September 24-25, 2022 - RMNP Overnight Camping Excursion
Cabin Camper 1-5 + Take Action 1 + Girl Scout Way 1,4 + Outdoor Skills 2,3,5,6,9,10
Meeting Activities:
See the 9/24/22 Meeting Plan
All Cabin Camper badge requirements
Other badge requirements: Take Action 1, Girl Scout Way 1,4 + Outdoor Skills 2,3,5,6,9,10
Comments:
We had a great turnout of 11 of 15 girls for our overnight camping excursion to Moraine Park Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Last May, our cabin camping excursion to Meadow Mountain Ranch was canceled due to a late spring snowstorm. Our three adjoining campsites in RMNP turned out to be a great Plan B. It even turned out to be “Free Day,” so we didn’t have to pay fees to enter the park. Bonus!
As everyone could probably tell by my planning—and over-planning!—I was nervous about being responsible for so many girls and making sure they were safe and had fun.
It turned out waaaaaaaaay better than I thought it would. Everyone had the proper gear, great attitudes, and listened to directions, for the most part. It certainly was cold overnight and through the morning, but no hypothermia, thank goodness!
Special thanks to Mona, Meghan, and Laurie who stayed overnight and helped manage the girls with me. And to Carrie for doing all the food shopping.
It's wonderful to have so many committed volunteers to help make things run smoothly!
Activities:
We arrived around 4:00 pm on Saturday as there was so much traffic getting into the park. Two factors: timed entry permits aren’t needed after 3:00 pm and it was National Public Lands Day, so entry was free. Definitely need to arrive earlier than 3:00 pm next time and check the free days!
We divided girls into four platoons, their “buddies” for the trip. Girls were told not to wander off or go to the toilet without telling someone or being accompanied by their buddies.
Girls enthusiastically helped construct the tents and put sleeping areas together. We only had three tent pads, so we decided to split one platoon up for sleeping rather than put up the fourth tent. Rose gets the prize for being flexible and making new friends on pad 7.
Girls were starving by this point so we rushed out some hummus and veggies and put a pasta dinner with broccoli, pre-cooked chicken, and bagged caesar salad together. Most girls did bring a mess kit with a mesh bag that could be hung off a nearby tree. Recommend next time all girls bring their things in a bag so they can be washed and disinfected together and then hung back up on the line.
It was getting late, so we put the dirty dishes in bins in the bear locker and rushed out to try to find the elk. Unfortunately, it was dark by the time we walked down the trail to see Moraine Basin. No elk. But we heard them bugling all night long, which was really cool.
We came back to the campsite to make edible fire out of licorice, Cheetos, candy corns, and marshmallows, while I explained the basics of safe fire building as taught by Obi Joe.
Girls learned about fire starters, tinder, kindling, and fuel along with protection strategies like having a well-lined fire pit and water nearby with a “critter stick.” As she piled marshmallows around the outside of her “fire,” Josephine declared that one can never have too much protection.
Since it was so dark, I built the fire’s structure and showed it to the girls before lighting a toilet paper roll stuffed with lint to start it, which worked well. Girls nibbled at their candy fires as they sang camping songs around the real one.
An old favorite from my childhood, Peter Paul and Mary’s Boa Constrictor, was deemed inappropriate by some of our sensitive souls. But they loved Princess Pat, I Met a Bear, Everywhere We Go, Boom Chicka Boom, and On Top of Spaghetti. We even did Black Socks a few times in a round.
By 8:45 pm, some girls were begging to go to bed, so we turned in. Girls were great at spitting their toothpaste into the trash can (leave no trace!) and putting all of their “smellables” in the bear box overnight. I heard that pad 6 had quite the pillow fight and giggle fest before settling down to sleep.
Again, those miscreants on pad 6 woke everyone up shortly after 6:00 am. The coldest part of the day is right before sunrise, and it was certainly cold. Our goal was to get out to see the elk, but by the time we made hot chocolates, ate breakfast, and washed dishes, they were gone again. (Though Mila, Rose, and I found them in Moraine Basin on our drive out!)
Since it was so cold, we built another fire, which the girls contributed to, now that it was light. We sent them to collect tinder and to help build and feed the baby fire with kindling. Then I taught girls how to responsibly light matches.
In the first round, girls either couldn’t get the match to light or were throwing the just-blazing match sticks everywhere but the bin of water in front of them. But by the second round, they realized they weren’t going to get burnt and so calmly struck the box and placed the lit match in the water. Once it felt more like playing with matches than learning a skill, we lit the fire.
We decided to break down tents and organize belongings, which took time pressure off our final activities, which included SWAPS making, reflecting on all the skills learned to earn their Cabin Camper badge, and planning their Take Action booth at Dinosaur Ridge.
The SWAPS craft was a highlight of the trip. Mona put together all the parts to make awesome SWAPS designed as sleeping bags, campfires, and s’mores. Girls loved making these.
During the reflection session, I reminded the girls of all the things we had done together to meet the requirements for the badge. When prompted about their favorite part, many of them said match lighting (sorry, parents!), SWAPS making, and singing (again, sorry, parents!).
