Welcome to the AppalachianTrailCafe.net!
Take a moment and register and then join the conversation

Hey let's discuss taking girls and grandaughters - first experiences

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • The only experince I can think of is that my sisters joined Girl Scouts so they could go camping, after hearing my talk about my camping experiences in Boy Scouts. But Girl Scouts, I have been recently told, have sold off many of their camping areas as they no longer go camping. Bizzare.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.
    • When my daughter was in middle school, she went away to a camp run by the YMCA - one that has a really great reputation and an extremely active alumni association. They did a backpacking trip, and she got a terrible guide. She liked the activities of the trip, but the logistics had some serious problems, they wandered from the trail they were supposed be on, her gear got wet, and she was NOT a happy camper.

      She refused to try backpacking with me for a few years thereafter, although we went on some day trips together. Finally, when she was a junior in high school, we were on a 13.5-mile loop, and at one overlook, she said, "You know, you're right, this would have been easier as a backpack. I bet there's a good campsite in the flats over there (pointing), and there's bound to be water in the bottom of that gully. We'd even have had time to climb up to see the plane crash site."

      "Does this mean you're ready to try backpacking again?"

      "Uhm, yeah, I guess so."

      We tried again, although it didn't work out for us to try until early the next spring. We wound up getting some sleet and freezing rain, but made a nice snug camp, had good food to eat, and got beautiful weather the second day. We saw some cool ruins, a fire tower, an abandoned quarry, and a lovely waterfall. We wowed some artists from Woodstock (the sort with a pink cardigan around the shoulders, oh my God, I've got mud on my tennis shoes!) They told her, "you're such an inspiration!" and she managed not to belly-laugh until they were out of earshot. She was hooked again. She told me that it was completely different, going with me - apparently, even a clueless weekender like me was more competent than her paid guide.

      By the time she was in college, she had a number of other weekend trips under her belt - including one bushwhack where we ran into a run of bad luck with route-finding and got back 18 hours late. ("Kid, we're running out of daylight, and this ledge is the biggest flat spot I've seen in 45 minutes. We're camping here.") That much experience made her a rock of strength to the other kids when Hurricane Sandy hit her campus. She couldn't come home, because they didn't announce that the dorms were closing until the trains had stopped running and the bridges running onto Long Island were closed.

      She pulled her basic kit together, reasoning, "what would I bring for a backpacking trip in this sort of weather?" and then "and wow, we're going by car, I can bring another bag and some more heavy stuff!" She wound up staying at the home of a classmate, where they were without electricity for over a week. Her headlamp and the little LED lantern that she had for car camping were the only lights they had in the house! When the natives started getting restless, she was able to tell them, "This isn't too bad. I've been through worse than this. For fun."

      She told me about making them a pot of soup for one meal from the Harmony House veggies that she kept in her dorm room and a hunk of abruzzese sausage, over a gas-fired barbecue grill (it may have been one of those models that have a range burner). She says it came out pretty tasty, and was a welcome change from the stuff they had been eating.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.
    • Another Kevin makes a good point about including things you would not see everyday - ruins, quarry, waterfall, ...

      To that, I would add flora and fauna. Find some wild edibles. Go where the deer are unusually tame, where raptors glide on thermals, or birds and chipmunks habitually look for crumbs around the shelter in the morning.
    • JimBlue wrote:

      The only experince I can think of is that my sisters joined Girl Scouts so they could go camping, after hearing my talk about my camping experiences in Boy Scouts. But Girl Scouts, I have been recently told, have sold off many of their camping areas as they no longer go camping. Bizzare.
      Don't be shocked if some Boy Scout troops start doing the same.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • WanderingStovie wrote:


      To that, I would add flora and fauna. Find some wild edibles. Go where the deer are unusually tame, where raptors glide on thermals, or birds and chipmunks habitually look for crumbs around the shelter in the morning.
      We'd done all those things on day trips. Heck, we'd done most of them in our own neighbourhood - raspberries and blueberries invade my backyard, there are nuisance deer living at my workplace, there are lots of raptors (including a couple of pair of bald eagles) on the cliffs overlooking the Mohawk, and I do never-ending battle with the chipmunks.

