[at-l] day hike car camp trip report (long) part 1

[rbenhameda@comcast.net (Rami)]

I was planning on a real trip report from Georgia but I don't think I'm =
going to yet.  Here's part one of a long post about a short hike from =
last weekend.   Here you go Curtis, I've anted up.



  =20
Friday last week my friend Nathan called me and asked if I would be =
willing to help him do some girl scout training.  Nathan and his wife =
own www.traildog.com and they, in addition to real backpacking trips, =
help girl scouts "badge" in areas like adventuring, orienteering, =
hiking, etc.

Anyway, it was an opportunity to sleep in a tent that wasn't in my yard!

I spend Friday evening making sure my raingear was packed as well as =
some other riffraff like tent, pad, sleeping bag, change of clothes, =
clean socks etc.  I also had a filter, and pocketknife to test =
(backpackgeartest) and Nathan had a headlamp and stove to test. =
(backpackgeartest) =20

Saturday morning was slick and grey and smelled like moss and wet =
pavement.  We were driving about an hour north to meet the scouts and if =
all was well, about an hour later, we would be caravanning south to the =
southern end of the state near Louisville Ky. which is about a 3 hour =
drive.

Of course you already know that everything didn't go well right?  The =
scouts troop leader was short a driver, some of the girls weren't coming =
so neither were their parents, they no longer needed 3 loaves of bread, =
3 gallons of milk, 3 dozen raw eggs, 2 dozen chicken breasts, 2 dozen =
hamburgers, 3 melons, 3 gallons of juice, etc.  Have you ever tuckerized =
3 minivans all at once?  Well we didn't.  They were already packed and =
none of them seemed to think it was at all unusual.  Besides, we were =
only going for one overnight of car camping.  They wouldn't even be able =
to unpack all of it before it would be time to go home!

After jamming all of the crap into the vans, we were on the road and =
heading south.  One stop for a potty break at the rest stop (one of the =
minivans wanted detailed info about the nearby outlet malls for the =
return trip so she was really happy about the potty break) and we were =
nearly there.

We pulled into Harrison-Crawford State park in Southern Indiana Just =
above the Ohio river and made our way to the Class A campgrounds.  The =
booth at the entrance was not only void of humans, it was an impromptu =
fly morgue.  I quit trying to estimate how many flies were laying dead =
on the counter top inside the booth when I saw the floor.  This place =
had not been used in quite some time.  More than half of the campground =
was closed off for the season so the available spots were sparse.  There =
were about 40 places up for grabs and there were 5 RV's already there. =20

We picked the two spots as far back and out of the way as we could find. =
 The puddles were massive car sized bodies of water.  If we were in =
Maine, they would have been called ponds and would have had to be named. =
 This was perfect.  When we turned off the car and got out, there was a =
soft breeze blowing from West to East and brining nice thick grey clouds =
our way.  I couldn't see the clouds, but rather then absence of =
cloud-filtered sunlight.  Nathan quickly took control of the fleeting =
pod of 4th graders and commanded them to produce tents at once for camp =
set up.  Have I mentioned before the "herding kittens on a unicycle" =
metaphor?  I really like it.  It fits here.  After a few minutes, things =
calmed down and the girls became resigned to their fate.  Three tents =
(henceforth known as Holidome, Ramada, and Omni) eight girls, two moms, =
a troop leader, and Nathan and me.  The Omni and the Holidome belonged =
to people who didn't even come on the trip.  The Ramada was the troop =
leader's.

I started with the Holidome and four girls.  I explained why we use a =
footprint, why we want the tent pitched taut, why the fly is your friend =
and then I point to the dark sky and ask if anyone brought raingear.  =
Thankfully they all say yes.  This tent is probably older than I am.  =
It's stuffed into an old army duffle bag with all of it's poles taped =
together with dry cracking duct tape.  It's been a long time since this =
tent has seen the sky or felt the rain.  I hoped that it would keep =
campers dry one last time.  A good tent is like a good dog.  When he =
gets old, you feel sorry for him when he can't come with you anymore.

