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Adventure IQ Kids Camp 2015
Posted by Junior Shooters
By: Ashley Rumble (13)
Ever since I joined Junior Shooters shooting team, I’ve gotten a lot of really amazing opportunities, and the most recent one is Adventure IQ’s Kids’ Survival Camp. It was in some ways a lot different than I expected but was a great experience.
Adventure IQ is a camp held once a year in the summer by Rob Anderson, a former Air Force ground combat instructor, Security Forces instructor, and Desert Storm veteran, along with a group of volunteers: Dan Drake, Travis Rosenberry, Nate Corson, Scott McGann, Scott Drayton, Greg Barron, and Bruce Cooper, plus others. The camp is aimed at teaching kids some basics in survival in case something happens and we don’t have the things around that we normally rely on.
When we first got to the camp, we had to check in, and every kid was given a bandanna, a multitool, and a canteen. There were around 50 kids at the camp this year. They started camp with the pledge, and then we divided into groups for our first activities.
My group went to water purification first. We learned about different ways to purify water and the different sicknesses we could get if we took water from a lake or stream without purifying it. We got to use pumps to purify water for our canteens (we each got a new canteen at check-in. We actually took water from a horse trough to drink – something I’d never do without knowing how to purify. Water is our most basic need, so knowing what to do when clean water isn’t available is very important.
Once water purification was done, we switched to our next station which covered overnight survival. They went over what we would need in our survival packs, and a little bit on how to stop bleeding and first aid. We also learned about how far we should stray from our camps so we don’t risk getting lost in the first place.
Then the two groups we were in divided into four groups, and we went to our next stations. My group went to fish cleaning. Scott McGann from Scooter’s Youth Hunting Camp showed us how to clean fish and prepare them to be cooked. They showed us how to clean the fish in two cuts and helped us put them on the fire to cook them with lunch.
The next station was shelters and signaling. We got to partner up and try to use mirrors to catch and shine the sunlight at our partners. We then were shown different types of shelters and in which weather conditions they would work best in. My group partnered up again and started building with only two poles in the ground to act as our trees and tarps, Para cord rope, and stakes. It was harder then it looked since we had to fit two people. They also gave free space blankets to every kid at that station
Next we had lunch. The groups that cooked fish were able to take one with lunch if they wanted. They also put rabbit that they had harvested earlier that day into the chili. I also got to talk to Rob, the owner of Adventure IQ Kids’ Survival Camp, and hear about some of the cool stuff he had done while in the military. This guy has really been around, and listening to some of his stories was as educational as the rest of the day’s activities. He has had a pretty great career teaching some of America’s military how to survive. After a good lunch, we moved on to our next stations.
My group’s next station was slingshots. They were definitely harder than they looked to shoot the first few times, but once I got the hang of it, they were fun to shoot. After that, we moved on to our final station, fire making. At the fire-making station, he showed us how to baton with a knife and a stick to make smaller pieces of wood. We got to use a Light My Fire to light small starters like cotton balls, garden twine, and cattail. We were also shown how to be safe with fire, because we don’t want anything else catching on fire.
After everyone was done with their stations, we all gathered around in one big group and Rob talked about how good it was to have us there and how grateful he was for all the people who helped put the camp on. They gave away prizes, too – three slingshots and a survival pack with a Light My Fire and a Mora knife. The kids who got them were very excited. We also took a group picture holding up the sponsor flags.
All and all, it was a really interesting and fun experience that I would do again. It was a nice change of pace from all the competitions and shooting matches that I’ve been doing. I learned a lot and got to meet some really cool people. If you ever get the chance, you should definitely check it out. I can’t wait to go camping and try out a few of the things I learned. You can see more of what Rob does at www.Adventure-IQ.com.
Thank you Rob, and all the other people that help put this great camp on!
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