      As far as the flora go: I recall doing a couple of day trips to look at unusual plants the year that my daughter took high school biology. I got to do a bunch of, "congratulations, you've spotted a phylum you hadn't seen before! That's a (hornwort/bryophyte/liverwort/clubmoss/horsetail)." Since ferns, conifers, and flowering plants are everywhere, and there aren't any cycads, ginkgos, or gnetophytes locally, we didn't do too badly - seven out of the ten phyla of land plants.

      We also made some day trips to sample water and mud of various palustrine communities - peat bog, fen, marsh, swamp, floodplain - and looked at the critters we found under a microscope. Was daughter ever amazed when a nematode swam out from under the coverslip! Tellingly, we found tardigrades just about everywhere we sampled. They found a good gig in the Cambrian period, and stuck with it. Tardigrades are wondrous beasts indeed.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.
    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      To that, I would add flora and fauna. Find some wild edibles. Go where the deer are unusually tame, where raptors glide on thermals, or birds and chipmunks habitually look for crumbs around the shelter in the morning.
      We'd done all those things on day trips. Heck, we'd done most of them in our own neighbourhood - raspberries and blueberries invade my backyard, there are nuisance deer living at my workplace, there are lots of raptors (including a couple of pair of bald eagles) on the cliffs overlooking the Mohawk, and I do never-ending battle with the chipmunks.
      As far as the flora go: I recall doing a couple of day trips to look at unusual plants the year that my daughter took high school biology. I got to do a bunch of, "congratulations, you've spotted a phylum you hadn't seen before! That's a (hornwort/bryophyte/liverwort/clubmoss/horsetail)." Since ferns, conifers, and flowering plants are everywhere, and there aren't any cycads, ginkgos, or gnetophytes locally, we didn't do too badly - seven out of the ten phyla of land plants.

      We also made some day trips to sample water and mud of various palustrine communities - peat bog, fen, marsh, swamp, floodplain - and looked at the critters we found under a microscope. Was daughter ever amazed when a nematode swam out from under the coverslip! Tellingly, we found tardigrades just about everywhere we sampled. They found a good gig in the Cambrian period, and stuck with it. Tardigrades are wondrous beasts indeed.
      Tardigrades are tough little beasts. Thanks for sharing. I thought I was looking at an eight-legged pig swimming underwater.

      The platypus is amazing too.

      I skipped fifth grade, but halfway made up for it in college. Am I a semitardigrade?
    • JimBlue wrote:

      I all ready know that campfires aren't done much any more. Nor apparently knife and axe safety.
      Having assisted various Boy Scout troops at three Scout camps in Wyoming, Utah and Idaho in recent summers, I can assure you campfires remain popular and knife and axe safety is taught and rigorously enforced.

      While living in Belgium, I was privileged to be an assistant Girl Scout leader as the leader couldn't recruit a female for the role. Admittedly one of my motivations was the leader was a hottie.

      This troop was more active in camping than the Boy Scout troop. Among other locations, we camped in the courtyard of a medieval castle overlooking the river Meuse, in a Belgium military training area within the Argonne Forest, in a local park outside Givet France, and outside Bastogne in a park dedicated to the Battle of the Bulge.

      Lest we forget.....



      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Dan76: Clarity ().

    • Sounds like a good location. One of my relatives was in General Patton's 3rd Army.

      I meant local Scout troops. This is from relatives who had some kids in the local council.

      Oh, was it Castle Riche-Guet ? I don't know how to place a ^ above the e in Guet. One of the people I know who makes game maps, made a pdf of that castle and the grounds.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.
    • JimBlue wrote:

      Sounds like a good location. One of my relatives was in General Patton's 3rd Army.

      I meant local Scout troops. This is from relatives who had some kids in the local council.

