Once again Troop 101 is out and about after our holiday break. This time we stayed close to home, and headed to Mahwah, NJ to the lovely Camp Yawpaw. This trip was the final trip before the Klondike Derby, so it would be where the Scouts would be able to practice all their fieldcraft before the big day.
There are some trips that go smoothly, according to plan, and without a hitch. Those trips where, things are so routine, that they are boring, and are quickly forgotten in the collective memories of the members of the troop.
This was not one of those trips.
To start with, we initially had 4 Scouts attending the trip, but in the last few days before leaving two backed out. One because of a boatload of schoolwork, the other for family reasons. As the leader of Troop 101 I would like to see all the Scouts attend all the trips all the time, but family and school always come first. When all is said and done, you still need an education, and if it wasn't for your family, you A) wouldn't be here, and B) wouldn't have a ride to said event.
At any rate, as our policy is if even one Scout wants to go, and we can get enough adults, we go. So, piling into the big blue pickup with our two newest Scouts, we made our way to the camp without incident.
The first issue with this weekend was that it was probably the coldest of the year thus far. Topping out during the day at a whopping 31 and dropping down to 12 with a windchill of 4 - yeah, you could say it was a little brisk out. However, our morale was boosted by the knowledge that this is the one trip of the year where we stay in an actual cabin with heat, so it wouldn't be all that bad.
We grabbed our packs, checked in with the campmaster, and started heading towards the cabin. The cabin, as it were, is not only 3/4 of a mile from the parking lot, but it is at the top of the hill within the camp. As you can imagine, on a good day it is a schlep, on a cold day with your pack, troop gear, wearing extra clothing and below freezing temps - its a bit of a trek. So, we gathered as much as we could in two trips, got water and started making the cabin home.
Before I go on, let me say this about the water. The water in the area has a high iron content which is a chronic problem throughout the area, not only with the camp's well, but also with the water that is piped to the comes in the area. This causes two things: the first is it makes the water an orange-brown color, and the second is that new Scouts are reluctant to drink it even when its boiled extensively.
After huffing and puffing, we were all pretty thirsty, so we decided to drink a little something. As it happened, all we had was a carton of orange juice (that was suspiciously already open) which we almost killed that night, and potentially leaving us with nothing to drink in the morning. OK, no big deal, we had plenty of hot chocolate, and mix to make iced tea. However, we were more cold than thirsty, so we figured now was the time to get that cabin all nice and toasty.
The two Scouts got the fire going, while the adults took care of getting the food and other equipment in order, and getting some firewood cut. The nice gentleman who was our campmaster is also a very devoted woodsman, and was nice enough to bring up a few loads of firewood for us before turning in for the night. The guys got the fire started, and I stepped in to get it really going, while everyone organized and gathered wood for the long cold night.
It was at this point that we hit our first major bump in the road. As I was working on the fire, I guess my might lungs blew a little to hard on the coals, and the vertical part of the chimney fell off the stove. (This is one of those "stoves" where you take a 55 gallon drum, put it on it's side, add legs, a door and a chimney and burn things in it. There was a vertical chimney piece on the "stove" itself, and then a permanently attached chimney to the building. This allows the drum to be replaced.) The elbow that attaches between the vertical and the stove had rotted to the point of becoming the equivalent of paper, and the weight of the vertical was enough to make it finally give way. We managed to get the vertical back on, but there was a gap of about 6" between the temporary and the permanent chimneys. We figured, it would be fine, and watched as the smoke was sucked up the chimney.
Well, the way these things work is the fire creates a suction that carries all the smoke up and out. For this to work properly, the chimney must be sealed. So, in our case, every time we opened the front of the stove, smoke would come billowing out the front. Needless to say, within a few minutes, the cabin was filled with smoke.
So, we opened the doors, and let the smoke out, and the cold air in. There were two windows up in the vertical eaves of the cabin. One was nailed shut. The other opened quite easily by the glass falling out and smashing on the rocks outside. Well, I guess that's one way to open a window...
At that point, we bundled up and went to bed. To combat the cold night, we all took our extra clothes and placed them in the sleeping bags with us. One of our Scouts decided it would be better to wear all his clothes, so he went to bed about 40 lbs. heavier. Despite the cold and wind, we survived the night.
The next day we got the fire
outside going and got breakfast cooked. Taylor ham, eggs, cheese and bacon on an English muffin. As we were cooking, I was asked to grab a plate to put the cooked bacon on while we got the eggs going.
It was at this point we realized that we had grabbed the one cook kit with no plates.
