Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Wilderness Leadership - Advanced/Answer Key"

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Revision as of 23:20, 31 July 2009

Template:Honor header

1. Have the following honors:

a. Edible Wild Plants

Template:Ay prerequisite

b. Outdoor Leadership

Template:Ay prerequisite

c. Wilderness Leadership

Template:Ay prerequisite

d. Wilderness Living

Template:Ay prerequisite

2. Know and practice the principles of camouflage and tracking.

In order to come close to an animal, trackers must remain undetected not only by the animal, but also by other animals that may alert it. Moving as quietly as possible, trackers will avoid stepping on dry leaves and twigs, and take great care when moving through dry grass.

If the trackers are in close proximity to the animal, it is important that they remain downwind of it, that is, in a position where the wind is blowing away from the animal in the direction of the tracker. They must never be in a position where their scent could be carried in the wind towards the animal and thereby alert it. It is also important that the animal does not have the opportunity to cross their tracks, since the lingering human scent will alert it. Most animals prefer to keep the wind in their faces when traveling so that they can scent danger ahead of them. Trackers will therefore usually be downwind from them as they approach the animals from behind. The wind direction may, however, have changed. If the wind direction is unfavorable, the trackers may have to leave the spoor (tracks and other indications of an animal's presence) to search for their quarry from the downwind side.

As the trackers get closer to the animal, they must make sure that they see it before it sees them. Some trackers maintain that an animal keeps looking back down its own trail, always on the alert for danger coming from behind. When the spoor is very fresh, trackers may have to leave the spoor so that the animal does not see them first. Animals usually rest facing downwind, so that they can see danger approaching from the downwind side, while they can smell danger coming from behind them. An animal may also double back on its spoor and circle downwind before settling down to rest. A predator following its trail will move past the resting animal on the upwind side before realizing that the animal had doubled back, and the resting animal will smell the predator in time to make its escape.

When stalking an animal, trackers use the cover of bushes, going down on their hands and knees where necessary. In long grass they go down on their stomachs pulling themselves forward with their elbows. The most important thing is not to attract attention by sudden movements. Trackers should take their time, moving slowly when the animal is not looking, and keeping still when the animal is looking in their direction. When stalking an animal, trackers must also be careful not to disturb other animals. A disturbed animal will give its alarm signal, thereby alerting all animals in the vicinity, including the animal being tracked down.

Text from The Art of Tracking: The Origin of Science, by Louis Liebenberg, with permission from the author. Taken from Wikipedia:Tracking (hunting)


3. What physical and mental preparations are necessary before a wilderness experience?

Physical

Physical readiness not only implies physical fitness, but also the many things that have to be done to make the trip possible.

  • Choose a destination.
  • Evaluate what sort of equipment will be needed for the possible conditions (not just the likely ones).
  • Let the participants know what equipment they will need.
  • Gather the equipment you will need yourself.
  • Gather the equipment needed by the group.
  • Make sure that the participants have gathered the equipment they will need.
  • Organize transportation (drop off and pick up if it is not a loop trip).
  • Distribute medical release forms to all participants. Minors should have theirs signed by a legal guardian. The leader and alternate should have copies of these forms with them.
  • Select a menu and buy food
  • Pack!

Mental

Every participant must make mental preparations before leaving (not just the leader).

  • Review a map of the area.
  • Know where to get help if help is needed.
  • Know the rules governing the area you are going.
  • Check the weather forecast.
  • Talk with the government officials responsible for the area where you will spend your time. Check in with them when you arrive and let them know your plans. Check with them again when you leave.
  • Review First Aid principles
  • Review Fire Safety
  • Teach your group the things you have reviewed. If the only person who knows first aid is injured, who will administer first aid? Everyone should know what to do.
  • Go over group safety principles.
  • Appoint a leader and an alternate in case something happens to the leader.
  • Work out any differences of opinion before departure.
  • Understand the conditions that would make you turn back:
    • Weather
    • Injury or sickness
    • Loss of equipment or supplies

4. Demonstrate some skills necessary for wilderness leadership in two of the follow­ing areas not completed for the Wilderness Leadership Honor:

a. Desert

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Desert leadership skills

b. Mountain (rocks, ice, high altitude)

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Mountain leadership skills

c. Plain and tundra

Snow Blindness

The reflection of the sun's ultraviolet rays off a snow-covered area causes this condition. The symptoms of snow blindness are a sensation of grit in the eyes, pain in and over the eyes that increases with eyeball movement, red and teary eyes, and a headache that intensifies with continued exposure to light. Prolonged exposure to these rays can result in permanent eye damage. To treat snow blindness, bandage your eyes until the symptoms disappear.

You can prevent snow blindness by wearing sunglasses. If you don't have sunglasses, improvise. Cut slits in a piece of cardboard, thin wood, tree bark, or other available material. Putting soot under your eyes will help reduce shine and glare.

