Self-sufficiency and wilderness skills are dying arts in an increasingly modern world. Ron Hardt of Salisbury, VT spent a career in the military educating soldiers on survival and outdoor living, and established a school for teaching these skills to civilians upon the end of his service. After a series of sessions with Mr. Hardt, Middlebury students Hunter Nolan '13 and Mike Gadomski '13.5 embarked on an overnight adventure in the Green Mountains to practice some of their skills and to demonstrate one of Ron's most important lessons: that the benefits of self-sufficience are not only vast, but available to anyone willing to take an interest and put in the time. As the two students gained an appreciation for Ron's values, they also learned the merits of documenting an adventure experience--namely, the ability to spread ideas and knowledge to those previously unfamiliar with them. The resulting film shows successes, failures, and the process of learning age-old skills that are as valuable now as ever. Â
