94^th Edition - Winter Encampment and Pilgrimage at Valley Forge

February 16, 17 and 18, 2007

Wow! What a rocky start but once we settled in we had a fun, safe, informative and believe this, it was "over too soon" weekend! Don't get me wrong, it’s nice to be in a heated house, but as long as you went by the Scout Motto “Be Prepared” it was completely manageable.

 The rocky start was the last minute discovery that there was a lot more ice and snow blocking access to the trailer than first imagined. My son Kenny and I had taken a couple snow shovels and intended to move the snow. We couldn’t budge it as it was solid ice. We tried a small camp shovel from the trailer, effective but slow and it broke. We only had two drivers going to Encampment so it was essential that we take the trailer as there wasn’t room for equipment and Scouts too. Problem was we were on our way to get the groceries and time was running out. Ideas of canceling were entertained but that just shouldn’t happen. I talked to our Committee Chair, Tom, but even together we couldn’t come up with a fast solution. Had there been more time we could have organized a shoveling party but that wasn’t going to happen. Kenny and I made the grocery run hurried home, picked up some garden shovels, our gear and Andrew. We made it to the church before the campers. The three of us went to work on the iceberg, we were making headway but it wasn’t fast. Mr. Ferriss arrived with his son, saw the problem, made a quick trip home and returned with another shovel and a garden fork. Now we had tools and Scoutpower! While the original departure time came and went and the sun was setting we departed only about a half hour late.

 We arrived at the Encampment site after sunset but with the help of huge floodlights and a covering of snow it was nearly daylight while making camp. There was a lot of difficulty unloading the required trailer contents as too many items remain in the trailer from previous camping trips. The Scouts prevailed working as a team, camp was made, the vehicles moved off-site but not without incident, the Scoutmaster was run off the side of a narrow street by an oncoming driver and into the snow where the van and trailer aptly got stuck. After several attempts at backing and pulling forward it was getting grim. With a poorly working flashlight (Remember the Be Prepared thing?) and no keys to the trailer it looked like it would be a very long night. One final attempt was made and for no known reason the tires gripped and the vehicles were on their way. The drivers returned by van-pool and a well earned, delicious dinner of tubesteaks was had by all. The SPL and his assistant attended their mandatory meeting. The Scoutmaster and one of his ASMs attended their meeting and the program was reviewed. Everyone made a sandwich, snack, fruit, dessert, juice box and some trail mix for their lunch during the pilgrimage. Alarms were set for 6:00 AM and everyone was of to their cozy sleeping bags, glad to be out of the sharp winter winds. Reportedly the temps dropped to 12 degrees with a wind chill of an even zero. Regardless of the numbers it was cold.

 Six AM arrived way too early and the Scouts were slow to crawl out of their warm cocoons. With a lot of encouragement they all eventually managed to get enough layers of clothing on and we all had a breakfast of eggs boiled in bags, sort of yucky but it was an easy clean-up. Pre-cooked bacon and sausage provided more of the desperately needed carbs. They were sort of yucky too but the orange juice was excellent. Lunches were issued along with bottles of water and we scurried to catch a bus to the starting ceremonies. After the flag-raising and some patriotic music the eight groups of Scouts, rumored to be 2,200 strong headed out to their designated first of eight stations. We were in the orange team and our first stop was of all things the hot chocolate station. The next two stations were variations on the musket, rifle and revolutionary fighting tactics. Some unusual techniques were shown. From there we caught a bus to the other side of the park for the remaining five stations. They were, a five pound “Grasshopper” cannon firing, an interesting talk on the Spies as they were in 1777-78, a presentation on the unawareness of the people of color that fought during the Revolution, a fun game show station and finally an informational session on the behind the scenes role of the Quartermaster. A long warm bus ride took most of the Scouts back to the Encampment while Mr. Reppert took Timmy and Justin, our two first time Encampment Campers, around to the historical sites to earn the troop the Encampment Award. Back at the Encampment there was a game of Bolo available, followed by free Frisbees. The younger Scouts were quick to earn their Frisbees and sign up for a Scavenger hunt. Some of the older Scouts decided Bolo would be better as a Coed Sport and brought along their friends from a Girl Scout Troop. Soon it was dinnertime where we prepared a homemade Chicken Pot Pie. The preparation was interesting because we forgot to bring along some of the ingredients. A little improvising created a white sauce to flavor the chicken, potatoes, carrots and peas. We cooked this in the Dutch Ovens with charcoal. Partway through the cooking process Kenny made biscuit dough and added it to the top of the “stew” and soon it was served. The fickle Scouts surprised me, they liked the doughy substance we created but skirted the carrots and peas like the plague. Later they snacked on their favorite snack crackers, Goldfish and attempted to make some “Jiffy Pop” popcorn (not too successful). We couldn’t find an outlet for the microwave so therefore the Jiffy Pop. There was a traditional campfire where our Scouts presented that favorite tune, “Hug a Tree” in honor of the Hippy Freaks that worked Camp Firestone not so many years ago. The younger Scouts were exhausted and cold, it didn’t take them long to retire to the protection of their tents and those snuggly sleeping bags. The older Scouts continued to terrorize the campgrounds with their Coed Scouting until the Girl Scout Leaders enforced a curfew. Even they were tired and headed for their tents without hesitation. The entire Encampment was much quieter and slightly warmer than the night before. We slept in until 7:00. This wasn’t easy as the “out of Council” troops began breaking camp early as they get dismissed from the site first for their longer rides home. They were not sensitive to our beauty sleep. While the frozen water boiled the Scouts began to pack personal belongings, sleeping bags and tents. We took a break for a wonderful meal of hot chocolate, apples, oranges and instant oatmeal topped with Goldfish crackers. The orange juice was good. We broke from our Leave No Trace regimen and used disposable bowls and spoons. No one wanted to do a three step cleanup wash in the frigid weather although we did for Saturday’s dinner. The remaining troop gear was packed and moved to the staging area to be loaded. Our newest ASM, Mark stayed with the troop while the other adult leaders checked out and after a site inspection were van-pooled back to the vehicles. After a short wait in the vehicle traffic line we were able to load the gear quickly (with help from the Girl Scouts, Thank you!) and departed for the church.

At the church the trailer parking spot was blocked by church goers and the habitual abandoned vehicle. We off loaded the Scouts and their gear. Once all were in the custody of their parents the Scoutmaster drove the entire mess home so an “after the services” trailer parking trip could be made.

 So to sum it up, there was no Frostbite, no Hyperthermia, no medical emergencies. There were just a few wet socks, cold feet and fingers. The Scouts commented that the weekend went really fast. This indicates to me that the Troop had a great weekend. In 2008 it will be the 95^th Pilgrimage and Encampment at Valley Forge, Wow!