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My daughter Mary and I took a one week animal tracking and survival course in the forest of California and had a wonderful time!
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I told Mary as she was about to graduate from high school that I had $300 saved to give her the graduation present of her choice. She wanted to take the Tom Brown Standard Course in California that August! She had read Tom's books on animal tracking and wilderness survival and wanted to learn his advanced skills. He taught most of his classes in New Jersey, but had a one-week course each summer in California. It cost $750 each and I agreed that if she would pay the remainder of her fee that I'd take her there and take the course with her!
Each of us invited a friend and we four had a wonderful time! Most of the course was taught by Tom himself and he is amazing! I filled a book with notes which maybe I'll transcribe here someday. One highlight was a demonstration of how to start a bow drill fire. They said that 95% of us would succeed but I was convinced that I'd be in the other 5%. I had come to learn tracking skills so that was not on my list of goals! I had asked my life-time scouter friend Steve Parker (who was one of us four) if he had ever succeeded to start such a fire. He had replied that he had not, but that he knew a senior leader who almost did once!
So before I could even finish lining up excuses from all of my negative preconceived notions, within 20 seconds the student instructor had started a blazing teepee fire! I was instantly converted and decided I had to learn this!! I succeeded! Since that success with my own hand-whittled equipment, I have since taught many scouts how to do likewise! So this graduation certificate not only represents many skills learned but also some great memories!