From ad0bbbc109ae8aeb7559cdbecf3c66b900f7e885 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Collin Williams <96917990+bluedragon1221@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2024 10:15:57 -0500 Subject: initial commit --- src/md/16_Survival_Journal_Week3.md | 158 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 158 insertions(+) create mode 100644 src/md/16_Survival_Journal_Week3.md (limited to 'src/md/16_Survival_Journal_Week3.md') diff --git a/src/md/16_Survival_Journal_Week3.md b/src/md/16_Survival_Journal_Week3.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5802b18 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/md/16_Survival_Journal_Week3.md @@ -0,0 +1,158 @@ +--- +title: Survival Journal - Week 3 +--- + +_This week was no picnic because it is called +Survival Week. It is one week of actually eating only what we could find +on the trail. In the desert of southern Utah, there isn't much to eat, +so it was nearly about 5 days of fasting._ + +## Sunday, August 5 +Sundays in the wild are always special. Priesthood was at +nine and Sacrament meeting right after. I spent most of the afternoon +reading. That night at 7:30 we had a fireside. Our family sang a song +with a couple of made-up verses to the tune of "Where Oh Where Are You +Tonight". Chuck and Sharon are a married couple, accompanying our group +as instructors. See the made-up verses below. + +> Old Chuck was a desert rat, grubby and smelly.\ +> For some crazy reason the desert he'd roam.\ +> He crawled through the sand on his chin and his belly.\ +> The canyons and badlands, he called them his home. + +> Chorus:\ +> Where, oh where are you tonight?\ +> Why did you leave me here all alone?\ +> I searched the world over and thought I found true love.\ +> You found another and phphttt!! you was gone. + +> Now Sharon, his sweetheart, was orn'ry and lanky.\ +> Just like a tough snake she was wiry and lean.\ +> She'd blow her big nose on her sleeve or her hanky.\ +> She was tougher than any guy you've ever seen. + +> Chorus:\ +> Where, oh where are you tonight?\ +> Why did you leave me here all alone?\ +> I searched the world over and thought I found true love.\ +> You found another and phphttt!! you was gone. + +## Monday, August 6 +Monday was the prelude to Survival Week where we live off of the land +for the whole week. We left our camp near Bull Mountain at noon and +hiked about 7 miles into the Henry Mountains. It was a steady climb all +the way and our campsite was at well over 9000 ft. All along the way +Sharon showed us what was edible and what was not. We found such things +as pinion nuts, wild onion, elder berries, currents, raspberries, +dandelions and yaro. Some of it tasted good, but most of it tasted +bitter or tasteless. That night was the coldest one I have had to endure +out here yet. + +## Tuesday, August 7 +Tuesday morning, we ate the last of the food that we had in our food +packs. It consisted of unsweetened oatmeal, boiled grain and fried +jerky. We hiked about three miles that day to Crescent Creek for our +next campsite. The leaders give us trap making and map reading lessons +along the way. We also gathered all the food we could find for dinner +and breakfast the next morning. We ended up with hordes of wild onion +and only a few handfuls of currents and service berries. I also spent +several hours roasting pinion pinecones over a fire to extract the seeds +from them. My effort yielded about 2 pop cans full of green tasteless +pinion seeds. + +That afternoon a Sister Nina Robinson was driven out from her home in +Hanksville to speak to us. She was an expert naturalist and told us much +about what plants we could eat. That night we had a short fireside, and +I ended the day by calling a family prayer. + +## Wednesday, August 8 +Wednesday, we rose early for a sunrise service with all of our staff +leaders. They each took their turn to talk to us about temple marriage +and the family unit. It was a very spiritual meeting and I enjoyed it +immensely. After the meeting the entire staff left us, not to rejoin us +until we reached base camp on Saturday. We now had to function on our +own as a united group. Before they left, the staff told us that very +few groups came in after survival week united and together. They +felt we had the strength to do it and felt the weight of the challenge. +Before breaking camp, we cooked our morning meal of wild onion soup, +service berry tea and pennyroyal tea. The onion soup, which we had had +the night before also was not very nourishing. The broth was good, but +the onions were like chewing on old hey. I liked the berry broth quite +well, but the pennyroyal was nasty. + +We hiked about three miles that day to our next campsite, gathering +pinion