The spirit of Barry Conservation 4-H Camp (BCC) was alive and well on the evening of August 7 as campers and their families participated in the first ever BCC Camp Out at Home. Sure, the season was cancelled due to the pandemic, but that didn’t stop over 40 campers from pitching their tents and setting up their living rooms for a night of celebration of camping and the BCC community.
“The weather made it a pleasant night to camp out and we’ve received many wonderful reports about the evening,” stated UNH Cooperative Extension Camp Field Specialist, Larry Barker. He continued, “it was inspiring to see the creativity and enthusiasm of our camp community.” One family was vacationing at the family farm in Iowa and camped out in the Hawkeye State. They told us that it was too windy for a fire, but they had a great night none-the-less. Melissa Currier Babcock said that her 4-H kids teamed up with their cousins for an activity filled camp out. Melissa said that “a great night, turned into a fabulous weekend of camping. Our 4H cousins joined in for the fun, too. Hot dogs on the campfire, strawberry shortcake “dump cake”, tie dying, sun-art paper fun, swimming, croquet, star gazing with the great telescope from the local library, glow stick lanterns, nature scavenger hunt, campfire stories and tons of glow stick fun. Thanks for organizing a great weekend and sending lots of links for activities.”
Caden and his family jumped into the activity with both feet. Caden’s mom tells us that he went backpacking for a few days for his camp out. We hiked 6.5 miles into the Pemi Wilderness and set up camp. He carried about 10lbs in his pack, including his sleeping bag and his own snacks. He had to pump his own water from the river for drinking and for washing his own dishes. He cut the firewood for our fire from downed trees. It was pack-in-pack-out, so he carried all his garbage out. We saw a bunch of frogs and snakes. We had to hang our garbage and food up in a tree to ensure that bears didn’t come around.
Campers continue to send in stories about their camp out experience. Check out the BCC Facebook page to see their photos and to learn more. One of the themes was definitely that we’re all looking forward to the BCC 2021 season. And yes, Larry Barker camped out too. He said that “it was really special to think about all of the other members of the BCC community camping out in their settings which were anywhere from Maine to Iowa. During the night, my wife and I heard a pack of coyotes howling with delight. I’ve heard BCC campers do that too. Maybe it was a sign?”
