Dirt Time 2011

This is where Dirt Time begins...at the check-in desk, where you're met by the smiling face of Anna! Her husband, Jose, is usually right there too. They do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, and they're so appreciated.

As people arrived they said "hi" to old friends and got to know some new ones.


> The DT11 parking award goes to Christopher.

Two people had already tried parking there with smaller cars than his, and gave up!

At Dirt Time, when you ask if anyone has a knife, everyone produces one...or two or five or...
Okay, this one probably belongs to the kitchen staff, but still!

Every year there are a handful of kids, and they are fun to watch. The families that come to Dirt Time have awesome kids. They use their imaginations and find things to do!

Everyone's favorite time and place...the chow line at chow time!
Thanks, Chris (foreground) and Allen (on other side of her), and thanks to the volunteers who helped them put out those fine meals and with the clean-up.

Alan and John tried to 'be above' Dude and Christopher but were brought down a notch or two!

The Dirt Time team

Alan, John, Dude, and Christopher

(Sounds like one of those groups that sing in 4-part harmony!)

John has a 'different' kind of cell phone!
You should have seen him try to send a text!

Chris, half of the cooking team.

She was busy more hours of the day than some people are even awake!

Hacksaw, Dirt Time's photographer.

We still wonder what he looks like without the camera in front of his face!

His camera equipment kept me drooling!

Alan made a fire to take the evening chill off the air.

The California version of "chill", that is.

The northerners were still in their shorts and sandals!

The first class on Monday morning was First Aid, taught by Alan.

We learned that the first thing you do when you come acoss an injured person is to look at the immediate area for dangers, such as to yourself. Is there a live electric wire touching or near the victim? Fire? Flooding? Look for clues to what might have happened.

In the picture above, Alan approaches Jason from the head instead of the feet to show how you might startle a victim and possibly cause more injury. Approach from the feet so they see you coming, and speak to them. Tell them your name, say that you are trained in whatever you're trained in (First Aid, first responder, etc.), and ask for permission to help him/her. The Good Samaritan law was explained, regarding consent from victim and legal issues. If you begin to treat someone you are legally bound to stay with victim until someone else arrives to take over.

Some of the reasons people don't stop to help someone who's injured is that they don't know how to help, and other reasons include liability for something you might do wrong.

The first medical crisis that was discussed was bleeding. You should first apply pressure to the wound, raise the bleeding area above the heart, and then if still bleeding, press on the pressure points on the inside of the upper arm or the inside of the upper thigh, depending where injury is located.

The proper circumstances and way of applying a tournequet was demonstrated. When you apply a tournequet you are accepting the responsibility that the victim may lose the limb. So do this if it's the only way to save a life. The minimum width of a tournequet is 2", because a narrower one is more likely to cause tissue damage. The tournequet got 2" above the wound. If that would place it on a knee or elbow then move it just above those joints. Tighten until bleeding stops. You can generally leave in place up to 2 hours. After 15 minutes slowly release and see if it's still bleeding. If it hasn't, tighten and keep checking periodically.

If it's stopped bleeding you can remove the tournequet and use a compression bandage on the wound. There is a difference between a bandage and a dressing. The dressing is the pad on the wound and the bandage is what wraps around it.

If the tournequet has been on for 2 hours or more, do NOT take it off because the pool of blood below the tournequet has become acidic and a poisonous gas has been created that kills when it reaches the heart.

While Alan talks, Jason reads the directions on a dressing/bandage in case he gets called on!

Sig knows how to not be called on!

...and there are people who know how to look sooooo comfortable during class!

Alas, not only Jason and Sig get called on to help, but Peter does too!

Peter demonstrates putting on an Israeli bandage. They have a padded dressing that goes over the wound, and then it is wrapped first one way and then another to apply pressure.

"It's not tight yet!" says Sig.

"It is now!" says Sig. "Help?"

Jason and Alan try to remember how to remove the Israeli bandage from Sig's purple arm!

Now they try to assign blame!

Peter demonstrates how it can be applied to your own limb.

