August Camp Out

In August we got together we 5 other scout troops from our Stake (our Stake consists of 8 regional congregations). Last year I started this camp out because my scouts wanted to camp with other scouts they had met through various activities in the Church. We invited all the congregations to participate, but only 4 of the 8 camped together - still we had over 50 participants. This year I co-hosted the camp with Dirk Gardner of the 4th Ward. We had 6 units show and over 60 participants. Last and this year we camped at Moraine State Park at the 5 Points Group campground. This campsite has a huge field in which we can set up tents. Next to the field is "the best climbing tree ever" according to Matt. We have camped here before and the first thing Matt does is climb the tree (after camp is set up, of course).

This year only Matt and Brett could attend. All of my other scouts were either on vacation or involved in football. Late August is a bad time of year to try to get everyone together. Next year we are going to try to plan for the end of July or start of August. Here, Matt and Brett are eating breakfast. We cooked scrambled eggs with ground sausage and sprinkled cheese over the top and wrapped that into a flour tortilla. I thought they were very tasty and easy to prepare. Matt wanted salsa to go on his breakfast burritos. In addition we sliced up a few potatoes and added sliced onions to make "home fries." We saute in butter the sliced veggies and cook them until the potatoes are soft. They were excellent.

Last year I set up a compass course for the boys, giving them a starting point and a set of directions and distances. All 4 units competed last year. After 10 twists and turns of various distances (almost a mile), the scouts submitted their ending points. The unit from Butler won, being only 30 feet off the final ending point. Two other units were off by about 35 feet and my unit was off by about 70 feet :( . Dan, my Assistant Scoutmaster (pictured above) set up the course this year. He got his GPS out and set 5 markers up around the camp site. The then plotted the markers on a contour map and handed that out to the competing units. This time it was a timed event to see how fast you could find the markers and get back to camp. Four troops participated and here are the times: Freeport: 1 hour 38 minutes, Slippery Rock: 1 hour 43 minutes, Butler 1 hour 48 minutes, and 4th Ward: 1 hour 49 minutes. As you can see, it was not easy.

Friday night was perhaps one of the clearest nights I have seen East of the Mississippi. The moon set early so the view of the stars was uninhibited. I pulled Matt and Brett aside and had them gaze up into the sky for a few minutes. We could clearly see the mist/haze of the Milky Way. A planet was very bright in the southern sky (probably Jupiter or Saturn). It was a time to just think about the vast distances that are out there. For me it was a humbling experience. We are on the edge of a smaller galaxy. The universe is so large, and we are small in comparison. I hope Matt and Brett took away something like that. Later on during the evening I found Matt with some of his friends gazing into the sky away from camp. They had seen two shooting stars during their observations and discussions. After visiting with them, I went back to my tent for a peaceful night of sleeping. After looking at the stars, I think I can appreciate what God had done for me a little more.

Summer Camp

We just returned from Summer Camp at Muskingum Valley Scout Reservation. Going to camp this year was Matt Biernesser, Tyler Weeks, Brett Peacock, Justin Petrosky, Nate Rambo, Kenny Sumpman and Zac Tame (seen above, L-R). We took the tarp and frame, again working well. A few people stopped by to look at it, one man took pictures of how it was constructed. I guess I am proud of it.

This is about the 5th year in a row for our troop to attend camp there. We like this camp for several reasons: decent food and lots of it; the week we go is a week set aside for only LDS troops and they are willing to accommodate any change we want to do to the program; the price is $50 cheaper than our own council; MVSR modifies their schedule for us to arrive on Monday; the staff is the most enthusiastic I have ever seen; and, the camp understands the spiritual aspect of scouting.

One of the favorite activities is called the Lake Games because they take place near the lake. These are a bunch of individual games the boys can play. One was the robot relay, where they had to put on boxes and run a certain distance. Another is called pirates. They had various safe havens from the pirates, one being a seat from a mini van. When the pirates were sighted, all the scouts had to run to a safe haven. This is what it looked like.
One of the other things the scouts like to do is sleep out. They are not big fans of the tents there and next year I think I will allow them to bring their own. We shared this campsite with two other troops. I brought seven boys, another brought five and the last troop brought ten. The boys get along well except they like to talk. Monday night five of my seven decided they would sleep outside after I went to sleep. About 5:00 AM it started to pour. Wednesday night they wanted to sleep out again, this night many others joined them. Again it rained in the middle of the night. The boys wanted to try again Friday night, the night before we left. Finally they had good weather. The only problem was getting them to wake up.

