Week One

June 6, 2009

The first week of the Cheerio Adventure is coming to a close. In all it has felt like it has been once continues day of non-stop activity. From backpacking and rock climbing to caving, white water rating and canoeing; the week was a jumbled experience. With rain joining us for the majority of the week, the challenge factor was heightened. But great memories were made during those challenging times. The following rap, written by Rapper Billy Joe and friends is the only way I can think to sum up the week:

Yo, here we go. It’s the story of our week.
Let’s begin on the very first day
Super Ninja time is a fun game to play
On the Second day we climbed on a rock
Then we ate mac and cheese from a very big pot
Look over there it's day number three
Backpacking all day makes you very dirty
Now day four we went in the cave
It was dark and scary but we all behaved
On day five the ways were very high
Ellie, Wynne, and Kelly all fell out
The floated all around and splashed all about
Day six came and we were paddleing along

Then we got on the bus and sang the potato song

We played Mafia throughout each day
We tried Andy’s riddles and we did okay
On Sunday we go to Camp Cheerio
Now everyone Noodle dance here we go.

Staff Training

June 13, 2009

Staff training has finally come to an end. I say finally only because this was the longest training I have ever encountered. Two and a half weeks ago I arrived. Since then, I have backpacked, rock climbed, rappelled, slept in a tent on the top of a mountain during a thunderstorm, canoed, taken wilderness first aid, kayaked, learned CPR, zip lined, mountain boarded, played games, cooked meals, learned policies, cleaned bathrooms, and laughed so hard my side and face muscles hurt.
The staff consists of 6 trip leaders (3 guys, 3 girls one of which is me), 3 coordinators, and 3 full time staff. Many of the staff I worked with during the spring session at Camp Cheerio which has made my transition run a lot smoother.

Life is a bit more rugged here. Although during staff training I stayed in a cabin, come tomorrow I will be in a platform canvas tent sharing space with seven 10-14 year olds and a co-trip leader.

Whether I am mentally and physically prepared makes little difference. Right now I feel like I have been hit by a truck. I have bruises that I am clueless to how they got there. All I can figure out is the majority of them came from the capstone of our training: The Adventure Challenge.

The 6 trip leaders were paired off and each team had to embark on an 18-station journey encompassing all that we had learned over the past 2.5 weeks. Nate and I were paired together and dubbed the Old Folks as we found ourselves competing against people 22 and under. Ah, but with age also comes wisdom. Our combined experience proved to be an important asset as we gained almost an hour advantage on the first station of knot tying; something I have been doing for the past 8 years. Knowing what to pack also was an advantage as my Jet Boil stove shot us even further ahead by boiling water in 3 minutes. Nate’s knowledge of the wilderness, previous experience at Cheerio, and skills on the water sealed our lead. After a 12-hour venture, the Old Folks were the first to cross the finish line.