This was my first trip to the Badlands, and the first two hours proved to be much more dramatic than I had expected. After collecting the key for the gate, our convoy headed to the drive back to camp. Three days of rain turned the dirt drive into a nearly impenetrable pit of mud, that Nick promptly buried the rear end of his suburban in.

Our first attempt at freeing the truck involved pulling it out with a chain, one end around the front end, the other connected to the rear of my jeep. After pulling off the driver's side of my rear bumper, we decided this was not a good idea. Lee then sprung into action and disconnected the chain from my mangled bumper and wrapped it around his waist and gave his best Clydesdale impersonation. Although completely fruitless, it was quite humorous, and it did seem to lighten Nick's mood a bit.

Accepting the fact that we weren't going to get the truck out, we decided to wait for Lou to arrive with his equally as big pick-up truck. We gathered our gear and headed back to camp on foot to start our 2-mile hike. Half way through the hike, we ran into Lou and headed back to make another attempt at getting Nick's truck out.

Before making it back to the suburban, we were kept amused with updates on the "Coffee Bean Gene" situation, and old war stories by a neighbor. Upon his leaving, our engineering team had arrived, and immediately devised a plan to excavate Nick's truck. Several hours and a whole lot of digging later, the suburban was finally free.

Our weekend steadily improved after this. Although the truck situation took up a good chunk of time, we still got a lot accomplished. Our engineering team brought some "Denis-powered tools" and an improvised rifle rack was installed at the range.

This was followed by target practice. We did several different drills that emphasized speedy target acquisition, while placing accurate shots. After the last bowling pin was shot down, Lee refreshed us on some basic infantry movement tactics, and we headed off into the woods. Once in the sticks, our fire team skillfully took out a wooden post, and one very suspicious deer blind…

Before long, dusk set in, and we began setting up camp. A couple of cheap sleeping bags, and an obnoxiously small tarp is the only shelter equipment I own, which made Denis's news of expected rain very depressing. Luckily, Nick loaned me an extra tarp. This wasn't just any tarp, mind you, this thing was humongous; we could have sheltered all of the cars in camp if we liked.

Upon seeing the trouble I was having setting up the tarp, Lee abandoned his shelter and came to my rescue. Constructing our shelter proved to be a chore, even for the two of us. We quickly came to the conclusion that a tree needed cut down to make room for the monstrosity. Lee carries an Ontario Spec Ops Fighter knife, which has been affectionately named "Gladys", which made quick work of the obstructing sapling. Impressed with the quality of the knife, we named our camp in its honor. (Look for more info on Gladys in the gear review of this article.)

Now, I know what you're thinking, "You spent more time talking about the truck and camp than the training, where are your priorities?" In life, it's not the mountains that trip you up, it's the molehills. It's these small obstacles that require the help of our brethren. There is no way Nick was going to get his truck out by himself, nor I stay dry. "United we stand, divided we fall."

It's great that you have a gun in your closet, and that you get out to the range on occasion, but our duty as Americans goes way beyond that. In the unfortunate event that civilians needed to aggressively defend our country, the "lone rifleman" will be lucky to last. The time to band together is now. The time to train as a group is now. So put down the Playstation and come out with us. We owe it to our forefathers, ourselves, and more importantly, our children.

Gladys is an Ontario Spec Plus Fighter Knife (SP6-95) that I bought at a gun show about five years ago for about $40. It has an overall length of twelve inches, eight of which are blade.

It came with a leather sheath, which slid perfectly onto my web belt. The sheath has two snaps to secure the knife. It is a solidly built, well balanced knife.

It is also heavy.

For years, Denis has referred to it as a "gladius", or the short sword used by Roman Legions and gladiators. I think this was sort of a slam at me for carrying it around all the time, without ever using it, or a slam at me for carrying such a heavy item, or both.

This brings up the issue of what I carry, how often I use it, and why. I have always relied on my lock-blade Gerber Gator for any cutting, poking, prodding or prying that I needed to do. The little Gator did everything I needed. In effect, I was carrying around a "gladius" that I never used and apparently didn't need.

However, for sapling removal purposes, it does an excellent job. This eliminates the need for a hatchet, machete, and sometimes even a hammer. It would serve well as a combat knife, if you are into that sort of thing.

So, what I learned this time out, was "If you aren't going to use it, ever, than why are you carrying it?" The result was that I used it this time out, so I will carry it next time.

Note: "Gladys" was Nick's improper interpretation of "gladius". Naturally, the name stuck. Hence, "Gladys the Gladius". Oh, well... -Lee