Spring Family Camping Trip
June 13th, 2010 Camping,Family Camping Trip
We knew when these families registered for the Spring Family Camping Trip that this adventure would be special. Five of the kids are separated in age by only a few years and the parents are interesting, laid-back people. The trip also included a 14-year-old (and we love camping with teens) and a 15-month old (we’ll get back to that story in a bit)!
This camping trip included something for everyone: a cool stream to play in and friends to play with for the younger kids, a tree to climb for the 14-year-old, nap time for one mom, and blue skies for everyone!
The moment we arrived at our camp on the bank of the clear mountain stream near Raven Cliff Falls, the kids threw off their shoes and waded into the water. They built dams, skipped rocks, splashed, laughed (and got their clothes wet again and again). Watching this, the words of one of the dads are still with me: “In the woods, I feel like I can just trust my kids’ abilities and let them explore. It makes me feel like I’m a great dad!”
Some moments that I particularly loved seeing:
One boy collected snails and built a small snail-garden with leaves and rocks in the middle of our camp.
The 14-year-old grinned widely as we packed more and more of his family’s gear on his back. He behaved like an old-pro in the woods, despite this being his first backcountry camping trip.
After I taught her our dish and hand-washing system, one 5-year-old girl took it upon herself to make sure there was always fresh water so people could stay clean. I loved watching her periodically check the water, and then refill our portable “kitchen sink” from the creek as she felt it was necessary.
As we began cooking dinner on Saturday night, one mom went to her tent to get some supplies. We didn’t see her again for 45 minutes! When she emerged, she exclaimed, “I didn’t mean to take a nap, but it was GREAT!” I’m so glad a camping trip can be that relaxing for a mother of three.
Though rain had been forecasted for the weekend, the storm came through on Friday and the sun broke through the clouds the moment we turned on to the Richard Russell Scenic Highway. As a result, we leisurely set up camp and had a lunch of sandwiches, apples, and dried fruit. Afterwards, we set out on a day hike.
On our previous family camping trip at this location, a group that included a 3-year-old had completed the 5-mile hike to Raven Cliff Falls – a spectacular waterfall dropping through a fissure in the cliff. So we departed camp confident of reaching our destination. The 15-month-old was in a backpack and the second youngest child was four. After a mile of hiking, we took a break at an intermediate (and also beautiful) waterfall. We took off our shoes, waded in the water, and scrambled across rocks. All the kids got soaked, and who could blame them! After awhile, we put our shoes back on, and to my surprise all decided to hike back to camp and have dinner. It was a great decision for our group and solidified my belief that trip leaders must pay attention to the needs of the group, not the destination. So what that we didn’t make it to Raven Cliff Falls? We had a great adventure and got to have a leisurely evening around camp.
The 14-year-old, however, was a bit disappointed about our choice. He was good-natured and really cared for the younger kids 
(see the photo of him napping with his little sister), but he was also very athletic and energetic and wanted ADVENTURE. So that evening, after everyone else went to their tents, he and I took a night hike – without headlamps! We waited until our eyes adjusted and then used our intuition and the faint moonlight to take accurate steps along the trail. I’ve done this kind of hike with groups of teens, but never in such a small group. We usually make it 50 feet before the kids beg to turn the lights back on…but not with this young man. We walked almost two miles in the dark. We snuck past other campers huddled (with non-adjusted eyes) around their campfires, we found bioluminescence on a rock, and we scrambled down to a waterfall and sat in the moonlight next to the ghostly water. For someone who was new to camping, this young man was very impressive.
The next morning, we arose to coffee, tea, cocoa, bagels and oatmeal prepared by Dana. The kids wanted a fire, so I helped them build one. And while I was helping the adults pack up camp, Dana took the kids on a creek-walking adventure. They found a rope swing over the creek (which they later showed me) and did some bushwacking (a favorite type of adventure for kids). But the sweetest thing I saw that morning was that Adrienne (the mom of the famous accidental nap) finished styling her 4-year-old daughter’s hair and then proceeded to do both other girls’ hair as well. It was the first time I’ve seen participants leave the woods looking more stylish than when they arrived.
Finally, during all of our adventures, remember that we were accompanied by a 15-month-old. When Dana and I were helping the kids use the bathroom in the woods, her parents were changing her diaper. When we were eating our sandwiches, she was nursing. When we were hiking, she was on her daddy’s back.
She rarely cried and instead toddled around camp looking at snails and picking up sticks, all with a big grin on her face. On our last adventure of the weekend, wading through the creek, she even joined us in only her diaper.
