SierraScape February - September 2012
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article by Becky Denney
photos by Bob Gestel

A one word definition for the 2011 Cuivre River campout would be "sunlight." We had great weather and it was sunny but not too hot to enjoy ourselves, to build some new trail, and especially to hike. When I visited Camp Cuivre on Saturday, October 7 before our campout and surprised 4 deer grazing in the open not far from the dining hall. I thought it was a good omen for us. We changed to Camp Cuivre from Camp Sherwood Forest when we realized our numbers were going to be fairly low for overnight campers and we would have to pay the difference. We ended up with 56 attendees of all ages and a variety of 1 night, 2 nights and even just visiting us for a few hours.

A more complete description for our weekend would include good food from the brownies which arrived for Friday snack when the Head Cook John Feldman and his family drove up to snacks and fruit available as we closed all the windows and were signed out by park staff. Others pitched in before and after each meal so John's wife Patty Feit and daughter Katherine did get at least one chance for a kayak ride on the lake. But we owe John a special thanks for his constant care and planning for all the meals that weekend as well as buying and toting all the supplies to do so.

Thanks to our Silent Auction chair Janet Crews who made $177 for the Chapter. She also had her first opportunity to try out a pulaski for a bit with the trail building team. And, thanks to Del Johnson for bringing much needed supplies and for sharing his experience with us as we planned the campout. A BIG THANKS to the outings leaders who supported the MO Chapter campout with hikes and events which sometimes weren't quite what we thought they would be—but, I think we just enjoyed spending the time outside.

And, last of all, thanks to the lone Sierran, a trooper, who slept by the Saturday night campfire until it burned out to guard it from escaping the firepit.