Love and a compass

Fall 2006 Campout

By the light of our magnificent campfire I can see the pictures on our story stick that represent the many terrific and inspiring stories that Navigators of old have shared with the Princesses and Guides of the Sierra Expedition over many many moons. Many stories of the Sierra have been told, and many remain to be told in days to come. When I look out on a moonlit night like tonight and I think of our Expedition slogan “Love and a Compass,” it brings to mind a story that happened right here in this forest of Jones Gulch, on an Adventure Princess campout many autumns ago.

It was a beautiful fall day just like today, and the Tioga circle had decided to go on a nature hike into the forest, and they headed off to the South along the Chapel Trail, the same trail we started on tonight before turning up the hill to the Coyote Bowl here. The girls were having fun, playing games and chasing each other along the trail, and two of the girls in particular – two sisters – got a bit ahead of the rest of the group. They got around a bend in the trail and got so far along that they were out of sight of the rest of the group. The older sister got a great idea:

NAT: Let’s go off the trail and hide behind that fallen tree! When the others come by we’ll jump out and scare them!

STEPH: OK!

So they went off the side of the trail, and stepped around the fallen tree trunk to hide. As they walked into the forest, they saw that there was a creek bed not too far off the trail. So they walked down to the creek bed to explore. They started dropping leaves into the creek and following them along the creek as they tumbled over rocks and around bends in the creek. They floated small twigs in the creek and raced them to the next bend. They were having such a great time that for a while they forgot about the rest of their circle back on the trail, and while they were playing by the creek, the rest of the circle passed them by. The dads thought that they must be just around the next bend in the trail up ahead. Once the girls remembered the others, they decided they’d better get back to the trail. But when they tried to find their way back, they couldn’t remember which way it was back to the trail. They started walking one way, but when the trees didn’t look familiar they turned and went another way, but that way was no good either. Before long they realized:

Nat and Steph: We’re Lost!

The girls looked around them, searching for clues to the way back to the trail, but they’d wandered too far off – all of the trees here looked the same, and they’d turned around so many times they couldn’t even remember which direction they’d come from. They started to panic.

Steph: What are we gonna do?!?!

Nat: Just don’t panic, let’s think about this for a minute. What would dad do if he were here?

Steph: I don’t know! I’m scared!

Nat: Hold on, we can do this. We started out walking South right? So to get back to camp we should walk North!

Steph: But how?

Nat: Remember on the campout last fall Dad showed us that one way to find North is to look at the tree trunks? The side with the most moss growing on it is North!

The girls looked at a few of the trees around them, and quickly figured out which direction was North. They started walking in that direction and felt a little bit better about their chances of finding their way back to camp. Every so often they double checked the trees around them to make sure they were still headed North.

After a while they came to a large meadow of grass, and they kept walking across the meadow. Past the meadow there was a rocky hilltop, and beyond that there was another meadow. The girls had been walking for quite awhile and they sat down in the tall grass to rest. When they got up to start walking again, they realized there were no longer any trees around. They did not know which way to walk!

Steph: What are we gonna do now?

Nat: Don’t worry, there’s got to be a way!

The sun was starting to go down, and the girls’ shadows stretched long across the grass.

Nat: Look the sun is setting!

Steph: So?

Nat: Remember what Dad showed us last Spring at the beach campout? The sun sets in the West, so if we face the setting sun, our right hand points North!

The girls started off again to the North as the meadow and then the forest around them lost the light of day, and began to grow darker. After walking for awhile, they were back in the trees, and the forest had grown fully dark – only the pale light of the moon showed them the shapes of the forest around them, and once again they became unsure of which way to walk.

Steph: I’m scared! I wish Dad was here!

Nat: Don’t be scared, let’s think of what Dad would do if he were here. Look, he’d point out stars and constellations, and explain how a long time ago sailors used the stars to find their way.

Steph: Oh yeah! Look, there’s the Little Dipper!

Nat: That’s right, and if you follow the two pointing stars you can find …the North Star! That’s it! North is that way (pointing)!

The girls found their way by the stars, and after walking another short while they came out right over there at the southern edge of the Indian Bowl, right in the middle of the big campfire ceremony! Their dad was still out in the forest searching for them, but the other dads radioed to him that the girls were safe, and he soon joined them back at the campfire. The brownies that night were the best the girls had ever tasted, and you can be sure they slept soundly that night. They were tired from their adventure, but they were also proud of the way they had found their way back to camp using the lessons they’d learned from their Dad over the years.

Love and a compass. When we spend special time with our daughters we show them how much we love and care about them and how important it is to us to have a special relationship with them – after all, we’re pals forever and friends always! And when we spend special time with our daughters we’re teaching them all the time. They are learning from the way we talk to them and to others, from the way we set up and break down a camp, from the way we divide up the chores and make sure everything gets done, and even from the way we figure out which way is North. Every day we spend with our daughters we’re building their compass and preparing them to take care of themselves on a day when we’re not standing beside them to show the way. This is time well spent, and it’s my great pleasure to spend it with all of you.

Waynoon!