Man, so much cool stuff has happened that I can't post about, because I never finished my stress camp blog.... :'( So, I'll finish it quickly.

The next morning we woke to a light but steady drizzle, the kind that soaks you before you really notice. Some of the kids woke up pretty wet, but I way warm and dry! This was probably the hardest day for the kids to hike. They were tired and wet, and the ones that had been hiking the slowest were also the ones that had set up their flysheets the worst, so somehow that made them hike even slower. At one point, two of our gals from up front actually came back from the peak to carry one guys' backpack up the last bit for him! Wow. Thinking about it, the group really represented both ends of the spectrum--I feel I had some of the highest-quality gals I've ever had, but the slowest 2 guys I've ever had. Hm.

We made it to the hut in time for a late lunch. It had stopped raining at this point, but was still wet; the low temperature coupled with the wind had motivated us to never stay still for too long on our breaks. The hut actually had futon and quilts in it, an area for a firepit, and a little stream. These are all wonderful things. We sat around out front and ate our lunch, then I had the kids go inside while I explained our activity for the day--a solo. We had a handout for them with a story about integrity on it, and I told them the rules: Don't leave where I put you, use the whistle for emergencies, etc. I also promised them emphatically that I would not forget about them or leave them out in the woods anywhere. They aren't supposed to know how long they'll be out in the woods, but I sort of blew it...I told them that we'd be staying in the hut that night, which a few of the brighter ones realized meant that I would be leaving them in the woods for kid of a while, since it was only lunch time now. It might have been good to at least give them that, though. I talked to them about it later, and a few of them initially thought that a "solo" was for like 20 or 30 minutes. I left them out there for 4 and a half hours! I think if they hadn't known that they were going to be sleeping in the hut that night, some of them would have sunk farther and farther into despair with every minute.

So, I set off down the trail and dropped the kids off. Some of them spent the time sleeping (until it got dark, which freaked them out too much to sleep...?), trying to build fires (none of the guys did this, which i was surprised by), and at least one person was praying/reading scripture at the top of his lungs, which was actually pretty cool to hear bouncing off the hills in the fog.

While the kids were doing this, Bea and I were hanging out, talking and laughing, and getting stuff ready for when the kids came back. We tried to get some firewood gathered, but had a hard time finding much that was dry. Eventually I found the motherlode--siding and flooring leftover from the building of the hut! I brought a saw with me, so I went to town. No worries about a fire tonight! We got my stove set up and got supper going so the kids could have supper when they came back in from the cold. When I finally went to get them, it was well after dark, so it was extra freezing. I was glad I'd had them take their full packs with them on the solo--last year on the solo, the kids got so cold one of them actually blew her whistle in a panic, and they were all chilled to the bone. This year they were fine. Yay for learning!

The theme for the solo is supposed to be integrity, and we have questions that are supposed to guide our discussion to that end, but I didn't really like them, and the kids aren't really going to open up and share ways that they lack integrity in life with 11 other people that they don't know terribly well. I asked some of my own questions, had them share their experiences and whatnot, and it actually turned into a surprisingly good conversation. As much as I like to let the kids volunteer to talk, I learned that sometimes we just have to go around the circle and everyone talks. Next year I'll start with that, and move towards volunteering information at the end. Hm, hm... very wise.

As is becoming the standard, Bea and I were planning on sneaking out of camp an hour before the kids broke camp, so we went and found the leaders and broke the news. HA! they were super nervous. I was scared that they were just going to find the nearest road and walk downhill, but in the end they chose to follow the path, which I liked, and which turned out to be some of the coolest geography I've seen on stress camp.

So that night, all the kids bundled up in the cabin, sleeping on futons and under quilts. I couldn't help but feel a little guilty--where were the other groups sleeping tonight? What ever happened to roughing it? I felt like I was doing them a disservice my making stress camp too easy. I still do, a little....but we'll give this curriculem a few years, and see what the kids are saying about it when they're 20 and 21. That's when we'll know if it was worth it or not.