big schloss

the teachers and priests went hiking and camping up big schloss (castle in german) on the border of virginia and west virginia (thank you, wikipedia) from thurs-sat.

despite this picture, christian had so much fun. :)

they had to hike all their gear, food, and tents up to their campsite. somehow christian and robbie ended up without a tent... and the one dave brought as an extra didn't have any poles... so they rigged christian's tarp and slept under it. it was the boys responsibility to bring, and as the campout got closer there were some questions about who was bringing what. it was one of those moments that mama had to step back and let chris sink or swim. and even though his life preserver had a big hole in it (no tent) i think he swam pretty well. he didn't complain at all (to me at least) and he got to practice being resourceful.

they had the opportunity to go repelling from a high point (100 feet maybe... i can't remember) and a low point. my little afraid-of-heights boy opted for the low one, and even that he had to be talked into, or so i'm told. at least he tried it though. :) he said it was prett-y scary.

i let him pick his own food. he took 2 mre's - ribs (yuck) and something else that sounded about as tasty as freeze dried ribs, or whatever they are. i haven't actually eaten an mre in probably 20 years, but wowza, they do not sound appetizing. he also requested oatmeal, beef jerky, and sunflower seeds.

boys.

i got him a variety of other snacks and he picked and choose what he thought he'd eat.

 

i heard a lot about poo. i mean, a lot.

according to christian there's just nothing quite like pooing in the great outdoors.

(i know you were wondering)

sounds like everyone had a great time.

i love that there is a good group of boys that he enjoys hanging out with, awesome leaders that he looks up to, and fun, wholesome activities that he can learn from.

perfect weekend for a 14 year old boy. :)