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If you hunt, fish or hike this is for you.

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  • If you hunt, fish or hike this is for you.

    Hi all,
    If, after you read the quoted material, you are interested in finding out more or following me in real time as I do the 15-day, 52 summit backpack then keep reading past the quote.
    Consider this an official request for donations, which will be going to support LASAR (Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue). As most of you know, SAR teams in New York State are comprised of volunteers and receive no funding from the government. Instead, they rely on donations from individuals and other organizations to pay for training (Wilderness First Aid, search techniques, search dog training, etc.) and equipment. SAR team members often travel well-over 100 miles for a search, willingly devoting days of their time, and putting themselves in harm’s way in some of the roughest terrain and in the most inclement weather. SAR team members do this, regardless of the circumstances of who they are looking for. It’s one thing to have a corps of citizens who give selflessly of their time in this way, but unless they are properly equipped and highly trained, the results of their efforts will be far from ideal.

    I am convinced that most of us here on the forum engage in just the type of activity that results in SAR call-outs. Hunting, fishing in remote ponds, hiking, b-c skiing, bushwhacking, off-trail camping, etc. are activities that put us at a certain level of risk and increase our chances of requiring a SAR intervention, whether it be due to an injury or getting lost.

    What I particularly admire about the way things are done in the Adirondacks is how much one can benefit from the region for free. Lean-to’s, many road-side and back-country camp-sites, trails, parking, SAR, helicopter extractions, etc. are free!

    But, as we all know, nothing – absolutely nothing – in this little world is truly free.

    Hence, Project Full Deck, and my efforts at inspiring people to dig down and give something back. I have chosen LASAR because of my personal experience with a son who was killed in an avalanche in the Canadian Rockies. His body was heli-transported to the hospital and massive efforts of resuscitation were applied to no avail. Weeks later we received a bill for the recovery, which of course added to our discomfiture.

    You can check out a lot of details on my blog but, in short, PFD will be a two-week hike in the High Peaks Region where I will attempt to traverse 52 summits. A significant portion of my route (maps are posted) entails bush-whacking to eighteen of the summits, which either have no trails or are trailed but will be accessed via bushwhack. I will be running a SPOT track so it will be possible to follow my progress over the two-week period.
    This has been picked up by the Adirondack Almanack and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise who each wrote stories on it. The 2nd article is behind a paywall but I've put a link to it on Facebook (look up adkhighpeaks foundation on FB to find the link) and if accessed from FB there is no paywall.
    I've been maintaining a blog with weekly updates of my training and fact-finding hikes. The blog has a page that outlines my preparation for this project, which began in April.

    It will be possible to follow me via my Spot device starting on August 6th.

    I have set a fund raising goal of 10,000 and we are more than 20% of the way there. The fund raising site where I strongly urge you to make a donation, however big or small, can be accessed by clicking here.

    Over the past 4 months I've put everything I could into making this project a success all around. I hope you will join me on my quest to fund SAR and to meet my biggest outdoors challenge ever.

    Thanks for your interest!

    Neil
    The best, the most successful adventurer, is the one having the most fun.
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