“Tent Camp” in Stepanavan
From July 3–9, 4 Peaks Alpine Club organized a “TENT CAMP” in Stepanavan, which had a very successful run and a positive response. The camp was educational: through scenario-based games and exercises we covered mutual aid, hiking, environmental, survival, mountaineering and other topics. The camp’s location wasn’t chosen at random. We took into account Lori’s mild climate and rich nature, how sheltered the site was, and being surrounded by a pine forest added its own beauty to the camp.
The program was as follows:
1. River crossing (horizontal, via a pulley/perilla system),
2. Crossing a swamp,
3. Crossing a steep slope (ascent, handrail, descent),
4. A hike combined with crossing an actual river (the Debed River),
5. Climbing,
6. First aid.
The lessons were led by instructors and rescuers.
Here’s the day-by-day account.
Day 1
As with all our club’s trips, this time too we met up early in the morning, but this time with sleeping bags, tents and big backpacks. Heading: Stepanavan. The camp site is set among nature, surrounded by a pine forest, where everything is set up for staying in tents.
The kids set up the tents themselves and arranged their things. They’ll be living for 7 days in the tent they pitched with their own hands, so they secure it as well as they possibly can. After lunch, which was very tasty, we started playing different games. In the evening we gathered around the campfire. It should be noted that the kids even lit the campfire themselves — our fire specialist Andranik sorted out the firewood and easily got the fire going.
Forest, silence, the sound of wood burning in the silence, and fire dancing in the dark. And how could the fire not dance, when the kids were singing so sweetly?
Zhora’s recitation was very moving — despite being only 12, he made all of us get goosebumps.
Bedtime was perhaps the most anticipated moment of all, since the kids were sleeping in a tent for the first time, and surrounded by forest at that. In the evening hours it’s quite cool in Stepanavan, and when it’s time to sleep we settle in well in our sleeping bags and drift into a sweet sleep.
That wraps up our summary of Day 1.
Day 2
The alarm was set for 8:00, but the kids were already awake by 6:30, as fresh and lively as if they always got up at that hour. On the camp’s 2nd day we have an exercise to do in Pushkino Gorge, on the riverbank. We set off at 11:00. We started walking along a beautiful forest trail and flower-covered mountain slopes. On the bank of the Dzoraget River, we settled into the shade of the trees. We’ll be doing the exercise right in this comfortable, beautiful spot. When we go hiking, when we climb mountains, we run into a lot of natural obstacles, one of which is a river. And this time we’ll learn how we can overcome this obstacle. After tying the ropes, the instructors from the Lori Rescue Squad taught us how you can cross a river, which part is right to cross from, what methods there are, what time of day mountain rivers run high, and many other important things. Stretched over the river and tied to the trees, we had to cross the river along the rope. This was new to us and very interesting. All of us successfully crossed the river and came away armed with new skills.
After the exercise we swam in the river and rested. Once the sun had softened, we headed back to camp.
In total we walked 7 km along the Stepanavan–Pushkino route and did a river crossing.
Day 3
It’s 8 in the morning, the kids are still asleep, and so sweetly that you don’t have the heart to wake them. They’re tired after the previous day’s full schedule. But we have to move according to the timetable — breakfast is at 9 in the morning, so: Gayane, Arina, Valer, Andranik, Armen, Mane, Sergey, Emily, Sosi, Aram, Arpi, Zhora, Ara, Garik, wake uuuup!))
After breakfast we went for a walk around Stepanavan, discovered a playground and stormed it. The swing was the most in-demand attraction.
After lunch we gathered in the classroom and recalled what we knew about mountaineering, discussed the ascents of famous mountaineers, after which we read the story “How the Camel Got Its Hump.” In free time some rested, some played badminton or football.
In the evening we had our next obstacle-crossing lesson. This time we had to cross a swamp. Of course we weren’t doing our exercise on an actual swamp. Using logs we created passable ground we could use to get across the “swamp,” and carefully started walking. If your foot slipped off a log, that meant the obstacle hadn’t been cleared. We wrapped up the exercise with a competition, in which the fastest girl and boy to cross without slipping took the win.
In the evening, more games — mafia, halamula, name-shouting… And finally we’re in our tents getting ready to sleep (assuming the kids aren’t plotting anything).
Day 4
Day 4 suggests it’s going to be a cool day. After the Yerevan heat, our camp is real paradise. A gentle breeze, clean air, birdsong, the rustle of trees, the joy and laughter of children — that’s our environment. The weather was so pleasant that even lying on the grass in the open sun during the day, away from any shade, was a real pleasure.
Knowing first aid is simply a necessity. The more informed we are, the safer we are. Surveying the scene, ensuring safety, assessing the situation, providing first aid — a sequence of actions that, when known, helps both the person affected and us. It’s for this reason that we had a first aid lesson. Partway through the lesson a heavy downpour started and let up after about an hour. The air was cold and fresh, and nature’s colors had taken on a richer tone.
We always light a campfire in the evening, and this evening was no exception, especially since we had a very eagerly awaited guest. Even though all the wood had gotten soaked, we didn’t give up. Thanks to Andranik’s persistence we both gathered wood and got the campfire going. At the hottest moment of the fire, our long-awaited guest arrived — our friend Suren. Joy, happiness, shouts, hugs… We wrapped up the day by roasting corn over the campfire.
Day 5
A trumpet? What for… In our camp, wake-up is handled by the birds with their song, and the squirrels running over the pines, dropping cones and branches onto the tents. Mornings like that promise a colorful day right from the start.
Day 5 of camp brings another exercise — crossing a steep slope. For this exercise we needed rope, a safety harness, a helmet, gloves, descent devices, carabiners, and, of course, discipline and courage. We loaded the backpacks with the necessary gear and headed into the forest, where we set up the exercise. We found ourselves in a spot where, below us, a forest stretched out a little further up toward the mountain. The ropes were tied, we reviewed the safety rules once more (approach the rope wearing gloves and a helmet, never stand on the rope…) and began the exercise. First we descended the rope using a descent device, then we did a traverse without a rope, on the third pass we climbed the steep slope holding onto the rope, and finally did another traverse using the rope and a carabiner.
After the exercise we gathered firewood and headed back to camp, but heavy rain kept us from lighting a campfire. On the other hand, the rain didn’t get in the way of high spirits and organizing games.
Every passing day is a reminder that the day of departure is getting closer, which makes the kids sad.
Day 6
Today we were supposed to have a climbing lesson, but the damp weather suggests we won’t manage it. But what worried the kids wasn’t so much missing out on climbing as the cold, rainy weather meaning we wouldn’t be celebrating Vardavar. What can you do — we’re powerless against nature. But wait, is that a patch of blue sky? Could the weather be clearing up after all? We quickly armed ourselves with water containers, swapped our warm clothes for light summer shorts and t-shirts, and started dousing each other with water. The kids were in very high spirits. The weather gave us 40 minutes to celebrate Vardavar before it started clouding over again. Even that was enough to make the day a beautiful one. In the evening we managed, with some difficulty, to light a campfire, since the wood was damp. This was the last campfire of our camp, so we gathered around the fire, sang, danced, recited, simply listened to the crackle of the fire in silence, and went off to sleep.
Day 7
The kids don’t want to go back to Yerevan and even try to bribe us. Don’t jump to conclusions — the “bribe” they offered was actually quite a nice idea: a whole day of reading in exchange for one more day at camp. Unfortunately we couldn’t take them up on the offer, so we started packing our things, sleeping bags and tents. By the time we’d settled into the bus and were passing through Stepanavan, the kids were waving goodbye through the open windows, to both the residents and the town itself, promising to come back soon.