Do you own a bunch of gear, have you test it all? Have you put yourself in trouble just to see if your gear works the way its supposed to?
Local trails are a great place to go play and practice. Invite a few friends and get yourself stuck, practice recovering yourself with your own gear.
Practice in different scenarios, mud, snow, rocks. Once you master self recovery you would have built enough experience to start helping others. You will know what works and what doesn’t. You will know how long it takes and what it looks like in each situation.
I spend a few hours sorting things out after each recovery, making sure everything is back in the place I memorized and fixing anything that got damaged. Keep a mental count of how many shackles you carry, how many straps, etc.
Sort your gear in a way, you can find it with your eyes close. I’m not kidding, at 2 a.m., in the morning, buried in 3 feet of snow, you don’t want to waste time looking with a flashlight thru your gear, you want to reach with your hand and pull exactly what you need. At night everything is twice as difficult, at night and freezing, well you get the idea.
Be safe out there, and although “The 10,000 Hour to master a skill” rule now we know is wrong, the more we practice the better we will be at it. See you in the trails!.
By Big AL PDX
email:bigalpdx@oregonoffroadrecovery.com
follow BigAl at @bigalpdx
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