InsaneJournal

The weather is frigid, but seasonal, as snow flurries greet the students that gather in the morning for the tree-cutting camping trip. Although it’s only one night, it’s a beloved event, overseen by Mr. Thorn, Mr. Covington and Mrs. O’Hare. The three of them are in high spirits, laughing and joking as they pack up the sleds and check to make sure everyone is well equipped.

There are fifteen horses available to ride, and everyone else hops into magical self-driven sleighs. Members of Equestrian Club are given first choice of whether or not they want to ride a horse, so if your character is not in Equestrian Club, please do not sign up to ride a horse. After that, there are three sleighs which each seat nine, three to a row.

The purpose of this outing is to collect a number of trees for decorating campus. OE students who are experienced in cutting down trees are responsible for this, overseen by Thorn. Only seniors who regularly attend Outdoor Exploration get to cut down trees. Everyone else assists or watches and cheers them on. The qualifying seniors are: Anuhea, Cecil, Cricket, Diego, Henrietta, Nate, Sun-mi.

CAMPING RULES:

• Dress appropriately for the weather. Kids need (at the minimum) a winter coat, hat, gloves and winter boots. You will be left behind if you're not dressed properly.
• No large electronics of any kind. If you brought something he doesn't like, Thorn's confiscating it, no questions. The only exceptions are: flashlights, small music players with headphones, GPS devices, and cameras. And before you ask, no, portable video game systems are not allowed. Thorn says: "Come on, why sign up for a camping trip just to play on your little no-maj thingies? You can do that when we get back."
• Buddy system at all times. Do not go off on your own.
• Don't leave the trail.
• Respect your tent-mates. If Thorn suspects there's a problem, he's stepping in.
• Lights out is 10:00 PM. All students must be quiet with lights off after this hour.
• You must help carry the group's equipment.
• Clean up after yourself.
• All the rules that apply on campus apply here, kids! The only things you're escaping are your uniforms and classes.
• If you act up, you're being sent home early with Mr. Covington and will be banned from future OE trips.
• Thorn is serious about making sure you kids learn how to survive in the great outdoors without your wands, and therefore insists all the set up and take down be done without magic. He doesn't humor any arguments about wandless magic, either. "Those are the rules. Now get to it!"
• Thanks to prankster masterminds Garrett Ogletree and Victoria Powers, anything you say on this trip may come back to haunt you. More details to come!

Mr. Thorn picks the following seniors to be his #2s, based on their proficiency in the great outdoors. Yes, he has four #2s. Don't question it. It basically means that you're expected to keep your eyes on the group, make sure no one falls behind, help set up camp, and manage the horses.

• Nathaniel Bird
• Ravinder Dhaliwal (overseeing the horses with Mr. Covington)
• Cecil Honeychurch
• Sun-mi Choi

TENT ASSIGNMENTS: Assignments are two or three to a tent. They're regular nonmagical pop-up tents decorated with the Gooseberry emblems. (Yes, you are expected to put in elbow grease instead of using magic.) Students are provided with sleeping bags and pillows if they don't have their own.

Solomon & Hayley	Christopher & Avery & Iliya	Kurt & Jacob
Adeline & Sofia	Cressida & Irene & Tabitha	Jonathan & Luis
Mackenzie & Cecil	Estella & Hazel & Roxanne	Gabriela & Bianca
Levi & Henrietta	Regan & Calvin & Dominic	Beatrix & Anuhea
Nathaniel & Ravinder	Aiden & Garrett & William	Clementine & Martina
Lachlan & Ezekiel	Matteo & Kelekolio	Diego & Sun-mi

» MORNING: The group leaves at 10 AM and are excused from all classes that day. The weather is chilly with romantic snow flurries as they ride out on horses and sleighs. It's a picturesque departure.

» ARRIVAL: It was a long ride, but we're finally here! It's extra work getting the tents set up in the snow, but Mrs. O'Hare leads everyone in singing carols to pass the time. Unfortunately, she's an awful singer.

» TREE CUTTING: The reason we're all here! The qualifying seniors, and anyone who wants to assist or witness, hike out with Mr. Covington and a horse pulling a sled. He's very serious about who's allowed to use the axes. You cannot freely assume your character got their hands on one.

» EVENING: Mr. Covington once again cooks around the fire, and there's hot chocolate and tea available for everyone. The snowfall intensifies a little, but not enough to drive everyone into their tents just yet.

» NIGHT: Time for bed! The soft sound of snow falling on the canvas above you lulls you to sleep. You can chat quietly and have wand lights and flashlights on, but after 10:00 PM, Thorn expects to hear nothing but peaceful snoring. If you try to sneak out of your tent, there's a 50% chance of being caught.

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!