The 1998 Troop 285 Long Term Camp was a great, if wet, success! Encountering the first rainy week of the Southwest's monsoon season, Troop 285 dove into the great outdoors and all its pleasures. With rain on five of the seven days we were in camp, we got to know EXACTLY where our rain gear was at all times.

Programs for both our Basic Skills (Scout through First Class) and our older Scouts were very strong this year. Food was great, thanks to the help of the Ben E. Keith Company, which provided a refrigerated trailer packed full of fresh food, including ice cream! The countryside was fantastic, since we were in a spruce forest and alpine meadows at 10,800 feet above sea level. Up this high, the air WAS a little thin for some of the Grannies. The company was awesome, thanks to the great attitudes of the Scouts, Scouters and parents of Troop 285.

The Basic Skills program focused on achieving many of the requirements for Tenderfoot and Second Class, as well as some First Class requirements. Four major categories were covered: Knots and Lashings, First Aid, Camping and Cooking, and Map and Compass. As well, the Basic Skills scouts enjoyed a five mile hike with map and compass (part of it along the Continental Divide Trail which was within a mile of camp), and an overnight campout under trail tarps (with dinner being a foil-wrapped pocket-meal cooked over an open campfire). Click here for the recipe we used for the meal. Our scouts were surprised how good this food was - there was even a lottery held to see who got the spare meal from a Scouter who didn't stay for dinner.

Here's a photo gallery of some of the highlights of the camp! Click on a photo for the enlarged version.

Troop 285 Group Photo	Friday Night's Chuckwagon BBQ Dinner - in the Rain!
More Chuckwagon Diners - including Scout Danny M. at left, and Scouter Roy Cook, right of center	Scoutmaster Andy Braman Grabbing a Quick Lunch
Grannie Cooking and Dining Area	Scouts' Meals Being Distributed by Grannie David Mise. Scouts James H. and Shariff B. are watching closely to make sure they get their fair share.
Prescription Medications Dispensed by Nurse Cheryl Gordon	Bob Maguire, Troop Committee Chairman, Rings the Grannie Dinner Bell
Captured, In a Very Rare Photograph, The Boogaloo Brothers!	Communications Merit Badge Included Building and Hosting a Campfile - Scouts Andrew C., Robert T., and Dan R.
The San Juan Mountains, from the Continental Divide Trail on the Basic Skills Five Mile Hike (photo by Lee Jones)	A Flower-covered Meadow from "The Sound of Music" (photo by Lee Jones)
Basic Skills setting out on MiniTrek - a 1.5 Mile Hike and Overnight Camping under Trail Tarps! (photo by Lee Jones)	The Pond at the Older Scouts' Trek Site (photo by Lee Jones)
Basic Skills MiniTrek site was by a cross-country skiing yurt (winter shelter) (photo by Jerry Stratton)	A mountain meadow in full bloom on the 5 mile hike (photo by Lee Jones)

Last Updated - 1998-12-13

HOME