Canoe
Trip and
Campout
Jordan
Lake
10/10 – 12/08
We
met
at the usual place at 5 PM and
departed at the
appointed time of 5:30 PM.
30
Scouts and
10 adults were off for a weekend of
fun in canoes on Jordan Lake. Most of the
Scouts were
going to work on
their canoeing merit badge.
Most
of the canoes and the
campers arrived at Vista Point
group camp number 5 shortly before 6
PM. It
was cool and cloudy with an
occasional sprinkle of rain now and
then. At
about 7 PM
when the tents were
up and the dining canopies were almost
up it started to rain
– a good hard
rain. Ah!
The last
group to get their
canopy up was the older Scout Patrol. Someone
tried to give them the excuse
that they were busy helping the
younger Scouts. Well,
maybe?
After
camp set-up Mike B. ran
a canoeing merit badge
training session.
Scouts
not working on
the merit badge were sitting around
camp talking under the protection
of their
dinning canopies.
The
Senior Patrol Leader
(SPL) decided that the Scouts
needed to be in their tents by 9:30 PM
and lights out was 10:00 PM.
I have to say that is a
record EARLY bed
time. Usually
the
Scouts are allowed to
be up until 11 PM.
I
think maybe the SPL
was a little tired and wanted to get
to bed early? There
were no complaints from the Scouts.
Saturday
wake-up was 7 AM.
There were the usual bacon and
eggs,
pancakes, breakfast burritos, etc. The older
Scouts were accused of having
a
whole pig (a lot of bacon).
At
8:30 the
adults and older Scouts took the
canoes down to the boat launch to
launch
them. The
wind was
really kicking up,
but we paddled the canoes around the
point to a calm cove (protected
from the
wind by high trees).
That
is where we
did all the canoe activities for the
day. We
broke the Scouts into two groups and
one group did on the water
activities in the morning and bookwork
in the afternoon.
The other group did the
opposite.
Lunch
was in camp a little
after noon. The
Scouts
ate and played some ball
games. The
groups
switched places and
the afternoon program started.
It
was
pretty cold for the Scouts after being
in the water, so Mr. D. made a
few
gallons of hot chocolate with
marshmallows for the Scouts (and
adults). Everyone
enjoyed that
little treat. Yes,
there
were a few Scouts who had more
than 4 cups!
We
had one Webelos
Scout and his
dad joining us on this trip and he sat
in on some of the canoe training
and
also had the opportunity to get out on
the lake in a canoe.
The Webelos
and his
dad enjoyed having their meals with
the adult patrol.
Everyone
was off the water
and back in camp by 5:30 PM.
One
of the canoe merit badge requirements
is
to tie the canoes securely to the
transport vehicle.
So, the Scouts loaded the
canoes on the
cars/trucks
and tied them down.
6
PM found all those
in camp preparing dinner.
The
older
Scouts had what looked like half pound
hamburgers, one patrol had what
looked
like sloppy Joes, and the adults had
“Texas Straw
Hat,” a meat over Fritos dish
with cornbread and fruit cobbler for
desert.
After
diner clean-up it was
time for the campfire program
that was organized by Adam K. The
program had skits, storytelling and a
talk
from Scoutmaster Mr. D.
Mr.
D.’s talk
was about safety in camp and troop
rules while on campouts.
Mr. D. found a mobile
phone on the ground in
camp. It
was
claimed by one of the
Scouts. So,
this is
a reminder to
parents. Mobile
phones
should be left at
home on Boy Scout outings.
If
there is
an emergency or if a Scout needs to
phone home, he can use one of the
adult
leader phones. If
you
want to reach your
Scout, just call Mr. D.’s mobile
number –
919-280-1307. The
rule
is no electronic devices on BSA
outings. No
radios
for music, no iPods, no
video games, etc.
Two way communications radios
are
allowed, weather radios are allowed
and yes, watches are allowed.
While
I’m
at it, we had a couple of Scouts who
did not have their class A
uniform with them.
Class A uniform is required for
traveling to and from Scout activities
and outings.
After
the campfire most of
the Scouts took a short walk to a
large open field to play Manhunt. We
called end to the game about 9:30 PM
and lights out was 11 PM.
After Manhunt most the
Scouts were sitting
around the fire talking.
Most
of the
adults were in bed by 9:30.
They
had a
hard day on the water.
A
special thanks
to (adult) certified lifeguards David
Keller and David Kesselring who
spent the
day on kayaks making sure the Scouts
were safe on the water.
Another FYI for the
parents is that all the
uniformed adult leaders on the campout
were Safety Afloat (boating) and
Safe
Swim (swimming) certified.
Sunday
morning it was up at 7
AM, a quick breakfast, break
camp, police the camp, load-up and
head home at 9:20 AM.
Another great time was had
by all.
Thanks
to Mr. Brawn and Scout
Mike B. for planning,
organizing, and managing the outing
and the program.
About 20 Scouts were working on
the
canoeing
merit badge, about a dozen completed
it, and the rest only have one or
two
requirements left to complete.
We
will
have an outing in the spring to get
the final requirements completed.
NOTE
to Mom’s: Next
month’s
campout is to the Durham County
Wildlife Club (in
RTP) shooting campout
and the annual “Scouts cook dinner for
mom” event. So,
mom, mark your
calendar for Saturday
night November 8th.
This is
for mom – not dad.
Dad’s
are welcome to
join us an any outing to sample our
campout food.
Bob
De Contreras
Scoutmaster – Troop 216
