Piping Woodpeckers - August 1-6, 2014 - CAMPING!!!

It has been such a memorable week camping in the Canadian Rockies (so this became our longest blog post yet)! Spending time together in the great outdoors definitely brought our Wynchemna family closer than we were ever before.On the first day, we arrived in the evening to the Pocaterra campsite in the Kananaskis region. Everyone worked together as we unloaded our bags and equipment in a long assembly line, and put up our tents in the woods. Our first camp dinner that we made was a feast with souvlaki, pita, garlic bread, cheese, salads, fruit and more! We enjoyed a nice campfire soon after and  told some ghost stories too. The night ended with a surprise for Victor’s 19th birthday - singing “Happy Birthday” in the different languages we speak and of course, sharing some chocolate cake!We slept in the next morning and enjoyed a nice french toast breakfast. For our second day, we hiked on the Burstall Pass. It was not an easy trek - a few steep slopes, a couple fallen tree  bridges and some areas were so wet many of us took off our shoes and socks to walk through muddy grounds! It was definitely worth it though when we finally arrived to the quiet, peaceful mountain meadows. We had a picnic there eating sandwiches while taking in the beautiful view! After our hike, we stopped by a lake to go swimming…just a handful of us were brave enough to take a plunge in the cold waters! As we headed back to our campgrounds it began to rain…some of us cooked supper in our rain gear and umbrellas over our heads. Warming up by the fireplace in the cookhouse wrapped up our second day of camping.Day 3 started off with a hearty breakfast of sausages and eggs, then we geared up for mountain biking! We biked through the nearby trails pedalling through the mud and hills. By the end of it, our legs were so tired they felt like jello…but we felt so accomplished after this challenge! We played in the river where the cold water was nice and refreshing - it was almost like showering. The rest of the afternoon we hung around the campsite throwing a football, playing the guitar, and walking through the trails. We cooked coconut-chicken and vegetable stir fry with rice for dinner and roasted marshmallows for S’mores in the campfire. Late at night, the sky was so clear we saw a blanket of stars and even made a wish upon some shooting stars!On the fourth day we enjoyed plain, blueberry, and chocolate chip pancakes in the sunshine and under the clear, blue skies. Some of us took another dip into the river while others practiced their handstands and cartwheels on the grass. It was Teacher Dustin’s birthday today so we hid behind the school bus and surprised him with another round of birthday wishes and cake! In the afternoon, we went to Banff for another picnic lunch by the mountains followed by shopping in the tourist stores downtown! Then on our bus ride back we were so lucky to see a vibrant rainbow in the sky…not just one but two big ones! And we even had the chance to use proper showers before returning to our campgrounds…everyone was so happy to get clean! We got back very late from the showers but with everyone’s teamwork, we cooked and ate dinner within the hour, then straight to sleep we went…We had a split squad for our Day 5 activities. Half of us went horseback riding along Lake Louise - we saw the beautiful view of the glacial lake as our majestic horses carried us gracefully on the trail. We later explored the famous Fairmont Lake Louise hotel and walked along the lake. The others visited the spectacular Colombia Icefields…the drive was long yet filled with beautiful scenery and wildlife - we even spotted a coyote and a family of bears! When we finally reached the fields we tested out the ice (some of us with little clothing) and we walked across the new Skywalk attraction too! Everyone had a blast and the bus ride back buzzed with excitement of stories from the day! Yet, when we arrived back we were faced with a challenge: to prepare supper and pack up for tomorrow’s departure without the teachers’ help. According to Wynchemna tradition, the last evening of camping was when teachers could sit back and relax. With Roland’s guidance and Emily’s leadership, our last camp dinner was a success! A big team effort also went into cleaning the cookhouse and loading the truck with most of the camping equipment in preparation for the next day. We also had one last campfire before heading back to our tents for the last time…We all woke up very early to pack up the rest of our things and then we headed off to Edmonton! Our final stop: the West Edmonton Mall. The long bus ride gave us a chance to catch up on some sleep after a late night… We arrived to the mall in the afternoon and we were all amazed to find a water park, ice rink, rides, mini-golf course, theatre, and arcade along with hundreds of stores all in one place! Some of us went to the water park first where we went on the thrilling water-slides that were so fast we could feel our stomachs drop! We also had fun in the wave pool too! Of course, we all went shopping and most people came out with both arms carrying bags of newly purchased items! Finally, we headed back to Calgary…another long bus ride but the bus was filled with conversation and laughter - a true sign of bonding friendships here at Camp Wynchemna.[AFG_gallery id='217']