Winter Camping! What a great weekend we had! Sixteen adventurous souls trekked into the deep woods on Zacharias' farm, built shelters, cooked food, slept in the outdoors and had lots of fun. Have a look at our photos from the weekend.
Shelter-building takes a lot of time, if you intend to be comfortable for the night. Some of ours were so comfy it was a shame to use them only once! Quinzees, as we re-discovered, are a LOT of work, but there's something very cool about sleeping in a snow shelter (no pun intended). The big challenge is to keep it from overheating and getting wet inside. Lean-to's can take a variety of forms, and ours ranged from the simple to the 'experimental', as the photos show. Everyone built their own, in teams of two or three, and everyone got some sleep.
The night sky was clear, moonless & perfect for a stargazing hike. We also had some fun with Eric's bear bangers.
The food was great, and the Wardens prepared it all. They even made some excellent ice cream (which is great on the porridge in the morning, by the way).
Winter camping was a completely new experience for one participant. Misaki Kubo, 16, hails from Saga in southern Japan. She was a good sport and pitched in with the work and the fun.
Special thanks to Bruce & Judy Zacharias for the use of their land. Thanks also to Bruce, Eldon and the Wardens who went out the prior weekend to get a few things prepared.
In the words of one Warden, "This was the most fun I've had at a camp in a long time!'
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Megan's Speech
The following is a speech composed by Megan Z. for a school public speaking competition:
"Hello Judges, ladies and gentlemen, and fellow students.
How many of you know of a youth organization that encourages you to carry knives and play with fire? I am in that group, and it is called Junior Forest Wardens.
In this club I have had many fun experiences. We go camping lots and do many outdoor activities.
Once when we were hiking in the St Cyr Hills, one kid pretended to have a sprained ankle, and we had to pretend to treat it. Our leader asked us what to look for when somebody gets injured, and the leader's son said you have to watch for 'eternal bleeding'.
Every year we go camping at Matheson Lake. One year, one of our leaders thought he'd be really cool and drive right up onto the beach. So he turned his boat towards the beach going really fast. Instead of driving right up onto the beach, he hit a sandbar about two feet off the beach. The boat stopped, but him and his son didn't. They both went flying onto the front of the boat. Neither of them were hurt, but the son was kind of mad at his dad.
That same campout we went hiking and canoing. The Junior Forest Warden group was split into two groups. One group canoed across the lake and another group hiked around it. Both groups met at the other side of the lake. Since the group I was in walked around the lake, we got to canoe back. But I think we would have been smarter to walk back around because the canoes were docked on a beach of lumpy loathsome loon droppings. It was almost like quicksand in some places because it would just grab your feet and try to drag you down. One camper got stuck up to his waist and he lost one of his shoes. He sure didn't try to get it back, though.
We also have winter campouts, which are just great if you're a polar bear. The first winter campout I went to it was -22C, although it felt like -222C. There were 5 big snow piles and we hollowed them out to make quinzees. Imagine sleeping (or attempting to) on a pile of frozen square bales. It sure gives you a new meaning of cool! Of the ten people who tried sleeping in a quinzee only five made the night outside. The other five went to the nearby cabin where all the sane people spent the night.
We don't just camp. We also learn carving, knot tying, orienteering, first aid and outdoor cooking. I have had many good experiences with junior Forest Wardens.
Join us .... if you dare!
Thank you for listening to my speech"
And thank you, Megan, for letting us post it!
"Hello Judges, ladies and gentlemen, and fellow students.
How many of you know of a youth organization that encourages you to carry knives and play with fire? I am in that group, and it is called Junior Forest Wardens.
In this club I have had many fun experiences. We go camping lots and do many outdoor activities.
Once when we were hiking in the St Cyr Hills, one kid pretended to have a sprained ankle, and we had to pretend to treat it. Our leader asked us what to look for when somebody gets injured, and the leader's son said you have to watch for 'eternal bleeding'.
Every year we go camping at Matheson Lake. One year, one of our leaders thought he'd be really cool and drive right up onto the beach. So he turned his boat towards the beach going really fast. Instead of driving right up onto the beach, he hit a sandbar about two feet off the beach. The boat stopped, but him and his son didn't. They both went flying onto the front of the boat. Neither of them were hurt, but the son was kind of mad at his dad.
That same campout we went hiking and canoing. The Junior Forest Warden group was split into two groups. One group canoed across the lake and another group hiked around it. Both groups met at the other side of the lake. Since the group I was in walked around the lake, we got to canoe back. But I think we would have been smarter to walk back around because the canoes were docked on a beach of lumpy loathsome loon droppings. It was almost like quicksand in some places because it would just grab your feet and try to drag you down. One camper got stuck up to his waist and he lost one of his shoes. He sure didn't try to get it back, though.
We also have winter campouts, which are just great if you're a polar bear. The first winter campout I went to it was -22C, although it felt like -222C. There were 5 big snow piles and we hollowed them out to make quinzees. Imagine sleeping (or attempting to) on a pile of frozen square bales. It sure gives you a new meaning of cool! Of the ten people who tried sleeping in a quinzee only five made the night outside. The other five went to the nearby cabin where all the sane people spent the night.
We don't just camp. We also learn carving, knot tying, orienteering, first aid and outdoor cooking. I have had many good experiences with junior Forest Wardens.
Join us .... if you dare!
Thank you for listening to my speech"
And thank you, Megan, for letting us post it!
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