CRM - Thursday: Free Form Expression

     Thursday at Camp Rainey Mountain is referred to as free range Thursday since there are no merit badge classes and the scouts are free to pursue different activities during various blocks throughout the day. Some troops take advantage of the proximity to several whitewater venues and head off property to go rafting. Troop 50 stayed in and the boys headed out in various directions. Due to the number of troops leaving camp on Thursday morning, the flag ceremony and breakfast were also modified. The running of the flags did not occur, which disappointed some of our more energetic scouts.

     Within our campsite, we have a couple of coolers filled with Gatorade and soda. I have already commented on the teamwork required to keep them iced. We have also been running our own recycling program for the bottles and cans, along with the occasional cardboard box. Since there is a First Class requirement that promotes recycling, we have been promoting it on campouts but we went all in for this week. We have a milk crate that serves as the single stream recycle container. When it becomes full, the boys then remove the caps from the bottles and rinse out all of the bottles and cans at the latrine before sacking it up to transport back to Auburn. This exercise has also been a way to teach them what belongs in a recycle bin and what does not. Some of our scouts have been throwing random trash into the crate in an apparent belief that all trash was recyclable.

There is an assembly line quality to the
process of cleaning the bottles and cans.

     The hike up to Big Rock was promoted to the troop as a way to meet one of the Eagle-required, Camping merit badge requirements, in which one must hike a trail with an elevation change of at least 1000 feet. The boys who did not already have Camping merit badge were eager to check off that requirement but the other (read older) scouts opted out of the hike citing other commitments such as qualifying at the rifle range, working on the Chess merit badge, or participating in a cooking competition. All of these are noble pursuits and they were excused, even the ones who actually spent the free time on the trading post porch with the WiFi. The newest scouts were doing an extended five mile hike as part of meeting a Second Class requirement so they went on the hike as part of their TNT patrols with Mr Dagg accompanying them. Mr. Chism and Mr. Lovvorn accompanied the main group from the troop to make sure that I didn't get lost again.

The hikers want to make sure I know the correct direction to go. 

     I was quite taken with the speed in which the crew hiked up the trail. They passed two other groups en route and didn't stop for a break until we reached the top of the mountain. The trail then made a steep drop down to the top of Big Rock. It has a rope line strung along one point to assist in getting up and down that part of the trail. When we got to Big Rock there was another group admiring both the view and the cell signal. We waited patiently until they cleared the top of the rock and then took the obligatory group photo.

Atop the Big Rock. 

     Once we cleared the area and got back to the top of the mountain, it was all downhill from there, so to speak. The trip down was accomplished with similar speed, although the proximity to lunchtime may have had something to do with it. We made it back to the dinning hall with time to spare, however.

The scouts following their speed hike of a thousand feet of elevation change. 

     The TNT scouts did not appear for lunch but I found out later that they not only made the hike in fine form, they cooked their own lunches of cheese quesadillas after their return to camp. Oliver and Jackson both commented on the fine quality of their respective dishes.

Johnson and Oliver seem to be enjoying their time on the mountain. 

     Following lunch the scouts went full free range. Some chose to enjoy the sunshine playing frisbee on the parade field. Some went swimming while others worked to earn some extra badges that were offered as part of the single day program. Gideon and Gordon were eager to try out the Blob. This is a large vinyl bag inflated with air that floats in the lake. One person jumps onto the Blob from a tower above, climbs out to the other end, and lays flat on the top. Then a second person jumps from the tower. This pushes the air towards the other end and launches the first person into the air to land in the water. Given the weight difference between them, Gideon was launched high into the air in spectacular fashion.

Gideon takes flight. 

Trey seems blown away by Luke's frisbee skills.

George and Rhett play frisbee along with the camp dog.

Jake, Gideon, Luke, Whit, Harrison P. and Jackson L. learn the mystical arts of chess. 

     I would be remiss if I didn't note the obligatory ga-ga ball pit at the camp. During the first three days of camp, the bottom of the pit was quite muddy. This did not stop scouts from playing ga-ga ball and getting absolutely head to toe muddy while doing it. I never saw any of our scouts in the muddy pit but I know some who seriously contemplated it. On Wednesday, a load of sand was dumped alongside of the pit and I did see at least one Troop 50 scout playing in the sand pile. Since the sand has been spread within the pit, there has been a nonstop game of ga-ga going, possibly 24 hours a day. Last night we almost had to drag one of our scouts bodily from the pit as rain and lightening  threatened. 

