The Power of Camp Jackson

As summer camps all across the country gear up for their summer seasons I find myself sitting on my couch asking "Why exactly, did I stay in Georgia?". Oh right, I stayed because I have to. Well, I wasn't exactly forced to stay here - and honestly, I am glad I stayed, it turns out a Masters Degree is a whole heck of a lot of work, and having extra time to do it is awesome!

ANYWAY! School is not the point of this blog - it's all about summer camp - actually no, it's all about the best summer camp, Camp Jackson. As I was sitting around I thought to myself that a quick little blog about how much camp means to me would be appropriate - and I had just the thing. Knowing that last summer would be my last (though I say that often and usually it isn't true) I wrote the following and I think it gets at what I wanted to say. So, enjoy!
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Each year, as I drive the winding roads and turn into the camp driveway I know I am coming home. I have spent 13 summers at camp, which turns out is about 86 weeks! Over a year of my life has been spent here. This is impressive considering I only come here in the summers. I have been on probably 50 different packouts, danced at 75 or more dances and eaten the same camp meals more times than I can count.  So, why do I keep coming back? Well, it’s simple I love it here, I come for the adventures, the experience, and most importantly I come for the friendships.

Over the years I have had my fair share of adventures. I have been lost at Outpost; I have been lost on Greenhorn…twice! I have been on scary packouts, I have been on rainy packouts, and interspersed somewhere in there, there are non-scary and non-rainy packouts. I know how to cook on a camp stove, though admittedly I am not very good at it. Often times our food is spiced up with “pepper” - if you know what I mean, or maybe I come back without eyebrows or eyelashes. I know how to cook over an open fire, and I know how to make sure my water is good to drink – DUH! I bring enough from camp because treated water is nasty! I have shot guns, taught people to shoot guns, and finally realized that I stink at both of those things. I have seen bears from far away and from far to close. I know how to capture a mattress, and safely hide 60 feet in a tree. But most of all I know that camp has given me many unique experiences that have made me a knowledgeable, slightly crazy, handy person to know.     

To me, camp is a place where friendships are built on the foundation that being yourself is enough. I know that people here are going to love me for who I am. I know that they will still be my friends after a particularly bad case of the “Hangrys”. They will still be my friends even though I don’t know any movie quotes - so instead I just quote myself. They will still be my friends if I hike slow, or dance weird. But most importantly they will be my friends no matter what, through the good and bad, but mostly though the bad. But don’t think friendship stops there, I also love the people here for who they are. Had I never come to camp I wouldn’t have a friend who makes me chainmail bracelets - which I promptly lose in the river. I would never have had the opportunity to watch dirty little boys grow into remarkable young men. There would be nobody in my life who sits outside my cabin protecting me from the mountain man while I pee in the woods, and a chance phone call back in March would not have lead to maintenance shed hang out time.

While friendship is important family is vital. I don’t call this place home for nothing…for 13 years now, and even if they don’t know it, the Lauritzen family has been helping mold me into the woman I am today. As my second set of parents Doug and LuAnn have reached me in ways my own parents could not. Doug has taught me the value of hard work, dedication and loyalty. LuAnn is a rock in my foundation who dries my many tears, laughs with me, laughs at me and always sticks by me. Naturally Doug and LuAnn’s three daughters have become my younger sisters and they have brought so much light into my life. Taylor reminds me daily that imagination and a free spirit are what make life worth living. Jessie has taught me that when times are hard, a hug and a smile go a long way. And Lauren, there are so many things, but I think most importantly, friendships are nothing to mess around with, and a true friend will always be by your side.  

These experiences and people are what connect me back to camp; they leave a lasting impact on my life and promises for the future. So, as I leave camp this year I go knowing that I am a better person for being here. I have had moments of excitement and moments of sorrow. I have created new friendships and strengthened the bonds of my old ones.  The bonds that are formed between me and this place are hard to break and are what keep me coming back to my summer home each year. So, as I drive down the driveway one last time I leave knowing that there will always be a place, even if it just a just a small one, for me.       

Time sure does fly when...you're super busy!

As promised, blogs are infrequent at most. As the school year came to a close I found that there was less and less time to spend doing things other than school work, group projects, and school work. So blogs, work-outs, and general free time fell by the wayside.