Other tips about bleeding: don't change the bandage, keep adding to it. Clean water is as good as peroxide for washing the wound. You can pack the wound with sugar to fight infection. Salt works too but is painful (do you like this person? lol). When the sugar or salt starts to run, rinse it off and repack it. Sugar and salt are alkaline and infection/bacteria won't grow. You should start efforts against infection as soon as the bleeding has stopped and you've cleaned the wound.

Hypothermia and Hyperthermia were discussed. Hypothermia is a drop in core body temperature. The body loses or gains heat in five ways: conduction (such as from sitting on the cold ground), convection (from wind, rain), radiant (sunshine, fire), respiration (breathing cold air), and evaporation (perspiration).

For mild hypothermia have the victim move around, do calisthenics, get them near a fire. For medium hypothermia give them hot sugared drinks to build warmth from within, cover them with a blanket and move then near a fire. Keep them still so the cold air from their limbs doesn't go to their heart. Don't rub on their limbs. If it's becoming severe keep them flat on their backs and still. You don't care if their limbs start falling off as they freeze, you want to save their live by protecting their heart and vital organs. Use hot water bottles or hot rocks at pressure points. Don't try to warm them too quickly, it takes time.

Getting into a sleeping bag with them isn't the best option but if you do, keep clothes on. Skin against skin makes sweat which can chill you even more, and you might end up with two victims. Do not give coffee or caffeine. Those are "vaso-constrictors", which means they close up the veins and impede circulation.

Hyperthermia is an overheating of the body core. It has three stages: Heat cramps, stion, and stroke. It's more serious than hypothermia and you must act quickly to bring down the body temperature. Damage starts fast.

For heat cramps, give liquids, preferably water with electrolytes. The water should not be cold. It should be air temperature and given slowly. Lay them down, loosen their clothes, remove shoes or boots. Place cool, damp clothes on pressure points.

Hyponitremia is another serious condition caused by drinking too much water and flushing out your electrolytes. Victim can have rapid heart beat and feel sick. You need to replace their sodium with a thick electrolyte mixture such as Guckenade.

To check for dehydration, you can pinch the skin on the back of the hand to look for elasticity. If the skin flattens right back down, they're probably fine. If it takes longer, they might be dehydrated, but in older people, the skin is not as elastic. A better way to check for dehydration is to look at the tongue. If they're dehdrated there could be a white line down the tongue.

Shock: A lack of oxygen from the blood. Use the "30, 2, can do" method to evaluate victim: Are they breathing more than 30 times a minute (hyperventilating)? When you pinch their finger at the bed of the fingernail does it take more than 2 seconds to return to it's natural color? Can they follow simple directions, 'can' they 'do' what you ask? To treat shock keep them still, maintain their vitals, elevate their feet 12", regulate body termperature. The exception is if they have a head wound, don't raise their feet.

The next class was Water Purification by John.

One of the highlights of each day was reading his t-shirts!

First John talked about water sources, such as surface water and ground water. He commented on the lack of water in the desert of southern California and gave a tongue-in-cheek recommendation that if you live in an area like this, move to the north east!

If you are lost and need to find water, look for animal trails. Mammals drink water, they know how to find water, so follow their trails to water. Birds tend to drink in the mornings and evenings, so you could observe them as well.

You can collect rain water. It'll run off drip cords of hammocks, you can make a bowl using logs and line it with a tarp, emergency blanket, or poncho. If you're in your poncho you can funnel the water off into a bottle. If you need to melt snow, the snow near the ground is more compressed than that on top and will have a higher water content.

Solar stills often take more water by way of your exertion to build it than you'll recover from the still. Another way to make a still to get water is to wrap a clear bag over leaves on a tree. Place a small rock in one corner to weight down the bag so the water will run down there. Tie the bag tightly closed around the limbs.

This picture is sideways. The still is in place and already condensation is building up on the inside of the plastic bag, even in this dry desert climate.

This is also called a transpiration bag.

