Getting over the jitters and getting the KOAP kids outside

Boy do I have some very interesting wilderness experiences. The summer going into my senior year, I applied for the Kootenai Outdoor Adventure Program (KOAP) to help mentor kids ranging from sixth through eighth grade. We had multiple day hikes going up to some swimming holes, had fun days at a lake house including archery competitions and kayaking down a lazy river, and even played on a rope swing that I may or may not have broke as I was using it. But the day that everyone was looking forward to, myself included, was the four-day overnight backpacking trip.