FIUTS: Camping Without Fire

By FIUTS Facilitator Noel H. Kimber

“Camping outdoor? Why would anyone leave the comfort of his or her own home and spend a night in a tent, cooking with limited resources and stay disconnected to the internet?” One might ask. Camping trip may not make any sense in terms of productivity, but there is a mysterious force that calls smooth handed city dwellers out to the nature once in a while. FIUTS students decided to find out what it is.

On early Saturday morning of June 27th, three cars left Burke Museum, armed to teeth with provisions. They arrived at Lake Wenatchee campground, a small lakeside recreational area located in the Cascades, near noon. Students jumped out of their air-conditioned cars only to be greeted by dry, warm air. Despite being in the mountain and at 1800ft above sea level, the effect of the summer sun was hardly negligible. Student stretched out their legs and scouted out for the lake. The lake was roughly 500ft southwest of their campground. The water was calm and soothing. It embraced anyone entered the lake and cooled them down instantly. They spent the entire afternoon at the lakeshore, indulging in various activities such as swimming, kayaking, playing volleyball, mediating, chatting, exploring, and taking a stroll. As the evening drew near, students decided to prepare meals. They were fully aware of the burn ban that was in effect in the area, and understood well how ecologically important it is to abide to the ban in order to preserve the very verdure they were enjoying. For that reason, they did not light charcoal in the fire pit in the campground, and they certainly did not cook sausages, corns and vegetables. Their appreciation of the civilization—shower, bug-proof house, kitchen—grew. After dinner, students went back to the lakeshore and stayed there until the sun majestically sunk down the western mountain range. They conversed with one another about their lives at UW and their people’s history. Time flew. Students were enjoying the moments so much that they did not realize that they were voluntarily providing blood samples to the local mosquito inhabitants. While no camping is complete without campfire and s’more, students did not start a campfire. Instead, they spent the rest of the evening singing and talking near the lake.

Next morning, after some pancakes that blurred the line between breakfast and brunch, students split into three groups to pursue activities they wanted. One group decided to stay at the lake and enjoy the area more, another group went on a hike to locate Hidden Lake, and another group went to go up Round Mountain. The first two groups had some time left to explore the town of Leavenworth after their day. The last group didn’t quite make it to the top, but enjoyed some fascinating scenery during their attempt. All of the students were thoroughly exhausted, so they brought their tired body home. After dismissal, although not officially observed, it is believed that everyone took long, warm shower and washed away dirt. Nonetheless, they smelled like campfire for a week, which is a mystery considering that there was not a single trace of fire in their campsite in any shape or form.