Thursday is always long hike day. It also always seems to be the day where unexpected things happen, like the wasp attack of several weeks ago, or a kid having to go home in the middle of the hike because grandma had taken a turn for the worse. Today somebody managed to soil himself during the solo hike. Another kid managed to soil his shoes and the little shovel we use for digging latrines. Another field group experienced similar problems.

Shitty day, I guess. Actually, it reminds me of a story I once read. Our local trolley system is referred to as the Light Rail, but during the planning stages one of the names being considered was Santa Clara Area Transit. SCAT for short. Some of you may see the problem with this... Scat, as any science camper knows, is another word for, well, shit. "Hey mom! Let's go ride the poop train!" Eventually, somebody pointed this out, so now it is blandly known as the Light Rail. Of course I always tell this story to my students, who delight in spotting "Santa Clara Area Transit" on the trail.