Hi Dave!
I was the girl who went
solo in Parry Sound last weekend. I just wanted to thank you for giving
me the opportunity (none of the other leaders wanted to let me go
alone). I knew I could do it (but I really didn't have Jeff convinced
until the next morning when I was smiling)! And I thought I would
be warmer by myself as I could build a smaller shelter and hog the
fire, and I couldn't complain because any problems I encountered were
my fault alone.
It was certainly some
of the hardest work I've ever done - I literally didn't stop from
about 11:40 when I found my site until 8 pm, when I was sawing in
the dark and piling material onto my shelter from a pile I had made
of spruce saplings while it was still light out.
The biggest problem I had
in being alone was maintaining the fire while trying to construct
the shelter and collecting more wood. I felt like I spent the whole
day collecting and transferring firewood. If the fire could have maintained
itself, then the work would have been so much more reasonable. I was
so tired by 8 pm that I crashed in the shelter for about two hours,
but I was up for the rest of the night with 20 min naps here and there
(since there was no one else to watch the fire). Oh, and I set myself
on fire twice, so I was paranoid after that.
You were right about the
rock - it just reflected heat back into my face, and I had an emergency
blanket taped behind me, so it felt like I was in an oven. I was literally
sweating and took off my coat - I had no idea that it was minus 15
outside!! It was such a surprise to be so warm - toasty and cozy but
utterly exhausted would be the words I'd use to describe my night.
And thirsty. Paul came around to check on me and I definitely was
not drinking enough (I didn't want to get up and go outside into the
cold). Next time I will make sure I drink more, and I will manage
the fire better (I got the hang of it by the middle of the night in
terms of how high and hot to let it burn to give me the best heat
for the least amount of effort).
Also, it was amazing. All
I used was a folding saw, a flint stick, duct tape, a headlamp, a
tin can, the snowshoes, and one emergency blanket. I wasn't even hungry,
except that I felt the headache when you require some sugar. I didn't
have extra clothes or food, I decided to go with the bare minimum
and it workd out. So I will definitely carry those survival items
with me, as they don't really take up any space and I know that they
are useful in building a shelter.
Basically, I can't say
enough about birch bark, emergency blankets, or duct tape, and I wanted
to thank you for letting me try it on my own (after all, it's for
practice and I wasn't actually lost or going to die). I am an environmental
science student and I do a lot of field work where a plane drops me
off at a lake 10 kms from another field team, so it was important
for me to know I could make it on my own. However, in terms of the
mental conditioning, I know that if I am ever lost I will still have
to really try to control to urge to panic, because even last weekend,
when I wasn't actually lost, I wasn't panicking, but I was definitely
highly stressed and frantic until I had my shelter done and a good
supply of firewood for the night (probably because the other leaders
didn't want me to go off alone so I was very determined and also very
worried about "surviving").
So, thanks for a great
experience! Also, maybe you could email me some info on the Wilderness
First Aid course that Paul runs, as I know that would really benefit
my work.
Thanks Dave, best wishes,
S___.
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