AQUA IV: Zero Hour

Salutations H2o Brigade,

The time for Aquatic Joy is drawing near. I can already taste that peculiar blend of River Water and Cheap Bear in my mouth. This email will consist of 3 major things: Important Tips, Gear Suggestions/Requests, Tribe Organization.

IMPORTANT TIPS

1. ENTRY: The ranger closes the camp gate at sundown. This is a problem with almost every public campsite in the country and we have always found a way to deal with it. My plea to all of you is to make your best effort to get there before sunset. Official sunset is 7:58 pm but they may not be working on official time so error on the side of early. If you cannot meet this deadline, you have 2 options: 1) park on the road and risk getting a ticket or your car broken into. 2) Come early on Saturday morning. The gate opens at 6am. We leave for rafting around 8:30a. So plan accordingly.

2. THE TRAIL: Apparently the parking area is about ½ mile from the actual campsite. They told us that last year but we were able to drive down temporarily to drop stuff off. That may or may not be a possibility this year since this is a slightly different camp. Either way, it would be nice to have a wagon or dolly of some sort to shuttle gear. If anybody has something like this, lemme know! I will try my best to get a heavy duty wagon.

3. VALUABLES: Our camp is more exposed to the river this year. That could mean increased party atmosphere from the river passer-bys and/or a greater possibility of hoodlums messing with our stuff. With that in mind, we may want to hide/lock stuff up when we are not at the camp. I don’t think we should be over-paranoid about this, but maybe don’t bring any unnecessary expensive stuff that would make your cry if it was stolen.

4. PAYMENT: YOU OWE ME MONEY PUNK! Each human is $25 total. The breakdown is $20 for rafting and $5 for camping. Please bring cash (or check) to the campsite. I have friends in the Stanislaus Mafia, so be careful or you may find yourself swimming with the fishes!

Group Gear Requests

Here are some community items that could help us all:

Large Tents
Gas Stove or Grill
Fire Wood
Lanterns
Trash bags, paper plates, cups, forkknifespoons, paper towels
Large Water Jugs

Individual Gear Suggestions
Tent

Sleeping bag

Pillow

Sleeping pad

Flashlight w/ working batteries

Food

Water

Firewood

Charcoal

Lighters, Matches

Giant Coolers

Midsize Coolers

Lots of ICE

General Cookware (pots, pans, skillets)

Individual Cookware (fork, knife, cup, plate)

Sandals

Shoes (in case we wanna climb something)

Swim suit

Towel

Toilet Paper (just in case)

Trash Bags

Sweater or Jacket (can get cold at night)

Extra socks

Rain gear (you never know)

Camp chair

Hammock

Sunblock/chapstick

Sunglasses

Shade hat

Insect Repellent

Camera (waterproof?)

Guitars/Drums/Kazoos

Frisbee/soccer-ball/baseball



Tribe Organization

A tribe is a group of fellow campers who live near each other and are willing to share resources. I promise life will be better if you ACTIVELY seek out your tribe. That means emailing or calling people today and working out these details.

CARPOOL: We technically only have 10 parking passes for this campsite. I am not sure what happens if we go over, but we should try our best to fit into 10 vehicles. It is more fun to travel together and better for the environment. So SF people talk to SF people! I know we have a sweet LA caravan already planned. Let’s see who the REAL environmental city is! Woot!

FOOD: I AM NOT BRINGING FOOD FOR YOU! I have tried this in the past and it has generally been annoying and a flop. Sooooo…chat up your tribe and plan a shopping trip before you depart. I suggest easy to cook food for the camping newbies…but if you are an outdoor grill enthusiast, make us all jealous with your crab cake soufflé. Don’t forget the smores!

WATER: BRING WATER! Lots of water. Each tribe should bring a few of those big jugs (or a bunch of small water bottles). It will be freakin hot and sometimes bear just don’t do the trick. Also pack your coolers with ICE. I suggest at least 1 ICE cooler and 1 DRY cooler.

ALCOHOL: NO GLASS ON THE RIVER! Otherwise, bring it on!

The CAMP: There is a Grill/Fire pit for cooking the food. There are tables. There are bathrooms (no showers). There is no drinkable water. Plan accordingly.

Call me if you are having trouble finding a tribe. I will hook you up!

WOOOOOOOOTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!


Helpful Info:

When: August 15th – 17th

Where (Camping): Horseshoe Road Recreation Area
30 feet east of the residential address:
14842 Orange Blossom Road
Oakdale CA 95361

Where (Rafting): 17525 Sonora Rd
Knights Ferry, CA 95361-9523

My Phone#: 510.325.8761

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