Survival of the Fittest
The boys of Troop 354 decided they wanted to work on their Wilderness Survival merit badge this weekend, so last Tuesday night they had Colin come to their meeting to teach them a little about how to make it in the woods. This weekend, they had to put that knowledge to the test.
Saturday morning we converged on Tom's property armed with the bare necessities. The boys set to work, with Barry and Colin supervising, on constructing a shelter for each pair of boys to sleep in for the night. When I arrived, it was very obvious which shelters belonged to the older, mroe experienced Scouts. It was like "cozy mansion" and "drafty shack." A couple of boys had built theirs in a small ravine. Thankfully, we are in the middle of a drought! Several looked like a good breeze would do them in. The boys, however, were all satisfied and proud of what they had accomplished. Aaron was acting as the cook for his patrol, and he did a good job. Barry, Colin, and I enjoyed buffalo burgers on the grill -YUM! After everything was cleaned up it was time for a rousing round of Capture the Flag - in the dark! The three adults sat against a tree and laughed at the boys. Daniel was a great secret weapon, as he kept a constant chatter going that kept the other team occupied. Finally, he decided he wanted to go after the flag, and "Uncle" Colin went along to help him out. The two of them managed to crawl almost to the flag and even had boys jumping over them, thinking they were logs! Daniel was so excited when he returned. Finally it was time to hit the sack. We let the boys sleep in their shelters, while the adults and Daniel slept in tents and the little camp house on the property. We were nice and warm, and only woke when a deer decided to wander by. In the morning we cooked breakfast and broke camp. We reminded the boys that it was Veterans Day, and that they had two combat veterans right there. It was a good weekend, and lots of fun for Scouts and adults alike!
Saturday morning we converged on Tom's property armed with the bare necessities. The boys set to work, with Barry and Colin supervising, on constructing a shelter for each pair of boys to sleep in for the night. When I arrived, it was very obvious which shelters belonged to the older, mroe experienced Scouts. It was like "cozy mansion" and "drafty shack." A couple of boys had built theirs in a small ravine. Thankfully, we are in the middle of a drought! Several looked like a good breeze would do them in. The boys, however, were all satisfied and proud of what they had accomplished. Aaron was acting as the cook for his patrol, and he did a good job. Barry, Colin, and I enjoyed buffalo burgers on the grill -YUM! After everything was cleaned up it was time for a rousing round of Capture the Flag - in the dark! The three adults sat against a tree and laughed at the boys. Daniel was a great secret weapon, as he kept a constant chatter going that kept the other team occupied. Finally, he decided he wanted to go after the flag, and "Uncle" Colin went along to help him out. The two of them managed to crawl almost to the flag and even had boys jumping over them, thinking they were logs! Daniel was so excited when he returned. Finally it was time to hit the sack. We let the boys sleep in their shelters, while the adults and Daniel slept in tents and the little camp house on the property. We were nice and warm, and only woke when a deer decided to wander by. In the morning we cooked breakfast and broke camp. We reminded the boys that it was Veterans Day, and that they had two combat veterans right there. It was a good weekend, and lots of fun for Scouts and adults alike!
posted by Jennifer at 11:54 PM
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