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Mar. 3rd, 2014 08:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
camwynSo this weekend we made fire.
It was for an REI Outdoor School winter survival skills class. Some lecture, some hands-on- a lot of the lecture was on preparation and the ten essentials to bring with us on hikes and camping trips. Some of it was practicals, like building an emergency one- or two-person shelter from fallen wood in the event that we had to wait something out before rescue, or melting snow and boiling it over a camp stove (which we had to be able to deploy and use) to make it safe to drink. And one of the practicals was learning to make a fire using only the materials on hand and two matches (or, in one guy's case, a firesteel he had in his pocket). Fun stuff, although I think I'd expected a little more detail of things like land navigation, but then again unless you really know your stuff you're more likely to get yourself lost if you try to start moving instead of sitting and signaling and waiting for rescue. So that makes sense.
I'll be spending most of this week working on my assignment (assignments? I'm not sure how many I'm supposed to do) for the Invisible Ficathon, but at least I got out this weekend.
It was for an REI Outdoor School winter survival skills class. Some lecture, some hands-on- a lot of the lecture was on preparation and the ten essentials to bring with us on hikes and camping trips. Some of it was practicals, like building an emergency one- or two-person shelter from fallen wood in the event that we had to wait something out before rescue, or melting snow and boiling it over a camp stove (which we had to be able to deploy and use) to make it safe to drink. And one of the practicals was learning to make a fire using only the materials on hand and two matches (or, in one guy's case, a firesteel he had in his pocket). Fun stuff, although I think I'd expected a little more detail of things like land navigation, but then again unless you really know your stuff you're more likely to get yourself lost if you try to start moving instead of sitting and signaling and waiting for rescue. So that makes sense.
I'll be spending most of this week working on my assignment (assignments? I'm not sure how many I'm supposed to do) for the Invisible Ficathon, but at least I got out this weekend.
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Date: 2014-03-03 03:15 pm (UTC)Okay, so maybe we do since I have yet to make actual fire from just sticks and shit. I've gotten to the point of super hot, and even smoking, but no araca as of yet. I'm hoping to give it a shot next camping trip out. I've been told that my problem is the fire bow I've been using has been too short.
Cool the one guy had the firesteel. My bro used to carry around one of those magnesium bar things with him all the time. Those are nifty.
You have so many fun adventures. I'm curious on what their ten essentials were.
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Date: 2014-03-03 03:20 pm (UTC)Navigation (map and compass)
Sun protection (sunglasses and sunscreen)
Insulation (extra clothing)
Illumination (headlamp/flashlight)
First-aid supplies
Fire (waterproof matches/lighter/candles)
Repair kit and tools
Nutrition (extra food)
Hydration (extra water)
Emergency shelter
There's been some form of that list since the 1930s; they updated it a bit in 2003. But you get the idea.
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Date: 2014-03-03 04:21 pm (UTC)I cringe at the people I see traipsing off into the foothills here with nothing but their hiking shorts and a Camelback in tow. Usually in sandals.
Why anyone would go hiking in sandals is beyond me. Especially in the desert.
'Hello cactus, stickers, snakes, bugs, and jagged granite rocks! Let me feed you my toes!' *facepalms*
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Date: 2014-03-03 04:30 pm (UTC)Leave. A. Note.
Go with people if you can, and if you can't, make sure people know where you're going. If the rescuers don't know where to start looking for you, there's a good chance they're not gonna look in the right place, assuming they go to look at all. You don't wanna be Aron Ralston, man, even Aron Ralston probably didn't want to be Aron Ralston.
no subject
Date: 2014-03-03 06:08 pm (UTC)No one wants to be Aron Ralston, for sure. Except I guess for James Franco.