National Cave Rescue Commission Camp Goldenbell, Colorado

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I like caves. Early on in my caving career, I became friends with some cavers who also were into cave rescue. They got me interested, and over the years I took enough classes (four eight-day classes to be exact) plus helped with many smaller cave rescue classes (also known as Orientation to Cave Rescue (OCR) classes) that I was permitted to take the test to become an instructor. Over the years I've instructed a variety of classes, and this year I was able to help instruct the Level 3 class at the national seminar for the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). It was held in May at Camp Goldenbell, Colorado. (I think I mentioned before I was a little behind on some posting!)

It was my first time to help with the Level 3 class, which is more technical than the previous classes. Students had to pass various technical skills in order to be able to get into the class, as well as have had the Level 1 and Level 2 classes within a certain time period. We had a full class with a waiting list, and it was a great class! To see just how well they knew their stuff, one morning they were challenged to some knot tying. But not regular knot tying. This was with your eyes closed, or with just one hand, or behind your back (photo above), or with oven mitts, or with a partner. It was fun for everyone.

Soon it was time to head out to the cliffs to evaluate their skills and ability to work together. We did some basic anchors and hauls and lowers.

They did very well with all of that, so then we gave them more challenging problems. The colorful accessory cord and rope make it easier to tell what's going on in the photo below.

Everyone should be a pretend patient at some point, as it's a very strange feeling to be dangling on a rope, swinging in a basket.

The students were doing so well that we decided they needed one final challenge: to go down a boulder, through a hole in it, and up the other side. This would require the whole class (which had previously been split up) and be a communications challenge. The down and through part went smoothly.

 The up part was the most complicated. Here's a view of the litter still horizontal.

Then it was shifted to vertical. Then there were problems with some torque issues on one high anchor and some pre-tensioned (or I guess in this case, post-tensioned) backties were added at the last minute. And they succeeded in getting the patient to the top of the boulder again.

Since it was a cave rescue class, we wanted to spend as much time in caves as possible. The caves we had to work with didn't have large work spaces, so we split the class into three smaller groups and they had a variety of tasks to do, such as counterbalances, traveling hauls, and tensioned traverses. (If you want to know more about these things, in addition to taking NCRC classes, the books On Rope and Alpine Caving Techniques are very helpful). My camera didn't do great in the cave, so I didn't get as many photos of our cave days.

I did get a lot of photos on our highline day, when we sent a rescuer out to the middle of a gorge, then down to the river to pick up a patient, and back to the shore using a Norwegian Reeve.

 Can you see the rescuer?

After that very gear-intensive and long exercise, they were challenged to get me (wearing my harness) from one side of the river to the other using only two ropes and six carabiners. They did it in less than half an hour. Sometimes less gear makes things go a lot faster!

Then came the mock-mock day. We used part of Cave of the Winds for the exercise. All four classes (Levels 1, 2, 3, and TOFE) came together, and then were split into three mixed groups. I led one of the groups with a cadre of excellent instructors to one part of the cave, where we put on four mini-scenarios so everyone would learn more about how to launch a cave rescue and how to participate in various roles, such as communications (using old army phones, as seen below).

Finally came the culmination of the class: the mock rescue. This is an all-day event that the students solve with minimal instructor interaction. My role was to be entrance control for instructors going in and out of one of the caves used, plus to check the rigging used to take the patient from the cave entrance to the canyon bottom many hundred of feet below. It was a great spot to see people as they came to the cave.

The rigging was very nice, and after many hours, the patient was brought out of the cave and then taken down to the canyon bottom. The only problem was that a for real big storm came in, and the canyon is subject to flooding. So before everything could be derigged, we got everyone out of there as fast as we could. Some went up to the parking lot where we had started, others went down out of the canyon on a faster trail. But then they closed the roads for hours, and the two groups were stranded, bringing some real logistical challenges. The Colorado cavers did a super job of sorting it all out, and everyone got back to camp safely in the wee hours.

It was a super experience checking out the Colorado cliffs and caves. The students I talked to got a lot out of the class. Next year the national NCRC class will be held in Park City, KY from July 24-Aug 1. Other NCRC classes will be held throughout the year in various locales. If you like caving, I definitely recommend a cave rescue class, as it will make you cave a little differently--hopefully safer!

Hiking with Kids: Wheeler Cirque Bristlecone Grove

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I've had bristlecones on my mind a lot this summer. One of my trips up to see these old, high-elevation trees was back in early July. There's a lovely bristlecone grove accessible via a 1.5-mile (one-way) hike in Great Basin National Park, along the aptly-named Bristlecone Trail. We decided it would be a great destination for six kids and four adults. But before we started, we had better stretch!

