This week, I was away - out of town and out of communication. I was up in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, on my high school's annual trip to the Manito-wish YMCA's leadership and outdoor skills camp. This year, my class was sent on a three-day, two-night, completely outside camping trip amidst the normal Manito-wish activities.
The first day (Tuesday) consisted mostly of the eight-hour bus ride from the school to the site. Upon arrival, we unpacked into our cabins and were introduced to our counselors. For my group, those introductions included a summary of what we would be doing, along with advice on what to bring along on the camping trip ("on trail", as they call it). After dinner, we were shown all the non-personal equipment that would be brought on trail, like a compass, the map, a dromedary, utensils, pots/pans, water purification chemicals, et cetera. Those items were packed into a wooden box with backpack straps.
The next day after breakfast, my group brought all our personal stuff (e.g. clothes, water bottles, flashlights) to the main building, all packed in a small drawstring bag, to get packed. It was a challenge getting all the sleeping bags and sleeping pads in the big Duluth bags, but we managed it, and were soon walking to the dock. A three-and-a-half hour canoeing trip ensued, with one break for lunch on a convenient lake shore. I thoroughly enjoyed canoeing, especially down the river in which obstacles such as sandbars, rocks, and fallen trees made navigation interesting. Transporting the canoes and bags around a dam was not so enjoyable, especially in the brief downpour that occurred at that exact moment, but we got through it.
When we arrived at the campsite landing that evening, we put the canoes on shore and carried the bags a half-mile to the actual campsite. Tents were put up, a clothesline was hung (for wet stuff), and a fire was started. For dinner was chili, the ingredients of which had been brought along in the wooden box. An exceedingly great amount of cayenne pepper was accidentally added to the chili, so it was very spicy. Cleaning the pot afterwards was also a worthy challenge, as we were not allowed to leave any trace of human activity on nature, that is, not even small amounts of food could be left to decompose. So we scraped the burned bottom into a trash bag, and strained the lake water we had used for soaking it. We got to sleep around 11 PM.
On Thursday morning, we got up around 7 AM and began scrounging for firewood to make breakfast. I would have been fine with something simple (read: trivial to prepare), but the counselor had planned for us to cook potatoes, eggs (real eggs), and bacon. We also had to bake the bread that would be eaten with peanut butter and jelly for lunch. By the time we had all that cooked, eaten, and cleaned up after, it was almost noon. We walked the half mile back to the landing and began the canoe trip back upriver. The rapids proved unmanageable from the other direction, and much getting-out-and-pushing was had. After four hours of aquatic hauling, we finally reached our second campsite, which was slightly less than a mile away from our original starting point.
No portaging was necessary to get to the second campsite - it was literally right on the shore - so after putting up the canoes, we got right to work with the tents. With one night of experience on our side, we were slightly more effective than previously, but the cold was still a challenge. (I was much, much happier after changing into a set of dry clothes.) That night's dinner was a simple quinoa soup/stew with onions, garlic, corn, and whatever other spices we had left over. Since we were careful to not overcook the food, the pot was easy to clean. The tarp (which we used to protect the extra bags from possible rain) was difficult to set up in the dark, especially considering that one of the four ropes needed to tie it up was attached to one of the canoes and not possible to remove. We eventually got a triangular configuration going, and went to bed. Sleeping that night was difficult with the cold, and I woke up several times from it. It didn't help that no dry long pants were available. Fortunately, getting into certain curled positions and wrapping my jacket around my legs brought sufficient heat.
Friday morning, we were in a little bit of a rush to meet the appointed paddle-in time. No fire had to be made for breakfast, but we were dangerously low on fuel, and the portable stove went out once. It was rather convenient that we didn't have to sterilize the dishes that time (since we were about to head home), and effective delegation got the bags packed and canoes in the water just in time. Meeting up with the other two on-trail groups at the appointed bend in the lake, we sang the required song as we paddled ashore. The work did not end there - we cleaned the canoes and hauled them back to on-shore storage, and went to the main building to clean the other gear.
Much brushing was required on the tents, which seemed to continuously fill themselves with sand as if by magic. The Duluth packs and the plastic liners inside them were washed, hung out to dry, and then brushed. The Dutch oven in which we had baked the bread over a fire proved Herculean to clean; the soot on it required many cycles of washing and scrubbing with steel wool. We did get all the cleaning done in a total of about two hours, and were permitted to go shower. (Yay!)
After that and lunch at the dining hall, it was time for the ropes courses. My group first went to the giant swing, which is a bar onto which two people are hooked, hung on a line pulled up along to a telephone pole by a row of people, at the top of which a release rope can be pulled that will send it swinging the other way at exceptional velocity. Now, heights are stressful for me, but I went on that device last year, and I decided to do it again this time, joined by my canoeing partner. It was scary going up, but the swinging part was great. The next element was a catwalk, for which I only served on the belay team, both for the sake of time and because I had had enough height-induced terror for the day. My group ended with an element of the low ropes course: a setup that challenged us to get everybody across a short divide from one platform to another via a swinging rope. We never succeeded - two people could never quite get their legs up enough - but we had a lot of fun, and I learned that I can successfully swing on a rope.
In the evening after dinner, we did a reflection activity in which we found components of nature that symbolize our experience. That was brief and relaxing, and it gave us a break before we finished cleaning that Dutch oven. When that was sufficiently polished, we were permitted to join the other groups around the campfire. There, s'mores were had, and I joined the mathematics teacher, a guitar-playing student, and a dean in entertaining the other campers with music from a book of old songs. Good times were had by all.
Saturday morning after breakfast, detail cleaning was done on the main building and in the cabins. With everyone available to help, we finished in good time, and sat with all the counselors for a final time of reflection. At 10 AM, we got on the bus, and I went into a low-power state for the whole ride back to school. I've never been so happy to see home.
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