulders.

On the tenth day, he heard rescuers call his name. He screamed, and after a long search that lasted days, 30 people found him.” It was no cheap rescue. His family reportedly paid about $11,000 for the whole deal.

Lessons for Montana Hikers

Our mountains may not be the Qinling Range, but they can be just as unforgiving. So, whether you’re hiking the Bitterroots, blood-trailing elk in the Crazy Mountains, or fishing deep in the Bob, here’s what Sun’s story can teach us:

• Always Tell Someone Where You Are Going
• Backup Communication - Radios
• Travel Light: Only Pack the Essentials
• Know Your Boundaries – Your Life Is Worth More Than The Risk

Sun was lucky. But luck isn’t a strategy. If you dare into the Montana backcountry, be careful. Because out there, nature is not giving you a break.