The annual Teen Adventure Camp is a wonderful opportunity for some of the Church youth to have an experience of a lifetime. Each year a different venue is chosen to provide a new and unique experience for everyone. This year the camp was held at Glacier Park, Montana. Thirty-two campers and staff met at West Glacier on July 10 to begin this year’s adventure.
The first night was spent at a large lodge, and the next morning, after a good breakfast and the daily Bible study, we hit the road. Our first stop was at the Park Ranger’s office to pick up the camping permits. They required us to watch a video on park regulations and what to do in the event of a confrontation with a bear, or other dangerous wildlife living in Glacier Park.
God’s blessing on this trip was first evidenced here, as we were able to make some much needed changes to the original campsites we were assigned, so that we could all be in the same part of this vast park.
We then loaded up all of the gear and drove to a KOA campground in St. Mary, Montana. After setting up the tents, the campers enjoyed some free time swimming in the pool. Thursday morning everyone was up by 6:00 a.m. to have a quick breakfast followed by the Bible study. Then the tents were taken down and the backpacks packed with our clothes, food, cooking gear, and all of the other items needed for five days of backpacking. The backpacks were all weighed, with the heaviest coming in at over 60 pounds!
We then drove to the trailhead, which is located next to the Canadian border, and began our journey into the wilderness. Because of park regulations and limited numbers of campsites, we had to split into four groups of eight.
There was a lot of energy and excitement as each group hiked out toward its respective campsite. Glacier Park is a beautiful part of God’s awesome creation that afforded the hikers everything from breathtaking views of mountains, valleys, rivers, glacial lakes, thundering waterfalls, and fields of wildflowers, to many species of wildlife. Over the next five days, these hikers would encounter everything from deer and elk, to mountain goats, moose, groundhogs, squirrels, and some even saw a black bear!
Day one of the hike ended 10–14 miles into the park—depending on where your assigned campsite was. Everyone was glad to be finished hiking for the day; however, just making it to the campsite was not the end of the long, hard day. There were no cold drinks, warm showers, soft beds or loving mothers waiting for the weary hikers! We still had to set up tents, cooking gear, hang food bags (away from bears and other wildlife), pump water through purifiers, gather firewood, cook dinner, and clean the dishes.
All of these chores have to be completed each day, and everyone pitched in to get them done. It was a real pleasure to see all of these young people work together to accomplish the given tasks, and a real testament to their character and work ethic! Day one ended with the exhausted campers gratefully sliding into their sleeping bags.
On day two we showed the weary hikers some mercy, and let them sleep in a little later. After a hot breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate or coffee, dishes were cleaned and packed. This was followed by the morning Bible Study and then the routine began again. Everything had to be taken down, rolled up and packed in backpacks. One of the most time-consuming things that has to be done many times a day is to pump purified water. This was done again so everyone left the campsite with full water bottles. Each of the four groups then hiked to their next campsite, and went through the same set-up routine as the previous day. Needless to say, everyone was happy to know that the Sabbath was beginning and that there would be no big hikes the next day.
Rain began to fall during the night, and, to the campers delight, did not stop until about 8:30 a.m. Once it stopped raining, we made quite a sumptuous brunch that included scrambled eggs, omelets, pancakes and sausages. All four of the groups were then able to meet at one campsite, where we had Sabbath services together. We had a traditional service with hymn singing, a sermonette by Mr. Steve Olson, special music by three of the young ladies, and a sermon by Mr. Jim Meredith. The only things missing were the dresses, suits and ties; but what a wonderful, peaceful place it was to come and worship our Creator and God. After Sabbath services, some of the campers and staff took a short hike up to a gorgeous mountain lake. The Sabbath came to an end with an enjoyable dinner of beef stew and mashed potatoes.
The rain began to fall again Saturday night. On Sunday morning, most of the group had to get up and cook breakfast in the rain. Then the daily routine began again, the rain making everything more challenging. By the time everyone had hiked to their next campsite, most were soaked and muddy. The new camp still needed to be set up in spite of the weather. There was an accident that afternoon when one of the hikers stumbled and fell while crossing a swinging bridge, cutting his leg on a large bolt that was sticking up from the bridge.