      Oh, was it Castle Riche-Guet ? I don't know how to place a ^ above the e in Guet. One of the people I know who makes game maps, made a pdf of that castle and the grounds.
      My Dad was one of Patton's tank commanders, he was a Sergeant Major. He could tell some good stories.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • I completely agree with all the comments about flora, fauna, etc. The one and only fully integrated hiking trip my church youth group went on when I was in high school had kids ranging in ages from 11-16. I was 15 or 16 at the time and an old pro at the whole hiking thing. There were however, two little girls in the 11 year old age range who had never been on a hike of anything length or elevation gain who severely overpacked and legitimately cried the whole time. I ended up carrying both of their bags along with mine (it was not pleasant but they stopped wailing loudly). The men leading the group were not equipped to handle little girls. They were on a mission to get to the top of Blood Mountain and that's what we did. No stopping, no sight seeing, no talking. Once we got up there it was a free for all but it made it miserable for the young girls.

      They also all missed the memo about pack in/pack out. Do you know how much trash a group of tweens and teens can amass in one night?? I hefted out a full, 50 gallon bag the next day. To be fair, I volunteered to do it so that I knew all the trash would make it out.

      I did the Girl Scout thing for a couple of years but my troop wasn't very active and mainly just pushed cookie sales. We did take one trip where a boyfriend of one of the moms taught us very briefly how to build a lean-to and start a fire. Coolest thing I did during my whole time as a scout.

      Start her off small and build. Make it fun but also give her some ownership of it all. She will appreciate it more if she knows who/what lives in the trees, the ground, the leaves and what the trees are, why we have wild spaces and our part in keeping them that way any time we visit. At least, that's how it worked for me as a little girl.
      “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T. S. Eliot
    • Uh OK - I was hoping a few GS would weigh in on this thread.

      Well let me attempt to be plain. In my travels with the Wilmington Trail Club I am clearly outnumbered, the wonderful woman that now are making up the club outnumber the men almost 2:1 because they show up to the starts each week. But I rarely see younger than 25 on the same trips.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      But I rarely see younger than 25 on the same trips.
      Involvement with a couple of local hiking clubs shows few folks under 30 are members. However both clubs are active in trail maintenance which prompted my membership. Talking with these folks revealed most were life-long hikers preferring to go solo or as a twosome. However as age crept onward and various health conditions became a concern, safety in numbers grew in importance during hiking events.

      Invariably while performing trail maintenance after a predawn climb carrying supplies and tools, we'll be confronted by an earbud plugged, energy drink sipping, ill-equipped hiker wanting passage while the 70ish crew boss attempts to explain a short trail closure allowing folks around the bend to complete clearing a slide.

      Lest we forget.....



      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC
    • I haven't been part of a club in years - I was on the Wilmington Trail Club when I was age 8-10 went back to them in my 20's and 30's 40's off and on again then quit when some really mean old women yelled at me for bringing a dog when it wasn't mine. My dad brought a Jack Russel to a hike so what, I thought. Nicest dog on the planet. Too many rules!




      Yea I hike alone = peace of mind, I am not worried about safety, the insurance is paid up.

      I guess I just need to get her out there when it's a little warmer.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • JimBlue wrote:

      The only experince I can think of is that my sisters joined Girl Scouts so they could go camping, after hearing my talk about my camping experiences in Boy Scouts. But Girl Scouts, I have been recently told, have sold off many of their camping areas as they no longer go camping. Bizzare.
      My experience and my daughter's experience with Girl Scouts was a joke.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • TrafficJam wrote:

      JimBlue wrote:

      The only experince I can think of is that my sisters joined Girl Scouts so they could go camping, after hearing my talk about my camping experiences in Boy Scouts. But Girl Scouts, I have been recently told, have sold off many of their camping areas as they no longer go camping. Bizzare.
      My experience and my daughter's experience with Girl Scouts was a joke.
      Do they do anything other than sell cookies?
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      JimBlue wrote:

      The only experince I can think of is that my sisters joined Girl Scouts so they could go camping, after hearing my talk about my camping experiences in Boy Scouts. But Girl Scouts, I have been recently told, have sold off many of their camping areas as they no longer go camping. Bizzare.
      My experience and my daughter's experience with Girl Scouts was a joke.
      Do they do anything other than sell cookies?
      Not in my experience. But to be fair, I imagine the troop is only as good as its leaders.

      Also, my comments may be taken with a grain of salt as I have a weird and strong aversion to myself or my children being pushed to sell things. As soon as they brought those packets home from school or wherever, they went in the trash. Didn't I tell y'all once I'd never be Mother of the Year?
      Lost in the right direction.
    • I think big city areas they just sell cookies. My sister told me that wouldn't be tolerated by the parents back then.

