For any kind of volunteer organization, putting in 1,000 hours of work is considered good, according to Phil Slagle, a member of the Cowlitz County Search and Rescue Team. Last year, his team put in almost 13,000 hours.
The Cowlitz team is made up of more than 60 members, all volunteers. It’s also always growing.
After four months in the classroom, around 20 new Cowlitz County and several Wahkiakum County recruits trekked out into the woods near Castle Rock Saturday morning to complete their “final exam,” building shelters and fires and carrying patients in a “litter,” a basket-shaped stretcher used in such scenarios.
In total, basic training alone takes more than 100 hours. To join the tracking or ropes team, recruits have to put in even more hours.
To finish their training, the group stays overnight. For an extra dose of real-life experience, they had the option of staying in the shelters they built. They could also opt to spend the night in their cars or in traditional tents.