I knew that our newest scouts would be great campers, but I also now realize that they are good luck. Three outdoor outings in a row since they joined and each was a nicer day than the one preceding. I am not sure that has ever happened to us.
Clear Lake Scout Reservation also known as Durland Scout Reservation is our nearest Westchester/Putnam owned Scout Camp. 1,400 undeveloped acres, with 2 lakes, 18 miles of hiking trails, orienteering courses, geocaching courses, archery range, rifle range, and just 45 minutes away. If that's not enough its adjacent to Fahanstock State Park making the Camp feel even deeper in the woods.
Our hike in went off without a hitch. Most of the Scouts packed too much and the Patrols brought too much, but neither proved excessive enough to cause a problem. Everyone was amazed we were able to hike in the mile to our campsite as quickly as we did. It bodes well for our three mile hike in two weeks.
After breakfast on Saturday the new Scouts and some of our second years spent the morning in the Campsite working on the core outdoors skills that are part of the first few rank advancements. They are eager learners and we even caught a few of the Scouts reading up and studying on their own during free time.
After lunch we completed the Tote N Chip requirements and all Troop 4 Scouts are authorized to use knives, saws, and axes on Boy Scout sanctioned activities. Campsite 43 is now littered with once mighty sticks reduced to near toothpick size.
The older Scouts spent the morning canoing and were joined later by the scouts who stayed in camp to work on advancement.
After lunch our boys decided they didn't want to go for a hike. They can be seen here conspiring with their leaders to plan their coup. What they didn't fully realize was what we do is up to them, the original agenda was built by the Scouts. What isn't acceptable is to not have an alternative plan, doing nothing is not an option. So we sent the Scout leaders back to the Troop with instructions to come up an alternative that was appropriate to our time and place. They eventually settled on going back to the waterfront and taking out the kayaks instead of taking the hike.
The Flaming Eagles won our best campsite competition as judged by our SPL and two ASMs using the campsite judging criteria the Cadets will use at West Point. Hopefully this dry run will make it easier to pull off a quality site inspection in two weeks.
After a long day and Troop campfire filled with songs, skits, and some stand up comedy everyone retired to their tents to either go to sleep or play some cards before bedtime. I am certain they all slept well Saturday night.
For a complete photographic record of our camping trip please check out our Troop photo album at:
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