The theme of this campout was Adventure. You might ask what is in an Adventure. According to Mr. Lloyd “An Adventure starts with a Challenge and ends with a smile of accomplishment”. On Friday April 12th we left the church around and headed to Camp Sequoyah. Once we arrived at the main entrance. Everyone got off the bus, divided into three groups, and hiked a short distance to their respective campsites.
The first group consisted of sixteen First Year scouts. This group learned how to pitch their own tent, prepare meals, understand the Scout Oath and Law, and play Ultimate Frisbee. These scouts could have had a long weekend, but with the terrific assistance from the troop guides; Anderson Camp, Gus Skelton, Thomas Reed, Nathan Jones, and Glider Johnson, their adventure was fun and educational for all.
Our Wilderness Survival group consisted of thirteen scouts, which had an adventure of their own. This group played a game called the Search Light Challenge, where they had to retrieve their sleeping bags from an area that was being guarded by the adults and not get caught. In addition, they learned how to work together to build a structure to protect them from the weather. Also, they learned about fishing and preparing fish over an open fire. Thanks to the following adults Mr. Bridgmon, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Fagan, and Mr. Judd, for helping these scouts with this adventure.
The final group known as the 4 Elements consisted of 10 scouts that had probably the most challenging adventure, mainly because I was in that group, and we did things that I had not done before. The first activity started when we arrived. We were informed that we had only 5 minutes to prepare for a night hike and overnight campout in the woods. On Saturday, we worked on the requirement for the Exploration merit badge and we did a conservation project to help prepare trails for Summer Camp. Again, thanks to the following adults Mr. Hataway, Mr. Hamner, and Mr. Starling for leading this.
That evening, the troop came together for a closing campfire with skits and a flag retirement ceremony that honored those who protect our freedom. The campfire program and entire weekend was led by Senior Patrol Leader Thomas Sartor and Assistant SPL Ryan Wilhelm.
On Sunday, we woke up around 8am and enjoyed a troop provided hardy breakfast. Around 10 am, we had a church service led by Edward Boackle. After church, we cleaned up our area and enjoyed a delicious troop provided lunch. We left Camp Sequoyah and arrived at the church around 2:15.
David Kirk
Troop 97 WebMaster