Day 2 –

When I was a boy we would wake up and pass out trying to blow on the coals from last night’s fire to get it going.  We than sat around the fire.  This morning I see a group of young men circled around – the power box to charge their phones…..  Times they are a changing. 

So it appears that there is some training going on to get them ready for BYU where standing in line was practically a minor.  There are a lot of youth here.  There are not really enough staff here.  When those two collide it gets a little frustrating at times. 

Just a little update.  It is hard for me to keep track of folks because we have 33 youth and they are split into three groups – advancement (they work on merit badges 3 hours a day and high adventure the rest), adventure – they are doing high adventure all day, and leadership (and I’m not sure what they do all day but I did see them sitting in a large tent today).  Given the size of our group and the age differences we haven’t really done much as a troop.  Ok not much – anything.  At Goshen I could at least wander around the camp and get some pics.  But it is so far to walk around here that I’m just too lazy to walk the extra mile (or ten) to get pictures – especially when I’m not sure I even know where they are.  So, my apologies.

I can tell you that there are variations of three ways to get from camp to meals – they are 1.46 miles, 1.24 miles, and 1.07 miles each way.   You can probably guess which way we take now….  It is about 1.9 miles to the “adventure zone” area where many of the activities are at.   Most in camp walked between 15 and 20 miles today.  There are a number of scouts with some blister problems.  The paths are dirt and gravel paths and I know in my tennis shoes I can feel those big rocks sometimes.  (Cue Mulan – “mister I’ll make a man out of you” soundtrack)

Some in the adventure group did mountain biking and the big zip today.   The showers are wet and in good condition, but they are also “ambient” temperature.  I wasn’t sure what that meant but as near as I can tell it means “just warm enough to keep from freezing in the pipes.  Boys and leaders embrace the concept with varying degrees of enthusiasm. 

The speaker this evening was the world record box jumper.  He told an amazing story of how his life has not gone as he planned and how he has dealt with the hand he was dealt.  Pain from an accident when he was 9, broke his knee at 18, cracked his neck and head while on his mission and was paralyzed for a time.  And now he can jump higher than anyone – 105% of his height.  He even did some jumps for us.

So far no major injuries.  No major melt downs.  We did have one scout lean out of his tent and barf – *careful* stepping into that tent… but at least he made it that far!