Spring Camporeer

More Scouting this post!This past weekend was the Abnaki District's Spring Camporee. Boy Scout Troops from all over the district (which encompasses approx 35 towns and cities)gather each spring to have a weekend of various events. Each Troop competes against each other,and even against their own troop,if they have enough boys to split into more than one patrol. Our  Troop has two patrols-the Yogi Bears and the Coconut Bandits. Zach is the Patrol Leader for the Yogi Bears.

Friday night it sprinkled just a wee bit and was only slightly chilly,which was good for setting up camp. Saturday the weather cleared and it turned into a great day for outdoor events. I took over sixty photos,and since I don't want your eyes to glaze over,I picked a few.

The various stations included orienteering,first aid,knots,fire building,etc. Please note the Boy Scouts don't normally wear camo-they were asked to bring clothes to help them blend into their surroundings.

The orienteering course morphed into the first aid station. Zach was instructed to go off into the woods to a certain area (the first aid area),where he was "mauled" by a bear and had to wait for the rest of the patrol to use their bearings and compass to find and treat him.He is,of course,wearing his coonskin cap:

Another station was a lumberjack station,wear the boys had to figure out certain methods to move a log:

A photo of our campsite and the boys fairly new tents and that we call "the white elephant" where the  camp kitchens were set up:

Another station was geared towards lashings. The boys had to build a bridge that one of the scouts had to use to walk across the "river". You can see the "river" in the photo-it's in between the yellow tape. The boys could not touch the ground when they walked on the ladder:

When they were told to bring clothes to blend,Zach brought his gilly suit. He had to go up into the tree line and hide. They had people down at the pavilion with binoculars to try and find him. They searched for over 10 minutes and couldn't see him. The patrol took first place:

Another event was the axe throw. The adults got to try it out when there were no boys in line. This how Rick did-three for three! :

There was an adult competition as well. They had to build an A frame and guide someone using four leads down a river of "acid". The guiders could not step into the "acid". Here is one of our Asst Scoutmasters,Jessie,on the A frame,with Rick to the left. Jessie did not fall once,and our group took second place:

 

This is my favorite photo of the weekend. It's Zach with his buddy,Ryan. Ryan is our Asst Senior Patrol Leader:

The boys were very anxious for the awards ceremony on Sunday morning. They were very confident that they were going to get a few of them:

The troop did great- the Coconut Bandits earned a first and third place,and the Yogi Bears earned three firsts and a third. They also earned the Honor Patrol Award! Zach was so excited. A fabulous weekend for Troop 357!

A great group photo:

Tonight we are raking at the Grange,where we hold our meetings,then Wednesday night it's Patrol leaders meeting,Order of the Arrow meeting Thursday night,and Saturday is our Hikeathon! Things then slow down :)