By Jeff Smith, Stephen Lanino, Tom Lazansky, Paul Smith, Chucky Johnson, Paul Rosenfield, Gregg Baum, Peter Kessler, and Mark Grunblatt

On Monday, Aug. 8, 11, Group II boys and 3 counselors, Mark G., Mark B., and Emily left on an overnight trip to the Blue Dot Trail, which loops through the countryside around the Paul Smith’s Reservoir. We hiked to the first lean-to, “Loon’s Lair” and set up camp. That afternoon we went on a long nature walk all the way around the reservoir, using wooden bridges to cross swampland. We picked and ate raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, and lemon verbena from the patches we passed. We came back to Loon’s Lair and cooked a good dinner over the fire. Then, we set up a second camp at a nearby lean-to named “Mountain View Rest”.

The next morning we cooked toast, bacon, and eggs over the fire. We liked learning how to conserve water by washing dishes with sand, We also enjoyed fishing for minnows with our mess kits and building cities in the sand. At lunch, we made smores, a special dessert made of toasted marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers. Then we broke camp and hiked out to the road where Bill Vesely picked us up with the little bus.