BOW (04-29-2023)

Bow Wow...No.  This isn't a post about dogs.

This article in the March 25, 2023 edition of the Anchorage Daily News caught my attention:    

A Welcome Alternative to the 'Do as I Say, Not as I Do' Approach, This Women's Outdoor Group Embraces Beginners.

The Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) program is a cooperative effort between the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and the Outdoor Heritage Foundation of Alaska.  BOW workshops are designed primarily for women; however, anyone 18 years or older may participate. (Yes, even men).  Classes are topic-specific and geared towards beginners.  There is a wide variety of classes, such as hunting, fishing and trapping skills, bear safety and outdoor sports like snowshoeing and cross country skiing.

I reviewed the class schedule. Two classes the weekend of April 29 and 30 interested me:

Survival

Don't get caught unprepared in the wilds or just out of town. Our instructors are experienced outdoor survivors. You'll learn how to face a survival situation with the right attitude, the right tools and with confidence.

Map & Compass

A map and compass can keep you from being lost, if you know how to use it. Our instructors will help you learn to read a map, take a bearing, plot a course, and follow it.

Neither class was open for registration when I reviewed the schedule in March.  When I followed up in April the Survival class was open, however the Map & Compass wasn't.  BB and I sign up for the Survival Class.  When I check back on the Map & Compass class it is full.  I put my name on the wait list.   We didn't make it off the wait list for the Map & Compass class.  Bummer.

We were up and out early yesterday.  Class starts at 8:00am at the Hunter Education Building at Rabbit Creek Shooting Park.

Class starts with introductions.  Our instructor is Adam Bowens from Straight Ahead Rescue.  After introducing himself, Adam asks each of the 25 participants to say what we hope to learn in the class.  A majority of the participants are new to Alaska, like BB and I, and want to learn how to be safe in 'Alaska outdoors' (as opposed to 'Virginia or lower 48 outdoors').

Adam uses classroom time to explain several survival rules:

The Rule of Threes

*Mental Capacity:  take 3 seconds to get your head straight.  Accept the situation and believe you will survive.

*Oxygen:  if you don't have oxygen, get it within 3 minutes or you are dead.

*Water:  Find water within 3 days.  Or again....dead.

*Food:   Humans can go 3 weeks without food.  Or again....dead.

 

Initial 10 Minutes  

*Evacuate:  Get to a safe place 

*Evaluate:   Injuries / Health of you and crew/bystanders.  Is the scene and situation stable?

*Inventory:  Whatcha got?

*Environment:  How is the weather?  The terrain?  Is wildlife a worry?

*Fire:  Gather the materials needed to start a fire.

The Golden Hour

*Shelter:  Plan how, when, where and who will build it.

*Calories:  Plan how to acquire food.

*Heat:  Plan how to start and maintain the fire.

*Water:  Look for sources.  Find ways to collect, clean and carry water.

*Rescue:  Determine whether to stay or go.  Identify ways to signal to rescuers.

Our classroom:

Class isn't all indoors.  We go out to set off smoke and signal flares.

 Adam demonstrates less known ways to start a fire; such as with steel wool and a battery, hand sanitizer, and petroleum jelly.

Then we practice!

Several years ago Adam taught a class and had the participants build shelters in the woods beside the Hunter Education Building.  Some of the shelters are still there.  Adam took us on a walk to look at them and discuss the various types of shelters and materials used to build them.

Adam assured us the shelters looked better when they were first built!

For our final test Adam has us divide into groups to solve this winter plane crash exercise.  Based on the scenario we are to rank 15 items in order of importance to our survival:

 The 15 items:

The scenario:

Depending on how well the group did Adam told us whether all or part of the group survived or whether everyone in the group died. Everyone in our group survives!  If you want to see how you would do send me your answers and I'll tell you how you did.

Sal