Troop 1916 embarked on a hiking tour and campout on Gettysburg National Military Park last weekend, with great success. The group had an early start at the church on Saturday, departing for Gettysburg at 8:00. The skies were gray, the weather forecasts were somewhat ominous. The drive up was uneventful, and the group arrived at the park by 10:00. The campsite was a great location, in a wooded area behind the treeline that Confederate troops occupied on the third, decisive day of the battle. The camp was a great improvement over the commercial campground the troop visited last year, but for a bit of complications involving sanitation. I’ll defer to others to fill in those details.
We arrived just as the rain began, and everyone had their tents up in time for our sleeping bags and spare clothes to stay dry. A few boys decided to keep their sweatshirts and raincoats dry, as well. The grubmasters prepared a quick lunch for the hike, and the tour guide arrived at 11:00. In a light misting rain, we began our 6-hour, nine-mile loop around the major sites of the second and third days of the battle. One of the first stops was the General Robert E. Lee memorial, at the point of departure for Pickett’s historic 1-mile charge across open ground toward the Union Army’s front lines. The rain came heavier, the air cooled a bit. We walked through the ankle-deep grass, retracing Pickett’s troops’ movements across the open field, with our guide reciting passages from a Confederate soldier’s journal along the way. The boys seemed impressed by the experience.
Once on the Union side of the battlefield we toured the Pennsylvania memorial, the largest on the park, and watched some Civil War re-enactors in period uniforms fire a cannon typical of the type used during the battle. We continued on through some old farm homesteads, seeing cannonball holes in barns, and hearing stories of the incomprehensible violence that occurred there as the battle raged on. Some of the boys re-sorted their rain gear, some of the other boys hopefully contemplated the wisdom of packing rain gear on the next campout. We moved on to the Wheat Field site near a gap in the Union Army’s defenses where some of the heaviest casualties occurred, stopping to imaging the scene as it may have been on the second day of the battle. We followed an old trolley rail bed through some woods, over some Eagle-scout-built bridges, and hiked to the top of Little Round Top, where we had a great view of many of the areas we had just passed through.
From there, we began our hike back to the campsite. Spirits were high, even if some were cold. Many of the boys climbed to the top of a lookout tower, but the rain and mist limited the view somewhat. We returned to the campsite by 5:30, and the boys worked their way toward making a fire and making dinner. Mr. Salt and Mr. Forrer showed remarkable patience as the boys sorted out who would do what. The patrols made variations of tacos and burritos, some of the boys made variations upon those variations, and the patrols made some excellent pies, smores, and monkey breads for dessert. All were in their tents relatively early.
The next morning revealed a beautiful clear sky, crisp fresh air, and heavy dew on everything. The boys made breakfast, started a fire without trouble, and packed up the campsite by 9:30. The adults reinforced the importance of packing rain gear, perhaps a few of the boys understood. The troop dismissed from the campsite, and the group made their way back to Virginia. I assume everyone’s garage or basement now looks a bit like mine, with tents and sleeping bags airing out.
It was a great experience for everyone. But for a bit of mild complaints about sore feet from some of the younger boys, the troops’ attitude was remarkably positive throughout the rain and cold. I think many of the boys are looking forward to the Projectoree!
- David Ross