It was very hot Saturday. However that did not keep Troop 220 from getting out and doing their part to keep Alabaster beautiful and to practice Leave No Trace. Troop 220 has teamed up with Pack 220 and the Westwood Baptist Church youth group to keep Alabaster Blvd clean in partnership with the Alabaster Beautification Board. Troop 220 takes every third month to get on the side of the road and get their hands dirty. This Saturday not only did they get dirty hands but they got sweaty faces as they unselfishly removed garbage from the side of the road.
Troop 220 at Principals' Breakfast - Click pic for more pics
Troop 220 was invited by Field Director Clay Pruitt to perform the opening flag ceremony for the Shelby District Principals’ Breakfast hosted by the Greater Alabama Council (GAC) of the Boy Scouts of America. The Scouts held the doors opened and warmly welcomed the principals as they arrived. The principals enjoyed the friendly banter and greeting from the Scouts as they arrived. After a nice breakfast the Troop performed a flawless flag ceremony to open for the speakers. More than one person commented on what a great job they did. Thanks to Clay and the GAC for allowing Troop 220 such a great opportunity.
This was a fun but exhausting camp out. I think it took its toll on everyone. Last year we had arrived at the Brushy Lake campground after dark. It was completely full and there was another Troop looking for camp sites also. Fortunately we were able to camp nearby in a hunter’s camp but we had to transport canoes back to Brushy Lake. So this year I left work at lunch, grabbed some Scouts and headed to Brushy Lake with the Troop trailer. We arrived at 4 in the evening and only 1 of the 13 camp sites had been taken. We quickly grabbed three camp sites for the two patrols and the adult leaders that were coming. We thought we were early. The next morning after only two other camp sites had been taken we realized it was the 105 heat index that was the reason for the empty campground at 4 pm.
That evening, though, the Scouts unloaded the Troop trailer and quickly got their gear on the two camp sites for the patrols. I lugged my gear over to the third camp site to get squatter’s rights on it. I was then able to work with the Scouts on some of their advancements. We were able to get a good many knocked out before the rest of the Troop arrived. We also got some fishing in before the rest of the Troop arrived. However it was only fishing. There wasn’t any catching involved. They are still working on mastering that Merit Badge.
Once the rest of the Troop and adult leaders showed up there was a lot more gear moving and camp setup. We got all the lights lit and just sat around enjoying being out in the woods even though it was still pretty hot. One of the adult leaders had brought some snacks for a cracker barrel so we began to partake of that while the Scouts began crawling in their tents for preparation to talk all night long. It wasn’t long before the whining about the heat started coming from the tents. It was at this point that we taught the Scouts that just because your tent has a fly it doesn’t mean that it needs to be put on when there is no chance of rain. They thought it was the coolest thing once they removed the flies. They were now actually sleeping under the stars. Actually the moon was so full and bright that you couldn’t see the stars. Of course it was after 1 am before they finally got quiet and went to sleep.
I figured they would have a hard time getting up in the morning. I was wrong. As soon as the sun came over the horizon and shone down in those tents without rain flies, those Scouts were straight up and busy about waking up everyone else in the campground. Sticking true to the Scoutmaster reputation, I was the last one up. The Scouts did a good job of knocking out some breakfast. I was able to scarf down a few leftovers even. Of course I then went back to my adult patrol site and chowed down on some bacon, sausage and pancakes. It was some good stuff.
While some of the Scouts were cleaning up, the SPL got the rest of them busy lashing the flag poles together and setting up the flag pole. He then pulled them all together and held a nice flag raising ceremony. It was then time to walk over to the day use area where Mr. Greg was headed with the canoes on the canoe trailer. We unloaded the canoes and showed them how to roll them up over their heads for a portage. The Scouts had to carry the canoes about 50 yards from the parking area to the edge of the lake. The smaller Scouts had to get about four to carry the canoes. A couple of the older Scouts were able to do it with just two. It was interesting to see them working together trying to get help from each other to get the canoes to the water’s edge.
Once they had them at the water’s edge we made sure everyone was slathered down with sunscreen and had a water bottle full of water with them. I then went over the basics of entering a canoe, putting a canoe in the water, paddling a canoe and some things not to do in a canoe. About the time I lost their attention I told them to get in the water with the canoes. The fun was about to begin. Mostly they followed the rules and everyone was able to get in a canoe and into the lake.
Doing the requirements for the canoe merit badge was a lot of fun. The Scouts had to purposely jump out of the canoe and get back in without tipping it. Then they had to take turns purposely tipping the canoe and getting another canoe to help them empty the water, right it back up and get back in it. That was a lot of fun. Then they had to purposely tip the canoe and swim it to shore, empty the water, right it back up and get back in it. Then I taught them the different strokes with the paddle that are necessary to get a canoe to go where you want it to go. The Scouts were loving all of the jumping and tipping. In the process they learned how to help one another and themselves should a canoe tip.
