July 26-28 Camping on Lake Keowee

Pictures :
https://picasaweb.google.com/103868908476097872378/TrailblazersJuly2013Outing

Plans :
I called the Oconee County parks department to ask about conditions at Chau-Ram park based on a comment from Ronnie earlier - he said a friend had been there a week or so ago and it was flooded.  The nice lady i spoke to said the river had been as high as she had ever seen it and advised against swimming.  Also, the gate locks at 8:30pm - no exceptions, which might be an issue for those of you leaving late.  So... I asked her about their two other parks : http://www.oconeecountry.com/highsouthparks.html 

South Cove County Park

Location : http://goo.gl/maps/a6awO 

88 sites, most of them on the water, closer to town. gate closes at 10:00pm

High Falls County Park

Location : http://goo.gl/maps/sk4p0 

100 sites, 10 on the water (usually taken), great for kids (better swimming area, volley ball, etc)

The weather looks good, so I don't know how much of a rain plan we need...  Could be talked into taking canoes / boats...

From Ronnie's list : 

Dawkins - 2

Broam - 6

Wigley - 3

Villas -4

Himes-3

Madge - 2 pending - didn't assign any food items, bring dessert for Saturday night if you can come?

It looks like we need 3 sites.  We are planning to go up Friday morning and claim as many as they will let us.  Weather looks favorable at this point.  The rivers there have been high, so the wading / swimming / tubing plan will depend on conditions.  I'll plan on bringing some info about area hikes and ask around for other things to do.  

Remember - as always bring your own : snacks and drinks

Menu :

	breakfast	lunch	dinner
Friday	na	na	on your own - we will likely cook in camp
Saturday	pancakes + smokies	sandwiches + chips	bring your own-grillable + something to share - dough boys?
Sunday	breakfast burritos	na	na

Items by meal :

	Saturday Breakfast (14)		Saturday Lunch (16)		Sunday Breakfast (16)
1	pan cake mix	Broam	1 lb ham	Broam	1 pkg tortillas (10)	Broam
2	butter	Broam	bag chips	Broam	bunch bananas	Broam
3	1 lb smokies	Broam	loaf bread	Himes	fruit	Broam
4	paper towels	Broam	1 lb turkey	Himes	shredded mozz	Broam
5	milk	Broam	pkg slice cheese	Villa	1 dz eggs	Himes
6	coffee	Broam	bag chips	Villa	1 dz eggs	Himes
7	syrup	Villa	fruit	Villa	bell peppers	Himes
8	1 lb smokies	Villa	loaf bread	Wigley	onions	Himes
9	fruit	Villa	condiments	Wigley	1 pkg tortillas (10)	Villa
10	plastic utensils	Villa	pkg cookies	Wigley	shredded cheddar	Villa
11	cups (50)	Villa			salsa	Villa
12	1 lb smokies	Wigley			1 lb sausage	Villa
13	bunch bananas	Wigley			1 pkg tortillas (10)	Wigley
14	paper plates 50	Wigley			1 lb sausage	Wigley
15	orange juice	Wigley

May 10-11 - Canoeing for Kids Raft-a-Rama

We camped at Canoeing for Kids HQ Friday night then went rafting as part of their fund raiser on Saturday ( http://www.canoeingforkids.org )

Pictures : https://picasaweb.google.com/103868908476097872378/CanoeingForKidsRaftARama2013

April 13-14 Canoeing, Camping on the Upper Saluda

Pictures :
https://picasaweb.google.com/103868908476097872378/TrailblazersOnTheUpperSaluda

Distance :

I didn't read carefully, so, uh, oops, but the distance from the put-in to the campground is further than I reported earlier - it's about 13 miles not 6-7.  I don't think this will be a problem if we can get  started even as late as 3:00  we will still have 5 hours till sunset (8:00).  There is rain in the forecast Friday so I think we will have very favorable water levels.

Locations :

Here is a map showing the route and camping -

http://goo.gl/maps/8C7oA 

Plan :

Due to events scheduled Sunday, the distance we will paddle Saturday, and to keep things simple, let's just paddle to the campground on Saturday and not paddle on to the Kempson's Bridge landing Sunday. We won't need to carry camping gear in the canoes.

As noted, the Broams have soccer till about noon Saturday.  If we can get somebody else to pull the canoe trailer to the and maybe get some things prepositioned, we can get a timely start.

Meals :

We'll need a dinner Saturday and breakfast Sunday.  Due to the timing of things on Saturday, it would be good to pack a heavy snack for in the canoes.

March 23 - Stronghold Climbing, Historical Walking Tour

A group did a walking tour with Palmetto Outdoor Center (http://palmettooutdoor.com/) while another climbed at Stronghold.

February 9 - Ski Trip to Wolf Ridge

25, including moms, sibs, and guests, went skiing at Wolf Ridge Saturday.

November 16-18 - James Island

Our annual trip to camp and see the lights at James Island County Park.  From Ronnie :

IT'S FAST APPROACHING!!!

We will be camping at the James Island County Park Friday Nov 16 - Sunday Nov. 18th

The cost is $28.63 per night per site BUT a site will accommodate 2 tents and up to 6 people, so 2 families could share a site.

Admission to the Holiday Festival of Lights is included in the camping fee. We will "hayride" around the lights loop Saturday night.

website is http://www.ccprc.com/index.aspx?nid=1546

If we decide to do the climbing wall, it runs $12 per person. I will need to know ASAP if we want to climb to make reservations.

Last year we did a walking tour of Charleston that seemed to go over good. We may possibly do that again. We are looking into it.

This is a great trip! Kurush will be putting together a scrumptious meal plan... so sign up to go!

Please reply and let me know A)if you plan on attending, how many, B) if you would like to do the climbing wall and if so how many

C) if you would like to do the downtown Charleston walk. 

Please respond by November 1st  

October 20th - Paintball

The Villa's are hosting.

Paintball!

10am, Saturday morning at Triggertyme!

429 Koon Store Rd.

Columbia, SC

Some things to think about:

• Loose clothing can help cushion against the paint balls
• Baseball caps help keep paint out of your hair and protect your head
• Tennis shoes or boots

Safety:

• Avoid shooting somebody at close range.  
• Call them out, if they run, then shoot them.
• Avoid head shots if possible.  Self explanatory.

For anybody concerned, Triggertyme speed traps all guns to control speed and also limits rapid fire guns to keep the fields safer.  That being said, there is a good chance that y’all might go home with some bruises.  It would be a good idea to wear multiple light weight layers of clothes to add some padding.  Long sleeves and long pants are suggested, but not required.

For rentals, they are doing a straight $30 fee for gun, mask, unlimited air refills and 500 paintballs.  The rental is good for as long as we want to play. 

       

I’ll have a cooler and bottles of water and some chips.

Any questions?  I did not come up with something to do after paintball, like hike or camp.  The rest of our weekend was pretty full already.  Hope that is ok.

See you there!

Daryl