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| Silliness on top of Table Rock |
I am not the Scoutmaster anymore, but since I booked Treasure Mountain Scout Camp last year and have a son just starting Scouts, I decided to go to camp anyway. I also had previously blocked out that week on my work schedule as well, so there was no reason to fill it back up again with work. We had picked the third week in July as it was the only week that the campsite "Dull Knife" was available. Dull Knife is the campsite that Troop 82 has reserved ever since time began I think. I have never camped in it myself, as Troop 81, my old troop, would get either Tyhee or Crooked Leg. In 2015, we did not get Dull Knife with Troop 82 but I am not sure why, I just remember Ben being disappointed.
Dull Knife turned out to be a great campsite. It was down by the river and a little hill blocked it from the main trail. It had lots of space and plenty of trees for shade. We had a big open area for cooking where we put up the awning. The floor area around the campfire and the cook area was flat and free of tree roots and bushes. The campfire area was big and had plenty of seating area around it.
We met at the church at 7:00 am on Monday morning the 16th. It seemed very anti-climatic this year. No kayaks to haul, no parents sending them off, just a small group this time. The majority of the boys would be brand new 11 year old scouts. Kiowa, sadly, had a birthday the first of this month and has now moved on up to the older boys. Those who came were Andrew (Scoutmaster), Josh, Quinn, Kason, Heber and myself. Kegan, Ben's son drove up with us as well to help us get situated and to be with Kason as Ben couldn't be up there right away. (Rules state that fathers need to spend the nights with the 11 year old boys. Since we are all dads to the other 11 year olds, it was already covered except for Kason. Andrew is Heber's dad and Quinn is my son. Alex belongs to Aaron and where Aaron and Ben are brothers they could double up and take turns covering for Alex and Kason). Gabren and Alex would come up later in the week as they had different events going on. Josh and Gabren are the last of the boys that I had been Scoutmaster over and so I was glad they came. I was also glad to have a new bunch of boys to be with. This group turned out to be a stellar group as they helped out and kept the camp clean. They got more merit badges than any other group of 11 year olds that I have been privileged to be with.
We piled in the vehicles after saying prayer. I say piled in, but it was hardly so, with three vehicles and only a few boys. The first vehicle was me with my pickup andh Quinn, the second with Andrew and Heber and the last with Kegan, Kason and Josh. Weird not having 6 boys try to cram in your vehicle or trying to get "shotgun". It was kind of sad in a lot of ways and I miss the boisterous levels we used to have. I feel like a time has passed in my life that I will never get back. I am glad that I have written these blogs because it will help me and hopefully the boys remember all the good times we had.
We arrived at camp around 8 am and our camp friends, Jimmy and Isaac, helped us get our stuff down to camp and to park our vehicles. We hurried and got our tents up and got ready for swim check. The boys set up a huge 12 man dome like compartment tent. They were super excited and pitched in, and almost had it set up by themselves, except we needed to help them tighten a few areas. Normally it takes more work to harp on the boys to get the camp set up than to set it up yourself, but these boys really pitched in. I also heard them talking and saying they were going to have a contest to see who kept their area in the tent the cleanest. Say what???
Andrew went up to the office to get all the paperwork and payments in order and me and Kegan took the boys to the swim check. The next several photos are the swim check. All of the boys got beginner the first day, but the next day when Alex came and took the test, Quinn and Kason retook it and all three got swimmer.
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| Quinn |
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| Me looking thrilled that Josh has my camera |
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| Big brother taking care of little brother. Keegan, Kason and Heber |
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| Keegan and myself |
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| Geez Chad that's a nice hinge on your glasses |
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| Kason first to take the long walk to the end of the dock. |
For the boys to pass the BSA swim test they had to jump into the water which was above their head and then swim on their front to the end of the dock and then back and forth one more time. The last lap back had to be on their back and then they had to show they could float in the water. It was a little bit of a shock to the boys with how cold the water was and just by reaching out and touching the dock bumped their status to beginner. If they had not stopped and touched the dock they would have gotten swimmer. I was proud of the boys that retook it the next day and passed. Quinn actually had to go a third time again to pass but he finally did. It didn't help that the staff let a bunch of boys jump in and out of the water right next them as they were trying to complete the test. It was very distracting.
