Eagle Scout Only Rafting Trip

April 11-13, 2008

Three to four times per year the Eagle Scouts and other interested Scouts approved by the Eagles take a special trip.  One past trip was a day learning how to weld and doing some simple welding.  A sporting clays shotgun shooting trip is planned and this past weekend 7 scouts and two adult leaders adventured to Charlotte and the US White Water Training Center.  This facility is the US Olympic team training and qualification center.  Our Eagles ventured there for some white water rafting. 

We departed the usual meeting place at Apex Corners at about 5 PM on Friday for an uneventful drive in two cars to the Belk Scout Camp just East of Charlotte.  Mr. Blum planned the trip for us and he did an outstanding job for our accommodations.   We arrived at the camp and checked in with the camp ranger.  The ranger escorted us to our “camp site.”  To our surprise, we were invited to use two cabins used to house summer camp counselors.  We had air-conditioning, fans, electric lights and a big porch with nice new rocking chairs.  To the side of the two cabins was a covered shelter with electric lights where we set-up our kitchen.  The cabins were just behind the camp mess hall and so we had access to flushing toilets, electric lights and running water restroom facilities.  The Scouts didn’t want me to tell you this, because they were worried you would accuse them of being “girl Scouts.”

As you can imagine, camp set-up took about two minutes – unload your stuff and throw your sleeping bag on one of the soft mattress bunk-beds.  When the Scouts finished doing that they were off to explore the surroundings.  When they came back we sat on the porch in our rockers and talked about this and that.  It was a very nice evening and everyone was down for the night by 11 PM. 

We were up at 7 AM.  Bob D. made coffee for the adults and Mike B. made breakfast for all.  We had breakfast burritos stuffed with an egg/sausage/cheese/sausa mix.  Mike called it his one pot breakfast and clean-up was easy and quick.  With that done we got dressed and packed for the day of rafting.

We departed camp at 9 AM for the hour drive to the other side of Charlotte and the US White Water Center.  We got there about 45 minutes prior to our scheduled rafting time, so everyone was watching kayakers float the concrete “river.”  The orientation started on schedule at 11 AM and took the scheduled half hour.  Just as the briefing finished the lightning alarm went off and we were put on hold for about a half hour.  It rained all morning, but it didn’t matter because we were getting wet in the river anyway.  We hit the rafts and started the adventure at noon.  There were two runs down the category III rapids and a couple of runs down the category III rapids that end with a short category IV section.  In between the runs was the float to the “escalator” that lifted the rafts with crew back up to the top “lake” and the head of the two different rafting runs.  We split up into two teams and used two rafts.  Each had a river guide and a second person who was in training for a river guide license.  That meant 6 people per raft.  Chris B. was the only person to unintentionally go over-board. 

After the hour and a half of rafting it was back to the locker room and a dry change of clothes.  We took wet clothes to the cars and came back to the Center’s restaurant for lunch.  The service and the food were great and the conversation about the adventure even better.  Everyone had a great time.

After lunch we made the hour drive back to camp and the Scouts were off to play games.  Baseball, Ultimate, Soccer, etc.  Where do these boys get their energy?  Mr. D. and Mr. M. were “busy” reading and talking on the porch (in the rockers of course).  After the Scouts came back to camp from their games, we all sat in the “kitchen” and talked.  I asked the Eagles what they wanted to do for next year’s Eagle outings.  Believe it or not, everything they came up with was against BSA rules.  Sky diving, laser tag, quad riding, and more were against the BSA rules.  It got so that the boys didn’t believe me when I would tell them the new idea was against BSA rules.  So I pulled out the BSA “Guide to Safe Scouting.”  That’s the BSA rule book that we are required to have with us on all outings.  One of the Scouts grabbed the book and started reading the “can’t do’s.”  After awhile, it got to be funny about all the things we couldn’t do.  We ended up spending two hours reading the book and the boys commenting and laughing about how dumb some of the “can’t do’s” were.  I have not laughed that much in years.  It was really funny what the boys came up with to counter the rules in the book.  At the end, the boys were saying they were going to write the sequel to the Guide to Safe Scouting – “The Guide to Having Fun.”

Chris B. made dinner.  It was soft tacos.  Ya, we had a tortilla weekend.  Joking aside, they were great tacos.  There was a lot more laughing and conversation through dinner.  And, yup, it was a one pot dinner.

After dinner we had permission to use the amphitheater fire pit for our campfire.  It was a nice setting at the edge of the lake.  Yes, the conversation and laughter continued.  The Scoutmaster likes traveling with the Eagles – it’s fun.  I started asking the Eagles questions for them all to answer.  Things like what it means to be an Eagle, what are they doing to contribute to Scouting now that they are an Eagle, etc.  The questions and answers led to some interesting conversation and some insight for me and Mr. M. on the strength and maturity of our Eagles.

We were back at “camp” and down for the night at 11 PM again. 

Sunday morning we were up at 7 AM and the usual coffee for the adults and a cold breakfast for all.  Well, some of us toasted our bagels.  The breakfast consisted of fruit, bagels, three kinds of cream cheese, and OJ.  We were done with breakfast and the cars were packed within an hour.  With 15 minutes to sweep cabins and police camp, we were on the road home by 8:10 AM and home by 10:45 AM.  As usual that hot shower at home was a long and comfortable one.  We’re all looking forward to the sporting clays shooting Mother’s Day weekend – we’ll be home Saturday night and with you all day Sunday Mom!

Bob De Contreras

Scoutmaster 

Troop 216