I was a chaperone on a class camping trip for the 5th graders. Just got back. Jenny Jump State Forest, NJ.


The weather was Rain, Rain, Rain and more Rain, except for the last day, which was foggy then sunny.

The ratio of adults to kids started out at 5 adults for 15 kids, but that quickly changed.

I packed a blue 50x30 Rain tarp that I have for emergency roof coverage, a lot of para cord and all the rest of the "essentials" and "just in cases" for the trip.

Let's see...

Well, we basically "lost" one of the dads right away - he was not at all enjoying the rain, so at around dinner time, he left in his car and went to a pub and was pretty much uninterested in any kind of outdoors activity.

The other dad was great - except that there was a seemingly unending crisis with his job, so he spent hours and hours stuck on the phone, but he did impress the heck out of me with his outdoor skills when he wasn't on the phone! No tent for him - a bivvy sack and he slept fine in the pouring rain. Fantastic plant identification skills, and he took no crap from any of the kids - he expected them to listen and follow instructions and he left them with the consequences (one of which was a tent full of water) when they didn't do what he asked. Not a nasty guy at all, really very nice - but does not take "they are only 11" for an excuse, ever. I liked him and wish his job didn't keep him distracted for so much of the trip.

That left me and the two teachers, both of whom were former camp counselors and were just fantastic with the kids.

The massive blue tarp saved the day - we spent most of the time under it on picnic tables.

We had the usual falls and scrapes (4x4's and Hydrogen Peroxide got a lot of use) and there were kids who didn't have rain gear (trash bags to the rescue) and one kid who was playing in the rain for a long time got REALLY cold and I wrapped him in a space blanket and later found out he had no dry clothes at all and nobody was his size - so we built a shelter-like structure near the campfire that dried/smoked clothing for him to wear.

I guess the lessons learned from the short trip are:

- you need more water than you think you need.
- it does not matter how many times you tell people "pack rain gear and three outfits" they won't
- 11 year old kids are both smarter than you think and dumb as a box of hammers.

All in all it was a fun trip.

Cool, from the title I thought you had a 15 wet kids because of the big blue tarp. Anyway, please explain the system of knots you used to hang that big boy.

Easy!

With a long run of 1/2" rope, I run a "ridge" line between two trees, secured to the tree with two turns of the rope and finished with a clove hitch. It looked like a ridge of a house.

Then, for the corners, I ran some 550 para cord through the grommets to some more trees. Very stable.

We put a couple of poles (logs we found) inside to get a little height in the middle.

This Ridge Rope technique really works well for me with the big tarp, once you get that center lifted you don't have to work to hard to get the corners right.

I am a newly minted scout master for my son's troop, and have brought the Weeblos over. I have found that it is just important to educated the parents before the camp out. I have the parents go through the packing class with their scout, and I have even insisted (though unenforceable)that the parents go on a camp out carrying what they send their kids with. I also insist that teach scout bring a poncho. You can wear it or build a shelter. I carry a large tarp also. You can never have too much 550 cord!

Some of my best Scout memories involve camping in the rain. Greatest trip I ever had it absolutely poured for two straight days! Try to find dry firewood then! We had a great time.

One of my strongest and most recurrent memories are of Anderson Scout Camp in Minnesota when I was a Boy Scout many years ago. The mystery of the dark, cool, fragrant, maple-basswood forest, the trails through the woods, the dark brown logs of the Great Lodge with the moosehead over the fieldstone fireplace, and the spectacular bonfire that the scoutmasters lit at dusk with a pull of a rope is still strong. I can still see it, the glinting glass eyes of the moose, the trail...I still know which one to take, I can still smell the damp river air. And the pancakes! Ahh the pancakes.... I wonder if that week wasn't a big part of the genesis of a lifetime of camping and recreation in the forest. My son followed me to Anderson in 1990, but wait.....can it really have been that long ago? He too is a skilled outdoorsman, currently serving in the Air Force. I have a job which siphons off my energies and affords me little spare time. The days of a mans life are twice numbered; the days gone by, and the days that remain. We can only know the first number, and we can only pray about the second. When I pray for myself, I ask for the continued strength and good health to participate in Boy Scout or church group outdoor activities when I retire from full time work in two years and some odd months. I commend you and others like you who introduce kids to the outdoors, and demonstrate and pass on some of the old skills. They will not forget.