Ready… Set… TRAIL!

08/05/2012

Four eager groups of Frost Valley Campers headed into the Catskill Mountains today while it rained and poured.

Pack-out started today after campers slept in and had a delicious brunch. Last night was the dance so campers needed a couple more hours this morning to roll out of bed. Also brunch was ice cream and waffles… Sorry parents, I promise we fed them nutritious food as well. Adventure folks get a snack about mid day too while the rest of camp holds over until mid afternoon. When you’re headed out camping it’s important to get a little good fuel in you before you hit the trial.

Pack out was amazing! It was pouring rain so we had to check over all our equipment in a really cramped space inside. It sounds stressful but if you were there you’d know how much fun we had. We sang the whole time and everyone was snacking and laughing. It was also the perfect time to talk about safety during trail and what to do should you find yourself around lightning.

Once we were all ready we headed out. One trip headed to the Pepacton Reservoir. They’ll camp tonight and put-in for their first day of paddling tomorrow. I personally went over paddling techniques, these campers should be pros by the time they come back.

We sent out two backpacking trips this session. There’s totally enough space in the forest for all of us! They spent most of their morning loading their packs and sizing them to their hips. There’s nothing quite as bad as hiking with a bag that’s not sized appropriately. We spent the extra time to explain why some straps are tightened and some are loosened. They’ll just have to trust us about avoiding a long term back injury.

Climbers headed out first! They’re not working a route so it’s easy for them to through all their gear and food in a bus and head out. They got to the famous Camp Slime earlier than usual and headed up to the cliffs to enjoy a tasty dinner and the beautiful vistas.

ADVENTURES HAVE BEGUN! More updates to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zach eigenbrodt

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Zach couldn't keep himself out of the woods when growing up. He started working at a Northern Wisconsin YMCA Camp as a wilderness trip leader while in college and fell in love with getting kids into nature. The smiles on kids faces after returning from a once in a life time wilderness experience is why he is here today. Zach brought his talents to Frost Valley YMCA, in 2014, when he started as the Trips Coordinator and soon was promoted to Adventure Director. Zach loves all forms of Wilderness exploration, though some would say his heart lies most with canoeing.