SAR Gear update: sucking wind

Almost immediately after I posted my last gear article, I went on two missions on the Sandias' west face, one to Tram Tower 2 and one up north of the La Luz, that just completely kicked my butt. Since then, I've been making a lot of modifications to what I carry, trying to slim things down as much as possible. The biggest changes were switching to a smaller backpack and dispensing with my equipment vest. I figured I'd go ahead and post an updated article, detailing what I carry now and highlighting lessons learned from the old kit.

Again, this is my basic load; in cold weather or for longer missions I'd add things such as a sleeping bag, tent, snowshoes, and the like. When I go on SAR missions, I have a duffel with extra food, extra water, change of clothes, more batteries, and my helmet and harness that stays in my truck, and I can draw on it as the situation dictates once I get to Incident Base.

Keep in mind, this list is for a low-angle, non-technical ground pounding team, operating in New Mexico (desert/mountain/pine forest). If your team specializes in tech rescue, dog handling, or something else, you may have different gear needs. If you work in Alaska or Alabama, you're going to have different gear needs. Consult whatever packing list your team distributes and go from there.

Be warned, this is going to be long-winded and photo-heavy.

What I Carry and Why: SAR pack

Note: shortly after I posted this, I made some major changes to the gear I carry. This list is no longer current. For details, see here

In this post I'll be discussing the gear I carry in the field on SAR missions. This is my basic load; in cold weather or for longer missions I'd add things such as a sleeping bag, tent, snowshoes, and the like. 

Keep in mind, this list is for a low-angle, non-technical ground pounding team, operating in New Mexico (desert/mountain/pine forest). If your team specializes in tech rescue, dog handling, or something else, you may have different gear needs. If you work in Alaska or Alabama, you're going to have different gear needs. Consult whatever packing list your team distributes and go from there.

Be warned, this is going to be long-winded and photo-heavy.

DIY gear weekend

So over Memorial weekend I set out to do some simple alterations to some of my search gear, in preparation for joining back up with the SAR team now that nursing school is a bad memory. Suffice to say I got a little carried away, and now I have some new toys.

Let's start with the vest. This is a PALS / MOLLE chest rig, built to replace the one I've been running for a couple years now. It's based loosely on Tactical Tailor's Mini-MAV vest, which retails for about $50. 

Two Fools Tavern

This afternoon, Mandy and I went to Two Fools Tavern down by the university for lunch. I'm afraid I don't have pictures, so you'll have to put up with one I nicked from their facebook page. I really enjoyed it, and would like to go back. Recommended.

What I Carry and Why: EDC or Everyday Carry Gear

So, I'm going to start working on a three part series on the gear I carry in varying situations. I decided to start with my everyday "kicking around town in fair weather" load, frankly because it involves the least amount of photography. The next three installments will be on my day hiking pack, my SAR pack, and backpacking pack, all of which involve a LOT more stuff, and thus more camera time.

The Last Trail

Essay for my Fiction Writing class this term, first draft. Have a gander.

The Last Trail

Justin felt his knees buckle, and knew he was going down. As he fell, he tried to keep Dakota’s head from striking the ground. He couldn’t see well enough any longer to tell how successful he’d been. He lay in the hot ash that looked like snow for a long moment, and then rolled far enough to vomit without choking.

He weakly spat out the residual vomit, and tried to rise to his knees. Finding he didn’t even have the strength for that, he rolled over to check on his friend. She hadn’t stirred. He weakly shook her shoulder, gasping, “Dakota, are you OK?”

She didn’t respond. He pulled off his leather glove and reached for her exposed neck with shaking fingers, brushing aside thick raven hair. He found the notch to the side of her trachea that contained the carotid artery, and pressed gently, expecting to feel a pulse against his fingers.

There was nothing.

“’Koda,” he whimpered. “No….”

Sasslong Update

This is a followup to the first impressions review I did on Asolo's Sasslong hiking boots. You can find it here:http://musinginthedesert.blogspot.com/2013/07/gear-review-asolo-sasslong-hiking-boots.html

I really, really, really wanted to like these boots. However, I have paddle-like hind paws, and even in a wide size, they were crushing my little toe. Thus, I'll be going back to the L.L. Bean Cresta Hiker, because it seems to be the only high-quality hiking boot on God's holy green Earth that fits my feet. As to the abrasion problems, I don't know what I'll do. Perhaps shoe-goo another piece of leather to the toe when it wears through. L.L. Bean was kind enough to send me a new pair of Crestas, since the ones I had been using leaked.