Will we take another toddler on a camping trip? Yes, of course, but these parents have taught us the right questions to ask families beforehand: How does your child sleep in unfamiliar places? What are his eating habits? Does she mind being held by strangers?
Everyone who was a part of this trip was glad to have a 15-month-old along, and for my part, if I could take this group of families to the woods every weekend, I would!
For more photos, please visit our Facebook page.
Len Foote Hike Inn Day Hike
June 13th, 2010 Day Hike
On Saturday, a group of Sure Foot Hikers met at Amicalola Falls State Park for a Leave No Trace-themed Educational Day Hike to the Len Foote Hike Inn, a LEED-certified green building in the Blue Ridge near Springer Mountain.
The group was composed of first-time hikers, returning hikers, and well-seasoned hikers and was led by Sure Foot’s Catie Beaulieu.
The group began the ascent to the Inn as Catie told the history of Len Foote Hike Inn and explained its application of Leave-No-Trace (LNT) principles. While LNT was a theme throughout, the hiking group quickly bonded through telling stories, cooling off in the stream crossings, observing snails basking in the sun, and identifying flowers about to bloom.
Pacing and patience were key to our success: pace in our stride and patience in our pride. Despite having never met, we were talking like old friends by the time we reached the Inn. After being welcomed to the Hike Inn with ice cold tea and chocolate, pecan, and peach cobbler pies, we relaxed and ate our lunch. Next we took the sustainability tour at the Inn, which introduced us, first-hand, to the creative and innovative ways the Hike Inn has developed to recycle everything— food, water, energy, and humanure (seriously!)
The hike down from the Inn was peaceful as we were content, happy, and more aware of our surroundings. We observed several bright green and blue dragonflies flying through the tunnel of rhododendron and butterflies landing on petals right in front of us.
In all, we conquered ten miles in seven hours. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.
Spring Quaker Camping Trip
June 9th, 2010 Camping,Family Camping Trip
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see there’s long (or always) been a connection between spirituality and the outdoors. Recall Buddha sitting under a sacred fig tree until enlightenment struck. Think of Moses suddenly having the ability to part the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape slavery. Remember how Jesus disappeared into the wilderness for 40 days following his baptism. And so on and so on … Or, if you’re not so inclined toward organized religion, go back to Thoreau, who chose a relatively secular bout of quiet at Walden Pond.
We Sure Footers have long been excited about facilitating outdoors experiences for faith groups and our Quaker Camping Trip was the first: a one-night adventure that brought together 11 adventurous Quakers from around Georgia for community-building, river-exploration, reflection, worship, and – of course- s’mores.
This adventure also included another first: a three-generation family of campers: Leszlie, her children T.J. and Eli, and her parents Denny and Elaine. For a long stretch on our first day, all three generations spent time floating in the Chatooga River, enjoying the view of the Dick’s Creek waterfall downstream and the forest upstream. Most crossed the river to South Carolina. And at one point, T.J. and Eli joined other adventurers – Bert, Merrick and Mary – in conquering a giant rock outcrop in the middle of the river.
That night before dinner we sat around cutting vegetables, toasting buttered bread over the fire, and getting to know one another. Cathi – a seasoned Girl Scout leader and outdoorswoman – got to relax and let the Sure Foot guides worry about meals and the forecast of rain. Eleven-year-old Merrick has gone on Sure Foot trips with her school, and this time was able to proudly show her mom – a first-timer with Sure Foot – the proper way to set up the tent and arrange gear. Karen and Bert were celebrating Karen’s recent retirement from her job. Before we ate, we circled up and each named something we were grateful for that the day had brought. 
Among the things listed: the river swim, the fire started by T.J., Eli and Merrick, and the sunny weather.
That night, the rain was kind enough to wait for us to fall asleep before it started – and then kept going. Inside the tents the raindrops echo, making even a drizzle sound like a downpour! But – as luck would have it – the rain stopped in time for breakfast, coffee and cocoa. And then – just as we were gathering under our group tarp for Sunday morning worship – it started again. And then – just as we were finishing – it stopped again. A few of us got a morning swim in, many of us – including Bert and Karen – took a hike — and by the time we packed up, most of our gear was dry and all of us felt accomplished. A swim to South Carolina! A worship-full weekend in the woods! New friends! Truly, it was a joyous weekend.
For more photos, see our Facebook page.
