STRESS CAMP!

it's everyone's favorite time of year again!! OH BOY!! by this time tomorrow i plan on being totally passed out in my sleeping bag somewhere in the woods. i totally sleep so well out there. i have a group of 8 kids, 1 or 2 of which i know fairly well, and the rest i at least know the names and faces. it helps that i sub a lot of classes on campus so i get to know them that way. one big thing that will be different this year is that i am the leader. and by leader i mean the weight of responsibility sits squarely, and almost exclusively, on my shoulders. i do have an assistant leader, but i'm actually almost as worried about her as i am the kids. i went out last year with her son shaun. he was a real trooper, and she's a great lady, but she's never done anything more than tailgate-camping, and stress camp is not camping. when i made it to my meeting with the head-of-stress-camp guy, i asked him what my route would be, at least in generalities. he told me that it was entirely up to me, but he'd like me to run it by him first. so, i figured out a route that we should be able to do. for those of you who have hiked much in the "backcountry" of japan, we'll be starting at shomaru station; it's a hike that i've done with my family many times that involves hiking up a mountainside that's steep enough that they've (whoever "they" is) installed these burly chains to help you get up. it's either a really easy rock climb or a really steep hike. but that's what we're starting with. the good Lord alone knows what will come after.


and, in the contined spirit of me posting cool picutres, here's one from JAM today. this is one of my leaders, a really cool guy named josiah pettit. he's a superhero.