NORML Summer Camp 2018: The Recap

/NORML Summer Camp 2018: The Recap

NORML Summer Camp 2018: The Recap

By | 2018-07-26T17:25:36-06:00 July 20th, 2018|CannaVentures, Events, Feature, News, Recaps, Recaps & Trip Logs|0 Comments

Friday, July 13th kicked off NORML Summer Camp 2018 in Guffey, CO and this year was even better than last year. The property was easier to find, easier to access, and incredibly private. With more than 120 acres surrounded by BLM land, it truly is a cannabis camper’s paradise.

Campers began arriving mid day and started to set up their tents/camps in a horseshoe shape around the main camp. The property has a bunch of old buildings, including a gorgeous old wooden windmill, scattered around the area, which made for a rustic, historic feel. As campers finished setting up, we took dabs, played Jenga, and had a couples tug-o-war round with both sides taking home wins. The camp also featured giant checkers, giveaways, and a badminton net and ladder ball set that fellow campers brought.

Due to the late arrival of a few attendees, we stayed close to camp for Dinner and Friday night’s activities. We were under a fire ban, which meant that our welcome fire was a little smaller, and propane-powered, rather than your traditional wooden bonfire. Propane fire pits made a huge difference during the ban, and are safe to turn off at any point. A few campers wandered and explored the property, but most relaxed under the stars in preparation for a busy Saturday.

Sunrise Saturday came early; just before 5:30am. Out in the mountains, the sunrise illuminates the entire valley as it begins its path, gradually waking up campers. People made breakfasts at their camps and a few collaborated on meals. Shortly after, Athena Sweeten, of Ahimsa Yoga, lead a morning session of Cannabis Yoga that was followed by a CannaFitness class hosted by Antonio and Heather DeRose of MjFitNut. Campers were able to stimulate their muscles and minds to get the day started and prepare them for hiking and outdoor activities.

After lunch, Cannabenoid taught the camp some creative rolling techniques during Blunts & Crafts, where attendees got to learn a few basic steps for weaving blunts and joints, as well as get inspiration for future creative options. Participants had their choice of a selection of rolling papers and blunt wraps from Backwoods, Juicy J’s, Empire Papers and more and everyone brought cannabis and trim to share.

Following Blunts & Crafts, CannaVenture led Stoner Survival and showed the camper a few tips and tricks for staying alive and keeping high spirits in the outdoors, covering everything from hiking etiquette to knots and essential gear. Once we were done with Survival class, everyone gathers near the windmill for our 2018 family photo at 4:20pm. A few people decided to hike up the nearby mountain, while the rest of the camp focused on dinner and the evening’s activities.

Once dinner was finished, our s’mores bar was set up and campers enjoyed smoking a 2+ ounce NORML joint that was rolled during Blunts & Crafts. As the s’mores were being eaten and cannabis was being consumed, the glow party was set up. With tons of glow sticks, glow masks, and fun glow beach balls, the entire camp participated in illuminating the dark ranch with glowing neon colors. We played glow-in-the-dark bocce ball and headed up that same mountain, but had to turn around because we all forgot water.

While we only came back for water, we ended up sitting around the fire for a few hours chatting again until some of the ladies left to hike the mountain again. The remaining crew enjoyed the fire until the propane ran out, and then headed up the mountain as well, turning back only once for a case of beer. Once we caught up too the first group, we all climbed up to the first ridges to enjoy tunes, conversation, an incredible view of the milky way surrounded by a canopy of stars, and some quality homegrown cannabis.

Pausing the music, we heard a large group of coyotes and decided to begin our descent. Once we reached the camp, we decided to end our adventure with a 10g joint that Alex Rubin (NORML Business Director) had rolled for the group in lieu of his absence. Finishing the night with laughter, smiles, and a great group of friends, the crew headed to bed shortly after 4am.

Sunday was a bit more sluggish than Saturday, especially after the long night hike that many of the campers took only a few hours before sunrise. As campers slowly woke up, breakfasts were cooked and a communal potluck began to form, with campers wanting to cook the remainder of their food that they’d brought to share with each other.

After breakfast, we hosted an informal CBG Ceremony thanks to product provided by Summit CBD. CBG (cannabigerol) is a lesser known cannabinoid that is the precursor to THCa and CBDa. Summit offers a 20:1 CBD:CBG crumble with different terpene profiles, which many remarked were the “best tasting dab” that they’d taken.

Following CBG dabs and discussion, a few campers hiked up the entire mountain with Sven to find a statue of Mary and some incredible views. Once they returned, Athena led another yoga session for the remaining attendees while camp began to pack up.

Due to the threat of storms and intermediate rain showers, we decided to pass on cliff diving to the dismay of the crew. Instead, we made sure the entire camp was cleaned up, and headed to the Bull Moose, a CannaVenture tradition since our first campout at 31 Mile Ranch two years prior.

In the most ironic ending to the weekend, the nearly three hour drive home was a continuous rainstorm with occasional thunder and lightening. We’d been extremely careful of fire, and restricted fires due to fire bans, and yet we all drove home in a torrential downpour.

I could not have asked for a better group to camp with. Everyone contributed, got along, and participated int he classes and activities, as well as interacted with each other and made new friends. We even had a couple get engaged during the sunset on Friday night, a first for the CannaVenture Crew. As always, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for continuing to share in the memories that we make as a crew.

If you loved Discs-n-Dabs or Summer Camp (or if you missed out on getting an invite to either), join us at our next campout in September. We’re throwing a secret campout that’s cannabis friendly with a whole bunch of surprises. It’ll take place on a (different) private property in the middle of the mountains. Invite information will be soon to come.

Our next hike is on August 18th in Boulder and we would love to see more of you there. Head on over to the event page for more information.

I cannot wait to share more experiences like these with you all in the near future. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Like Us on Facebook, and sign up for our mailing list.

Happy CannaVenturing!

Much love,
Cannabenoid

To request more information or discuss a sponsorship, you can reach Cannabenoid directly at Ben@Creativebenefits.org.

P.S. Don’t forget to join the Group on Facebook and send us your pictures! We will try to add as many as possible.

P.S.S. Check out the Denver Westword’s coverage of NORML Summer Camp!

More Photos (If you want your photos added, please email them to us!):

 

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