Tennessee Trip

Tennessee Trip June 15 to 20, 2009

Recently we returned from a "High Adventure" trip to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trip was fabulous, in my opinion, and the youth seemed to have a good time.
We met at the church and loaded up early Monday morning. The trip is about 9 hours with stops and all. We got to the campsite (a local campground outside the park) and set up camp. We drove to the park visitor center at Sugarlands. There the youth were able to see exhibits on the park wildlife and terrain.
Tuesday morning we hiked to the Chimneys. This is a grueling 2 mile hike up hill. However, the views from on top are worth the effort. The boys felt like they had really accomplished something - they conquered the mountain. We ate lunch on top of the mountain.
After the Chimneys, we drove to Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the Park. The day was fairly clear with a visibility range of about 40 or 50 miles. The hike to the dome is 1/2 mile up a steep paved path.
Wednesday we drove to Cades Cove and biked the 11 mile loop. The one way road that loops around the Cove is closed to motorized traffic every Wednesday and Saturday morning until 10:00 AM. We got there about 7:20 and there was already a long line of people to rent bikes from the Park. We got going about 8:00 and biked around the valley.
The wildlife and views were amazing as we biked around the park. We had rain on the drive over and on the way back, but while we biked, the skies were fairly clear. Here we see a bear cub in the foreground and the mama bear in the background. There was another cub, but he is not in the picture.



The bike trip and the hike the previous day took a lot out of the boys and they opted to scrap the hike to Abrams falls that afternoon. Instead they wanted to go back to the campground and try out the waterslide. We caved into their request, but not before stopping by the Sugarlands visitor center again and making them watch a film about the park.
Wednesday night we cooked steak over the fire and baked potatoes in the coals. The meal was outstanding. Just after everything got cleaned up, a huge storm blew through. We got about an inch and a half of rain in an hour. I have seen a lot of rain storms and this one was impressive. The boys all got under the tarp, which held up beautifully, and waited it out. The tents were pitched well and we had no problems even though there was tons of water around.

Thursday morning we went white water rafting on the Big Pigeon River. Each rafting day water is let out of a reservoir raising the river level by 3 or 4 feet, making a simple river into a raging river of class 3 and class 4 rapids. It was a first for all the boys and they loved it.
Thursday afternoon we went to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg. While in the aquarium, another huge rain storm came through, but we were all inside. The youth enjoyed the wide variety of exhibits. They got to pick up crabs and touch sting rays.

Friday morning we parked at Newfound Gap and hike 4 miles along the Appalachian Trail until we got to Charlie's Bunion. This day we got to see why they are called the Smoky Mountains. The clouds and mists flowed over the ridge tops. It was a mix of sun and cloud. We ate lunch there, seeing some great views of the Park. Again we had no rain while the activity took place.

Saturday we got up early and packed up for home. On the way home we stopped in West Virginia at the bridge that spans the New River Gorge. Once home, the boys were all talking about the trip and what they did. Memories were created to last a lifetime. That is what it is all about, right?

Total cost per person (without gas and tolls): $113. Campground fees, Rafting fees, bike rental, Aquarium fees and food costs make up that amount.

High Adventure Trip Preparations

I have to admit we have a great Committee Chairman - Dean Nelson. Although he is an Eagle Scout from our troop (he finished right before I became Scoutmaster), Scouting administration is new to him - so I get to train him. He has the parents involved, more than I could ever get involved. Anyway, I had to complement Dean first.

We are preparing to go to Gatlinburg, Tennessee on June 15th for a week of camping and adventure. Having grown up a little over an hour away in Oak Ridge, I did much of my scouting in the Smokies. This is an opportunity to have my youth experience a little of what I did.

Part of our preparation is to build a support for one of our Troop tarps - 12 feet by 24 feet. In our last two Scout meetings, the troop measured and cut metal pipe for the supports. Dean and I discussed several designs to create this tarp support. We finally settled on a cross design. Dean, being a high school physics teacher, came up with most of the ideas. Unfortunately, we have to credit Dean's dad - he came up with a simple, elegant design. I am very pleased.

The basic design was to have 6 poles, each six feet long. They will support the tarp on the four corners and two in the middle. We connect 4 four foot poles to create 2 eight foot poles. These will form the apex for the structure. Dean welded a cross piece with threads. 4 six foot section of poles were cut and threaded to screw together to form a "backbone" for the tarp. The sections screw into the cross piece. 2 additional six foot sections screw into the cross piece. The cross piece is angled such that the end of the section will at the six foot level (That was a fancy bit of welding by Dean).

As part of our preparation for this trip I asked each youth to submit a menu for two days - breakfast, lunch and dinner - hoping to get good ideas to plan out the menu for the week. The scouts seem to have limited imagination as they all put down Pancakes and Sausage for breakfast and Steak and baked potatoes for one of their dinners. In all fairness to them, we have a campout at the end of the year for fathers and sons to express appreciation for their support during the year. For dinner on that night we do grill steak over the fire and bake potatoes in the coals. Evidently they like that meal. I am surprised they haven't asked for lobster or shrimp!

The kids are excited. I am excited, we leave in less than three weeks. We estimate that the cost of the trip will be about $100 per person. We have negotiated prices for the campground, white water rafting, a visit to Ripley's Aquarium. After the trip I will post a blog as to the exact costs and activities.