Spring Break Camp 2021
Wow this post had been in "edit mode" forEVER. This winter the boys had been begging to camp for months. Finally the weather and time lined up for us to go over Spring Break. We headed out to the end of Brett's trapline, just under 20 miles north of town. We have a double teepee style tent and have found out the hard way that we need to dig down to the ground in the winter time, as the stakes around the edge of the tent are crucial and need to be anchored into something solid. Before this trip we broke our snow scoop and the store was out of shovels, so Brett took time to turn a fuel drum into a snow scoop before we left. It certainly did its job! Without it we would've been going home that same night; there is no way we would've been able to get the area cleared.
We started by just shoveling up to the sides, but then realized it would be easier to fill the sleds and pull them out. We had two of these "flat sleds" going at a time.
The kids all helped by shoveling, hooking up the sled, and positioning the new sled to be filled
Well...Anya may not have pulled her weight, but she had fun making trails on snowshoes and eventually joined in by throwing snow chunks into the sled. Once we finally had the area cleared and the tent set up, I got the interior set up while Brett and Oren went to get some wood to heat the tent with. Anya was a little perplexed that the tent wasn't warm as soon as it was set up. "How does the cold come through the walls though?!"
Ryker and Anya were playing with the walkie talkies....from the top to the bottom bunk.
Each kid gets to bring a book to read on a camping trip and one small toy. We also usually have a family book we listen to on Audible before bed. One night we all fell asleep listening to Swiss Family Robinson. I heard some shuffling around and my phone being turned off. I heard wood being put into the fire and Ryker's headlamp being turned off. I figured it was Brett, so I just rolled over and went back to sleep. Turns out it was Oren! Taking care of us all.
Oren wanted to show his Tunnel he dug in between helping.
With all the work done (tent set up, wood chopped, stove going) We had time for a quick evening hike to the cliff.
And then it was back to the tent for a late dinner and bedtime.
Ryker kept Anya happy by reading to her while I prepared some quick backpacking meals. (Since Uncle Troy came to visit, the boys think "Mountain House" Meals are the best things ever. They got some as a gift for Christmas)
Sometimes you get special treats when you are a super camper ;)
The boys helping to get wood for heating the tent.
Oren is turning into quite the wood chopper!.
There's lots of "work" (fun kind of work) involved in winter camping, but also plenty of time for play. We explore by snowshoe and snowmachine, sled, play in the snow, and dig tunnels.
Oren's traps for marten. He set them near our campsite while we were there.
Anya riding in style. We took hike on the snowmachine trail and then did some "off roading" on snowshoes.
Anya is a champ on snowshoes this year!
We were able to take a second trip out over Spring Break. But on that trip the rain fly ripped. We slept one night with a tarp covering the rip for one night, but the temps were a little colder, and we could feel the difference in the tent. Brett figured out a way to sew up the hole. He heated up a nail to poke holes and then used some string to "sew" through the holes.
The most exciting time for the kids is moving the tent at the end of the trip and finding patches of "soil" (as Anya says). They found some worms and were super excited.
Comments
Post a Comment