I hadn’t paid attention to the ground instruction. I was just excited that it was time to rappel. I had been chosen to join the upperclassmen of the ROTC program for some advanced training. Apparently, this freshman had shown superior land navigation skills and “rabbit skinning/preparation skills” and it impressed […]
Educational
142 posts
Dentist-turned-“bush pilot” GEORGE ERICKSON flies his Piper Cub seaplane into the far reaches of the north. With a couple of close calls, Erickson sets up camp on unexplored lakes and rivers, fishes for trout, struggles with bad weather, overflies forest fires, and and mingles with polar bears, killer whales, musk […]
I slid by the muddy banks of the Grand River, gliding my kayak into the shadows of the trees. It was quiet, except for the gentle gurgle of water. Just then, I came upon a cow standing in the water. She looked at me – silent and still. I glared […]
This month – we consider “438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea “ On November 17, 2012, two men left the coast of Mexico for commercial fishing trip in the open Pacific. Though, in this part of the world, commercial fishing is done in small boats […]
The website CalTopo has been a powerful, versitle and useful mapping program/website for a number of years. SAR responders will also recognize the usefulness of “SARTopo”. Those who have used Caltopo will know that its usefulness ends when you close your laptop or desktop. . . that is until last week, when […]
This month – we consider “On Whale Island: Notes from a Place I Never Meant to Leave “ After Daniel Hays and his father built a twenty-five-foot boat and sailed it around Cape Horn, he thought he’d finally put his wanderlust to rest. He went back to school, bought a […]
I recently purchased a titanium wood stove from Seek Outside. This stove weighs 46 ounces including the smoke stack, damper and arrestor. I intend (in the beginning) to use the stove with a Tipi Tent (RedCliff) for winter travel. The RedCliff comes it at 78 ounces. All combined, they weigh […]
The quick patter of droplets on leaves told the story of a thunderstorm that had just passed. Myself and two other candidates waited in their vehicles under the cover of electrified darkness. Through my rearview mirror I spotted a dome light. “It looks like it might be a go”, I […]
“We’ll have to use the winch”, Cupcake declared. “Really?”, I thought to myself. All I really need is for one of you to actually “try” to ground guide me and perhaps to engage the lockers. This doesn’t need a winch. But, for the first time in a long time, I […]
Knot tying is an ancient thing. The earliest knowledge of knots (that I have ever found) dates to 300,000 years ago. Perforated stones, beads and pendants from that era have been found – suggesting the use of knots. Archaeology has suggested that knot work is important to human development. Without […]