cones, onions, dandelions, and a few more berries. Already the +lack of nourishing food was beginning to zap my strength. I found myself +drawing within not eager to socialize but only wanting to suffer alone. +I was not pleased with my performance as part of the group that day. +When we got to camp, we all sat around the fire and roasted pinion +cones while someone read talks from the April Conference. It did +much to bring us together and function efficiently as a group. That +night after dinner of nuts, berries, and tea, we had a short fireside +and retired to bed early. Before going to sleep I prayed that the Lord +would lift my spirits and give me the strength to endure this trial. + +## Thursday, August 9 +Thursday morning, I felt nauseated and weak, but the spirits of the +group were high and helped to cheer me up. My suffering was not as great +as some of the others, for I helped to give a blessing to one of the +girls who had been a family mother with me in the previous week. +Breakfast was a handful of green pinion nuts and a little berry tea. We +hiked seven miles that day to Box Springs. We are still in the Henry +Mountains and the scenery was beautiful. Our attitudes were good, and it +was a great experience to feel the love of the group that day as we +hiked. All were helping one another and cheering each other up. The +going was slow and laborious. I would pant as if I were running, from a +slow walk up a slight uphill grade. Once I sat down it was a terrific +effort to get up again. We collected quite a bit of food that day +compared to the others. We had pinion cones, currents and elder berries. +After arriving at the Springs we again listened to conference talks +as we roasted pinion cones. We were then given an hour of time to +ourselves at which time I am now caught up with my journal. +The flies are driving me crazy, but I am too +tired to brush them off. Actually, I can still count my blessings. Most +of my feet troubles are gone and with luck we may reach camp tomorrow +night. I sure do miss my parents, family and the comforts home though. + +## Friday, August 10 +Last night we had another short fireside in which we +read the account of the birth of Christ and acted it out. I was a wise +man. + +The Revenge has finally hit me. I have to run into the bushes frequently +now. All I had for breakfast was some elder berries and hot water. We +broke camp early today because our goal is to reach base camp before +dark. Our destination is Cass Peak Reservoir which is 16 miles away. +This distance seems an impossibility to me in my present state of being. +Our group is still united though and together with the Lord's help, I +know we can make it. We started hiking at 8:15 and I felt sick and weak +most of the morning. At about the halfway point we found a little creek +where we stopped to rest for an hour and eat some currents and elder +berries we had found. It ended up being nearly two hours before we left +again. We trudged on through the heat of the day and I concentrated on +putting one foot in front of the other. Finally, we crossed Stanton pass +and as we descended into the valley, we spied the reservoir in the +distance. I think I know how the pioneers must have felt when they had +their first glimpse of the Salt Lake Valley. I nearly came to tears of +happiness. There were shouts of joy and many burst into singing. We +still had three miles to go, but our spirits were high, and our tired +bodies strengthened from the sight. As we rounded the last bend, united +and together, we sang "Shall the Youth of Zion Falter". We had done it +and we were grateful. Immediately, we knelt in prayer to offer our +thanks. It was 7 o'clock when we arrived. It had taken us about 9 hours +of hiking to cover those 16 miles. + +My first action was to unroll my bedroll and collapse into sleep. I had +to get up and head for the bushes 3 times during the night to avoid +disaster. When I awoke the next morning on Saturday, I felt incredibly +weak. I dosed until 11:30 when we held a short service on fasting and +its purpose. I now know or have a deeper understanding of what true +humility is. I have never felt so humbled before in my life. The rest of +the day and tomorrow until fast and testimony meeting will be spent in +prayer and scripture reading. Saturday afternoon seemed very long. Most +of us were just waiting it out until the staff came with food. I read +parts of the D & C and Jonathon Livingston Seagull. My case of Revenge +has dried up, mainly because it has emptied me completely out. I have +never had such a hollow feeling before. Saturday night was long too. +It's like waiting all night for Christmas morning. I often indulged in +dreams of all the good foods I've ever eaten. -- cgit v1.3.1