It wasn't exactly how i envisioned it, and ended up evolving slightly, but i was pleased with what i learned and accomplished all my goals except for hiking 5 miles each day... here's how it went:
Day 1: we picked a campsite up on the rim and with the daylight hours winding down, i set upon my first task - making fire! after collecting some pitch and old man's beard from the trees to use as tinder, i finally got a spark to catch using a sweet knife my brother lent me for the occasion, a flint, and a magnesium block which i have decided i will never be without in my pack!
Next task was learning how to set up my hammock, which i had never used before... i did get dumped on my butt the first time i was gingerly testing it after dad convinced me it didn't need a knot at the end of my 9 hook (gee, thanks dad!), but after quickly remedying that, it held fast and was quite comfy!
Unfortunately, the night was much colder than we were prepared for and after trying to make adjustments to the hammock, and stuffing extra socks in my ears to block out the gentle chainsaw-like snoring coming from the other hammocks, i wussed out and climbed into the smallish backseat of the jeep wrapped up in my not-so-quiet emergency blanket.... just as i was finally starting to drift off in some semblance of REM, a heart-attack inducing, massive howl ripped through the night in THX surround sound!!!! I nearly peed myself, it sounded so close! now i have heard my share of coyotes and i swear, if that was a coyote, it was on steroids and rabid! it startled me so badly that i didn't even want to raise my sock stuffed head to try to locate the source of the fiendish sound.
Needless to say, that shot of adrenaline was enough to pretty much keep me awake til dawn, when i set to the task of relighting the fire in the dampness the the early morning....after blowing through an entire book of matches with no success (that's what i get for cheating ;/) i finally got it going with my flint again, just in time to save face before my parents roused from their hammocks.
Day 2: We went back to town to better prepare ourselves for the colder weather and decided to relocate camp to a slightly lower elevation.... we decided to set up camp at Christopher Creek and to distract me from my discouragement, dad showed me how to make my own rod, and find bait (locating and digging up earthworms!), and catch fish from the stream! Yep, just call me Tom Sawyer.....
AND i actually caught SEVEN fish!!! the largest of which was only about seven inches, but it was sustenance and there was no shortage of them i could have done this all day... that was the most fish i ever caught in the shortest time ever... yay, for dinner!
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