Summer Camp 2002- Raven Knob

Mount Airy, North Caroline

By Ryan K. 

The 2002 Summer Camp Trip was worth all the hassle it caused.  Scouts could fish, swim, canoe, hike, and many other things that attracted so many scouts.  “Mafia”, a game where you try to find out who is the “Mafia” by voting out the suspects was the most popular way to waste away time.  Correy C. passed his First Class board, Calvin S. passed his Tenderfoot board, and Matt W. passed his Second Class board. 

The first day started early, but we finally left around 8:00 a.m.  After a long 6 hour drive, everyone arrived and unpacked their stuff into their chosen (not always by themselves) tents.  Improvements to the campsite from last year included a new shower house and benches around the campfire, which, due the burn ban, we could not use.

Our first day started out without a hitch.  We made it to breakfast on time, eating (choking down) breakfast.  We then prepared for our “classes”.  The amazing then was that all the scouts got to their “classes,” eventually.  Lunch and dinner followed much the same routine as breakfast, just different slop. 

Tuesday was the same, just a little thunder, but very little rain.  But we did manage to do the troop shoot, where some scouts had their first try at shooting a rifle and did very well. 

Wednesday we had our classes again, but something was very different, the food!  We ate lunch and dinner in camp, which means the famous Troop  1131 Taco Bar!  The campfire and OA ceremony was moved indoors from the OA Arena to the dinning hall due to some thunder and rain.  Nathan S. joined us today, being one of our college age Eagle Scouts.  We also had the “Box of Fun”, which Andy N. and Andrew M. constructed in only 50 minutes.  It consisted of tarps hanging from branches tied onto live trees and tree stumps.  It was a huge success.

On Thursday, July 4, we had our classes, but we had black forest cobbler with vanilla ice cream, the No. 1 desert of the week.  No fireworks for the 4^th, due to the strict fire ban.   Boys taking Camping, Wilderness Survival, and RKORES spent the night in the woods. Naturally, it rained, but not a lot.  

On Friday, the last official day of camp, we completed our merit badge classes and most of use passed.  Today, Andy N. will lead Brandon Q., Chris L., and Patrick K. on a five mile hike to complete a Second Class requirement.  Toni C. and Andy G. will help on the hike also.  At night we heated up the frying pan and made donuts, which everyone like.  James and I had the job of frying and preparing the donuts, making sure they were not to frozen (which seemed to be a big problem), but they all turned out ok. 

We got up on Saturday the normal time, 6:55, and went to breakfast (very small), then came back and packed.  We pulled away from the camp at about 9:30, and drove back home, where we picked up our gear and ended the Summer Camp of 2002.