Gear Readiness and a lesson on a snowy hike up Mt. Leconte... Another dot in the picture.

We have all heard that we learn more from our failures than from our successes. I believe this to have truth, and it puts me in the running for the wisest man in the world. My life has been punctuated with failures. More like built on them. Many were because I failed to listen to advice. Others because I hadn't the knowledge to accomplish something I engaged in. Others were simply judgement errors and inexperience. Still others were failing to have the right tools for the job. If you connected these main points of failure, you'd have a children's dot-to-dot picture of my life and growth. I'm not implying it would be a nice picture, but it is one I'm happy I've lived. The dots still happen, but fortunately a bit less frequently.

Most things in life are a bit (if not more) uncomfortable until we've done them for a while. Repetition and dedication can allow us to incorporate new positive habits into our lives that may impact our future. One of these things we need to work into a habit is readiness. Owning and using gear can make our lives easier and safer. One such example for many of us is carrying a pocket knife or multi tool. It's amazing how carrying a phone is no problem to anyone, but the "hassle" of carrying a knife or tool seems to befuddle us. Again, it's just a matter of practice and commitment and it's soon just part of your daily routine. Further, you can own the most highly recommended and acclaimed gear in the world, but it is useless if it is not with you when it is needed. Being prepared needs to be something we do automatically... and that's not easy.

I'd like to share the idea of having personal carry gear. In our family, we all have some variety of "24 hour" gear. This term seems to have it's origin in the military, and is also used in Search and Rescue circles to indicate the gear you feel you'd need to survive 24 hours. It obviously includes water, water purification, some calories/food, fire starting material, shelter material, protection from inclement weather, first aid kit, and then more to a person's individual feelings. I'll share my personal take on "24 hour" gear in another post.

If you are mostly staying in civilization, this kit may be different than someone who hikes or adventures in the wilderness. Since we love to hike and camp and several of the family are part of a Wilderness Search and Rescue Team through the Civil Air Patrol, our kits are packed to be mobile. Some of the team use day pack style back packs, I personally use a military surplus harness with MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Load bearing Equipment) accessories.

(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/295548794279793403/)

Beginning as soon as our children can manage a hike alone, they carry some gear. Little ones obviously don't need matches and knives, but as they train to understand the safe use of items, their gear becomes more complete. We've never had complaints because we can add a baggie of trail mix or some energy bars and they have control of these goodies while we hike, as well as their own water. I'd rather the kids carry a bit heavy, since this strengthens them physically and mentally, and you can always ditch gear in a pinch... but it's hard to summon it out of the ether. I've been fascinated by the new fitness craze called "rucking." People finding that if you carry a load when you hike, you can increase your fitness. Imagine if we carried useful, potentially life saving things rather than just weights.

Now if we're just going on a day hike on the Greenways nearby, we don't necessarily gear up for full disaster (although arguably there would be little drawback). But having the kit, and knowing it's components and how to use them successfully allows you to quickly grab and carry or stow this gear in the car or hang it in a closet... ready for anything that throws a curve ball at your comfort and safety.

An example of when not just owning gear, but taking the time to keep it available was when we participated in a hike up Mt. Leconte one late fall day with a church group. Our ascent was using the Alum Cave Trail, which is a 5.5 mile hike with a climb of 2,560 feet to the top. The weather was foggy and drizzly, and the kids all had wet weather gear and their packs. It didn't take long before we had moved to the front of the meandering length of hikers and the mist and rain turned to snow. It was spectacular and by the time we reached the summit we'd added 6 inches of new snow to the 2-4 already on the mountain according the the lodge keepers at the top.

Truly breathtaking. We had all dressed in layers and had protection from the wet, and upon reaching the warmth of the lodge, I had one kid with damp feet which were a bit chilly. My bad. Boots by the fire, dry socks, and we enjoyed some cocoa and fellowship with the rest of the group (most of whom we didn't know) as they slowly trudged into the cabin.

I was an invited guest to this hike and had no role in organizing or preparing participants. I know we had garnished some grins and odd looks down at the trail head with our merry band of dwarves, kitted up as if going to battle. Please understand, I am not picking on anyone as I retell this tail, just using it as an example of a time when planning for some people did not meet the need. It has happened to me. Many times. Another dot in my life's picture. I've improved my readiness more from finding myself unprepared and making adjustments than from reading some article or watching a video.

On particular example was a nice family with a big robust father who stumbled into the cabin carrying two young girls, maybe age 8 and 10. He was still going, but fatigued from carrying the children up the steep final approach to the top. The girls were sullen and quiet. Their sneakers soaked and freezing. Their jeans soaked. Their mittens, probably suitable for keeping warm at the bus stop or going into a store, were insufficient for the heavy wet snow. Fingers and toes were cold and obvious hypothermia was setting in. We still had 5.5 miles to hike back to the cars.

(https://boyslife.org/outdoors/outdoorarticles/2460/hypothermia-the-silent-killers/)

Again, I say this not to belittle the family, but simply to point out that people can find themselves in situations beyond what they're ready to survive, even on something like a day hike with a church group. They had exhausted their snacks, and were in trouble. They maybe should have turned around earlier and made it back to the warmth of their car, but as we all know, even unintended peer pressure can make us continue on into deeper waters.

Immediately my kids were able to break out hand and body warmers and get them activated. Quick lesson is that in our haste to warm the girls, we had not dried their hands and feet and the first round of hand warmers never really warmed. We got more active, and struggled to find things to dry their skin so that they could use them, but we got it done.

Most of us had one or two MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat). These are prepackaged, high calorie, fairly edible meals with everything from spork to entree, desert, to toilet paper. There are both military and civilian types (mostly the difference is in the exterior packaging, with the civilian selections being in a slightly less rugged outer bag and the civilian model requiring the included vial of salt water to activate the heater... a safety feature to help prevent them from lighting up with moisture, while the military versions will cook with any water). Soon several were unpacked and the enclosed heaters warming some stew. Once the girls had hot food, the heaters (which are very very hot) were put inside their shoes to help warm them. (The heaters are much too hot to be against skin, and emit steam, so not good for drying clothes, but with soaking sneakers, and the steam vent sticking out of the shoe, it helped nicely.) I had carried a large fleece (am a big guy) which I had shed early because the exercise had quickly warmed me and the Gortex was keeping me dry and comfy. I donated the fleece to the family, who could actually cuddle the smaller, colder young lady in it like a sleeping bag.

The trip down was obviously much easier, and everyone survived and did well. They were not the only family who found themselves under-prepared, but were the ones closest to true medical compromise. In the end, other than building some muscles and enjoying some hot food at the top, (the MRE's being more of a novelty than necessity to us), we did not personally need any of the gear we hauled up and back. However, it could easily have been one of us who twisted an ankle or slipped into a flow of water or whatever. Plus, and I personally feel this is important, it is not just about us. We are not in it alone. Next time this father may pull my bacon out of the fire. We had thought through the situation, and fortunately, our training and preparation had us ready for the situations that we faced during this beautiful trek up Leconte. We weren't just ready for ourselves; this time our readiness helped others.