Fire Safety

Source: News24

On January 22 , 1944 Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s …

The post Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 22, 2020 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

Added to the training schedule for 2020, Defensive Concealed Handgun (DCH) and HEAT 0.5 Combat Carbine classes:

• DCH 14-15 March
• HEAT 0.5 2-3 May
• DCH 1-2 August
• HEAT 0.5 5-6 September
• DCH 21-22 November

The primary instructor for these classes is Scott. He is a master instructor. The knowledge you will gain in these two-day classes is unsurpassed. The DCH class is not a carry permit class, but a real-life based self-defense and concealed carry class.

January 27th is commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today is the birthday of singer-songwriter Kate Wolf. (Born 1942, died December 10, 1986.)  Her untimely death of leukemia at age 44 cut short an amazing career and robbed America of a great songwriting talent. This is also the birthday of the late Helen Chenoweth (born, 1938, died October 2, 2006). She was a controversial Republican congresswoman from Orofino, Idaho. — Seed for Security, LLC is having a special sale: Their Colossal Security Pack is 15% off. This pack is a total of seven pounds of vegetable, grain, and herb seeds. …

The post Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 27, 2020 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

American Hiking Society is pleased to announce the third class of NextGen Trail Leaders, bringing together rising stars in the outdoor community from across the country. Through American Hiking Society, NextGen Trail Leaders will speak out to elected officials and engage the millions-strong hiking community on the need to protect public lands and build more…

The post Third Class of American Hiking Society’s NextGen Trail Leaders Announced appeared first on American Hiking Society.

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As we move into 2020, it is a good time to remind you of some classes that we have available. The Squad Tactics class is the successor to the excellent Combat Leader Course (CLC). We have adapted the CLC into a 4 Day class, where you have the option of being a squad member, or additionally taking on the role of Squad Leader and Team Leader.

With two full missions per day, force on force against dedicated OPFOR, you will be part of a squad which will plan, rehearse and then execute each mission in a fully simulated combat environment. This is the huge piece missing from a lot of training – the full aspect of planning and executing missions as a team.

In order to continue the excellent training offered by the CLC, the class has been replaced by HEAT Squad Tactics. Follow the link below to read more about this successor 4 day class.

MORE INFO

TRAINING CLASSES LINK

TRAINING CALENDAR LINK

This section started with a long dirt road walk which would have been much nicer without the camping problem in populated areas. Everything was fenced in or a house nearby so that I was very happy when I found this little spot beside the dirt road. But when I was just falling asleep I heard shooting in the distance – and unfortunately the shots came closer and closer. Around midnight a truck with a group of rowdy hunters passed my campsite. What should I do? If I stayed quiet they might mistake my tent for an animal and shoot me. If I made myself apparent I would have to explain to a group of drunk guys what I was doing here in the middle of the night. I didn’t know what was more dangerous … I stayed quiet and the truck passed – only to come back at 3 am! But as I am still able to write this you will have guessed that luckily nothing happened to. But I was a bit sleep deprived the next day which started with a long ascent up to another volcanic plateau. And of course it was hot and of course there was not much water ….

I thought that I could cross the 20 kilometer plateau easily with 3,5 litres of water but I was wrong. There was no trail marking whatsoever and I got lost frequently. No big deal in this open landscape but it was time and water consuming … The landscape reminded me a lot of Jurassic Park and I sort of expected a dinosaur to come around the corner any time.

It soon became very clear that I would not be able to cross the plateau and descend the same day. Luckily Jan shows a detour to a water source on top of the plateau so I decided to camp there and call it a day. But when I arrived at the water source it turned out to be a stinking shallow cow pond. The idea of having to drink this disgusting water mobilized my last energy and I decided to walk a bit further to a real lake. It took my almost 45 minutes to hike this distance of less than 1 kilometer because it was a horrible bushwhack down a steep slope. I was getting nervous now because the light was fading. If I wasn’t able to camp at the lake shore I would not be able to get back in the dark …

The lake was pristine and only few adventurous cows had ever ventured here. The beach was very small but just big enough to accommodate my tent. In fact, it turned out to be the nicest campsite of the whole GPT. It was too dark to swim in the evening but when I woke up next morning a took a very refreshing bath screaming with joy! I don’t carry a towel but I dried immediately in the morning sun. I had a very late start that morning because I was so hard to leave this wonderful campsite …
After a very steep descent I finally arrived in the valley were I came across several puestos and horse riders.

Argentinian GPT hiker Martin

And then I saw a hiker with an ultralight backpack. This must be a GPT hiker! It turned out to be Martin, a teacher from Argentina who was hiking with an even lighter backpack than me. We sat down immediately and chatted. We chatted so long that I didn’t make much sense to continue hiking that day and we decided to camp together. It took quite a while to find water and a decent camp spot but then we had a nice potluck dinner, an interesting discussion about the GPT and South America and of course a lot of gear talk. Martin’s base weight was an incredible 1,5 kilograms lighter than mine! And South America is not really famous for ultralight hikers …

View of Trappa Trappa

 Next day brought me to the small Pehuenche village of Trappa Trappa. Thanks to Martin I found a little shop that was even open on Sundays and bought some more food and ice cream. As usual I was behind schedule …

