I am a high school leader for Adam’s 12 Outdoor Ed.  This week we took a sixth grade class from Rocky Top up to YMCA camp at Estes park.  It was cold.  Very cold.  It was wet too.  Very wet.

Outdoor Ed is exactly what it sounds like … meaning most activities are outdoors.  

• We built an Igloo.  My team won!  9 people were able to fit into the finished ice house.
• We hiked 2000 feet to Emerald Peak.  The snow was so deep that I thought I lost a 6th grader.  I woke up in the middle of the night  yelling, “Ken Su - where are you?”
• We ran an obstacle course called Low Ropes/High Ropes … this is where I learned that you shouldn’t wear 3 pairs of wool socks with tight boots.

I met Mike, who was wearing a bright orange hat with a blue puffy coat.  He looked warm enough.  But he was jumping up and down complaining that his feet were freezing.  I glanced down at his feet.  He was wearing red and black boots.    

“What are you wearing?” a camp intern asked.  A camp intern is a high school graduate who is working at the camp for very little pay.  Not working for free, like the high school leaders, but close enough.

Mike was still jumping up and down.  He proudly proclaimed, “A hat, a coat …”

“No,” the intern interrupted.  ”On your feet.  What are you wearing on your feet?”

“3 pairs of socks and boots,” he answered.

We were sure that Mike had received this sage advice from a parent or older sibling. He was so proud of his answer.  We took Mike into the heated Tee-pee.  Not sure if the Tee-pee is a remnant from the wild west days, or a tribute to those times, but it served it’s purpose.  We asked Mike to take off two pairs of the socks.   You see, when your clothing or shoes are too tight, they cut off your circulation.  Apparently, having good circulation is essential to staying warm.

“Are your boots too tight?” the intern asked.

“Not anymore he answered.”

We went back into the cold to complete Low Ropes/High Ropes.  

“My feet aren’t cold anymore,” Mike kept saying.  And then he swung on the zip line … did I mention that had a broken arm?  Aghhhhhhhhhhhh!

Being a high school leader is great fun … in another post, I’ll tell you about how “I Fold”  kept the camp up all night.