Sierra Expedition - YMCA Adventure Guides
|
Friday - Early Arrivers | ||
4:00-7:00pm | Registration Table Open | Simcock Lodge "Patio" |
Dinner | On your own |
We are responsible to manage the flow to the zip lines and climbing wall.
This is a requirement from the Y as our group strains the capacity for which they are insured.
What this means is that we will hand out Speed Passes to attendees AS THEY ARRIVE AT REGISTRATION.
These Speed Passes are small color coded tickets with the hour and either ZIP or TOWER printed on them.
There is a different color for each hour. ONLY PEOPLE WITH APPROPRIATE SPEED PASSES MAY GO TO EACH ACTIVITY WITHIN THAT TIME WINDOW.
Tickets are required from 9-12 and 1-5 pm on Saturday and from 10:30-11:30am on Sunday for ZIP and TOWER.
Saturday | ||
8:00-9:00 | Breakfast | Dining Hall Clean up-Tioga |
8:45-9:45 |
Camp Store Open | Dining Hall |
9:00-Noon |
GaGa Pit |
Ball Field |
9:00-Noon | Climbing Wall - SPEED PASS REQUIRED! | North of Ball Field |
9:00-Noon | Zip Line - SPEED PASS REQUIRED! | Behind the Admin Ctr |
10:00-Noon | Canoeing | Pond |
10:00-Noon | Archery | East of Ball Field |
9:00-5:00 | Pumpkin Carving | Dining Hall Deck Area |
9:00-5:00 | Jelly Bean Counting Contest |
Dining Hall |
10:30-11:45 |
Evening Ceremony Leaders Rehearsal Meeting | Indian Bowl |
12:00-1:00 | Lunch | Picnic Area Cleanup - Mystic |
1:00-5:00 |
GaGa Pit |
Ball Field |
1:00-5:00 | Canoeing | Pond |
1:00-5:00 | Climbing Wall - SPEED PASS REQUIRED! | North of Ball Field |
1:00-5:00 |
Zip Line - SPEED PASS REQUIRED! |
Behind the Admin Ctr |
1:00-5:00 | Archery | East of Ball Field |
4:00-5:30 | Skit Rehearsals | Wherever |
6:00-7:00 | Dinner | Picnic Area Circle Navs & CB's serve Cleanup - Ponderosa - 2 Dads from each circle needed |
7:15-7:30 | Parade to Indian Bowl |
Start at Your Circle Cabins |
7:30-8:45 | Ceremony | Indian Bowl |
9:00-9:30 | Snack | Mess Hall |
Sunday - Closing Ceremony | ||
8:00-9:00 | Breakfast | Dining Hall - Clean up-Shasta |
9:15-10:15 | Closing Ceremony | Drake Amphitheater |
10:30-11:00 | Camp Store Open |
Dining Hall |
10:30-11:30 | |
Dining Hall |
10:30-12:30 | Climbing Wall - NO SPEED PASS REQUIRED after 11:30! | North of Ball Field |
10:30-12:30 | Zip Line - NO SPEED PASS REQUIRED after 11:30! | Behind the Admin Ctr |
10:30-12:30 | |
Ball Field |
12:00 | Checkout of your cabin! |
Check-in:
When you get there:
You can put your gear in your cabins anytime after 5:00pm on Friday.
NEW:
You must check in, Dad by Dad.
Registration location and times are as follows:
We will ask you to sign in and take (and wear) your name tag. We will also
give you
“speed passes” for the Zip Line and Climbing Tower, first come–first
served.
There will also be a map and a schedule of events, if you need them.
Friday
Night:
The evening is a casual get-together. This is a great time
to meet
new members and get re-acquainted with old members. Circles are
on their
own to provide food and drinks for their dinners and cook them.
Saturday:
Show up anytime - the earlier the better. It gives you a chance
to meet
everyone before the events of the day kick in.
Breakfast is served in the cafeteria from 8:00-9:00am.
The Camp Store adjacent to the Dining Hall
will be open at 9:00am until approximately 9:30am.
Lunch is served at the
barbeque area from 12:00-1:00pm.
