Hasty Team gears up for 2008

You are chasing the biggest deer you have ever seen, a deer you will be able to brag about for years to come. Before you know it, it's dark. Your deer has run off and you are left circling the woods trying to find your way back.

The deer's not lost, but you are. How are you going to get out of the woods?

Enter the Hasty Team: Fast, well-trained in survival skills, and fully equipped for your rescue. The members of the Hasty Team know not to rely on technology that can fail to function when blocked by trees, mountains, and dead batteries. They bring with them enough gear to survive for a 24-hour rescue.

Team instructor Kirk Metzger will tell you it's important to plan for changing weather conditions. Take the essentials with you. Among them are food, shelter, water, fire-starter, map and compass.

Most importantly, learn to use the tools long before you leave on your trip. Practice using your equipment in a controlled environment and always have a backup system. If you have a GPS, carry a map and compass as back-up. Technology fails. Cell phones are relied on much too heavily, and often don't get coverage.

Trainer Mark Foster says the team responds to everything from lost people to body recovery. Rescuing lost hunters is pretty common, as are mountain climbing accidents. The Hasty Team is even trained for water rescue.

Volunteerism is high in Camp Sherman and all the volunteers bring with them their unique set of skills. One new member on the team, Eli Pyke, kayaks competitively over waterfalls and white water. His wife Kelly is a Wilderness EMT. In fact, several of the Hasty Team are EMTs. Trainer and Sheriff Dave Blann says every member of the team has their strong areas. Some people are skilled at rappelling down a mountain, others like water rescue. Rescuers work as a team. If they find someone who can't be moved, one rescuer stays behind while another goes for help.

Camp Sherman's Hasty Team was started in 1995 when Mark Foster saw a need for more specialized training after a mountain accident. He brought in the certification organization Rescue 3 International to hone their skills and National Ski Patrol to train them in avalanche rescue.

Training is extensive. They meet two Saturdays and two Wednesdays a month. After passing written and skills tests to become certified, they still have to put in 30 hours of training per year.

New team member Karen Sheldahl is also the Camp Sherman postmistress. She has wanted to be a volunteer for a while. It's a good group of people, she says, and the training keeps her in shape and motivated to be outside.

All the volunteers talked about how much they liked helping others and being outdoors. The skills they learn, such as using a map, compass and a GPS, improve their own enjoyment of wilderness.