What an adventure we had this week! We had the privilege of being taken on a two day backpacking trip to Frontenac Park by the incredible Mr. Schleger. When we arrived, we went straight to the office to check in and grab our campsite information. Not the most exciting thing to do, so Ms. Jesser took us down Arab Lake Gorge Loop, which was a short loop complete with beautiful views of the lake and lots of boardwalks to navigate over. Then it was off to Kingsford Dam, the start of a very warm but awesome 4.5 km hike to campsite 8. Along the way, we made a pit stop at campsite 11 to enjoy lunch and games. There were some great hiding spots to play camouflage. We got to draw some textures we found in nature which made us really see nature up close.

We then continued along the trail, to the top view point at Clearwater Lake. It was a lovely view and made an excellent pit stop for a water and snack break. Time to continue… We were just over half way and were ready to make it to our site. When we arrived at the site, Mr. Schleger and Richard were waiting for us, and lucky for us, they had ALL the tents already set up. Since it was so hot, a few of us decided to go for a swim. All of a sudden, the sky changed. It started raining, and raining, and continued to rain the biggest raindrops anyone had ever seen. We were soaking wet, and even some of our tents were wet inside (lesson learned….always close your tent, especially in the rain!!!). Luckily for us, we had some very helpful parents help dry and clean out tents. Lines were hung, and a combination of a strong breeze and sun that re-appeared dried out our sleeping bags and therma rests in no time.

Once the rain shenanigans were taken care of, we explored the surrounding wooded area with Richard while the others got a fajita dinner ready for us. It was DELICIOUS! We gathered some wood, cleaned the dishes, and then gathered around to do some journal writing and nature art work. In the meantime, Mr. Schleger got a fire going for us to enjoy. We sat around, told stories, had s’mores, and had a grand old time. It was time for bed, and boy were we exhausted. We were in bed by 9 and most of us were asleep.

The next morning proved to be a bit interesting with a few wasp stings suffered by a couple of the girls. Luckily, we were all prepared, and the girls were troopers. Mr. S was already into hot chocolate and pancake making, and it sure was delicious. We cleaned up our tents, packed our bags, did the dishes, and the hike back to civilization commenced. Since we were a bit more prepared for the hike, we managed to complete it a bit faster with fewer stops. We were thrilled with our accomplishment!

Thank you to Mr. S, Ms. Jesser, Richard, and Ms. Tonya for taking us out and giving us such a wonderful learning experience. We can’t wait to hit the woods again next year!!!