The article I am reading has the following sentence:
Fast zwei Jahre lang hat er sich da schon durch die Wildnis Lateinamerikas geschlagen.
I can't quite work out what is going on with the 'sich' since schlagen isn't reflexive as far as I am aware. It could be that it is being used for emphasis:
1) "For almost two years he has fought through the wilderness of Latin America himself."
But the accusative makes it sound more like it means this:
2) "For almost two years he has beaten himself through the wilderness of Latin America."
Which doesn't seem to make much sense (why would he be beating himself?).
There is a third option where it means more like the English "I battled my way through":
3) "For almost two years he has battled his way through the wilderness of Latin America."
This makes more sense, but doesn't come up in my dictionary as a possibility.
Which reading is the most accurate?