However, during this past month (and by that, I mean the past month and a half. Time is going by too dang fast!) I did manage to fit in an eight day backpacking expedition in the Big South Fork of Tennessee. Ok, so I didn’t “manage to fit it in” it was the culminating experience for my Principles of Field Leadership class. Graduate school has come a long way from the days of sitting in classrooms listening to some professor go on and on about something that is probably important…or maybe my program is just plain old awesome! Either way, I spent eight amazing days nestled in the backcountry of Tennessee. And just to set things right, for all of you out there thinking Tennessee, or the Southeast in general, doesn’t have anything to offer – you are wrong. The Southeast is pretty neat in terms of its access to great outdoor activities locations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, school work buried me under a mountain of reflection papers, final teaching topics, and frantic study sessions all of which were alleviated with a beer and some pecan pie when everything was said and done.  And then I realized…I’m halfway done with my graduate degree!

 

But, it doesn’t stop there. I rolled right into my Wilderness First Responder course. This class is always fun, mostly because we get to play dress up with fake blood and bruises. For nine days (or maybe eight?) we play the role of rescuer, helping our victims with a variety of problems ranging from trauma – think broken bones, cracked skulls, or dislocations, to medical issues – heart attacks, respiratory issues, or diabetes. Along the way we learn to build splints for legs, arms, ribcages, and even the collar bone using only the things we might carry in the backcountry, we learn how to strap people to a backboard for the long haul out of the field, and we learn that doing CPR at the rate of 100 compressions per minute can be done to many songs including “The Wheels on the Bus” “Dust in the Wind” and my personal favorite “Staying Alive”.

 

Now that I am fully immersed in my summer vacation I still find myself busy with school work – not so much now, but I know it is coming – and actual work. So, that being said I could promise more blogs during these long hot, humid months. But I’m not going to; mostly because I am doing a really good job at fulfilling my first promise to you – infrequent blogs.

Pura Vida

Pura Vida – the words of the Costa Rican people…translated they can mean many things, but I understand them as “what happens will happen, just let it be”. So as I write this blog nearly a month after the fact I find myself using this simple, but useful phrase– I’ll get around to telling my tale when I have time. And now, lacking on specific details – but remembering important experiences I bring you a daily account of my most memorable experiences in Costa Rica…enjoy!

Day 1 – After a sleepless night (due to intensely strong thunderstorms), a crammed car ride, a short flight and a long bus ride I found myself in La Fortuna Costa Rica with a view of a volcano – the first one I have ever seen!

 

Day 2 – A ride through the country side of Costa Rica landed us in the small village of Santa Teresa. We played soccer with local kids, spoke in broken Spanish, and ate amazing food. That night we stayed at the resort on the lake (I had the “honeymoon” suite), though I didn’t get in the lake like many of the others on my trip. Earlier I had cut myself with rusty barbed wire and was not willing to risk some strange infection for the pleasure of cooling off – I could do that in a shower!

 

 

Day 3 – An early morning made for cool work. We helped dig near 30 post holes for the beginnings of a community garden. Again, we ate great food, still spoke in broken Spanish and enjoyed some “native” dancing from one of the local kids – And what I mean by native is actually booty shaking!

 

 

Day 4 – This day we found ourselves in the town of Nueva Arenal – a town relocated up the mountain because Costa Rica build a dam and flooded Arenal (for the sake of clean energy). We stayed in cabinas above a restaurant called Moyas. Moyas has the most amazing pizza you will ever eat – let me rephrase – they have the most amazing food you will ever eat!

 

 

 

Day 5 – We spent the morning painting the benches surrounding the community soccer field and the afternoon relaxing at the lake. This time I did get in the water – the cut had scabbed over and I was now less worried about what strange infections I might contract, I was just hot and tired!

 

 

Day 6 – This day began with rain, and lots of it. So instead of finishing our paining we sanded and stained 35 chairs and 2 tables to be used in a local school. I also had the opportunity to meet local people who are instrumental to the success of the Led2Serve organization as well as form the basis of relationships I hope last a lifetime. As the rain cleared we took the chance and went out to finish our painting project. We completed 2 dugouts and both goal posts!

Day 7 – This was our adventure day! I went zip lining (kinda scary, but only because I know how everything does work - and sometimes fails) and hiking on the hanging bridges. I saw a sloth, a toucan, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys, wild boar, and a relative of the capybara!

