Packing Lists
In the morning of the first day, we counted off and got in our respective cars. After that, we drove to the ferry and waited for 2 hours. Once we were able to board the ferry, we had to wait 15 minutes for the ferry to start moving. Once we were aboard the ferry, we realized that the weather was very harsh, and the wind made the waves much bigger and the ferry tilt back and forth, making it very hard to walk steadily.
We arrived on Orcas Island and began to drive through Moran State Park and to our campsite. Once we got to our campsite, we started to set up camp. After we set up our tents, we were supposed to set up the tarps over the picnic tables so that we could cook while being dry. During the time we were setting up the tarps, someone started a fire. I have no idea who, but I am extremely thankful for them because it was freezing. There was a group sitting next to the fire and we started switching the people that were sitting around the fire with the people who were standing and holding the tarp up.
After we set the tarp up, we had plans to do a service project in the park but apparently we were supposed to do that tomorrow so we hiked to the top of the mountain instead. We started driving up there, and on the way tried to find a water source so that we could fill up giant water jugs for cooking. I don't know if we found a water source or not but on the way up we saw an amazing view. The elevation was crazy and we had to pop our ears every few seconds. On the top there was a lookout area that was shaped like a tower, so we went up there and the view was incredible . It was high enough that there was snow. There was a gift shop lower down, but we found that it only took credit cards which was a major bummer because they had some cool items for sale, but we only had cash. On the return hike, two Scouts went down the wrong path and didn't wait for the Troop and eventually they came back up. After that situation resolved, we went to the actual trailhead and started walking down the trail. The trail was very steep in some places and had a bunch of switchbacks over and over again. In some parts it was relatively straight, and in others it was very curvy and hard to walk down. Eventually we ended up on a relatively flat path, and it was smooth sailing from there.
When we got back to the campsite, the fire had gone out so we had a team try and warm up some wood so that we could start a fire. We had other people working on the meal so that we could eat. After we ate we sat around the fire and talked. We started making dad jokes and bad pickup lines. After a while, Connor made dessert and all of us were very thankful because it was delicious. We basically just kept doing what we were doing and then we went to bed.
The forecast was for a very windy and rainy night and that forecast was true. It was extremely windy, although not as rainy, and altogether it was a freezing and cold night.
In the morning, no one could get warm. Everyone was shivering and everyone wanted hand warmers and gloves. The only warmth we had was the heat lamps, the stoves and Martin's car that he warmed up so that we could go inside it and not get hypothermia. After breakfast everyone flocked to the warm cars, Martin’s and others included, and after that we basically just stayed in the cars until we left for the service project.
Once we left for the service project, we met up with the 2 camp people that told us what we were doing and how to do it. There were two groups. One was setting up fire pits and putting new metal rings around them. The second group was a micro trash sweep around the entire campsite. It started raining kind of hard when we started doing the service project, and after the service project, it was still raining. We went back to camp, took it down, and put all of our stuff in the cars. We started taking down the tarps and everything else, then did a trash sweep of our own campsites and went to the farry line even though we were 2 hours early. We stopped by a gas station and got some food, then went to the ferry. A few people went into the gift shop (it was more like a general store) and after that we just stayed in our cars for the rest of the time until we got on the ferry. The ferry seemed to go more slowly on the return trip. Aiden got a free pretzel which was pretty cool. Once we were halfway done with the ferry ride, it turned dark and there was a beautiful view outside, so we went outside for a few pictures, and then back Inside. We got off the ferry and drove to Einstein, which took an hour. When we got to Einstein, we unloaded our stuff into our respective cars and went home.