‘Twas the night before the float trip and all through the camp
Not a creature was stirring not even a scamp.
Wrong. Or is it?
There are two schools of thought regarding the night before a float trip. The first is to go to bed early, get a good night’s rest, and rise early, wide awake and refreshed. This method is good for floaters at the extremes of the age spectrum. Little ones and older ones (myself included) will benefit from the extra sleep as float day starts early and ends late with a lot of exertion in between.
The second school of thought is for those with more energy. This group is for teenagers and on up the age bracket. People in this group like to pre-party and pre-partying can take many forms.
A bonfire is always a good start regardless of the temperature. It’s a symbol of “Let the Party Begin”, and a cold drink always tastes colder when it’s drunk by a roaring, hot fire.
Food on a stick is a campfire natural. Don’t be limited to just hotdogs or marshmallows. If you can put a stick through it; try roasting it over the fire. Make your own shish-kabobs with chicken or beef, peppers, tomatoes, and onion. Spear a foil packet filled with vegetables and a little olive oil and slow roast them over the coals.
How about a roasted Starburst? Yes, those tangy squares taste great. Just use a metal skewer instead of wood as they tend to stick Sausages, pickles, Spam, bananas, biscuits, and apples.
Cards and drinking games are good time-fillers for the early evening hours. Poker and beer pong come quickly to mind.
Music is a must, but turn it down or off when Quiet Hours begin. Those of us who turned in early won’t appreciate your tunes no mater how good the selection. Live, non-amplified music such as acoustic guitars should be alright for most of the evening, but if a camp ranger asks you to shut it down, do so without an argument. You won’t win, and will only succeed in getting out of the campground, and that’s not the night before the float trip you’re wanting.
The midnight hour calls for ghost stories around the campfire. The more isolated your campsite is, the better. Isolation breeds heebie-jeebies and makes any story all the more believable. Award yourself bonus points if you can make a listener scream or too afraid to visit the outhouse alone.
By now, it’s close to 2am. Do you turn in or stay awake? It’s up to you, but keep in mind that a ten mile float takes ten to twelve hours while a five mile trip takes between six and eight hours.
Some will choose sleep, but not willingly. These poor souls who pass out from exhaustion or alcohol are to be pitied for they shall be pranked. There’s something about a campout that makes people revert back to twelve years old. One-by-one the pranksters will collapse and snooze until the last one is standing. Only he or she is guaranteed to awaken with both eyebrows intact and no Sharpie designs upon his or her face.
Regardless of which sleep routine you choose, as you float downstream the next day, try to figure out who turned in early and who didn’t sleep at all.