We took a break for lunch and scarfed down some really good sandwiches. It is interesting how everything tastes so much better when you are camping. After lunch and 30 minutes of letting our food settle, we were back to the canoes and the lake. This time they were to practice the paddle strokes and show me that they knew them. They were all in the water paddling around and then they had to paddle a simple obstacle course. Some had more fun than others with that one. The better paddlers had the most fun. And of course they had to jump out and get back in the canoe about half way through the obstacle course. What more could you ask for?
After that we made a bee-line for the dam at the end of the lake. The stream out the end of it was way too low for canoeing but the pool of water at the edge of the dam was perfect for swimming. The water in the lake was warm. However in the pool there was water coming from the very bottom of the lake through a runoff pipe in the dam. It made the water in the pool perfect for swimming. Once the Scouts stirred up the water and the three big alligator gar began feeding around them it was a whole different story. The swimming ended soon after that but thoughts of fishing were being entertained.
We headed back up the lake to try and find the feeder stream that we had found last year. The canoes got all separated and only a couple of us found the feeder stream. It was getting late and everyone was tired of paddling so we headed back to take a break and work on dinner. Some of the Scouts grabbed fishing poles and walked around the lake to the dam to fish for the gar. I realized about that time that I had nearly overheated so I spent the next hour just relaxing in the adult patrol site drinking lots of water and Gatorade.
Ryan and Rodney pulled out the fish cooker and the fish and began deep frying several different kinds of fish that they had brought with them. They also threw in onion rings and french fries. Greg had brought some corn on the cob so they threw that in as well. Great day in the morning, that corn on the cob was really good. Of course everything else was just as good as well. We were just chowing down on it as it came out of the fryer. Unfortunately eating that way you don’t realize how much you have eaten until it is way too late. There were several of us that wound up that way.
Some of the Scouts wandered by and saw what we were cooking. Since we had some extra we invited them to participate in the fish fry feast after they had partaken of their dinner fixings and were still hungry. Greg had some brownie cooking in a Dutch oven while the fish eating was going on. Unfortunately I never even got around to trying a piece of that. I really don’t know how that happened.
It was about 7 pm by now and the adults were all sitting around with full bellies thinking about having to sleep another night in a sweltering tent. We also heard one thunder clap way in the distance. I pulled out the weather radio and all we heard were heat warnings for that night and the next day. Someone made the suggestion that we pack up everything that we could that night so we could pull out early in the morning. They were all shocked when I made the suggestion that we just pack up and head out that night. I think the near heat exhaustion was still working on me. Of course they all quickly voted in favor and even a few of the Scouts shouted with joy when they were informed of the new plans.
Two hours later we were driving out of the campground. One Scout commented that was the fastest he had ever seen everything taken down and loaded up. I told him that was because the adults had taken over and ran the show. I told him that they could do it that fast also if they just all worked together and each Scout did his job. So maybe on the next camp out I can challenge them when they are running the show to pack as fast as they did when we were running the show.
We all got home late but it sure was nice to be able to take a cool shower, crawl into a clean bed and sleep under the air conditioner for the night. We all had a great time though and got most of the canoeing Merit Badge knocked out for the Scouts. I think next time we camp in the heat we need to come up with a mister and some way to hook it to the campground water. Something to be thinking about as we plan for the next exciting camp out.
Scoutmasters Getting Trained - Click pic for more pics
Greg, Rodney, Tom, Steven and I all ventured out one Saturday to spend most of the day at Riverchase Church of Christ to attend the Scoutmaster Specific Training course. This is the first of two courses that allows Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters to wear the TRAINED patch. The second course is Outdoor Leader Skills (OLS) I had taken it last year and it was a lot of fun. The Scoutmaster Specific Training course wasn’t quite as much fun. First off it was only one day so we didn’t get to go camping. Also there wasn’t anything concerning food or cooking so we had to go get our own lunch. However we did learn a lot of valuable information that will help us to be better leaders for the Scouts in our Troop. As the Shelby District trainers like to say and I fully agree with, “Every Scout deserves a trained leader.”
Scouts Being Garbage Can Knights - Click pic for more pics
Outdoor Merit Badge Day was a fun Boy Scout event out at Oak Mountain State Park. The Shelby District has always put on a yearly Merit Badge day that consisted of Merit Badge work that could be completed inside a building. This year was their first year to hold an outdoor merit badge day where all the work was done outside. I assisted with the Hiking Merit Badge so that is where most of the pictures are from. However there were about 12 other Merit Badges offered at this event. There were Scouts all over the woods doing fun stuff.
We started out by going over the basics of the Hiking Merit Badge at a picnic table out in the edge of the woods. It was a very nice setting and we were able to go over the necessary stuff before hitting the trail for a 10 mile hike. We tried to keep it real and lively and keep them moving around and helping out. They seemed to enjoy what they were learning and were involved in the discussions. They seemed to be having some problems with the maps because they couldn’t find any buttons on them like they have on all their video games.
