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Jun. 28th, 2004 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
camper4lyfeI did something that I've been needing for a long time now. I went camping this past weekend.
I got to do something that I grew up doing.
This is something that has made me into who I am today.
Without my experiences as a boy in the Boy Scouts, I don't think I would be where I am today.
Many people have harped on me about it. Many people have chastised me about it. No matter how much flack I get for it, I would never change my mind about joining the scouts.
This past weekend was termed a 'Eagle Reunion' campout. 2 of the guys I grew up with were home for the weekend, and a campout was scheduled around their schedule. Tony is only home for a couple weeks before he returns to Camp Benning, GA where he is stationed with the Army. He recently returned from his first tour of Iraq, and is scheduled to return again in January of 2005 (or sooner). Matt just recently graduated from college, and is looking to become an officer in the Marines Corp. The only guy I wish could have made it (that wasn't there) was Ian. He's in VA studying at Virginia Tech to complete his education in Technology Education.
**The only thing I would have changed about the weekend were those damn mosquitos. I have NEVER seen mosquitos so thick. Hiking down the trail, everyone had a CLOUD of mosquitos buzzing around them.**
I couldn't get the time off of work to leave at the same time as the boys did, so I had to meet them there. I wandered into camp around 7:15pm...roughly an hour after they did. I set up my tent and began my decompression. The bugs finally subsided as the temperature dropped into the 50's (only a guess). We sat around the camp fire for a while after the boys called it a night and reminisced about the past. Traded some stories about things that happened between our last visits, and generally discussed anything that came to mind. We called it a night around 11:00pm. As is usualy for my first night out camping, I didn't sleep very well.
7:00 Saturday morning saw the first signs of movement. Breakfast was made and consumed, and camp was broken. By about 9:30am everyone was ready to go and we headed to our next camp, which turned out to be an amazing spot. Camp was found around 11:30am on the bend of a quiet river (though not so quiet by the small waterfalls). The 'adults' set camp on the southern edge of the bend where the breeze was more prevalent (worked wonders for keeping the bugs away). Tents were pitched and lunch was consumed (I had myself a lovely portion of freeze dried pasta primavera...YUMMMM). I spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the sun and enjoying the peace and quiet while all but Matt and myself went to play capture the flag (I would have, but my toe is still banged up). I spent the large majority of the time listening to the water rush by, bits and pieces of the cliff breaking off in the heat of hte sun, and the baby birds on the cliff chirping to mom and dad because they were hungry. Many people would probably develope a severe case of boredom doing this, but I found it quite relaxing and theraputic. No distractions and a comfortable chair found me in state of bliss. These are the times I had grown to cherish and love. The times of solitude and self reflection. These are the times I miss the most when I'm sitting at my desk at work. These are the times that I miss sharing with my closest of friends. The people who helped mold me into the man that I am today.
Matt decided he welt like burning off some energy, so he burnt some wood. By the time everyone came back to camp, the fire had a nice bed of coals with which to cook. I threw my packets of veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, celery, and mushrooms) on the fire, which Scott unpacked his steaks (caribou) that he had brought for dinner. The steaks and veggies blended well together, and made for a very satisfying dinner. After dinner, the boys built their own fire, and dug themselves some chairs (they set up on the sandy part of the shore) and pretty much kept to themselves.
Daylight came and went, and 9:30pm rolled around. I made my last phone call to Shell to let her know that I was turning in, and I settled into my sleeping back with thoughts of my love.
6:00 am came early as the sun was beginning to break the tops of the trees. It was still cool, but pleasant. I packed up my gear, and wandered over to help keep the boys motivated. To everyone's surprise, they did a wonderful job of getting packed up and cleaning up their site. The mile and a half hike out of camp and to the cars went well. Going up is definitely easier on my toe than goin down to camp was.
On the way out, Tony and I took a slight 'short cut' through a little mud...
All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend, nor a better TIMED weekend. I spent yesterday feeling recharged, though groggy. I feel better today, despite a slight lack of sleep. I feel cleaner and refreshed. I have gone to my church. I feel myself coming back.
*note* You may have noticed that I didn't mention keeping track of the boys very much. This was not for lack of caring. The point of this campout was to keep the 'mom syndrome' to a minimum. LET the boys make mistakes. LET the boys figure out how to fix those mistakes. If you don't let them make mistakes, they will never learn anything.
