Summer Camp Brochure (Read-Only: Fill & Download for Free

The longest I have been lost in the wilderness was nearly three weeks.I was only fifteen.At the time, my younger brother and I had the opportunity to go to summer camp for what was (according to the camp brochure) “three fun-filled weeks of adventure in the beautiful outdoor wilderness of Lassen Volcanic National Park.”I believe we found the brochure for the camp stacked neatly in a display rack, alongside a slew of others, in the front offices of the Shasta County Office of Education. Anyone could advertise their events there at the time.The brochure was filled with colorful photos of smiling children (aged 10-16) posed beside some of the park’s natural wonders and promised us amazing experiences such as:Bumpass Hell, Lassen's active volcanic geologic main feature, with its bubbling hydrothermal mud pots, belching their sulfur-fart steam into the mountain breeze, and built-in boardwalks keeping the overly-curious wanderer from breaking through the fragile, yellow crust and cooking like dumplings in the molten volcanic geothermal waters lurking just beneath its surface.King's Creek Falls, a journey through red California fir and ferns—its beautiful mist-shrouding pathways, and in the confluence at the very bottom, the icy, crystal-clear waters collecting in a beautiful turquoise swimming hole, with majestic pines surrounding the magical feature, lending to its private “fairy-land” atmosphere.Cinder Cone, the small volcanic “pimple” which rose to a height of 750 feet (230 m). A dirty, dusty scramble to the top, but which held unparalleled panoramic views, 360° of the beautiful valley and beyond at its peak.Backcountry Hiking and camping- in the beautiful Warner Valley.Thermal pools to soak and soothe our sore muscles in.History of Native American tool making. Flint knapping. The art of creating arrowheads from the area's natural volcanic glass was a particular draw for me. We were also offered a course in basket weaving using the indigenous grasses plucked along our trail.Adventure ropes courses. Climbing to great heights under the supervision of “expert mountaineering guides” in the canopy of some of Northern California's tallest majestic pines.Horseback riding. Experiencing the scenic wonders of Lassen National Park by horseback.Swimming.Campfire storytelling.Fishing.Delicious and wholesome home-cooked outdoor meals.Most importantly, the brochure promised that we campers would be building lifelong friendships that would last forever!Sign me up, Daddy!We signed up for the camp and two weeks later, drove the hour or so up into the mountains with our backpacking gear, tents and smiles.At the entrance of the park, Daddy dropped us off at the park's visitor center parking lot, (right in front of the Ranger station). We were met with a group of similarly excited kids (ages 10-15) ready to get this adventure started.The two baby-faced counselors soon entered the picture, looking so young themselves that a few of the parents (understandably so) became hesitant to turn over their own “little darlings” to them.The man, “Nature Boy” was maybe twenty-one years old, if that, and his assistant,”Psycho Girl” was only eighteen. They were barely adults themselves, and were expected to look after fifteen children for three weeks in the dangerous backcountry wilderness.(By themselves).I watched as the young man pulled several of the worried parents aside to explain his credentials and assuage their fears. It didn't work for them.My father, not one to worry, was already gone by then, but for several parents, Nature Boy's youth sent up parental red flags.They didn't trust him. They grabbed their kids and jetted out of there faster than you could say, “Bumpass Hell”.Several of the children, hand-tugged, ended up getting back into their cars with their folks that day.I watched the disappointed faces of five children, as their parents drove out of the park, forever.I waved goodbye as they squealed out of the parking lot, sad faces pressed against the glass, staring out the windows, not knowing that they were the lucky ones, just about to escape an ordeal they would look back on (and which would probably become recurring nightmares for a lifetime thereafter).For some reason, that cue made me feel uneasy. I had a bad feeling from the start and wanted to go away with them.