TashaRules's Blog

Continue from my last post... As i said in my last post while we were slipping notes with the Male Barracks room beside us one of the officers from the other core caught maddie. He stayed guard outside the coor and whenever we tried to open it he's pop out of no-where... Actually he was standing on top of a chair so we wouldn't see his feet when peeking under the door. Eventually i got bold enough to open it a crack when i no longer heared his radio going off and behold he wasn't there so i quickly assembled a note and slipped it under the mens dorm door. within minutes another note poped out from under out door but before we could settle down and read it my Captian came to (supposedly) wake us up from Forced Sleep, i swear when i heard his feet pounding down that hallway i never ran as fast as i did back to my bunk. Shortly after he got us up my Master Warrent officer came into the room and told us to get ready for a 3 hour hike, once again at 8 or 9 at night when it's pitchblack out i wasn't really up for it but you know being in the RCAC you have no objections. So i sorta willingly took the orders and got ready to meet outside. Once in the freezing tempertatures the first thing they gave us was glow sticks to put on our coats or combats whatever we were wearing. I looped mine around my zipper and waited for the next move, ofcourse at the time i had no idea what the hell i was doing but i just followed everyones lead they grouped us into ALpha, Bravo, and Charlie. I was in bravo which ment we were the seccond to go after ALpha each team or platoon or whatever you want to call it had 7-9 people in it. Once we were at the starting point we were told to go find checkpoint one, Well i didn't have to find it but Warrent officer and the I\C did so i just followed along trusting that i'll make it out of the dark forest alive, oh did i mention we were traveling through the bush in the dead of night with nothing to see but out faint glowsticks and those smart enough to bring head lamps, By the time we hit checkpoint six after traveling through a frozen river, and climbing steep to the point of cliff hills we had reached Hells Forest. The worst place emaginable, now think of dead fall, and times that by ten thousand and thats what hells forest looks like and times that by ten if you want to involve the pitch black night. Now knowing me in the RCAC and STILL afraid of the dark in some strange ways i tried to get out and as far away as possible from that place. That thought was short lived because we had to travel through it twice once from CP 6 to CP 7 and back to CP 8 which was close to CP 6. It was brutal lucky me being only 4"11 and close to the ground is an advantage when climbing over and under deadfall so i didn't fall, however i did stumble a few times. But other RCAC members wern't so lucky, Maddie who was with ALpha who joined up with us earlier banged up her knee pretty well luckly Master Cadet simpson one of the officers was following us and so he came as fast as he could excluding the grunting, cursing, and stumbling he had even though he did have a head lamp. They packed maddie into a tobagon and hauled her back to HQ. And Morgan sprained her ankle but she kept moving on. as for me i stumbled and jambed my leg on a sharp branch all i got out of that was a nasty bruise and a scrape. Once we were finnally done hells forest we headed past the Christian camp which was next to the military camp, funny how that works out eh. Before reaching the christian camp one of the sergeants made a joke as to how we should keep out voices down or they'll hunt us down and beat us with bibles. there was some giggling but it quickly hushed when one of the higher ranking cadets told us to well Shut the (explanitory) up. Finnally we were at our last check point but we were 100m off corse so we gave up looking for the glow stick and headed back to camp where i grabbed a chocolate muffin and nearly fell asleep in my chair while watching a movie over the projector. When i headed back to bed at around midnight i noticed that my stuff had been moved from the bottem bunk to the top bunk because maddie wasn't strong enough in the knee to haul heself up with her arms to the top bunk. it took me 2 attempts being so tired to try and pull myself up there and the beds taller then me so i eventually went and grabbed a chair and just jumped up. I didn't move out of my bed for a long time until 5am when i had to get up for fire pickett duty which ment 1 less hour of sleep then the other cadets. To Be Continued

