The following has been submitted by the 1st Riverlake Scouts
CHASWOOD: The 1st Riverlake Scouts were back outside for another adventure recently at the Chaswood Educational Woodlot. They packed in a variety of activities into this perfect winter day.
The sunny day started with a hike on the snowy Acadian trail where they identified trees that grow in the Acadian forest. They returned to the rustic lodge to eat their lunches.
After a quick refresher and game to practice following compass bearings, the Scouts had an orienteering race. They had to find nine different control markers and punch their score cards to show that they had found them.
When the teams returned from the race, they were rewarded with weiners and bannock to roast over the campfire. They then split up into two groups for fire starting and lashing activities. They learned some alternative ways to start fires in survival situations such as with a bow drill or by running a piece of wire across the terminals of a battery.
Who knew that you could start a fire by rubbing sticks together, or that a pop can and a piece of chocolate could be used to start a fire?
Scouts also lashed sticks together to make tripods that could be used to hang pots to cook over an open campfire. Dinner preparation followed, and homemade chicken curry was on the menu. The scouts assembled their ingredients and cooked their meals outside in large cast iron Dutch ovens covered by hot charcoal briquets.
Dinner rolls were baked to perfection in another Dutch oven.
The Scouts were happy to eat their delicious meal in the cozy warmth of the wood heated lodge. They ate by the light of several Coleman lanterns.
After a quick clean up, parents started arriving to pick up their tired scouts. It was hard to believe that we fit so much into one day of winter camp.
Scouts and their leaders are looking forward to having overnight camps again when COVID restrictions are lifted.
