YouthPride Summer Camping Trip
September 1st, 2010 Camping,YouthPride
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.
YouthPride Fall Camping Trip
November 16th, 2009 Camping,YouthPrideThough I gush about every group that I lead a trip for, I want to particularly praise this YouthPride group that I spent the weekend with near Tray Mountain:
The participants ranged from 14 – 23 years old, with two older adults participating as well. Everyone was positive, upbeat, and game for adventures. And our adventures were many and varied: driving miles on forest service roads, making fire, day hiking to waterfalls, backpacking, summiting Tray Mountain, etc.
The trip started out with some confusion, however. One participant missed her bus, so our group split up so T.H. could pick her up from her house.
Then, when we arrived in north Georgia, it seemed as though the whole world had descended upon the mountains. Hundreds of motorcycles. Hoards of hikers. Caravans of tour buses. I’ve never seen the likes! Our group stopped at Dukes Creek Falls for a day hike while T.H. and E. caught up with us. I’d never visited Dukes Creek (probably because it’s a mile hike to the falls – too far for a side trip, too short for a day hike)… but it is gorgeous! The rain this year has really made north Georgia a waterfall-lover’s delight.
Once our group reunited, we drove another 2 miles to Raven Cliff Falls trailhead, where we found even MORE people! I ran down the trail a mile or two to check for possible campsites and passed at least 75-100 hikers. Though there were available campsites, but we were discouraged by the lack of privacy, and decided to move on and find a campsite near Tray Mountain. As the sun dipped low in the sky, we had completed a tour of Helen-area trailheads, but had only just arrived at our destination. Though this might souns like a wild goose chase, we were enjoying each other’s company, the air was warm, and the drive through the mountains was beautiful.
Finally, we had found a location remote enough for solitude. The participants pitched their tents with little or no help from me and then we had a surprise: B.D. was carrying a bow drill and all the tools to make fire without matches! As some participants gathered firewood, S. (a softball catcher) threw the bear ropes into a tree, E. torn down and rebuilt (smaller) the fire ring, and J. collected & purified water from a gushing spring, I began preparations for dinner. Then, B. demonstrated how to make fire with his bow drill. I’ve gotten quite good at building pyres and starting one-match fires, but this was my first experience with the bow drill – it’s quite impressive. The participants sang the ABCs and by the time they were done, B. had a spark in his nest of tulip tree inner bark. E. blew and fire blazed. Truly impressive.
While some made fire, others chopped onions, garlic, carrots, cheese, and sausage. Then T., E., and I tended the pots until our Backcountry Shepherd’s Pie was ready. We ate our fill and didn’t even have to pack out any leftovers! Yay for Ellen T. (LNT=Leave No Trace)!
Around the campfire, our conversations spanned TV shows to philosophical questions such as “Would you rather live in a world with truth and no beauty or beauty and no truth?” Though our time in the woods did not have a strict program, participants had the space to learn camp skills, connect with each other, and succeed at a new endeavor. On the surface, teaching may not be evident, but learning was constant. Most of all, I love watching (and being a part of) the friendships and trust built within the group.
When we awoke with the sun (7 am), the air was already warmer than it had been the night before. The sun rose as we cooked bagels and spread on cream cheese & Nutella. As we were eating, a lone hiked walked by, decked out in play jewelry. A thru-hiker! “Zipper” (her trail name), was 50 miles from completing a flip-flop thru-hike (she started in Virginia, hiked to Maine, then re-started in Virginia and hiked south). We fed her a bagel and she regaled us with stories of the Appalachian Trail and then departed. It’s always special to share time with a pilgrim.
Our final pilgrimage was to the top of Tray Mountain, where we ate lunch. The sky was deep blue and we could see for miles: Lake Chatuge to the north, Brasstown Bald to the west, Mount Yonah to the south, and Lake Burton to the east. What a fulfilling mountaintop to end our trip on!
As we drove home, I was tired but invigorated by the community spirit and deep conversation of the weekend. I look forward to the next YouthPride camping trip in the spring!
To view more photos of our trip, visit the Sure Foot Adventures Facebook page.
YouthPride Camping Trip
June 8th, 2009 Camping,YouthPrideI just completed one of the most enjoyable wilderness trips that I’ve led in awhile. The participants were not all experts in the woods and half the folks hadn’t followed the gear list fully. However, everyone was upbeat, open to new experiences, friendly, and focused on building community–the internal gear list that really matters!
This group of 11 YouthPride members and volunteers spent two days and one night next to the Chattooga River at the border of Georgia and South Carolina. In fact, several of us swam to South Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Though I’ve taken many groups to this location, we had by far the best weather this weekend. Sunny and highs in the 80s. The river was much higher than I’ve ever seen it, and Dicks Creek Falls was roaring.
After setting up camp on Saturday, we all went down to the falls, to relax, eat lunch, and have a group meeting. But the water was so loud that we just waded around, sunbathed (or burned, as in one or two folks’ case), tried to swim upstream, and sat in the coldest whirlpool ever! What a nice way to spend an afternoon.
The evening was particularly meaningful. We broke up into several “teams” — one group worked on renovating rebuilding an overused fire ring, another group collected firewood and sorted it into sizes, and a third group chopped vegetables and prepared dinner. The pasta was delicious, and then we lit the fire. That night the group talked until 1am about all sorts of personal and emotional topics. It reminded me that the wilderness is a beautiful place to built community and connect with others. After spending the day working with each other, we had a safe space to stare at the fire and talk about deep ideas. I think shared work leads to community, but conversation and deep, non-judgemental listening cements the community’s bond. Our camping trip provided all of this.
The next day, we played “get to know you” games, laying around on sleeping pads and laughing. Finally, many of us went on a day hike to a different section of the Chattooga. Then four of us swam upstream, lounged on rocks in the sun, then floated back to the rest of the group.
The big excitement happened on the way back from the river, when C “face-planted” while weaving through a fallen tree. Ankle-sprain and bloody nose, but hopefully no permanent damage! Here’s a photo:
When we returned to camp, G and J had virtually completed lunch preparations! What a treat!
I felt like all the participants learned a lot about living in the woods and the group came together as a true community. I look forward to the next time YouthPride goes with me on a trip!
The group viewing T's baby photos.
Photos
View photos from our adventures on Facebook
