This article was submitted by the 1st Riverlake Scouts
MILLER LAKE: The 1st Riverlake Scouts went on their first overnight camp since COVID hit recently when they travelled up Old Guysburough Road to Dollar Lake Provincial Park.
Ten scouts and six leaders had this beautiful park to themselves to reconnect with the outdoors and to each other. All their spring and summer camps including a trip to an international jamboree in Switzerland had been cancelled because of the pandemic.
At Dollar Lake, the scouts had fun learning and reviewing important outdoor skills such as knife use and sharpening, axe and saw use and safety, using flint and steel to start fires, setting up tarp shelters, and using white gas camp stoves and lanterns.
The scouts also honed their team skills in a game of ultimate frisbee and went on some scenic day and night hikes. They enjoyed summer-like weather on Saturday which made it easy for the scouts to roll up their pants and take off their socks and shoes to wade to the little island just off the main beach and to explore it.
What a treat to be able to do this in November!
All public health regulations pertaining to COVID were followed.
To regulate food handling and serving, the scouters cooked and served the tasty meals which included pizzas and chicken stew baked in cast iron Dutch ovens for lunch and supper, and egg McMuffins and sausages for breakfast.
All the participants slept in individual tents.
When one younger scout said he was nervous about sleeping in a tent alone, a scouter assured him that it was like everyone was sleeping in their own bedrooms, as the tents were set up close to each other.
The scouts planned several exciting outdoor adventures that will take place in the next few weeks and will also soon be selling Christmas trees from the Lions Christmas Tree Lot in the Fall River Sobeys parking lot.
