Day 1579: Hiking reflections

It was a perfect day for hiking and ideal for creating a backpacking community.  Hundreds gathered early yesterday morning: moms and dads, eager leaders, anxious teens.  Charlie and Brigitte took the lead on exercises in the parking lot because the grass was wet.  It had the effect of chasing most parents off early, which I did not like.  I think it's more important to have them observe our early interactions as a a sort of reassurance that the kids are carefully supervised and guided.

Shane took over my role as hike group leader which freed me up to act as troubleshooter, teacher, photographer and public relations consultant.  These are all jobs I always did simultaneously, so this time my stress was greatly reduced.  Shane was nervous and excited, trying to find just the right balance.  I kept reassuring him.  Chris has your back, we are close by, you have experience and good judgement.

Steve was in trouble almost immediately because his new pack pressed on a nerve and gave him great pain in his hips and back.  We had talked about hiking with our packs last week, but hadn't gotten to it.  Big mistake.  Fortunately, it was only six miles, but they were tough on him.

Many of the kids were in agony, too, carrying packs that were too heavy, ill-fitting and positioned incorrectly.  I enjoyed immensely moving among the hikers, spotting a problem, making a few adjustments and easing their pain.  Most of them have to reassess every item in their packs, toss out a few, substitute lighter items.  One boy asked for a new pack.   I told him, it's not the pack, it's what's inside.  In addition to the 30 pound pack, he carried a huge metal canteen that weighted a lot.  No wonder he was exhausted.

The best rescue was of Marie, the Brocton adviser on her first ever backpacking trek wearing a borrowed pack.  When we were hiking down Stone Rd., I noticed the hip belt riding across her butt and her fingers locked around the shoulder straps.  I stopped her, lifted the pack and had her tighten the belt, made adjustments to the shoulder straps that pulled the pack close to her back.  She sighed in relief and kissed me on the cheek.  She didn't know that was how it was supposed to feel.

Building pyramids is so effective in creating bonds.  The kids plot, laugh screech, climb on top of one another, tumble to the ground and start again.  I saw more connections develop then than any other part of the day.

We crashed today, recovering from the challenges of the week and preparing for 24 hours of backpacking this weekend.