CAMPGIRLZ.COM

How to plan a successful camp out for family or youth group

Before you begin, you might want to check our Progression Page at www.campgirlz.com/?page_id=15

First Timers

For younger girls, a backyard campout is a fun first step & very forgiving to beginning planners.  A backyard campout is basically a dry run for campout away from home, so you want to run through all the same steps listed below.  Obviously, the bonus for adults:  if you forget something, a girl is very upset,  or the weather turns, you are steps away from the solution.   Even though you are close to a phone, try to encourage all girls to stay the night & work through any fears or problems.  From working at many camps, I know most upset girls who are offered support, can make it through the night and feel very proud of themselves in the morning.  That is the way we learn & grow.

For older girls who are beginners, a backyard campout might not be appealing. Another first step for these girls is a skills day..  Separate skills are practiced at a local park before an actual campout. Some examples of activities are hang a tarp, set up a tent, start a fire, use a map and compass, and operate a camp stove.  The great thing about a skills session is the freedom to make mistakes without great discomfort!  Developing the skills into games or contests with prizes makes the day more fun.

• Tent or tarp race…have a race to see who can set up their tent or tarp the fastest
• Learn some basic first aid & then have a ‘pretend emergency’ where the girls have to treat the person using the skills they learned
• Cook a lunch using many different fuel sources, such as reflector oven, cook stove, and fire.
• Have a ‘one match fire’ contest
• Make a bracelet with beads while learning knots
• Fill packs with a variety of items & have relays.  ‘Oh yeah, all that stuff is a lot heavier than we thought!’

Always take time to address comfort level issues and any fears/concerns before the campout or trip.  Let’s face it, if someone is afraid, they are not going to have a good time.  Fear is generally a learned behavior & can be unlearned with patience and knowledge.    Talk is good!  Establishing a safe place where kids can talk & share is a critical step. Learn about what animals are in the area & talk about night noises before you camp out.  Have a night hike before the camp out.

One of the tricks for adults working with kids it to find that balance where no one in the group is left behind, but no one is bored either.  Tricky but challenging!

PLANNING AN AWAY TRIP:  After you feel your family or group is ready for a trip away from home, we still want to take progressive steps into wild places.  Some kids will be ready to go camping in any setting quickly, while some will be more hesitant.  The location & time away from home will vary depending on your groups’ skill level and comfort level.    Decide if you want to car camp, backpack or canoe trip.  Remember that all skills and experience build on each other & create a jumping off spot for the next level.

• It is very important the girls are involved in planning as much as possible. The more your child or group of children feel that they are planning & implementing the activities, the better the mood & attitude.
• It is better to have too many activities planned and not need them, than having not enough to do.  Also, some activities may not go over as planned, so you will need a substitute.
• Plan for down time & a reasonable pace.

• Learn about the area, including any animals or insects that may need special attention.  Secure reliable maps & local emergency contacts
• Have the kids make up a Trip Agreement that each participant will sign.  This includes good conduct and safety behavior.
• There are many examples of camping checklists for various trips available in books and on the internet.  It is okay to start with an established list & tweek it for your own needs.  Everyone has their own way of camping and their own opinion on what is necessary.   Before showing them a list, it is a good exercise to have the group mentally walk through their plan, jotting down items they will be using, because this encourages critical thought!  Always a good thing.  A great site on lightweight gear and travel is www.nessmuking.com
• Have the kids make up a menu for the trip & plan out a food list, including walking through any utensils they will need & how they will keep food cold.  Help them figure out portion sizes and how much food they will need.
• Work out a tentative itinerary for your trip & make sure parents at home have a copy.  It is also important to let someone know about day hikes and trips.  If an emergency would happen, someone not on the trip needs to know about where you are and what time you were expected back.
• Have the girls plan out a First Aid Kit.  Place your local emergency contacts, home emergency contact for girls, parent permission, and any personal medications in the kit.
• Review Leave No Trace ethics!  www.lnt.org

As noted earlier, as much as possible, it is great practice to involve girls in all these steps even for a backyard campout, making mistakes and the corresponding adjustments.