“Wait, Daddy! Stop!” I wanted to call out, but my father had already gone.I was stuck there.There were only ten of us, then.I was the oldest camper, and the only girl my age. My brother was only a year behind me. Most of the others were just little kids.A few children said very tearful goodbyes. First-timers to camp, first time away from home.They got it over with quickly. Bye Mom. Bye Dad. Hello adventure!We were alone together.Soon, the remaining kids grew excited, and hyper, running around, chasing each other through the parking lot— they were not very good at paying attention.They were difficult to control.Therefore, the rest of the morning was spent in disorganized mayhem.The counselors introduced themselves, and began pulling huge gallon tin drums of raviolis, canned beans, sauces, and chili out of a white van, and quickly divvied them between us, packing them inside our children's packs, preparing us to share in the load.We would all need to help carry our own food, at least until the next supply cache up the trail.I remember looking into my brother's face as he was passed a great big can, and I shared his look of confusion; We not only wondered how he was supposed to fit that awkward, heavy can into his pack, but also wondered why the hell these people were bringing cans on a backpacking trip in the first place!As hikers, we both knew you didn't bring anything heavy.The farther you walk, the heavier the load seems to become. Dehydrated food in collapsible pouches, weighing merely ounces is the appropriate fare for packers, not ridiculously sized canned goods! Cans are heavy. They are packed with water which adds to the weight. They are awkward in shape and don't conform to your pack; in addition, you need to pack out the useless, empty cans afterwards. Inefficient!Real hikers don't carry canned goods!Why were our supposedly “expert” counselors bringing along cans the size of our heads?Not to mention, these bozos were stacking them in the tiny children's packs of younger campers.How can you expect a ten-year old to lug an extra ten pounds in their tiny packs?We were in trouble before we even set off on our journey.It was late afternoon before we set foot on the trail that first day.We only made six miles.Afterwards, we made camp. Had a fire. We ate dinner. We helped the little kids make up their tents.Besides my brother and I, there were two other boys our age. The other kids were all under age twelve. The youngest kids were ten. Twins with blonde Dutch-Boy haircuts and glasses.Precious.The counselors kept to themselves.They didn't try to entertain us, tell stories or tell us the plans for morning.They seemed annoyed by us kids.They went to their tent early. Lovers.And so, we retired to ours, respectively.I heard some of the children crying in other tents.I wanted to cry, too.I turned over and blinked my eyes.Then it was morning.The first week went exactly like the first night. There was little camaraderie, there was no Bumpass Hell, no King's Creek Falls, no storytelling by the fire. People were getting ripe, including myself. I was looking forward to bathing. Instead, we just kept walking and walking and walking.There was little water to bathe in besides small trickling streams beside the trail. The little kids weren't being supervised. I was perturbed that it was suddenly up to me, a camper, who was paying for the experience, to supervise the little ones to make sure they brushed their teeth, and to keep regular sponge baths, with what little water we came by in the cold glacier run off from small cold-water streams.We were averaging 15 mile days, and although we were on trails, we seemed to be wondering aimlessly. There are a lot of trails in the Lassen Volcanic Park area, but back then they weren't very well tended, and very few were marked. They mazed through the wilderness, like wrinkles on the back of an old piece of leather. Game trails criss-crossed people trails and they were so well-used they looked identical to the ones we campers were following.We kept making our way deeper into the wilderness, and neither counselor had even thought to pack a compass to steer us in the right direction.It was very easy to become turned around under the dark canopy of thick pines.I think we may have begun following a game trail at one point and got turned around.That's where everything went South.Our hikes lasted from 6:30 a.m to around 7:00 p.m every single night. We walked. That's all we did on this trip.I suspect sometimes we walked in circles, because a lot of times I recognized familiar landmarks on our wanderings. Again and again.(And yet, I never spoke up).The only good thing about the endless hiking, was that the vigorous exercise made our appetites grow. We chowed through those huge cans of food in record time! Thank god we no longer had to lug those heavy things around. We emptied them before the week's end.I was hoping by the next food cache there would be lighter fare.Literally.(But we never did find the cache).We were running low on food.One morning I had to pee. I unzipped the tent quietly, so as to not wake my brother, and fetching the toilet roll and shovel, I made my way into the woods for privacy. I came upon our fraud of a“Nature Boy” counselor chucking a garbage bag filled with the empty gallon cans into the woods! I was completely mortified!Litter Bug!I quietly backtracked before he discovered me, and found a safer place to do my business.We ran out of food in the beginning of the second week and that's when tempers began to flare.The little kids' constant whining was getting on everybody's nerves. We were all hungry.We were averaging a steady 10-12 miles every day at that point, and were only being sustained on one small packet of oatmeal in the morning