May 2023 - Summer Camp Info
Written by: Adam RIedel, Scoutmaster Troop 899
May is here which means that Summer Camp is right around the corner! Summer Camp is a full week of Scouting and hanging out with friends, meeting new people, socializing with high quality adults and personal growth. Lord Baden-Powell once said “A week at camp is worth six months of theoretical-teaching in the meeting room. Camping and Summer Camp are why most kids join Scouting. Time away from home, time to be a kid, time to learn about things they care about, time to be with their friends, do things they want to do and who they want to do it with, all while learning how to coexist as a group with contrasting personalities. It doesn’t get any better than Summer Camp. With that in mind, almost everything we do from now through showing up on the first day of Camp is to prepare our Scouts for Camp.
There are a few important things that each Scout and their Family should know ahead of time as well as a few things that might make things easier for the week for the Scouts.
1. We have several adult leaders that are using personal vacation time to make this week at camp a reality for our Troop. The Scouts WILL respect leaders at all times.
2. Scouts MUST have closed-toe shoes on at all times. Unless they are in the water or in the shower, they need to wear shoes. You should be packing 2 pairs for them. Make sure they know where to find the second pair easily.
3. Scouts should arrive at camp wearing their Class B T-Shirt, swimsuits on, and a towel easy to get a hold of. We will be taking a tour almost immediately upon arrival and part of that tour will be the swim test. Still MUST WEAR SHOES!
4. It is going to be HOT. The more water your Scout drinks the easier it will be for them to regulate their body temperature. The camp does a fantastic job of keeping coolers filled with ice water at every location. Your Scout needs to bring a refillable bottle that they should always keep full. Staying hydrated keeps them cool, cool keeps them comfortable, comfortable means they get to have fun, and having fun means you don’t have to get phone calls in the middle of the night asking if they can come home. This is something that the Scouts should start working on now. Start limiting the amount of soda and sugary beverages that your Scout drinks now. Start getting them to learn how to self regulate their body temperatures now.
5. Scouts will keep our camp area clean. Period.
6. The Scouts will need to wear their Class A uniform for dinner each night starting on Sunday and also to the Thursday and Friday night Ceremonies. Encourage them to keep it where they can find it easily. Please leave your neckerchief and merit badge sash at home.
7. I strongly encourage you to provide your Scout with some spending money. The camp store called “The Trading Post” has been recently renovated to increase their offerings. In the past they have served slushies that the Scouts go crazy for as well as some additional snacks, treats, and souvenirs. I will not police their spending, so please talk with them ahead of time about being Thrifty. They will spend their money on stupid things, but it is part of the experience. In years past the slushies are $1 if you purchase the $5 reusable cup. It makes a great souvenir.
8. Cell phones – I don’t have an issue with Scouts bringing their cell phones, however, I will encourage you to leave them be. The camp experience is one of the very few opportunities for personal development and growth without a parent over them and guiding every step. They don't need to be called or texted regularly. Homesickness happens, more often than not, because a parent can’t let go, not because the Scout is really homesick. If there is a problem or issue, one of the leaders will reach out to you. If you don’t hear from us, you should assume that your Scout is having the time of their life, they are healthy, all limbs and digits are attached and they are being well-fed. Having said that; keep an eye on the Facebook page we will post updates daily and sometimes more than once a day and post as many pictures as I can get.
9. Your Scout can bring a bicycle. It makes it easier to get around camp. Please let me know if your Scout will be brining a bike. THEY MUST HAVE A HELMET ON AT ALL TIMES WHEN RIDING A BIKE. NO EXCEPTIONS. No helmet, no riding. Period.
10. LABEL EVERYTHING. You can thank me later.
A packing list will be sent out a couple of weeks before we leave for camp to give you a complete list of the items your Scout needs to bring with them that it would benefit you to start thinking about sooner than later.
First year Scouts will need to bring a small tent that they are capable of putting up and taking down without any help. They will also need to bring a backpack to carry some overnight equipment with them for their “Outpost Night”. Other than that night, tents will be provided by the camp. I have pictures posted here. Scouts will be paired up by the Adult leaders so that we follow BSA policies, but also so that we see growth within the unit, between the Scouts and also to avoid issues.
Two camp cots will be in each tent. I recommend a light weight sleeping back and a lightweight blanket. Last year it got very cold the first couple of nights. We all wish we had an extra blanket to keep us a little warmer.
Scouts should bring a footlocker or something similar to keep their gear and clothing in. Something that is easy to sort through to find what they need. Here is a picture of what I have brought the past few years, as well as my kids. You can pick one up at Walmart
The pick up and drop off process is absolute chaos. We will all meet in a small town about 20 minutes from camp and caravan into the campsite. When you get to the campsite, we can only allow so many to drive in to drop-off/pick-up at a time. This means you drive to the camp site, unload your Scout and then say a very quick goodbye and pull right back out. With 30 plus Scouts to be dropped off, there is not time for you to help your Scout get set up in their tent. Most of them have done this before. Those that haven’t, will be guided by other Scouts and the Adults that are on sight. I know it doesn’t seem friendly, but it is how things have to happen. We are kept on an extremely tight schedule Sunday afternoon and have things that we will be rushed off to almost immediately. Because of that we don’t have time for lengthy goodbyes.
Pickup on Saturday morning is very much the same. Drive in, rapidly pack the stuff into the vehicles and drive right back out. There will be plenty of time to get back together afterwards.
We will go on a tour of the camp Sunday upon arrival. This tour includes swim tests. The swim suit your Scout brings should be one that they still fit into this year and that you don’t care if it gets destroyed. The lake is very heavily tinted due to tannin from the local trees. It will turn the swim suit all kinds of brown. If your Scout is taking lots of water based merit badges, they will probably come home a shade darker than they are. It isn’t sunburn, it isn’t because they didn’t shower, no it isn’t dirt. It is the tannin from the lake. Scouts are not required to take the swim test, but they will not be allowed in the water with out passing the swim test. This means no WIBBIT. If your Scout struggles with swimming, sign them up for swim lessons TODAY.
Camp will feed our Scouts starting with Sunday dinner through Saturday breakfast with a few exceptions. Thursday evening we will eat as a Troop. They do not prepare dinner for us on Thursday. We will be taking up a collection from all the parents of the Scouts who attend camp to buy Pizza for us on Thursday evening. Saturday breakfast is a cold cereal and milk. I highly recommend stopping at McDonalds before you leave Elizabethtown. Even though the kids will have eaten well all week, they are going to make it sound like they are starving and haven’t eaten for a month. They will be hungry, but not because they haven’t eaten.
This is a lot of information and you will need even more before we get to the Sunday of camp. We will host a meeting in June with a final Q&A session as well as sending much more information home.
Please know, the Summer Camp trips is not only one of my favorite events of the year, but some of my fondest Scouting memories through out my entire life. I can tell you of massively impactful experiences from the 5 different years I was able to attend Summer Camp as a youth just as quickly as I can rattle off exciting memories from the past few years. Summer camp is amazing. But while I am enjoying myself and the time with the leaders that have been selected and approved to go on this trip, we are paying very close attention to your Scouts and making sure they are healthy and safe as well. Encourage them to share their worries with one of the adults, let us help them. Homesickness will happen, but if we can get them through Monday, they are guaranteed to have a great week!
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