Winter Camping

Digging in for the night

Troop 321 now boasts three new Polar Bears! But that's how the story ends.

The story begins with five adults and a passel of Scouts loading up gear for the drive to Camp Hiawatha. We didn't need the trailer because we'd have to hike a half mile through deep snow to our campsite with only packs and sleds for our load. Our load included all the potable water we'd need. I expected complaints, but there weren't any. What a difference two years makes!

We arrived, we unpacked, we organized the Scouts into work crews with Sebby enthusiastically in charge, and we got to work on dinner. Pete, one of our professional chefs, planned a simple, fool-proof dinner: pizza, fruit, and salad. Over what, you may ask, a fire in the snow? Well, not exactly. We had the run of the camp's staff kitchen, and Pete planned accordingly. We ate well. Very, very well.

Chef Pete

Our evening continued with cards and games and a fire in the fire place. Eventually the boys retired to their cabins. Fortunately, the leaders had their own. We turned in early(ish).

Hungry tummies encouraged the boys to quickly assemble into their work parties the next morning. This brought us our first surprise for the trip. It turns out, Jackson has a super-power no one knew about. Jackson is able to turn out absolutely perfect pancakes - including the very first one. Who knew? So we feasted on bacon, sausages, pancakes, and fruit - a high calorie meal for a high calorie day.

While the cleanup crews polished off the dishes, Darryl set up his tip lines. His new auger made quick work of the ice, but that remained his only lake-related success. One of these days, he's going to catch a fish in Bunting Lake. I just hope I'm still alive to see it.

The Eternal Optimist

The boys spent the remainder of the day getting clobbered with snowballs by a couple of girls too young to join the Scouts even if they could. The girls planned ahead with a mobile stockpile of slush-balls, so the boys really didn't have a chance. 

Between battles, everyone built forts and snow caves for sleeping in. Some caves survived, some didn't. Robbie set up the best cave under a picnic table. He's now one of The Three. Fortunately, the staff kitchen included a staff clothes drier, and so the troops took periodic breaks to dry out and warm up. In spite of everyone's best efforts, we never ran out of hot chocolate or coffee. 

Thus the boys played and made meals and cleaned up and sat by the fire and played some more. And yes, the adults napped while Jennifer snapped photos and gave them away. Harrumph. 

At least one Scouter's favorite lunch

We celebrated Pete and Darryl's birthdays Saturday evening, and then the boys settled in to their snowy nests. Those who didn't last the night (or the evening) tended to suffer from inadequate gear rather than lack of desire. Darryl reported resting poorly, however. I suppose guardian angels seldom rest. He checked on the boys every hour or two throughout the night.   

When morning arrived three Scouts popped out with boyish grins and rosy cheeks. We ate homemade biscuits with sausage and gravy along with Chef Pete's special oatmeal. The trek back to the parking lot seemed a lot easier, and I have no doubt some boys dozed most of the way home - three of them dreaming of their Polar Bear patches.

For more food photos and various snowball shenanigans, check out the trip's album!

Our next campout will be the Spring Camporee. With luck, most of the snow will have melted.

Cub Winter Games

I sure didn't see any slow children

Ishpeming Cubs and Scouts have been instrumental for the past five years or so in making the Cub Winter games a great success, and this year was no different. This year's event also boasted a record number of volunteers from area Troops who set up and ran a variety of activities. The weather held out, with light winds, light snow, and warm(er) temperatures reaching into the upper twenties. Of course, the boys stayed warm racing around and climbing snow mounds between events.

Highlights:

• the best Cub-run flag ceremony ever!
• nine stations
• fourteen groups
• invading Ogre army demolished
• new Cub bowling records set
• possible UP 200 entrants identified
• hot soup and hot chocolate
• the bake sale raised over $290 for Ryan Koski's recovery
• the chili sale raised $110 for Crew 356

Darryl did a great job as the event's master of ceremonies, chief judge, and media spokesperson. He even stayed late to help mop up, though I think he was avoiding the dog house at home. Thanks, also go to the Willey's who ran the obstacle course and to Carolyn and Grace who ran the bake sale - and to all the folks who brought donations. Linda also helped keep the kitchen running (we've honestly never seen a kitchen without pots) and cleaned up afterwards.

Our own Scouts helped run three events and were a credit to the Troop. This is such a change from just a few years ago when they were the ones racing around and rolling in the snow. We're proud of them and our adult volunteers. We turned a dreary winter day into something really memorable for a lot of young boys. 

We've also seen a steady increase in help from the area's Troops - with Troop 372 already volunteering for a bigger role next year. Special thanks go to Chuck Suckow who brought out a very large trebuchet and Paul Salfai who organized behind the scenes and kept registration running smoothly. I wish I could list all the troops that helped out, but I took more photos than notes. 

Speaking of photos, don't forget to check out the event's album. You'll see a lot of boys having a lot of fun. Some are even eating fruits and vegetables. 

Food Drive - Part II

And Bless You!

Great job Scouts! And what a wonderful community response to folks in need.

Over the past two Sundays Troop 321 helped gather over 15 shopping carts full of food and a little over $100 in cash donations for the Salvation Army. They were very thankful again today as we dropped off the donated food. Many families will be helped out by our boys work! ~ Scoutmaster Carl

Just a shout out to the AWESOME boy scouts who went to our local grocery stories and got food donations for our food pantry(two weeks in a row)! A big thank you to Amy Mattson who helped make it all possible!! ~ Liz Nevala, Salvation Army

Be proud!