The Campsite was now a hotel complex and Nathan and I still hadn't =
pitched our tents.  We decided to wait on our tents in order to set a =
tarp for a dining fly before the rain came.  Smart move on our parts.  =
Just as we were rigging opposite corners, the breeze died off and a wind =
picked up.  The weather had arrived and I got a headache from the =
pressure change.  Nathan and I shifted into high gear and began tossing =
orders to girls and moms alike.  You! What's your name?  Get your rain =
gear on, close all car doors, and then check your tent to make sure it's =
lines are tight and the doors are closed!  You, Raingear, then secure =
the food! You, find your buddy and make sure the tent is closed and the =
lines are tight!  You three drop what you're doing and help the others =
gather firewood.

I've pitched my tent in the rain before so I wasn't worried about that.  =
We both knew it was going to be a pretty good thunderstorm and neither =
of us was sure which of these people (kids and moms alike) were going to =
freak out when the lightening started.  As it turned out, the preamble =
was much more dramatic than the actual storm.  We set the fly, pitched =
out tents, lit the fire, and got the girls busy with policing the camp, =
preparing lunch, and stowing gear before the first drops even fell.

The storm kicked in for lunch and we got a nice show for a few minutes =
with some deep chest rumbling thunder claps to punctuate the event.  It =
didn't last long though and soon the sun was starting to burn off some =
of the clouds.  We detailed the clean up crew, reassigned the firewood =
collection team, and started teaching.

The goal for the weekend was to not only meet the requirements for the =
girl scout hiker badge, but also teach these privileged girls that there =
is a world they don't know which doesn't care what kind of car their dad =
drives or who made their jeans.  We started off with a camp based lesson =
on LNT with some emphasis on fire safety, litter, and courtesy towards =
others who are using the campsites nearby.

By now it's late afternoon and the fire has a nice bed of coals and is =
ready for cooking.  Nathan opts to stay at camp with one of the moms =
while I lead the girls and the remaining moms on a late evening into =
night hike.  The trail is a 2 mile loop which is classed as rugged.  =
Rugged in Indiana is not the same as rugged elsewhere.  I organized the =
group and divided them into their buddy pairs then paired the buddy =
pairs with another so that I had two groups of four instead of four =
groups of two.  The first group was assigned to trail maintenance (trash =
detail) and the second was assigned to navigation. =20

I usually wait until one of the kids starts screaming about the bug =
du-jour before I start desensitization training and this was no =
exception.  I was surprised, however, to discover that it wasn't a =
spider (too wet) but a millipede.  I picked it up, and explained that =
millipede's are basically harmless and could easily be distinguished =
from centipedes.  The little guy is going about his business walking =
calmly across my hands one and then the other while the girls are slowly =
ending their squealing and actually beginning to pay attention.  Within =
a few minutes, each of the girls has held the creature and he has been =
placed far off of the trail so as not to become a trail casualty.

I need to go back and explain a few things before I go any further with =
this.  This troop of girls is from an affluent neighborhood north of =
Indy called Noblesville.  Very snooty.  The only Rolls Royce / Range =
Rover dealership in Indiana is there.  They don't know camping.  To =
their parents, camping is the Holiday Inn EXPRESS.  Nathan spent an =
evening with the whole troop a few days before this trip and gave them =
very detailed instructions and gear lists.  They were told that the =
weather would be bad and that they would be hiking in the rain and mud.  =
They were not surprised when we told them it was time for a hike.  They =
knew what was coming.