There will be water
available at the Climbing Tower and at
the GaGa Pit.
After the events close,
it is time for the circle members to
meet at their respective cabins and practice their skits. The
skits are
given during the evening ceremony. This is also a good time for
our
younger daughters to get some much needed rest and refreshment.
Dinner is served by our
circle officers starting at 6:00pm
and goes to 7:00pm. Please help clean up after dinner,
so that
we all can be ready for the evening festivities.
The evening events start promptly at 7:00pm. The evening starts with a parade through the cabins and up to the Indian bowl. Have all the dads and daughters waiting outside their cabin at 7:00pm. The procession will go by all the cabins and everyone joins in. Listen for the sound of the approaching drum of Navigator Peter 'Mischievous Moose' Smails. The procession then heads up the hill to the bowl where the ceremony begins at 7:15pm.
Ceremony - wait and
see. It will be full of surprises.
After the ceremony, everyone moves down the hill to the cafeteria where
hot
cocoa and snacks will be provided.
Sunday:
Breakfast is served in the cafeteria from 8:00-9:00am.
A closing ceremony occurs at the Drake Amphitheater starting at 9:15am. The Camp Store will be open from 10:30 to
approximately 11:00am adjacent to the Dining Hall.
The Zip Line and Climbing Tower will be open from 10:30am-12:30pm- Speed Passes are not required after 11:30am. The GaGa Pit will also be open from 10:30am-12:30pm.
The popular Nature Hike through the Valley of the Giants
will also leave the Dining Hall at
10:30am and will conclude approximately an hour later.
How to get there:
Go to http://sierra.lscheffer.com/ext/JonesGulchMap.html
for
driving directions. It's a windy road, so be careful. It
takes
about an hour to drive there from Saratoga.
What to
Bring:
Your vest, sleeping bags and pillows, toiletries, sun block, warm
clothes,
flashlights and lanterns. Good walking shoes. You will also
want to
bring Friday evening and Saturday afternoon snacks and drinks.
A little
course knowledge:
Pumpkin
Carving
- This event is located outside the mess hall. It is
much cleaner and more convenient to clean out the seeds in the comfort
and
safety of your own home. The rest of the carving is done at Jones
Gulch.
Carving tools and decorations are provided, but are in short supply no
matter
how many we supply. I've found that
bringing your own carving utensils speeds up the process
significantly.
All the other decorations are provided. Also, there’s lots of
paint and
other clothes ruining stuff around. I usually bring an old
t-shirt to
cover up my daughter for this.
Zip Line
and Wall Climbing – These are our most
popular events. We will assign your
time blocks, first
come, first served, as you check in.
Again this year, we will have campfire rings at our individual cabins. Your circle Navigator has all the details on this. Our good reputation with Jones Gulch has given us this chance. We do not want to lose this luxury. Please follow all the rules. Remember to douse your fire when it is not attended. Firewood is NOT supplied by Jones Gulch- under no circumstances are we to collect or burn local firewood! Stay tuned for firewood supply plans.
Remember to bring camp
chairs so you can sit and socialize with your circle.
Your princess may insist
she does not need a jacket at the
ceremony. Temperatures of 40 degrees are common this time of year at
night.
Carry her jacket to the ceremony anyway (and bring yours too!). I
always
bring a couple of car blankets to sit on during the ceremony and to use
as a
wrap if it gets really chilly.
The trail to the Indian Bowl is dark and rocky. Bring a flashlight for yourself and each of your princesses (Glowsticks are a popular alternative).
Bring lots of liquids to
drink. Our girls can get
pretty dehydrated during the events Saturday, which leads to severe
grumpiness
later that evening. There will be some
small water bottles at the Zip Line on Saturday.
Raccoons;
Don't leave any food unguarded. The Raccoons will get it.
Don't
leave ice chests outside. The raccoons have figured them out,
too.
Lock all food in your cabin or your car. Make sure to close your cabin
door and
windows securely. Don't try and pet them and don't feed them!
Each cabin must be swept clean and litter picked up before you leave or we will be charged!