Spring Break Mini Adventure--Day Four--Tuesday

We got up at 7:00 and started hiking at 9:35.  Spirits were much better; the Scouts had gotten more accustomed to hiking through the water and brush, and we weren't stopping every 15 minutes.  As we moved down canyon, it got narrower and the walls got higher.

We have brought too much food.  It's difficult to estimate food for any group in the wilderness, but young Scouts are always the most difficult due to what we refer to as "eating issues."  For example, one morning for breakfast we had pre-cooked bacon, oatmeal, and dried mango slices.  One Scout would only eat the bacon.  Older Scouts grow out of this finicky food business and will eat any and everything, but these guys were not there yet.

We hike until 3:00 PM and start looking for campsites.  We find one that is not so hot, but Scouts sent ahead report that nothing any better is anywhere close, so we settle in.  Upon getting to camp, one of our rituals is pumping water.  We have iodine with us, but pumped water tastes better and can be drunk immediately, unlike the 30-minute wait for the iodine to do its job.

There is no great place to cook and the wind has picked up, so find some flat stones for the stoves and set them in the sand, trying to get out of the wind and keep sand out of our food.  We joke about the Anasazis, whose teeth were worn down from eating corn ground on sandstone.

There's not so much playing in the water today.  The Scouts are tired, and some get in their bags after dinner.  One Scout is humming to himself, the only music I have heard once we hit the trail.  Can't place the song.

Even though the Scouts are tired, only one or two will keep them all awake by talking and laughing.  I've found that if you can get them to be quiet for 10 minutes, they will drop into a deep sleep.  As the senior assistant Scoutmaster, I have become the quiet hours enforcer.  My technique is to ask everyone to be quiet, and promise that any transgressors will be moved from the group to sleep by himself some distance from us.  Haven't had to do that yet.

They quiet down and are soon asleep.  I get in my bag and look up at the moon, which is waxing and getting so bright that it looks like a street light shining down on us.