Camp Schmitt

The girls' troop had a great time this weekend at Camp Schmitt near Augusta, West Virginia. Camp cooking was a major focus of the weekend's activities, but the Scouts also found time to enjoy the pond and work on rank advancement. 

We departed from the church around 6:30pm on Friday, arriving at Camp Schmitt at about 9:00. After setting up camp, we took advantage of the clear skies to work on Second Class requirement 3d by learning to identify the North Star and understanding how and why that will allow a Scout to identify the cardinal directions. Everyone decided it was time to turn in after they were done looking at the stars. 

In the morning, the Scouts, led by Anya, made delicious breakfast burritos, served with ripe strawberries and hot chocolate. It was the first time the patrol had ever done camp cooking with the propane stove, and the first time they had needed to work together to implement the three-bucket dishwashing system, so there was a lot of learning going on. 

After breakfast cleanup was complete, the Scouts investigated the pond, where they enjoyed the dock and evaluated the available watercraft for use in the afternoon. 

Lunch, led by Erika, was marinated chicken and vegetable foil packets cooked in the campfire. This required the Scouts to establish an axe yard and prepare firewood, making good use of the woods tools skills they had learned from Will in Troop 97B on the March campout. Everyone helped build the fire and chop the vegetables, and then made up their own foil packet. Each person coincidentally chose a different style of folding, making it easy to tell the packets apart during cooking. There were some very happy Scouts (and adult leaders!) when the packets were opened and consumed!

The Scouts also finished working on Second Class requirement 3d during the lunch preparations by learning how to use the sun to identify the cardinal directions. 

Once lunch cleanup was done, Ms. Cornelius led the Scouts in fitting appropriate personal flotation devices and identifying the necessary equipment for kayak and canoe activities on the water. After she provided the Scouts with basic technique and safety instruction, the Scouts headed out into the pond for some paddling. The Scouts also swam briefly. 

The final activity before dinner was service to the camp, during which the Scouts cleared brush from the campsites and paths. Scouts also had the opportunity to work on individual advancement during this time. 

Anya was again the cook for dinner, reheating Cincinnati chili she'd made at home on the camp stove, while simultaneously preparing a dessert of fresh apple cobbler cooked in the dutch oven. Both were very much appreciated!

The Scouts decided to forego the originally planned campfire in favor of turning in, as they had determined they needed to get up at 7am in order to get back to the church by 1. 

Sunday morning went exactly as planned, which highlighted how much the patrol had learned about working together during the course of the weekend. Grace was the cook for breakfast, offering both regular and gluten-free pancakes with real maple syrup, sausage, and strawberries (they must be in season!). The remaining hot chocolate packets from the day before were also happily consumed with breakfast. Theo learned how to use the white gas stove during breakfast, bringing the total number of cooking fuels used during the weekend to six (wood, charcoal, propane, butane, butane/propane mix, and white gas). 

When we assessed the weekend during breakfast, the Scouts said their favorite things about the weekend were "the food" and "kayaking." There was even mention of the possibility of a float trip in the future.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this campout a success, in particular to troop 97B for providing training and equipment, to troop 33 for allowing us to use their campground, to Ms. Cornelius for her outstanding leadership, and to Mr. Heramb for his steady support throughout.