A poster shows that if you must get water from a murky source such as a swamp, you can dig a hole a few feet away and the water that will seep into it will be filtered of much of the debris.

There is a difference between filtering and purifying water!!!

Filtering only removes debris and particles. Such things as bacteria, cysts, and viruses remain, invisible to the naked eye.

Purifying is what it says. It's getting the water to a purified state that is then safe to drink.

Denise plays the part of a tree to hold up a field-made filtering system. To the left you can see the leg of a similar one they built using a tripd of sticks. The way this works is that you put green leaves in the top bandana, which removes "stuff" (debris, particles, bugs, algae). The purpose of the leaves is to keep the "stuff" from cloggin the pores of the bandana (or tshirt) fabric. The middle bandana holds sand, which further filters the water, and charcoal (which can be made from burned sticks) in the bottom bandana.

Katadyn makes the only EPA-approved combination filter and purifier. The other filters will usually take out cysts (such as giardia and cryptosporidian), some will take out bacteria, none will take out viruses.

Some people like to carry idodine tablets, but they are a poison, they taste bad, and they don't kill cysts. Bleach will work, but it makes the water taste like bleach. the best water purification tablet is chlorine dioxide, availabe from Micro-pure and others.

Boiling will kill all of those. Just bringing the water to a boil is enough, you don't have to keep boiling it.

Survival Resources sells this cool combo of an "Aqua Pouch" water bag, a coffee filter, and a plastic bag that the coffee filter fits in to so the filter has support while you pour water through it. It folds up very small and can be carried anywhere, and you're always ready to filter water Carry that and some Micro-pure Chlorine dioxide tablets and you're good to go!

Lunch was next. This tuckered out little girl takes a nap while waiting for the line to go down!

The chow line.

Lots of variety in hat choices.

The heat and sun were very intense, so hats and sunglasses were helpful.

While we digested the terrific lunch, we learned about making cordage. Paul first showed us several rock tools he made from rocks he found right here in the camping area. Rather than carry heavy stone tools from place to place, the indigineous people often just used whatever they found at hand.

This is rope made from yucca leaves.

Here he shows a net made by native people near San Diego, out of native fibers.

He shows how to split dogbane limbss by hand.

Dogbane is the woody-looking sticks, and yucca are the flat, green things to the right. Both were used for this class to make cordage.

He demonstrates how to split the fibers of the dogbane.

When the fibers are ready to be rolled into rope he lays them on his leg and uses his hand to "spin" or twist them into rope.

Sandals made of yucca fibers, of the style of the southern California native people.

John taught a class called "Land navigation", which uses map & compass to find your way through the wild. It entails a lot more than holding up a compass and finding "north"!

He uses a map to explain how to find your way without having to stop and ask for directons!


This was followed by a class about slingshots!

" Let's see...I know I have a slingshot in here somewhere!"

" Ah! Here it is!"

Flat bands are the most powerful. Surgical tubing is not very efficient.The strongest bands are not necessarily the fastst. A longer pull with a lighter band often gives the fastest velocity. Lead balls are best for hunting because they maintain their velocity best.

A simple practice target and backstop, for your slingshot shooting range!

Rumble in the parking lot!

After dinner Sig, Jason, and Peter taught some stick-fighting.

Sig and a student practice with the long sticks, sort of in the middle of the picture.

Peter, looking tough and intimidating, demonstrates some "do's" and "do nots"

The highlight was watching Jason and Sig go at it. The comeraderie among these guys is so awesome, and it made it all the more interesting to see them give it their all to demonstrate stick fighting.

This guy was really cool...and he knew how to keep cool! There were a few guys wearing these headcoverings, and they'd get them wet and put them on their heads. Very cool!

I love how this guy assessorizes! He good-naturedly let me take his picture!

This guy was sitting off to the side doing some knife work on a stick between classes.

First thing Tuesday morning was the continuation of the land navigation class, then Alan did part two of the First Aid class. In the land navigation class they did some practice exercises using map and compass, and in the first aid class they covered burns, seizures, poison oak/ivy/sumac, and things like diabetic reactions. We attended and took notes, and if you were there, you learned a lot too. If you weren't there, you'll love it when you come next year!