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| Now Heber goes |
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| Quinn looks nervous |
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| Quinn is the last to go in for today. He said the scout helping him was very nice |
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| Quinn is in |
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| Kason almost done |
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| Kason still moving |
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| Kason finished |
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| This would be Quinn as the kid in the blue shorts is helping him |
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| Quinn coming out like a little lobster |
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| Quinn, a little defeated, but comes back stronger and the next day completes the test |
We then found out where to go for all the classes and got lunch and dinner done. We had a horrific rainstorm/hailstorm that first afternoon and evening with rivers running under the tents, but fortunately nobody got wet.
The second day was Battle of the Tetons and the boys worked hard on merit badges. In the morning we had the typical flag ceremony and we didn't try that hard to get the Spirit Stick. This is a pretty quiet bunch of boys except for Josh who yelled his lungs out for them. That evening when Ben came up we went in search of Morning Glory to show the boys. Morning Glory is a very cold spring of water that forms a magnificently blue colored pool. It just looks downright cold. Its reputation is that it is colder than freezing and that it doesn't freeze because of the mineral content. There is a fence around it now that says keep out but we let the boys touch the water so they could feel how cold it was.
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| I believe there's a weasel in there |
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| The pleasant trees |
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| Our canopy looking up from the river |
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| Josh posing with his new handkerchief. The boys tent in the background |
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| Model Josh |
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| The boys' tent |
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| Rivers from the rainstorm |
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| Table rock and the Grand |
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The waterfront
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| Table rock and the Grand from Chief |
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| A waterfall to the south of Chief Rock |
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| Sunshine pouring in after a hard quick rain |
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| Morning Glory |
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| The stream coming out of morning glory looked very cold |
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| Table dancing? |
Day 2 Alex shows up and we go back to the water front. Alex passes with flying colors and then Quinn retakes it and didn't quite pass. We rested for awhile on a bench and then Quinn asked if it was ok if he stopped and floated midway. I said as long as you don't touch the dock floating is ok. Once he learned that, and did his resting float midway, he passed. Josh then decides to take the test and passes easily as well.
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| Alex goes for his swim check |
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| getting instructions before jumping in |
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| Alex is a strong swimmer and passes easily |
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| Quinn retaking the swim test. Daniel is the coach today and helps him get him through the test. Quinn said he liked Daniel |
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| The midway float which helped him rest |
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| Josh decides to take the swim test today. He didn't feel much like doing it yesterday but he takes it on fiercely today |
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| Josh swimming strongly |
For Battle of the Tetons, Quinn, Alex, Heber and Kason all got into a canoe. While they did not win they came pretty close to placing in the finals as there were only 5 canoes left in the water out of around 13 or 14 canoes. For some reason they just all of sudden sunk toward the end. Must have tipped too far and got water in.
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| Alex, Kason and Quinn on the right, waiting for Heber |
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| Daniel on the far left. Quinn, Alex, Kason and Heber getting instructions from Jacob before they get into their canoe. the buckets are for filling up the other guys' canoes with water to sink them. |
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| One of my favorite photos of the week. Heber, Kason, Quinn and Alex just before it starts, waiting patiently in their canoe |
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| And it begins |
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| Heber has his Popeye expression to scare off the competition. Or he probably just took a bucket of water in the face. |
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| And they are sunk and in the water. It was a fierce battle |
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| Trying to get the canoe so they can make the way out |
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| Alex and Heber. Just got the canoe out |
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| Kason and Alex |
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| Kason, Josh,Keegan, Alex and Heber. They are listening to Keegan tell all his prank stories from former years of being a scout here |
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| Quinn standing in front |
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| Andrew |
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| The giant pancake we cooked. It was bigger than a normal sized pie |
Day 3 was uneventful at Scout Camp as near as I can tell. I had left early that morning to get my raft to take it up to Island Park as I was going to help the girls float the stretch of water from Big Springs to the Henry's Fork. Since girl's camp and Scout camp were on the same week I had to divide my time so that my girls, Macey and Katy could have some dad time as well. I spent the day with them and the float was great except every time the wind blew it would blow me back upstream. The girls, all being in kayaks, had left me long gone and I was left wondering why I needed to bring a raft when I would have done better in my own kayak or canoe, or even my little pontoon boat. But if I had not taken the raft, all the girl's kayaks would have sunk and there would be no way to get them all to the end, I suppose. Bayley Kunz and Cindy Warburton accompanied me in the raft. Stephanie Hill had a paddleboard and stayed up with the bulk of the girls fine. Shaylee Kearsley and Josh Richardson were able to keep up with the girls for the most part, but I think Shay must have had a too small paddleboard because she seemed to sit awful low in the water. After the float I took the raft home and went back up to Treasure Mountain.