There was another long ascent and descent and then the landscape changed dramatically. There was less and less vegetation until it finally disappeared completely. I had my lunch break at an eerie place, presumably an abandoned army barracks. Windows and doors of this huge building were open but not a single soul was to be seen. Huge ventilators made an eerie sound but were probably just part of desinfecting the place from Hanta virus. Soon I would find out what had happened here …

Stone memorial for the soldiers

I continued on a dirt which looked like being on mars. Nothing but grey volcano ashes and no shelter whatsoever. I started to worry about camping here. I had enough water for the night but if a strong wind came up I would spent a very uncomfortable night in my tent. There were few cars on that road but strangely enough each driver would stop and offer me water. I asked one of them when this desert ends and vegetation starts again. When I was told that this scenery continues for 30 kilometers I realised that it was probably better to hitchhike a bit … A young Chilean couple picked me up immediately. Soon we passed several little stone memorials with a Chilean flag. I asked them what they meant and was told a very sad story. In May 2005 a company of conscripts were sent out from the barracks where I had just had my lunch break on a training march – despite a very bad weather forecast. Five hours into their march the ill equipped mostly teenage soldier where hit by severe snow storm. The lost orientation in a white out – and 47 soldiers died along the road. Each stone monument marked one of the places were a corpse had been found later. This so called tragedy of Antuco was the biggest modern military desaster in Chilean history. Although now in summer I would not have encountered a snow storm I was all of a sudden very happy to be in a car ….

This is where the tragedy of Antuco happened

In 2020, The Shenandoah National Park Trust aims to raise funds to support programs and projects in Shenandoah National Park totaling nearly $1 million. Their generous support will make an enormous positive impact on the park for years to come. The programs for 2020 include:

* Play, Learn, Serve – introduces children through young adults to the outdoors in a fun and engaging way by combining outdoor play with education and public service. It begins with ranger activities in their neighborhoods and schools and progresses to hiking, camping and educational opportunities in their “backyard” national park. In 2019, this program brought over 7400 students to the park!

* Shenandoah Youth Corps – provides an opportunity for youth to immerse themselves in the park and through the experience gain a greater understanding of our public lands. This is a summer job opportunity where they earn a salary while working on various projects that will have a lasting benefit to the park; such as, trail maintenance, monitoring sensitive species, weed elimination, archeology and rehabilitation of historic structures.

* Internships – provides training, work experience and professional development opportunities for young adults to acquire skills necessary to become competitive for future jobs. In 2020, interns will work in the Interpretation and Education, Cultural Resources and Maintenance Divisions.

* Exotic Plants and Trail Maintenance Volunteer Coordinators – helps fight the spread of invasive plants and maintains park trails using the power of volunteers. The coordinators organize volunteer work crews to cut invasive vines, map invasive plants, collect native seeds, salvage native plants, plant native plants in restoration areas, and tackle resource damage along park trails and in campgrounds. In 2019 this program treated invasive plants on over 727 acres, planted over 4000 native plants, and completed 116 trail maintenance projects.

* Invasive Insects – strengthens our park’s resilience to forest health threats by helping to control invasive, non-native insects and protecting the park’s native plants and other species from decline.

* Managing Human-Bear Interactions – reduces negative human-bear interactions at park campgrounds, picnic areas and popular visitor locations through education, prevention, and safety measures to minimize trash problems, assist with food storage, provide public education on proper wildlife viewing practices, and work to prevent illegal wildlife feeding.

* Trail Maintenance – helps maintain and improve the park’s five hundred miles of trails, ensuring it remains a hiker’s paradise for generations to come. Research Grant –provides funding for research studies on relevant issues that are critical to preserving and protecting the park’s natural and cultural resources.

* Artist-in-Residence –supports artists during a short-term residence in the park where they create and showcase works of art, often inviting the public to participate alongside them.

* Electric Vehicle Charging Station – allows visitors to charge their vehicles at the electric vehicle charging station at Byrd Visitor Center (mile 51 Skyline Drive).

* Robert Jacobsen Employee Development –enables our employees to attend training courses and conferences to enhance their existing job skills and learn new skills that will help them in their future careers.

* Expert-in-Residence –allows park managers to engage outside experts in natural resource protection, cultural resource preservation, and other park-related goals for short- to mid-term projects.

* Boulder Cabin – the Trust will be raising funds for the renovation and maintenance of Boulder Cabin, a 1911 historic cabin at Skyland Resort that is a contributing feature of the Skyline Drive National Historic Landmark District. It is an excellent example of a cabin from the rustic resort period (1887-1930) of architecture and will be used as a residence and studio space for the Artist-in-Residence program.

Superintendent Jennifer Flynn said “We are sincerely grateful and extend our heartfelt thanks to the Trust and its donors for providing these funds to support essential programs and projects.”

Executive Director Susan Sherman added “The Shenandoah National Park Trust is proud to partner with our park to help ensure its health and vitality. And we’re grateful that our donors recognize the value of this work.”

Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking

Added to the training schedule for 2020, Defensive Concealed Handgun (DCH) and HEAT 0.5 Combat Carbine classes:

• DCH 14-15 March
• HEAT 0.5 2-3 May
• DCH 1-2 August
• HEAT 0.5 5-6 September
• DCH 21-22 November

The primary instructor for these classes is Scott. He is a master instructor. The knowledge you will gain in these two-day classes is unsurpassed. The DCH class is not a carry permit class, but a real-life based self-defense and concealed carry class.