Students go from campers to cabin leaders

By Kellen Browning,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

The first week of school in the new year is usually a time when people have returned from their vacations and are settling back into regular rhythms. But for some students, the vacation was just beginning.

Each year, a group of high school students travels to Walker Creek, a weeklong nature camp in Marin County that some of the students attended as sixth graders. This time, the high school students were tasked with the difficult role of entertaining and chaperoning the sixth graders from different Davis elementary schools.

“We had to be with our kids for twenty-two hours a day,” sophomore Brendan Deas said about camp life, describing it as “amazingly fun and rewarding but exhausting.”

“You’re basically their parents for that week,” senior Siena Cox said, listing the numerous jobs cabin leaders have to perform to keep their kids happy and well-fed.

Walker Creek is not all work and no play, however.

“You bond with the kids every year you go […] they all love and respect you, even if you get a little grumpy with them,” Cox said.

Senior John Conant describes Walker Creek as a blast and he agrees that being a cabin leader was a lot of work.

“As cabin leader I was responsible for the supervision, maintenance, and systems upkeep of an operational unit of nine sixth graders. This meant doing things as fun as accompanying them on trail to as difficult as keeping them from pooping their pants,” Conant said.

When not taking care of the sixth graders, the high school students had two hours a day to relax and socialize.

“During our breaks we [could] go to the cabin leader kitchen and hang out and eat snacks, shower, or take a nap,” Cox said.

Conant used his free time to mingle with the camp counselors.

“The counselors were great this time around, as they were last year. I got two hours to hang out with them every day, and without those I would’ve torn my ears off,” Conant said.

Both Conant and Deas cited outside influences that gave them a better chance to be chosen for the cabin leader position.

“My mom works at the school I went with, so that [probably] factored into it,” Conant said.

Deas’s resume helped him get picked for the job.

“I had a ton of previous experience with kids: summer camps, teaching swimming,” Deas said.

Even though the camp required a lot of work and effort, it was worth it to Cox.

“The camp is meant for the sixth graders, but the high school cabin leaders have just as much fun,” Cox said.