Now back to the hike.  One girl had boots.  these were the kind you find =
in the fashion shoes section of the super wal-mart.  the rest were =
wearing tennis shoes, canvas keds, slip on shoes and platform sneakers.  =
One girls mom sent with her as hiking pants a pair of blue velvet bell =
bottoms.  Another brought extra long baggy bell bottom jeans.  They were =
getting muddy and we had only been on the trail for about 3/4 of a mile. =
 =20

As the walk progressed, the girls settled into the quiet of exertion.  =
They were now beyond their juvenile energy reserves and sweat was =
beginning to run down their foreheads.  I began to finally hear the =
woods.  It's spring here just like the rest of the country.  The woods =
are waking up and you don't have to be all that quiet to hear it =
happening real time.  Finally the constant babbling was gone and I could =
hear the creaking and stretching of the plants around me as they =
crunched rocks with their roots and tore through fallen leaves with new =
spring shoots.  A May Apple had broken through the center of a fallen =
Linden leaf before it's leaves had started to unfold.  It was stuck.  I =
stopped walking, reached down and tore one side of the Linden leaf to =
allow the May Apple to fully expand.  When I stood back up, I had an =
audience of ten slack jawed, wide eyed girls.

I began to explain a little about the relationship of one thing to =
another in the forest.  About how many animals and plants required help =
from each other to survive.  This was a good time for a break since we =
had gone a little more than a mile and a fallen Oak provided a nice =
bench to rest on.  I called for a stop, asked everyone to sit, have a =
drink of water, but not to speak.  After the water bottles were back in =
laps, I asked them to close their eyes and be silent.  Listen to what =
sounds this forest makes.  There are animals, insects, and plants all =
struggling to live RIGHT NOW.  We might be able to learn something from =
what we can hear.

A few minutes later, as all of the shoulders began to sag in relaxation, =
and the faces lost their embarrassed grins, some of them might have =
learned that silence does not need to be filled.  Most of them heard =
something that they probably never would have on their own.  None of =
them were changed in any profound way.  I told them that when they were =
ready, we could move on.  I started walking.  They were on me =
immediately and soon back comfortably in their routine of senseless =
jabber.

The trail was very pretty.  Wild flowers everywhere, a nice section =
running along and above a small noisy creek which fed a small waterfall. =
 Indiana Limestone Outcroppings to scramble around and over, hundreds of =
millipedes, a few small flying insects, a handful of squirrels, a doe, =
buds on trees, and all around wafting lazily in their own favorite =
spots, the smells of life and rot and nectar starting to collect in =
flowers.

The mom's were starting to get worried.  It was getting dark.  Not only =
had they never done a night hike, they probably had never done a day =
hike on a non paved trail.  This was so far outside of their =
expectations that they were beginning to move beyond self doubt and into =
doubting me.  I could hear the edges of it in their voices when they =
asked me how much longer before we would be done.

I stopped the group, asked for the map from the navigators, and laid it =
on a rock.  I took out my compass and oriented the map correctly then =
asked the girls to describe our walk from beginning to now.  They did a =
fair job of recalling things and with a little prodding, they were able =
to focus on terrain, water, and direction changes.  As they did this, I =
traced our route on the map and explained the elevation marks and =
rotated the map to show our direction changes.  The mom's faces began to =
relax.  We were only 2/10ths of a mile or so from camp. (we'd been =
within 1/2 a mile of camp the whole time, but i wasn't about to tell =
them that)  The last bit was actually a nice little climb up so the =
girls got to end their climb in the dark, with their flashlights, and =
out of breath.

We got back to camp to find tables set, obnoxious little scented candles =
burning in their little glass containers, and dinner ready.  Everyone =
ate in relative silence and soon the smashmalleauxz were produced (5 =
bags of them) as well as the chocolate and graham crackers.  It was a =
girl scout s'more fest.

At 10:00 Nathan and I began to enforce quite rules and soon the moms =
herded the flock off to the camp pottys for a nice reassuring hand =
sanitization session.  It took Nathan and I five rounds to convince all =
of the girls to give up all of their snacks, candy, gum, and other =
smelly stuff before tent time.  We finally got everything packed into =
the cars, the trash taken care of, the coals banked for the mornings =
fire, and all girls convinced that they would indeed need to sleep and =
that it would probably storm again in the night.

I got into my tent at around 11:00 and was damn glad to be there.  I've =
walked longer miles in a day, but haven't been as tired as I was that =
night.  It's a lot of work herding kittens on a unicycle.








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