 

 

Day 8 – Rise and shine was early and soon we found ourselves on a plane headed for Georgia. Though I was not saddened by the end of my trip because this is simply the beginning of my journey!     

 

 

Residential Weekend - As Told by a Facilitator

Currently I am a teaching assistant for the undergraduate installment of Group Development. Every semester this class has a residential weekend where they spend time getting to know each other, playing...activites, and doing teambuilding...activities. This is the story of what went down according to me - their facilitator. (Originally this blog posted to our Outdoor Education site, but now I am sharing it here!) 

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It’s basically a fact of life: if you are in the Outdoor Education program at GCSU you are going to take Group Development. Lucky for me I really like this class. Well, let me rephrase…lucky for me, I really like the residential weekend (and the class too, Liz, just in case you are reading this). In fact, I am so lucky that I not only got to participate in my own residential weekend (RW for short) I also got to tag along on the most recent installment for the undergraduate class.

Before you entirely dismiss my enthusiasm for Group Development and click away from this blog I ask you to think about your experience on the RW and maybe, if you feel up to it, the experience of a friend. I am going to wager a guess that you are fondly remembering everything from a participant’s point of view. Well, don’t worry; I’m not going to bore you with another one of those generic stories! This time you get to experience the weekend through my eyes as a facilitator. And for those of you who are still contemplating not finishing this blog, I’ll make it quick. In ten, maybe eleven, ok, twelve simple sentences I will effectively tell the story of the most recent RW as experienced by me!

1.    I’m going to be late. I’m going to be late. I need some lunch. I have no food. I need to get to the lodge. Oh no, there are already cars here, I’m late. I need a bed. I need to put food away. I need to set up my activities. Ehhh, never mind, I’m on time compared to the rest of these people!  

2.    What do you mean there is no time for tag? I love the 4 million versions of that game!

3.    DINNER!

4.    Timeline: What a great activity to show off how creative and artistic I can make my life look – Said everybody but me.  

5.    BEDTIME! Oh but wait, I can’t go to sleep yet! A hacky sack game (which sounds more like dodge ball) has just begun. What fun!

6.    Wake up, breakfast, and some activities…it was pretty neat.

7.    No, you may not carry each other across the hot molten chocolate pit. Yes, I will take your marshmallows if you don’t touch them. No, the pterodactyls will not be able to save you. Yes, you have to make sure everybody knows what is going on. No, you can’t leave anyone behind.

8.    I hope the guy walking this direction doesn’t want the group to move. Ain’t nobody got time to move while balancing a ball on a ring, on the stairs, while figuring out how to navigate the corner of the deck.

9.    Listen, I hear you when you say you actually like chili mixed with ranch dressing, but all I am really thinking is that you are entirely too hungry! 

10.  “I’ve got a rubber chicken and I’m putting it in my pocket for later.” If you were there and listening you will get it. Sorry to everybody else, one inside joke is always needed in a list like this. 

11.  BEDTIME! And another round of dodge hacky sack. Awesome.

12.  Holy Cow! You (as in the entire group) have left this room to “go to the bathroom” more times than I can count. This contract has to be done by everyone, so the more times you leave the room the longer we are here. Pull it together people!

While this wraps up my version of the weekend I promise you if you ask any of the people in this class to tell you a story you will get 14 different accounts of what actually went down. Now, before you direct your attention elsewhere here is the neat part about stories; they connect us to our experiences and because we can share them they also connect us to each other. So, here is your challenge: go and share your stories and continue to create an awesome OE community.

 

If You're Not Climbing in the Rain You're Doing it Wrong

Everybody who knows me knows that I think rock climbing might possibly be the most boring sport on the face of the Earth. Actually this is a lie, most people don’t know this tid-bit about me, and to tell you the truth rock climbing is pretty awesome. This is a recent change of heart though, and it all began on a recent trip to Sandrock, Alabama.

The weekend was off to a great start. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and from the protection of the truck I knew it was beautiful outside. The sun was deceivingly warm through the windows, and despite the picturesque day it was a balmy 36 degrees. Once things got going we spent most of the first day learning words like “trad” and “pro” and how to make yourself sounds like a rock climber. But don’t be fooled, while I can throw around words I am far from being a professional. However, I can manage to find some pretty awesome cracks to place cams, tri-cams, hexes, and nuts. For all of you out there trying to follow along this means that I can put hardware in the rock so if I take a fall I won’t fall to the ground – at least that’s the theory.

