By Jeremy Latcham
What is ANASAZI?
ANASAZI, a Navajo word commonly interpreted as the “ancient ones” or “wise teachers.” According to legends, these wise teachers taught that a person’s life is a “walking” and every walking is individual- forward for right choices, and backward for wrong choices. A forward walking can only be achieved with the help of the “Great Spirit.”
ANASAZI is a wilderness treatment program that offers a chance for a person in need of help, through a primitive living experience, and away from the distractions of the world. It’s to make changes in their life. “One’s whole way of walking in the world.” In the desert and mountains of Arizona, carefully selected and highly trained trail guides give “young walkers” a chance to overcome problems while living and learning as the “ancient ones”.
PRIMITIVE SURVIVAL SKILLS
FIRE: How to start a fire without matches. How important fire is to survival. If everything you own is wet, and you can’t build a fire, you could die.
WATER: I learned how to purify water. I learned how important it is to drink lots of water, and how to test for dehydration.
SHELTER: I learned how to build all kinds of primitive shelters. I learned how important it is to stay warm and dry, so you can avoid getting hypothermia and die.
FOOD: I learned about wild edibles and plants used for medicinal purposes. I ate a lot of rice, lentils, pupago lilies, oatmeal, and cornmeal with an occasional scorpion, and if I was really lucky, a rattle snake. I ate like this for a total of eight weeks!!! We thought and talked about food a lot. We especially missed our favorite foods.
HIKING: We hiked a lot. We had to get to our final destination in 7 days, or we didn’t get new food packs. Everyone had to work together and keep walking forwards.
NATURE: One day we were hiking up Table Top Mountain and it was swelteringly hot. We finally made it to the top, when all of a sudden out of nowhere a storm hit, the sun was gone. It was raining so hard you could hardly see in front of you. We had to set up camp. All of my stuff was wet. We went to sleep and the next thing I knew I woke up to feeling like my hands and feet were on fire. So we had to pack wet from the nights rain, and freezing from the morning snow. I was unable to think, and my hands kept freezing up. I couldn’t even open and close my hands to tie my pack. We were all showing signs of hypothermia and falling over trying to get down the mountain. I don’t know how we ever made it to the bottom, but we did. As soon as we reached halfway point, the storm stopped. It was no longer cold or raining anymore. It was like the storm was only at the top of the mountain.
I later learned that they were close to evacuating us by helicopter. The weird part is that while I was freezing, every time I would close my eyes, it was like I was in this really warm tropical place. It felt so good, but we kept walking and falling forwards. I got this really neat ring made by a Native American, with a white symbol out of mother of pearl that stands for mountain. So when things get tough, I can remember Table Top Mountain and that I made it. So I should be able to make it through anything the future holds for me, as long as I just keep walking forwards.