It is the night of September 25th, 2023, a Friday and we are once again in the parking lot of our church and meeting place eagerly searching and packing our equipment for our first campout of the 2023-24 season. The air has turned a bit cool, and the air smells of impending rain - which has been the topic of conversation all week. From emails to texts, I've been fielding questions of "Are we still going?" since the weather began reporting that a hurricane was pushing foul weather our way.
Of course, we're going, why wouldn't we? We've never been worried about foul weather before (however there were a few cases where we should have been), so why would we start now? In fact, it worked out in our favor; we're heading to Camp Allamuchy in Stanhope, NJ and due to the inclement weather prediction, a once full camp is now very much open, and the ranger has offered to move us to a more suitable accommodation. In this case, it happens to be a campsite with a pavilion and lean-tos.
It also happens to be directly behind the camp office, the trading post, and the rangers home, which makes me think it was less about our comfort and more about his ability to get to us in an emergency quickly and get us under more permanent shelter should the need arise.
However, standing in the parking lot next to a church on Friday dressed in my finest camping clothes, it is evident that the Scouts are excited. It hasn't been since the end of summer camp in July that they have been camping (though we were together a few times over the summer for recruiting events); it's also the moment I realize I'm excited too. It's not just that it's the first campout of the season (which is a part of it) but also that all my Scouts are eager to go. I also have a new Scout who has never been in the program. He seems overly excited, and my hope on this Friday night is that same eagerness will be there come Sunday morning.
His eagerness is absolutely astounding. Having never even been camping before (with us or with his family... or anyone else for that matter) he has asked about summer camp, National Jamboree, World Jamboree, all the High Adventure Bases, earning merit badges, teaching merit badges and even working at summer camp. This was the weekend before at a recruiting event, and I told him let's get him through the first campout before we talk about him going to wherever the World Jambo is (it was last in South Korea). I also said if he's planning on going to all those events, he should probably get a really good job (while all are worthwhile to go to, none are what I would refer to as "cheap").
We finalize our equipment, close up the pickup truck, and all load into the SUV. This time around (beyond myself (driver of the SUV) and our dedicated committee chairman (driver of the pickup) we have two other assistant SMs (one leaving early on Saturday) and an additional Scout arriving Saturday afternoon after a cross-country meet.
I feel I need a scorecard when it comes to keeping track of who is coming and who is going to our campouts. I try to discourage arriving after 12 p.m. on Saturday, but everyone wants to camp, if even for one night.
So we head out, going through the interchange lovingly referred to as the "spaghetti bowl", west on I-80 where we arrive about 30+ minutes later at the dark road into camp. Here, we pull over, wait for one of our ASMs who had to make a stop, and text the ranger. He unlocks the gate and gives us the go-ahead to come in. At this point, the rain has yet to arrive, and other than a little chill in the air, it's a nice night. He gives us the welcome speech, takes our roster, and in exchange hands us green rubber wristbands - to let everyone know we are supposed to be on the camp property.
He points us to the trail leading into our site and informs us that he would prefer we don't take all 4 of our vehicles into the site. Fair enough - since two are filled with either firewood or troop equipment, in they go. I and another ASM hoists packs on our backs, and proceed to walk to our site. Walking into a new site is both exciting and concerning at the same time; it's great to be in a site you've never been to before, but also you could be in for a 30-minute hike uphill or a 2-minute walk on a hardpacked dirt road (in this case, it was the latter and (I realized later) the way he took us was the long-way; we were even closer to the parking lot by going around the other side of the trading post/camp office).
To our surprise, we entered into a pretty nice site. There was a decent-sized pavilion (made of large steel square stock so we knew it wasn't going anywhere), and a building consisting of 5-6 lean-tos connected by a front porch with an overhang. Directly adjacent to the site (by about 20-30 yards) was the "Eco-Pavilion" which was (I guess?) where merit badges relating to nature were taught during summer camp. It had electricity and even a small greenhouse (I wanted to camp in the greenhouse, but it wasn't quite capable of holding my hammock up - nor was it big enough for me to even lay down in the bottom without curling up).
Immediately, the Scouts began picking lean-tos for the weekend. Some previous camper (or maybe the staff) had added hooks along the top of the entry on the inside - aligned perfectly with the grommets in the tarp - which told me this had been well used over the years. Most of the Scouts opted for a tarp over the door and sleeping mat and bag on the floor; one (our SPL) apparently was expecting a superstorm-level hurricane to hit his lean-to directly, so he opted for a tent in the lean-to, with a tarp across the doorway.
