A beary interesting day (CDB Day 6)

Will and Jake tending our troop flag

Friday started out just like the others with an early morning and the troop heading to breakfast at 7:15.  We noticed on the way to breakfast that there was trash out of trash cans and a big mess in certain places.  Our suspicions that a bear had been in camp making the mess were quickly confirmed by some staff members.  Bears had apparently roamed through the main part of camp where programs occur all throughout the night and enjoyed getting whatever they could get their paws on.  I guess we're getting used to all of it, because we just shrugged our shoulders and moved on.

Also, on the way to breakfast the troop marched from the campsite to the dining hall to a cadence called by summer camp SPL Jason.  It had something to do with overweight, old Scoutmasters...  No comment!  The cadence was to show scout spirit to others at camp and is part of the Long Rifle Award the troop was working to earn.  For breakfast, we enjoyed biscuits, folded eggs, and bacon finally made it's appearance!  Scouts also enjoyed the cereal bar as they have every morning.

Only four buddy tags for the troop this week

If it hasn't been mentioned before, Lake Allen at camp is frigid (temps of high 50s to mid 60s).  We were not able to get our swim tests when we arrived because of the inefficient check-in process and the fact that we ran out of time.  So, scouts and leaders had to make a special effort to pass the swim test.  At the end of the week, we only had 4 from our troop take and pass the swim test.  Congrats to Jason, Harrison, Gideon, and Mr. Chism for doing so.  Of course our guys enjoying the high adventure this week had to take the test upon arrival and they all passed as well.

George chugging root beer for Mountain Man

After breakfast, scouts participated in their normal activities before morning merit badge classes, such as ga-ga and the trading post and then the headed to their last few hours of class.  Some scouts were not in class this morning because they had already fulfilled requirements for their merit badges and enjoyed the free time with a slushie.  It hasn't been mentioned in this blog yet that for $7 or $10 you can purchase a cup (different styles) that allows you to have unlimited free slushies for the week.  We don't think that camp made money on this deal.

Gideon and Jake folding flag for Mountain Man

Once the morning classes were complete, everyone headed to lunch which included an individual sized pizza and chips.  The boys were very happy that pizza finally arrived at camp.  Bacon and pizza in the same day!  It also hasn't been mentioned in the blog that scouts were assigned slots on a duty roster for KP (kitchen patrol).  All scouts had several turns at cleaning up the dishes and tables after the meals and today's lunch was no exception.

After lunch there was a bit of free time before the Mountain Man Relay Challenge.  This is a competition between troops at the majority of the program areas around camp.  The troop was represented by one to five scouts at each station depending upon the station.  The competition would last four hours and involve competition at leadership (trivia), Goin' Great (running and flag folding), Handicraft (drawing), Ecology (trivia), Climbing (bouldering), Archery, Shotgun, Scoutcraft (scout skills), STEM (trivia), and Boonesboro (root beer chug & black powder rifle shooting).  The troop traveled around camp to all of these competitions to root on the participants.  Great teamwork was displayed.

Jason hits an apple in archery for Mountain Man

After the Mountain Man Challenge, all the first year scouts attended the Goin' Great graduation where they received their patches and posed for a group picture.  We are very proud of these first year scouts for sleeping with the bears and enduring their first year of camp so well.  They did amazing and dare we say they did the best of any first year group!  After the graduation, the troop headed to dinner in the dining hall for the last time.

For dinner we enjoyed grilled chicken, potato casserole, mixed veggies (carrots, peas, green beans), and a type of cherry cobbler.  After dinner, we attended the final flag ceremony and then headed back to camp to start packing.  Since we will have an early start on Saturday to come home, we needed to pack as much as possible tonight.  At about 8:15 we headed from our campsite towards the  amphitheater for the closing campfire.  Then we heard a bunch of gunfire!