Johnson waits his turn to engage in the gladiatorial contest that is ga-ga ball. 

     Free range Thursday is also free of dinner in the dining hall. Some troops prefer to go to town for pizza but we decided to stick with cooking hobo meals in the campsite. The dining hall staff issued us the ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage along with the foil to wrap it all up in. We used the fire pit in the campsite to ignite a giant pile of charcoal, overseen by Battalion Chief Lovvorn, while other scouts chopped up the vegetables. Then all of the scouts put their meals together in the foil packets and laid them directly on top of the charcoal. The adults opted to put the ingredients into our Dutch oven for a tasty meal of Lithuanian goulash. The meal was capped off with a watermelon. Although the foil and plastic forks could be thrown away after the meal, there was still a great deal of detritus left on the ground, including potatoes, carrots, onions, and about a hundred thousand watermelon seeds. 

The pile of hobo meals grows upon the fire. 

Tyson skillfully filets the watermelon. 

     We barely finished our clean-up before the aforementioned storm blew in. Due to the lightening, we confined the scouts to the Adirondacks until it passed. They did not seem to mind. Some went on to sleep while a card game of Exploding Kittens Uno (please do not ask me to explain that, I have no idea) raged in another. I'm also told that movie night occurred in a third Adirondack courtesy of the Nintendo Switch. The storm finally passed and thus ended the night.

     Photos from free range Thursday are available at this link.  

CRM - Wednesday: Catharsis

     We rose bright and early on Wednesday for another great day at camp. The weather continues to be comfortable in the mornings and evenings but can get quite warm in the afternoon. We have not had any rain since Monday so all the activities have all continued as scheduled.

The leaning tower of waffles.

     Breakfast this morning included both Eggo waffles and French toast sticks, which was more than enough food for the boys. Most ate the French toast sticks and began a game of Jenga with the waffles.

     Wednesday is the mid-point for the week and the point at which everyone has settled into their routine. The scouts have become comfortable with their surroundings, their classes, and their fellow bunkmates. The five Adirondacks are divided so that the youngest scouts are together in one, the next oldest group is spread between two, and the oldest scouts occupy the last two. One group of older scouts has dubiously blamed an odd smell in their shelter on a single pair of socks. I'm sure there is more to it than that but the owner did appear in a new pair of socks this morning so the issue has possibly been mitigated.

     Merit badge classes continue to be the main focus for the boys, although they do get a break on

New socks make an
appearance at breakfast.

Thursday for the opportunity for free range events of all types. More on that tomorrow. In the canoeing class, Conner and Rhett worked on the requirement that they capsize the canoe, right it, climb back in, and paddle it to shore. They successfully got the canoe upright with Connor aboard but he wound up leaving Rhett behind to swim back to shore on his own. Rhett has also been taking reptile and amphibian study, which meets at the nature lodge, but they also hiked up to a waterfall above the lake on Wednesday to search for reptiles of all sorts. The staff has claimed that there are dragons and dinosaurs as part of the nature study. However, the boys have rightly questioned the validity of this claim. There was also supposedly a sighting of a couple of snakes, which morphed into a rumor of deadly copper-headed water rattlers. Jackson M. and Justice have also been doing reptile and amphibian study and have been fascinated by the thought of these snakes.

     The TNT scouts; Justice, Jackson M., David, Oliver, and Johnson; have all been divided up into different patrols as part of their program. Each has been learning different skills each day such as compass and map navigation on Wednesday. They will put these skills to use on their 5 mile hike on Thursday. In addition to their scout skills, they have also been taking swimming merit badge in the afternoons. David and Oliver have proclaimed this their favorite activity but the others seem less than entranced by the idea of swimming in the lake.  

James works on a technological masterpiece as part of Robotics merit badge.

Whit, James, Connor, and George perfect their woodcarving skills.

  

Will seems to use every free moment to read... 

...including while eating. 

     Mail for various scouts has been coming through regularly. Some have been packages that included games and snacks while other letters have contained cash that was quickly spent. There were also two packages from Amazon to Will and James that appeared to contain books. Will is always in danger of running out of something to read. 

Hunter, Trey, and Luke prepare to be entertained. 

