22 Degrees

That was the temperature both mornings on last weekend's Lean To Campout at the Nooteeming BSA Camp in Salt Point, NY.  We didn't really need thermometers to tell us it was cold, our dishes, pots and utensils that were washed and set to dry froze to the tables overnight.

Fortunately firewood was plentiful and we managed some big fires.  The kind where you had to turn yourself around every few minutes because the side to the fire got too warm.

Dr. V arrived Saturday morning with hand warmers for the bottoms of everyone's sleeping bag which helped tremendously with foot warmth overnight.

Saturday we took a 4 mile hike around the perimeter of the Camp, and followed that activity up with some work on our 2nd Class requirements revolving around knife and ax care, use and safety.  Below they are learning about and setting up a proper ax yard for their work. 

Our Tenderfoot Scouts also cooked all the meals finishing the cooking requirements they had for their 2nd Class rank.

While each lean to was not too big they were clean and well maintained, each with its own fire ring for warmth.  These fire rings were all used with varying degrees of success.  We will continue to work on our firebuilding which seems to need constant practice.

Many thanks to Will O who led the planning for this event and to Quinn who stepped up as acting Patrol Leader and helped guide the scouts through cooking meals and doing chores (a thankless job).

For a full look at all the pictures from the weekend please check our the Troop picture site at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/CampNooteemingLeanToNovember2014