Reflections on 20+ years of our Troop running
its own weeklong summer camp
I wanted to share some experiences regarding the weeklong summer camp program
my troop has put on for the past 20 summers (this is independent from any
council camp). We typically take between 50 and 75 people to a state owned group
campsite on a lake in the upper Midwest.
The last few years we have run a program for about 45 scouts and 20 leaders
(only about a dozen can make the whole week, the others will typically come for
the beginning or end due to work comittments). We break the group down into 4-6
patrols consisting of 8-12 people (patrol size typically shrinks after the first
weekend as dads return to work). A patrol will consist of a minimum of 2 adult
leaders, 2 junior leaders (high school aged), a patrol leader, an assistant
patrol leader and 4-6 scouts.
Each patrol is responsible for cooking breakfast and dinner on a wooden stove
with wood they gather themselves (we all pray the day before it doesn't rain on
the Saturday we head to camp!). The boys sleep at the patrol site in 2 man
Voyager tents while JL's and adults sleep in a seperate area (this helps provide
an opportunity for the patrol leader to further develop leadership skills).
Every patrol has a dining fly, 2 picnic tables, and a patrol box with cast iron
and aluminum cookware.
We run a structured program for a scout's first 4 years at camp. Each day has
three class periods during which scouting skills are taught. A scout will
typically earn three merit badges each year at camp. Camp is a great opportunity
to provide the boys with a chance for rank advancement. The programs we offer
are:
First years: Skills (Knife/Axe/Orienteering), Introduction to Boating,
Swimming
Second Years: Cooking, Camping, Canoeing
Third Years: Sailing, Lifesaving, Environmental Science
For fourth year and beyond we offer the following: Wilderness survival,
Pioneering, Motorboating, Waterskiing, and Personal Fitness (typically everyone
takes Wilderness survival and Enviro Science in year 4)
4th year and older scouts will typically be a student in one or two of the
classes, and assist in the instruction of 1 or 2 of the other classes depending
on their area of interest and the scheduling of individual classes. Most classes
are taught by one adult leader with assistance from one or two JL's, although
the Intro to Boating class with have 3-4 adults to help the physically smaller
scouts have an enjoyable time with canoes and rowboats.
A typical day at camp is as follows:
6 AM: Comissary staff rouses and begins assembling each patrol food basket.
7:45 AM: Wakeup call for the boys.
8 AM: Food basket pickup.
10:30 AM: General assembly (some breakfasts, like pancakes, take longer to
cook due to the unique experience of wood stove cooking and we also like to
leave the boys a little time to build camp improvements and keep their tents in
good order).
11 AM: First skill period.
12 PM: Second skill period
1 PM: Lunch
2 PM: Third skill period
3 PM: Group activity (in the course of a week it will typically consist of
capture the flag, treasure hunt, pioneering olympics, waterfront olympics, and a
mile run)
4:00 PM: Afternoon free period
5:00 PM: Dinner
After dinner until 9:00 PM is another free period.
9:15 PM: Campfire and snack
10:00 PM: Scouts return to their tents and patrol leaders, JL's and adults
hold a brief leaders meeting.
11:00 PM: Lights out for scouts. JL's typically hang out around the campfire
for a bit together with the adults who aren't into playing cards =)
During free periods we have a supervised waterfront available with a half
dozen canoes, 3 row boats, 2-3 sail boats, and a kayak. The lake we are on is
about 3/4 of a mile in diameter and because of this and its location rarely sees
any powered craft other than fishing boats, so its essentially a private lake
and isolated. Two carpeted rafts are anchored about 100 feet off shore. There is
also a marked swimming area with bouys. Each new scout is tested their first day
at camp to determine their swimming proficiency. The best swimmers may use the
rafts, lesser swimmers must stay in the bouyed area (roughly 3.5 feet deep), and
scouts who are poor swimmers are limited to the bathing area only.
Waterfront supervision will consist of a lifeguard in a rowboat out at the
rafts and 2 adults on shore with a JL. We employ the buddy system and conduct
routine counts. An air horn is used to signal the boats on the lake
approximately 15 minutes before the waterfront will close. The mile swim is
offered in the evening (the lake is usually calmest at this point) and will
require an adult to row a boat with a scout acting as spotter with a lifesaving
pole to provide assistance if required.
In addition to the waterfront, there is also a staffed campcraft tent with
leather, bead, and basketmaking supplies. Space Exploration merit badge is run
during free periods and scouts will build and launch their own model rocket.
Several times during the week off-lake fishing trips will take place to provide
the boys an opportunity to fish other lakes.
We have a few special days that keep things from becoming routine. Wednesday
there is a bike trip for any patrol leader aged boys or older, and a canoe trip
for everyone who does not attend the bike trip. Extra canoe's are rented and
delivered to whatever local river appears the most navigable that year. After
the canoe or bike trip we take the boys to see an amatuer waterski show in town.
After the ski show is pizza for the high school aged scouts and leaders while
the younger boys go back to camp and run their own campfire program.
Also, one night a week is banquet, where the comissary staff puts on an
amazing meal consisting of a choice of two meats, soups, salads, and potato with
a sheet cake for dessert.
Nightly campfires are usually planned by the older boys. Each night a
different patrol presents a skit to ensure all the boys have an opportunity to
participate. The results of the daily inspections are read and provide some good
entertainment (we find out how creative the inspectors are at coming up with new
words for "sludge" or "goo"). The older boys usually deliver
a nightly news program to recount some of the more humorous incidents that day
(made funnier by the fact that everyone has already heard of what happened so it
can be embellished quite nicely) and some cleverly placed public service
announcements (a nice way of encouraging the boys to bathe and brush their teeth
and keep their gear from touching the side of their tents). In good years we
will have one or more guitar players to make the songs sound better (this is a
lifesaver when everyone has forgotten a particular part of the song). On
occassion we will have a banjo or bugle. Campfire ends with a Scoutmasters
minute and taps.
I hope everyone enjoyed hearing about the camp program we put on and
hopefully this might give someone else some ideas for their own outings or
inspire them to try something similar. If this topic seems to be of interest to
people I will also post about the 2 week long high adventure trip our troop
takes every year with the high school aged scouts.
I also want to offer a heartfelt thanks to all the leaders at my troop and
all troops who give of their time to make scouting such a memorable experience.
I'm just about to turn 30 and I love telling co-workers who ask where I'm
vacating that I'm going to Summer Camp. I'm having just as much fun at camp now
as I did as a boy. Some of the guys in my Eagle scout class still make the trip
up to camp. In fact, we routinely see a half dozen young men between age 18 and
30 who still come to camp each year.
Congratulations to anyone who read this whole thing! =)
