ranger training

alot has happened since my last post. first of all i was assigned to a "training crew" consisting of 7 other guys from all over the u.s. and a ranger trainer. prior to this, i had never met any of the guys in my group and didn't know what to expect. we left last saturday for a 6 day ranger trek. during this trek, we were going to be taught all the knowledge and skills needed to lead scout trek later on this summer. we left base camp around 2:30 saturday and headed towards lover's leap turn around to begin our adventure. the first day was pretty slow for the most part. everyone was pretty reserved and didn't talk much. we hiked around 5 or 6 miles to a small camp called north fork euraka. this was a pretty small camp and was in a valley. we arrived at camp around night fall, so we didn't have much time to set up camp and eat dinner before dark. we woke up around 8 that next morning and headed on towards the phillips family private hunting camp. while on the trail, we went through a few large climbs that definitely tested our fitness, but i felt pretty good through the hike. we hiked around 7 miles and made it to hunting camp around 4 in the afternoon. once we arrived, my tent partner and i started making dinner for the crew while everyone else began purifying water and hanging the bear bag. we cooked dehydrated macaroni and cheese and green beans. no one really liked our meal and they all teased the cooks for his bad cooking skills. we went to bed around 10 and woke up the next morning and began our journey to cypher's mine. while on the way to cypher's mine, we had a total 53 river crossings and by the end, we were all soaked. this was my favorite hike so far. the trail was beautiful and i kept seeing sites that took my breath away. when we arrived at cypher's mine, we ate lunch on the front porch and made snow cones out of a patch of snow and gatorade mix. these snow cones were the best i have ever had. im not sure how of that was due to the fact i had not eaten a real meal since saturday, but i was very impressed. that night we slept on the front porch and woke up around 8 to head to black mountain. the trip to black mountain was a climb in the beginning, but the last half was almost completely down hill so we made it to camp in no time. while at camp, we found an old black smith's forge and messed around in it. i found a few muzzle loader bullets and smashed them down on the anvil to make 3 coins. i made one for myself, one for my brother sam, and one for one of my friends sophie. i intially smashed the bullets down to the size of quarters then used a drill bit to make different designs in them. after that we headed to bed and woke up that next morning to 35 degree weather. it was very cold and all i had was a fleece pullover and shorts. it was shivering until we started hiking. we headed to a cattle camp called baubine where there was a ranger challenge. we competed against all the other ranger training crews in different competitions. my crew did okay, for the most part, we didn't really care that much about winning, the prize really wasn't worth it. after the games were over, they served us steak and corn salad. this steak was the first meal that i had eaten in 5 days that didn't involve adding boiling water to dehydrated powder. after we finished eating, we decided to hike another 9 miles so that our last day would be an easy hike in. while on the hike, about 6 miles into it, we came across a bear in the middle of a meadow. we watched it for a while then decided to chase it and see where it would go. as soon as we ran towards it, it ran up the side of the mountain where we couldn't climb. after we got to our designated camp, the stockcade, we decided to sleep on the roof of this fort. the roof was made out of tin and during various parts of the night i would begin to slide a few feet until i would wake up and climb back to my original spot. i did this few times until around 3 a.m. i decided to climb into the main cabin of the fort. my decision to climb into the cabin turned out to be a smart one, because around 5:30 a sudden shower of rain soaked everyone sleeping outside on the roof. the rain continued throughout the morning and sometimes turned to sleet. there was up to 3 inched of snow in places of the ranch. we hung out in the cabin for a few hours until it was time for us all to take the RAT (ranger apptitude test). the test for the most part was pretty easy and i think i passed it pretty handily. after the test, we headed back to base camp and took showers and we to cimarron to eat lunch and a hamburger diner. the food tasted amazing and i every bit of my cheeseburger and onion rings. after we got back from cimarron, my family came to visit. they were on their way to a family reunion in red river. i was so nice to see them. they brought some clothes and gear that i left in tulsa. after they left i cleaned my clothes and took a nap. tomorrow is the official ranger day off, so im going to drive to toas and look around. we might go to this bridge and jump off into a river if it's not too cold. and for dinner, my parents and sam are going to drive to toas and take me somewhere to eat. im pretty excited about tom. it should be fun.