     The final event of the day was a skit night campfire in the amphitheater. This was the opportunity for scouts to show off their dramatic skills. While these types of events usually result in some rather well-worn skits, there were several that were quite new and inventive or contained twists on the old formulas. Our scouts chose not to put on a skit, which was just as well given the crowded field of entrants. 

One of the skits - as seen from above. 

     We have also been graced with the presence of our newest Assistant Scoutmaster, Joe Lovvorn. Ronnie is shipping out on Thursday and Joe will be with us the rest of the week. More photos from Wednesday are found here.

CRM - Tuesday: In Medias Res

     It occurred to me last night that the source of my cyber issues in the evening is the limited bandwidth of the camp's Internet connection. After dinner, every staff member, scout, and leader is attempting to connect at the same time. However, in the morning, when the staff and scouts are all in merit badge classes, the competition for WiFi is limited to a few adults. I don't know why this didn't occur to me before that point. Age must be dulling my mental acuity. So, I will hopefully post each morning with the previous day's doings.

     We are in the midst of things, We started the day as always by rousing the boys at 7:00 to be at the morning flag ceremony by 7:30. Each morning and evening ceremony involves the raising or lowering of the US flag, Georgia state flag, Camp Rainey Mountain flag, and the South Korean flag (there is an international scout from South Korea working on the staff). The ceremony also includes a trumpet and the firing of a black powder rifle from across the lake. For some reason, which may simply be the vagaries of black powder, one never knows when the shot will be fired. This always causes everyone to jump when it finally goes off and is followed by a large ejection of white smoke in the aftermath.

Hunter participates in the running of the flags on the parade field.
We don't know if this is a traditional activity or a spontaneous
act started by a single troop. It does seem to have caught on.

     Following the flag ceremonies, we also have a few announcements by the program director (although he is never allowed to use the word announcements). A staff member then leads us in his or her favorite song (which have always seemed rather maudlin, ending in the death of some animal). Another staffer provides a random and senseless quip and then someone will lead the entire assemblage in either the scout oath or law. It caps off with grace before the meal.

     The rather awkward exercise that follows cannot be adequately explained by anyone we have met. Because the camp is so large, not everyone can fit into the dining hall at the same time. So we eat in two shifts, which are interestingly known as the orange and the blue shifts. Troop 50 is on the orange shift, which means that we get to eat first. The blue shift is dismissed from the flag ceremony and then they have to hang out for 45 minutes until it is time for them to eat. That's not really enough time to go back to their campsites for any meaningful reason but there is also not much else for them to do, especially in the morning. On the other side of the coin, due to the time to takes to line up in the cafeteria line and receive our food, the orange shift has a limited time to eat and clear the tables prior to the waiters from the blue shift arriving to set up for their meal. It is simply a strange system.

Standing around, waiting for the chance to enter the dining hall. 

        After lunch, I stopped by the dining hall to fill up my water bottle and happened to catch part of the adult leader forum that was being conducted by a member of the local council executive staff. I normally skip these meetings as an exercise in obfuscation and futility and wasn't surprised to see the executive writing comments on an easily erased white board as scout leaders offered suggestions or complaints. You can easily guess that the number one complaint was the shift system for the dining hall. Several leaders had helpful suggestions or noted the systems that similar camps use (of course, council executives love to hear how other councils do things better). Another leader told me later that the camp has been using this shift system for all of the years his troop has camped here. I don't imagine anything will change as a result of anything written on that white board.

The icemen cometh.

     Miles' system for carrying the ice bags was refined by using a stave from the trailer, which would allow two scouts to carry all four bags between them. Tyson and Will were the designated icemen for the day and they carried the stave to breakfast for that purpose. We discovered one flaw to the idea, which was that the ice bearers needed to be roughly the same height. The bags kept sliding to the low end of the stick, placing more of the burden on Will and causing the bags to bump the ground. However, they quickly adjusted to carry the stick at shoulder level so that Will could lift it higher. Every staff member and adult leader we passed on the hike back to camp complimented the boys on their teamwork and ingenuity.

   
     The merit badge classes continue to go well. Because of the size of the troop, we seem to have scouts in every class and in every part of camp. Some are paddling, rowing, or sailing on the lake. Others are learning rescue techniques in Lifesaving merit badge. Still others are at the shooting sports ranges pursuing archery, rifle, or shotgun merit badges. Some are learning metalwork and welding and a few are chasing a variety of bugs, birds, and mammals in the natural sciences badges.

