Wilderness touches the heart, mind and soul of each individual in a way known only to himself.
The Power of Modeling
The Power of Modeling
The last few months I have noticed a recurring theme playing out over and over again. That theme is the power of modeling. The American Psychological Association defines modeling as, “a technique used in which learning occurs through observation and imitation alone, without comment or reinforcement.” The value of putting ourselves in environments where we can be tested and challenged, combined with modeling has become very clear. It is so important to have someone more experienced than ourselves to take cues from and learn from as we embark on new and challenging adventures.
The first time modeling was highlighted to me this year was during one of our shooting classes. A close friend of mine, Todd Peirce, who we partnered with on the class we named “Kairos” brought a young horse with him. Todd’s horse was helping in a segment in the class where we took our students on a mountain horseback ride. One of our goals for the class was to take everyone out of their comfort zone safely because we learn so much when we are brave enough to do this. We first tried to take everyone out of their comfort zone on the mountain with shooting, then we wanted to do the same thing with horses.
Todd’s young horse had never been to the mountains before and we asked this horse to take an inexperienced rider into rough mountainous terrain. The ride was to consist of a several hour loop that dropped into a rugged canyon and then climbed out to the top of the mountain again. The young filly was teamed up with 8 other seasoned mountain horses. During the ride the filly went into territory and terrain that she had never seen before, all the while carrying an equally inexperienced rider. Everyone was blown away at how well this young filly did on the ride. We all believed that the filly succeeded because she was in the company of many other veteran horses from our string at NTO. Todd made the comment that, “Without the older horses modeling how to stay calm and navigate the harsh terrain, this young horse could never have made this ride completely on her own, even with a very experienced rider.” This was truly a miracle by all standards, as well as a crazy powerful example of observational learning.
The next time the power of modeling was highlighted was on a scouting trip with my youngest daughter Autumn. She is 9 years old. Autumn and one of our guides, Michael, and I went on a scouting trip to the side of a 10,000 ft. mountain peak. Our mission was to locate giant bucks for the upcoming mule deer season. On our scouting trips we take horses up into the high alpine basins and camp overnight. The trip consists of hiking to glassing knobs for scouting, hobbling and picketing horses, exploring new territories, all kinds of stuff that is ripe with strategic lessons for young girls, horses and trainee guides.
On this particular scouting trip we climbed the horses into a high basin, set up camp, hobbled the horses and hiked about a 1000 feet up the side of the mountain. Upon arriving at our glassing spot a gigantic thunderstorm rolled over the ridge. With this storm came a torrential downpour of rain followed by thick fog. Our scouting for the evening was over. Our only choice at this point was to descend the mountain back to camp. The camp we chose that night was a dry camp. There was no water for the horses, so we needed to hike into the next basin to bring the horses to water. The rain was coming down in buckets. The rugged mountain trails had turned unto small muddy rivers and the lightning was striking the mountains all around us. Now, if you have never experienced a major thunderstorm in the mountains, there are few things that bring out the sheer awesomeness and power of the wilderness like a powerful thunderstorm. Lightning was cracking above and below us on the mountain, and thunder was rolling down the canyons. The sounds and sights of a mega storm are intoxicating and terrifying and the same time. My soul comes alive during a display of the mountain’s fury like this. For a first time wilderness wanderer, or inexperienced outdoorsman, this type of storm can be over the top and absolutely terrifying. But, not for this particular 9 year old girl, guide in training, or the salty, old veteran guide. Autumn identifies as a mountain girl, she has been on dozens of scouting trips since she was probably 5 years old. This was her normal, because of the lifestyle outfitting provides for our family. And, no doubt, she noticed her dad coming alive in this storm.
While hiking back and forth with the horses to the lake with the storm raging, Michael commented, “I didn’t even know 9 year olds could be this tough!” Autumn, literally, never complained once. She was loving the adventure and challenge the storm was throwing at us. This was proof that this method of learning works for people as well as horses.
The storm raged on for the rest of the night. We had hundreds of lightning strikes near us on the mountain and it rained inches and inches of rain. In my 29 years of guiding and outfitting this storm goes down as one of the most powerful storms I have ever experienced on the mountain. It was an enormously fun and valuable time to share with Autumn and Michael. I believe both of them left that trip with a new found knowledge that they were tough enough to weather whatever the storm and the mountain throws at them.
I left the mountain so incredibly proud of my daughter and the lifestyle our outfitting business provides. I told Autumn how proud I was of her. I also told her that, someday, she was going to be able to share the bravery she had learned with others. She would get to model the courage to thrive, no matter what life’s storms throw at you, when the time comes.
Through these experiences, the overwhelming theme was how valuable it is to have the courage to go into uncharted territories with others who are more experienced. This could be hunting, shooting classes, hiking or even a spiritual journey. Maybe you are the one who has experience in one of these categories. Maybe it’s time for you to step out and start sharing with others. I would encourage all of us to step out and plan a trip soon. Maybe it’s time for you to take someone on a hunt, possibly a child or grandchild. Maybe it’s going to a shooting class or taking someone shooting. Young or old, we ALL benefit by being brave enough to engage in something that takes us out of our comfort zone. I encourage you to ask yourself this question, “When was the last time I was willing to put myself in a position that took me out of my comfort zone?” I believe we learn the most when we are out of our comfort zone. I have seen this with children, guides, shooting class students and even special forces operators. A navy seal once said, “We, as humans, have no idea how tough we can actually be. When the average person believes they are done, completely spent, they are actually are only about 40 percent done.” We probably don’t need to take ourselves or our kids to the level of the Navy Seals, but I believe there is a high value in challenging ourselves and the people around us.
