Mounted search and rescue

[bonnie elster <elster530@yahoo.com>]

Nevada County's Mini SAREX was held at Camp Augusta outside Nevada City. Fri nite the classes were Radio Communication & a mini-class on night search problems.

Sat began w/a delicious breaksfast. The basic classes were Man Tracking and Map & Compass. The advanced classes were Urban Search & Child Abduction. The evening ended w/ Pack Review.

Sun again began w/a delicious breaksfast provided by the support team. Basic Rough Terrain was the first class which was followed by Ropes & Knots. In this class we learned basic knots & then went out on a steep hillside to apply the knowledge to a situation we might encounter. It was led by Michael Hodgson. Some of you might recognize Michael. He was very ably assisted by some of the experienced members. Then came clean up! Both Sat & Sun some of us hiked to the beautiful waterfalls which had been greatly enhanced by all the snow & rain we had been receiving. The committee of members provided excellent teachers & a variety of training opportunities.

The SAREX to be held in Merced is going to be at a state park. It's our understanding they will be having equestrian training. The site may be up by now. Happy Trails Y'all

Jorene Downs <Jorene@CEOates.com> wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Una Smith"
> bonnie elster wrote:
> >We had a good time at the SAREX [SARCON] this weekend.
>
> How about writing a trip report for all of us who didn't make
> it? Was there any horse-related training? I listed SARCON
> on http://www.ibiblio.org/msar/events.html because there was
> supposed to be some, but from the latest program on their web
> site, it appears none was offered.

The Western States SARCON doesn't offer horse-rider training. It is
co-sponsored by CA and NV and more focused on SAR and disaster training.
Also includes more management-related training, and variety like USAR Task
Force personnel as course instructors. An excellent opportunity to get out
of the saddle and find out what the groundpounders are learning.

I must have had a premonition because while SARCON is always on my calendar,
this year I delayed sending in my registration. Sure enough, the instructor
we had scheduled to provide SAR training to local Civil Air Patrol Cadets
had to cancel and the County SAR Coordinator tapped me to fill in. I stuck
him with the dry map and compass course and had fun with an overview of the
fundamentals of SAR. Wish I could have cloned myself, though, because I
always enjoy SARCON. Oh well, that way I was also here for the Swiftwater
Rescue tune-up before we head up the mountain for the long Memorial Day
weekend, stationed high on the Kern River for Swiftwater, SAR, body recovery
... and whatever. (Many of us are cross-trained in at least 2-3 kinds of SAR
training.)

NASAR (no horses) annual conference is in Reno, May 28-31.
http://www.nasar.org I'll probably be going since I missed the SARCON. But
I'd have to roll down the mountain after the long weekend, spend a day doing
laundry and be on the highway north. On the way back I'll likely stop at the
Horse Expo in Sacramento. http://www.horsexpo.com/ Their local MSAR is
usually there with a booth. The annual Western States Horse Summit will also
be there, and Backcountry Horsemen will be represented so I'll stop in to
say howdy.

Our CA OES sponsored annual SAREX location was finally decided about a week
ago: Merced County, San Luis Lake. No details yet other than the dates of
Sept 5-7. http://www.sarex.org/ MSAR and SAR courses, and some basic
USAR.

In October, SAR City (Barstow, CA) annually offers good MSAR and SAR
training, as well as other topics. http://www.bcconline.com/sarcity/ still
shows the 2002 schedule.

I've been asked to be ICP surface staff for the cave rescue team - probably
Entrance Control - but I'll let them bring back a summary from June training
in Carlsbad, NM, to share at our local July cave rescue training. ;)

If anyone was in doubt, yes, I'm a strong proponent of cross-training and
versatility for ALL SAR personnel, regardless if there is a critter
involved. ;)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare Co, CA
SAR, MSAR, Swiftwater Rescue, US&R


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