When Troop 344 went to Summer Camp this year, few of us knew what to expect. But this trip was definitely unforgettable! The moment we got there, many younger scouts were excited by our campsite, the swim test, and the prospect of cooking our own meals, while older scouts enjoyed a return to a place they had made so many memories at. After all the checkups and lectures and how-to’s, we were ready to go. Campfire was definitely an amazing experience, laughing along with the skits and listening to the Camp Gamble song together as we kicked off the week.
The next day, some of us cooked our first meal at Gamble; french toast. It was great to do complete, full-on patrol cooking. Merit badges were up next, and we had a great diversity! From cooking to fly fishing, from forestry to woodcarving, and from orienting to lifesaving we all had a great time. Later our troop had a free swim, and after we had an awesome troop shoot at the rifle range. Then came dinner; hamburgers, and we were off to bed.
We did many fun things like cheering on Mr. Stanton at the scoutmaster belly flop during the aquathon Wednesday night and playing things like gaga ball, paddleboarding, aqua-biking (which was always breaking down,) cards, and boating. At one point kickball was an option, and some of our scouts enjoyed that as well!
On Thursday we once again woke to the sound of a bugle, starting off the day with a cold breakfast so we could get started with the Order of the Arrow voting. Then the tap-out began that night. The ceremony began with us going to the flagpoles in the middle of the camp, and standing as the ceremony kicked up. Since the OA (Order of the Arrow) is modelled after a native American brotherhood, we were led to the actual place of the tap-out by a tribe with torches. The leader of this tribe then told us the history and meaning of the OA, and this was followed by a really cool tap-out. Once “All had been chosen”, the night was over.
Friday we made a delicious egg hash and participated in things like a chess tournament, the mile swim, or at least getting there, for it was canceled. (Stupid thunder!) In return for all our cooking that week, dinner was on the adults and senior patrol, who made a great-tasting brisket. To end the week, we had another fun campfire, which was a great time overall. Saturday morning was just a cleanup and go day after a horrible tasting packaged breakfast bar (yuk), and just like that, 2021 Summer camp was over, but it was definitely unforgettable.
Troop 344 