Scoutmaster Shane’s Troop 560

This last weekend, we made our 2nd annual trip to Payson and toured Camp Geronimo in anticipation of our week-long trip in July.  We stayed at the Houston-Mesa Campground a mile north of the Payson Wal-Mart with picnic tables, running water and bathrooms - so we were really roughin’ it!  The scouts all bunked in one big tent and the leaders set up an even bigger tent which we dubbed "The Hilton".  Before dinner we drove out near Christopher Creek hoping to tour the fish hatchery.  It was closed but we started hiking a nearby trail.  Later, the boys found a creek and we spent the next hour trying to get each other wet by throwing rocks in the water.

Back at camp we started a fire and roasted polish sausages and marshmallows and re-christened Trace as the master roaster.  After a devotional by Connor we enjoyed the now famous Carmel Apple Crisp Dutch Oven Cobbler complete with a whole can of Redi-Whip!  At about 11pm we settled in for the night.

It was very cold on Saturday morning and Daniel couldn’t wait to get the fire going.  He was so happy to drop an armful of pine needles on the fire he didn’t realize that he had singed his hair.  But at least he kept his eyebrows!  We prepared a new dutch oven mountain man breakfast and while the scouts had fun roasting english muffins, Brother Layton tried to sign everyone up for Geronimo classes on the laptop.  Yes, Saturday morning was the opening of the Geronimo website so to ensure all our scouts got the classes they wanted, Bro. Layton brought his laptop to sign up.  After a few glitches and down internet signals we finally got everyone signed up.  Bro. Crane had to leave but Bro. Tingey came up as we were cleaning up camp.

We drove up to Camp Geronimo and spent the next couple hours walking around to our campsite, the dining hall, the swimming pool, all of the lodges where the classes are held, and of course the lake.  The obstacle course had a new addition of a huge rope swing that we had fun with.  Then we ate lunch in the parking lot and came home.  We had a great trip and it served to increase our excitement to come up in July.  During the course of the campout we decided on nicknames for each scout.  Some are self explanatory and some you might have to ask the scouts:

• Brandon: "Scarface" short for "Scarface the iPod Killer Pyro"
• Trace: "Cookie"
• Daniel: "Singey" (no relation to American Idol’s Sanjaya)
• J.T.: "Professor"
• Zach: "Tree Killer"
• Connor: "Face"
• Cameron: "Newbie" (although that will need to change now)

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OUR MISSION: Go on a campout and have fun.
THE REASON: All our boys needed another overnight campout for the Camping merit badge and the new scouts needed to set up a tent, cook a meal and other requirements for First Class rank.
OUR FIRST CHOICE: Snow Camping in Payson on Friday and sledding at Woods Canyon Lake on Saturday.
THE PROBLEM: Not enough snow in Payson for sledding resulting in just plain bitter cold camping instead of snow camping.
THE ALTERNATIVE: A modified campout in Bro. McCook’s backyard on Friday night then driving up to Flagstaff where they actually had snow for sledding at Cowley Pit. Some may say that we wimped out by “rouging it” in McCook’s backyard but we had a blast!

Even though the forecast called for rain all day Friday it was bone dry by the time everyone arrived and started setting up tents.  We borrowed Bro. Pike’s firepit and set up our “campfire” in the driveway. We cooked a glorious meal of roasted polish sausages, chips and root beer and we all agreed that Trace was the master hot dog roaster. We told jokes and stories as the fire burnt down, then we went to the school soccer field to play a game of Pitch Black Capture the Flag.  After a few bruises (and Bro. Layton’s and Bro. McCook’s bruised egos from getting taken out by 12 and 13 year olds) we headed back to cook our dutch oven dessert. An hour later at 12:30 we enjoyed a new creation of Bro. Layton’s - Carmel Apple Crisp Cobbler and a can of Redi Whip. By 1:30 everyone was asleep and all the neighbors breathed a collective sigh of relief!

We woke up at 5:30am when Bro. Crane joined us and we wolfed down a hearty breakfast of danishes and chocolate milk.  We packed up the sleds and our cold weather gear and started our for Flagstaff. We got to Crowley Pit at about 9:30 (about 16 miles north of SnowBowl) and realized just how cold it was.  Everyone decided we made the right choice by not trying to sleep in a tent in this weather.  We all had fun sledding down the slopes for the next few hours. After a little exploring, we found a steep drop at the back end of one of the surrounding hills - perfect for nose-dive sledding.  After a while the scouts started jumping over the ledge to land in the powder below. Just as we were beginning to think it was time to pack up, Connor took one last jump. He heard something pop in his foot as he landed and was down for the count. His Dad carried him to the truck and took off his shoes. The ankle was swollen and tender and we all feared that he had broken it. After a priesthood blessing, Bro. McCook and Connor went to the Flagstaff Walk-In Clinic and the rest of us went to McDonalds for lunch. An hour later we heard the good news that it was not broken but just a bad sprain. Bro. Layton was relieved to know that his tenure as Scoutmaster would not be defined by the number of broken bones his scouts suffered. On the drive home we got stuck in stand-still traffic for about two hours but finally made it back around 6:30.  What an adventure!

Setting up the tents - check out Brandon’s pup tent!

Campfire Fun

 
Sledding at Crowley Pit

The Leaders got into it too. Bro. McCook broke his sled and his bum

We closed the day with cliff jumping, hosptital visits and McDonalds

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Yesterday we left extra early at 5:00am to go to Roosevelt Lake.  After bulking up with donuts, danishes & milk in the lake parking lot, we put on our life jackets and hit the water.  Zach, Daniel and JT needed requirements for their motorboating merit badge so they each took the helm and drove the boat and practiced docking against a buoy.  The rest of us held on for dear life!  Connor showed us the finer points of wakeboarding and even caught some sweet air.  Nathan tried barefoot skiing but it looked more like faceplant skiing.  The scouts took turns riding the wakeboard and the kneeboard until we noticed a nasty storm approaching from the northwest.  We considered packing up and returning home but instead drove to the other side of the lake and hung out by the dam.  While we ate lunch (and tried not to make a mess of Bro. McCook’s boat) we watched and tracked the storm hoping it would simply pass us by.  The boys jumped in the water and practiced the survival huddle we learned at Scouts last week!  Bro. McCook and Bro. Layton tried to convince the boys that the big orange barrier buoys by the dam were electrified - but they didn’t fall for it . . . at least not right away.

By the time we were done eating and swimming we looked up and realized that the menacing storm had indeed passed us by.  Unfortunately, it left a lake full of choppy waters in it’s wake.  Bro. McCook took us on a tour of the lake catching air over the waves and hitting speeds of 100 mph.  When we could not find any clear waters we stopped and all jumped out to swim again.  We had fun playing tag and swimming in the open water.  The waves started dying down so we made our way back to the boat.  Of course, trying to be the first to climb back on the boat turned into a rousing game of "Don’t let the other guy get on the boat!"

The water was still too choppy for any real riding so each boy got one last 3 minute run.  They could ride the kneeboard any way they wanted but at the end of 3 minutes Bro. McCook would punch it and see who could stay on the longest.  Nathan and JT won that competition.  Everyone got a chance to drive the boat as we headed back to the dock.  Waking up before 5:00am finally took it’s toll as most of the boys zonked out for the drive home.  And even though it wasn’t the traditional campout we had originally planned, we had a great time with no casualties - other than a sunburn.

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