On August 17, 2005, eighteen young teens and five staff met in front of the Chinese Historical Society at 8:30 a.m. to start our trip to Big Basin. From Chinatown to Big Basin, it was about two hours. When we got near we had to go through a very curvy road before we reached our campsite. Once we got there, I see more trees than people and more mosquitoes than before.

One of the most memorable parts of the camping trip was the night hike. We couldn’t use flashlights so everyone had to help each other out through the trail. For example, the people in the front would warn the people in the back if there was something in the way, like a big rock or big root. I had a really caring partner that would warn me about everything. Unfortunately before she could warn me about some of them, I had already slipped. During the night I couldn’t really see many things but I do remember seeing the bright moon and some stars and at some parts of the trail. I saw some leaves that glowed on the floor. I didn’t really hear much besides people trying to warn the others about the road and parts when I heard some crickets chirping. At one part of the hike, I thought that we crossed a big bridge, but it turned out to be a big tree that fell down and created a bridge. This hike was supposedly a forty minute hike but it ended up being a two-hour hike. Even though it was somewhat tiring, I think it was a nice exercise before I slept.

For the morning hike, the whole group was split into two. One group started by leading the way leaving trail marks on the floor for the second group to follow. Unfortunately, the first group made a wrong turn and we ended up somewhere else. Our destination was supposed to be on top of the mountain, but we still ended up at the bottom of the mountain where there was also a stream. From this, I realized that leading the way can be very hard. When the first group was taking time deciding on which way to go, the second group caught up with us. When we went back, it was the second group’s turn to lead the way, we also caught up to them and so we get a longer rest before continuing.

The meals we had were not bad, even though breakfast and lunch was mostly the same, which was cereal and sandwiches. But dinner was different, on the first night we had chicken skewers and on the second night we had chili. I remember that my group was in charge of preparing dinner for the first night. Tammy and I had to cut the cold and squishy chicken into smaller pieces. Betty and Jason had to cut the bell peppers and onions. While cutting the chicken, mosquitoes were flying around us, trying to start dinner themselves. So I was not only worrying that I would hurt myself with the knife but I also scared that I would get bitten by the mosquitoes.

On the second night, each group of teens was in charge of acting out a ghost story. It was suppose to be scary but it turned out to be very funny. I think that all stories had their funny parts, especially Vinson’s group. He was the female ghost with long hair and one eye. Before we started to act the scary stories out, Vinson came up to me and ask me how I play with my hair and he started to practice with my hair so he would be more like a girl. I think that the outcome of him being a girl was good and funny.

On August 19, 2005, we started to pack up to leave Big Basin. During the trip back to San Francisco, we stopped in a park for lunch and we played a game called “The Blob”. I was in charge of leading the game that I never heard of, but it turned out to be good. The objective was to tag people and they have to hold hands and tag more people; the game ends when everyone is tagged. The last person standing was Seward because before he was tagged, he pushed Donna out and so she was tagged first. This is a fun game; I think I would recommend this for others to play.

In conclusion, I think that this camping trip was really fun, since this was my first experience camping in a national park. I think the people in Nite Lites got a little closer by helping each other out when help was needed. During the hike, there were areas when people needed help crossing; I saw people reaching their hands out to help. So this was a successful trip and it would be fun if I could go again.

Hello, I am Vinson Chen, former Treasurer of the Nite Lites. Nite Lites have been around since the year 2002. We are the first youth leadership group amongst the eight Beacons in San Francisco. We do community service and build a team of youth leaders, though most of our community service has resided at Chinatown Beacon Center events. This group has endured many troubles until lately, when we started to join back into a group and give back to the community. This camping trip at Big Basin was planned for a very long time until we have finally got everything together for it. Through much planning we finally got to rejoice on the crop we planted so long ago.

This camping trip was on the 17th of August. As eighteen members of the Nite Lites met at the Chinese Historical Society of America with five of the staff, we all worked together to pack up the vans for our camping trip. Our trip was around two hours to the campsite. When we got to the campsite, the park ranger wasn’t there to unlock the trailer so we started with some games and some questions to allow us to better know each other. Later we took a hike to where our showers were and most of us went to a waterfall near the campsite while the others went back to the campsite to help set up.

Back from the waterfall we had to set up our tents. Everyone had tents that were able to be set up, but my group was missing poles for the tent so we had to set up another tent until we found out that we were missing a pole again. After setting up the tents we had dinner. Our dinner was chicken skewers and pita bread. It was satisfying but then I noticed plenty of mosquitoes in our campsite. The night hike was great though exhausting. We got to feel nature with our working senses. The next day we went hiking. Half the group would lead and the other followed half an hour behind, following trail markers to get to the point they wanted us to be. Our day soon ended but we had chili for dinner and at night we had our spooky skits that we acted out ourselves.

Our last day was a recap on the camping trip. We went to a park to have lunch. Then we played a game called “The Blob”. It was great and it drained plenty of energy out of us. As we said our farewells to the park and Big Basin we journeyed back to San Francisco. This camping trip was very fun and I felt that our group came a bit closer together. Though our planning of activities was very off, we managed to get things together, and had a lot of fun. I hope we can plan this every year. As every second dies and a new second comes, my memories of this trip will forever live in my heart and soul.

To see more pictures from summer program, click here to visit the many albums in our photo gallery.

Click here to see some of the youth-created media from this summer's program.

If you will be entering grade 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 in Fall 2005, sign up for
Summer Adventure Camp
Where: Gordon J. Lau Elementary School, 950 Clay St(between Powell and Stockton), San Francisco
When: Monday – Friday
    June 20 – August 5
    8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Donation: $300 for Field Trips & Fun

If you will be entering grade 6, 7, or 8 in Fall 2005, sign up for
Beacon Summer Challenge
Where: Gordon J. Lau Elementary School, 950 Clay Street (between Powell and Stockton), San Francisco
When: Monday – Friday
    June 20 – August 5
    10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Donation: $150 for Field Trips & Fun

A $50.00 discount will be given to families* enrolling two or more participants.
    *participants must have the same guardian(s)

Enrollment priority will be given to current program and summer 2004 participants. New participants will be admitted if space is available. Notification of enrollment status will be sent to all applicants on March 25.

If you have additional questions or would like to request a form, please call (415) 983-9510.

For Elementary School (3rd, 4th, and 5th grade)
For more information, contact Jenny Arcilla-Gonzalez.
Where: Chinese Historical Society of America
    965 Clay Street @ Joice Alley – Across from Gordon J. Lau Elementary School
When: Monday, March 28, 2005 – Thursday, March 31, 2005
    9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
        Check-in: 9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
        Dismissal: 12:45 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

For Middle and High School
For more information, contact Rui Bing Zheng.
Where: Chinese Historical Society of America
    965 Clay Street @ Joice Alley – Across from Gordon J. Lau Elementary School
When: Monday, March 28 – Thursday, March 31, 2005
    1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Workshops:
    Tuesday: Web Design; Training
    Wednesday: Claymation
    Thursday: Web Design; Training

Camping on Angel Island:
    MANDATORY MEETING on Monday, March 28 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
    Departure: Tuesday, March 29 at 9:00 a.m.
    Return: Thursday, March 31 at 5:00 p.m.

Community Service:
    Assist program leaders with elementary school groups or in workshops. Orientation and training on Thursday 3/24 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.