Fire

Dried moss, grass, and scrub willow are other materials you can use for fuel. These are usually plentiful near streams in tundras (open, treeless plains). By bundling or twisting grasses or other scrub vegetation to form a large, solid mass, you will have a slower burning, more productive fuel.

Warm Clothing

Dress in layers and avoid cotton. Wool or synthetics are warm even when wet, but when cotton gets wet (even from sweat), it effectively conducts heat away from the body. Wear a waterproof outer layer. If you find you are beginning to sweat, remove a layer of clothing or vent it. It is common for a person carrying a heavy load or doing heavy work (such as with an ax or shovel) to sweat even on a very cold day. Keep adjusting your layers until you quit sweating, as you do not want to be wet. When the exertion comes to an end, sweat-soaked clothing will quickly chill you.

Travel

Travelling in the snow is in many ways easier than travelling over solid ground if you have the right equipment. Snow shoes will keep you from sinking into the snow making it far easier to walk. Skis will speed you along even faster. Load your equipment on a sled and pull it along behind you. In this way you can carry far more equipment (or small children) than you could with a backpack.

d. Swamp

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Swamp leadership skills

e. Temperate forest

Fire

Small fires are better than large ones as they require less fuel and make less smoke. Sit close. Less fuel means less work in gathering fuel. Review the answers in Camping Skills IV to refresh yourself on how to build a fire in wet weather.

Water

When travelling for extended periods of time in the wilderness, it is not practical to carry all the water you will need. Happily, it is not necessary to do that either if you know how to make the water that is available suitable for drinking. There are generally three ways to purify water: chemically, by boiling, or by filtering. The most reliable method of purifying water is by pumping it through a filter. Chemically treating the water is also easy and convenient until you run out of purification tablets. Boiling water requires that you stop long enough to build a fire and bring the water to a boil. Then you are faced with the problem of carrying boiling water. For these reasons, filtering is the preferred solution. Be sure to refill when water is available, and think ahead to when water may not be plentiful (such as near the summit of a large hill or mountain), and make adequate preparations.

Bear Danger

Bear danger is the risk encountered by humans while interacting with wild bears.

Although some bears are alpha predators in their own habitat, they do not, under normal circumstances, hunt and feed on animals of their own size (including humans). Therefore, the most important cases of bear attack occur when the animal is defending itself against any possible threat. For instance, bear sows can become extremely aggressive if they feel their cubs are threatened. Any solitary bear is also likely to become agitated if surprised or cornered by a threat maker, especially while eating.

Dealing with bear encounters

Before backpackers are allowed to enter an area with bears, they may be required to watch a video that teaches how to avoid encountering or agitating bears. Experts emphasize keeping your distance and making noise to avoid startling a bear as the best ways to avoid a bear attack. If a bear does become confrontational, the usual advice is to raise the arms above the head so as to appear larger, and to yell at the bear. Running away can activate the bear's hunting instincts and lead to it perceiving the human as prey. If a bear does charge, persons are advised to hold their ground, as most bear charges are bluffs. Finally, if a bear does attack, the usual advice is to curl into a fetal position so as to shield vital organs and appear non-threatening. If this is not effective in stopping the attack, the only option left is to fight the bear in any way you can. The ideal place to punch a bear is the snout or eyes. This advice applies to omnivores such as brown and black bears; the best way to avoid being attacked by the completely carnivorous polar bear is not to enter any area where polar bears live, or at least remain inside a hard-shell vehicle or building.

Food storage and garbage disposal

Bears have an excellent sense of smell, and are attracted to human and pet foods as well as refuse. Improper storage of these items can allow bears to eat human food and become dependent on it, increasing the probability of encounters with humans. Most brown and black bear encounters in human-populated areas involve so-called "trouble bears", usually young males who have just left their mothers and do not yet have a territory of their own. If they wander close to human settlements, the smells of cooking and garbage can cause them to ignore their usual instinct to avoid humans. Many parks and persons in areas with bears utilize bear-resistant garbage cans and dumpsters for this reason, and many areas have laws prohibiting the feeding of bears, even if unintentional. Campers can access bear-proof containers from many parks to store their food and trash. The containers are then buried or strung on a rope between two tall trees, out of bears' reach. They are also instructed to put their containers, campfire, and tenting 90 meters 100 yards away from each other, forming a triangle.


f. Tropical

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Tropical leadership skills

5. Demonstrate the construction and operation of two types of snares or traps.

6. Know the points of consideration in the following types of travel:

a. Glacial

b. Mountain

c. Snow

d. Water

7. Understand the principles of developing a faith in divine leadership as outlined in Psalms 91.

8. Understand what steps should be taken for the survival of the wilderness.

9. Assist in instructing one honor listed in requirement 1 of the Wilderness Leadership Honor.

10. Build a shelter from non-living but natural materials (such as a debris hut).

11. Plan and participate in a week's wilderness camping experience, applying the principles and skills learned in this honor.

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Leading a wilderness trip

References