Spring Break
A drive to succeed is often all you need
Chris Topham
Issue date: 1/15/09 Section: Forum
Life has a way of constantly throwing you curveballs, catching you off guard when you least expect it. The true test is how you react when knocked down - do you just lie there, or do you get back up and ask for more?
It was 0515 and the day was like most others. We were just starting yet another land navigation exercise, and I, having had spent the night trying to find shelter under a pine tree, was feeling rather worse for wear. I double-checked to make sure that all of the grid coordinates I had plotted were correct, set my compass heading off into the woods, and began beating a path through the brush on the way toward my first point.
The rain had thoroughly soaked the ground and turned it into that mucky clay that slides out from underneath you when you least expect it, and clings to you no matter how lightly you walk. That day's mission was to plot, locate, and return with proof of finding six out nine "points" in five hours, scattered around a wooded area roughly 9 by 15 kilometers. Easy enough if my personal goal hadn't been anything less than all nine points.
I heard the sound of running water ahead of me as I pulled out my map to check my location when my world suddenly turned upside down. I found myself on my back, sliding down a muddy stream leading to the creek I had heard.
After quickly assessing damage done, I realized that in the fall I had lost my flashlight, the one piece of equipment that would make finding my points at night possible. Thus, I was suddenly left with little time and I had to make a decision quickly.
My entire plan initially relied on the use of my flashlight to locate the first three points. I maneuvered toward the farthest location first, then returned along a different route collecting the rest of my points along the way with the assistance of daylight.
However, without the flashlight, I was effectively crippled from even having a chance of finding a single point in the dark, as the clouds had effectively blocked out the moon, making the woods very dark.
It was 0515 and the day was like most others. We were just starting yet another land navigation exercise, and I, having had spent the night trying to find shelter under a pine tree, was feeling rather worse for wear. I double-checked to make sure that all of the grid coordinates I had plotted were correct, set my compass heading off into the woods, and began beating a path through the brush on the way toward my first point.
The rain had thoroughly soaked the ground and turned it into that mucky clay that slides out from underneath you when you least expect it, and clings to you no matter how lightly you walk. That day's mission was to plot, locate, and return with proof of finding six out nine "points" in five hours, scattered around a wooded area roughly 9 by 15 kilometers. Easy enough if my personal goal hadn't been anything less than all nine points.
I heard the sound of running water ahead of me as I pulled out my map to check my location when my world suddenly turned upside down. I found myself on my back, sliding down a muddy stream leading to the creek I had heard.
After quickly assessing damage done, I realized that in the fall I had lost my flashlight, the one piece of equipment that would make finding my points at night possible. Thus, I was suddenly left with little time and I had to make a decision quickly.
My entire plan initially relied on the use of my flashlight to locate the first three points. I maneuvered toward the farthest location first, then returned along a different route collecting the rest of my points along the way with the assistance of daylight.
However, without the flashlight, I was effectively crippled from even having a chance of finding a single point in the dark, as the clouds had effectively blocked out the moon, making the woods very dark.
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