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.