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Celebrating 50 Years of Active Scouting
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Royersford PA 19468 USA
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Troop 406
Ski Shawnee Weekend, 2005!!!
Pictures can be found here.
The weekend started out with a long and boring drive up to the Poconos. The treacherous rain and snow did not make the drive any better. After two hours of videogames and music, we arrived at Mr. Hoffman's cabin. The scouts helped emptying all the trucks and filling in the cabin. Patrols were assigned, and the boys set up their rooms. I brought my guitar, and I serenaded all the scouts until our WONDERFUL chicken 'n' dumplings from Mrs. Motsek. Phil and Robert, our two head cooks for the weekend, warmed it up in the Dutch ovens, and then served us. It was definitely the best scout meal I have ever had. We then made our lunches for the next day, which were hoagies. The boys finished out the night with poker, and laid in bed talking for a couple hours too.
The next morning was an early one. 6 A.M. was the wakeup call with the bugle, thanks to Matt. Breakfast, again made by Phil and Robert, was eggs, bacon, and English Muffins. Most of the scouts mixed them together to get McFryer eggs, named after the troop cook, Mr. Fryer. The boys clean up and piled back in the cars. About an hour (and a few wrong turns) later, we arrived at Shawnee Mountain. As the leaders checked in, the boys looked at the giant trail map and decided what trails they would do. The leaders came back and helped fill out forms. Then everyone got in line for rentals. After about half an hour in the rental shop, we all hit the slopes. Most of the boys headed over to ski and snowboard lessons. After that, we hit the bunny hill. Most of the boys spent the whole day there, with the exception of the experienced skiers, Andy, Kenny, and a few others. We had our hoagies for lunch, and then went back out to the slopes. At the end of the day, the weary skiers headed out for dinner, graciously provided by Troop 105 in Stroudsberg, PA, who do the annual Scout Weekend. They host about 5000 scouts a night. They served us pasta and meatballs, and everyone was filled. It was Saturday night though, and the night was still young.
When we got back from dinner everyone got back into their snow clothes. We continued a camping trip tradition of playing capture the flag on Saturday night. We divided into two patrols, and then planned our strategies for the game. Both teams posted sentries on the perimeter of their flag, and the game was on. A few boys crawled through the woods and in the dirt. It was a stalemate for about an hour so the rules were tweaked a bit, and it became a free-for-all. We all dried off and headed up to bed. It was easy to see how tired everyone was, because there was no talking into that night.
Sunday morning was hectic. About eight of the boys were heading back out to the mountain for another day of skiing. The rest were heading back home. Breakfast was pancakes and cold cereal. Then, the eight boys had to squeeze all of their gear into the trucks, and they were off. The other boys packed all their stuff away and headed off home. The eight at the mountain got all of their gear and hit the slopes. I was even brave enough to get off of the bunny hill! We left at about two o'clock, and had leftover hoagies for lunch. We made our way back and everyone went home, sore, tired, wet, and smelly.
All in all, it was a good weekend. I don't think anyone had a bad time, and no one got hurt. Everyone loved the food as well as skiing and snowboarding. On behalf of the troop, I am saying thank-you to Troop 105 for accommodating 5000 scouts for the weekend. Also, thanks to Mr. Hoffman for letting us use his cabin, and to Robert and Phil for cooking. From snowboarding to capture the flag it was a good weekend. Everyone had fun and there wasn't a single minute of boredom. I think everyone is looking forward to next year.
~~Colin Pound~~