and one at night.Rationing.The counselors were at each other's throats all day long and no longer wanted to walk together.The girl, “Psycho Girl” decided to keep company with me, as I was close to her age. She started walking beside me. And she started talking non-stop.I found her annoying.She wouldn't shut up!She drove me up the wall.She talked incessantly and I couldn't escape from her.She insisted we hang back and walk away from everyone so we could talk privately.So SHE could talk privately.I barely said a word.It was then she tearfully confessed that we had overshot (or undershot) the second parking lot with the van, which held the rations, and which was supposed to transport us to the campground with the ropes course.It was to take us to the Falls. It would have taken us to the lodge with the horses for the afternoon of riding, and we would have been able to go fishing and swimming.We could have had some fun.Instead, we were lost.We were fucking lost!I stopped dead in my tracks and looked her in the eye, and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to knock her teeth out.She smiled at me and tried to grab me in a hug, but I pushed her away and hurried to catch up to the group.It didn't take much to catch them. They were a sad bunch, eyes downcast, plodding along, hunched against their packs (ducklings in line) as the mountains sang in happy contrast (tickling bluejays, chattering chipmunks, whistling breeze in the pine boughs) against the softly ever-plodding tampling rubber soles in the soft dirt. The rhythm of a dozen exhausted lost souls.By the third week we were making 8–10 miles a days. We finally found Cinder Cone at late afternoon by the third day. I knew then that things were looking up. We had a recognizable landmark. I watched the little kids scramble up, wondering where they got the energy to do that.Suddenly, “Psycho Girl” freaked out and began yelling for all the little kids to come down. She was having a panic attack or something. It was the first time those kids had had any fun. So they did what any little kid would do to comply quickly, and began running and “skiing” down, in the dirt and rocks of the dune; great clouds of red volcanic dust floated up in their wake as they descended the steep mountain at speed, and whooped and screamed in glee. I don't know if they could hear “Psycho Girl” screaming all the way from the top, or if they just decided to ski down the trail on their own, but I'd like to think it was in defiance.Beautiful.It was the only time I laughed the entire three weeks.It was a very hot day.The sun hit the crown of my head and burned a hole there. I felt dizzy– I wilted like a melting candle.It was so hot, even the rattlesnakes slithered into cool holes to seek shade that day.The rubber on my shoes stuck to the rocks along the trail.“Psycho Girl” hyper ventilated and begged attention.I laughed at her. I left her in histrionics, there in the lava rocks.She cried and begged a sip of my water.I hated her.I eyed her with disdain and held my precious water supply close to my chest, miserly, bitterly, all human compassion gone as she begged a sip. Her hands reached out for my canteen, and, callously, I actually unscrewed the lid and took a long swig from it, then poured a tossle on the ground before her.Human suffering, and I had become a monster!I didn't care.I sat on my pack, mentally and physically exhausted, both by the endless hiking and lack of food, but also by the burden of the secret I'd been carrying for more than a week.I hated myself, then.When it was announced it was time to move on, “Psycho Girl” miraculously recovered, took a big swig out of her own canteen, tied her boot laces, and hopped up, as if the previous hour had never almost seen her on her deathbed.…And I'd actually wasted water on that?With my spirits at the lowest point, we finally came upon a small, glorious lake the next day and I was able to bathe!I took my towel, soap and biodegradable shampoo out of my pack and told everyone I needed privacy.I needed some “me” time. Away from the group.I needed to be alone.As the others sat by the fire and chewed on their single bag of oatmeal (we never did find our cache) I stripped off my dirty clothes, and naked, waded in to the glacial chill of the freezing mountain waters.I scrubbed the previous 18-days' journey from my pores as quickly as I could, and dunked and rinsed the soap from my skin, trying not to have a heart attack underneath the frigid glacial runoff. I emerged from the water refreshed and clean!As I knelt by the water, hand washing my socks and undies, I let the cool mountain breeze dry my damp skin, chilly and goose-bumped–naked as a jay bird, but for the towel wrapping my hair.As I was wringing my wet clothes, I suddenly felt eyes upon me.Turning around to face the bank, I caught “Nature Boy” standing beside the tree line with a creepy smile on his face!I dove into the water, and gasped as the chill took my breath away.As I surfaced, I saw him running into the thick tree-line, towards camp.I wondered if I would