More from the Weekend

We cooked maybe 50 foil packets of food for the boys and their parents and siblings.

I led a night hike where we saw some native plants, talked about how to identify poison ivy, and saw a tiny fawn curled up at the base of a tree. That led to a brief discussion about what NOT to do with wild animals including touching them, getting too close, etc.

We entered a clearing right around dusk and I mentioned that it would be prime deer viewing time in a prime deer viewing location and, as if on cue, we spotted a doe about 100 yards away. Perfect timing!

The Den Master told ghost stories after we got back and then it was S'Mores for everybody.

We got the kids cleaned up and then off to bed.

Early, early the next morning I was up to check the bed of coals and blew life back into the campfire. This, of course, woke some of the boys who came over to "help out" with the fire and we started to talk about flint and steel firestarting and I gave them a demo with my new Swissbianco Firesteel Farmer. I got sparks into my charcloth on the first strike and one of the boys told me I was "the real G" (whatever that might mean.)

We policed the campsite and had everything cleaned up and put away by 9am and then headed for home. I had to reset my equipment and let it dry before brushing it all down and putting it away again.

Today I'm cleaning sleeping bags because we had one muddy-footed visitor inside the tent and he apparently walked all over everything we brought with us.

Still, it was a fantastic trip, a fantastic experience for the kids, and we all had a great time.

Thanks for reading,


B