David's TNT group begins a scout skill exercise. 

Tyson runs a mile in the Personal Fitness class. 

The canoeing class reached critical mass. 

     The camp is ringed by mountains and one of the activities they promote is a hike up to Big Rock, which as you may imagine is a big rock with a view of the camp from above. The hike up to the rock is supposed to meet the Camping merit badge requirement of a hike that covers 1000 feet of elevation change. We have been discussing doing the hike as a troop on Thursday so in order to scope it out, I headed up the trail in the afternoon to assess the difficulty. There is a sign at the start of the trail but just over a mile up the trail, it connects to the Bartram Trail, which is a 115 mile trail system in North Carolina and Georgia. Unfortunately, there is no sign at the trail intersection to indicate the direction of Big Rock and I had to decide which way to turn. Let's just say, I chose poorly. A mile and a third later, I reached a road crossing on the far side of the mountain that confirmed my choice was incorrect. I returned up the trail, crossed the trail intersection to the other side and found Big Rock only four tenths of a mile from my wrong turn. I took a photo to confirm my presence and returned to the camp covered in shame (and sweat) for my poor navigation skill. 

The view of the camp from Big Rock. 

     Tuesday evening was also the time for the adult leader dinner. Christian, Gordon, and I attended while leaving poor Ronnie to stay with the boys. It was a steak dinner with baked potatoes and french fries. We assumed the french fries were leftover from the regular meal that the scouts ate. They also had a nice array of desserts including a generous slice of raspberry cheesecake of which I made quick work. Since the meeting with the scout executive has occurred earlier in the day we were spared that indignity as a normal part of the leader's dinner. Overall, it was a nice chance for a leisurely and quieter meal.

     The final event of the evening was the Astronomy merit badge class's nighttime observations (weather permitting) that began at 10:00 PM. Only a couple of boys were involved in the class so most of our scouts retired to their bunks (although I later discovered a clandestine huddle around a Nintendo Switch in one of the Adirondacks). Ronnie, Gordon, and I sat around talking until 11:30 with the feeling that we were waiting for Godot. We kept thinking that the Astronomy guys would be back at any moment. We finally took a look and discovered them safely asleep in bed, having returned without our notice.

     I will leave you with the photo I was finally able to get of Harrison's newly crafted neckerchief slide. I like to think of it as a dramatic metaphor for the fine work our scouts have been doing this week. Other photos from Tuesday are found at this link. 

The thunderbird of power.

CRM - Monday's Exposition

     The rain we had yesterday evening seems to have cleansed the WiFi of its demons. I have been able to upload photos and even AirDrop photos with the other leaders this morning. Out of necessity to the plot, I will return to Sunday evening to round out our story line.

     The opening campfire on Sunday evening opened at 9:30 PM with music, singing, and an attempt at sketch comedy by the staff. Some skits were more inventive than others, such as the waterfront staff's "evolution of a lifeguard," which ended with a staff member doing a belly flop into the lake in full scout uniform followed by a lifeguard attempting to rescue him. The highlight of the meeting was  definitely the female staffer who demonstrated her skill at baton twirling. She progressed from double to triple batons before taking up a set of three flaming batons. He final act used swords as the implements of twirl. I felt certain that chainsaws were next but she ended the act with the swords and a  quick application of burn cream to one of her arms.

Nothing like flaming batons to set the tone for the week!

     Sunday turned out to be a long day so we were easily able to get the scouts to bed before midnight. We did ask if anyone from the troop was planning to participate in the mile swim this week. It requires swimmers to practice over various distances each day before completing the full mile on Thursday. Several scouts were interested until they found out that they need to be at the waterfront for practice at 5:30 AM each day. Despite an offer from Mr. Dagg and the scoutmaster to swim with them, the interest quickly waned and no one from the troop made the effort.

Proof of life photo to show the new parents that their boys are awake and healthy.

Beck contemplates his tower of toast. 

