Since my father had taught me the rudiments of mountain hiking early on in life it was inevitable that I should join the local Brownie Scout Troop and thereafter graduate into the official Girl Scouts of America. My troop leader, Mrs Coffee had been a WAC during WWII and regularly put us through military type exercises so that we were probably the most physically fit troop in all of Los Angeles County. It just so happened that her mother owned a cabin at Mt. Baldy so it became our official Girl Scout Camp where we hiked to and from on a regular basis.
One weekend we hiked up a really rugged trail to a deserted cabin with every two girls carrying a bedroll between them in a team effort. The handle on the cabin door was made from a deer's hoof and leg with the hair mostly worn away from time. The place seemed really spooky. We spent the night huddled in shared bedrolls listening to the night sounds of a mountain stream, over rocks, down through the Pine forest. Morning was a most welcome sight and after an apple for breakfast, a trip back down to camp was much easier.
Since I played a trumpet, I was chosen as the official bugler for the troop so that I was always first up in the morning, last to partake of meals and last to bed at night. It was all worth every minute of course. Great memories and a special fondness for Mrs Coffee.
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