As the sun went down that night so did the temperatures. With a sleeping mat to insulate me from the ground, my 20° sleeping bag, an extra wool blanket, and a random assortment of clothing packed around me I could hardly call myself warm. Luckily, Courtney was my tent-mate that first night and we were not above cuddling with each other. Finally, the sun decided to rise and a new day was dawning.

Our second day began with some gear placement and a quick lesson on building climbing anchors, oh and snow. As the day progressed it warmed up just enough for the snow to turn into rain, at which time we transitioned to building anchors with trees. While this is not a difficult skill to pick up, learning and working in the freezing rain makes things just a little less fun and harder to pick up. Therefore actually remembering what I learned has proven to be somewhat difficult. That being said I know you need some awesome looking trees or rocks, tie a few quick bowlines (always back them up), a BHK, slap some carabineers on there and you’ve got yourself an anchor (more or less).

 

Building a Fox System anchor - Super Confusing

 

After lunch (which was spent eating in the van) we headed out to do some actual climbing. We set up shop on the Sun Wall, named because it receives the most sun throughout the day, though that was an absolute joke. As we watched our guide lead the route and set our anchors the rain picked up and began beating down on us. When it was my turn to climb I was less then happy (I remind you that I still thought rock climbing was dumb at this point - especially in the rain). As soon as my fingers made contact with the rock they went numb, but in all honesty this wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was looking up and reaching for a new handhold. Each time upward movement occurred the little streams of water running down the rock face would find their way into my sleeves and down the front of my jackets. AWESOME! 

 

Climbing  Sun Wall -  Not sunny at all!

 

Dinner was spent at the local Waffle House which provided us all a chance to dry out and get warm before heading back to camp and slipping into our cold tents which housed cold sleeping bags. I had one problem though; Courtney decided she wanted to sleep in the van which left me tent-mate-less. But after a few switch-a-roos I found myself sleeping between two massive heat producers and needless to say I was plenty warm this time around.

Our third day began on a much more pleasant note – we could actually see the sun! We spent the morning setting our own anchors and rappelling off them. We switched them to climbing anchors and spent the rest of the morning climbing, in the sun! Other things happened, we packed up, drove home, and best of all I took a shower!

 

While this experience was less than stellar in terms of weather, the cold and miserable trips are the ones I remember the most, and typically I remember them fondly. So, when I say I don’t like rock climbing I’m lying to you, because I have actually found a small tiny space for it in my outdoor educator heart. I don't know when this happened, but hopefully if I take care of this space it will continue to grow.

 

 

 

 

 

The Quick and Dirty of How to Work with People

It is true, if you become a doctor you need to know how to practice medicine. If you become a lawyer you should know the law. A teacher should be able to teach, and an athlete should be able to play the game. But boil these jobs down to their basics and all you need to know is how to work with people. Having worked with people all my life in numerous capacities, most recently with a class of undergraduate Outdoor Education majors, I feel that I am qualified (enough) to give you the quick and dirty run down of how to work with people.

1.       Learn the Names of Those You Work With, and Try to Remember Their Faces. – Right now I am a teaching assistant for a group development class that meets on Thursdays. During the first class I facilitated a name game. Let’s be real though, those games don’t do anything for anybody’s memory concerning names. On Friday I am a student in an instructional strategies rock climbing class where we learn to climb, we don’t do name games. Fast forward to the next Thursday’s group development class where I am making small talk with the student next to me. Curious about his class load I ask if he is taking any instructional strategy classes. Quicker than you can say “teenage mutant ninja turtles” he turned, looked me straight in the eye, and said “Dana, I am in rock climbing with you, I was even in the group you were teaching knot tying to”. Oops! Like I said, learn names and faces…quickly!

 

2.       Get to Know Each Other – Nobody likes to sit around and learn mundane things about each other, that is just boring. I suggest you get outside, play some games, run around, get the blood flowing. Nothing says “getting to know you” like slapping the sweaty back of a stranger during a game of Tag.  