     We did have everyone up and out of their bunks by 7:00 on Monday morning (some in better spirits than others at that hour). We headed down to the parade ground for the opening flag ceremony and the opportunity to move into a crowded queue for the cafeteria line. The breakfast was a cheese omelet that included two slices of raisin bread. There was no butter or jelly to put on the toast and most of the boys left it untouched. Beck revealed a preference for the toast and the other scouts quickly signed over their rights to him. There was also oatmeal, cereal, fruit, and even yogurt for those with delicate digestions. However, the big draw seemed to be the rice krispy treats that were also on the plates. 

     As part of the routine duties that scouts must perform are serving as waiters in the dining hall to set up our assigned tables with silverware, napkins, cups, and pitchers of water and bug juice. Everyone in the troop is assigned to the duty on a rotating schedule created by the SPL. Two of the older scouts are also assigned to campsite cleanup and ice pickup. We have two coolers in the campsite filled with drinks so a daily infusion of ice is necessary. The ice is picked up from the trading post and the number of bags received is based on the number of scouts in your troop. We are entitled to four bags per day, which must be carried a quarter mile back to our campsite each morning. Ice bags are not easily carried that distance clutched to one's chest nor are the string closures a comfortable handle. Miles and Olen were the first scouts to be assigned this duty and Miles quickly came up with a good solution by using a thick stick as a handle for the strings. Thus the ice made it to camp with only the inconvenience of water drops into their socks. 

Miles intends to sell the rights to his invention for use by other ice carrying scouts. 

     They also picked up around the campsite and cleaned the decrepit latrine as best as possible in anticipation of a high score on the daily campsite inspection. Unfortunately, the inspector was confused about which part of the campsite we occupied and scored us based on the area used by the other troop. We never saw the inspector but he left our scoresheet on the tables used by the other troop, who passed them on to us. As yet, we have not been able to track down this elusive staffer to have the score corrected. I guess we will have to see if he figures it out for Tuesday before we appeal to a higher court. It is hard enough to motivate the boys to take care of their area without the added impression that they are being scored unfairly.

The latrine in its cleanest configuration. 

    All of our scouts are doing merit badge classes rather than high adventure programs, so they are off to the first round by 9:00 AM, stop for lunch by noon and resume after lunch for afternoon session. It makes for a quiet campsite and several leaders from the troop took the opportunity for deep and sustained meditation in the afternoon. In the morning however, the leaders roamed about the camp taking photos of the various classes and keeping up with what the scouts were accomplishing. All of the first year scouts are in a program called The New Trail, which is ominously referred to as TNT. They are learning the scout skills they will need to advance to Tenderfoot and beyond in the coming year. 

Several Troop 50 scouts are enthralled with the teaching skill of the young staffer. 

     They are also working on Swimming merit badge and various handicraft badges such as leatherwork, wood carving, and basketry. Harrison P. seems to have easily picked up the woodcarving skill and is already far along on a carved thunderbird neckerchief slide. Although I don't have a photo of that yet, we have learned to share other photos among the leaders even in our cyber-limited locale. Thus I have managed to upload all of the low resolution photos we have taken to the photo gallery. Sunday's photos are found at this link and Monday's photos are found here. The photos include several of our campsite and the camp flag ceremony along with the various merit badge classes. We are lacking a photo of the breaded and fried mystery meat that we had for dinner. There are several theories about what it was but no definitive answers as yet. The lab results are still pending. 

     I will leave you with one last photo taken as the sun began to set. We had some rain in the afternoon and evening but it cleared up by sundown for a nice night. I will return this evening to post on today's activities, WiFi permitting. 

Sunset over Rainey Mountain

    

CRM - Opening act

     Troop 50 is spending the week in north Georgia at Camp Rainey Mountain, know herein as CRM. After loading the trailer down with scout footlockers, we loaded into the AUMC buses and headed towards the higher latitudes. Despite an unexpected stop south of Atlanta, we made good time to Clayton, Georgia, just south of the North Carolina state line. The GPS system led us down an apparent shortcut that we could have done without but we reached the camp shortly before 1:30 PM.

The troop prepares to hit the road northward. 

     We were introduced to our campsite guide, Matthew, and most of the troop was given a tour of the camp and had an orientation for dining hall operations. The scoutmaster and senior patrol leader checked in at the camp headquarters to turn in the medical forms, fill out some unnecessary paperwork, and be reassured that we owed no further money in camping fees.

