Volunteering as Campground Host is Enjoyable Way to Camp

One of the fastest months of my life was the first month I spent as a volunteer campground host for the state of Wisconsin. The park was The Kettle Moraine State Forest, Pike Lake Unit. Pike lake is exactly 22.4 miles from our home's driveway to the campsite. It is situated in the Northern Kettle Moraine and named after a pretty spring fed lake, Pike Lake.

The Kettle Moraine is an area created by the glaciers tens of thousands of years ago. As the glaciers receded and the ice melted; kettles, moraines, and kames were formed. The kettles are deep depressions and some remain as lakes like Pike Lake. The Moraines are rolling hills and the kames are abrupt hills. Inside the park is Powder Hill, a kame, and the second highest point in SE Wisconsin. On top of Powderhill is an observation deck with spectacular views of the surrounding area.

There are several miles of hiking paths within the park boundaries and the Ice Age trail crosses through the park. The Ice Age trail is a start up trail patterned after the likes of the Appalachian Trail. It will follow the moraine escarpment through three states upon its completion.

Other hiking trails in the park include an astronomy trail which takes the hiker on a walk through the solar system. Along the path are signs set up at measured intervals to correspond with the distance you would be between each planet and the sun. At the beginning of the trail you can pick up a list of questions to answer during the half mile walk.

There is also a self guided nature trail which passes through prairie, wet lands, and forest. The scenery throughout the park is spectacular and the paths are well maintained. Here we are only 22 miles from the city. This park is a gem and remains one of our favorites.

We started camping at Pike Lake several years ago. Last year I was made aware that there would be several openings for camp hosts this summer so I put in my application and was chosen. The camp host position is for one month. During that month you get a campsite with electricity free. In exchange for this there are a few duties you need to perform.

First of all you are the campground host. You need to be accessible to the other campers to welcome them, answer their questions and help with problems that may arise. You ask what kind of problems can arise? There was one young couple who just bought their tent and did not have a clue as to how it was to be set up. Two women who also had just started camping and could not get their camp fire started. Then there's the people who left their car doors open, dome lights on, a cell phones connected, etc. and ran down their car battery.

There was one couple with a new trailer and another with a pop up who had yet to learn how to back up and needed a little assistance getting into their site. I won't forget the lady who could not back up her trailer and was about to place it in the woods and when I offered to help, she told me where to go. I let her put the trailer in the woods.

People had numerous questions about the park but the most common was: where do we buy firewood? During my one month at this park the thirty-two campsites must have burned a forest or two at their camp fires each night. I sent so many people to the white house about a mile east of the park entrance that they should offer me a commission.

My other job was to clean up the sites after the people left. This included cleaning out the ash from the fire pits and picking up any litter which may be on the ground. To do this job I was given an electric golf cart, buckets, water jugs, a shovel, and rakes.

You might have guessed that the fire pits all contained a fair amount of ash which is true; however, there was hardly any litter to be found. This is a small campground by comparison to others in the state with only thirty-two sites so my cleaning duties were not taxing.

I needed a way to know which site had been cleaned and which had not. I began putting a stick over the top of the cooking grate after I finished cleaning a site. This also helped me to know if someone else was in the site during the week and possibly used the grill for a picnic and had not camped. I was able to drive around in the electric cart or walk with my dog Cromwell and look for the stick on the grill and know the site was clean.

You may have heard the adage "leave it as you found it?" This was true for the stick on the grill as well. More than 50% of the sites left the same stick on the cooking grate after they cleaned up their site. That's just the way things were in this park, nice friendly campers who cared about the park and each other.

The majority of campers were families, next were young couples who had a few days off in the middle of the week. We had a honeymooner couple whom I never saw come out of the tent and several single people who just come up to escape the city hustle and bustle for a few nights.

There was Roger the contractor who slept in his truck with his feet hanging out the front window. He used the park to save the gas cost driving to Milwaukee while he worked in a nearby town. An occasional vacationer would find their way here but it was unusual to see an out of state license plate. The people who use this park were friendly and respected the park's environment.

Then there were the exceptions. Of course you knew this section would come along. Let me warn those who have weak stomachs or are under the age of eighteen that this section is rated R. I had already mentioned the lady who told me where to go when I tried to help her back into her spot but let me expand on her and that spot.

The first weekend I was there the rangers allowed a group of young adults to camp on the overflow site. This spot is kept in case there is a mix up in reservations or when the park is full. The group consisted of a baby, a pregnant girl, another girl, two young men, and a dog. They had a tent but not much more in the way of camping equipment.

What they did not plan on was the dog sleeping in the tent with the five of them. The dog was not happy with the arrangement either and barked loudly. The rangers gently corrected them until they understood what the rules were and soon the park was quiet.

The next day we were walking by their campsite and I noticed one of the young men holding a pistol. I called the rangers who investigated and found a pellet gun which was altered to look like a real pistol. They entered the campsite as if he was fully armed with a loaded handgun.

Next was the dog again which they had on a thirty-foot leash and was terrorizing everyone who walked by. Once again the rangers took care of the situation. I am not certain how many times the rangers had to come up to this site to quiet them down or enforce the rules but it was numerous. The important thing is that at the end of the weekend while they were packing up one of the young men commented to me that they had a great time and would definitely come camping again.

The rangers could have evicted them from the park at the first offense but instead chose to educate them on how to behave in a campground. The young people were receptive, changed their behaviors and had a good time.

Now for the juicy part. Campsite #five. This is the most remote site in the park, nestled in the woods on a turn in the road. There is no visibility into this site from either side and this group of four young people pitched their tent in such a way that almost all visibility was blocked from the road.

Though it was difficult to see exactly what these, three women and one man were doing it was not hard to hear. Fortunately they were camping during the week and the park was not crowded but there were other campers and as stated before most of our campers were families. The rangers took the approach of trying to educate these people as to what is and what is not acceptable in a public campground.

They needed to learn to keep their clothing on when outside of the tent and the noises down when inside of the tent. I passed by the site shortly before they left and can report that the rangers were not successful on either account with this group.

Other memorable messes were the cabinet doors hidden in the woods. The folks tried to say they were antique doors which they were refinishing and forgot to bring home but capitulated when confronted with the fact that the fire pit was filled with hinges and screws.

Finally there was the chain smoker. I will never understand why people need to come to the great outdoors, breathe the fresh air and smoke cigarettes. This particular lady smoked hundreds of them during the weekend. She never left the picnic table so each of the butts was tossed under the table.

I can remember these messes since there were so few of them, most people left the sites as clean or cleaner than they found them. I also remember the oddballs since most of the people were normal, nice folks who just wanted a few days in the woods to enjoy themselves.

I go home right before the July 4 weekend. The park is filling up. The

Summerfest Music Festival has started in Milwaukee and we have several groups of young people camping here who are attending the festival. I drove around to each group to remind them of designated drivers and wish them a good time. One young lady said I sounded like her father but then she thanked me.

During this past month I have developed a real attachment for the campers and I do want them to be safe. We already have several families who are here for the long July 4 weekend. They come each year and stay on the same spot, it is their family tradition.

Speaking of traditions I have been asked to return next year for the month of June and have said yes. This would be a great new tradition to start, a month of camping each June in my favorite state park.