After lunch was the fire-making class by Al and Michael.

They displayed tools for fire-making.

A tarp was hung to try and block the sun that was coming through the slats and making it difficult to see things, with all those contrasting stripes!

First Al demonstrated the hand drill. After spinning the drill a while smoke appears. Shortly after that you get a coal.

The coal is dumped into a tinder bundle, blow on it, and it begins to smoke, then breaks into flame.

In the background we could smell dinner cooking.

Allen checks the dutch ovens that are putting out those wonderful smells!

It was chicken that day!

Michael demonstrates the bow drill fire-starting method.

He quickly gets a coal, transfers it to the tinder bundle, and blows it into a flame.

People stand to look over the heads of those sitting, and behind them, others stand on the tables, so all can see the fire-making.

After the fire-making class was a class called "Homesteading" by Steve and Susan. Since I AM Susan, I wasn't in the audience taking pictures, but I can say that it was the most interesting class of the whole shin-dig! Well, I can SAY it but that doesn't mean it was! We live a life of self-reliance on a wilderness homestead in Montana, and we shared a bit of what our life is like there, and how we live with minimal monetary needs.

The class that followed was very well suited to that theme. Dude talked about "low-tech technology".

Among the many cool things Dude showed us and described is this evaporative cooler-type set-up. You can keep food cold in it. Sand is put in the layers between the two pots, the food placed inside the inner pot, and wet cloths placed over it. All sorts of evaporative coolers have been used through the ages, and they are most effective in areas of low humidity.

He showed us how to boil water with hot rocks.
Um, Dude...watched rocks won't boil...

In the evening after dinner, people stopped by Al and Michael's camp and practiced matchless fire-starting.

See? Even girls can start fires without matches!

Last year I took a lot of pictures of hammock camps. Here's a cot-camp!

Wednesday started with a class on signaling by John. He gave us cool tips like making sure our signal fires are out in the open where they can be seen, not under limbs of trees. Watch for wind channels. A whistle is better than your voice. Your voice can give out after a while. Plastic whistles are better than metal, especially in the winter (ever stuck your tongue to a metal pole in the winter?). He demonstrated several whistles, having Alan out in the distance, and John called him on a 2-way radio to tell him when and which whistle to blow. The one that was easiest heard by all was the Marine whistle.

Denise demonstrated using her thumbs over a bottle cap to make a whistle. Peter is very good at this too! Hacksaw posted a video clip of Peter demonstrating this in the chow line later that day!

We went to a nearby open area to practice with signaling mirrors. John showed how you can hold one hand out with your fingers in a "V" and flash the mirror between the fingers like a sight to aim the light where you want it to go.

He also pointed out that when a rescue plane or chopper comes over you should wave with both hands and arms, not just one. One arm might be mistaken as "we're fine, thanks for asking!"

Now the class practices this technique.

The signal mirrors were passed around so everyone could try it.

As a finale John and Alan lit a smoke signal!

John and Denise and a few others built this frame with a plantform inside to build a fire on, and cedar branches hung over it to smoke when the fire is lit.

Works great! They had to le the park rangers know ahead of time, because this smoke could be seen for miles!

This young man stuck around to make sure it burned out!

Steve "Critter" Davis gave a class on survival trapping. He told us to watch for signs of where the anicmals sleep, eat, and drink. Bedding and feeding areas are not as good as watering areas, and the trails between those areas are good pots. Look for prints and tracks, scat (poop), disturbance to plants or dirt, refuse (crawfish shells, nut shells, etc.), remains (dead bodies!), smell. Places where animals eat or sleep can be good places for people to find things to eat or good places to sleep. Stick to animals you can pick up and carry, and eat what you kill.

The types of traps he talked about were snares, powered snares, and deadfalls.

Hacksaw sneaks up to take a picture as Steve talked.

Hah, gotcha Hacksaw!
On the table is a trap Steve rigged up.