 

3.       Learn How to Work Together – Take some time to learn about everybody’s personalities. Are there Visionaries in your group? How about Drivers or Artists? Are people quiet, shy, loud, outgoing? I guarantee you will have all of these people in your group. To find out who has what traits put yourselves in a frustrating situation where a decision needs to be made through a true consensus. GOOD LUCK!    

 

4.       Trust Each Other – It’s simple. Without trust there is no group. Maybe you should do some blind trust walks through a mine-field of random toys...just a suggestion.  

 

5.       Solve Those Pesky Problems – Now that you know the names of your group members, you’ve done your fair share of sweating and slapping, you have come to a consensus on something, and you trust each other as if you have never lived a day apart you are ready for some problem solving.  One way to do this is come together over a problem your organization is having and solve it. However, the best way to practice problem solving is to get a small ball, a ring for that ball to sit on, and some strings at least 10 feet long (tie this string to the ring). Place the ball on top of the ring and each person holds onto the last 2 inches of the stings. Move the ball from point A to point B – which is up a hill, over a bridge, up some stairs and through some doors! Oh, and if you drop the ball there will be consequences.

 

6.     Have Fun – If you can’t have fun (at least some of the time) while working with people you might want to find a job where you can go and live under a rock or something.

 

Clearly working together as a group should not be limited to activities done as part of a team building exercise on a ropes course - otherwise all the governments, economies, and educational systems in the world would collapse and we would have no reason to work together as human beings anyway. Besides the fact that this list might possibly save us from a 15th century throw back, the cool thing is that every idea can be modified to fit the mission and values of any hospital, law firm, school or sports corporation (among many, many others) so that people can begin working together in a manner that brings about the best in others. And that right there is what working together is all about.  

Time to Start a New Adventure

The first blog post – probably the scariest post of them all. What do I talk about? Do I introduce myself? No, that seems too mundane, too boring. Do I jump right in with a story? Maybe, but without any background information the story might fall on deaf ears. Or worse, it will be relegated to the section of things to read that people don’t actually want to read. So back to my original plan – introduce myself and give people a reason to read what I have to say, or at least skim through it. Yes, after Googling how to write a first blog post I have decided that it is best for my readers (I’m assuming I have some) to understand who I am, where I come from, and where I want to go.

To begin I know, for a fact, everybody in the world has an inner self. I’m not talking about the scary inner self, (though if you have one I won’t knock it – it just might be something you want to control). I am talking about the inner selves such as your inner child, or your inner dreamer. For me, it is my inner adventurer – I’m pretty sure you have one too. Maybe you have let him or her out, or maybe they are still waiting to be found. Either way I know you have one and this is why. It’s pretty much human nature to want to understand the world around us; and to do that we must be adventurous. Contrary to popular belief adventures don’t have to be daunting, though they are often associated with risk, real or perceived. Adventures don’t have to happen in an outdoor setting but there is usually an element unfamiliar to the adventure seeker. And finally, adventures don’t have to be harrowing to be considered an adventure – they can just simply be.

Considering the above definitions of adventures I have been on hundreds of them. Road trips, plane trips, boat trips, trips by foot, any kind of trip you name it and I’ve done it…except an acid trip, I haven’t been on one of those. I don’t limit myself to trips in the travel sense through. I have also ventured into the wilderness of Colorado, Utah, California, Georgia, Australia, and Samoa (if you count sleeping on a beach as wild) to watch the sun rise, among other things, from mountain tops and meadows and beaches! Sometimes I don’t even get to watch the sun rise at all because I am hunkered down in a tent to avoid the onslaught of rain – or I’m just lazy and I am actually sleeping in! I have tried new things that scare me; I have tried old things that still scare me. Really anything that can be done to further my understanding of the world is an adventure waiting to happen.

Now, I haven’t really told you who I am, where I come from, or where I want to go. But isn’t that the beauty of a blog? You get to find out as you read along. Basically I am writing a public journal, a story if you will, that will give you (my reader) a special insight into my everyday life through my stories and experiences. So I hope you enjoy what you read. If you do, awesome! If you don’t, bummer.

 

 

 

FYI - postings will be sporadic at best. You see, I am in the middle of a new adventure…I am a graduate student! Though it doesn't look like it from this picutre. But I assure you, grad students can have fun too!