50+ Women’s Camping Trip
June 8th, 2010 CampingWe are pleased to introduce our participants and guest bloggers to tell you their experiences of our recent camping trip for women 50 and over, Susan, Barbara, and Marlene.
“Blooming & Still Lingering: Turning 60 in the Woods” by Susan P.
Turning sixty felt a bit more difficult to me than other birthdays and I started preparing mentally for it at fifty-seven. When my sister Barbara suggested that we mark it with a trip together, I started planning a ten-day present to myself doing the things I love with the people I love.
Barbara met me in Memphis for our road trip to Atlanta where we would spend weekdays exploring the city, precede it with a camping trip in Northeast Georgia with Sure Foot Adventures (my son’s business), and follow it by joining my husband for a contra dance weekend in Huntsville.
Having placed my trust in Jonah for three days on the Appalachian Trail a number of years ago and feeling confident, I had a few worries this time related more to my age, namely bugs, joints, and being cold and wet, and to how it would go for my sister.
Our little group of over 50′s led by Jonah and his wife Dana and including Dana’s mother Marlene headed to NE Georgia late Friday morning stopping for some good southern cooking in Rabbittown. Paring down for packing in is a great lesson for letting go and creating freedom from things that encumber us at this stage of life. Still, my hip hurt from carrying the pack after only a short walk to camp. But beautiful weather and landscape and ease of setting up camp were exhilarating. We were soon ready for our first adventure with Sure Foot – hiking to the Chattooga River and swimming to South Carolina (the opposite bank).
It took awhile to get ourselves into the cold water and the current ran stronger than some of us expected but with encouragement and sometimes help from Jonah and Dana, we were all able to make it across and back. We discovered that our physical balance isn’t as good as it used to be. At one point the “three little old ladies” were up to our waists, holding on to each other, navigating slippery rocks and sinking sand. At the same time, this experience and the whole weekend, tapped the inner balance and strength that we have been developing over our lives.
Back at the campsite we gathered wood, built an amazing pyre-style fire, chopped vegetables by headlamp, ate a delicious gourmet camp meal of tortellini with tomato parmesan sauce, and fell into bed feeling satisfied and successful and grateful that Jonah and Dana had outfitted us with the deluxe camping pad set up.
“Simple Joys & Wonder” by Barbara P.
My home is in the Arizona Sonoran desert. Compared to Tucson, the physical contrast of Georgia is extreme. Dana and Jonah drove us to a prime spot in the foothills of the northeastern Georgia mountains to celebrate my sister Susan’s 60th birthday — into an abundance of green and softly majestic woods, near breathtaking falls, spilling into an awe inspiring river. A choice campsite was chosen next to a brisk creek that both served as our refrigerator and soothed my sleep. We spent some portion of each day exploring the river and our surroundings.
While I love spending time in a relatively cushy mountain cabin belonging to my friends in Arizona, I last “tent-camped” with my sister when she accompanied me on my move to Tucson over 19 years ago. I approached the Georgia trip with some very heightened nerves and an equal amount of positive enthusiasm. How would this 50+ women’s/family Sure Foot excursion turn out with predicted intermittent thunder and lightening storms, persistent low back problems, achy joints, a 30 lb. pack, not to mention a few extra pounds of my own? Even a quarter mile pack in hike sounded hard to me.
But I thought, who better to share a tent with than my sister, and what a chance to take a look at our lives now. What a great way to get to know Marlene, Dana (new family) and my nephew Jonah, who I have only gotten to know on rare occasions. I decided to keep an open mind and put trust in Jonah and Dana, very experienced wilderness leaders, after all—this was also an opportunity for me to slowly usher in the idea of 60, which for me is a short year and a half away from Susan’s current transition.
Jonah readjusted and tightened up my heavy pack before we took off, and I realized that not only was I in good hands, but the state of the art of wilderness equipment is designed for more comfortable distribution than I remembered. In the last twenty years—the up to date, compact weightlessness of tents and equipment, with ease in assembly, etc. is quantifiable. The feather light trekking pole provided my “third leg” on the trail, and boosted my confidence. Jonah and Dana set up home-like surroundings at our camp and showed us how to “leave no trace”. Their system of planning, sorting and packing, clothes, food and equipment and storing food in the woods was impressive. I found the pack list on the website to be very helpful in pre-planning my part. At our campsite, a huge tarp-covered area that Jonah created was room enough for all of us to sit under, and in our heavy storm it kept all of our wood, our packs, our equipment, and us dry. We never missed a meal due to weather.
