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+---
+title: Survival Journal - Week 5
+---
+
+Non-journal comment: This week started with 3 days called Solo. It was
+supposed to be the highlight of the course where each participant
+internalized the life lessons of the previous weeks of challenge and
+hardship. However, I spent most of my time resting, cooking, and eating.
+It took another 30 years of living to fully internalize all those life
+lessons. I guess I'm a slow learner.
+
+Early Sunday morning two big-forked bucks walked below unaware of my
+observance. To my horror, I found that the water in the stream was still
+muddy red. I spent about an hour gathering firewood and cooked some
+oatmeal with the water I had in my canteen. I then went upstream in
+search of a spring I had passed the night before. To my delight I found
+one much closer to my \"home" which issued a small stream of cool clear
+water.
+
+I spent most of the rest of the day doing just that---resting. I cooked
+up little goodies much of the time, read a little and dozed some too. I
+immensely enjoy this experience of quiet, leisure and meditation. I
+cannot think of much else that I could ask for to make me happier or
+more contented.
+
+Sunday night 9 pm - I'm sitting against my base camp bag, staring into
+my campfire and listening to the quiet drone of the crickets. I've just
+finished a fantastic meal of lentil, potato, and carrot stew with
+sugared ash cakes and a bedtime hot totty of warm milk and brown sugar.
+It all gives a man a great deal of peace and satisfaction.
+
+Monday morning, I spent cooking breakfast, gathering more wood, and
+going for water. Now that I have time to examine myself, I have
+discovered how truly grubby I am. I can rub grimy black stuff off of my
+face and arms. I have been wearing the same pair of pants for a month
+now. They have everything from sheep fat to ash cake dough on them. Oh
+well, in a few short days I will be able to take a hot soaker bath at
+Grandma and Grandpa\'s place.
+
+For lunch I cooked up an excellent gravy for my ash cakes. I derive
+immense pleasure from cooking over a campfire and eating my tasty
+concoctions. They have given us a rather large food pack for solo and I
+find that I am spending much of my time preoccupied with cooking and
+eating. I feel a little guilty that I have not used more of my time for
+the purpose it was intended; that of meditation, prayer and earnest
+thought. I should write most of my paper today, a task I don't much look
+forward to. I guess I had better get started.
+
+Evening \-- A gusty wind has begun to blow through the canyon. My house
+is not very well protected from wind and I'm getting lots of sand blown
+all over everything. Fortunately, as with most desert weather, it was a
+short-lived storm and lasted only about 45 minutes. A quiet peace has
+again settled over the canyon. I cooked a delicious stew of rice,
+potatoes and TVP and retired for the night. I kept my fire burning all
+night and my overhang retains the heat well. I enjoyed the luxury of
+sleeping in my T-shirt all night. During the night, my house was
+visited, or I should say invaded, by a big-eared desert mouse. First, he
+attacked my moleskin hatband and when I took that out of his reach, he
+ransacked my toilet paper. He certainly was a daring little fellow.
+
+Breakfast Tuesday morning was cracked wheat mush and left-over stew. I
+whiled away the morning by gathering wood, getting water, and cooking a
+big batch of ash cakes. Then I read until about 2:30 when I decided I
+had better try to finish my paper. As I began to write, the clouds began
+to move in, and it started to thunder. It was another diller of a
+thunder and lightning storm. This time I enjoyed watching it from the
+comforts of my home and was grateful that it is so well protected from
+the rain. It did not even stop me from starting to cook some lentils for
+tonight's dinner, but it did distract me from my writing. This time also
+I was able to appreciate how spectacular the storm was. Large, gushing
+waterfalls seemed to spring instantly from the canyon walls. The little
+creek rose to a torrent in only a half hour. Those raindrops must have
+been as big as marbles and yet, here I sit as dry as a bone. It's really
+neat to see a great flash of lightning and instantly hear and feel the
+great crash of thunder with its following rumble down the canyon. This
+storm lasted less than half an hour. Now, as I write, another one has
+just, passed over. I almost wish they would go away so I could get on
+with my writing of my paper.
+
+At about 6:30 I was surprised to see one of our instructors, Russ,
+walking up the creek bed. It was raining lightly, and he was soaked to
+the skin. He waved and I called out to invite him up to my humble abode
+and warm himself by my fire. I had been expecting him or someone all day
+because they had told us that an instructor would come to interview each
+of us on Tuesday. I had almost given up hope when the storms came and
+was very happy to see another human being after three days of solitude.
