Best. Day. Ever.

Truly one of the best Many Poiny days ever. Thursdays have the potential of being a meltdown day, but everyone was solid today!  Most of the scouts slept under a tarp last night for wilderness survival.  Max went straight from there to the 6:15 am polar bear plunge. 

Our first troop activity was snorkeling, followed by an epic water polo rematch of the crimson dynos and the dream team. We then conquered the climbing wall. 

The big story of the day was our troop participation in lumberjack days, an annual inter-camp competition of lumberjack-themed activities. Carter shot three in a row in an Annie Oakley shotgun competition, Calvin set the fastest time on the big Bertha climbing wall, and the younger scouts teamed up to domintlate the archery range. 

Day two in the books!

Another beautiful day on Lake Many Point - the morning started off very chilly but it warmed up nicely. Unfortunately that warmth also brought a special smell from the latrine that needed cleaning. Pine-sol is so much better than the alternative. 

The older scouts ran off to adventure cove this afternoon, so the younger scouts were left to rifle shooting, aqua trampoline and ironman alone. 

Ironman is always a tough. Halle he, but our first year scouts conquered.  We had a great cleanup after dinner and a fun evening of open activities. Now we're off to enjoy some s'mores. 

More photos and videos to be posted later from the gopro. 

Many point blog is back for 2014!

Welcome back to the Many Point blog for troop 247!  Today was day one of our 2014 trip with some new and not-so-new faces.  Calvin and Brendan are on their third and likely final years of scout camp, and Gideon and Kadyn are first-timers. 

Our drive started out with a dreary rain and non-functioning trailer lights. A broken gas pump and 4 pounds of mini donuts later we reached Lake Many Point  and a beautiful sunny day had emerged. 

The boys arrived in time for the first merit badge session and we did beach orientation followed by an epic fail of a sailing session which culminated in rescue boats and freezing boys. 

Troop sauna makes it all better though!  Great day with some lasting memories.

Many Point wrapup, 2013

We wrapped up our last day with the boys spending the last morning on finishing up merit badges, then we had a hot dog lunch.  Troop reflection was a time to discuss what we need to work on for next year, and share our favorite experiences.  We did another troop climb, which seems to be a fairly universally popular activity.  Nature pontoon turned into a fishing clinic by Chuck Palmer, much to the chagrin of the camp counselors telling us about a train that plumetted to the bottom of Lake Many Point.  Hmmm...

We began camp teardown and then split up for evening activites.  Some went to archery, aqua tramp, mountain boarding, fishing or climbing. 

We wrap up the evening with the closing campfire ceremony and the Order of the Arrow callout, then a troop tradition of our own massive latenight bonfire, complete with Sebastian's birthday cupcake celebration.  Some of the captured moments are provided below...

Saturday is a frenzy of packing and cleaning that always takes longer than expected, then a checkout process that is always more expensive than expected.

A brief stop in Detroit Lakes for lunch and a group photo (thanks Bob!) before resuming our in-vehicle dance party is the final documented moment.

It is such a privilege to see these young men grow and coalesce in a week at camp.  I was most impressed and often surprised with our younger scouts and their willingness to try new things and help around camp, under the direction of the older boys.  I truly believe this is an essential and potentially life-changing week for all of these young men, and it is a blessing to be a part of it!

Quote of the day: "This was the best week of my life!"  -Kevin Ansah

Thursday from Many Point

Our 4G service diminished toward the end of the week,  so this post did not escape the confines of camp.

As with last year, Thursday challenges everyone's energy level.  Even the most cheerful scout begins to drag a bit.  We gave up on troop cooking for breakfast today; we have a whole troop of night owls, and very few morning people.  Scoutmasters prepared breakfast and that worked much more smoothly.  Some other joys of the day:

Super troop project, survival skills class, troop swim/nap time, Brendan's massive largemouth bass, and lumberjack rendezvous, where all three MPSC camps unite in a competition of climbing, shooting and strength skills.

We had a major tent malfunction that had us scrambling to find shelter for everyone, but once we got over that hurdle and some camp cleanliness issues, we are excited to make Friday a better day!

Busy, busy hump day!

Too sleepy to post, but here goes:  Not enough sausage and monkey bread, merit badge madness and terrible grilled cheese.  Troop rifle and shotgun, a massive bass, kayaking and two lost paddles, target sports for the older boys.  Troop sauna, steaming Kevin, Bob arrives at last.

Quote of the day:  "I feel so strong!" -Paul K