Canoeing 2015 is in the books and what a great time we had! 42 Scouts and Scouters assembled Saturday morning. All arrived on time and ready for the trip west to the beautiful Shenandoah River area. An uneventful drive, and an hour and 30 minutes later we were at camp, setting up an having lunch. While the forecast was for rain, we lucked out and were dry (at least until later)! After lunch, the outfitter picked us up in modified school buses that double as canoe trailers and took us up River. We were fitted for life vests and oars, and headed down to put the canoes in the river. Did you know that canoes can weigh 75 pounds? Now you do, and so do all of the younger Scouts that struggled to carry their half of the canoe to the water's edge. Many thanks to the bigger boys and adults for helping out and getting us all safely in the water.
With Mr. Forrer in the lead, and Mr. Salt in the rear, we made our way 7 miles down river. The boys had a great time paddling and splashing one another, hooking canoes together raft style, and in one instance accidentally capsizing each other. We arrived at camp and the Northern Tier contingent showed off their portaging skills by flipping the canoes onto their shoulders and carrying them up hill to the grassy area near our campsite. It was quite a show of strength and skill, and amazed the younger scouts and adults alike.
With the canoes safely stowed, we began the task of cooking dinner. All ate well, though grub master Jack Touse won the dinner fare for his delicious fajitas and peach dessert. Tacos in a bag were also popular that night. By now it had started to drizzle on and off. KP was done, and the dutch ovens were being seasoned. A small fire was enjoyed, until most scouts fell into their sleeping bags tired and happy, just in time for the rain to start in earnest.
Morning brought breakfast, and the much anticipated trial of bamboo canoes made during meetings in September. Would they float?? The canoes were assembled and carried to the water's edge. Various scouts climbed in and tried their hand at paddling up river. The boats floated (with a little help from a duct tape repair)!! The boys had a great time taking turns in the homemade canoes. Once that was done, we headed back to the river for another 4 miles of paddling. The water was much lower in this stretch, and there was much getting in and out to move the canoes off rocks. At the end we were treated to a walk over rocks to get the canoes out of the water, and again were amazed by some NT portaging skills. After a quick ride back, we broke camp, did a leave no trace police line, and talked about our roses, buds, and thorns. Some followed the event with a stop for burgers and shakes at Spelunker's to top of a great outing!
Special thanks to Mr, Forrer and Ian, and Mr. Salt, Charlie and Will for figuring out the bamboo canoe plan.
See you at Cub Friendly in a few weeks!
Karen (aka Mrs. Miller)