Teen tackles survival camp

There aren’t many wilderness situations that Morgan Taylor isn’t prepared for.

That’s because Taylor, 14, of West Lenox, recently attended the Coyote Tracks Survival Camp located in Holmes, N.Y., for two weeks, honing her outdoor skills.
Taylor said that while she was there she learned a variety of survival skills that could help her in emergency situations.
Her, and about 30 other campers learned how to tan hides to make moccasins and clothing, used a bow drill kit with a spindle to get fire started and learned how to make huts out of debris in the wilderness.
In her third year at the camp, Taylor said that she really enjoys the experience each year, and is hoping to intern at the camp for seven weeks next summer.
“I really like being outdoors and learning new things,” Taylor said. “I get to meet a lot of new people too.”
In addition to learning wilderness survival skills, Taylor and fellow campmates went on what is known as a “vision quest.”
The vision quest is where the campers go into a 15-foot circle out in the wilderness and sit there for two days.
During that two days, campers are not allowed to talk with one another, and the only supplies they have are a tarp, two gallons of water and a small ration of raisins for food.
The point of the vision quest is to go into it with a question and find an answer.
Taylor said that the experience was beneficial and that she felt she learned a lot from it.
“It was amazing,” Taylor said. “I felt like there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
She said that it rained almost the entire time she was on her vision quest, and that it was difficult at times to get through.
“There was one point that I broke down,” Taylor said. “But I knew I had to make it through.”
Taylor said that she found out about the camp through researching it online, and that the favorite skill she learned there was how to build a fire.
“I think that’s the skill I will use most in life,” Taylor said.
She also noted that many of the skills she learned can be applied to other areas of life.
“It’s about using what’s available to you to survive in a survival situation,” Taylor said.
She said that there are people that come from as far away as Germany to attend the camp, and that she also met a fellow camper from Las Vegas, Nevada.
For more information on the Coyote Tracks camp, visit http://www.cotef.org.

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