One of the keys to having kids enjoy the hike is to make it a game. Apparently balancing was a major part of the game, because as I looked back at the photos, I saw the kids were really enjoying it.

We had planned to eat lunch at the bristlecone grove, but based on the level of whininess (that's a word, right?), we adapted and changed our plans to eat lunch at Teresa Lake (0.7 miles from the trailhead, or about an hour away at our speed). Water is always appealing to kids, especially when we told them they could go swimming! They quickly figured out that it was very cold water for swimming, but that didn't stop them from hanging out at the edge.

Rested up and fed, we continued our hike to the bristlecones.

Meeting up with Ranger Carolyn provided a nice rest break and photo op.

The trail is stunning, with great views as you get closer and closer to the glacial moraine where the bristlecones live on the Prospect Mountain quartzite (most old bristlecone groves live on dolomite or limestone, so this grove is a bit different).

Heading up a switchback.

And then we were there! We saw cool bristlecones all around.

The kids weren't interested in the bristlecones, but instead the prize we had promised: doing their nails. Whatever it takes!

I left them to walk the short interpretive trail and visit some trees over 3,000 years old. One of the oldest trees in the world, Prometheus, at about 5,000 years old, was found near here, but many scientists think it was an outlier, as they haven't been able to find any others in the area over 4,000 years old. Nevertheless, living 3,000 years is still amazing. And once a tree dies, its wood can remain intact for thousands of years more.

The reason that bristlecones can live so long is that most of the tree dies after time. A narrow strip of bark supports just a small section of life on the tree. Meanwhile, wind and precipitation shape the remaining dead bark into fascinating forms.

Although the kids weren't interested in the interpretive trail, they still did think the bristlecones were pretty cool. They took time to touch the needles, which can remain on the tree up to an amazing 45 years.

After a big snack, it was time to head back. We had another motivator: ice cream at the Lehman Caves Cafe. But we had to move fast to make it in time.

Fortunately we got there about five minutes before closing and they were kind enough to smile and make something for all of us. That sure put smiles on our faces! What a great hike.

A Birthday Party Treasure Hunt

 I love it when a good party comes together! In this case it was Desert Boy's friend, Ava. Her mom had a great idea--a treasure hunt around town. Every time she announced the clue, the kids took off sprinting.

They paused long enough for a lineup and a photo.

But then they were off again after seeing the next clue.

It was a hot afternoon, so we paused for a drinking stop. Some of the kids discovered a puddle. I kinda thought I knew what would happen next.

And I was right!

By this time the photo stops were not well tolerated.

The kids were delighted to get to the water spigot in the playground. Some of the kids thought it was great to take off their shirts.

Desert Girl didn't mind drenching herself.

They eventually reached the treasure chest, where they found cool hats and sunglasses.

It was a great time. Happy Birthday, Ava!

Desert Survivor's Get-Out-And-Camp Challenge Check-in

Hi, are you taking Desert Survivor's Get-Out-And-Camp Challenge? If you missed the post, click on the link to learn a few details of the name-how-many nights you want to camp and then just-go-and-do-it challenge.

We decided we would camp out 12 nights this year, and last weekend we added nights 7 and 8. They were great, at Cave Lake State Park near Ely. The kids love it because it's close to the lake. I love it because they have hot showers! I also had some fun with night photography.

Reflections in the lake

Night sky over the campsite

UFOs

 Actually, stranger than the UFOs were the numerous lights along the lake edge. What were people doing? I decided to investigate.

What I found is that a bunch of teenagers were crawdading. They could easily see the crawdads with their flashlights close to shore, and then they netted them. One group had a bucketful!

The next night they were out again (under the Milky Way--what a blessing to have such dark skies!). We decided to join them.

The kids caught a few all on their own (I was busy taking photos). So when Desert Boy told me he was soaked up to mid-chest, I gave a big sigh and expected to run back to the tent. Nope, he wanted to keep catching more. I think there's something very strong in our genetic code to keep hunting and gathering!


Here's some of their catch:

Since I had no intention to cook any, we gave them to the teenagers (who I believe were planning on eating them.)

 Staying out to crawdad meant that the skies had darkened quite a bit, and the Milky Way really popped.

One of the trickiest parts of photographing the night sky are all the airplanes and the resulting airplane trails they leave. I'm starting to learn how to remove them in post-processing, as well as some other tricks, but it's a steep learning curve.

Nevertheless, it's fun experimenting with some different photographic techniques. And it's fun to go unplugged and just enjoy the scenery around us.

So there you have it, go out and camp! There's still plenty of time to begin and finish the challenge. Fall camping features cooler nights and gorgeous changing colors.