  Black Bear
Training tool for making quality decisions in a crisis situation
Complexity rating - intermediate/advanced
Time required - 1-1/2 hours
Intended for - intermediate or advanced teams
Emphasis - formulating strategy under pressure, consensus decision making with 5 strategy alternatives and 10 backpack items
On an early-morning hike in the Great Smokey Mountains your group surprises a huge black bear - with near-fatal results. Challenging your group to make quality decisions in a crisis situation, Black Bear is the training tool for any group that works in a high-pressure environment.
Development
The Appalachian Trail is one of the longest, most traveled scenic trails in the United States. Referred to as "thru-hiking," several hundred people each year, about 3500 since its creation, walk the entire length of the trail in one continuous journey. An article in a 1991 issue of Backpacker Magazine tells the story of a blind man's completion of the 2,000 mile journey. Inspired by a desire for adventure and spurred on by this man's courage, the author began preparations for a six-month leave of absence to undertake his own thru-hike.
 Before departing he had entertained the thought of turning this adventure into a survival simulation, and as he hiked through the heat of summer in Virginia, he began to work out the story. In the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina the scenario was in place - an encounter with the fearsome black bear.
Over the next six months, his monumental trek supplied a bounty of resources for creating an exciting simulation. He became fully immersed in the trail experience - studying maps and wilderness guide; trimming his pack weight to 35 pounds by learning what one really needs to survive; developing new daily routines for living in the woods. By the time five pairs of boots had worn through, he truly knew what it was like to be "on the road."
On October 8, 1992, the author completed his 2,144 mile journey by reaching the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine.
The remaining details of the scenario were developed upon the author's return to society. Many books on the Smokies, wilderness survival, and backcountry rescue were used to fill in the technical information. Buck Tilton, director of the Wilderness Medicine Institute, Inc. and the author of several back-country rescue and medicine books, was very helpful with the development of the expert rationale.
How to Order Black Bear
Order one Facilitator Kit per trainer and one Participant Guide per team member. Note: Black Bear works best when participants are divided into teams of five to seven people.
Facilitator Kit includes: Administrative guidelines, sample Participant Guide, 2-hour workshop design, expert rationale, alternative training designs, and CD-ROM containing Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation, reproducible masters, and color slides of scenario location.
Participant Guide includes: Scenario description, instructions, pressure-sensitive response forms for ranking action alternatives and daypack items, score chart to determine whether team has achieved synergy, and guidelines for team discussion.
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