Got a really late start from Pogo campground and decided that I would take a short day and end up at my scheduled stop, which is Ensign Cowell shelter. I arrive there around 5 o’clock, and there were a few slack packers in the shelter, who are not very friendly. So I decided to set my hammock up away from the shelter, ostensibly, so my snoring would not bother them, but really because it would seem to be a better option to be by myself.
About 530, a crew of about 17 Outward Bound kiddos, probably about 14 to 15 years old, marched into the camp. I found out from their leader that this was their first hike, indeed many of them the first time they had been in the woods. They set up their tarp tents all over the place, including across the paths. this was bad enough, but as they got in the sack, a tent next to me, literally 15 feet away from my hammock, was a tent with seven adolescent boys, who proceeded to scream, like little girls at the spiders on the ground. Their leader came over several times, and told them to calm down, but this was to no avail, they didn’t actually quiet down until almost 1030.
The next morning, their leader gave them a fairly stern lecture about camp etiquette, and how to be respectful to others around them. We’ll see if it sinks in. My main thought over the whole thing was, “how can I do the most good with these kids without complaining about them?“ so I didn’t blow my top. I didn’t fuss at them or yell at them. I showed several of them had a tie knots and offered beef jerky which they refused. I can vaguely remember the first time I went backpacking. While I wasn’t as noisy, I probably knew less than they did.
Today’s mileage: 4.4
Total trail miles 31.8