+After a prayer we shared our thoughts and feelings of the past month. As
+we talked, I felt his love and concern for me and was very grateful to
+have shared those few moments with such a dedicated instructor. We
+closed the interview with prayer, and he left, still wet, but perhaps a
+little warmer. I then reheated my lentil stew, ate a meager dinner and
+retired for my last night of solitude. The little field mouse came to
+visit again that night only this time I gave him some cracked wheat, to
+keep him busy.
+
+At 5:30 Wednesday morning I cooked the last of my oatmeal and ate a
+hurried breakfast. I then gathered up my stuff and prepared to leave my
+home of the past few days. I said good-bye to my overhang and left for
+the instructor's camp at 6:30. At about 7 they began to rappel the rest
+of those that hadn't done it on Saturday. The cliff was about 140 feet
+high and was nearly vertical except for the last 20 feet at the bottom
+where the cliff face jutted inward sharply. This meant that the last 20
+feet of descending was in mid-air, dangling by the ropes. I went down
+very slowly and carefully to enjoy it as long as I could. It was over
+all too soon. They finished rappelling the rest of us by 11:30.
+
+At about noon we all met together under some big cottonwood trees for
+our final testimony meeting. The spirit of the Lord was very strong, and
+we shared our love for each other for 4 hours. I will never forget the
+special feeling I had at that meeting. It made all the hardship and
+suffering of the past month seem worthwhile. After the meeting we had
+another special treat. A church member sister from Boulder had baked us
+about 15 loaves of home-made whole wheat bread with two big cubes of
+real butter. Each of us were given 2 and a half thick slices with great
+gobs of peanut butter and jam smeared all over them. Then we built a big
+fire and cooked up a big pot of chunky chicken soup. Most of us thought
+we had died and gone to heaven. That meal was our first solid food that
+tasted like a civilized meal for a whole month. Then we had a fireside
+that evening. We sang songs, had skits, and were given awards. I was
+given the mouse-keeper award for my tender care of my pet mouse during
+solo. Then Chuck explained to us about the run-in to Boulder in the
+morning. We were to get up at 4am and be ready to leave camp by 5:30.
+For a final surprise before going to bed, the staff made us a big pot of
+hot chocolate and give us each a candy bar. We were then expected to get
+some rest before the ordeal in the morning, but most of the kids stayed
+up and talked late into the night, nervously anticipating the run-in and
+our entrance back into civilization.
+
+At 4 in the morning, we woke up to GT Joe giving everyone orders to get
+up and get moving. Many were reluctant to face this day and we didn't
+leave camp until 6:30. We were to walk to the top of the hill where we
+would start running the 11 miles into Boulder. At precisely 7 a.m. the
+gun went off and the boys cheered the girls as they took off down the
+road. At 7:15 the gun went off again for the boys. For the first quarter
+mile I stayed with the pack sizing up who would be the hardest ones to
+beat and seeing how the pace felt. It felt a little slow, so I began to
+leave them behind. After 10 minutes of running, I never saw another boy
+until the end when they came into Boulder. I started passing the first
+of the girls after 20 minutes of running. They were very sweet and
+encouraged me to keep it up. After 4 ½ miles of easy downhill and level
+running I was surprised to cross Deer Creek. That first half hour of
+running had seemed so easy. Most of the rest of the way was up hill and
+I began to feel the strain. After 45 minutes I began to feel cramps in
+my legs and my breathing was very heavy and labored. I had to walk up
+some of the steeper hills. I kept passing girls, but I knew I would not
+be first until I passed the girl I knew would be in the lead.
+
+After an hour and 20 minutes I finally sighted her a quarter mile ahead.
+By this time, I was really hurting, and it gave me a boost of energy to
+see Suzy. As I passed her, I smiled and said, "I love you, Suzy". It was
+only another 5 minutes when I rounded a bend to find the first buildings
+of Boulder. I shouted for joy as I ran up to the chapel and collapsed
+into the arms of Chuck at 8:46. I had run the 12 miles in 1 hour and 31
+minutes, 9 minutes from the record time. I had revived somewhat and was
+walking slowly around to keep my muscles from cramping when Suzy came in
+5 minutes behind me. Kids kept coming in for the next hour and a half,
+the last one coming in at 10 am. By 10:45 we were loaded on the bus and
+heading back toward Provo. We stopped in Richfield where everyone went
+crazy buying food at a Safeway store there. We arrived in Provo at 5 pm
+where we unloaded at the Richards PE building.
+
+There were many tears and hugs and happy reunions with parents. We all
+said our good-byes and went our separate ways until we would meet again
+at the party Friday at 10 am.