Trail games are the spontaneous games you play when you have infinite time and imagination and easy rapport with good friends. On CI’s first overnight trip since the pandemic began, the students in our Changemaker Program craved nothing more than being outdoors together. As we wandered up to Solitude Point at Cal-wood, we started playing the riddle-y trail game “Emilio Estevez.” The rules? You describe a ridiculous situation and your friends find a way to fit it into the name “Emilio Estevez.” Ready to play?

What do you call Emilio when he is heading to the mountains? Answer: Emilio Westevez!

The game got into our brains and would pop out at different times. We hung up hammocks, cooked tasty food, discovered bleached animal bones stained with fire retardant slurry, and wondered about last summer’s fire. We built our own cozy campfire, roasted marshmallows and had easy free-flowing conversations lasting until late night, when someone would spontaneously interrupt and call out:

What do you call Emilio when he can’t get this game out of his brain? Answer: Emilio Obsessedevez!

All early risers, we woke up early on our second morning. Sawyer built a fire. Without rushing or stressing, tents were packed up and we gathered around the campfire to eat breakfast, pop campfire popcorn and just be together. The first thunderstorm of the year rolled in as we hiked down the trail to do our service project. We watched the hail and lightning from the shelter of a barn built in 1908. We built our own barns and houses out of Legos to be used as part of a teaching module on fire planning. Then when the storm cleared we hauled wheelbarrows full of dirt to fill the raised beds in the new greenhouse, laughing and chatting as we worked.

What do you call Emilio when he is covered in mud from head to toe?: Emilio Messtevez!

After our project we ate lunch by the pond. The changemaker students became preoccupied with catching one of the invasive goldfish that proliferate in the pool and displace the trout. It was time to leave and no one wanted to go. When they finally caught a bright orange one, it appeared she was a pregnant female, which was promptly named Emilia EstePez. Reluctantly, we let her swim away and headed down the mountain in our cars and vans, refreshed and rejuvenated by our time together.

What do you call Emilio when he’s on the first overnight camping trip of the year with all of his friends? Emilio BESTevez

Written by Changemaker Program instructor Erin Angel

See more photos from the trip here!