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It was about 2 weeks ago when i went to my first FTX with the RCAC. We showed up at camp howard at 8:00pm friday night once we got there we were told to put everything we have into our barracks or dorms. Includding me there was 6 girls in our little 8x12 room with 3 bunk beds. There was another RCAC core that came with us to the camp (2012 KORC Cocrane Alberta) there was only 2 females that came from my core, Me and my Master Warrent Officer Watson. I guess it's safe to say that we were really packed into that room very tight. There was me, Maddie, Morgan, Jessie, Taylor, And MWO Watson. Shortly after we dropped off out packs and Kit we were told to bundle up nice and warm and report outside. 10 minutes later or so we were standing out in the cold mountain November air waiting for what we were going to do. "We are going to go on a little 1 hour hike." at 9:00pm I wasn't exsactly up for a hike but we went. It was about 10 steps in that i noticed wearing hard sole Combat Boots on the icy road wasn't the best move ever made about every 10 steps i took "Cuthunk!" I'd be laying the in snow bank with my fellow core mates passing me. it was about halfway in the hike when we were turning around to go back home that i started to feel a blister grow on my left foot. after a few more minutes it started to get even worse i was barely lifting my foot off the growned and my other foot was starting to get the familiar feeling of a blister as well. Once we got back to HQ i could already feel the back of my ankles feel very wet my best guess at the time was it was blood... Bingo! when i reached my bunk i took off my boot and behold the entire back of my ankles was covered in blood. I asked one of my mates for 2 bandaids and quickly slapped them on boy did that ever feel better i next tossed on 2 pairs of socks and slipped on my RCMP boots that my brother got me a few years ago. I marched back outside and took a look around seeing as it was dark out i just gave up and went back inside and went to sleep in my bunk. The next morning we woke up at 6am i rolled out of bed and did as we were told to do, dress warming and bring your toothbrush and toothpaste outside. We gathered outside by the firepit and water boiler, we picked and partner got one wash bison and huddled around the table and brushed our teeth and washed our face seeing as there was no showers at camp howard and no one was really up for jumping into the frozen river to wash themselves, we had to do the best we can with whatever we got. After dropping off my Hygine kit into my bunk i rushed back outside and behold my worst nightmare... Army rations for breakfast. My first army ration meal was 5 sausages and apple sauce (I came to like the apple sauce you'll know why sooner or later) and we actually recieved chewing gum thank the lord because that saved my life till lunchtime seeing as i didn't eat all my slippery slimmy exscuses for saussages. After we were done eating in the chalett we hurried outside to find out where we were going to have our classes. "Greenstars in the chalett, Redstars meet at the fire place, Silver stars go see Captain Watson." YEAY! i got the warmth of the chalett for my morning class i was sure glad that i wasn't going to be sitting in some snow bank waiting for some food to magically appear, instead i'll be in the chalett waiting for some food to magically appear. Our leasson was on how to dress warmly in our great Canadian Climet when going on hikes, shortly after out first class we were, you guessed it, sitting in the snowbank learning about how to fill and lantern and to turn it on. And after that one we were on for our survival we went out into the backwoods and built leanto's "Better build it well because you're sleeping in it tonight" Sergeant Edenger told us. well for me and my partner Maddie we only had the frame down. luckully sergeant was only scaring us so we'd build a good one we didn't have to sleep in it that night. Once we were finnished our shelters we made back for HQ where once again we had Army Rations for lunch this time i got scalloped potatoes and ham yum it was better then the sausages it sad that it ended so soon when i dumped it all over the floor, one again i had to wait for supper for more food. Atleast i got another packet of gum. After lunch we did something i never even heard about before, we had Forced Sleep for one hour we were told to "go to bed" but really we just sat in our bunks and fooled around i had my video camera handy and recorded and few videos including one when my captain came in and basically told us to shut up for being too loud and causing "Ruckus" but that didn't really stop us we ended up passing notes with the male dorms which was right beside our door we'd slip a noteunder their door and they'd slip a note under ours to see who wants to talk to who and who's cute ect ect. I eventually gave up and layed in my bunk but as maddie was about to slip the note under the guys door she opend ours and guess who Master Cadet Simpson was standing right beside it and said "Get back in there!" To be Continued...

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