Always a good time when Haywood SAR and RAT-SAR get together for a little bit of mountain training. This training weekend turned into a real mission when we all got woke up in our tents at 1 AM to assist with a missing person search in the southern part of the state.
I'm glad y'all do that, but you definitely don't have to worry about coming to find me with that white stuff on the ground. I'mma going to be sitting in the lodge sipping hot chocolate by the fireplace.
It's a special kind of hell we call Rhododendron. This weekend wasn't so bad with it but we've been on searches where we were literally walking in the canopy of this stuff because it was too thick to go through.
The orange hurts my eyes...... !! Looks like good training, honestly it's always better to train in conditions worse than when you need to do it operationally. You sure do have lots of people getting themselves lost there though .....
I guess it never occurred to me that it grew wild in the USA. At least the ones we use to use for landscaping I was always told were from Asia. The ones I am use to can give most people a nice rash from dealing with them without gloves..
Rhodo and laurels are my go to for acquiring new gear. Simply take a hiker who is used to “roughing it”on established trails into the rhodo. The Pack will typically consist of numerous expensive items dangling everywhere.... then profit.
There’s some sections around Andrews/Robbinsville NC on the AT that the laurel is so thick it’s like walking thru a dark tunnel in the middle of day. We try to hunt in it as well on the TN side. Game can be right on top of you but you don’t know if it’s a bear, a hog, or Bigfoot!