Et cetera : New Scouts go camping for the first time!

Each February the WEBLOS scouts of Pack 47 “cross over” to Troop 47 and are welcomed as the newest patrol – The Dragons. Troop 47 camps each and every month with the exception of their annual ski trip in February. March brings the first campout for the troop’s newest scouts, as it did on March 13th-14th. For new scouts, the time is filled with learning new skills. The first skill is simply setting up their tents. There are many small details that need to be learned to insure a comfortable and dry stay in their tents. First a ground cloth is laid out. The tent frame is erected and the inner wall of the tent is stretched inside the frame. Finally, the rain fly is stretched over the frame and secured to keep everything dry. The ground cloth is properly rolled under the tent and stuff sacks are stowed. Then the new scouts can move in. With the chilly, wet weather last weekend, paying attention to the details was necessary to make sure everyone stayed dry. Next it is on to learning how to use the basic tools of a scout: knives, saws, axes and stoves. This is an all-day process with each tool used under the supervision scout leaders and senior scouts. In the end the scout earns their “Whittling Chit” and “Fireman’s Chit”. All the Dragons did a great job and were presented their chits at Monday night’s meeting. Of course, one of the favorite activities on campouts is eating! Our new scouts fit right in! However, they first had to learn a new set of tools – white gas stoves, griddles, wood fires and fire starting. Again, hours were needed to learn all of these skills. Full tummies at the end of each meal indicated that they had done a good job of learning these skills. The senior scouts assisted in teaching these skills and also tried out a wide array of new games. After supper, the original schedule called for a night of observing the stars as part of the Astronomy merit badge that is being taught during the month of March. However, clouds, fog and a light rain made that impossible. So, the time was spent is one of the shelters talking through a dozen constellations and learning more about the surprises contained in our universe. An early morning breakfast followed by some camp chores ended the weekend on Sunday with everyone headed back to Vinton by 11AM. A great time was had by all! Troop 47 meets every Monday night at 7PM at the Izaak Walton League. Any boy eligible to be a Boy Scout is welcome!