I got to do something that I grew up doing.
This is something that has made me into who I am today.
Without my experiences as a boy in the Boy Scouts, I don't think I would be where I am today.
Many people have harped on me about it. Many people have chastised me about it. No matter how much flack I get for it, I would never change my mind about joining the scouts.
This past weekend was termed a 'Eagle Reunion' campout. 2 of the guys I grew up with were home for the weekend, and a campout was scheduled around their schedule. Tony is only home for a couple weeks before he returns to Camp Benning, GA where he is stationed with the Army. He recently returned from his first tour of Iraq, and is scheduled to return again in January of 2005 (or sooner). Matt just recently graduated from college, and is looking to become an officer in the Marines Corp. The only guy I wish could have made it (that wasn't there) was Ian. He's in VA studying at Virginia Tech to complete his education in Technology Education.
**The only thing I would have changed about the weekend were those damn mosquitos. I have NEVER seen mosquitos so thick. Hiking down the trail, everyone had a CLOUD of mosquitos buzzing around them.**
I couldn't get the time off of work to leave at the same time as the boys did, so I had to meet them there. I wandered into camp around 7:15pm...roughly an hour after they did. I set up my tent and began my decompression. The bugs finally subsided as the temperature dropped into the 50's (only a guess). We sat around the camp fire for a while after the boys called it a night and reminisced about the past. Traded some stories about things that happened between our last visits, and generally discussed anything that came to mind. We called it a night around 11:00pm. As is usualy for my first night out camping, I didn't sleep very well.
7:00 Saturday morning saw the first signs of movement. Breakfast was made and consumed, and camp was broken. By about 9:30am everyone was ready to go and we headed to our next camp, which turned out to be an amazing spot. Camp was found around 11:30am on the bend of a quiet river (though not so quiet by the small waterfalls). The 'adults' set camp on the southern edge of the bend where the breeze was more prevalent (worked wonders for keeping the bugs away). Tents were pitched and lunch was consumed (I had myself a lovely portion of freeze dried pasta primavera...YUMMMM). I spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the sun and enjoying the peace and quiet while all but Matt and myself went to play capture the flag (I would have, but my toe is still banged up). I spent the large majority of the time listening to the water rush by, bits and pieces of the cliff breaking off in the heat of hte sun, and the baby birds on the cliff chirping to mom and dad because they were hungry. Many people would probably develope a severe case of boredom doing this, but I found it quite relaxing and theraputic. No distractions and a comfortable chair found me in state of bliss. These are the times I had grown to cherish and love. The times of solitude and self reflection. These are the times I miss the most when I'm sitting at my desk at work. These are the times that I miss sharing with my closest of friends. The people who helped mold me into the man that I am today.
Matt decided he welt like burning off some energy, so he burnt some wood. By the time everyone came back to camp, the fire had a nice bed of coals with which to cook. I threw my packets of veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, celery, and mushrooms) on the fire, which Scott unpacked his steaks (caribou) that he had brought for dinner. The steaks and veggies blended well together, and made for a very satisfying dinner. After dinner, the boys built their own fire, and dug themselves some chairs (they set up on the sandy part of the shore) and pretty much kept to themselves.
Daylight came and went, and 9:30pm rolled around. I made my last phone call to Shell to let her know that I was turning in, and I settled into my sleeping back with thoughts of my love.
6:00 am came early as the sun was beginning to break the tops of the trees. It was still cool, but pleasant. I packed up my gear, and wandered over to help keep the boys motivated. To everyone's surprise, they did a wonderful job of getting packed up and cleaning up their site. The mile and a half hike out of camp and to the cars went well. Going up is definitely easier on my toe than goin down to camp was.
On the way out, Tony and I took a slight 'short cut' through a little mud...
All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend, nor a better TIMED weekend. I spent yesterday feeling recharged, though groggy. I feel better today, despite a slight lack of sleep. I feel cleaner and refreshed. I have gone to my church. I feel myself coming back.
*note* You may have noticed that I didn't mention keeping track of the boys very much. This was not for lack of caring. The point of this campout was to keep the 'mom syndrome' to a minimum. LET the boys make mistakes. LET the boys figure out how to fix those mistakes. If you don't let them make mistakes, they will never learn anything.
