The first Comm Rec outing of the year saw 47 people brave the Great Outdoors to experience Skills Night. Students spent the night practicing outdoor skills such as setting up tents, fire-starting, water treatment, trail management, backpacking basics, and cooking over burners. Highlights of the trip included the high volume of international students in attendance, learning that heavy packs and long walks don’t mix, and hanging out on the river shore. Extreme Outdoor Education students (and anyone else who wants to) leave a 100 word response below.
I believe that the skills night was a perfect way to kick of the year with. I enjoyed setting up the tent and cooking my meal which tasted disgusting by the way. I also enjoyed helping others with my knowledge of camping and overall it was a really fun experience an specially watching parker take a flip in the puddle.
I think that skills night is a important thing that deserves its procession. when it comes to what activities should happen and when. As it makes you learn what is important to bring. When it comes to backpacking. As it incorporates things such as a 1 Kilometer hike which is long enough that if you have brought to much you will fill it but not so long to make it so that you really Hurt afterwards assuming that you do not bring way to much with that said last year I was one of those that would end up bring way to much which caused my arms to really hurt but this year I did not make the same mistake
It was fun going to camp i learn lots of things like what the river was called and how to speak some german. I enjoyed the hike there seeing all of the butiful sceneries and the rapids. I had a rilly good time but i wish i brought more food with me to the camp because i got realy hungry but my friend were realy nice to let me have some of there food. I had fun when we were talking to the Brazilians next to the river when they were telling realy interesting story form when they we in Brazil. Over all i had a good time besides the food problem and i would definitely do it again.
Skills night is a fundamental key to the great outdoors. As it precisely so shows you what in reality backpacking is. That was such a fundamental day. I ended up having a long conversation with a person I had not prior to that day seen since I was in Elementary school about how our lives have been that ended up getting personal. There is a high susceptibility rate of having conversations with people that you have just met or not seen In a long time as there is so much free time when backpacking. With the extravagant views of the water rushing by and the tree branches blowing back-and-forth. There are many learning experiences on a trip like this, as it shows you what the physical cost of bringing all the stuff that you want is. I know that that chocolate bar and bag of chips seems tempting but I promise you will not regret it. I have brought a coat in a tote in the past and my body hurt for like a week. I know personally bring freeze dried food from Cabelas backpacking. It shows you what it is like to cook your food on a portable stove as well as cleaning dishes by hand which is not as interchangeable to what it is like to do those things at home as they used to be with our modern ovens and dishwashers. It shows you as well what it is like to set up a tent and put it down again there are not bedrooms and beds backpacking despite those things being there in day-to-day life. Experiencing the sound of rushing water so that there is not a nerve inducing silence to deal with feels so nice. The place that all of this was accomplished which is known as chilliwack river had gotten into its shape largely due to the historically heavy rainfall that occurred in 1875. With natural incidences is similar to that it makes me contemplate what other formations will end up occurring as a result of natural incidences. Especially for those who have not been backpacking before running alongside what has been said by Lewis Pugh “ if you get the basics right everything else falls into place.” Once you go on a trip like the odds are in your favor that you will be able to go on way bigger backpacking trips such as stink valley with all the new knowledge that you have gained. If I had not gone on my first skills night, there would have been no way I would’ve made it through a bigger backpacking trip.
Nice incorporation of the history and very detailed description of your learning!
The skills night was a great way to start the year, I think this introduced alot of new people to how much fun camping is. This was a great way to show that you’re capable of backpacking basics. I think that the Tamihi campground was the perfect campground because it was easy to simulate a real backcountry experience without being to far from Chilliwack. This was my first trip, and I really enjoyed it.
I’m glad you liked it! What skills do you feel you acquired on this trip?