SAFETY: If you belong to a particular group, such as Girl Scouts, make sure you follow all the guidelines for your organization.  They have some excellent resources on safety guidelines.  Here are just a few general tips:

• Know the area & the potential risks
• Know the weather forecast
• Plan for emergencies & be prepared
• Make sure each participant knows what to do in case of emergency
• Girls should always take a ‘buddy’ if they have to leave the group.

Trip Time! During the camp out or trip out, as a leader, one of your jobs is to read your group.  How are they doing?  Bored? Tired?  Be flexible.  If that amazing activity you planned is bombing in real life, then feel free to scrap it & do something else.  Create an atmosphere of open communication & have group discussion times if necessary.  Let go of perfection..remember these are kids.  They may say or do things that create challenges for you as a leader.  Keep the mood light & upbeat.  Check out our tips for challenging days in , ‘Mood Meltdown!’ under the category ‘Camp Out’.

Post Camp Evaluate your trip.  How did we do? What would we change? What was the best activity?  Where do we want to go next?

Have ideas to add to the perfect camp out?  Email me at campgirlz777@gmail.com

On Saturday, campgirlz.com set up a table at a local Gander Mountain & passed out pencils & information.  It was great to meet everyone & the winning number for the door prize was 6! If you have the winning number, email me at campgirlz777@gmail.com.

First of all, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who entered. I will be showing all the photos that were entered over the next few months. They were all fantastic & we had a hard time deciding. We spent a lot of time debating, but we finally picked the photo below.

We are happy to announce the winner of the “Camping Fun” photo contest!

Lauren & her Polly Pockets

Lauren Sarauer, 4 years old, on a canoe camping trip with family.  This photo was taken by Dad, Bryan,  while paddling across Kingsmere Lake in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan.  Lauren will be receiving our hat & bandanna prize!

Details of the trip:  http://pawistik.blogspot.com/2009/09/family-paddling-on-kinsgmere.html

Our runner up for the contest was the following photo:

Lana & Benny, canoe camping in Temagami

Submitted by Mom, Robbie Orosz.

This is what Robbie had to say about the photo:  “Thought I’d send you a few of pics from me and my daughter’s (now 25 yrs. old) trip we took last summer to Blueberry Lake in Temagami.   We hadn’t tripped together for maybe ten years and Lana wanted to brush up on camp skills as she is now planning on taking the activity up again in her adult life.  We also took our dog, Benny along for his first time too.  We really enjoyed the trip and time together again as just Mom and Daughter.  Lana is now planning for a trip to BC to kayak with orcas.

Congratulations!

Earth Day Festival

Campgirlz attended an Earth Day Festival yesterday, with great success!  I talked to over 52 girls and women about the website & ten more girls joined the club!  The threat of storms held off until almost exactly the right moment-the end of the festival.  As usual, my favorite part was meeting individual people & hearing about their life’s journey.

I had a contest for those visiting the website by putting numbers on the back of my business cards.  The winner was number 30! Please email me if you have this number.  campgirlz777@gmail.com.  If you are visiting from the festival, please let me know what you think of the site.  Great to meet all of you!

My friend, Mary Jean, shares a common passion with me, which is setting and achieving camping goals.   Mary Jean is a 51 year old, divorced elementary school principal living in Independence, Iowa.  She has been setting and meeting camping goals for a few years, so I asked her to share some of her experiences with campgirlz.com.  I love her comments!  Check them out below.

Solo Canoe Trip

When did you first start camping?

Chow time!

I set a goal to go camping at a state park by myself.  Not long after that, I went on a group trip in Alaska where I took many side trips in the outdoors…including a kayaking trip.  The guide made a comment to me that I looked like a natural paddler.  This made me feel even more confident and I absolutely fell in love with paddling.  One of my friends was selling her sea kayak so I bought it.

