Survival School: Day 2
Jul 16, 2007, 11:19p - Life
Self-portrait after first night
Hannes, sporting a versacloth
Guides David & Steve w/ students Leland, Nick C. (back), Jeff, Rob (crouched), & Cliff, getting ready to leave our first sleeping site
Where Hannes & I slept the first night (yes, I didn't realize I was sleeping on rocks)
Lots of hiking. Found 3 water holes. Beautiful red mtns.
The southern Utah desert, w/ small mountain in background
Beautiful red rock
Learned how to make fire [using a bow drill], after mid-day break. Don't even know where we're going or how long it's going to be before we get there. Whole course still shrouded in mystery. No food, just water (Impact). Don't actually feel hungry. Feel exhausted after finding wood for fireset (spindle & baseboard) - [made of] sagebrush. Hands are tired of cutting, wrist doesn't want to provide any more power. Worst I've felt so far.
Abe refilling water, Steve teaching. The human-made watering hole is designed for cattle.
Decaying elk carcass I discovered while trying to find a private place to pee. Doesn't look like it was attacked - may have just gotten stuck & starved to death.
Hannes & I after our mid-day break
Continued hiking into slick rock canyon, found "Earl Grey" water. Slept w/ some pine needles, in long underwear, so a bit better, though still cold. Dreamt of a party at home, & telling them that I was an illusion as I was actually @ survival school right now. Strange.
Pinky (real name Nick, nickname cause of his pink shorts) resting under a hole-pocked wall in the slick rock canyon
Also, did some rock climbing around the Earl Grey waterhole. Fun, got the energy going again. Funny how you can be so tired yet when you do something fun, you're immediately re-energized. Talked w/ Hannes (buddy) about design, needs vs. wants, & it sounds like he's in a similar place as I am (though he seems to like really nice things - he pays $2800/mo for an apt. in SF). He's also a bad-ass artist & outdoorsman, definitely the best @ spotting important & interesting things around us. An interesting mix. Anyhow, that's enough for Day 2. Also, sagebrush was the plant of the day. It smells good & is antibacterial, so it's good for the final wipe of the ass.
Sketch of sagebrush plant
[Written on days 4 & 5]
Read comments (6) - Comment
Jon
- Jan 2, 2008, 3:11p
will continuing to read this fantastic account spoil some of this if we opt to do it ourselves, or is it harmless?
thank you, by the way...
nikhil
- Jan 2, 2008, 3:35p
Yeah, I should emphasize that this is a (virtually) unedited copy of my journal, so it will contain spoilers.
If you've already decided to do a BOSS field course, I would stop reading now. Mystery and surprise seem to be key elements of the experience. When I first decided to do this trip, I purposefully did not look for more info from previous students, because I wanted to go into it with as few expectations as possible. That said, each trip is different, so the details will certainly vary while the general activities remain the same.
If you're interested in survival school, or if you're curious about primitive living, or if you're considering doing a different (non-BOSS) survival school, I would certainly read on. If and when you decide to do this with BOSS, I would stop reading.
Random visitor
- Jan 29, 2008, 3:57p
No offense, but what is the point of doing this camp? It just seems like a major pain.
nikhil
- Jan 30, 2008, 1:23p
It's difficult to rationalize, even more difficult to try to persuade someone to do it.
Seems like you either feel the urge to go, or you don't.
george
- Jun 10, 2008, 2:54p
love the journal, looking forward to reading on.
Must say a trip like this is a personal thing, borders on spiritual. i would say you could read on going or not. The surprises are going to come as you get to know yourself and your limits as you surpass them.
Been there , done that, lost the t-shirt. but never lost what BOSS gave me.
James M
- Mar 18, 2015, 2:25p
Glad you came back and transcribed all the original journalling - Going to stop reading here because I plan to embark on this adventure this upcoming summer.
Will finish the read upon returning.
Hope all is well,
James
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