Day 1583: Juggling

Several calls today have prompted more roster, route and schedule changes.  The owner of the property where we have camped on Friday night called and reported that he has been cutting down a lot of the deadwood and widow makers where we set up the tents.  He asked if we could all pitch in and move the wood out of the forest and on to a trailer.  Of course!  But, that means we'll have to change the route to provide and extra 15 to 30 minutes.   The whole schedule is determined by the hours of daylight.  Every minute counts if we want to have light for hanging the food bags.

We lost an experienced hike group leader last night too.  Kathy's ankle will prevent her from participating, but that's probably best in the long run.  She needs more time to heal fully.  The irregular terrain we cover would exacerbate her injury.  So, Jake will step into her role for the two day hike and Margaret will lead their group for the four day hike.  Two new leaders will gain invaluable experience.  It's one more step to build toward the future.

In addition, one student will miss the hike due to a funeral and another due to illness.  The Cassadaga administrator got a new job, so he can't go.  It's a good thing we lined up Jake and Dustin.  I'm not even counting all the kids going in and out for track, 4-H, tennis, and SAT prep.  Tired.

The Quest Backpacking Facebook page now has over 4000 views this week.  I've been posting photos from the last few years and tagging student leaders and adults.  That has created many more connections.  Now, I just have to get back to the book!

We have to get a decent night's sleep cause we certainly won't sleep tomorrow night!

Pancake wonders!

What will the pancakes look like on Saturday?

At least we won't be cooking in the rain.