Sunny September day at Iruma

We were happy to start our day with the first sunny day we’d seen in a while. Hoping that the river was not too affected by the recent weather we made our way out to West Tokyo picking up a scout on the way before arriving at our new spot which we discovered on our last day of summer camp.

After arriving and setting up we jumped right in to choruses of “it’s cold” and screams of delight. After swimming about and floating down the river the scouts wanted to try some rock jumping. This new spot had various rocks in the river and cliff-sides where we spent most of our morning swimming and jumping before stopping for a break. After our snack we headed out for a hike along the trail that ran adjacent to the river. Hoping we could find other spots for us to explore.

We made our way over to a very large pool with a large rock off side of it. Clem & I did some jumping and diving while Misaki and Mufaro played and swam in the shallows working together to try to catch some fish before we moved on, pushing further upstream.

After hiking another 500m or so we decided to play at the spot we had come upon where some teenage boys were swimming and jumping. After Clem & I tried the low jump he really wanted to try jumping from the higher spot so we went up there together to check it out. After we both jumped the teenagers decided they had to give it a try and after much discussion one of their friends went up and had a go. Soon everyone was jumping and enjoying themselves.

Now it was time to return to camp to get the fire started and eat our lunch. While heading back to camp we came upon a tiny snake that we gave space to and it slithered away.

Today I brought extra fire starters and after making our tinder bundles all the scouts were able to practice with them. They got many sparks but we’re unable to light it with the flint & steel. After I got the fire going and we ate our lunch we roasted our sausages and had some marshmallow and biscuits. We tried some new cheddar sausages which were dubbed the new favorites for Clem and Misaki.

Seeing as we had just eaten we decided to just stay in the shallow water and play with the water sprayer. Within a few minutes, the other river goers got involved and soon there was a massive water fight involving 10 or more children, some university students and parents as well. With screams of joy and lots of laughter we spent the next 30 minutes or so running splashing and spraying to our hearts content.

Most of the afternoon continued in like fashion. After a while Mufaro wanted to dry off and change so that he could practice with the flint and steel and maybe even light his own tinder bundle. After about 10 minutes of attempting he got it down just right and was able to set his tinder bundle alight.

Later Clem and Misaki wanted to float down the shallow part of the river and repeatedly floated down and ran back up the side of the river to catch another ride. They got some minor bumps along the way which they proudly showed me.

By now it was time to pack up and head back to the drop off points. Everyone changed quickly, packed up, and got their things together and helped to carry the gear back to the car so we could make it back in good time. We had a great day and thank you so much for coming along.