Photography Day Hike:
We've teamed up with Nature Photographer David Foster for a Nature Photography Day hike.
October 30, 2010
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YouthPride Summer Camping Trip
September 1st, 2010 First-time Backpacking, Overnight, SwimmingNo Responses » Read or Post Your Own
YouthPride camping trips have always been some of my favorites because they have drawn interesting, upbeat participants, and my co-leader of these trips (Tana H.) is someone I enjoy spending time with. However, after Tana had a major surgery in the spring, I feared that I’d not be leading any more YouthPride trips. Without a partner within YouthPride, it’s hard to pull off something as “off-the-beaten-path” as a camping trip.
Miraculously (and really, not surprisingly, knowing Tana), there she was, just a couple months after surgery, ready to go to the woods! And though only one previous participant was able to come, the trip filled up several days ahead of time. We left the YouthPride building on Saturday morning with excitement and only a little anticipation of the gray skies above us.
As we drove north, the skies darkened and we saw the tell-tale sign of rain - oncoming cars with headlights on in the daytime. Finally, just north of Gainesville, the clouds opened up and the rain came down in torrents. Hoping the weather would move on in the next hour, we continued driving. But unfortunately, it was still pouring when we arrived in Clayton.
Our spirits were still high and the temperature still warm, so we hunkered down under a pavilion in the Warwoman Dell recreation area. I’ve always loved the name “Warwoman.” On one trip we led with Counterpane School, two students even made up a song about a warwoman. Anyway, I don’t know the true story about why the area is called Warwoman (there is a road, a creek, and a dell), but from what I’ve read, the original Warwoman was either Nancy Ward (a Cherokee Beloved Woman) or Nancy Hart (an Anglo leader of a Patriot band in Revolutionary War times). Both of these women’s stories are well worth reading!
Notice that this blog entry has been more about getting to the woods than being in them? Well, it continues…
We finally left Warwoman Dell around 3:00 pm after telling stories, laughing, and lying on picnic tables for a couple hours. It was still raining, but we were tired of waiting around, so we drove to Sandy Ford Road. The road is called that because there is a ford across Dicks Creek that we usually drive through before reaching the parking area. When we arrived at the ford, the creek was swollen from all the rain and there was a black Dodge Avenger stuck in the ford. We pulled in and parked and watched as a local gentleman with a truck helped pull the muscle car out of the water.
Still raining, our group decided to take a day hike to the waterfall and then decide (based on the rain) whether or not to go home or set up camp. Once we entered the woods and I relinquished my anxiety about the weather, the skies cleared. Happily, we pitched camp and even started a fire with the soggy wood.
Though we had a nice nice eating, talking, and roasting marshmallows around the fire that evening, everyone was tired and excited about swimming in the Chattooga River the next morning.
And that’s precisely what we did! Not everyone was a confident enough swimmer to make it to South Carolina, but we all spent time lounging along the riverbank, soaking in the suns’ rays that were so absent the day before, and marveling in the beauty that surrounded us.
This camping trip showed us how nature can seamlessly unveil a beautiful day after a dreary one. Though our trip was a success in terms of enjoyment and adventure, it also taught the lesson that after the strongest storm comes the most beautiful sunset.
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Spring Family Camping Trip
June 13th, 2010 Overnight, Tree ClimbingNo Responses » Read or Post Your Own
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.
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Spring Quaker Camping Trip
June 9th, 2010 Overnight, SwimmingNo Responses » Read or Post Your Own
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.
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