Troop 1916 just had another great fall outing. Around 25 Boy Scouts (and lots of Cubs) launched small pumpkins with bamboo, making for a very fun weekend.
Three weeks ago, the weather was in the 80’s. Now, in going outdoors to camp, we could definitely feel the change of seasons.
Saturday was a blast! Scouts constructed their own shelters using tarps and rope, built patrol catapults, and tasted amazing food during meal times thanks to our grub masters.
When we arrived, there was a problem with Lake Fairfax Park Authority having assigned us the wrong campsite. Apparently, we were assigned to a campsite that another group was using that same weekend. When that was resolved, the Scouts attempted to pitch their tarps near the sparse amount of trees in the area. Many of the patrols were assigned spaces that were on a slope and had to make due with what was provided.
Now, to return to the catapults -- we had 6 or 7 teams of Boy Scouts (4-5 scouts each) and one team of Cub Scouts. We constructed one line of catapults at each end of the field (a 70-yard meadow). Each catapult had 7 bamboo pieces, a throwing arm, and 6 square lashings. The pumpkins were thrown from T-shirt baskets attached to the end of the throwing arm. The scouts used sweatshirts, water bottles, and sticks in place of pumpkins to test capabilities and make final adjustments to their creations. Some of the teams managed fairly remarkable distances when they threw their pumpkins. There was always a line of cub scouts running to the remains of smashed pumpkins after they collided with the ground.
After catapults, all Scouts went back to camp for dinner. We burned all of the old bamboo from last year’s pumpkin event. (The fire got so big that we were debating whether to put it out). Many of the older Scouts enjoyed smashing open the old bamboo chambers before the burning, as well as the rather loud explosion of missed bamboo chambers by the fire when they were not broken open.
We all ate extremely well thanks to our grub masters. KP was a little longer than expected due to the dutch ovens and pots not being cleaned thoroughly the first time.
The whole evening was like magic; as soon as everyone got into their tarps, the wind started. It rumbled and whooshed so much that some of the scouts had to re-stake their shelters to avoid losing them. The wind chill added to the cold weather causing Scouts to dig through their gear to find more layers of clothing.
Sunday morning was a very early morning. There were pleasant aromas around all of the picnic tables. Tarps came down, and after no time, we were back in McLean and Falls Church.
You can check out the pix over here.
- Sebastian