Goin' Great graduation picture

We were stopped on our way and told that there were bears in the ampitheater where we were heading!  They were shooting guns in order to scare the bears away from the area and away from camp.  For our own safety, we had to stay put until they were able to clear the bears out of that section of camp.  Once it was deemed safe, our troop (along with dozens of others) were able to travel together to the parade field where a headcount was done to ensure everyone was present.  Fortunately, everyone was present and there were no incidents.

Scouts watching closing campfire on parade grounds

So, instead of the closing campfire, the staff put on a make-shift campfire program on the parade grounds.  We enjoyed some skits by various troops and saw some awards presented.  We never heard the winner of the Mountain Man Challenge, but we're looking into it.  We did win the Long Rifle Award as an honor troop at camp.  After the program, we headed back to camp for showers and bed.  The camp staff asked us to be as quiet as possible so that the dogs they have in camp to run the bears away wouldn't be distracted by our noise.  We all settled in and had a good night sleep with no incident, but everyone's awareness was heightened and several were a bit nervous.

The weather today at camp was a bit warmer and we hadn't seen rain or overcast for several days.  It was very comfortable in the shade, but a bit hot in the sun.  For more photos and videos from Friday, check out our online album.

Polar bears & pickle juice (CDB Day 5)

Scouts before the plunge

Thursday started a little earlier and more abrupt for some.  Eight of our scouts (Jason, Connor, Gideon, Jake, Harrison, George, Benson, and Tyson) accompanied by Mr. Chism rose early and headed to the lake for the Polar Bear Plunge.  As if Lake Allen wasn't cold enough, these brave souls competed to get a greased watermelon in the frigid lake at 6:30 this morning!  Why do this you ask?  Bragging rights and a cool patch, of course.  Congratulations to these scouts for "manning up" and earning that patch!

Josh, our program director

The polar bear scouts joined the rest of us for dinner where we enjoyed french toast sticks, folded eggs, sausage patties, and the cereal bar.  After breakfast, we attended the flag raising ceremony, led by our program director, Josh.  Josh always leads us in a song.  This morning's song was the "Alligator" song and was new to most of us.

After the flag ceremony, everyone headed off to class in the same routine that we've had all week.  The scouts have been working on their homework and many have already completed merit badges.  There have been mixed reviews about the classes.  Some say they are boring while others say they are having a blast.  Most scouts all agree that the staff is very friendly and they've enjoyed getting to know them.

We all joined back for lunch and enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, and chips.  After lunch and a bit of free time everyone headed to their afternoon merit badge classes and Goin' Great for the last time.  On Friday afternoon, there is a camp wide competition called the Mountain Man Challenge and we'll be competing in that.

Miles, Harrison, and Samuel cleaning creek

After the classes ended for the afternoon, the scout leadership planned out the rest of the week so that the troop would be able to earn the Long Rifle Award, which is the honor troop award at camp.  Mr. Edwards arranged for a service project that involved clearing out a creek at a nearby campsite to ensure that it wouldn't backup and flood during rain.  Several scouts led by Luke worked to get this accomplished while there were two other groups working on different tasks.

While several scouts were working on the service project for camp, another small group of scouts led by Liam were working the orienteering course in order to fill in the blanks for the challenge.  Orienteering involves using a compass to find a location based on coordinates and distance.  The scouts believe that they did in fact find the proper locations to fill in the blanks for the right answer based on the clues (coordinates and distance).

Will scaling the wall again at a fast pace

At the same time the scouts were working on the service project and orienteering course, another group led by Jason was cooking the meal for the troop.  The meal was provided by the kitchen at the dining hall and was jambalaya-ish.  It was a bunch of spanish rice with some smoked sausage.  Several of our first year scouts helped with the cooking and there should be some great new patrol cooks in the near future.  The jambalaya-ish was accompanied by salad and a roll.  Most agreed that the meal was better than expected and everyone ate well.

