peckenpaugh | ADVENTURE CLUB CAMPING TRIP!!

adventure club camping trip

what's up? Bright and early, Ms. Min, Mr. Trullinger and Mr. Berzelius assemble the Adventure Club and all amateur hikers on the shores of Lake Peckenpaugh. This early, it’s downright chilly, with temperatures today not looking like they’ll soar much higher than the upper 50s °F. With that in mind, Ms. Min takes a moment to review warming charms with everyone before they set off. The first leg of the journey takes them up Lake Peckenpaugh by canoe in groups of three or four per boat. The whole excursion carefully avoids known siren territory as they paddle north, deeper into the valley.

The scenery is beautiful, with the angled autumn sun casting long shadows over the trees, coated with vibrant fiery reds, bright yellows and golds, dense enough to look like a heavy quilt tossed over the hills. A couple hours of canoeing take campers well into the Appalachian wilderness and eventually to a simple docking point, where students break for lunch before the hiking half of the trip begins. Mr. Trullinger indulges in a bit of fishing, and is happy to show any interested students the ropes.

After eating, it’s up into the hills, another two hour journey up sometimes precarious (but still marked) dirt paths until students reach the campsite, a modest clearing not too different from Thorntrail’s House grounds, with a creek bed cutting through. While it may take a bit for some camping novices to assemble their tents, there’s still enough daylight to go on a nature walk, hike further up or play some games, and students are asked to meet for check in at dinner.

Even the night isn’t too dark with the full Hunter’s Moon high in the sky tonight. Students are expected to check in one more time by 10PM, and will have most of the morning to explore the camp grounds before packing up to head home again after lunch.

visuals!

volunteer slots! Poppy winds up sharing a canoe with Mr. Trullinger and Mr. Berzelius. It’s kind of like boating with a couple of children, since the two teachers spend the whole time goofing around. Mr. Trullinger and Mr. Berzelius keep insisting that Poppy paddle faster!! They’re losing the race!!!

While students are allowed to set up their tents using magic, Ms. Min awards anyone who does so manually with a homemade mini apple danish. 💯 Merlin gets theirs assembled fastest, and earns 5 points for their House! Trudy and [CHARACTER D] are so bad at it, they need Mr. Berzelius to come by and put their tent up for them.

After setting up camp Valkyrie decides to go on a short nature hike. Their wandering takes them off the dirt and mulch trails, onto one more pebbly. They walk for a few minutes before the pebbly trail becomes inconveniently rocky to traverse, and here they notice these aren’t rocks and pebbles but chunks of asphalt. Something glinting in the late afternoon sun catches Val’s eye: a chunk of a road sign, reading ‘aw 11 mi’.

tent assignments!

Tent 1
Aristotle
Harrison
Uriah
Gertrude

Tent 2
Armani
Chanel
Laszlo

Tent 3
Audrey
Jupiter
Freya

Tent 4
Bijou
Scarlett
Wyatt

Tent 5
Cedar
Valkyrie
Lydia

Tent 6
Edgar
Imogen
Mary Grace

Tent 7
Felicity
Poppy
Presley

Tent 8
Maverick
Merlin
Pax
Tony

how this works! ⬥ Students set out from the docks near Deeplurk at a little before 10AM, the canoeing portion of the trip is a fun and relaxing hour and a half adventure that deposits them at the start of their hiking trail. After lunch, the hike is two hours to the campsite, mostly because breaks are frequently taken to ensure everyone's doing okay!

⬥ Students are allowed to roam, but must meet set check ins taking place roughly every two hours while not actively traveling.

⬥ All of this is taking place within the anti-apparition zone, which seems to extend far into the wildnerness north of campus.

locations! ⬦ CANOEING (MORNING): It’s a brisk, beautiful morning and though clouds are moving in, the sky is clear for now and the sun is warm. If you keep your eyes on the shoreline, you may catch sight of some local critters and cryptids. Mr. Trullinger points out the sounds of woodland crooners beyond the treeline at one point. “Don’t worry, guys! We’re passing their territory up! It’s the White Ones we’ll have to worry about tonight!” To which he gets an exasperated, “Oh my God, Georgie.” from Ms. Min.

⬦ HIKING & LUNCH on the SHORE (LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON): Students and chaperones sit down on the pebbly shore for a lunch of fruit, sandwiches and potato chips. There’s enough time to explore the riverside, take some pictures or do some drawing, before the second leg of the journey begins. A two hour hike up through the hills to a campsite. This is clearly a trail regularly used by hikers and is well tended to.

⬦ CAMPSITE (MIDDAY): Set up your tents and get settled in! There’s plenty of space to relax, explore or play games. With a soft bed of mulch underfoot and a lazy little creek cutting through the campsite, it’s very picturesque. Ms. Min takes a few experienced students to do some more demanding hiking and rock climbing further up the trails. Mr. Berzelius organizes an afternoon nature walk for anyone interested. He may not know the critters and cryptids like Trullinger does, but he has valuable insight into local potions ingredients. Hey juniors, pay attention, you might get a hint on that assignment of yours.

⬦ EVENING & NIGHT: Tonight is the Hunter’s Moon, and though it’s small it’s shining bright tonight. Mr. Berzelius and Ms. Min prepare dinner over a large campfire, and as the sun sinks low, Mr. Trullinger leads a second nature walk to try and spot some local nocturnal fauna. After dark, there're marshmallows to roast, ghost stories to tell and a few students get together and play lumos tag on the edge of the treeline before it’s time to turn in.

⬦ The Trip Back: The next day, after lunch, students break camp, hike back to their canoes and paddle back to campus. Even with some complications, the return trip seems so much faster than the journey out.

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Try my s'mores?" he offers sweetly, holding out his skillet of s'more nachos with chocolate chips and syrup aesthetically drizzled across. It tastes just like the s'mores everyone else is making right now, except it looks like a food blogger mommy made it to one-up Karen at the bonfire party.

It's been a busy day for Merlin, spent hiking and climbing and scribbling notes into his field guides. Busy enough that he hasn't made it back to the campfire or the s'mores just yet. Passing by on the way to his tent, he turns on his heel at siren call of try my s'mores? and lights up visibly at the dish being offered to him. Armani doesn't have to ask him twice.

He steps over to the Thorntrail with a smile, eyebrows uplifted and already starting to reach for one. "Fancy," he observes, "What's the catch?" Though, given his tone easy tone and his clear intention to take the offered treat, he doesn't seem especially concerned about a catch.

Armani hums thoughtfully. He hadn't expected anything in exchange except for a few moments of positive attention, but now that Merlin mentions it... "You have to tell your friends what a wonderful little kitchen witch I am," he responds in the same saccharine tone, temptingly raising the skillet a little closer to Merlin so he can smell that chocolaty aroma.

"Done," Merlin agrees immediately, reaching to pull one of s'more nachos from the skillet and popping it into his mouth. It may taste like any other s'more, but s'mores are delicious and the improved aesthetics convince him that this one is better than usual. He beams, crouching down beside Armani and speaking up again once he's devoured his treat.

"Those exact words or can I put my own spin on it?" While he'd willingly stay and chat with the other boy regardless...he's definitely hoping to get more s'more.

ADVENTURE CLUB CAMPING TRIP!!

Armani tries to impress everyone by feeding them (Open++)

Armani Impresses Merlin By Feeding Him

Armani Impresses Merlin By Feeding Him

Armani Impresses Merlin By Feeding Him