be safe in my tent, with merely children to protect me.As a sleep-talker I'd let the cat out of the bag on more than one restless night.My brother, waking me in the pitch black, reassured me that we weren't lost. But we both knew we were.That's why he took it upon himself to hunt for the two of us.By roasting the blue-belly lizards he'd captured, and eating the grubs he'd fished out of rotted tree stumps, we had just enough calories to plod onward.Disgusting as it may seem, we needed those crucial foul-tasting calories and swallowed most whole with a gulp of water as to not have to chew (or taste) them.I ate the worms, and lizards, and creepy crawlies. I ate them up, guts and all. And I tried to think of fried chicken while not gagging them down. I wrapped the pieces in miner's lettuce, a naturally growing herb plentiful in the area, to lessen the blow and hide the aesthetics.I really didn't like looking at the little claws of those lizards as I went to bite into their hands.We were that hungry. And when you're hungry, an appalling necessity of survival does not seem so appalling anymore.They say that survival is mostly mental.I couldn't agree more.I believe if the other campers would have known we were lost, and that we were rationing food, as opposed to merely being on an adventure, things may have turned out badly for the lot If us.You may have ended up reading about this sad story, the story of ten dead children perishing in the woods way back when, had the children known we were lost and nearly out of food. Ignorance is bliss.There was nothing which motivated me more than the fact that I needed to survive with these two psycho “babysitters” parading as trained camp counselors, just to make certain that every last child got home to their folks in one piece.I started recognizing landmarks before “Nature-Boy” did. At the end, he almost steered us off in the wrong direction again, but I insisted I knew the way. I grabbed his arm, hard, digging my dirty fingernails into his arm, and looking into his eyes through my gritted teeth said, “We're going this way, asshole.”He looked like I'd hurt his feelings, and suddenly turned into a little boy. He turned his head away a moment so I couldn't see him cry, and gestured at the group to go in the direction I indicated. His shoulders slumped and he pouted like a petulant child.The group passed by him. I sucked my teeth in disgust as I passed him.Within three miles we came upon the trail marker leading us back towards the Ranger station.The group picked up speed then. Motivated for mommy!We left the counselors behind.In our dust!They were so far behind us by the time we hit the parking lot that some of the kids had already departed by the time they broke through the clearing.There wasn't any fanfare.There weren't any tears of farewell.Most of us lay on the ground in the parking lot, exhausted, until our folks arrived and we kids were barely able to pull ourselves into our cars.When my dad drove up, he popped the hatchback and we tossed our packs into the car. My brother flipped the seat forward and I climbed into the back.As we pulled out of the parking lot, I looked out the window and saw the counselors standing together, beside the ranger's kiosk, in the pine-tree filtered sunlight; two dirty, backcountry novices who had bitten off more than they could chew, and from the look in their thousand-yard-stare it looked as if they'd learned their lesson.But just to rub it in, I made sure to flip them the bird as we pulled away.

Clueless parents? Really?I noticed there was a summer camp and asked my parents if I could attend (Run by our local YMCA that I had joined on my own, getting permission slip signed by my parents).SAT? One’s guidance counselor in high school notes that one needs a SAT exam score. Then one reads the college brochures and goes online (now) to see the requirements for entry.Homework is for the student to do, and the student can ask the teacher for pointers.The only thing clueless is the child that is unaware of what is around her/him.

Quitters! There to here in 1 hr, 1001words:drugs. parties. birth - Surprise!mom, dad: “your name again?”more drugs. more parties. layoffs.happy 1st birthday! “hello, grandma, thanks for visiting!” Whyisn’t the baby moving? only sugar water??two years. courts. custody with dad. i like dad.more drugs. more parties. new job - job lost. stay with grandmaand grandpa. stay longer. talking. stay longer. preschool. stay longer. startschool.why am I here?elementary school - celebrated genius. then homework, reading,arithmetic: struggle. “Why don’t you apply yourself?”why am I here?middle school. struggle. lonely.junior high – running! i run! I Win! I’m a Winner!where is dad? dad? dad?high school – clubs, activities, sports! math, science - verycool. grades - struggle? i run. i run. all-state. all-state again. again.again. new thing: mountain bikes. i race. i win. cool. friends: loveand loved but none allowed inside- just one: in the friend zone. thefriend zone the friend zone. broken heart.why am I here?summer camp, church camp. not invisible! am I Cool? i am Cool!God, Christ, LOVE! COOL!motorcycles. cars. parts everywhere. learn, clean, paint. build.two years. 