This years Cub Scout Pack 1229 spring campout was held at Lake Fairfax, Virginia. It was a pack level event and there was a good turnout despite the last minute event planning of Pack leadership. One thing that worked out well was putting Leader Bruce in charge of the food situation… specifically dinner, because he Crushed It! It was a great weekend for a campout and the Webelos that attended all worked together and earned one of their elective adventure pins. And as an added bonus, the boys had the opportunity to watch the International Space Station fly over from the athletics filed that night after the campfire. You can see the ISS in the pictures with the full moon.
Every Spring the Boy Scouts of America and the NCAC put on a weekend event known as Shooting Sports Weekend at Camp William B. Snyder in Haymarket, VA. This year was no different, except that for the first time (that I’m aware of anyway) Pack 1229 would be represented at the event at the Pack level. This is a BSA sponsored event that combines an overnight camping trip with instructor lead courses in shooting sports on Saturday afternoon. Over the course of the weekend, the Scouts learn the safety rules and techniques for safe handling and use of bb guns, slingshots, and archery. This was Dylan’s first experience with Shooting Sports and he not only approached it with a positive, respectful and mature attitude, but also turned out to be a crack shot with the bb rifle. We also had a Pack campout to deal with, so there was food, fun, adventures and the evening campfire too! Sunday morning was cold, but thanks to Ed and Bruce, we had a roaring campfire first thing… even before the coffee was ready!
This year we held our Cub Pack Pack 1229 fall campout at Curtis Memorial Park in Fredericksburg, VA. During the camping trip, I had the Scouts from the Webelos Den work on several of their Adventure requirements including ‘Cast Iron Chef’ and the ‘Webelos Walkabout’. The Webs stayed busy by first completed a 3 mile hike on the Curtis Memorial Loop. Then they prepped and helped cooked dinner using ‘silver turtles’ (foil packs) for the entire pack. And they were also responsible for prepping, lighting and tending to the campfire for the evenings events. Dylan and the boys did an outstanding job handling and completing their tasks for the campout and I could not have been prouder of them.
“Wait… you mean we’re suppose to eat the marshmallows too!” – Lake Fairfax, VA
So last fall, I took Dylan on his very first Cub Scout camping trip to Prince William Forest for what I like to call ‘Cabin Camping’ with his CS pack. This past weekend, Dylan got to try tent camping with me for the very first time and he loved it! Cub Scout Pack 1229 sponsors two camping trips a year and last weekend they had their Spring Camp out at Lake Fairfax in Fairfax, VA. Aside from a little rain and wind overnight, it turned out to be a really nice time. Dylan and I opted to use my REI Passage-2 two person backpacking tent for our first outing together and it did a great job protecting us from the overnight wind and rain. However, I think that in the future I will take my ALPS Mountaineering Morada 4-person Tent and ALPS Air Bed, so that I might get a little better nights sleep. At this level of Scouting, car camping is pretty much all these kids do, so there’s really no need for an ultralight weight backpacking tent. The most important piece of camping equipment for kids at a young age is a good mummy bag. There is nothing worse then having your child complaining all night that they’re cold.
