10.17.2025-10.19.2025
Agenda
Unpack and set up camp
It took a while to set up camp because it was dark out and this was the first time that the Patriotic Penguins (youngest patrol) have been tent camping, so the older scouts (ie Exploding Kittens, Fire Ducks, Mega Ducks and Nuclear Gummy Bears) helped out to make this campout a fun learning experience.
Breakfast, day two
Breakfast day two went relatively well compared to dinner of the same day, however, everyone was tired because the haunted house attraction nearby was keeping everyone awake late.
Notes
- ONLY PACK WHAT YOU NEED A common blunder with inexperienced campers is to bring too much food for the camping trip. A better plan would have been split in two or more smaller groups, so less food would be wasted. Learning to preparing a proper meal plan takes experience, and this trip was set up so it could be done in a fun way.
- Warm to wake up One patrol had hard boiled eggs for breakfast. This is great on a standpoint of no KP (kitchen patrol) but not so good from the stand point of waking up cold and missing out on the warmth of a hot breakfast to start your day.
Service project
The Camp Pouch Ranger had a camp site that was nearly overrun with leaves and fallen branches. So we walked to the ranger station and picked up rakes for this service project. After this happened we walked on a trail to site C-2 and used the rakes to clear the leaves and remove branches beyond the tree line. After we completed the service project we went back to our site for lunch.
Notes
- Do more sites over the course of the day so that there are more available service hours for those who need it for rank and others.
Lunch, day two
Lunch went smoothly because everyone prepared wisely.
Notes
- One portion of a patrol had hotdogs on a stick have a tendency to try and fall off.
Orienteering course
The one mile orienteering course is a First Class requirement and we all took part in performing it. One member of the Exploding Kittens completed the requirement. The Patriotic Penguins gained experience using a map and compass, so when they are ready, this requirement should be easier for them.
Dinner, day two
Dinner was complicated because one of the patrols had brought raw meat. The hashbrowns that weren’t used for breakfast were used for dinner. They learned how to use foil packages for both the chicken and the hashbrowns. The chicken was not as tasty as it could have been, but was edible and a welcomed hot meal.
Notes
- Cold food for dinner is not a good idea
- Foil packages are useful when you have a fire going
Looking forward
This camping trip was really useful because of the lessons we learned that can be applied to make future camping trips better. We are happy that we were able to learn from our errors and iron out the kinks in meal plans and cooking. The Troop is looking forward to our next camping trip at Clear Lake.
