Last week was our fourth and final summer camp. The Hit the Trial Backpacking Camp was one of our toughest camps this season but also one of our most impressive camps. The camp consisted of three days of backpacking through the Sabine National Forest in adverse weather conditions. Over the course of the three days, the youth hiked over 14 miles over river beds, creeks, hills and a few roads; all with the goal of getting to the end while learning a thing or two about themselves. Plus, the thought of being able to jump into the lake once back at base camp was always present in their minds (we got a little stinky).
According to the weather channel’s “extreme heat advisory,” we hiked each day in heat indexes of 105. Luckily, we were traveling through a heavily overgrown forest and we weren’t in the sun but for a few seconds at a time; which helped us stay a few degrees cooler. Everyday and most of the nights we were sweating bullets but had no issues with dehydration (since everyone was drinking plenty of water). Being in the woods you encounter all sorts of things; ticks, mosquitoes, chiggers, lizards, spiders and owls. You would think that all of these things combined would have created a group of hot, sweaty, bug bitten, tired individuals, and a host of complaining. Well, we did sweat and we all got our bites (some more than others) and at the end of each day we were definitely tired and ready for bed but, as for the complaining? Nope.
All of the staff were overly impressed with this years backpacking crew. Of course it wasn’t a cake walk but they all encouraged each other and looked out for the others, making sure they had water, holding branches out of the way, lending a hand, spotting each other when going over rough terrain and, above all else, staying positive throughout the struggles. We discussed with the youth on the trip how backpacking is physically taxing but it’s mostly a mental game and if you get your mind in a negative space it will ruin the experience. The staff gave them some pointers on how to get their minds off the rougher parts of the hike; sing a song in your head and it helps to distract you and gets you walking in a rhythm and helps you hit your stride. Going through scenarios is helpful too, at one point we all discussed our strategies in how we’d complete the Hunger Games and, between you and me, I think we thought up a pretty good game plan. Finding something positive to focus on while hiking is essential; “only one more mile,” “almost to camp,” and “I can’t wait to jump in the lake when we are done.” According to the kids, our tips proved to be pretty helpful and we would ask the youth what the most random song they had in their head that day was and they ranged from Disney and Madonna all the way to country and early 2000’s electro-pop (Blue, Da-Ba-Dee).
Even with these pointers there was a time where even I, a seasoned hiker and backpacker, got a little disenchanted and, as it turns out, some other members of our group were affected as well. It was mentioned at the start of the trek that every mile we would be able to see a mile marker and give it a high five, for the most part this was true but on day one there was no mile marker three and on day two there was no mile marker nine. Both days it happened I could see the groups motivation slow a little and everyone was theorizing on how far we’d actually gone but on the second day, not seeing marker ‘9’, was a definite trail bummer and we decided to stop and distract ourselves with lunch to get us all back in a good head space. We concluded that we had definitely passed mile marker ‘9’, wherever it used to be, and that mile ’10’ wasn’t too much further and that made us feel a little better. Once done with lunch we got back on the trail and not even 10 minutes later we hit the mile ’10’ marker and we all let out a sigh and a holler of thanks. After that moment they were fully motivated to get moving and crush day two on the trail.
Honestly, every day they crushed the trail. There was a goal set before we started the trek to “Beat Becky” to the campsite locations and water pick-up spots for the three days we were on trail. Low and behold, every day we beat Becky to the campsites and the water pick-up spots with time to spare. On the first day, which is always the toughest, we averaged a little over a mile an hour. On day two, we averaged a little less than a mile an hour (getting faster), but the most impressive stats were on the last day when we hiked an average of two miles and hour! We hiked just over four miles in two hours and ended up just hanging out and eating snacks until Becky showed up. When she found out when we had gotten there she was floored. Every day our awesome group crushed the previous years records and set impressive new ones that may not be seen again for a while (but there’s always next year).
Once we had loaded up all of our gear into the van Becky surprised us with some Starburst popsicles that were very much appreciated. The drive back to our base camp was a quiet one due to everyone being exhausted and finally able to kick back. When we got to camp we all emptied out our packs and made sure that the gear was all accounted for and put away. We set up our tents and then it was finally time to dive into the lake with biodegradable soap and enjoy a nice bath. Almost everyone just walked right into the lake in the clothes they had hiked in that day (as a two-fer, they could wash their clothes too). After the much needed lake time we decided to get going on dinner and continue the relaxation with sitting around playing Werewolves (a card game) and talking before we headed to bed.
The next morning everyone got to sleep in a little bit, as we had a free day planned so it was all very ‘go with the flow’. We started with coco and chocolate chip pancakes with sausage and eggs for breakfast. Everyone ate their fill and then the free day was underway. They chose to play card games, talk, and enjoy the shade for the first part of the day. Later a vote was taken and 
we headed to the lake for a refreshing break; followed by a snack and then back into the water before dinner. Dinner was a fun little meal we like to call “Leftover Lunacy.” Leftover Lunacy is basically trying our best to finish all the random food we have leftover. We use the word lunacy because it can get pretty interesting and creative, some may say crazy, the meals we come up with. One thing we had for dinner was mashed potatoes with sautéed onions, celery, peppers, Peppered jerky with some Tony’s seasoning and pieces of string cheese. Another main course was mac and cheese with Original jerky added to it and pieces of string cheese to add to the cheesiness. There were hot dogs and chili as well. A very random combination of things but we ate it all and had nothing leftover by the end of dinner except full bellies.
After dinner, we could see some weather coming in . There was plenty of thunder and lightening and a good wind blowing so we started to pack up camp and decided to call it an early night based on not knowing how bad the storm would be. For all of the build-up we only got the tiniest little sprinkles a couple of times throughout the night.
The next morning we got up bright and early to take down the last of camp and hit the road so we could get back in town at a decent hour. The ride back was an on and off jam session with a lot of sleeping, which is to be expected after the week they just had. They were an amazing group of kids and I didn’t realize the extent of the impact until all of the kids said that, thanks to this trip, they know that they can push through and dig deep to overcome difficult obstacles. Their growth was even more evident when every single one of them said the camp was a positive experience for them and that they’d go on this camp again. Which shows that, even with the tough parts, they still enjoyed themselves and pushed themselves to go further than they thought they could. Who knows, maybe they’ll be back next year and try to shatter this years impressive record pace. I can’t wait to find out.
