| Editor's Note: I have
several questions about Scouting that I would like someone to answer. If you would like to volunteer to
help, request
the "I Asked a Scouter..." list. I'll send it by return email along with more
details I
Asked a Scouter . . .
About
Primitive Camping
Bob Gardner was a Scoutmaster in Indiana for several years. He often talks about the
adventures of his young Troop when they decided to earn the Council Camping Patch. I asked
him to tell me his best story about it. This is what he had to say:
I think that would have to be when my
young Troop 240 from Granger, Indiana, requested to try their hand at primitive camping.
This was a new Troop - only about a year old. Most of our Scouts were no older than
eleven. They surprised both themselves and their Leaders with their ability to cope with
the problems which arose at this camp.
When I say primitive, I MEAN primitive.
Camp Rice Woods was nothing more than a wooded plot of land owned by the old Northern
Indiana council. There was no running water and no bathroom facilities. Water had to be
carried into camp by the Scouts. They had to dig latrines and try to learn not to be
embarrassed when they needed to use them. After they prepared the meals, they had to clean
up using only a minimal amount of water.
The youngest patrol made a glorious
attempt at making Pigs in a Blanket. They had not yet mastered the art, however. One after
another, the "pigs" fell into the ashes, blankets and all. I remember sitting
next door with the other Leaders as we ate our grilled chicken, biscuits, and fried
potatoes while listening to the Scouts' conversation.
They were trying to identify why the
meal was such a disaster. One boy even suggested that perhaps the food "was supposed
to fall off the sticks when it was done." It was the consensus of the group that he
was wrong. As another Scout stated, " I don't think we are supposed to have to eat
ashes!" After their valiant, but failed, attempt to eat the burned food, they
wandered over to the Leader area. Something smelled "really good", they decided.
They thought it was pretty amazing that the Leaders had made too much food - so much, in
fact, that each Scout ended up eating a good meal that night.
With added care, subsequent patrol
meals improved dramatically and lacked the "crisp wood coals" ingredient of that
first one.
Our
Troop survived the weekend. They came away from the experience as Scouts who were learning
to work a little better together - and as young men who were proud of what they had
accomplished.
* * * * *
If
you have a story to share about primitive camping,
please send it to MaryAnn. Previous Columns
|