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| Launching at Big Springs. There were lots of people there. Most of the girls are on the right |
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| Cindy sat in the back of the raft. Looks like a cozy spot |
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| Bayley sitting up front in the raft. I had my fishing frame on so it made it nice to have actual seats |
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| Cindy again. The couple in the back ground are people I knew from WoodBadge. I can't remember their names but they did a couple of games on both courses of Wood Badge I was on. |
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| I think the girls are about ready |
Back at Scout Camp, Alex, Kason, Quinn and Heber finished up the Environmental Science merit badge which was a huge bonus. That evening, the boys decided that since they weren't loud enough to get the Spirit Stick, they would just have to steal it instead. They snuck into the camp where it was and took it and ran. They hid it down by the river. Then they started feeling guilty and so decided to return it, but rather than take it back to the camp, they just left it on the trail to the flag ceremony where it would be easily found. I'm glad they took it back. The troop that had it that day, kind of had a mean Scoutmaster, and I saw him chewing out the Patrol Leader a couple of times during the week. I remember seeing the Patrol Leader looking awful relieved carrying the Spirit Stick around later.
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| Morning flag ceremony. Gabren in the left corner there |
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| Our boys kind of hung back a lot during the cheers |
I'm going to skip Day 4 for a little bit as it will be much easier just to load those photos at the end. Day 5 was mostly finishing up merit badges as they had to be done by noon. The boys ran around to all the sites and got everything completed in the time that they had. They did a great job. Kason got 6 merit badges, Alex, Quinn and Heber all got 5, Josh got 2 and Gabren got 1 (Gabren didn't get there until Wednesday and Josh already had most you can get at scout camp). Environmental Science, Basketry, Leatherwork, Canoeing, Geology, Nature and Woodcarving with its Totem Chip were the most common merit badges earned. That afternoon was camp-wide games where the staff ran off and hid somewhere and the whole camp had to run off and find them. You got points for how many staff you found and more points if they wore camouflage and were harder to find. If you found the guy in the ghillie suit you probably would have won the game but nobody found him.
The big event, on that last day, was a relay race that we ran against all the other troops. Andrew started out running with a match up to Chief Rock at the campfire bowl where Heber and Quinn were waiting. Heber then had to say the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, slogan and the Motto. After he said them, he handed the match to Quinn who had to run to Archery where I was waiting. He then had to shoot 3 arrows and hit the target. Once that was completed he handed me the match and I ran to the shooting range where I had to follow the rules (put in ear plugs and wear safety glasses), then shoot one stationary clay pigeon at about 30 yards with a .22 and break it. My first shot hit dead center but the pigeon didn't break so I had to shoot it again. (For future reference, shooting those things with a .22 on the edge will break it better than shooting it in the center.) I then again, had to follow the rules of gun safety and once done handed the match to Gabren, who was waiting there. Gabren then ran all the way to the Handicrafts with the match and then had to tie knots. Kason was waiting and then grabbed the match when Gabren was done and ran to the lake. Josh and Alex were at the lake. Josh had to take the match and canoe to a buoy, then hand it to Alex who had to swim back with it, while keeping it dry. Then Alex gave the match back to Kason who had to run back to the beginning and light the match. He lit the match and it only smoked, but they still gave us credit. Our time was something like 12 minutes. The fastest time was around 5-6 minutes and the slowest was around 20 minutes.