I soon remembered how being immersed in nature could make me feel so alive and comfortable at the same time. This was largely due to the detailed arrangements that were made for us by our high-spirited guides, who continued to create a safe and appealing environment for us, throughout our weekend.
Saturday morning’s campfire breakfast included coffee/tea, fresh free-range eggs, and bacon and toasted French bread. After breakfast we took a short hike to a calmer part of the Chattooga River, to a sandy beach area with deeper water. Dana and I stayed ashore talking, while Susan, Marlene and Jonah swam across to South Carolina (again) to a sturdy sandy ridge on the opposite shore. One hundred yards further downstream, to a shelf of rocks that spanned across the river, they later encountered a friendly group of kayakers, and walked the rocks back to the Georgia side. All three took the shoreline trail back to the beach, and we resumed our hike together.
Back at the campsite, a strong smell of rain was in the air; the rumbling thunder began. I unconsciously must have known that my tent was where I wanted to be for the storm—even though the others were hanging out closer to our camp tarp area, playing games, having lunch and eventually waiting it out. I relished being cozy in my soft, warm sleeping bag, dozing in and out between loud cracks of thunder and the lightening. I felt held by the earth, loving the sounds of the rain pouring down on my tent and all around me. After an hour or more, I put on my rain gear and decided to join everyone for a few more games of Quiddler, a fun card and word game, under the tarp.
Late afternoon the rain stopped and around four p.m., we headed into the woods again after a rather lazy day, and agreed that we could enjoy hiking until dark. On return to camp, we all gathered to chop vegetables and help Jonah prepare a hearty African groundnut stew. The meal was very satisfying, followed by an extravagant camp-out cheesecake, chilled in our creek, and aptly prepared by Dana. Jonah lit a match and we all sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Susan.
We had clearly come to the end of another meaningful day of simple joys and wonder—cleared inner space integrated with the closeness of others. I found myself feeling courageous and without the worry that I would somehow not be “up to” everyone’s level. The trip was in fact, a safe zone for making choices in accordance with individual desire. While there were definitely moments where I could not “move and groove” as fluidly as I did in my 30’s, I soon learned that adjusting to my personal limitations was not hard and self-acceptance came easy. The whole venture included both the depth and the liveliness that I needed and wished for on this very special outing. Thank you Sure Foot Adventures!! Thank you Jonah and Dana! Thank you Susan and Marlene!
“Adventure with a Capital S” by Marlene G.
After spending most of my childhood summers at camp, I had looked forward to going into the wild with Dana and Jonah for their special “54+ Moms and Aunt” weekend, especially getting to know better Jonah’s mom Susan and his Aunt Barbara. Now these two brave women and I had just spent two days in the woods with our lovely adult children who encouraged us and protected us as we body surfed the rapids, swam across the Chattooga to South Carolina, and hiked the woods near Dick’s Creek near Clayton. As we hiked, Jonah had introduced us to the flora and fauna– wildflowers, some with tongue twisting names like 
pipsissewa, others exotic to the ears and a feast for the eyes– delicate trillium, hemlock “popcorn,“ rattlesnake plantain, blooming mountain laurel everywhere, and gorgeous ferns blanketing much of the forest floor.
Early morning day three, I woke with a tinge of sadness that our little adventure would soon end. The air was slightly chilly after the downpour the day before, so I checked out the fire ring for possibilities. It was still a little wet, but there was dry wood under the tarp (good planning D&J). Soon a one-match fire reminded me of that great sense of accomplishment–that “I can do anything feeling”– that I had felt nearly 40 years before as a camper (of course it helped a that Dana puffed some strategic breaths on the dry kindling). .
Sitting next to the fire, warming our toes, munching toasty bagels and sipping coffee, reading, chatting–it was the perfect start to another glorious day. Then after a short hike back to the river, we broke camp, a process that has changed so much over the years for the better. I am so impressed with how camping equipment has morphed, especially waterproof tents that fit into impossibly small light-weight bags and sleeping bags that scrunch into other tiny bags. D&J were careful not to overload our backpacks coming or going, but we were feeling strong and capable after our mountain adventure.
It had been a weekend of bonding with two wonderful adventurous women and our guides, having more fun than I could imagine, relearning that we could hike, swim, cook, play and survive very well, thank you, in the wild (even pee and sleep on the ground!). The weekend certainly had been full of many Sure Foot AdventureS (with a capital “S). When do we go again?
Photos
View photos from our adventures on Facebook
