Brat Camp, Episode 4: Fear and Fire

Previously on Brat Camp, nine troubled teens were sent to SageWalk by their desperate parents. They’ll be there for at least forty days, and can only go home once their therapists approve it. Jada thought about escape, but the field instructors took control and sent the youths on a seven-mile trek through a blizzard. The question is, will the teenagers gain self-esteem, or continue down the road to self-destruction?

Day 21 starts like every other day, with the five minutes to pack their gear. So far, they’ve never managed to do it on the first try. If they hope to graduate before Christmas, they’ll have to master it. It’s also important in that it gives the youths a sense of accomplishment. The nine teenagers race to complete it, and this time they made it in four minutes, fifty seconds. Everybody is happy, but not for long – the weather turns bad once again.

Lauren complains about the snow, the youths are seen kicking it around in frustration. Aspen tells them complaining about it won’t help. Nick just wants to be warm.

To move along in the program, the teens need to deal with self-esteem issues. Lexie keeps moping and playing the victim role. She’d rather sit in the mud than do anything. Her issue centers around her molestation, and her therapist, Raven, helps her work through it. Lexie feels unable to being loved. She cries during her session, and doesn’t think her problems can be fixed. However, the SageWalk team has a plan.

The students are blindfolded and taken by vehicle to a secret location, (Oregon’s Smith Rock State Park) where they start with a trust walk, holding onto each other’s shoulder while blindfolded. Once the blindfolds are removed, it’s an amazing site of sheer rock faces and cliffs. They’ll rappel down 300 feet – straight down. Glacier introduces the group to their instructors for the task, and tells them to listen up – it’s a safety issue.

Jada volunteers to go first, and makes it to the bottom. She claims she wasn’t scared until she reached the edge. Lauren goes next, and has no problems making it down either. Shawn wants to do the jumping type rappel like James Bond. He makes it down, as does Isaiah, who likes the view. Nick goes down with a struggle, as does Frank. Derek is ready to begin his descent, but says he feels sick. He doesn’t want to do it, and Glacier keeps at him until he admits he’s afraid. He’s finally let off the hook, though he made progress in finally admitting to what he was feeling.

Lexie is terrified. She’s afraid of heights and fears falling. She cries and says she can’t do it. Her suppressed emotions are rising to the surface. Finally, she begins, and makes a slow descent down, weeping the entire time. She gets applause when she reaches the bottom, and Fire Shaper points out her accomplishment. In confessional, she says it was amazing and exciting. Glacier tells us if she can build on that success, she might make it home for Christmas. Aspen is pleased to see her trust everybody.

Back at camp, the campers are still excited by their adventure. Shawn says he learned something about overcoming fear, and says he learned something from Lexie. It also makes Lauren think about her issues. Back at her home, Lauren’s mother tell us about how Lauren’s father died when she was 11. She was very close to him, and she’s never gotten past it. The anniversary of the death is approaching. The next day at camp, Raven holds a therapy session with Lauren and asks what she should do to commemorate it. Lauren doesn’t want people to make an issue of it and have people feel sorry for her. Raven suggests she write a letter to her father. At camp that night, she goes off by herself and cries. Boulder goes over to talk to her. She tells him they buried her father on Christmas Eve. She can still hear his voice. She hates this time of year, and tells him she doesn’t know why God had to take him away. She admits she washed away the pain by getting stoned. She says she was in denial, and after Boulder leaves, Lauren asks her father to make her strong.

The next day starts with firewood collection – and a new task. Each student will learn bow-drilling, an ancient and difficult method of making fire. Bear provides the instruction on how to make the drill and what materials to make a “nest” out of to begin the flame. Isaiah doesn’t see the point, wondering who uses bow drills in their daily life. Frank agrees; he doesn’t see a point to it either. However, Glacier tells us it isn’t just about fire, it’s about learning patience and persistence. Channeling Jeff Probst, he says there is nothing more important in this environment than fire.