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| Quinn and Heber at Geology. Andrew in left corner |
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| Environmental Science |
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| The Environmental Science instructor's name was Big John. First name "Big" and last name "John". He was an excellent instructor |
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| Geology. The teacher's name was Savanah, who was bewitching to Josh |
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| Gabren, Josh and Alex at nature |
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| Andrew taking a break, while watching geology |
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| Mike Brown was with his Troop for the day, standing next to Aaron on the right |
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| Environmental science. |
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| Alex and Kason at nature. Jonas the instructor is from Teton Valley |
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| Savanah. This picture is for Josh. Heber, Quinn and Alex in the foreground |
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| Quinn back at leatherwork. The blond kid behind him is Isaac who is teaching leatherwork. He was a spunky, enthusiastic sort. |
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| The waterfront |
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| Quinn with Isaac our camp friend (not to be confused with Isaac the Leatherwork merit badge counselor) at Handicrafts, finishing up leatherworking merit badge |
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| Quinn, Gabren, Alex, Heber and Kason with the skunk skin |
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| Kason waving the skunk skin after a successful prank |
The Campfire program in the photos below are actually the end of the last day, Day 5. The staff put on a really funny program and we won the Honor Troop award.
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| Isaac and Jimmy our Troop friends |
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| Daniel and Jacob doing a nasty funny skit |
At the closing campfire on Friday night we got quite a surprise, earning the "Honor Troop" award. This is typically the troop within a commissioner's area that was the cleanest and exuded the most Scout qualities. They must not have heard about us stealing the Spirit Stick or scaring people with a skunk skin, haha. But it was a great adventure and a great Scout Camp. Saturday morning we left early in the morning to go home. Great job to Andrew for all the hard work he put in. Its definitely easier being a dad rather than the leader.
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| Josh, our Senior Patrol Leader, being presented the Honor Troop award by Hannah who was our Commissioner. Jacob, in the orange shirt next to Hannah, was our troop friend when I was with Troop 81 and we camped in Tyhee, if any of my older boys (now probably age 20-22) remember him. His sister was with him then. I'm going to guess that was 2009, possibly 2010. I probably have that campout on the Tenderfoottroop81 blog page. I believe Jacob was the other commissioner for the west side. |
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| Aaron came up when he could. Here he is sitting with us at the campfire program. |
Day 4 which was Thursday, was the hardest day, in which we climbed up to Table Rock. It was the most difficult time I ever had climbing it and I was a whole hour slower this year than the last time in 2015. I'm definitely feeling my age. On the way up I even threw up that nasty bagel and yogurt they gave us for breakfast. Then I started getting migrainous-like symptoms once we hit where the two trails fork. I made it to the top, however, and I'm grateful for patient boys this year. Also grateful for the company of Aaron who hung back with me. Once you get on top, though, its all worth it. We ate our lunch, took some pictures and started back down. After getting down and resting for a bit and drinking lots of water, it was like I never had climbed it. I'm not sure why the next day I was not sore. None of the boys seemed affected by the hike either and later were running around playing pranks with the skunk skin. They made quite a few people jump.
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| Quinn looks like a sad bunny. Quinn, Gabren, Alex, Kason, Aaron, Ben, Heber, Josh and Andrew. This is about a half mile up. Its a nice overlook and good place to get your legs under you. Somebody else took a photo with me in it but I think I forgot to get it from them |
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| Always good scenery on the way up. |
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| Just up out of the trees where it levels a little bit |
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| Gabren, Kason, Heber and Alex. Always fun to find snow when you are hot and climbing a big mountain |
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| Add caption |
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| Starting to see the tips of the peaks and table rock |
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| Quinn had forgotten his hat so we bought one at the trading post. |
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| Gabren says "which way?" the kid behind Gabren was from Georgia and ran all the way up. He caught us here and before we were another mile, he passed us on his way down. |
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| We now start to straggle up this long long rocky trail. I was way behind |
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| Quinn |
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| Josh on the right. The other people are on top I believe |
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| I made it. I am wondering here if I should drink the camp milk, since I threw up the camp bagel and camp yogurt |
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| Me on the left looking grumpy with my milk. Andrew on the right looking like nothing bothers him. |
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| Myself and Quinn on top |
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| Josh, Aaron and Alex |
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| Heber and Andrew |
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| Gabren |
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| Quinn and Myself. My jacket looks kinda hippyish |
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| Kason and Ben |
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| Alex, Gabren, Kason, Heber, Quinn, Myself, Andrew and Josh and Aaron in the back |
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| The silly picture. Nice belly Gabren |
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| Going down and looking back up |
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| Going down is much easier for me but Quinn has a tougher time with his flat feet |
It was a great Scout Camp. The boys learned a lot and learned how to face some of their fears. The boys did not make it too hard on the leaders. They got a lot of merit badges and had fun.