We completed up all of the necessary paper work before lunch. At lunch there was a truck load of pizzas brought in. Unfortunately I still don’t think that was enough. The Scouts pretty soon scarfed all of that down and was looking around for desert. It is amazing how much food active boys can put down. We took our crew after lunch and headed off into the deeper recesses of the park to attempt to complete a 10 mile hike before their parents came to pick them up that evening. It seemed like such a good idea at the time.
The Scouts decided they wanted to hike up the mountain and down to Peavine Falls. That sounded like a fine idea. However once we got there they were exhausted from the hike up the side of the mountain and then all they wanted to do was play in the water at the falls. The fact that there was a whole slew of teenage girls there didn’t help matters any. We finally got them started back on the hike again but we quickly saw that we were going to run out of time and distance before the parents got back. Sure enough two of the Scouts said they have to leave on time and couldn’t stay to finish up the 10 miles so we headed back to the parking lot. We had covered 8 and a 1/2 miles by the time we got back to the parking lot about 15 minutes late.
Three of the boys jumped in their parents cars and left. The rest though stayed behind to knock out the remaining mile and a half so the hike wouldn’t be a total bust. We chose to stay on flat level ground this time and went around the family bike trail a couple of times to knock out the last mileage. I was wore out after that. I can see why the merit badge book recommends a training regime to get in shape before attempting your first 10 mile hike. I guess the BSA really knows what it is talking about, huh?
It was a cold day in January but that didn’ t keep Boy Scouts from bundling up and heading off to Merit Badge Day for a Saturday. Troop 220 had 9 Scouts who decided it was time to crank up the Merit Badge count and get busy with earning rank advancements. So they showed up with books in hand and began the task of knocking out 1 or 2 merit badges. Some were able to complete two merit badges during the day but others had merit badges that were more complicated and took all day to complete. However at the end of the day it was all good because they learned a new game and got to play with other Scouts they had not met before. Not to mention that several of them will now be awarded a merit badge patch at the next Troop meeting.
Above is a picture of a very nice map of Camp Tranquility at Oak Mountain State Park. Larry Faulkner was selling some extra patches during the event to raise funds for the Muscogee Chapter of the Coosa Lodge of the Order of the Arrow. I was wondering how much money it would take to get the map.
Directing Trailer Packing - Click pic for more pics
Cold December nights like this make me really scared
Scoutmaster’s not really there
And my plate is really bare
Another lonely night
My bag, my tent underneath a tree
Can this really be
I’m singing Boy Scout songs
And there’s no marshmallows for me
As you can see from the picture above the adults had more fun at this camp out than the Scouts did. Of course we staged this to have a little fun. It was a cold and rainy weekend. I discovered that the boys can handle a lot of adversity but the cold really puts the pressure on them.
We had a good setup Friday night and the boys got in bed early because they were cold and it was raining and what else was there to do. They had the tents covered with tarps and all the food and cooking stuff under cover. They were prepared.
The next morning it wasn’t raining and they were able to uncover everything and knock out some breakfast. That provided an opportunity for learning once they had dirtied up all their dishes just for one meal. Once they got that cleaned up though it was time for a nice little Geocaching hike up through Camp Tranquility and back down around by the BMX track. I had to cut and run for a couple of hours but I heard that the boys had a good time on the hike. The problem was that when they got back the wind had blown the tarp off one patrol’s tents and it had rained. Now some of their stuff was wet and it was cloudy and about to rain again. However they were able to adapt and overcome and found a dry spot to sleep with what dry equipment they had.
The adults whipped up some really awesome deer stew in a Dutch oven and feasted that night. The boys did alright with a meal plan that they had. It was a warm meal on a cold night and I think they all enjoyed it. It was time for a nice fire and some skits at that point. Of course we had the fire going since coming back from the hike so when it started sprinkling that night we just kept heaping the wood on and it kept burning. We had two pop-up canopies pulled together so everyone was able to get under there and put on their skits. After that it was getting late and only colder so all the boys headed off to bed. A couple of the adults stayed up to clean up the Dutch oven and enjoy the fire for a little longer. With the rain it was rather easy to put out the fire.
The sleeping was good with the rain beating on the tent during the night. Well, at least it was for me and the other adults. This time the second patrol had their tarp over their tents fly off during the night and they got wet. I think both patrols learned to check their stakes and make sure they are solid before leaving or going to bed. Also before skit time a couple of boys had decided that momma was close enough to come get them. So they took their stuff out of their tent and left. This left an empty tent that they had neglected to stake down. During the night, once the tarp over it was gone, it went blowing through the trees. Fortunately it didn’t make it very far before hanging up. Another lesson learned the hard way.
In the morning the sun was out and it was warming up. Always the case with camping out. It seems the day you leave is the best day for camping while the others were horrible. But it made it nice for having breakfast and packing up the trailer – twice. Once to see that everything doesn’t fit when you just throw it in. The second time to see that everything will fit when there is order to the chaos. Another lesson learned the hard way. Have I mentioned this was a very educational trip?
There were some fun times to be remembered, Scouts completed advancements without knowing it, the trip home was nice and the Scouts learned a lot about camping in cold, wet weather. All in all I would have to say it was a successful campout.