After dinner, the scouts in the Order of the Arrow (OA) including our newest candidate Jason attended an OA ice cream social with other arrowmen at camp.  This was a nice opportunity to visit with scouts from other councils and states and enjoy some ice cream.  Meanwhile, back at camp the rest of the scouts were enjoying some s'mores by the campfire along with the troop sharing our campsite.  It was a glorious evening.

Nick chugging pickle juice at tavern

A small group of scouts headed up to Boonesboro with the scouts from the high adventure contingent.  Tonight, the tavern was open where you could enjoy some beer, wine, and ale.  Actually, it is root beer, Cheerwine, and ginger ale.  Aside from the fact that the beverages are non-alcoholic, it seemed like a tavern in every other way.  There was live music and carousing and the scouts loved it.  Nick even chugged a jar of pickle juice on top of the table to the chants of "chug! chug! chug!".

After heading back down the hill from Boonesboro, we discovered that a bear was just spotted there and that it was headed towards the staff housing area.  Bears continue to be present in camp, which is disconcerting for the camp staff an leaders.  However, other than a sighting thankfully there have been no other issues.  Today the sun was out all day and it got a little warm in the sun.  It was still very pleasant in the shade and we continue to enjoy our time in the outdoors.

For more pictures and videos, check out our online album.

We're halfway there! (CDB Day 4)

Connor and Gideon enjoying classes

At camp on Wednesday morning, we awoke to another beautiful cool morning and a promising day.  The scouts quickly got ready as they have every other day and we headed to breakfast.  At the dining hall, we enjoyed country fried steak, gravy, biscuits, and folded eggs.  Many of the scouts hit the cereal bar as well.  We then headed outside to attend the flag raising ceremony for the day before having some free time before classes.  Many of the scouts spend free time fishing, woodcarving, or playing ga-ga.

Mr. Chism after his quick climb up the rock wall

In the morning, scouts continued with their classes in areas such as First Aid, Camping, Shotgun,  Movie Making, and many in the STEM areas.  The weather continues to be spectacular allowing for us to enjoy all the activities of camp.  Before lunch, Mr. Chism competed in the Scoutmaster Climb competition and finished in fine time.  Our scouts and leaders continue to be exemplary in multiple areas and represent our troop well.

For lunch, the adult leaders were treated with trout, corn on the cob, potato salad, rolls, and banana pudding.  It was fantastic and one of the perks for attending scout camp for the week as an adult.  The scouts enjoyed hot dogs and the sides that go along with that.  After lunch, the scouts enjoyed some free time at the Snack Shack (for sugar) and in Cold Mountain Outfitters (trading post) as well as the ga-ga pit.  Then, they headed off for their afternoon classes for merit badges and Goin' Great.

Will climbing up the rock wall

After classes, free time involved card games, rock climbing, fishing, and some football on the parade field.  The scouts are also working on their homework for their classes in their free time.  The adult leaders are strongly encouraging all of the scouts to get their merit badges completed so they don't have work to complete them later.  Time will tell if they are heeding this advice.

For supper, we enjoyed a box meal from Bojangles, which included chicken fingers, mac and cheese, green beans, and a cookie.  It was noticeably missing their famous biscuits.  The dining hall is closed for supper on Wednesdays so the staff can have the night off, so we ate in our campsite.  Apparently, many of our scouts won't eat green beans, but Joe made sure to eliminate them for us.  He ended up eating 7 servings himself!

Joe and all his green bean containers

Meanwhile, Whit cleaned his fish and was cooking it as a requirement for the Fishing merit badge.  He was nice enough to share it with the rest of us and it was pretty tasty (and salty!).  It was nice for the boys to see where food comes from.  Just hours before, Whit saw this fish swimming in the lake and caught it.  Now, we are eating it.  The troop we are sharing a campsite with from Florida was nice enough to lend some of their cooking gear and expertise.