In certain cases, I've learned to not ask a lot of questions.
There were a few issues with this lean-to palace; it was painted in dark brown paint, which means you needed a flashlight to find anything even during the day (and there were no windows); there were no spaces between the joists and the roof to hang a hammock strap; and (as we discovered later) it had been built in 1990 (a year before I joined the troop as a Scout) and it was starting to see it's age. In daylight, the roof looked like the waves at the Jersey shore, and was covered in moss and a few 2x4s whose purpose I could not discern.
For a hammock camper, it was an issue. I waited until all of us had found built or found shelter for the night, then began working on my own sleeping arrangements. One of my ASMs (also a hammocker) took probably the only two viable trees in the area to hang from and (admittedly) I was feeling a bit lazy so I was hoping for a solution within the coverage of the lean-tos. I found I could hang a strap from the joist holding the porch roof on, but with a railing in the way and upright being too close together, I needed another connection point. I found an eye-bolt that had been screwed in by whomever for whatever about 20 years ago.
Having no other options, I hooked everything up and hoped for the best. I gingerly sat down on the hammock; the eye hook wiggled a bit, but happily, held. As we've been having issues with "salty" language in the troop as of late, I told my ASM that if he heard a loud thud followed by some colorful language in the middle of the night to not hold it against me. He agreed that it would be extenuating circumstances and it would not.
We retired for the night to the beginning of a rather wet weekend.
I awoke at about 6 a.m. to answer the call of nature, only to see a flashlight wandering the trail around our site. Wondering if there was a lost Scout (one wears glasses and has a tendency to not wear them for late-night bathroom breaks) or (even worse) an emergency of some sort I watched the light flash around the dimly lit trees. Rain was falling steadily but not heavily, so I couldn't hear any conversation or, for that matter, much else.
Finally, the owner of the flashlight came into view - it was my new Scout. Immediately I thought he was lost (though he was on the far side of the site from the latrine) but almost as quickly as he entered the picture so did his buddy, another newer Scout. I watched, wondering a) what they were up to, and b) why were they up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday? They went to the Eco Pavillion, looked around, and proceeded to make their way to our little dining area.
After inquiring about what they were up to, I realized they weren't causing trouble. They were excited, and the one who had never been camping wanted to wander around and see the sites. Youthful exuberance, nothing more. I applauded them for using the buddy system, but reminded them that they can't go into other's campsites or closed/locked buildings; they stated they knew, they were just exploring.
In the long run, it was better than them attempting to make a fire, or something more nefarious; so, no harm, no foul.
Slowly, the site came to life. As Scouts began to stagger out of their lean-tos (or lean-to/tent combinations), a large tarp was set up next to the fire for cooking, sitting and whatever out of the rain, and work began on breakfast - bacon and French toast, a staple of campers if not a favorite of everyone. Our committee chairman handled the coffee, which this SM was greatly appreciative of.
After breakfast and dishes, the work began. I schedule the first campout every year as a sort of "shakedown"; it's been a while since we camped (more so in cooler weather) and I don't schedule a hike or anything - let's camp, work out any bugs with equipment or anything, and get the first one under our belt. As our Fall Court of Honor happens in October, it is actually a great time to get requirements signed off for any rank advancement that may be lingering since July, which is where we started.
My SPL is Life Rank and working on Eagle; at this point, he needs to do the work with guidance from our adult leadership, but there is nothing for me to sign off on at the moment. My next oldest just made Star a week ago and also has to teach and earn merit badges, so nothing there either. The advancement ball is in their court. My two newest Scouts are starting at the beginning - Scout - and the one without any experience in the program at all will need the most work. I'll start with the other two.
Let me start by saying that all my Scouts are good kids. They are a mixed bunch on a variety of points, but they are all helpful to each other. I don't worry about them causing intentional trouble (unintentional is a different story) and I don't really worry about them running off and doing anything that I would need to kick them out for. They just aren't wired that way.
...but sometimes they are both frustrating and baffling at the same time.
First up is a Scout who has been with me for two years and is a little older - meaning, if he plans to earn Eagle he needs to get moving. I always try to keep things light so that Scouts are not scared about coming to me with problems, rank advancement, questions - whatever. Despite that, they still take their time coming to me for sign-off; this is the case here. He completed the last requirement for Tenderfoot I don't know how long ago, and is only now coming to me for sign-off. Actually, that's a lie; I asked him for his book, looked at the requirements, and asked why he didn't come to me for sign-off.
