Camp Tawonga Time

June 22-July 3, 2008

The buses have pulled away signally the end of session 2. Time is a funny thing when you work at a camp. At one moment you think that time has been flying by but then a minute later you feel like something happened an eternity ago.

Two weeks ago there was a thunderstorm which is very rare for this time of year in the western sierras. Lightening hit on the next hilltop over and started several fires. To me the fires seem like they have been going on for a long time. I would drive past them on my way to Yosemite almost every other day making it hard to believe that they have only been burning for two weeks.

My days have been running together because of the nonstop schedule that was required during these two short weeks of camp. Here is the breakdown.

Week 1
Tuesday:
Wake up: 5 am. Run to get vehicle. Wake up bunk. Run to pick up food. Check all supplies. Talk with other driver. Round up 12 kids and 2 counselors. Load trailer. Get everyone into vehicle.

Hit the road: 6:45am. Pull over for car sickness. Pull over for pee breaks.

Arrive at trailhead: 9:15am. Unload trailer. Feed kids breakfast. Distribute food for the rest of the trip. Have safety talk.

Start hiking 10:30am. Fill water bottles. Fix hot spots. Readjust backpacks. Play trail games. Prepare lunch.

Hike 2 more miles. Bandage scrapes. Fix broken water bottles. Apply more sunscreen.

Arrive at campsite: 2:45pm. Set up sleeping area. Set up kitchen area. Find food area. Find bathroom area.

Give poop in the woods talk. Put all food into bear canisters. Go find swimming hole. Be the lifeguard on duty. Fill water bottles.

Start dinner: 5:00pm.

Serve dinner: 6:15pm. Eat. Make dessert. Show campers how to clean dishes. Clean up cookware.

Prepare for evening activity: 7:35pm. Do evening LNT (leave no trace) activity.

Watch the sun go down: 8:45pm. Have the kids get into their sleeping bags. Get a cough drop for the coughing child. Talk to the homesick child. Console the child that was bit by an ant and is afraid to go to sleep. Think about what the morning is going to look like. Try to fall asleep…

Wednesday:

Wake up: 5 am. Pack all my gear. Take all the food out of the bear canisters. Start to make breakfast. Wake kids up. Get them moving and repacking. Feed them breakfast. Fill water bottles. Redistribute leftover food.

Hit the trail: 8am. Fix hot spots. Readjust backpacks. Play trail games. Have snack. Hike more. Bandage scrapes. Apply more sunscreen.

Make it back to the trailhead: 11:30am. Fix lunch. Have a closing circle. Separate personal gear from camp gear. Load trailer. Get kids in the car. Drive back. Pick up wilderness permit for next trip.

Arrive at Camp: 3:15pm. Have kids clean all their camp gear. Throw away trash. Have each kid check in gear. Say goodbye. Refill fuel canisters.

3:58pm. Prepare for next bunk.

4:00pm. Have Backpacking prep meeting with next bunk. Play name game. Go over list of things to bring. Distribute group gear.

5:30pm. Check in with supervisor. Turn in vehicle. Go to infirmary to turn in meds from last trip. Pick up meds for next trip. Restock first aid kit.

Eat dinner: 6:30pm. Meet Counselors for Sunday trip.

7:30pm: Meet with transportation staff. Get vehicle keys. Stop by kitchen to check pack out. Go do the pre-drive inspection for vehicle.

Take a shower: 8:45pm. Repack backpack. Double check all paper work. Take care of last minute adjustments for next day’s trip.

10:00pm Go to bed.

Thursday, Sunday, and Tuesday Repeat all of the above with a few minor changes here and there.

After writing all of that down I still find it hard to believe that I made it through. It was a lot of work but there was plenty of pay off in the end. I got to go to 4 amazing places in Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera of my own. So I have very few pictures to show of my adventures at the moment. I have some of the campers promising to send me some, and I am hoping that it will happen. The views were just breathtaking. If you have never been to Yosemite NP, you should put in on your list of places to go. Gorgeous Mountains and spectacular waterfalls are everywhere in the backcountry and really not that hard to get to.
With all the logistics that were running through my head all the time it was hard to connect with all the kids during the 36 hour period that I was with each bunk. But at the end of each trip I think that I was able to walk away with a gem experience. Even if that gem means that a kid that absolutely hated backpacking prior to the trip walks away the next day only disliking backpacking, at least it is a step in the right direction.