Once Upon Two Summers Ago...

Rediscovered journals hold the most wonderful memories...

July 10^th, 2011

Dear diary,

I did not pack enough socks. Only three days of camp completed and I am down to my last pair. Rain has been falling sporadically since we arrived. Our hike inside the gorge yesterday was quite enjoyable, once you got over the fact that your feet were going to be soaked no matter how hard you tried to dodge the puddles and waterfalls. And today we completed a high ropes course before being driven under cover by the usual mid-afternoon thunder storm which, although it has become the norm, is quite fascinating to experience.

So far there have been no major injuries. During the gorge hike there were little slips and stumbles that resulted in nothing worse than a bruised and wet backside, one of the boys cut himself the other afternoon while carving his bear claws, and our big metal pot has burned several people with its one misleadingly cool handle, but, thankfully, nothing extreme or life-threatening has occurred.

Tomorrow we plan on hiking the Kramer. A monstrous mountain of doom that looms over our campsite, constantly reminding us of the challenges we will face while attempting to reach the peak. I just hope that by then my thick socks will have dried out ...

July 12^th, 2011

Dear Diary,

I will attempt to jot this entry down as quickly as I can before the bus appears. It is currently 6:45 am and my fellow Venturers and myself have showered, cooked and eaten breakfast, and finished cleaning up our dirty dishes (including the extremely messy bacon and foil incident). Now we are simply waiting for our bus to arrive and carry us off on our next adventure; passing the time by applying last minute layers of sunscreen and bugspray, sprinting back up to our campsite for a forgotten notebook, and playing a few games of ladder ball with some Scouts. The sky is looking deceptively clear and bright blue today, though I am quite positive the pleasant weather will not last.

Yesterday, our hike was not interupted by any rain at all, which was a relief. The trail would have been a jumble of mud and slippery rocks had it stormed during or even before we began the trek. Unfortunately, we did not reach the summit. We were running low on water by the time we arrived at the rest-stop about 300 meters of steep climbing and no shade from the peak. Upon reviewing our situation, the amount of water versus the distance to be covered, along with the number of people who were completely out of water, we took a vote and unanimously decided to return to camp, despite our disappointment at not being able to complete the hike.

(Later...)

Our tent leaks. I am attempting to write by the light of my flashlight so as to not bother the other girls and have been interupted multiple times by ice-cold drops of water splashing onto my exposed foot. The tent shouldn't leak … it is supposedly waterproof. It could possibly have something to do with not being able to secure all of our guy-ropes due to the mysterious disappearance of a set of tent stakes. I'm quite sure that that is our problem. Tomorrow I'll ask one of the guys to help by securing them in some other, more creative fashion.

July 12^th, 2011

Dear Diary,

It rained harder this morning than it has all week. Our tents were flooded when we returned from our white-water-rafting outing. Now towels, stray pieces of clothing, and blankets hang inside our dining fly, drying ever so slowly and obstructing any sort of free movement during dinner preparations. I am now completely sockless, having to pick my way across the un-even ground of our campsite in order to add my last, lonely, dripping sock to the number of wet victims air-drying under the tent before stowing myself, along with my bare and vulnerable feet, in a safe corner to await the first dry or at least semi-dry pair of socks available.

(Later …)

The rain has stopped and we have successfully built a warm, crackling fire. Chocolate, and graham crackers are passed around as marshmallows roast cheerfully (or burst into flames suddenly to loud cries of dismay). Animated conversations continue, laughing faces are lit by the dancing fire, and the past few days adventures are recounted in the most spirited fashion. The rain did not ruin anyones experience. As Ms. JoAnn said, “As long as there is good food and friendly people, any camp-out is a success, no matter the weather.” Our week is slowly coming to an end, but for right now I am happy to be here with my friends, enjoying our new and exciting adventures together.

And my socks are dry.