Boy Scout Troop One from Logan, Utah (Sponsored by the Logan Lions Club-Trapper Trails Council-Old Ephraim District) is celebrating its’ 100th anniversary as a continuously chartered scouting unit with specially scheduled activities each month throughout the year 2010. Troop One is the oldest Boy Scout Troop west of the Mississippi River and has created a strong foundation of leadership, service, and community for hundreds of Cache Valley’s youth over the past century. Boys between the ages of 11-17 who are interested in joining Troop One are encouraged to visit our troop meetings at First Presbyterian Church, 12 South 200 West in Logan, Tuesday’s between 7:00-8:30 pm. Troop One is a non-denominational scouting unit.
August 2-7, 2010 – BSA Camp Loll
Our first Camp Loll trip
Written by Aaron Davidson
Father/Assistant Scoutmaster-Troop 1
The following is an account of a new scout (Ian Davidson) and his father’s experience on their first trip to camp Loll.
It may, or may not be, accurate, real, representative, or in any way be an actual account of what happened!!!!!
Camp Loll: Unknown, who, what, when, where, how?
Camp Loll: Come join us, says the leaders, it’ll be fun, all you have to do is……..
Camp Loll: Fill out more paperwork than a new home “closing”!
Camp Loll: Take out a 2nd Mortgage on the house to buy dad and son a new uniform
etc….
Camp Loll: Having a loving wife, mother and friend to help us prepare,
indispensable.
Camp Loll: Pack more gear than a Swiss Army, and still forget something like a Scout
book!
Camp Loll: Try to explain to the new scout, why you need the gear that would supply
a Swiss Army!!!
Camp Loll: Show up in the dark with 30 or so other bleary eyed scouts and adult
leaders.
Camp Loll: Pack enough gear in the truck so that it could explode if you so much as
touch it!
Camp Loll: Drive anywhere between 40 MPH and 90 MPH, in a caravan, in traffic, and
get lost!
Camp Loll: Dad drinking coffee, and the scouts eating candy or ……. Everyone’s
buzzed!
Camp Loll: Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Camp Loll: Finally, DIRT, dusty dirt road, long dusty dirt road, are we there yet?
Camp Loll: Finally we sight a Staff Scout on the dirt road, he’s way too happy, this guy
is overjoyed???
Camp Loll: He makes us wait; he still seems way too happy and friendly???
Camp Loll: Finally, we are allowed to proceed to unload; all of the staff are way too
happy and helpful?????
Camp Loll: I’m starting to get it; this “happy and helpful” thing is a way of life here at
Loll.
Camp Loll: We unload the truck without any explosions or accidents into one huge
pile.
Camp Loll: By the time I park in another lot in another “district”, and walk back, the
pile of gear is gone!!
Camp Loll: This Scouting thing is like the military, go, go, go, go, wait, wait, stop,
stop!!!!!
Camp Loll: Camp barely set up, Swim Checks, let’s go, no time to waste, come on
scouts!!
Camp Loll: Swim checks prove at least one thing. Water can exist as a liquid, at 10
degrees F.
Camp Loll: Now we’re all ready for a week of fun, right?? Time will tell, now what
time is it?
Camp Loll: Merit Badge classes, roundtables, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners all
blur into one.
Camp Loll: Doing dishes, cleaning up after the Scouts, trying to keep the Scouts
going.
Camp Loll: Not seeing or doing everything I wanted, because I was too busy cleaning
or cooking!!!
Camp Loll: Not getting enough time with my boy because I was committed to other
things!
Camp Loll: Not getting enough time with my boy because he was having so much fun
with his friends!
Camp Loll: Polar Bear…. even a polar bear would get a “Brain-Freeze”, I sure did.
What fun!
Camp Loll: Campfires, dust and dirt, smiling laughing Scouts, leaders loosing hair by
the minute.
Camp Loll: Campfires, burning everything that can burn and even things that can’t.
Dang Bears.
Camp Loll: No food in the tents, Dang Bears. Everything in the Bear Boxes, Dang
Bears
Camp Loll: Meeting and listening to Delose Conner for the first time, Priceless!!!
Camp Loll: Some Scouts and their leaders not getting what they want, and wanting to
cry.
Camp Loll: Watching Scouts do the flag ceremonies, made we want to cry.
Camp Loll: Burning of the flag and the speeches, it did make me cry!
Camp Loll: Being one of the few military guys asked to stand in front of hundreds of
Scouts, wow!
Camp Loll: All the scouts earning badges and new knowledge, the leaders learning
too, what an opportunity.
Camp Loll: Watching the Scouts and my boy get one week closer to adulthood, made
me proud.
Camp Loll: Watching my boy learn and grow, shoot his first rifle, toss the big caber,
carve the little stick, so cool!
Camp Loll: Did Ian and I learn from the 50 staff members, most younger than myself,
you bet we did!
Camp Loll: Did Ian and I learn from Troop #1 and its leaders, we sure did.
Camp Loll: Spilled red camp-punch on the new uniform going home, lessons learned.
Camp Loll: A day of cleanup afterwards, not fun, but part of the deal.
Camp Loll: Like all trips, it was mostly work with some fun and rewards peppered in.
Camp Loll: If invited, would we go back? How could we dare say no?
Camp Loll: We learned we have a lot to learn, and Scout Camps can help us get there.
Thanks everyone!
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