[RR] wilderness survial merit

[rarice]

I just got back this afternoon after taking three boys out to earn their wilderness survival merit.   They where told that they could take a few matches in for their fire but they choose to take flint and steel in. I had been working with them on use of this method and their ability to even choose the proper tinder. After we dropped them of in the woods beside a small creek with plenty of edible plants and such nearby , they where instructed to build a shelter and to prepare for the night. They had almost three hours of light before dark. About a half hour before dark we walked in to check on them and they where sitting by a nice fire with a small lean to built.   After a couple of other instructions I told them good night and to keep the fire burning for there are coyote and raccoons aplenty in this woods.   Not knowing to them close to midnight we walked back in to check on them again, and after about a half hour of watching them without them knowing we where there we made our presence known to them. They already had stories to tell about a coyote howling and raccoons fighting in the dark.   The night go rather cool 50% and they realized the need for a more adequate shelter but they learned the benefits of body heat.   For breakfast they found a meal of hickory nuts, crabapples, and green Paw-Paws.   Russ Rice Anchor of Hope Ministries Lebanon Ohio