Sleeping out under the stars with a roaring fire seems almost too stereotypical to be real, but that is exactly what we did.
Half way through our second week of staff training, we split into our units and left for an overnight hike. Earlier in the week we decided what we would eat for each meal. We had planned trail pizzas for dinner and bacon sandwiches for breakfast. I’m a bad cook even indoors so cooking outdoors on an open fire was something that I was not expecting to be particularly good at.
We had a choice of the many different overnight spots throughout the 552 acres the camp owns. We just had to make sure it wasn’t chosen by another group. There was a wide variety of choice. Our unit director however, had something completely different in mind. He’d found an old overnight spot that hadn’t been used in quite a while, along with a trail that led to it which was in even more disused. We agreed to give it a try.
Backpacks on and with shears, loppers and a saw in hand, we set off. We cut through the overgrowth that covered the path, leaving a somewhat clearer, more child friendly trail behind us. Momma Thumper led the way with Marv (his rather blunt cutting tool). We came across a plant which resembled something of a four leaf clover. According to a few people in the group, they were edible so we decided to try them. To my surprise they genuinely tasted like sour apples, thus leading me to eat several more along the way.
After about an hour and a half of walking we came to a creek. We knew this was coming but it was slightly deeper than I expected. My trainers were soon submerged in the water. As soon as we’d crossed the river we had to climb a near vertical hill with some rather loose ground. Scrambling up with our backpacks we eventually all got to the top. For me this was the best bit of the trek, but I agreed it was not going to a trail to take campers on.
After two hours of hiking, cutting, climbing and singing (camp songs are impossible to get out of your head at times) we made it to the overnight spot. Getting the fire going was much easier than in training the week before. In no time we were cooking our trail pizzas, which we delicious, even more so if you used BBQ sauce.
The evening was finished off by songs by the fire and some rather deep discussion during embers. Embers is a time to ask some deeper questions and really get to know the people you are with by sharing some deeper thoughts, feelings and memories. It sounds a bit lame now but some of my favourite memories of AmeriCamp so far have come from these sessions.
That night, as I looked up to the stars and realised how lucky I was to be there, with a great group of people. The night wasn’t particularly chilly, and I found myself quite snug in my sleeping bag. The philosophy student in me came out and I just lay awake for a while, looking up at the sky thinking to myself. I slowly fell asleep.
I was woken by my alarm on my watch. Shortly after I got up, Thumper gave everyone else a slightly louder awakening. We packed up and cooked breakfast on the fire. I had a bacon sandwich with avocado and lettuce. We walked back a slightly different way, picking blackberries from the wild bushes at the edge of the path. Finally we got back to the ranch house. As tiring as it was, I loved my first camp out under the stars.
-Kate Marron
