Camp-Canoe trip from Hell!
or not! You Choose!

Submitted: Thu, 9 Nov 2000
By: Pat & Shelly Searcy

Every year my wife and I have gone canoeing with a group of adults. I'm an Eagle Scout and my wife enjoys roughing it. We generally have a great time. We're generally well prepared with our camping items and our meals are excellent. Our friends have teased us because if they forgot it, we usually had it. Our kids (13 y/o son and 6 y/o daughter) have been asking when they get to go so we decided to plan a canoe trip with them.
There were 3 other families with children ranging from the ages of 6 to 13 and our son brought a friend. We left on a Friday evening after work for a 3 hour trip to southern Missouri. It was raining in Kansas City but we were "going for it". We finally got there about 11:00 pm and it was a little wet but it wasn't raining right then. By the time we got out of the car lighting was flashing throughout the sky so we decided we better start setting up fast. Within minutes we had the tent up and the rain started. Actually it started pouring rain. The little ones were in the car still while we got the clothes and sleeping bags in the tents. Then we finally got the kids in the tents.

About that time we noticed one of the families had not been able to get their (rather large) tent up. While standing in the pouring rain, holding our flashlights watching them while they "read the instructions". They finally got it up and we all went to take cover in the tents. About 10 minutes later we heard our son and his friend yelling that their tent was leaking and they were getting soaked. I got out, again, and realized they had set up in a gully. Not only that but it was raining so hard that it was coming through the top! We moved the tent and put a tarp over it for the night but the boys sleeping bags and clothes were already soaked so they slept in the car.
Back to our tent I went and I decided, just to be on the safe side, to place a tarp over our tent also. Finally I was in for the night. We laid and listened to the storm. We had a small leak but we were safe since we sleep on an inflatable mattress. More than once that night I wondered if a tree had been hit by lightening and it fell on us if we could file a claim with our homeowners insurance! Somehow we fell asleep for awhile.
The morning was joke. Our fire pit had about 10 inches of water in it. Our wood, which was covered with a tarp, was sitting in a foot of water and mud was everywhere. We heard that it had rained over 8 inches that night. Thank goodness we had cereal and milk. It was cloudy but we had heard that it was clearing up. One family had enough and packed up but the kid wanted to stay - and the kid stayed.

It rained so much we were concerned about the river flooding so we went to look. The river didn't look too bad. Now for the BIG decision. Should we just take our lumps and leave or take a chance that it might rain on the river with three 6 year olds, an 8 year old, two 13 year olds, one 15 year old and a child with down syndrome. Will the kids remember the camp out and canoe trip from hell? Could we turn it into a fun time by floating the river? Will it rain while we're on the river and the whole trip be terrible?
We went for it. The sun came out around 11:00 am and it got to 80 degrees. The water was pleasant. We pulled the young ones in a raft behind the canoe. Our son and his friend showed us how to dump a canoe several times. We stopped frequently so the kids could play. We also stopped once so they could jump off a bridge into the river. The kids had a blast. We stayed that night. Cooking, playing, coloring and just goofing off till everyone dropped around 9:00pm. What a day.
Yes, they remember the storm, but they also want to go again. Success!!!!!!

Pat & Shelly

Camp-Canoe trip from Hell! or not! You Choose!

Camp-Canoe trip from Hell!
or not! You Choose!