“It was a great experience, I definitely recommend it.”— B.E.
Once again, even with this injury, we saw God’s blessing, in that it happened only about a quarter of a mile from the campsite and the only Park Ranger cabin for many miles. We were able to talk to the Ranger, who arranged to have a horse brought in the next morning to carry the injured hiker out of the park.
Monday morning was clear and dry, and after the usual morning routine, we put our backpacks on for the last time and headed for the place we had parked the vehicles. In spite of all of the blisters, bruises, mosquito bites, and sore muscles, all had a little more spring in their steps. The thought of hot showers, clean clothes and fresh food was enough to motivate them to keep going. After hiking roughly a total of 40 miles, the hikers returned to civilization and spent the night at the KOA campground. That night we were all treated to a tasty dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Not only was the food delicious, but not having to cook it, or clean up afterwards, made the evening even better.
“The Adventure Camp was a great trip, with great people, in a great place. I wished I didn’t have to leave.”—D.W.
“I want to thank everyone who helped me pay for camp and everyone that put on the camp. I had a really good time and hope to go again next year. Meeting other kids in the church was the best part, and camp was the funnest thing I have ever done. Seeing the beauty of God’s creation was awe-inspiring. White water rafting was awesome!”—A.C.
The following day, the groupcovered another 10 miles on foot and saw several beautiful vistas from the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The group drove this 50-mile stretch of road, but stopped along the way to hike to St. Mary Falls and Virginia Falls (three miles), the Trail of the Cedars (one mile), andto hike Logan Pass to Hidden Lake (six miles). After leaving the Logan Pass parking lot, we were caught in dense fog, heavy rain, and hail. Once again we saw God’s protection and blessing, as the road was buried by mud and rocks—both just in front and just behind us. Our four vehicles were untouched! One vehicle and several pieces of construction equipment were buried in rock and mud, while several other vehicles were damaged and knocked sideways. Heavy equipment came and was able to remove enough debris to open up one lane of travel. In an hour-and-a-half we were back on our way down the mountain to our destination. The sun was shining once again.
The last day of our adventure was spent whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Middle Fork River, followed by a trip to Hungry Horse Dam, and a BBQ steak dinner at the lodge. We thank God for the protection He granted us, and the beautiful sights He allowed us to see and experience! The trip was an epic success and an adventure that none of us will forget!
“The Adventure Camp was the most fun trip I’ve ever been on and I really hope to go back next year!”—S.W.
“It was fun going to camp. There were plants, animals and lots of Bible Studies. It was fun sitting around the campfire and listening to the studies from the Bible. The animals we saw were mountain goats, deer, elk, moose, underground squirrels, groundhogs, marmets and grouse. It was fun rafting down the stream. We ran through the waves and got splashed a lot. We got to swim by the edge of the river when we got out of the boats. We got to kayak and hike and swim and play volleyball, and we fished, too. We almost caught three fish, saw some beautiful lake sights, mountain sights and animals. But the best part was meeting new people from the Living Church of God.”—M.S.
The LYC Adventure Camp provides a wonderful opportunity for our Church teens to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We intend to have these every summer, so if you did not get to go this year, you can still have the opportunity to go next year. The venue for next summer has not yet been decided, but you can be sure it will be a spectacular trip, in a beautiful location. The pictures in this article just give you a small sampling of what the backpackers saw this year. You can view more photos from all of this year’s youth camps at http://www.livingyouth.org, or at our Living Youth Facebook page. As noted in the comments above, a number of these teens were only able to attend this camp because of generous donations from some of the brethren. If you do not know a particular camper who needs financial assistance to attend this program, but would like to help someone, you can earmark a donation for the “LYC Adventure Camp.” We look forward to seeing 24 more backpackers next year, so begin planning now to be there!
Until then, watch for the next issue of the Living Church News, where we hope to bring you news and pictures of the Ohio 2012 LYC Teen Camp, held in August (after this issue began production).