Knowledge, with Skill, is Power

One clear, summer night a few years back, I asked a group of teenaged Scouts how they would navigate without a compass... "Use the Sun", one said. Another responded, "Use the North Star".. Both were valid, well-rehearsed answers. I smiled, hoping my doubts were going to be proven wrong.  My follow up questions were "Tell me how" and "Show me how". Unfortunately at that, I was met with blank, slack jawed stares. 

"Kinder and gentler".. oh how I remember those thoughts and words from the early 1990s. For social issues, and in raising children and dealing with our neighbors.. and others.. there are few words of advice that are more timely. 
The problem is that somehow people have started to think that the wider natural world is a "kinder and gentler " place. Nothing could be much further from the truth.

At Teamlink/Shenandoah Mountain Guides, we work with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, colleges and universities, as well as with the broader worldwide public, and somehow, it seems, those who are the "deciders" have decided that it may not be as necessary today as it was 10, 15, 20 or 100 years ago, to go into the outdoors armed with solid knowledge and proven outdoor skills, prepared to handle any situation that may come your way.

Too many magazine articles have espoused that "with the right gear" you can do and survive anything. And besides, if anything does go wrong your SPOT/EPIRB/cell phone is always within reach... you can call on someone who DOES have the skills to come and "save " you. Too many folks have grown into adulthood thinking that safety and comfort in the outdoors natural world is a right... not something that has to be, not earned.. but rather,  LEARNED.
Reading about outdoor adventure is enjoyable, but actually knowing HOW is a different thing altogether.
(I can read about brain surgery and rocket science... does that prepare me to actually do brain surgery or build a rocket??.. heck no.) 

It's not that  outdoor adventure skills are hard, they just take time and focus, to master. Our immediate gratification society is increasingly willing to dispense with mastery of outdoor skills in exchange for rolling the dice... will we, or will we not need assistance...

Am I the only one who would find it hugely embarrassing to have to be "rescued" for simply not being prepared??

At SMG, we LEAD trips into mountain wilderness areas all the time. We SERVE as Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers in those same mountains. We TEACH technical high angle rescue to professional mountain rescue teams.
We KNOW the sorts of things that can go wrong, and we know how to teach folks to be prepared and how to avoid getting into bad situations in the first place.

So, take the time to learn to get more enjoyment from the outdoors! LEARN to be more fully self reliant! 

How cool would it be to know a bunch of KNOTS? (each of which having a unique function). .. or how to navigate without a compass? (and not get lost).. or something as simple as how to dress and prepare for a long hike (without buying a bunch of shiny new gear whose function is questionable)? The answer is really cool!
Or just maybe you want to be in the position of knowing exactly what to do (and how to do it) when things beyond your control,  go really, really wrong. (THAT could be as cool as saving a life!)

  Call us today.. 866.455.8672. Our Spring and Summer classes are open for you.

 (as the Suunto Compass ad goes: "Replacing Luck")

One-up, Suffer-fests

Rainy days in this business are dangerous. Not because of the water or mud, but because of the imposed relative inactivity. 
I suppose a little explanation is in order.. The nature of this job inherently requires a pretty high level of strength and stamina .. and energy...without it you don't last very long, much less, enjoy it.

Since long before Teamlink was even dreamed of..(much less Shenandoah Mountain Guides) we were participants in very long running challenges, swimming challenges (across the Chesapeake Bay) orienteering, triathlons and even summer biathlon (another name for running up and down mountains, really fast, and then trying to calm your heart rate enough to shoot straight ... ) So it was not an accident that the staff has developed into a culture of competition founded in personal suffering.

Actually, it was more of an evolutionary act... seeing who could endure the most, let's just call it self-induced, willfully engaged, mindless pain, without really training for it.. just letting our work be our conditioning medium.
Long days in the mountains and on the rivers really DO count for something besides a great job and an ok tan..

Our location does not hurt... within minutes of long trails and rivers, with 4 states within 15 miles in 3 directions .. our location actually taunts us to do stupid endurance stunts.

When this all first started becoming a recognized corporate malady was with the 4-State... ("popular" with AT thru-hikers, the goal is to start in VA or PA (depending whether you are north or southbound) and cross the full span of WV and MD on the Appalachian Trail, ending in either PA or VA. A total of about 45 miles, to be accomplished in 24 hours)
It is a pretty brainless way to spend a summer day... At the end of the day, you KNOW you've been hiking/running.

That was a great and worthy pursuit with almost all staff having completed this major "qual."

And then it was the 4-state plus.. Complete the traditional 4-state, but then hop on a bicycle and ride on the C&O Canal into the District of Columbia, 60+ miles distant.(The first attempt, by Chad, almost ended in disaster as it was a subzero day... and, well, you need to read his narrative in his Shenandoah Mountain Guides blog. Ultimately he met with success earlier this spring completing the feat in about 14 hours..

There have been many discussions of worthy "one-ups"- because simply matching a feat no longer counts for much: long-distance, 24-hour paddling trips (to include both rivers and the Chesapeake) long, painful swims, and extreme runs... i.e. the AT in Shenandoah National Park 106 miles, the "Old Rag Marathon +"
(The Old Rag Marathon, 3 complete circuit runs on Old Rag is a relatively minor feat, having been done several times, even  by our summer staff)

So with the solstice upon us and a rainy day at hand (meaning favorable water levels), The GRAND CIRCUIT began taking shape... (quick, someone talk me down!)
-Starting at PenMar park, located appropriately on the state line between PA and MD.. bike west approx 20 miles to where Antietam Creek becomes navigable...
-Paddle 38 miles south to the Potomac River and C&O Canal..
- Bike 15 miles SE,  on the C& O Canal past Harpers Ferry to the junction with the AT. (tag VA along the way)
- Hike, run, stumble, crawl, north about 41 miles to PenMar park... all in 24 hours.

I can feel the pain already..

Hiking thru the night has it's own pleasures!

Stay tuned...