From: Tim Mills
Subject: Camping
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:21:03 -0700 (PDT)

Oh, camping is a lot of fun. I've been on many camp outs with scouts and
otherwise. If you want a truly memorable experience, barefoot is the
ONLY way to go. I have always done as much barefooting while out camping
as I could get away with. My two most memorable barefoot campouts were:
A 50 mile canoe trip in Virginia, and Harper's Ferry.
 
The 50 mile canoe trip was a scouting trip on the Rapphdan and
Rappahannock rivers. It was from the end of the first full week of July.
Since we were spending the whole week on and near the river, our leaders
let us choose if and when we wanted to wear shoes. Being me, I ditched
my shoes as soon as we got to camp (We had to wear them on the way up
because we stopped at a few stores/restaurants). Once I had my shoes
off, they spent the rest of the week in my tent. I was barefoot 24/7 for
the rest of the week. We would get up every morning in what we were
going to wear for the day (usually swim trunks and a tank top for me).
After taking care of morning camp duties (fetching water, cooking
breakfast, clean up, etc.) We usually had some time to goof off and
relax. During this time I often took short nature hikes, or joked with
friends. The camp was ideal for barefooting, with soft dirt, or grass
covering the ground in most places (although the bare dirt was usually
slightly damp and chilly in the early morning.)  Around 10:00 or 10:30,
a bus would come from the main camp (which belonged to our outfitter) to
pick us up and take us to our starting point for the day.

Once we got to our launch point, we would get our life jackets and
paddles and head to the river bank to get our canoe and tie our gear in.
When everyone was ready, we would launch as a group. A good day on the
river was busy. We did some sight seeing and bird watching, as well as
running some fast exciting rapids. Around 12:00 or 1:00 in the
afternoon, we would stop for lunch. During this time, we also got to do
some swimming and exploring. My favorite lunch stop was always a small
island on the Rapadan (I don't know if it has a name or not). I love the
experience of being there. It's always teaming with nature (birds, small
animals, some shells, ect.) The ground there also had many different
textures (EX: sand, dirt, grass, clay, gravel, mud, moss)  for any
barefooter who prefers natural surfaces to man-made ones, it was like
finding Heaven on Earth! That tiny island was always hard to leave
behind. From there, we would often go for a few more miles before
stopping again around 4:00 in the afternoon for a swim break.

After our swim break, we would head for our pickup point for that day.
It usually wasn't too far away, and we could get there in half an hour
to an hour( depending on our pace). Once we arrived, we would pull the
canoes up on shore and wait for our outfitter to pick us up and take us
back to camp. Once we got back to camp, we would change into dry cloths
and relax until dinner time. Usually we would play games, or just sit
and talk. One night during the week, we would have a special in-camp
movie, up at the main building. During the movie, we had sodas and
snacks and ice cream. Often during this time, others would join me in
going barefoot.
 
If all goes well, I'll get to go again this year!
 
Freesoles Tim

Timothy Mills
Catonsville MD.
USA