67 mustang! rumble rumble.friends: "where did that comefrom?!"college? "your grandfather's a carpenter. no money."scholarship? sorta. not really. "god?"brochure? from west point? they do that? god? Ok maybe. god, if you are real you can, one shot.commit to 'Early Action Plan'interview. essay. physicals. essays. fitness tests. essays.interview."I want to, really." not really. god please don't make me.fourth alternate? huh? phone calls.congressmen: "if four others drop outyou can." god?west point: "oh Early Action Plan? YOURIN."oh shit.bald head. yelling. shooting. grenades. i'm a soldier!thenhomework, reading, math: struggle. “Why don’t you apply yourself?”struggle. lonely. struggle.god? why am I here?mechanical engineering. "fail again - you’re out!"fail again. fail again. fail again? professors: "he will be a goodofficer; keep him."learn. try. positive. try. stay.god? why am I here?genius friends. how do i fit here? grateful. christian friends!love. help. encourage. stay. try. god save me.graduate, low in class. slim pickings: infantry. kansas.officer basic course: dirt and woods, 4 months. i'm good atthis!airborne school. ranger school: pray. do over. miserable. praybelieve. DO OVER. fuck you god!! do over, 6 months! fucking god is fuckingstupid.bradley leaders course.scout platoon leader’s course.first day on the job (finally)! "who the fuck areyou?" ahem.. you mean, who the fuck are you SIR right? sigh.love. lead. push. inspire. challenge.field training. best in battalion.special mission! best in brigade.field training. best in division. special mission!field training. i'm good at this.special meeting. Bosnia? where's that? mountains. snow. prettygirls, bad teeth. patrol patrol patrol dobra dobra. 4 years, 1100 missions.whew.why am i here?army forever? no. too inflexible; egomaniacs!she is nice. is this love? it must be love?she: good job with big oil. me: money fantasy - this must belove.engage to marry.not army, oklahoma.oklahoma! geology. drilling. geophysics.home: fighting.work: learn visual basic. make ms office do geology, geophysics.home: fight. fight. moved to houston! all of our friends too!big party in Houston.home: fight fight fight.new job. engineering! cool. let's talk leadership?"phht"home: this is love? “NO!” take a break? she: “sign divorcepapers.”why am i here?party. drinking. girls. divorce.she's pretty! she's nice! she's in nyc.flights. hotels. flights. fancy dinners. no problem, I'mBig Oil.please come to houston. "maybe."flights. hotels. I'm broke.Moving day! Boyfriend?? whatever.I'm broke. we're broke.love. struggle. laugh.baby!? ok try. no insurance? marry now! "buy housenow!" more broke.baby! post-partum what?mom-in-law is moving in? no. "yes." no."must." ok.counseling please? please?big oil, i quit.best friend, small company, big paycheck. ok cool.work: “60 hours.”broke!work: "80 hours!"mom-in-law!work: "100 hours!"broke! fight. cry. fight.counseling please? please? stare at ceiling.work: "where were you saturday?" but my family!"you can't quit, you're fired."new job. startup. small oil. new tech. cool.heeeey you're cute... conversation: physics! music! psychology!literature! cinema!she: "how did you get here?" me: (see above). she:"but but big step here? why?" god. "and here? why?" god.aaah i remember god.THIS is amazing! is THIS love? No! my family!work: ok new direction, cool. ok new direction. ok newdirection?startup big mess, let's talk leadership! "haha, sure"not really.new baby #2! mom-in-law! mortgage! money! designs. travel. workfights. sickness.Home: fights.work: "please close the door." no more startup. goodluck.home: "who's this email? out. OUT! divorce NOW." god?broken heart. no job. no home. big bills. panic attacks.asshole lawyers. praying. god?counseling: “ADD.” aaah! explains it!. praying.god? why am I here?new job. startup again. small oil again. new tech.Safety guy? huh?Interview: real safety? ok lets talk leadership. president:"yes. leadership! do it." classes, programs. small company is bigger!president "great! go! do!"small company bought!phone call. cute conversation girl: "I'm pregnant."oh god (god?)ok try. but church, god, counseling. "ok."christians insult us.christians criticize us.christians condemn us - thanks assholes.crying. fighting. yelling.STOP!more god! (but not church), more faith. "god show us and wewill do."less fighting. less yelling. let go. pray. trust.complicated life, but try. stay strong.more faith, no more fighting! laughing. loving. hugging.weird, 4 parent family. love-ful and 5 kids!company bought by company that bought company! big big company!130,000 people BIG.little startup? New division of big big company!more praying: show me and we will do!to big big company: let's talk leadership. Big big CEO:"You are right. We change, everyone will change. Yes. Let'schange."GOD! This is why I'm here.still scared. still trying.changing the world started a long, long time ago.