Veterans Day Weekend

Last 2013 Weekend For ORMS

Looking Forward to ORMS in 2013 

 

 

 Thanks to all the VETS for their service.

 

 

I love helping my fellow outdoors-persons.     I enjoy doing outdoor outreach, education, and training.

 

That said,  I sometimes get a little exasperated with newbies and the mistakes they make.  The good news is that my exasperation is blown away like an early morning mist on a bright sunny day whenever I see a newbie develop a passion, curiosity, wonder, and love for the outdoors.  

 

BAD STUFF HAPPENS

It is inevitable that if you are  spending large amounts of time in the backcountry that sooner or later bad stuff is going to happen to someone.   So while ORMS's primary mission is to  provide outreach, backcountry skills training, and interpretation we also prepare to provide good Samaritan first response.

BEING PREPARED FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS

If you enjoy traveling in the backcountry or wilderness and engaging in activities that have potential risks such as: hiking, climbing, skiing, surfing, trail running, bird watching, hunting, fishing, car touring of remote areas you should find it easy to understand that bad stuff happens.  

 

If you live in a comfortable house or apartment and never do anything adventuresome, it is easier to live in denial that bad stuff happens..... 

 

Natural disasters often turn whole cities into primitive backcountry.    Ask any folks who have lived without electrical power for two weeks after an ice storm, earthquake, or hurricane.

 

Prepare  for the unthinkable as though it were inevitable.    Stuff happens.  If you deny that bad stuff may happen it can hurt you twice.   It will hurt you at a moment of truth when you are not prepared  to help respond to a critical need.    It will hurt you  again when you feel bad/guilty that your denial caused you not to invest in a reasonable amount of preparedness.

 

Those that expect that some day they may have to act as a good Samaritans have mostly gotten past denial that bad stuff perhaps even unthinkably bad stuff will happen.    Those that volunteer as first responders have also mostly(it is all a matter of degree) gotten past denial.      As such they;

• Plan, Plan, Plan,
• Train, Train, Train,
• Prepare, Prepare, Prepare.  

 

ORMS members set up camp for a final weekend of training for 2012.

 

ORMS members engaged in training.



Training/Evolutions

At night because "Stuff Happens" round the clock, in all types of conditions, and in every imaginable location/environment.



Training Training Training



 

 

 

So we are prepared to help ourselves and others should the need arise.
 

 

As it did this weekend when we needed to help a non-ambulatory hiker get safely out of the backcountry.

Sat.&Sun,, February 27&28, 2010 Training

Saturday and Sunday, February 27 and 28, 2010
CPR and Basic Wilderness First Aid
at PATC by Emergency Response Training, LLC

A great weekend of training. No trail/snow condition reporting from me this week but you can check out Silver Spring Wanderer's post for this same time frame for a good feel for the Old Rag Snow Conditions for this weekend. There are also some good posts on Hiking Upward for weekend hikes done on or near Old Rag this last weekend. On my way home from class I noticed that there was wonderfully large, bright and detailed full moon in the sky.

Pictures distorted on purpose:

Leave No Trace LNT for Old Rag

LNT in my blog is short for Leave No Trace.

All three organizations that I volunteer for on Old Rag (SNP, ORMS, PATC TP) are supporters, practitioners, and trainers of LNT.

For those that are new to LNT it is both a system of outdoor ethics and an organization whose primary mission is to foster outdoor ethics.
.
The LNT organization focuses outdoor visitors on seven main principals that are summarized below. Keep in mind that these seven principals should be applied with individual judgement and common sense. They are principals not laws or rules. That said, a lot of thought has gone into crystallizing current thought on outdoor ethics into these seven concise but comprehensive LNT principals.

The LNT organization provides material for use in learning or teaching outdoor ethics. It continuously improves and maintains a standardized education program including the supporting education and outreach materials. LNT also oversees the LNT Trainer certification process for the purposes of making sure that LNT outdoor ethics are being taught in consistent high quality ways.


ADVICE LNT

Learn and practice outdoor ethics as presented by LNT.

The link to the LNT organizations web site is:
http://www.lnt.org/index.php

The Seven LNT Principals Are:

The following copyrighted language has been reprinted with permission from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www. LNT.org.

Plan Ahead and Prepare
Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.
Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.
Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.
Visit in small groups when possible. Consider splitting larger groups into smaller groups.
Repackage food to minimize waste.
Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.


Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.
Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.
In popular areas:
Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.
Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.
Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.
In pristine areas:
Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.
Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

Dispose of Waste Properly
Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter.
Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished.
Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.


Leave What You Find
Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.
Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

Minimize Campfire Impacts
Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.
Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.

Respect Wildlife
Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.
Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.
Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.
Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises

Saturday July 18, 2009 PATC HIKE LEADER TRAINING

SATURDAY JULY 18, 2009
PATC HIKE LEADER TRAINING

Great day of training at PATC Headquarters. Required of PATC Hike Leaders but a good course for anyone who will be a leader of hikes.

Headed out for scenario practice.


Picture distorted on purpose.

Sunday, July 5, 2009 Interesting Weather

Sunday, July 5, 2009 Interesting Weather

Manassas had partly sunny and 81 degrees while Old Rag had light rain and 65 degrees all day.

Less than 100 hikers on the mountain today. With the lack of hikers we got in a lot of plant identification and scenario training. No medical or search incidents. Exchanged greetings and sometimes provided information to the few hiking parties encountered.

March 28 and 29 ORMS TRAINING

EQUIPMENT TYPICAL OF WHAT WILL BE USED FOR OLD RAG SAR (Search and Recue) INCIDENTS

CLASSMATES PRACTICING A LITTER CARRY

ORMS MEMBERS PARTICIPATING ON ONE OF MANY PRACTICE SCEANARIOS

This weekend I took the ORMS Sponsored Wilderness First Aid certification course held up off Skyline Drive at the Pinnacles Research Station. In addition to the Wilderness First Aid course, Shenadoah National Park staff members responsible for Search and Rescue in the Central District (where Old Rag is located); introduced themselves, showed us various types of equipement that will be used on Old Rag SAR incidents, and also gave us an overview of how Shenandoah National Park will organize and run any Old Rag SAR incidents. An immense amount of information was gone over and a large number of practice sceanarious provided significant hands-on development of practical skills. Solo who has been the leader in wilderness medical training for thirty years did an awesome job. http://www.soloschools.com/ This was one of those courses that could be compared to drinking-from-a fire-hose. The handout materials were excellent so I will be able to use them to continue to reveiw, internalize and become fluent in the material over the coming weeks. Thanks to the teaching styles of the instructors and presenters the long days were kept informative, lively, fun and interesting. The free coffee graciously supplied by Central Coffe brewed in the three coffee makers brought by various class members along with countless tasty pastries and snacks brought by other class members helped power our days. Saturday evening there was just a little bit of time to relax and class members had all the ingredients for a great impromptu social event. Starting with a dinner of delicious roast pig and an incredible amount of other great eats. There were lots of good conversation, a lively dice game, an interesting card game and a short but excellent set of guitar music. Had Cedar Run been a little closer I am sure there would have been a quick trip to one of its swimming holes.

GREAT TRAINING WEEKEND

On the way home I had a couple of hours of daylight so I stopped by Old Rag and strolled up along the Brokenback Run for about an hour. A few types of understory bushes are starting to show green buds and I saw my first Tick (THEY'RE BACK!) since fall.

On the drive home I noticed the evening light on the rolling piedmont hills seemed very different from how it has been this winter and it suddenly dawned on me that it was because the pastures are starting to glow with that bright spring green that the grass takes on when it first comes up.