      I really haven't heard much camping going on with either boy or girl scouts these days. I know most of the girl scout summer camps have been sold off. For boy Scouts it varies by location.

      I encountered some scouts in Pennsylvania from Manhatten. They had found and recycled metals. Bought and refurbished their own bus. And raised money to camp in the woods. One kid was in a wheelchair and he very much disliked the toning down of Scouting. This was in the 1970s.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.
    • TrafficJam wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      JimBlue wrote:

      The only experince I can think of is that my sisters joined Girl Scouts so they could go camping, after hearing my talk about my camping experiences in Boy Scouts. But Girl Scouts, I have been recently told, have sold off many of their camping areas as they no longer go camping. Bizzare.
      My experience and my daughter's experience with Girl Scouts was a joke.
      Do they do anything other than sell cookies?
      Not in my experience. But to be fair, I imagine the troop is only as good as its leaders.
      Also, my comments may be taken with a grain of salt as I have a weird and strong aversion to myself or my children being pushed to sell things. As soon as they brought those packets home from school or wherever, they went in the trash. Didn't I tell y'all once I'd never be Mother of the Year?
      Ah, someone who thinks for themselves and doesn't just follow the pack.
      I like that :thumbsup:
    • TrafficJam wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      JimBlue wrote:

      The only experince I can think of is that my sisters joined Girl Scouts so they could go camping, after hearing my talk about my camping experiences in Boy Scouts. But Girl Scouts, I have been recently told, have sold off many of their camping areas as they no longer go camping. Bizzare.
      My experience and my daughter's experience with Girl Scouts was a joke.
      Do they do anything other than sell cookies?
      Not in my experience. But to be fair, I imagine the troop is only as good as its leaders.
      Also, my comments may be taken with a grain of salt as I have a weird and strong aversion to myself or my children being pushed to sell things. As soon as they brought those packets home from school or wherever, they went in the trash. Didn't I tell y'all once I'd never be Mother of the Year?
      For a few years I taught at a school whereby if a teacher wanted a field trip, funds were raised by selling various items...magazine subscriptions, garden seeds, popcorn, cookie dough, you get the picture. I applied for grants with various institutions and received funding for three field trips. My principal denied two of the trips as 'it wouldn't be fair to other students if mine went on three. I gave the funds to other teachers.

      Upon departure, I gave copies of the grant paperwork to others and the field trips are continuing.

      Lest we forget.....



      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC
    • meat wrote:

      Tuckahoe wrote:

      My nearly 14yo niece surprised me at Christmas when she expressed interest in going on a hike with me sometime this year.
      mine have zero interest in bugs, campfires and the out of doors...preferring shopeene!
      My niece likes make up and shopping, but she's been car camping many times with friends and her mom and is an inline speed skater. I just need to find a pack to fit her now.
      Of course I talk to myself... sometimes I need expert advice.
    • Tuckahoe wrote:

      meat wrote:

      Tuckahoe wrote:

      My nearly 14yo niece surprised me at Christmas when she expressed interest in going on a hike with me sometime this year.
      mine have zero interest in bugs, campfires and the out of doors...preferring shopeene!
      My niece likes make up and shopping, but she's been car camping many times with friends and her mom and is an inline speed skater. I just need to find a pack to fit her now.
      that's half the fun, shopping...for gear. :)
    • Tuckahoe wrote:

      meat wrote:

      Tuckahoe wrote:

      My nearly 14yo niece surprised me at Christmas when she expressed interest in going on a hike with me sometime this year.
      mine have zero interest in bugs, campfires and the out of doors...preferring shopeene!
      My niece likes make up and shopping, but she's been car camping many times with friends and her mom and is an inline speed skater. I just need to find a pack to fit her now.
      She sounds like my oldest. Girly yet loves the outdoors, beer, and football. And there ain't nothing wrong with that.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      My youngest daughter, who was never in girl scouts, is spending the summer working at a girl scout camp in NM. Oh my.

      It’s the same camp I attended as a kid and didn’t do very well. I was the kid that got a stomachache every day because I was homesick.
      Here is to hoping she has a better experience. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General