West Coast Typhoon

In the wake of our outdoor education field trips I can now reflect and evaluate each trip. All of the campers on each trip had an amazing time, and I have heard nothing but positive feedback from all the unit heads. Measured by these standards the trips were a huge success and can now be used to help attract future campers, as well as to enhance the experience of campers that attend each summer.

However the purpose of the blog is to write in a constructive manner in which I can provide others with helpful information. So I will refrain from writing about the successes of our field trips, and instead I will focus on what went wrong and how it was dealt with. This will ensure that my posts can be beneficial to future trip planning.

To begin with the younger campers encountered the largest issue due to transportation. We had only ordered two buses and since the oldest group was leaving in the early morning and the other was full of the 6th and 7th graders, the youngest group was left without any transportation. This was only discovered by our logistics staff one day beforehand and we had to act quickly.

Our original plan to take this group to Fort Clatsop was canceled, and instead we embarked to Cape Disappointment State Park. This park is only 20 minutes from our camp and made it possible to drive the kids in the rental vans that our camp keeps for emergencies. After canceling our reservation at Fort Clatsop I contacted Cape Disappointment to find out if they had a similar Junior Ranger Program. They informed me that they had canceled such programs last summer, but still had left over supplies that our staff could use to lead the program on our own. We did just that, and when I returned to camp I made Junior Ranger certificates myself to compensate for the awards that the kids would have received at Fort Clatsop.

The 7th and 8th graders also faced an issue as both groups got lost on the separate hikes that I had planned for them. I sent them with plenty of gear, maps, food, and water so they eventually found their way to the assigned areas without any severe problems. This problem could be avoided in the future if those who led the trips had visited the park with me when I had done the site visits earlier in my internship. Nevertheless the campers had a great trip and enjoyed seeing this beautiful state park.

In addition the oldest group was met with certain difficulties, but was most prepared due to the fact that I accompanied them on their overnight trip. Both hikes we embarked on were in the area that had been hard hit by a typhoon in 2007 where destructive winds hit the coast at over 120 miles per hour. This has left the trails littered with fallen timber making them very difficult to navigate. Each time we became stuck in a blockaded area, I left the campers with the other staff members while I investigated an equivalent route and never disappointed them.

To make matters more complicated the poles used to support the rain flies on each of our tents did not work properly. After explaining to Eureka Outdoor Gear that we could not wait 2-4 weeks for an inspection and replacement due to the fact that we only have a week and a half left of camp, they agreed to overnight us the necessary replacement gear. This will guarantee that the other campers will get to go on overnight adventures before the end of camp without worrying about the wind and rain.

Attached to this post is a picture of one of the areas on our hike at Lake Sylvia State Park that was hardest hit by the 2007 typhoon. Logging companies have recently begun to take advantage of harvesting the fallen timber.

Below is a link to a website that explains further the storms that hit the coast of Washington and Oregon.

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2007/alm07oct.htm