     Our campsite is named Mowogo, which is the name of the local Order of the Arrow lodge. The campsite is mostly made up of Adirondacks that sleep six scouts. We also have two tents for the adult leaders. There is another troop staying in the same campsite that consists of six scouts and two leaders. We kind of overwhelm them in size.

     The scouts who just earned their swimming merit badge this year were exempt from having to take the swim test. Several scouts also decided that they were not going near the water this week (which baffles me since there is a very nice lake) so they opted out of the swim test. So, a limited number of the scouts headed to the waterfront for their swim tests while the remainder stayed in the campsite and helped set up a dining fly, lanterns, clothesline, and hand washing station in the latrine. The latrine in our campsite is in rough shape. I have seen better facilities in the backcountry at Philmont. Fortunately, we have a shower house close by so the scouts have already been choosing to head over there to perform necessary functions.

The staff lined up on the parade field following the flag ceremony. 

     At 6:15 we headed to the parade field for the evening flag ceremony, which included the camp staff marching in formation singing a cadence as they marched. After the ceremony, we were called in to dinner by troop number and entered a cafeteria line. Tonight's dinner was penne pasta with sausage along with some type of succotash that I found hard to identify (I think I spotted some lima beans and carrots in there somewhere). The boys were much more interested in the Italian ice that formed the dessert portion of the meal. There was also a nice salad bar, boxes of fruit, and peanut butter sandwiches for the finicky.

The scouts dig into the dinner. 

     After dinner, the scouts headed out for some free time. While the scoutmaster and SPL attended the leader's meeting in the dinning hall. The final event for the evening is the opening campfire. After a full day, the scouts should be ready for bed without a struggle. We'll see how it goes. 

     As a technology note, the camp has no cell coverage and the WiFi is limited in strength. I will be posting blogs as I can, but the photos are hard to upload. I am hoping that they will load at a lower resolution. Once we are home, I will replace them in the photo gallery with the larger file size. I will send the link for photos tomorrow once I am sure they can be loaded. 

June court of honor celebrates advancement, service

At its spring court of honor on Monday, June 10, Troop 50 celebrated the advancement success of its Scouts, which included 18 Scouts advancing in rank and 15 earning at least one merit badge since the troop’s December 2018 court of honor. The evening’s event also included the induction of new youth leaders and other individual recognitions.

Outgoing Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Hunter called the court of honor to order and led the group in the traditional opening of the Pledge of Allegiance, Scout Oath, Scout Law and Outdoor Code. Dinner, featuring a taco bar with all the fixings, followed.

Lead Troop Guide Joe congratulates Harris, one of the troop's newest members, on earning the Scout rank.

The court of honor program resumed after dinner with the presentation of ranks, which spanned the awarding of the Scout rank to several Scouts who recently crossed over from Webelos, to the Life rank. As Hunter announced Scouts to be recognized, outgoing Lead Troop Guide Joe handled the duties of distributing the ranks and congratulating Scouts on their accomplishments. Hunter and Joe continued in their duties as the troop bestowed a total of 29 Eagle-required and elective merit badges, as well as Firem’n Chit and Totin’ Chip awards.

The troop's newest slate of youth leaders accept the oath of office for their respective positions.

New Senior Patrol Leader Everett (right) and Assistant
Senior Patrol Leader Luke (left) proudly display their new
position patches.

At the troop’s June 3 meeting, Scouts elected a new slate of youth leaders for the second half of 2019. Scoutmaster Andrew Baird administered the oath of office to those Scouts, which included:

• Senior Patrol Leader: Everett
• Assistant Senior Patrol Leader: Luke
• Lead Instructor: Trey
• Lead Troop Guide: Hunter
• Troop Quartermaster: Michael
• Assistant QM: Harrison M.
• Scribe: Conner
• Troop Bulger: Jason
• Troop Chaplain’s Aide: Rhett
• Pop Tart Turtles: Patrol Leader, Tyson; Assistant Patrol Leader, Gideon; Patrol QM, Harrison M.
• Radioactive Snowmen: Patrol Leader, Will; Assistant Patrol Leader, Connor; Patrol QM, Jake
• New Junior Assistant Scoutmaster: Camp

Scoutmaster Baird also presented the troop’s annual James J. Baird Jr. Honor Scout Award. First presented in 2015, the award is bestowed on the troop's “top Scout” based on his participation in troop activities, demonstration of Scout skills, continuing advancement success, and a vote of his peers. The award honors the memory of Jim Baird, the uncle of Scoutmaster Baird, a 1945 recipient of the Eagle Scout rank and longtime Rotarian leader. This year’s honoree was outgoing Senior Patrol Leader Camp, who will be presented the award at the troop’s next court of honor since he was unable to be present due to previously scheduled travels.

