Sukunka August 2008

Exercise Sukunka Comms Aug 2008

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a multi patrol exercise hosted by Tumbler Ridge Patrol. Being one of three patrols in the Peace River region of BC this is not the first time I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Rangers from Tumbler. This time around also saw the participation of Vanderhoof and Pouce Coupe Patrols as well as my own, Hudson’s hope.

Taking place in the Sukunka River Valley the exercise Tumbler Ridge had put together was to have Rangers practice communications skills while testing the effectiveness of the TK190 radios.

The opening day of the ex was a hot one with temps well into the 30’s. After base camp was set up a local recce was completed. The result of which had some Rangers cooling their heels and more in the river.  This was followed later by a couple of quick lessons by WO Tony Fozzard on the affect terrain can have on navigating by compass and an eye opening demonstration on establishing Arcs of observation when manning an OP.

The next day we divided into pairs and obtained grid coordinates from Ranger Shae of Tumbler, the exercise commander. We mounted our ATVs and set out to perform a Comms Exercise with the recently acquired TK 190s. This was the first opportunity I had to use these radios in the field. The hilly twisting terrain provided ample opportunity for practice as we were frequently relaying messages back and forth between base and those Rangers farther out. The mobile exercise involved each team progressing several Kms at a time. Each phase had the lead team advance with the following pair taking up the position of the pair before it. I am not a regular radio user and found the operation quite useful.

In the PM we headed off again to explore the Beautiful Sekunka Valley. While the scenery was fantastic the road was hot and dusty and while we tried to keep a two minute spacing between teams we all ate more than our share of dirt, as the fine dust, without any wind, hung in the air like an RSM’s dirty look. Apart from the dust and one quickly repaired flat tire, the recce was uneventful. We had just returned when the skies were ripped apart with lightening, and rain and hail beat the earth. It definitely cooled the air and settled the dust problem. It didn’t, however, prevent those TR Rangers from cooking up enough delicious stew to feed all present and then some. No one goes hungry on an Ex with Tumbler Ridge.

The Next morning, after letting it dry as much as possible, we organized and packed our gear and departed for our respective homes. Thanks TR and those other Rangers for a very enjoyable weekend.

Emergency Shelters by Candle light

Wednesday, October 28.

During our regular monthly meeting Rangers of Hudson's Hope Patrol headed into the trees to practice constructing emergency shelters from available materials (mostly spruce). The challenge was handed out at our previous month's meeting. Each Ranger was to research a shelter utilizing natural material and a minimum of man made material. The Ranger was then to demonstrate the construction of the shelter and provide pros and cons. I was impressed with our patrol as they provided shelters which could be constructed without any manufactured materials yet once fully built could be expected to keep a person protected from the elements.

 I won't go into the details of how to build these here as there is myriad of web sites and books that can show you how a lot better than I can. Just Google "Bushcraft" or "Wilderness Survival" Remember, there is a big difference between reading how to build a shelter and doing it yourself when you really do need it. Unfortunately the batteries in my camera died before I had the opportunity to take pictures of the completed shelters that night but I returned a couple of weeks later after a couple of snowfalls. The following pictures demonstrate how the Fallen tree shelters kept the snow at bay. Two shelters of this type were built. The smaller would keep one person protected. The other would be a cozy two person affair. The Lean-to allowed some snow inside but as protection from the wind and with a fire in front it would certainly help keep you warm.With a little more time and material it too would have kept the snow of the builder.

That was the purpose of our training session, to actually do what we had read about. We also had the challenge of darkness thrown in as our early evenings this time of year dictated that out regular meeting time would be after sunset. If we expected to need a shelter we would if possible begin construction as early as possible.

As an additional note, I would like to point out that some shelter is instantly available if you're in the right area. Spruce trees tend to have thick branches sloping downward away from the trunk. As you can see in the following two pictures this directs precipitation outward. There is a lot less snow around the trunk of said tree. If the tree is a good one ,the branches will be thick enough at the bottom to provide some protection from the wind as well. With a little work you can improve upon what nature has provided and easily boost the sheltering properties of this tree.