Argh. Fine. We had two frying pans, so we used one to place the cooked pork products on to one side of the fire to keep warm. While eating breakfast, we (obviously) got thirsty. Oh yeah, we're pretty much out of orange juice. So, rationing that (it was cold though!) we were down to making hot chocolate. We had placed the kettle on so the water can start boiling - however, you can't boil iron out of water. Not wanting to haul iron-laden water from the well (which was back at the parking lot) I decided to go down to the car and head out to Shoprite and get some water and pre-made iced tea.
So, off I went.
On my way out, I stopped at the campmaster's to let him know the stove situation. He said he needed to check for spare elbows, and if he had one, he'd come and fix it.
I headed to Shoprite, got three gallons of clean water, and two containers of Arizona Iced Tea and, after a brief stop at Dunkin' Donuts, headed back. I pulled into the lot, and put my heavy clothes back on. Then I realized that I had to haul 5 gallons of liquid back to the cabin. (Which is the exact amount of water that the beverage cooler holds that we didn't want to carry all the way.) OK. So I took some rope, and tied the jugs to me, and started making my way back.
Now, being the dedicated coffee drinker I am, I decided to walk a few yards, then take a drink. I mean, I didn't want to drink cold coffee did I?
Two heart attacks and a minor stroke later, I got back to the site and we finally had clean water for... whatever, and tea to drink. My two ASMs were working 1-on-1 with the Scouts on woods tool use, and knots and lashings. One of them really took to the knots and lashings, the other (mostly because he put 2-and-2 together and realized that more cut wood means bigger fire means less cold) took to cutting, splitting and burning wood.
Not long after, our committee chairman showed up to join us for dinner, and with the good news that the campmaster had found a spare elbow. We'd have heat tonight!!
Well, the campmaster arrives not to much later (with our 3rd load of firewood) and starts to work. After removing the old hardware, he begins to attempt to get elbow A into hole B. Hole B does not have the same size shape as elbow A, so using his trusty micro-adjustment tool (read a pair of channel lock pliers) he pounds the hell out of elbow A until it fits hole B - to no avail. He figures he needs a flange of some sort to adapt elbow A to hole B - and they reside at the store in Paterson. So, giving us his regrets, he packs his tools and heads back to the nice, warm, HBO having campmaster's cabin on the other side of the camp.
Enter Mr. Emmetts (the elder). He takes a look and states he can fix it, and heads off to his car in search of tin snips, a Dewalt codless drill, hammer, and a few paving stones (which oddly enough, were to be found right next to my tuck in the parking lot.) After 3 heart attacks, a stroke and an anneurism (he's in his forties and was carrying at least 120 lbs. in paving stones) he returns with everything he needs to fix this stove.
To fix a stovepipe at Coyle Cabin, Camp Yawpaw:
Step 1: Using a piece of firewood, return the elbow to its original shape and repair all damage created by campmaster and pliers.
Step 2: Using tinsnips, cut the one side 19 times about 1" into the elbow from the edge, creating 20 tabs.
Step 3: Bend every other tab 90 degrees out from the elbow.
Step 4: Place non-bent tabs into hole on stove.
Step 5: Reach into elbow, and bend inside tabs around hole, creating a flange. (You know, the one that was in Paterson?)
Step 6: Using a hammer and a flathead screw driver, split all the pavers in half, and use them to prop up the front and rear of the stove, so you close the gap of 6" to the main chimney, making the rear higher than the front so all smoke goes out the back and not the front.
Step 7: Light a roaring inferno in the stove, and stay warm.
Step 8: Close the now (*ahem) "open" window by screwing a found sheet of metal over it.
Finally, we had some heat. We had a great dinner of Sloppy Joes, cheese and broccoli pasta, and the portable salad bar that Mr. Emmetts (the elder) always travels with. He headed home, and we retired to the cabin for the night.
As with all fires, they have this annoying habit of going out - which is what happened in the middle of the night. Since we were all warm in our bags, no one was willing to get up and get it going again, and we all woke to a very, very chilly morning. Deciding it was better to be warm than eating right away, we decided to pack and eat our cereal in the car of the ride home.
Also, our two Scouts were a little frozen over by the time we got them to the car, but judging by them running around at the church when we got back, I'd say they are no worse for the wear. Sometimes, no matter how big the fire, or how warm the clothes, if (like in the case of these two Scouts) you have little body fat or muscle, you are going to get cold and/or be cold. After some time in the hot car, they thawed and were ready for whatever was coming next. Our final piece of business was leaving a roster (written on a cereal box) with the campmaster and we beat feet and headed home.
We returned, unloaded our frozen equipment, and headed home for a warm shower, and a much needed warm bed.
Time once again to clean up all the gear, repack, and head out on the next adventure - hopefully one that is a little less bumpy, and a lot warmer.