They universally hated washing dishes. When asked to recall what one can use in the last of the three bins to disinfect, Eliza yelled out, “Plutonium!,” which got a few chuckles. She and a few others said that was their first time washing dishes (you’re welcome, parents!). But other than washing dishes on a freezing cold morning, there were few complaints.
During our Take Action booth brainstorming, quite a few ideas were bandied about. Teaching camping songs was an almost unanimous winner. Making SWAPS was a close second. Edible fire building would have been third except we can’t serve food. Girls loved the match-lighting and wanted to demonstrate safe fire-building skills, but we worried it wouldn’t be safe in such a busy environment.
In the end, we settled on focusing on singing and crafts, but altering them in ways that enabled event participants to complete all the requirements for the GS Way and Bugs badges (which our girls also need to finish):
Teach camping songs (GS Way 1)
Birthday card-making station with Juliette Low theme (GS Way 2)
Poster-making station teaching about 5 CO native bugs (Bugs 1/Outdoor Skills 3)
SWAPS-making station with Bugs theme (Bugs 2/GS Way 5)
We’re going to split the girls into two shifts on 10/8. Before or after their booth slot, girls can explore the exhibits and complete additional badges, if they want.
Possible badges-in-a-day include Hiker, Bugs, Girl Scout Way, Household Elf, Letterboxer, Making Friends, and Senses. Here is the Brownie Badge Requirements Checklist for the event, so girls can plan out their plan of attack.
Cabin Camper Badge Requirements
1. Help plan your camping trip - At the end of our hiking excursion, we discussed ways to plan for the camping trip, including researching the campsite and RMNP, mapping the route, and checking the weather and fire forecasts. Girls discussed what food they wanted, which resulted in the grocery shopping list.
2. Learn about camping gear - In preparation for the May trip, Mila demoed her hiking and overnight kit and recorded videos. For this trip, girls were encouraged to prepare for sun during the day, cold at night (down to the high-30s), and the possibility of rain.
3. Prepare a camp meal - We discussed safe knife skills, including the circle of safety. We practiced how to pass a knife with its blade down and handle toward the recipient, as taught by Obi Joe. We talked about different cooking methods and set up a propane cooking stove. Girls chopped veggies and mixed salads and ate pasta with either marinara or pesto with broccoli and pre-grilled chicken. In the morning, the girls ate homemade muffins, bagels, and fruit. We made quick sandwiches before departure.
4. Learn a new camping skill - Girls set up camp, including tents, sleeping quarters, a 10x10 shelter, a hand wash station, a camp kitchen, and a dish wash station. They used the buddy system to keep each other safe. We practiced Leave No Trace principles, including planning ahead and preparing, traveling and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly, leaving what you find, minimizing campfire impacts, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of others. We practiced being safe in bear country, including packing “smellables” separately and putting them and all food items in the bear box overnight. I taught them the three-bucket method of washing dishes (soap-rinse-disinfect) and admonished them about properly scraping their dishes before throwing them in the wash bins. I showed them how to filter dirty wash water through a strainer to throw food bits into the trash (leave no trace!).
5. Go camping - We survived our first overnight camping trip—in tents! And it went really well, even with the drop in temperature. Thank you to parents for making sure girls had everything they needed to be safe.
Outdoor Journey Take Action
1. Deciding on a Take Action Project - Girls offered suggestions and voted on what skills they’ve learned that they would like to teach others at Dinosaur Ridge.
Girl Scout Way Badge Requirements
1. Sing everywhere - We learned lots and lots of camping songs. And girls were enthusiastic about practicing them.
5. Enjoy Girl Scout traditions - We made SWAPS, which was awesome!
GSCO Outdoor Skills Patch - Novice
2. Build an edible fire - Girls loved building their “fires” from candy and chips.
3. Identify 5 Colorado bugs or mammals - Girls learned about the elk rut and practiced bear safety. Some girls saw elk and mule deer. We shooed away some aggressive camp-scrounging chipmunks.
5. Use the rule of thumb - We reminded girls how far they needed to stay away from elk or other animals if we encountered them.
6. Plan, prepare, and pack a no-cook snack or meal - Girls planned and prepared the camp meals.
9. Explore the many uses of bandanas - For those who missed my May presentation, I did an impromptu demo of bandana uses as a signal, bag, tourniquet, bandage, breathing mask, sun protection, first aid sling, cold compress, towel, napkin, tissue, pot holder, headband, trail marker, cordage, gear wrap, toilet paper.
10. Create signal systems with your buddy, your family, and your troop - We assigned girls to platoons, their buddies for the excursion.
Family Follow Up:
Please RSVP for 10/8 so we can assign work shifts.
Please respond to survey about excursions for Pets badge.
Look at changes to upcoming schedule. I moved some things around so that we can end the troop year before the Memorial Day weekend holiday and end-of-school craziness.
Announcements:
Next Meetings:
SAT 10/8: Dinosaur Ridge + Take Action
SUN 10/23: Democracy for Brownies + Suffrage Centennial
SUN 11/6: Excursion to City Council Chambers with Guest Speaker: Jolon Clark, Denver City Council District 7
Thanks!
Meredith (Mila’s Mom)