 

Another useful item demonstrated was a "Nechako Candle". For those of you not aware of what a Nechako Candle is let me describe it to you. A block of dry firewood is cross sectioned by three cuts from a chainsaw part way along the its length. A glop of fire jelly is then lit at the top in the centre of the wood. As the wood burns it is fed from air being sucked into the cuts in the side. This air intake actually creates a "forced air" effect and the flame shoots vertically from the top of the block. A pot can be placed on top for cooking. The neat thing is that the fire is contained within the log and you can,"with care" pick it up and move it. (To protect me from some careless person wanting to test this theory, failing and then wish to make a lawyer some money,  I want to make the following disclaimer. Don't do it. It is not safe to carry a burning log shooting flame.) It is not a great source of heat for warming as the heat is directed straight up but it does leave a minimum impact on the ground for those wishing to leave little trace but enjoy having an actual fire when in the woods.

Exercise Lost LLoyd

Canadian Rangers Carry Out “Exercise: Lost Lloyd”
Fall 2008

Hudson’s Hope Patrol of the Canadian Rangers conducted an exercise west of Moberly Lake recently. The Exercise, aimed at developing Search and Rescue as well as wilderness navigation skills also included Rangers from Tumbler Ridge and MacKenzie Patrols and a Ranger Instructor from Headquarters in Victoria.

Friday, October 12, 2008, had the Rangers arriving on the shores of lovely Pete Lake in Northeast BC to set up camp and check out the local terrain. Ranger Kyllo of Hudson’s Hope and Ranger Bruce of Mackenzie quickly demonstrated what can be accomplished when patrols work together as they handily retrieved two lost Rainbow Trout from the lake.


Saturday morning the Rangers were presented with the scenario of a missing hunter, “Lost Lloyd,” who had failed to return as scheduled. The search area was defined and the ground search was begun. The searchers quickly adapted to maintaining spacing and line while making their way through a varied landscape of mixed forest with both mature trees and blowdowns. Once located, our “missing hunter” provided another training opportunity as it was determined he was suffering from both a broken leg and hypothermia and required immediate care and evacuation. The Rangers found themselves improvising an emergency stretcher,while Ranger Brenzen of MacKenzie Patrol demonstrated his OFA III skills by rendering first aid to the casualty. He also gave us all one of those, “Ooooh! Moments by showing us what can be done with packing tape. I won’t share it here but if you’re ever in his presence, ask. I bet he’ll tell you. Once the stretcher was complete and the “Llyod” carefully evacuated the searchers returned to camp for lunch.

The afternoon saw the Rangers being given GPS training by Warrant Officer Hryroshen. This gave us all the opportunity to wander the bush in small groups with GPS as well as map and compass as we marked various routes and points. The bearings and reference numbers were later exchanged between the groups and we set out to track the paths of our fellows. This proved to be a little more challenging than first anticipated as very high voltage transmission lines in the area, at times played havoc with the GPS.

Not wishing to simply set around the fire that night, (Really! We didn’t.) we waited until dark to carry out a night ground search for the dummy, Lloyd, lost by the Patrol Commander of Hudson’s Hope Patrol earlier that day. It was obvious early on that the dark presented new challenges in successfully examining an area for a lost person who was not responsive. Despite the challenges however we were successful and Lloyd was recovered.

Sunday, following a leisurely breakfast, camp was broken, debrief made and Rangers departed from whence they came. As always it was agreed that we all benefit from these joint patrols as fresh ideas and sometimes better ways of doing things are shared amongst the patrols.

Exercise Chowade Horse

Exercise Chowade Horse

Since moving to the Peace River Region of BC I have been interested in horses, especially pack horses. I love to head into the bush to explore but I'm not always excited about carrying that gear on my own back and none of my fellow Rangers have ever offered to carry it for me. Having a horse do this for me could, I reasoned, allow me to extend my wanderings. Other rangers were curious about the possible benefits of horses as means of transport as well, so when Ranger King offered his horses to be used for some training our Exercise was planned.

