Episode 13: Getting ready...

A couple of days later, Jennifer came to see Lisa while Cabin 7 was in the dining hall, doing the breakfast dishes for the camp.

"Tomorrow, while your cabin and Pete's will be hiking to Brady Mountain, I want you to come with me to carry the gear to the island. I would have asked Pete but he already knows the island; we don't. It will give us the chance to explore the place as well. I talked with Pete, last night; he showed me the two landings and the position of the two campsites on the map. Don't forget to tell your cabin later today that you have to go into town tomorrow; we'll meet at my place at ten thirty, okay?"

When Lisa arrived at Jennifer's house a little after ten the following morning, she found the latter already hard at work loading a mini-van with blankets, foodstuffs and miscellaneous gear.

"Jeez, Jennifer ... did you raid a mountaineering outfitter's storehouse?"

Jennifer laughed. "Almost ... most of this stuff belongs to the girls' camp. We keep it in a warehouse over winter. Since no one was using it, I thought it would be ideal to bring it to the island. Pete was telling me there are a couple of metal storage closets next to the 12-camper site to store the food and gear so the animals can't get to them. These, however, are mine..."

She showed Lisa a small electric cooler running off a car cigarette lighter plug. Next to it was a 12 volt car battery and a solar cell battery charger.

"I picked up some soy burger patties for hamburgers, some soy dogs and some long duration milk the other day. They don't really need refrigerated storage that badly for short-term use but I'd feel better if they were kept cool."

When everything was packed, they closed the van and drove to the municipal pier midway between the girls' and the boys' camps. There, they transferred all the goods to a fair-sized motor boat.

"My uncle has a cabin on the far side ... whenever I have some free time, which isn't often, he lets me use it."

While Lisa undid the hawser, Jennifer started the motor and then they slowly headed out to the island. Coming into the cove near the 12-camper site, they saw that they would be unable to bring the boat, with its relatively deep draft, right up to shore. The two women looked at each other, shrugged and took their clothes off. Lisa, with the end of the hawser in hand, jumped into the water and tied the boat to a nearby tree. Then, as Jennifer handed down the goods, Lisa carried them ashore. When everything was ashore, Jennifer handed down her and Lisa's tennis shoes and jumped into the water as well.

Once ashore, they shook their feet to rid them of stray drops of water and bits of gravel, put their shoes on again and decided to explore the island before hauling the supplies to the campsite. They followed the trail that followed the shore, examined the 6-camper site and landing and discussed the way Lisa was to proceed after her cabin had come ashore after the 'accident'.

They then had a thorough look over the 12-camper installation and found the storage lockers. They were of the kind frequently found in industry; about six feet high, four feet wide and about two feet deep. Each was locked with a combination lock but the lock combination had been written on the locker door with indelible ink (there were raccoons on the island). Satisfied, they returned to the boat and started ferrying the supplies to the campsite.

They put the blankets and the kitchen equipment; dishes, pots and pans, cutlery and a couple of old, beat-up gasoline-fuelled camp-stoves in one locker and the foodstuffs in the other. Finally, Jennifer placed the milk and the soy patties in her cooler and the cooler on a metal shelf next to the lockers, placed the battery and the solar cell charger on top of one of the lockers and connected all the wiring. The quiet sound of the cooler fan motor indicated that all was well.

It was just on two o'clock when they had finished and they went back to the boat. They removed their shoes again, untied the hawser and climbed aboard. Starting the engine, they made their way back to the pier, remembering just in time to get dressed again. After tying up the boat, they had a late lunch at the snack bar next to the pier before heading back into town with the van.

That evening, at the counselors' office, Lisa apprised Pete of the gear and the food they had brought over and told him that, as far as she was concerned, all was in readiness for the outing. Pete told Lisa, in turn, that Hartwell had announced at supper that he would be away for four days, starting the following afternoon, for a conference with the camp directors of several states. They both agreed that that would be the ideal time for them to hold their outing. They discussed a few last-minute details and then they both retired to their respective cabins; it had been a long day for both of them.