Nuts can be used as bait at the snares and deadfalls, though you won't often find a jar of peanuts in the wilderness! Many people carry nuts in the form of trailmix, though.

Snake...it's what for dinner!

Peter did a class on reloading ammunition.

The class was very attentive. Reloading is something you don't want to be careless about!

Though we learned later that hitting a primer with a hammer or rock can wake you up very quickly! It wasn't an accident though, it was all in fun! A chain-reaction, however, resulted in beer being spilled on a few people!

Steve (in camo chirt) helped with the class. Here he works with a student.

This is a desert chelter. You dig a trench in the sand, then put plastic over it, closing 3 sides, leaving an entry opening. About a foot over that you place a bigger piece of plastic (such as poncho). In the bottom plastic you make slits at the far back of the trench. This creates a wind-tunnel effect and draws air up and out. The temperature can be as much as 15 degrees cooler than the air above it.

A quick look back at the transpiration bag shows about a cup of water gathered in it.

John introduces Christopher, who holds one of the many informative books he's published on edible wild plants, survival, and self-sufficiency. The interesting thing is that he is knowledgeable in both wilderness and urban survival.

Christopher took us on a plant-identifying walk after a brief class in the picnic shelter.

These are wild lilac berries, and they contain saponins, which make it "lather" into soap when squashed and rubbed in water.

Christopher holds up a plant and talks about it. If you were there, you should know what it is!

Christopher advises that you not try to learn them all at once. Learn a few new plants each year (or more often), and learn them thoroughly and from a reputable source.


Next was dinner...

Lizard! It's what's for dinner!



Thursday started with another plant walk with Christopher followed by a class on cooking with wild foods with Pascal.

Sampling the kool-aid?

Not your average infommercial! Pascal shows us how to make gourmet foods such as Kimshi, using domestic things like onions and garlic, but also wild foods such as mustard leaves and wild radish. He talked about ways of preserving foods such as pickling, brining, and fermenting.

Afterward everyone was allowed to go along and sample some of the foods they prepared. Some were 'almost normal', like jams and jellies, and others were more exotic and appealed to a different taste! Pascal was available to answer questions.

A wonderful blend of aromoas hung over this buffet of foods.

The last class of DT11 was "Shelters", taught by John.

First he taught about "sheltering" under or inside a trash bag if you don't have a poncho. This is the annual picture of John in a trash bag hoodie!

You cut the face opening on the side, not the bottom of the bag, and then you have a hooded rain poncho.

He showed how to make a quick tent out of an extra-long trash bag.

Volunteers helpd John make debris shelters for the class.

Another emergency shelter.

This one has a cover made of surrounding material on the left half, and a poncho over the right half, to show different ways of doing this.

The next thing was the awards and the raffle. For the raffle everyone gets a ticket, then the sponsor donations are raffled off. Everyone gets something, and you never know what you'll get. It might be a canteen, a tshirt, an emergency blanket, a knife, a machete, you just never know, but the prizes are always awesome and they're donated by amazing companies and individiuals.

The Trade Blanket is the final event. Those with items for sale or trade put them out on the tables, and everyone wanders around and sees if there is anything they want to buy, sell, or trade. For example, I traded dried huckleberries for an emergency 36-hour candle, and for a sterno stove. I also sold some of them. Others had knives and hatchets and camping gear, tin camping cups and stove fuel bottles. Robin, who was young-person-of-the-year to me last year, returned this year with a bunch of stuff to sell at the trade blanket. He impresses me more every year! Darn, I didn't get a picture of him!

Another person I didn't get a picture of, and I'm upset to realize it, is Ryan.

RYAN! You're one of our favorite people! He was the incredible young man in the wheel chair that lets nothing stop him. He's been known to get out of that chair and down on the ground to try a bow drill! In addition to that can-do attitude, he was the first one to jump in and help out where needed.

The future of our civilization has more hope with young people like Robin and Ryan and the other young adults that attnded, as well as the bright and promising children that attended with their parents.

Thanks, everyone! Dirt TIme 2011 was awesome!