While horse familiarization was a key feature of our Ex a fair bit of time was also spent on navigation and communication. WO Hryhoryshen had brought along new antennae for the TK190's and while wandering about the excellent orienteering course Ranger King had set up we practiced our radio etiquette and experimented with the two different antennae.

While we were recording the GR's of the various points and entering them into our GPS units another valuable lesson was learned. The maps, which were made for the area, were using WGS 84 datum instead of NAD 27, which is what all our units were set for. This created some confusion at first but when the difference was discovered we quickly learned to use the GPS units to convert the datum. I love technology (When it works). In the end it was a valuable lesson learned so be sure to check the datum on any maps you may find yourself using. While we all faced some challenges on the course, we were ultimately successful in following our routes, despite the objections of some upset Mulies. The results of our communication tests were inconclusive but I must admit my preference is the lighter weight FRS.

Our navigating continued after dark as we broke into teams to find our way around a marked course. Here our pacing was especially important as we used the GPS units at a minimal level. After getting a directional bearing to the next coordinate we were expected to travel to that point without referring to the GPS. We simply picked a reference and headed to it. Reference points are not as readily available in the dark but by using the darker shadows of trees against the sky can serve well enough, if you are crossing more open areas. Pacing was essential to determine distance if we hoped to find the posted marker. A little more challenging than in daylight but we were all successful in the end.

The next day while doing some local reconnaissance, as most of us were new to the area we did had another surprise lesson thrown on us after the loss of one of our FRS radios. Sgt Barnes will be relieved to know we put the "Track Back" feature of our GPS to good use and recovered the wayward radio. Thank God! No Lost/Damaged Report to fill out.

Sunday began sunny and warm and we began our horse training. Ranger's King and Kyllo are old hands with horses. Sorry. "Experienced" hands with horses and taught us, especially me; things I didn't even know had to be learned. From hoof care to tying pack horses together with a, "tail knot" to keep them in a string (Never saw that one in any of the knot books I own) to placing your hand under the saddle blanket so it doesn't put undue pressure on the horses withers once the saddle is placed. It was an information rich morning with a short (though my butt said long) trail ride in the afternoon that included a fording of the Halfway River.

In all, it was a great Exercise. We all learned a lot that we hope to tie together in a future Ex. I learned that the horse that snores its' way through a pedicure is my kind of horse and that if saddles don't come more padded I'll be content to let the horse carry my gear while I walk along side.

Exercise Observing Ranger

Setting up and manning Observation Posts (OP's) are among the skills expected of a Canadian Ranger. Earlier this year, Hudson's Hope Patrol, conducted a training exercise to become more familiar with the different types of OP's and their establishment. For those of us who happen to be hunters, this is not a totally new skill to learn as we do it when setting up blinds, or tree stands, or simply watching game trails and mineral licks. Many of the basic requirements are the same. A military OP may be set up for a variety of reasons and, depending upon their function, may require different criteria and procedures.


We began by conducting a walking recce of our objective. The patrol was then split up into pairs with each pair tasked to find a primary and secondary covert OP. Each pair of Rangers was later asked to justify their choices for an Op by describing its positive and negative attributes. Thereafter it was critiqued by the remainder of the patrol based upon the requirements of an OP including:
-Best possible view of the assigned sector
-Good communication
-Protection from the weather
-Covered lines of approach and withdrawal
-Located in a quiet position
-Concealed.

To aid in the effectiveness of an OP it is a good idea to create a range card. WO Hryhoryshen covered this in a training session the previous evening. For those of you who like to Bow hunt, the range card can also be an effective strategy to help you quickly judge the distance to game from a blind or stand, if you measure the distance to ground features before hand.

The patrol felt the exercise was a success as many of us were able to apply skills we had acquired from our personal pursuits (hunting) to our role as rangers. We also had the opportunity to share skills with other patrol members. The opportunity to critique each other's work was another positive moment as we all realized each member of our patrol had something to share that we could all learn from.