Kid Tracks: Are you outdoors-y enough? Now she is.

L. took a poll, "How outdoorsy are you?" on the American Girl website and was not pleased with her score. Apparently she didn't rate as a true outdoors girl and believes it was because she couldn't not answer this question in the affirmative:

"Have you slept outside without a tent?"

First she was annoyed and then she decided to hatch a plan with her friend B. to rectify the situation.

The initial project brainstorm was called "Living off the Land" and the plan was to spend three days in the backwoods behind our house. But after a more practical discussion regarding our schedule for the next few weeks, she and B. agreed to do a single "test run" night in the woods right next to the house.

To understand the girls' "living off the land" project, I need to go back to some text messages I shared with B.'s mom during the planning meeting (i.e., indoor sleepover) at our house. A few quotable highlights include:

"We should bring Ramen noodles. They're easy to cook and we can cut chives from the garden to make it be healthier. See that's living off the land, right?"

"I think we should bring Spagetti-os because they're easy to cook too."

"And hey, we can get eggs from the chicken coop for breakfast!"

"L., we need to make a toilet because there's no going in the house once we start. You know, you can use sawdust and an old bucket and you make the seat out of wood. I learned how to make one last year. I'll bring some curtains and a tarp or something so we have some privacy."

"We can make cots out of logs. See, it's here in the 'SAS Survival Handbook' my dad gave us."

There are a couple of other very funny comments but I've been told I'm not allowed to share all of it. Based on the above, you can likely surmise the girls were not exactly "living off the land" as much as they were planning a fun camping adventure for themselves.

The indoor sleepover planning meeting also included the girls deciding to spend a couple of hours watching survivalist videos about building a shelter and a "rocket" stove. They didn't end up building a shelter (L. wanted to see the stars) but Fino helped them with the stove - fashioned out of old tin cans, a couple of bricks and a recycled barbecue grate. It was actually quite cool.

They also made a cot from logs and an old sheet but then decided hanging hammocks in the trees sounded better (and was much simpler to make).

The girls gathered all their supplies on the day of their test run that included their rocket stove, composting toilet (i.e., bucket with wooden seat and shavings on the bottom from the sheep's supply - another "living off the land" example you ask? it is when you're 12), hammocks made from old sheets, a full cooler of water bottles and milk and various kitchen ware to prepare and eat the food. And thanks to a recent gift from grandma, a privacy tent for the camp's bathroom which included the composting toilet AND shower (i.e., water bag with shower head sprinkler tube).

It took a few hours for the girls to set up camp before their "in house" time was cut off. Of course to their way of thinking sending G. and/or mom to collect a forgotten supply inside didn't count.

They actually made a really good dinner on their little rocket stove. It included Ramen noodles (with chives from the garden as planned), baked beans, warmed rolls and fried peppers and onions. It was a multi-hour affair and once it was over they decided that Fino should visit the campsite with a bigger fire option (i.e., old open grill) so they could make s'mores. They claimed they were getting tired of keeping the small fire in the rocket stove going (and truthfully by that point I was happy to turn the fire supervision over to Fino who could do a better job of keeping it going anyhow).

Washing dishes from dinner and dessert included the garden hose (in the area for fire safety) and a couple of very wet girls when all was "clean." This prompted a decision at 10 p.m. that they needed a shower. As in the outdoor shower that grandma sent. I couldn't convince them that the bugs were out in force and going to delight on biting a couple of soggy girls. Luckily though, they were helping me with a product review for a bug repellent patch that actually worked as advertised (more on that later - it was great). So they were unconcerned about being wet and getting eaten alive by bugs and off they went in to the woods to change in to bathing suits so they could take their "shower" (i.e., more fun with water). The shower included a water bag with shower head and an old curtain to stand on so their feet didn't get dirty (B.'s idea even though she was wearing flip flops in the woods). BTW grandma, the shower and tent worked great and the girls gave the gear a big thumbs up!

The area around their campsite had scattered gear all over the place by morning, which did not go unnoticed by those passing by. It looked a little like an actual survivalist's compound with tarps and scattered supplies (if you get my meaning).

But the girls deemed their test run a great success with one exception - the hammocks. After a couple of repairs in the dark, the girls decided the trampoline would be much more comfortable - and reliable - to sleep on. And based on the original motivation for doing this in the first place - sleeping outdoors under the stars without a tent - the trampoline qualified.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, G. took a pass on the sleeping-without-a-tent option but did enjoy all the food and activities involved before bed, and the next morning. She was the project's "photographer who sleeps inside."