Columnist Ruthe Deskin: From the class to the wilderness

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursdays. Reach her at [email protected].

Have you ever thought of chucking it all and striking out in a new direction? One young woman I know did just that. Here is her story:

Sue Black taught school at Pat Diskin Elementary School in Las Vegas for 16 years. The students loved her and she reciprocated. But one morning she awakened with a feeling that life was passing her by. Where was the big adventure? Sue decided she was a victim of "burnout" and took a leave of absence from her teaching position to "try something new." That "something new" turned into a career change she couldn't have imagined.

Outside of teaching, Sue had three loves -- horses, bowling and the outdoors. She was a senior at Clark High School when she decided to risk $5 and enter a national scholarship bowling tournament. She won state, regional and national titles, which made her the National All-American Youth Bowling champion. Most important was the scholarship money that went with the victory and enabled her to enroll at UNLV, where she earned a degree in education and was able to begin her teaching career.

After taking a hiatus from teaching, Sue decided to visit her sister, who was starting a business in northwestern Idaho. An unexpected opportunity arose when she was offered a job to cook for a group of elk hunters in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness. Here was a chance to parlay her love of the outdoors and skill with horses into a real adventure. Being a naturally good cook helped. I asked Sue to describe a typical day in camp:

3 a.m.: Awaken, dress, build a fire in the wood stove, make "camp" coffee, fix breakfast.

5 a.m.: Serve breakfast, boil water to wash dishes, put food away, etc.

6 a.m.: Straighten up campers' tents, put wood and kindling in all tents and split more wood if needed.

7 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Pack water from the spring using five-gallon jugs. Water livestock (horses and mules), boil water for personal use, wash up and wash hair, check lanterns, chase bees out of the cook's tent, wipe down everything covered by the black dust from dirt floor and wood stove, try to look pretty. ("I'm glad I brought my butane curling iron," she says.)

3 p.m.: Bake dinner dessert in propane oven on top of a Coleman stove, make snacks for tomorrow's lunches, prepare dinner vegetables, check and water livestock, rainproof everything.

5 p.m.: Build a fire in wood stove, build a campfire, start dinner.

7 p.m.: Serve dinner. Boil water for dishes.

8:30 p.m.: Wash and dry dishes.

l0:30 p.m.: Prepare coffee pots for the morning, make and wrap sandwiches for tomorrow, defrost meat for tomorrow, take out trash, build up fire in my tent, get ready for bed, turn out lantern and set alarm for 3 a.m.

11 p.m.: Drop dead.

A day at hunting camp is a far cry from a day at Pat Diskin Elementary School, but Sue Black has found real fulfillment in her adventurous job. "We have to pack in the entire camp on mules and horses," she says. "Along the trail I have seen bear and their cubs, deer, elk, moose, otters and cougars."

Sue probably will come back to teaching. In the meantime she finds each day in the mountains a learning experience. Living and breathing the outdoors and experiencing nature in a primitive state will, she believes, assist her when she faces her young students in the classroom again.

Sue Black was born in Santa Monica, Calif. She moved to Las Vegas with her family when here father, Russ Black, became the orchestra leader at the Flamingo Hotel. She attended West Charleston Elementary School, Clark High School and UNLV.

Sue recalls when she and her sister would save their baby-sitting money so they could rent horses to ride at Tule Springs stable. Her parents bought her first horse, which was the beginning of a lifelong association with horses at junior rodeos, trail rides, etc. She has owned her own horse, named Yeller, since he was 3 years old. Now he's 26.

Sue took a chance and left the safety and security of a teaching position and is happily preparing for her third stint as a camp cook in the Idaho wilderness.

Sometimes I almost envy her.

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