Trooop 1916 just had another fine fall outing. Fifty Scouts (including 4 of Webelo age) matched wits with the wind and some overgrown squash for a memorable weekend.
What a difference a month makes. We had some great swimming in the Shenandoah last month. But Lake Fairfax tempted no one for a dip this weekend. By getting outside for camping, we really get to feel the seasons change.
Our main activities on Saturday were tarp shelter construction, catapult creation, and pumpkin launching. The tasks included creativity and engineering as well as opportunities for individual achievement and teamwork.
Tarp setup was made challenging by the scarceness of trees for our number. (Thanks to Karen Miller for arranging a last minute switch to site #10--since our reserved site #9 site had far too few trees and insufficient overall space). Site #10 had some nice, flat spaces for free-standing tents. But the need for trees to support tarps had many of the boys camping on a bit of an incline. And while tent campers on a slight slope generally stay put overnight; tarp campers often find themselves much further downhill by morning. All in all, I suspect the boys have a bit more respect for their tents after this weekend.
And did I mention the wind? It rumbled and whooshed all day Saturday and into the wee hours of Sunday. You could hear it coming for a while before it actually set the tarps shaking. The boys' taut line hitches were certainly tested. And I'm hoping we get to revisit that knot soon while the memory of Saturday night is still fresh.
But back to Saturday's main event--pumpkin catapults. We had 9 teams of Boy Scouts (4-5 scouts each) and one team of Cub Scouts (with a little help from the troop's newest Eagle Scouts -- Aaron and Max). We setup on the ~70 yard field just below the dam with 5 teams on each end. Each catapult had 7 bamboo pieces (each approximately 12' long) and 6 square lashings. The pumpkins were thrown from T-shirt slings (a la trebuchet) attached to the end of the throwing arm. The boys had to run several trials to get the top sling attachment slip off the throw arm at the right time to propel the projectile. The scouts used bags of dirt & rocks (duct taped for strength) in place of pumpkins for the trial runs. All of the teams created working designs. And a few of the teams managed fairly remarkable distances. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the pictures from the event.
I really enjoyed watching the boys work on this task. The bamboo tower built on last year's Cub Friendly was certainly fun. But because the catapults were constructed by so many small teams, I'm certain there was greater participation from more scouts with this year's activity.
After catapults it was back to camp for a fire and dinner prep. We burned all of the old bamboo stockpiled at the church (wow does that stuff burn hot!). And the boys thoroughly enjoyed smashing open the old bamboo chambers prior to burning, as well as the rather explosive demonstration of why the chambers need to be smashed.
And we all gratefully consumed hot dinners prepared by the grubmasters (hats off to Matthias, Luke, Mateo, Mitchell, Connor K., and Sebastian).
Sunday morning started a little earlier than perhaps necessary (we certainly *do* have some early risers in this crowd). But then tarps came down and breakfast was prepared. Then a quick round of Roses, Buds, and Thorns and we were back in McLean in no time.
I hope your sons enjoyed the trip. Tuesday this week is PLC for the older boys. And the next meeting for everyone is November 1st.
I'm looking forward to the backpacking trips in November and December.
-Mike
p.s. Our troop is committed to getting outside as much of the year as possible. Weather certainly adds variety to the outdoor experience. But a lack of preparation for cold (in its many flavors of windy, wet, and wintry) leads to discomfort. On the plus side, a little discomfort can be a great teacher. When your sons are packing for trips, please ask them 'how are you planning for the weather this weekend?'. Cold weather preparation will be very important these next several months.