Business Meeting
Some meetings are better than others and today was one such meeting. Patrick and I met with a client today at the Hiwassee River for an easy day’s “float and fish” on the river. When we arrived at the put in it was 54 degrees and felt like Autumn was just around the corner. We hopped out of […]
Training Weekend
The RAT-SAR team was back on the bluffs this past weekend training on raises and lowers at Bucks Pocket State Park. This was the first training event for some of our new members and concluded a two-weekend rope rescue operations class. RAT-SAR is a Southeastern regional search and rescue team founded on the Mountain Rescue / Alpine […]
Valhalla Vertical Practice
Members of the RAT SAR and North Carolina MSAR search and rescue teams came together this weekend for a day of training and exploration at Valhalla Cave in Fackler Alabama. The road to Valhalla was as much fun as the pit itself as it requires a high clearance vehicle and a little bit of driving […]
RAT-SAR
RAT-SAT team members assisted Etowah County EMA at the command post during ongoing operations resulting from a large warehouse fire in Attalla, AL. The warehouse contained compressed paper products. The fire required more than 150 firefighters and 60 departments to contain. RAT-SAR would like to thank all the departments, firemen, first responders, volunteers, and the […]
Bushcraft
The Randall’s Adventure & Training Advanced Bushcraft class has always been one of our most popular courses and despite Covid restrictions and inclement weather this one did not disappoint. The term “Bushcraft” simply means wilderness skills and covers a wide variety of subjects drawing from primitive skills and the daily life of indigenous cultures from around […]
LPSO SAR
Randall’s Adventure & Training and RAT-SAR has the good fortune to train with first responders from all over the nation. This week we had the opportunity to spend some time on rope with officers from Lafayette Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff’s Department SAR team. We spent time on single rope and rescue techniques that will allow them to better serve their […]
Appreciation Letter
Sort of old news but our SAR team just received these in the mail and we thought it was pretty nice. Once again, it was great working with Haywood County and the Smoky Mountain National Park on this search and rescue!
Making Jerky
By Patrick Rollins If you are anything like me, you love jerky but hate paying a lot of money for it. A good solution for this is to make your own. Dehydrators are fairly inexpensive and can provide plenty of snacks/food for the trail. Or you can simply make the jerky in your oven! Here is a quick rundown […]
Rigging For Rescue
Members of the RAT-SAR team placed several much-needed bolts at Buck’s Pocket State Park (with the park’s blessings). Although most rescues and recoveries are performed by other teams at the park, the bolts will make future rigging cleaner, safer, and more efficient.
Mountain SAR
RAT-SAR Team members recently participated in a Mountain SAR rescue class in North Carolina along with other search and rescue teams. The 3-day class introduced students to the exposure and remote areas often seen during mountain SAR operations. With a peak recorded wind gust of 76 MPH and temperatures that dropped to 18 degrees, the […]