Will (left) and Tyson (right)

The troop concluded the awards program with a variety of other recognitions, including the election of Tyson and Will to the Order of the Arrow at the troop’s June 3 meeting. The Order of the Arrow, or “OA” — also referred to as Scouting's National Honor Society — recognizes Scouts and leaders who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives. Arrowmen, as OA members are known, are regarded for maintaining camping traditions and spirit, promoting year-round and long-term resident camping, and providing cheerful service to others. Tyson and Will will be invited to attend an upcoming OA induction weekend, and after their successful participation, will become official OA members.

Scouting is a family affair for the Bairds:
Scoutmaster Andrew Baird and
Assistant Scoutmaster Davis Baird

Scoutmaster Baird also highlighted the service provided by several adult leaders. These included new assistant scoutmasters Matt Jordan and Joe Lovvorn. He also bestowed a special handmade neckerchief slide to his son Davis who, while a college student, has served as an assistant scoutmaster, especially during vital times when additional last-minute adult leadership was needed. Davis, an Eagle Scout, will be graduating from Auburn University soon and beginning his service in the U.S. Air Force.

Additional photos from the court of honor are available in the troop's online photo album.

The June 10 court of honor is the troop’s final Monday-night activity for the summer. It will resume its regular meeting schedule with a Patrol Leaders’ Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 5, and its next troop meeting on Monday, Aug. 12. In the meantime, Scouts and leaders will travel to Camp Rainey Mountain in Clayton, Georgia, for summer camp the week of June 23, followed by its annual “Chill at the Lake” family outing on Saturday, July 27.

Zip-lining the world's longest zip-wire course

For its May outing, Troop 50 headed to Georgia for an overnight campout and day of zip-lining and other outdoor activities at Historic Banning Mills, near Carrollton. The zip line course features nine zip segments, along with a sky bridge and tower. Although the troop only completed a portion of the facility's zip-line course, the entire course, which extends more than 39,127 feet in combined length, has remained since 2012 the world's longest zip-wire course, according to the Guinness World Records. Consisting of 135 ziplines, the entire course would take more than 12 hours to complete.

The rain the area experienced shortly before the troop’s arrival Friday evening resulted in a damp evening of overnight camping. After a leisurely morning of cooking breakfast and packing up gear, the troop enjoyed several activities at the facility, which included a round of miniature golf and a nature hike. The hike took Scouts and leaders past the enclosure where Liberty, a bald eagle billed as the newest member of the Banning Mills staff, now lives. Liberty coincidentally once resided at Auburn University's Southeastern Raptor Center (we'll forgive Banning Mills for the War "Eagles" reference!). Unfortunately, Liberty was shy during our visit and didn't come out for pictures.

Michael readies for the first leg of the zip-line course.

The troop reassembled for lunch, which was followed by a rousing round of “Happy Birthday” sung in honor of Jake’s 12th birthday — complete with celebratory Krispy Kreme donuts! The troop then headed over for the 90-minute zip-lining experience, which included a very detailed safety briefing and demonstration before Scouts and leaders took to the trees for some zip-lining fun — and even a little screaming here and there!

Thanks to the Banning Mills staff, there are numerous photos of the troop’s zip-lining experience available in the troop’s online photo album for download. And, thanks to Gideon, one of our Scouts, we have a Gideon's-eye view of the course from his helmet-mounted GoPro camera!

Our Gideon's-eye view of one of the initial zip-line segments
(as an aside, the staff member who receives him at the end of the segment is an Eagle Scout!)

Gideon makes his final descent at the end of the zip-line course.

The troop took Monday, May 20 off from its regular troop meeting, as well as Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day. At its next meeting on Monday, June 3, the troop will conduct leadership elections to fill troop positions for the second half of 2019, as well as elections for Order of the Arrow membership. It will conclude its 2018-19 troop year with a court of honor on Monday, June 10, and its summer camp trip the week of June 23 at Camp Rainey Mountain in Clayton, Georgia.