April 29, 2011

Tell about a memorable campout.

See the answer to this one as given in my blog on 2/10/2011.

Also in the blog on 4/11/2010

Here is another one as written in my history.

Chasing Muskrats at Palisade lake and pudding

When I was a youth in scouting I really enjoyed going on the summer camps. I think I went into the Granddaddy basin for about four years. I remember going to Palisade lake three times and to Governor Lake once. As an adult I went back into the basin and went to Pine Island Lake and hiked back with my scouts to Palisade and Governor lakes.

I had a lot of special experiences in these trips of my youth and adulthood.

One such experience was at Palisade Lake. Near the lake on one side are some cliffs that are above the water by 20 feet or so as I remember it. We camped both times near those ledges. One night when we were there we were in the process of cooking our supper. I had taken a pudding mix with me and was going to eat it that night. I remember being puzzled by how I was going to mix that pudding. I had a spoon but no bowl to mix it in and I wasn’t sure what I would do. Finally I hit upon the perfect plan and I must admit it was perfect. I had decided to put the milk into my canteen and then add the pudding mix, shake it up well and pour it out before fully setup. So I poured in the milk and then added the mix and was shaking away when someone came into camp and told us they could se a muskrat just below the cliffs. I put down the canteen and went with the others out to see the animal and try to figure out where it lived. It was a lot of fun but we only succeeded in chasing it out into the lake to where it finally dove under and we had no idea where it came back up. Satisfied that we had seen the end of it for that evening we went back to our supper preparations and eating. When I got back I found that I had another hurdle to jump in my food consumption. The pudding had setup in the canteen and I couldn’t shake it out. I finally took my table knife and dug it out one scoop at a time. The blade was just narrow enough to fit through the hole. There was only a little of it that would come through the opening of the canteen so needless to say the process was extremely slow. I think I probably only ate about half of it before giving up and washing the rest of it out. I don’t think that I ever took pudding mix again. Must admit though that what I got to eat was good.

April 28, 2011

Were you involved in Cub and Boy scouting? What Rank did you achieve?

I was always a scout it seemed. I earned my Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Webelos and Arrow of Light awards as a cub scout. I earned my Tenderfoot, 2^nd class,  1^st class, Star, Life and Eagle Awards as a Boy Scout.

What was your favorite merit badge to earn? Why?

I would say my camping merit badge. I enjoyed every campout and loved every one of them. I also learned many things about the world of nature around me as I got to go out camping. I have been lost on a campout, swam in mountain lakes, hiked in the rain, signaled messages across a like and won a contest doing it, learned to cook in a reflector oven and sleep on rocks. Of course I have since learned how not to sleep on rocks but it did make those camps very memorable. I also learned how you can hike right over a trail and not know it is there unless you are watching your surroundings and looking in every direction as you hike. I have learned not to make instant pudding in a water canteen because it sets up and you can’t spoon it out. I have learned how to not have to stay up all night drying out a wet sleeping bag because I properly waterproofed it when packing up for the camp. I probably learned more form the requirements of that one badge alone than all of the others.