The first day we spent learning techniques (Probability of Areas, hasty searches), history and case studies, as well as different types of terrain-searches (water, snow, forest). At the end of the first day we were told that the next day we would have a field exercise to find four people “lost” in the forest around our training facility, Wilderness Tours (WT). We had about an hour and a half to do some preplanning for the next day.

The next day we left Pembroke at noon to travel to WT. We had about two and a half hours before we got the “call” saying there were four hikers lost in the forests close by. Our two leaders were pre-picked and we split into groups of four or five, separated and combed assigned areas in search of missing hikers.

My group was poorly organized. We knew where we were going and what we were supposed to do but getting there was a completely different story. We were lost for about an hour, then realized we were way off track. Once we re-oriented our position, base-camp notified us that three people had been found and they knew where the fourth one was so we just headed back to camp. Learning from mis-steps taught us new understanding of the dangers and challenges to a full-on search and rescue mission where lives can be at stake.

In the end it only took fifty of us four hours to find four people. Strategy, planning, knowing the terrain and field searching introduced us to a better understanding of search and rescue. I thought it was kind of fun, the adrenaline of being part of a field search for a missing person. I would definitely do it again given the opportunity – hopefully real opportunities are few and far between!

First we had to size up the bike. To tell if your bike is the right size for you, mount the bike and stand over the cross-bar of your bike facing forward with your butt right in front of the seat. With your legs straight, put your hand in a fist and stick it under your groin between the bar and your body. If the bike is the right height, your fist should have slight clearance (5 mm) on each side. To test your seat height, place one foot on the pedal in the lower position. The seat is set correct if you only have a slight bend in your knee. Test the brakes and handle bars for smooth movement and make sure the tires are very firmly inflated. For safety gear, helmets are required, especially if you are heading off-road like we were.

In our cross-country cycling course we learned everything from wheelies to endos (opposite of a wheelie) to hops to jumps. Man this class was the bomb! We were riding Norco Bigfoots mostly and these bikes can take a serious beating. In the afternoon we took these bikes apart and learned the basics of repair.

The second day of this class we did a 40 km ride around our training facility, Wilderness Tours. We did half of this on the road and the other half on trails. If you ever have a chance to run single track biking, take it without a second thought. Single tracks are trails in the forest for bikes. They could have jumps, turns, hills, etc. and really test the mettle of the bike and the cyclist. What a blast!

So far biking is my favourite of the fall activities.

Basic navigation requires waypoints, or a map and compass (especially if in unfamiliar territory). Imagine a farmers field. It is fairly easy to navigate to a point across the field and back to your original starting position. Now add hills, trees, rivers and other obstacles. It is very easy to get disoriented.

I had the privilege this week to go to Beachburg Forest. Here we began to understand how to navigate and orient ourselves wherever we were. Our instructors lined us up along the forest edge and told us to walk through and back and see if we came out where we had originally started. The instructors didn’t expect them to be logging in the forest but sent us through anyways confident that we would know when it wasn’t safe for us. The first half we were climbing over cut red pine trees and easy bush-wacking. Then we had to traverse where they had just started logging. It wasn’t too bad, the skidder was still far enough away that I could walk by and not worry about them. I arrived at the opposite destination and began to navigate back to the start. On the return route I encountered heavy logging activity very close to me. To work around the skidding, I decided to use a technique called pacing. This involves turning and walking directly to the left or right and counting your paces. Then walk forward until you are past the object, then count your paces back to the left or right. Believe it or not, at the original forest edge I ended up directly on my marker when I came out.

This navigation exercise wasn’t too challenging as we begin to understand, but as the terrain gets tougher and less familiar more complex elements will need to be added to our skills. Basic tools we will be adding involve topographical maps, compass orienteering skills, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) tracking and survival techniques for surviving lost.

I understand they will be dropping us in the middle of Crown Forest next time and have to navigate to a particular waypoint … sounds exciting !!

If you have any questions about basic navigation feel free to email me at nelson@adventurefrik.com .