Troop Campout

As most of you know, Hunny and I are the Boy Scout leaders in our church branch. We pretty much started from scratch and haven't had much to work with. But Hunny has taken the program and flew with it. I thought it would take longer to get things up and running, but not for this go-getter. He has scheduled, met, taught, gathered, everything and is moving full force. So much so, that he planned an over night camp out. He doesn't mess around! We had a meeting with the boys to discuss where, what to bring, what we'd be doing and what to eat. We bought food, packed tents, and met at our place on Friday. We had a great turn out of eight scouts.

Camping in Seoul is almost oxymoronic. How do you 'camp' in the middle of one of the most populated cities? Thankfully, along most of the Han River is a park that offers grass, soccer fields, tennis courts, exercise equipment, and even a 7/11 (but that doesn't help my big city camping argument...). It was close by and Hunny had camped out one night before and had no trouble so we decided it was as good a place as any. We had to get the scouts into a camping mood somehow, and what better way then to hike to our campsite... along the highway.... It was only a mile and it was a gorgeous evening. Once our spot was picked we laid out our tents and set up the kitchen. Chili dogs for dinner! Leave it to the scouts to plan healthy meals. At least I was able to convince them to get apples....

It was so fun watching Hunny meet with some of the boys to help them pass off some requirements. It was even more rewarding to watch the boys learn teamwork.

After dinner they were eager to play soccer which gave us adults time to recoup and figure out the rest of our plans. It got pretty cold fast so I was eager to snuggle in my warm sleeping bag. I wish I could've said the same for some of the scouts. I think 2 of them were looking at pulling an all nighter. All of them were pretty loud. I don't blame them, 5 scouts crammed in one tent on their first camp out. But two of them decided that since they couldn't sleep that they would sit between the leaders' tents and talk with their outside voices.... I'm not a happy camper at 2:30 in the morning. Of course I shooed them to bed. Hunny was completely oblivious. Oh to be able to sleep like an Army Pilot, dead to the world.

The next morning was a gourmet breakfast of boxed pancakes, scrambled eggs, and BACON! We had many scouts say that was their favorite part of the whole trip. With a brief on map reading and orienteering, we broke camp, packed, cleaned and headed out for our 4 mile hike. It was originally supposed to be 5 but we counted the mile to the camp site as one, we weren't sure these poor boys could last 5 miles straight. We started along the river, crossed a bridge, and walked through an almost grassy trail. For being in the middle of Seoul, it was pretty nice. The weather was perfect. We were spread out at first with some lagers but after about half way the adults decided to help speed up the kids. They weren't allowed to be passed by the last adult and he was going 4mph. That might not seems fast but after 2 miles with your gear, I was struggling to keep up. :) We managed to make it all the way to the Scout Closet on post. The kids were beat. Their parents told us later that we had some sleep for 13 hours that night. I felt pretty proud, helping parents get a break like that. :P

Since all 7 of the boys are 11-12 years old, it can get pretty loud, rambunctious, and just plain difficult. But we were able to help direct them and get them to direct each other. Hunny chose one scout that night to be Patrol Leader. It was a learning experience for everyone. We have a ways to go to shape up these boys into Boy Scouts, but they are on their way with the help and leadership of my Hunny!

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