The next thing I did on my own was to take my first loner vacation.  I traveled to Lanesboro, MN and, using my bike as my take-out vehicle, I paddled a short stretch of the Root River alone.  I had a blast.  I then traveled to Bayfield, WI and signed on for a trip to the Apostle Islands.  Fortunately, it was a very small group that I paddled with and the guide was very understanding because I was petrified of the big water and of camping on islands where bears lived and roamed!!  But I survived it and despite my fears, I wanted more.

Packed & ready to go

In college I had had a professor who talked a lot about his trips to the Boundary Waters and it always sounded like something I’d want to do sometime.  I attended my first Canoecopia event and became determined to do a trip to the BW.   I began networking and eventually met one woman there that was willing to take a newbie with her to the BW.  We talked online and by phone and prepared for the trip in one month!

When did you take your first trip?

I took my first trip in 2005 at the age of 46, because it was a long time dream to camp/paddle in the wilderness.

What is your favorite part of camping?

Building a fire!  The success of building one with few resources.  I actually bought a small book about it and studied it because I wasn’t all too successful at first.  Learned a few tricks!!

Have you ever felt limited or treated differently because you are a woman?

Yes but most of that has been because of my own doubts or fears.  Also…I have been (appropriately, I believe) more fearful of two legged creatures than four legged ones in the wilderness!

First time campers have to overcome fears.  Do you have any comments on addressing fears?

I have to say that my short solo trip was built for success and helped me to overcome some of my fears.  The first time I went to the BW, my fears were of bears and being left alone at the campsite.  Those fears were overcome in that trip easily.  On my solo trip, I feared paddling in big waves with a loaded canoe on my own and sleeping alone at night at a campsite.  My first paddling partner said the sleeping alone thing would be a non-issue because I’d be so tired, I’d crash and not think about it.  She was right!  The fear of padding big waves I had to conquer on my way out….but I did it.

Quetico Trip

Is there something that stands out that you are proud of accomplishing?

My short paddle/bike trip and my solo.  Really, it all makes me feel more confident in other areas of my life. That’s the real reward!

What advice would you have for first time campers?

Do some research and read whatever you can get your hands on.  And JUST DO IT!  Know that you can and don’t let anyone tell you you’re crazy or that you can’t.

Here are some videos of Mary Jean’s trips.  These were created for her students at the elementary school where she is principal.  (Pretty cool principal, I would say! 

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/151489/The-Principals-Paddle

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/151495/Alone-in-the-Wilderness

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/151506/Beyond-a-Boat

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/151496/Breaking-Boundaries05?pk=9ee1-b6ea-6144-a9d4-f06a-cbf9-dbcc-

March has been an exciting time.

I shared a program at Canoecopia, encouraging women to canoe trip & pursue their dream adventures!  It was very exciting, after months of hard work on the presentation, to see women taking notes & looking inspired!  Some women stopped to chat afterwards or sent an email.  I love hearing from you!!    My daughter was in the crowd, & I was surprised how much she was listening. On the way home in the car, she said, ‘Mom, do you  know what my favorite part of your talk was? The part where you said when you were little, you would go outside when you were sad & feel the wind and watch the bugs.’.  I looked in the rearview mirror, and she was relaxed and smiling, looking out the window at the sky.  It really touched me. Thanks to everyone who came to the presentation!  If anyone is interested in this presentation, Trip Like A Girl, for their event or group, just drop me a note.

A favorite tree on my favorite river, last weekend!

I have received a few donations & everyone wants to be anonymous!  Thank you to all you anonymous spirits out there.  I greatly appreciate it.  I have decided to use the donations for craft supplies & give-aways at some informational booths I am having.  I am going to have a campgirlz booth at a local Gander Mountain, plus an Earth Day table at a local forest preserve.   Looking into the summer, I am working with a local park district to lead some activities for girls and their parent/guardian.  One will focus on hiking and another on campfire basics.  Should be lotsa fun!!! Google has found me out here in internetland.  I was very excited to get some emails from people who found the site looking for alternatives to TV watching.  If you have not done so, make sure to read through our list of 103 Things to do Besides Watch TV! 

http://www.campgirlz.com/?cat=31

And, last but not least, Gander Mountain donated a hat & bandana for our April Nature Photo Contest.

