Leadership in the Valley Update #2
02
Where:

Appalachian Trail
Front Royal to Waynesboro, VA
Shenandoah National Park
3655 US Hwy 211 East
Luray, VA


Driving Directions

DIrections above are to the National Park HQ.

Transportation to Front Royal and return to Annapolis from Waynesboro will be by USNA Bus.  We'll walk in-between!


When:

Start time:
Sunday March 11, 2012 at 4:00 PM EDT

-to-

End time:
Friday March 16, 2012 at 6:00 PM EDT 

Cracker Box

OMNA
 

Greetings!

We hope you all had a joyous Christmas and New Years.  We are now only about two months out from our Leadership in the Valley adventure.  As we get closer, we'll have more updates for you by e-mail.  Past updates (like Update #1 if you missed it)are posted to our e-mail archive page.

 

One of the tenets of our National Strategy for Homeland Security is developing a culture of preparedness.  Our March 2012 experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Valley will help each of us to be better prepared -- individually and collectively -- for whatever we face together in the future.  There are 15 of us registered so far, and we are all in our prep time!
 
In our last update we provided some thoughts on the five things you are responsible for, here are some more quick thoughts:
  • Shelter -- be prepared for cold wet weather as well as beautiful spring weather.
  • Food and water -- plan to carry about 10,000 calories.  Carry more water inside your body than in your pack.
  • Mobility -- Make sure your boot-sock combination is well broken in.  Now is the time to start walking about 5 miles a day in your boot-sock combination.  Don't buy new boots 2 weeks before the trek; toughen up your feet now.
  • Hygiene -- plan to pack out whatever you packed in...except for those 10,000 calories and a little toothpaste and toilet paper.
  • Leadership -- Study the environment and the history of the area.  We call your attention to two handy links to read:

Some have asked for a gear list to help with these five responsibilities. Now we don't normally prescribe gear lists because it tends to cause participants to become dependent on others (the publishers of the list) instead learning to develop their own ability to decide what to bring.  For this adventure though, we thought it might be instructive for us to share with you what we are bringing.  You can download an excel spreadsheet from the following link to see what Eric Carlson, J.D. Baker, and Dr. Joe Thomas are bringing.  Then you can decide what you want to bring.  The three of us have organized differently, and you'll see there are lighter, moderate, and heavier options for you to choose from.  We recommend you download the spreadsheet and then make your own gear list!  Here's the link:

http://www.theomna.com/LIVGear.xlsx

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Dr. Thomas is in Luce Hall, or you can reply to this email to contact J.D. Baker or Eric Carlson.  We can help you with all your preparations for this trip. Until our next update, plan and prepare well!

We look forward to hiking with you!

Dr. Joe Thomas (USNA)
J.D. Baker (OMNA)
Eric Carlson (OMNA)
USNA supported by OMNA International
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