After dinner, we climbed up "cardiac ridge" to Boonesboro Village to witness the Highland Games.  This was a competition between the groups staying there in which they participated in some traditional Scottish games of flipping logs, racing with sheep, and haggis tossing.  Boonesboro Village is a living history program that allows us to experience life skills and crafts that were common in the late-1700’s.

Whit cooking the trout he caught

After this interesting experience, we descended down the mountain to the campfire amphitheater for the Order of the Arrow (OA) call out ceremony and the flag retirement ceremony.  The troop had one scout called out for the OA, resulting from our election last month and it was Jason.  Mr. Williams was able to retire a flag based on his service to our country.

Once we arrived back at camp, we invited over our friends from Florida to enjoy some snacks and fellowship.  It is always nice to meet new scouting friends and enjoy their company.  You can learn so much from other experiences they have had.  Everyone settled in for the night with no issues (as usual).  Several are planning to participate in the Polar Plunge early on Thursday morning.  Stay tuned for that!  The weather on Wednesday was very nice and it only sprinkled for a few moments.  To see more pictures from today's adventure, see our online photo album.

Jason called out as an OA candidate

Flag retirement ceremony

Ga-Ga Mania! (CDB Day 3)

A beautiful morning at camp

Tuesday started off well and for the second day in a row the scouts are quick to rise and get ready for the day.  We enjoyed a breakfast of chicken biscuits, folded eggs, and the cereal bar.  Everyone is enjoying the food provided at the dining hall each day and nobody is going hungry.  After breakfast, we participated in the flag raising ceremony before several scouts headed to the ga-ga pit for a friendly game before classes for the day begin.  The ga-ga pit is a big attraction for most of the scouts and gets a lot of attention throughout the day.

Ga-ga is quite popular here.

The scouts attended their classes throughout the morning as they diligently worked on their requirements for merit badges.  At one point, adult leaders in camp were greeted by Whit carrying a dead fish in a bag.  He caught this fish in Lake Allen and it helps fulfill a requirement for the Fishing merit badge.  Another requirement is to clean and cook the fish.  We are hopeful that the other boys working on the Fishing merit badge will catch fish as well and we'll cook them all at the same time.  Currently, the fish resides in Mr. Stanford's Yeti cooler (right next to the Dr. Pepper).

Harrison, Whit, Benson, Gideon, and George at Boonesboro

For lunch, we enjoyed some barbecue sandwiches and some leftover macaroni pasta (if you wanted it).  Along with that was some baked beans and cole slaw.  Following lunch was of course some more ga-ga before the afternoon merit badge classes begin and the first year scouts headed to Goin' Great.  The afternoon was full of excitement for the first year scouts because they earned their Totin' Chip, which means they understand how to use a knife safely and they have agreed to do so.  The excitement is not really around the Totin' Chip, but around the knives they could purchase in the trading post!  Lots of money was spent there collectively today.  Also in the afternoon a group of guys checked out Boonesboro, which you'll read more about tomorrow.

Mr. Baird representing the troop with a shotgun.

Before dinner, we had a team represent our troop in the tug-of-war competition.  They did very well, winning the first round and coming close in the second round.  Jason, Liam, Boone, Miles, and Luke took the rope for the troop.  Dinner consisted of Salisbury steak, green peas, baked potatoes, and a chocolate eclair motif.  The food in the dining hall has been exceptional for camp food.  The leaders have heard no complaints about the food from the scouts.  Once the high adventure crew returned, Mr. Baird competed in the Scoutmaster shoot and shot 8 out of 10 for a very respectable score.  The scoutmasters were then treated to a cracker barrel of popcorn chicken, fried cheese sticks, and chips and cheese dip and salsa.

Miles providing light for Ga-ga into the night!

Before bedtime, many of the boys (including those from the high adventure group) played a rousing game of Uno that caught the attention of anyone not playing.  The boys were definitely having a good time.  The weather today was nice even though we had a few periods of rain.  For more pictures, please see our online photo album.