Today’s throwback is to DS’s first summer camp. This was JD’s third summer as a Boy Scout so of course he was there also. Since I had been the den leader for his den (all of the first year Scouts) and The Husband (who was Scoutmaster at the time) was away on a business trip, I went with them for the first four days of the camp.. By that point I had completed Scoutmaster training and been registered as an Assistant Scoutmaster with the troop. The Husband arrived later in the week.
We went to Camp Sakima at S bar F Scout Ranch. The highlight at S bar F is Nim’s Lake, a 270 acre lake completely enclosed by the Scout property, which includes two other Scout camps (Famous Eagle and Gamble) along with Swift Base (a high adventure camp for Venturers, Explorers, and older Scouts). So of course there was lots of canoeing, fishing, and swimming. Interestingly this was the last summer that Camp Sakima was open for traditional Scout Camp. After that, it was dedicated to National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT).
One thing I remember from this camp is that they built a tremendously large fire which they wanted to light. It was a “cabin” style fire and the middle was packed with kindling and leaves. I kept telling them no, because it seemed really large. So we would have a smaller campfire every evening. But after I left the dads, including Fireman Mike who I thought would say no, let them light the fire. From what I heard the fire reached about 20 to 30 feet up to the tree canopy. I’m glad I wasn’t there because I would have been panicking. 🙂
Anyway, the photo evidence seems to indicate that JD started building this fire structure early in the week. They all had a hand in in and thoroughly enjoyed wondering how high it would go.
This was a fun camp and though we might have gotten ourselves into a little trouble here and there, we have some fond memories.
You have the only photo I’ve found of the iron racks/stands for the coffee can stoves we used at summer camp. I thought they were great but I haven’t found anything like them since. The recipes from the commissary used to have instructions for how many charcoal briquettes to use in those stoves.
Yes, they were a great idea. They were an inexpensive way to distribute the heat under the grill. But I have also never seen them used other than at S bar F.