Girl's Camp

Well, my friends, I've been to the other side and back again. I've spent the better part of my life wondering what goes on at Girl's Camp and now I know. I was able to witness the females in the wilderness and did extensive observations on their dialog and behavior. While I wasn't sure how I would be received, they welcomed me into their tribe and even presented me with what they call a "camp craft." Haha. Being completely honest, I think I had more fun than they did! I gotta admit, I was skeptical going into this week. I wasn't skeptical of Amber and how much hard work and time she'd put into the planning and preparation, but come on, it's "Girl's Cramp," right? Well, it was great. We met the girls on Tuesday morning and got all their gear (girls pack LOTS of stuff...) into the truck and trailer and drove up through Brigham City and over the pass into Wellsville. From there it was off through Hyrum and Avon to Porcupine Reservoir. We got to our campsite and I think we weren't even there an hour before someone saw a snake. We were still unloading the trailer when the girls saw a huge rattlesnake in the middle of camp. I watched it scoot into the bushes and kept watch while one of the other leaders when to get a camp host. I really wanted to shoot it, but seeing as there are "no guns allowed..." ;) Anyway, about 30 minutes later, they came back with a shovel, but by then the snake was gone. The girls were pretty nervous after that and being the opportunist extraordinaire that I am, I took full advantage later. See, we went the rest of the day around camp and saw 3 more snakes. So by the time the girls were ready for bed, snakes were definitely on their minds. I waited until the Laurels went to the bathrooms to get ready for bed and I hit in the bushes right next to the trail with a pill bottle. Then when they were right next to me, I shook it with a perfect "schhh-- chhh-- chhh--" sound and the girls SCREAMED!! One of the girls was smarter than the others and took off running towards camp while the others just grouped together screaming bloody murder... until they heard my laughter over the sound of their screams! I was ROLLING! Probably one of the greatest moments of my life. :) Anyway, I had a great diamond shelter set up in the trees just a stone's throw away from camp. Here's some pics:

Day 2 was pretty chill. Woke up early and got breakfast ready and chilled around camp while the girls did their thing. We made sack lunches and went on a hike later that morning in search of Rosie's Mine. It was an enjoyable hike without much incident. We got to cross the river several times on the way up and some of the girls somehow got wet... really weird. ;) Anyway, we made our way up the trail until we found an old abandoned building with an arrow on a sign pointing up the trail to the mine. While everyone else sat down for lunch, I hiked up the trail behind the shack for over a mile before turning back without finding anything. When I got back down to the girls, we found another less distinct trail leading through the bushes the other direction... right to the mouth of the mine! Yeah, it was right there. Haha. It was a pretty sick mine. We went quite a ways back into the mine until our light started to die. Definitely worth going back some day to explore a little more.

We saw a couple more snakes on the way back and spent the rest of the day around camp playing games and stuff. That was another cool thing about camp, I learned some fun new games. Also on day 2, one of the girls found and snake on the edge of camp and wanted to kill it. So I gave her the shovel and all the other girls gathered around. She snuck up behind it, took a deep breath and... Stab! Followed by all the girls screaming. She pulled back the shovel and... Stab--SCREAM! Stab--SCREAM! It was hilarious. The dead snake would later end up in front of some of the other girls' tent and even the bathroom... neither of which were my doing. No really, it wasn't me!

Day 3 was another beautiful sunny day, warmer than the others. One of the girls had really bad allergies and her eyes got so bad from rubbing them that they got swollen shut. We had the opportunity to give her a priesthood blessing and it was one of those times that you want so badly for it to work quickly so that she might be able to gain a testimony of its power. It wasn't immediate, but sure enough her eyes were healed and she spent the rest of camp without any other serious issues. Just awesome... It wasn't long before the girls were asking about getting in the water. We all climbed into cars and drove back out to the reservoir, saw a couple more snakes (I think we saw over 10 by the end of the week), and spent the next couple of hours swimming. We found a nice little rope swing as well. That pretty much wore me out! In fact, I fell asleep at the table when we got back to camp. Right as I was drifting off to sleep, I had that thought that I should just go to sleep in my shelter... But I ignored it. And when I woke up, my shelter was knocked down, covered in sticks and logs, and my sleeping bag and pad up in a tree. Haha. That's what happens when you let down your guard. I have to admit, it would've been a great prank... that is if they wouldn't have just left to shower right after! So I just went over and took all their stuff out of their tent and threw it into the willows. Shortly thereafter, rocks and sticks were found under the leaders' tents and their air mattresses deflated. (Again, not my doing!) Yep, the pranking spirit was alive and well. Amber planned an awesome dinner that night and the bishop came up to spend the evening as well. It was awards night as well and yours truly took home the "Best Camp Prankster" award. Needless to say, I was stoked. Don't worry, I framed it and put it in my shop!

The testimony that night was really great. I realized this weekend that I've been pretty scared about having a baby girl some day. Not that I don't want a girl, quite the contrary in fact. But I didn't have any sisters. I don't know anything about girls. And I would just die if anything happened to her... But this week, I saw how strong and good girls can be. And somehow, I just know that everything will be ok. And that's really cool to feel.

Day 4, cleanup and go home day. Everybody got their stuff taken down and packed up and gathered for breakfast before we were to leave. Let's back up to the day before for a minute. After joining forces with the girls, one of them came up to me and said, "Jake, I did something..." "Ok, what did you do?" I asked. "I found some water balloons... and I took them. What should I do?" I looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear. "Save them for tomorrow!" So during breakfast, we launched a surprise water balloon attack! It was the perfect way to end the week. So anyway, I really enjoyed myself. But most importantly, the girls had a great time and that was because Amber did an amazing job. So I guess that if she's still Camp Director next year, I might drag myself back again for another round...