Soon we arrived at the campsite.
We first set about erecting the tents, and getting camp ready.
Our plan was to have lunch then run the course until sunset,
followed by dinner, campfire and bed. Once we all had our
gear set up and the camp was ready, we took the boys to the edge
of the property and explained the lay of the land and the rules
for our stay.
Then we took a walk out to the front of
the property and reviewed the map and compass skills.
First orienting the map, locating the general area where we were
on the map.
Then we sighted a landmark and pacing it
off to put our exact location on the map.
After that we had a quick lunch of
Pepperoni Rolls, Apples, Oranges, and cookies, with Lemonade.
We organized the kids into three groups
- two older groups and a younger group. I gave one of the
older groups a walkie-talkie, and the other a GPS to use to
track their hike. It had no waypoints, maps or tracks.
I went on the course with the young kids
to keep them from going too far astray should they make any
major errors. With three boys, we decided each would take
a turn leading to a point on the course, and rotate through
leading and following. Ted got the first point and not
wanting to "bushwhack" figured out that the point was on top of
the ridge and followed the trail right to it.
The next point was also along the trail
but Nick decided he was going to take a beeline hike to it.
So he set his bearing and walked straight through the woods to
the mark.
It was Zack's turn to set the course and
lead. In discussion, they concluded the next point was the
cemetery that we had used to refresh the skills before lunch.
They knew where it was, roughly, so decided to follow the trail
(it lead in the right direction) and locate the point by
climbing the hill as shown on the map.
Pretty soon they had located the point.
It was Ted's turn. He calculated
the bearing and distance, set his map and compass and walked
directly to the point - within 20 feet pacing it out, then
continued in the same direction until they found the marker.
The next point was Nick's. He got everything lined
up and walked a nearly perfect straight line directly to the
marker. These guys were good!
That concluded the points set out for
the young kids - and it had only been an hour. So we went
back up to the cemetery, and set the course for the first point
on the big-kids course. This one was a little more tricky
because a beeline hike would take the kids through the woods.
Zack started out well and went in the proper direction but we
soon came to a deep draw with a small stream in the bottom.
It was going to be difficult to climb down and back up, so we
backtracked and hiked down the road in the general direction of
the next point.
When they reached a point that was
recognizable on the map, they established their position on the
map and set a new bearing to the marker. They climbed up a
steep hill and soon found the marker.
Nick set up the next bearing and lead
the group across the open field to the next marker.
Along the way we met Mr. King, our host
and passed on our "Thank You" to him.
It was perhaps the longest walk between
markers but the kids were doing well and soon reached it without
any troubles.
Next, Zack set a bearing and we headed
in the direction of the next marker. Ted also calculated
the solution and came up with a different answer so I let the
two of them pursue their own solutions. Nick split the
difference and headed down the middle. Ted turned out to
have the most correct bearing and soon found the marker.
Ted set the next bearing and they headed
for the last marker.
The next point was also along the trail
but Nick decided he was going to take a beeline hike to it.
So he set his bearing and walked straight through the woods to
the mark. They stuck it again and completed the course.
I phoned Alex and learned we were the first to complete all the
points, and no one had returned to camp. The young group
just might "win" the exercise.
But not so fast. As we were
walking back to camp Ted realized he did not have his walking
stick. He had already left it behind a couple times and
others had returned it to him. Finally he had left it
behind. So he headed back to the last marker to locate it.
No dice. The walking stick was not
there. He called me on the phone to report no success and
his plans to go back to the previous marker. Nick, Zack
and I walked over the him and met him at the previous marker but
again we did not meet success. Ted decided to continue
backtracking. I decided to turn it into a learning
experience and had him calculate the reverse route to the
previous marker (subtract 180 from the bearing). Off he
went.
We headed in the direction of the next
previous marker and waited for Ted at the meeting of two trails.
Soon he caught up but again without the walking stick. So
we walked back to the last previous marker, more or less
together.
Zack had gone ahead and soon found the
walking stick at the marker. Ted came triumphantly down
the hill waving it in the air. We all headed back to camp
along the gravel road. We were about 1/2-hour away from
sunset.
Soon the last bit of trail came into
sight with Alex standing talking with Mr. Coyt.
The older boys came into camp not long
after we arrived. Soon it was dark. Mr. Murphy was
in camp and the fire was burning.
Zack got next to the fire to warm up.
We hung around until everyone was back.
Here are the tracks of the young group and one of the older
groups
Supper was hamburgers with buns,
pickles, chips, and so on. It really hit the spot.
Several went to play electronic Monopoly. I went to my
tent. put on my "ethereal" music on iPod and was soon sleeping.
Sunday Morning
I woke with the sunrise and got right
up. I had to take a walk so I grabbed my camera hoping to
find something to shoot along the way. I was not
disappointed.
That walk lasted maybe 20 minutes but
was satisfying. I returned to find the boys were busy
making pancakes and sausage breakfast, complete with
fresh-brewed coffee! It doesn't get much better than this.
After breakfast I took a short walk close to camp and found more
things to photograph.
The boys and adults were terrific on
this trip. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday and
Sunday. Here's the whole crew. Yes, Alex, I found a
way to get everyone in the picture! Is it real, or is it
Memorex...?
