Other than my family and the New York Mets the great passion of my life is scouting. In particular Troop 327, I have been associated with the troop for over twenty five years (closer to thirty if you include time from Pack 327- our minor league affiliate).
Being a part of the scouting movement has allowed me really enjoy nature in a way I probably would not have if I wasn't a scout. Camping would be something you did once or twice in your life and would involve lots of alcohol and a huge unsafe fire. Instead it's a hobby I get to do several times a year, no alcohol, and huge safe fires. This past weekend we took the troop to Camp Glen Gray in New Jersey. It is a camp I had been to a decade earlier but we rediscovered it last year and liked it so much we went back, despite the bears.
We had a small group with us and we were doing a backpacking themed trip, which was going to include a ten-mile hike. The weather was amazing, and soon after we made it to our campsite and settled in, I was out like a light. There is nothing like settling into you sleeping bag on a brisk evening.
We eventually set out on our hike. And to say we were not collectively ready for ten miles was an understatement. But we had gone pretty far on fairly tough terrain we consulted the map to find a short cut back to camp. We found one and everyone had an extra bounce in their step once we realized we were on the way home. All in all it ended up being almost seven miles, not so bad.
We got back and made our trail food, cup o soup never tasted so satisfying. I took a nap and watched movies on my iPod. As relaxing as that was I'm not sure if sitting in my tent watching Your Highness is what you should do at camp. I remember years ago we had a ban on electronic devices, this was before cell phones became omnipresent. Is it time to go back to those days? Could I go a weekend without email or music? I'm not sure.
I woke up had a really hearty dinner and sat by a nice fire until I was too tired to keep my eyes open. And I fell asleep to the sounds of a nice crackling fire. Not the crackling fire from my white noise generator.
It was a good time but I missed Mrs. Gmibp, Nugget and Belushi a ton. I can't wait to take them camping, which I hope will spark a life long love of the outdoors.
2 comments:
Nice recap. Sounds like fun. Ive definitely spent more time out of door in nature since Max was born. Next spring or summer we may camp out in the front yard. Would be cool if you guys could join us. Will be awesome building a giant fire in my neighbors driveway. Plus we'll be close enough to the house for a Wifi signal on the ipad to stream movies :-)
I love that idea, we are so there.
I want to try to camp (probably at lake george) with the kids when we drive to Montreal next summer.
Post a Comment