My family and I had an awesome weekend with the
Sierra School of Survival. This is an
outstanding program run by Doug Huffman. His survival knowledge is
unapproachable and the confidence he instills in individuals is amazing to
watch. We had an awesome time in the Sierra Nevada Mountains working on drill
based activities. We also had a night mission for our team to complete. The
bonding that happened between myself, my husband, and my 13 year old son,
Fletcher was priceless. What an incredible experience! It was definitely worth
it to take the time from our projects and chores to get out and try something
new.
We practiced a lot of drill based activities but some I absolutely loved.
Personally I enjoy practicing close quarters combat. Doug's no nonsense style
brings these activities to life and sometimes in rather gruesome reality. We
also practiced how to appropriately move and cross roads when you may not want
to be noticed by others. Practicing lock picking was something I never thought
I would be doing but it is rather easy to escape from handcuffs and you never
know when that might come in handy, especially for all the ladies out there.
Finally we talked a lot about the different camouflage systems that are out
there and what works and doesn't for different areas. Check out these pictures
for an example.
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| Here's Fletcher |
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| I bet you can see him here! |
 |
| But can you find him here? |
You can go ahead and send me a post on where you think he is in the
third picture and I'll let you know if your right.
During our trip we also had a night time mission. Our family (eventually
dubbed team carnivore) had to pick an ideal camp location. This had to be a
spot where the heat would reflect well off a rock from a small fire and our
tarps could be hung close by or directly over the fire to keep us warm and dry.
We then had to set up the tarp and start our fire. Fletcher took charge of the
fire, while my husband and I got the tarps all set up. Once the fire was
prepared we had to figure out how to cook a rabbit that we were given. We ended
up cooking it on a flat rock over the fire with a mixture of wild onions and
sage. Darn was it good!
This experience was so great for our family! The bonding that occurred
between us because we had to face this objective together and tackle it
together could never be replaced. Sometimes when dealing with a thirteen year
old boy it is hard to find some common ground. The team spirit that was
harvested through this process brought us all right together. I was able to
trust fully in his abilities and skills. I am so proud of the great man he is
becoming and I have to thank Doug Huffman at
Sierra School of Survival for providing
the environment for this kind of realization to take place.
Sara F. Hathaway
Sara F. Hathaway is the author of
the The Changing Earth Series:
Day After Disaster and
Without Land. She also
hosts
The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with
educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a
profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors
from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science
in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In
her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and
forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront
in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business
management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights
in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband
and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels.
For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring
everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit:
www.authorsarafhathaway.com
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