Hat & Bandanna Prize

*You can be any age, male or female to enter.  However, if you are male & win, you have to give the hat to a campgirlz!  *The subject is ‘Camping Fun’.  Please make sure you have permission from any people in the pictures to post online. * The winner will be mailed the hat & bandanna! Send entries to campgirlz777@gmail.com Good luck!

This week the campgirlz crew was going to create a super segment on rock skipping.  However, our Technical Director, JJ, came down with the stomach flu.  So…you can look forward to that segment in the coming weeks.  Warning:  I am very competitive on rock skipping, so beware!   

This week has been very exciting for campgirlz.  Here are some updates to the site:

• I have uploaded a new photo of our Tshirt, modeled by crew member, Slug.  You can view it on the ‘Join the Club’ tab on the horizontal menu bar.    http://www.campgirlz.com/?page_id=72
• Campgirlz.com will be working with a local forest preserve to develop some programs for girls this summer! 
• Scott Schuldt from Seattle, WA sent me a poem on cattails!   When I looked up Scott’s website, I really enjoyed his writings.    http://www.canoepost.blogspot.com .  He also does beadwork.     http://scottschuldt.com.  You can check out the poem by clicking the ‘Fun Zone’ button on the vertical menu bar.  http://www.campgirlz.com/?cat=5
• A reader had a few more questions for Shirley, who continues to canoe at 82.  You can read her latest reponses.  Click on the ‘Hammockland’ button on the vertical menu bar.   http://www.campgirlz.com/?cat=32
• Bryan Hansel of nessmuking.com fame asked me to do a guest post, “Why I Canoe”.  I enjoyed writing it and it really brought out why I started this site.  If you have not seen it, you can check it out at:

http://www.nessmuking.com/

I love hearing from people as passionate about camping and the outdoors as I am.  Check out this cool photo!!  I love canoes; I love camping; and I love dogs.  This picture includes all three!  This is from Christine in Toronto, Canada.  Christine is 64 and still does solo canoe trips with her little dog. 

 From Christine:  “I live in Toronto, and canoe all over Central Ontario and the “Near North”. This photo was in July 2009 on the portage between Three-Legged Lake and Spider Lake at The Massassauga PP, near Parry Sound. And my bow-mate’s name is Bandit (she’s the best tripping partner EVER – this will be our 12th season together.. )”.

And, in conclusion, I received a post on the Ladies of the Lake event, held in Marquette, MI on August 12-15.  Check it out!

http://www.downwindsports.com/lady_lake.html

Thank you to everyone who is helping bring the mission of campgirlz forward!

Congratulations to Amelia from New Jersey, the winner of our Campgirlz T-shirt contest! The number was 29 & Amelia guessed it exactly. Amelia is almost ten years old. She likes to camp and canoe with her family. She is definitely a campgirlz! Way to go Amelia and thanks for checking out the site!

The winner of the favorite color contest was overwhelmingly Green at 42%. Yellow and Hot Pink tied for second place with 19% of the vote. Blue came in at 14% and soft pink at .04%.

If you would like to order a T-shirt for yourself or your daughter, they are $9 plus actual postage and packing costs. If you live in the Peoria area, you have the option to pick up your shirt. For this initial order, you can order any color or size, adult or child sizes that you like. After this order, the official colors will be green, yellow and hot pink. Please email if you are interested in ordering a shirt. Campgirlz777@gmail.com. You can pay by check, money order or Paypal. Click the link below to see the shirts.

http://www.campgirlz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/camp-girlz-t-colors.pdf

Our T shirt design is finally complete! I am asking people to vote for their favorite color from the list below. One lucky voter will receive a FREE Tshirt. So, vote now! Choose your favorite color and email your choice to campgirlz777@gmail.com. ALSO put a number from 1-100 in your email somewhere. I will not sell your email address or anything. (I don’t even know how to do that. )

Click here to view the colors!!

I have a number from 1-100 in mind to win the Tshirt! If more than one guesses it, I will mix up your names & draw a winner.

The winner will be chosen on Sunday, January 24, 2010.