He's a pretty happy-go-lucky kid, and he smiled, chuckled, and muttered something to the effect of "I don't know." I initialed and dated the last requirement, and immediately went into the Scoutmaster conference. In about a half-hour, I had initialed all the requirements for Tenderfoot, initiated a few more for both Second and First Class, and he was asking his troopmates for a Board of Review. The BOR happened that night, but during the day he and another Scout were now both working on Second Class, so they focused on the outdoor skills of the ranks.
The other Scout working on Second has made great strides since being with us (for only a year or so). When he first started with us, he had trouble remembering the Oath, Law, Slogan, etc., and would always put himself down as being "stupid". I was surprised by how easily he put himself down when he didn't get it right. I explained that not remembering it all was nothing new - all the Scouts had trouble with it (it's partly why we say it at every meeting) and that he wasn't stupid, he just needed to be taught. Over time our troop uses almost all the requirements regularly, so the more he does it, the better he'll get.
He earned his Scout rank, and he was both happy and proud that he had done it. I'm not sure I've ever seen a Scout smile so much. Tenderfoot came a little bit easier, and it was then that I think he realized that he wasn't stupid. I can't say he's been diligently working on rank advancement - going home and studying the book, practicing his knots and first aid, asking parents to test him - but he's getting it. I wasn't sure he was even thinking about earning Eagle until a relative and he was at an Eagle Court - he said it would be "cool" to be up there receiving his bird.
This weekend, he was getting stuff signed off, and every time my initials and the date went down on the page, he was ready to get another, then another, then another. He did great this weekend (despite trying to light a fire in the rain) and while he didn't complete a rank, he made a great movement forward in two of them.
Then there were my two new Scouts. The first (going through the Cub Scout program) ran through almost all the requirements for Scout. The Scout rank requirements are about the same as the Arrow of Light requirements for Cub Scouts, so it was a breeze. He'll probably come to me at the Friday meeting looking to get the rest signed off, and I'll be handing him his first rank at the Court of Honor.
The other, more eager and less experienced Scout, was a little different. As I said, he's eager, to the point where he is always asking if he can skip ranks (for the record, he can earn everything from Scout to First Class in basically a night - if he knows his stuff - but he cannot "skip" anything). Despite his lack of program experience, he managed to learn 3 new knots and get about half of the requirements signed off for the Scout rank. I was surprised at how well he learned the knots - and quickly! - and while I know he wanted that rank, he was content with the work he had done. I wouldn't be surprised if he also came to me to get more requirements signed off at the Friday meeting as well.
A note on the knots; never, ever, had I had to tell a Scout to stop tying rope around poles. My two new Scouts had a new skill and they were determined to use it as much as possible, as though the minute the weekend was over it would spill out their ear and onto the ground, never to be remembered again.
On and in it went Saturday, teaching, testing, initialing, chopping, sawing, cutting, tying, untying, retying, lighting, and lighting again. Adults teaching youth, youth teaching youth; a break for a lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup followed by dishes; another break for a dinner of lemon pepper and teriyaki chicken, corn, and salad, followed by a Board of Review and dishes done by the Scoutmaster. A lot of hard work was put into rank advancement by a dogged group of Scouts and Scouters. The day ending with a decent fire and mountain pies.
More importantly, everyone sleeping through the night.
Sunday morning came with our usual routine; get up, get dressed, pack personal equipment, have some breakfast - in this case oatmeal - pack troop gear, do a police call (garbage pickup), checkout, and hit the road. Inform the parents of our impending arrival at the church where it all began and watch as eyelids begin to dip on the ride home.
All in all a very productive campout that had no specific plan.
...and the rain? It was a constant wetness all weekend long, with times of heavy rain (though not overly heavy), times of light rain, and times of misting. It was a weekend where you should be wearing rain gear all the time, even when it's not raining, just to stay a little warmer and to make sure you don't sit on a wet bench. If things get wet, you accept it because it's not warm enough to really dry anything out.
To be honest, it was a pleasant companion to the weekend if for nothing more than the soothing sound it makes when you are trying to drift off to sleep at night. Add the fact that the lean-tos had dark paint on them, with small trailing vines growing in the gutters, it gave the feeling of being in a Shinto temple or Buddhist monastery in the mountains of Japan rather than a handicap-accessible campsite in NJ.
