44INAROW
07-11-2007, 11:35 AM
Article from the Victoria Advocate last week - Mike grew up in Cuero and played all Gobbler sports and now is coaching here.. some of you might know him from Powerlifting meets...... anyway - neat article............
A true survivor
Cuero's Clarke completes 14-day course in Utah
July 05, 2007 - Posted at 12:00 a.m.
Mike Clarke wondered what token of accomplishment awaited the members of his group after they spent 14 grueling days in the mountains and wilderness of Southern Utah.
"I figured they would give us something," Clarke recalled. "They just said, 'Congratulations you completed the course. Here's an orange.'"
The real reward Clarke received from completing the course at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS) was the sense of accomplishment he gained by making it through two weeks in some of the country's most rugged terrain under the most primitive of conditions.
"I'd like to try again," Clarke said. "This time, I'd know how to train. It kicked my butt but I'd like to go one more time."
Clarke, an assistant football coach and the head powerlifting coach at Cuero, first entertained notions of challenging his mind and body under extreme conditions over 20 years ago. Personal reasons prevented him from going at the time and he had all but dismissed the notion until stumbling across the BOSS Web site in March.
Clarke, 57, had to undergo a physical examination that included a stress test before being accepted to the survival school. He flew from Austin to Provo just days after school ended at Cuero and he joined a diverse group that included policemen from Denver and Memphis, students from North Carolina and Michigan and computer technicians from San Francisco, who were led by two instructors and two apprentice instructors.
Clarke began the challenge with nothing more than the clothes on his back, a hat and a long-handled knife. He carried what he could in a 5-by-5 bursa cloth, his first experience hiking with a backpack.
The group's baptism was three days of what was called "impact," and included sleeping on the ground with very little to eat.
"They were basically seeing how much you could take," Clarke said of the survival school, which was founded in 1968 and emphasizes traditional techniques and the use of local resources. "You ate whatever you could find. It was so cold at night. You learned stuff like how to gather leaves and pine needles to make a bed."
The group then hiked some 9,000 feet up to a base camp in the mountains where a sleep was slaughtered and gutted. The group spent three days at the camp learning survival skills before leaving on a four-day hike where two different campers took the lead each day.
"We had a topographical map, which only a few of us knew how to read, and a compass," Clarke said. "We hiked about eight to nine hours each day. We went though some pretty tricky terrain. I had my one panic attack when we left the base camp. I did not know if I could do this."
Clarke made it through the ache and pains of the four-day hike and set out for the most challenging portion of the school - two days of solo hiking. Clarke found a ledge to camp under, which sheltered him from an unexpected storm.
"You had to survive on your own," Clarke said. "The only meat was the jerky from the sheep that was slaughtered. I ate basically onions, potatoes and carrots and had oatmeal in the morning. You had to start your own fire and cook your own food. There was one woman who didn't know how to start a fire so she ate all cold food. The hole where we found water included tadpoles and dead bugs. It shattered any illusion of comfort."
The group came back together and completed the course with a two-day hike that concluded with a 15-mile hike at night with glow sticks as markers. When the hike ended, group members were led into an Indian sweat lodge.
"There was sand everywhere," Clarke said. "It was very fine sand, like the sand in an hourglass and it had gotten under your skin. The sweat lodge dried you out and cleared you out. Then, we went into this pond with ice-cold water."
Clarke lost 20 pounds preparing for the survival school and another 20 pounds on the course. But he's already looking forward to going back and applying the lessons he learned.
"We as coaches ask kids to work hard all-year long," Clarke said. "But what do you ask yourself to do? This forces you to push yourself to the limit. You want to quit but you can't quit. You find you can push the human body. If you're trained right, you can keep going. I hope I can carry this over to the guys I coach."
A true survivor
Cuero's Clarke completes 14-day course in Utah
July 05, 2007 - Posted at 12:00 a.m.
Mike Clarke wondered what token of accomplishment awaited the members of his group after they spent 14 grueling days in the mountains and wilderness of Southern Utah.
"I figured they would give us something," Clarke recalled. "They just said, 'Congratulations you completed the course. Here's an orange.'"
The real reward Clarke received from completing the course at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS) was the sense of accomplishment he gained by making it through two weeks in some of the country's most rugged terrain under the most primitive of conditions.
"I'd like to try again," Clarke said. "This time, I'd know how to train. It kicked my butt but I'd like to go one more time."
Clarke, an assistant football coach and the head powerlifting coach at Cuero, first entertained notions of challenging his mind and body under extreme conditions over 20 years ago. Personal reasons prevented him from going at the time and he had all but dismissed the notion until stumbling across the BOSS Web site in March.
Clarke, 57, had to undergo a physical examination that included a stress test before being accepted to the survival school. He flew from Austin to Provo just days after school ended at Cuero and he joined a diverse group that included policemen from Denver and Memphis, students from North Carolina and Michigan and computer technicians from San Francisco, who were led by two instructors and two apprentice instructors.
Clarke began the challenge with nothing more than the clothes on his back, a hat and a long-handled knife. He carried what he could in a 5-by-5 bursa cloth, his first experience hiking with a backpack.
The group's baptism was three days of what was called "impact," and included sleeping on the ground with very little to eat.
"They were basically seeing how much you could take," Clarke said of the survival school, which was founded in 1968 and emphasizes traditional techniques and the use of local resources. "You ate whatever you could find. It was so cold at night. You learned stuff like how to gather leaves and pine needles to make a bed."
The group then hiked some 9,000 feet up to a base camp in the mountains where a sleep was slaughtered and gutted. The group spent three days at the camp learning survival skills before leaving on a four-day hike where two different campers took the lead each day.
"We had a topographical map, which only a few of us knew how to read, and a compass," Clarke said. "We hiked about eight to nine hours each day. We went though some pretty tricky terrain. I had my one panic attack when we left the base camp. I did not know if I could do this."
Clarke made it through the ache and pains of the four-day hike and set out for the most challenging portion of the school - two days of solo hiking. Clarke found a ledge to camp under, which sheltered him from an unexpected storm.
"You had to survive on your own," Clarke said. "The only meat was the jerky from the sheep that was slaughtered. I ate basically onions, potatoes and carrots and had oatmeal in the morning. You had to start your own fire and cook your own food. There was one woman who didn't know how to start a fire so she ate all cold food. The hole where we found water included tadpoles and dead bugs. It shattered any illusion of comfort."
The group came back together and completed the course with a two-day hike that concluded with a 15-mile hike at night with glow sticks as markers. When the hike ended, group members were led into an Indian sweat lodge.
"There was sand everywhere," Clarke said. "It was very fine sand, like the sand in an hourglass and it had gotten under your skin. The sweat lodge dried you out and cleared you out. Then, we went into this pond with ice-cold water."
Clarke lost 20 pounds preparing for the survival school and another 20 pounds on the course. But he's already looking forward to going back and applying the lessons he learned.
"We as coaches ask kids to work hard all-year long," Clarke said. "But what do you ask yourself to do? This forces you to push yourself to the limit. You want to quit but you can't quit. You find you can push the human body. If you're trained right, you can keep going. I hope I can carry this over to the guys I coach."