Geocaching Hike & Night Games

Our third meeting of September was devoted to our annual hike and night games.

We met at Seneca Park and while waiting for everyone to arrive, the Pathfinders led a game of Camouflage (see bottom for game instructions). Once we had everyone together, we reviewed what everyone had in their bag and why each item was important (water bottle, sit-upon, snack, flashlight, etc.). We had a quick overview of what GPS is and how it works and then set out on our hike.

This year, we hiked the portion of the Rotary Trail between Seneca Park and Sims Locks and hunted for geocaches that are part of the Rotary Trail Series. Unfortunately, we were not successful in finding any caches. :(  The girls did learn how to use a GPS-enabled device, what geocaching is, and about carrying their own equipment on a hike.

Upon returning to the park, we had a snack and then the Pathfinders led two night games - Camouflage and Sardines, and some songs before we closed with Taps.

Pathfinders
The Pathfinders had their own geocaching adventure and were more successful than the Guides, finding one cache. The girls led a game of Camouflage for the Guides at the beginning of the meeting while we waited for everyone to arrive. After the hike, they led games of Camouflage and Sardines in the dark and finished the meeting by leading two songs, Funky Chicken and Baby Bumblebee.

Camouflage
One player is the Predator and the rest are Prey. The Predator stands in the centre of the playing area and closes her eyes while counting to 10. The Prey scatter around the playing area to find hiding spaces or spots to freeze on the spot. Anyone moving and seen by the Predator is considered to be “eaten” and is out of the game. Pray that has frozen on the spot in an open area are considered hidden until they move.
Once the predator has looked around and caught anyone moving, she closes her eyes and holds out her hands and shouts “Food and Water, 10 seconds” and begins slowly counting to 10. All of the Prey must run up to the Predator and touch her hand and then return to their hiding spot before she finishes counting.  
Another option is to call out “Fingers” while holding up a chosen number of fingers. The Prey must peek out of their hiding spots to see how many fingers are being held up and shout out the number. Anyone seen moving to peek is out.

Sardines 
One pair of girls goes out into the playing area and hides (the spot chosen must have room for lots of people). Other girls go out in pairs to search for those who are hidden. When they find them. they join them in the hiding spot. The game continues until all the players are hidden in the same spot.

Safety Hike & Night Games

The third week of September was devoted to our annual hike and night games. We met in at Kinsman Park, behind the old Library and started the evening be having each patrol solve a list of clues to create a scavenger hunt list.

We then did our opening in the park and talked about parts of the Hiking Badge - how to behave on public in private property, why we don't go swimming without a lifeguard, what to do if someone gets logs, and why it is important to to leave the details of where you are going and when you will return with someone at home.

Each patrol then looked at the Spot the Hazards sheet from the Girls for Safer Communities Challenge and identified the various hazards in the picture. We reviewed what they had spotted and handed out copies of the GFSC Report Card. (Visit the GGC Website for more information on Girls for Safer Communities.)

During our Safety Hike, the girls noted the different hazards and also positive aspects of our community. The report cards were collected and will be used later in the year.

Back in the park, we held our scavenger hunt by flashlight, played Torch Tag, and Hide and Go Beep. In Torch Tag, the person who is 'it' uses her flashlight beam to tag other players. In Hide and Go Beep, all of the players except the one who is 'it' hide, but they must make a sound ("beep") every 30 seconds. The player who is it locates the other players by their sounds.

(Answers are: Acorns, Car, Dirt, Door, Feathers, Fence, Flowers, Garden, Grass, Nest, Pine Cone, Plant, Rock, Rocks, Spiderweb, Stairs, Tree, Weed, Window)

Urban Hike & Night Games

We ended September with a short hike in town and night games in the park. Before we set out, we had a brief discussion about the importance of leaving details of your plans with someone at home, what to do if you got lost, why we don't go swimming without a lifeguard and how to behave on public and private property (these are all parts of the Hiking Badge).

Our first activity was Find Your Tree. The girls were divided into pairs with one partner blindfolded. The girl who could see guided her partner to a tree that she then had to memorize how it felt. The seeing partner then led her partner away from the tree and took off the blindfold. The girl who was blindfolded then had to find her tree again.

We then headed out on our walk across the bridge and along the river path. Along the way we looked for signs of nature and objects that would fit on your thumb. We found different types of trees, feathers, grasses, wildflowers and moss. On the way back to the park, we did two walking activities. The first was a Blind Guided Walk. All of the girls were blindfolded and the leaders went at the front, middle and end of the line. We all joined hands and then went on our walk with the leader at the front calling out directions and information about the path and the girls trying to avoid any bumps and holes based on what they were told. Our second activity was a Circle Walk. We divided the girls into two groups, and then had each group form a circle with their arms around each others waists - and then they had to walk forward, moving as a group.

Once we arrived back at the park we had time for a quick snack and then started our night games. We had time for 3 games before it was time to go home:

The Bat - One girl is the bat and leaves the group. One of the other players is chosen as the moth, then all of the players spread out and start moving around and making noises of a chosen animal (the moth is silent). The bat then goes around the playing area trying to find the moth by listening to the noises made by the players.

Listen With Your Eyes Closed -Everyone stands in a circle and closes their eyes. Stay quiet for a few minutes and listen to the sounds in the dark. After the time is up, ask the girls what they could hear.

Sneak -  One player stands in the centre with a flashlight. The other players make a wide circle around the player in the centre. One at a time, players try to sneak up on the player in the centre and tap her on the shoulder without being caught in the flashlight's beam.