A simple woodsman...

I had an interesting experience this past couple of days in the woods with my new co workers.  Both the americorps education team as well as the emergency response team participated in an event called Quest.  This is a time honored americorps tradition that is stooped in secrecy.  I'm really not sure if I am supposed to be putting such classified details on the internet.  Alas, I would be really surprised if any future americorps members stumble across this lowly blog.  So I assume it's secret will remain safe.  Anyway...our group of thirty was not given any details about what the trip would entail, only that we needed to pack for five days, two of which would be spent in an "uncivilized" location.  The journey began Wednesday afternoon at the americorps office.  We were quickly separated into five groups and given various random items of which were to be packed with our two day bags.  The items were composed of various camping paraphernalia and first aid supplies.  At this point my suspicions were confirmed that we would be spending at least two days in the woods.  After some ice breaker games we were all loaded on buses and shipped out.  Three hours later we arrived at a national park in Illinois.  My group the purple team "team awesome"  a motley crew of 12, was given some basic food supplies including salami, cheese, bread and some cereal of which we had to pack with our camping equipment.  The journey itself began with a short bus ride across the park to the edge of a lake where some canoes awaited us.  Before embarking we were given a compass, map and a quick briefing on how to use both to navigate ourselves.  On the map was marked two X's.  The first of which was where we were to dock our boats on the lake.   The second X ( placed ominously far away from the first) was were we were supposed to make camp for the night.  I volunteered to steer one of the canoes because I have extensive navigation experience (one trip down the Cape Fear River when I was ten).  It turned out to be a blast even though we got lost four about an hour.  When we finally docked our boats at the correct location it was getting to be dark.  We pulled the boats on shore and began making our way through the woods.  There was no trail to speak of as we made our way along in the dark.  I tried to lead our little crew with my mag light flashlight, but only managed to get us into thorns while getting face fulls of spiders which seemed to have infested every tree in the park.  Two hours into the trip we found the edge of a lake we could use as a backstop.  Four hours into the hike, still following the lake line my group began to get a little nervous.  Six hours into the hike we were I was sure we were lost.  However, we all came together as a team, reexamined the map, took a careful survey of the surrounding area and realized that we were actually going in the right direction despite our uncertainty.  After 8 hours of hiking in the dark we finally found our campsite.  The location was along the edge of the lake.  The clearing was enclosed by a large rock face that created a natural overhang that we used as a shelter.  No one had any idea what time it was because our phones and watches had been taken away at the beginning of the trip.  Only when we got back to civilization the next day did we realize that we had made camp, cooked dinner and gone to bed between 2 and 3 in the morning.  After spending the night in the open night air with my sleeping bag as the only buffer between me and several jagged stones I was greeted by a glorious sunrise over the lake at the sweet smell of fresh dew.  The trek back to civilization was much easier in the daylight.  Furthermore we actually found a paved road which led us straight to our destination.  When all five groups reconvened the director of ERT made an announcement that our team would not be staying three more days at the camp lodge as was the plan.  Because we would be leaving for Montana soon she wanted to give the emergency response team enough time to pack and make necessarily preparations for our month we would spend there.  This trip gave me a chance to bond with our little group of twelve.  It is interesting what sorts of things you learn about people when you are lost in the dark woods for hours.  Overall, I had a blast.  It was a great time and was just a little taste of what is down the road i'm sure.