Favorite or Funniest Camping Memories

[mmhardy]

I have one more story that came to mind. When I was 13 I went back to Lost Lake for two weeks. The first week was spent with another troop, I was a visitor. The next week was with my troop. By the middle of the second week I had really gotten to know the camp staff and how things work. However I was almost broke. My budget had not counted on buying cheeseburgers in town with the staff on the weekend.

 

After our lunch on Wednesday I had an idea. The jar of dill pickles was empty and we were just about to throw out the pickle brine and jar. (Days before recycling)I bet my patrol a $1 a piece that I could drink the half jar of pickle brine. I made a show of it. Soon the entire troop wanted in on the action. There was $20 on the line. Needless to say I drank the entire contents of the jar. I was burping dill pickles for the rest of the day but I was $20 richer. But it gets better.

 

Harris was a friend of mine in another patrol. Seeing the quick buck I made, he bet everyone that he could drink down a big table spoon full of pink dish soap. I couldn't believe it. I had my First Aid merit badge and knew the outcome. I bet the entire $20 that I just made that he couldn't do it. In fact I warned him off of doing it, but he was determined. Needless to say Harris was tossing his cookies and had a miserable afternoon. I felt so bad for him I didn't press him to collect and warned off everyone else would wanted their $1. Later that day I split the profits I made and we had sodas and candy bars from the trading post that evening.

[OldGreyEagle]

Mmhardy, Is your first name Wesley and does your friend Harris go by the nickname PeeWee? These seem like exploits I have seen before, somewhere?

[mmhardy]

There really was a Harris. He is now a minister and I work at one of the Big 3 in Detroit. It was 1974 - 1979. Now I'm sending my boys off to camp in two weeks to start stories of their own. I've already told them that Pink Dish Soap should be handled with great care...dangerous stuff in the hands of a camp rookie. (grin)

[eisely]

Another cooking story.

 

I was a patrol leader at the 1957 jamboree at Valley Forge. I don't know how they do these things now, but I imagine it hasn't changed much.

 

Jamboree patrols were of a standard size and you established a rotation of duties during the week. You drew each day's rations in the morning at a commissary tent near you. With those rations came printed step by step instructions. For our evening meal one day, the vegetable was ordinary green peas and the dessert was a butterscotch pudding. All these items were dry and did not require refrigeration.

 

The scout who was chief cook that day (I remember his face clearly, but not his name) followed the directions literally. One of the first steps read "Pour peas into pot". You then added water and set the peas aside. A few steps further down another instruction read "Pour butterscotch pudding into pot." Now the instructions did not say which pot, or whether the pudding should have its own pot. Being thrifty with the pots, our cook put the pudding in with the peas.

 

After we had eaten everything else, one of the other scouts ate the whole thing, peas and pudding together. He was the largest scout in our patrol and had the typical "hollow leg" of an adolescent. He assured us "...this ain't too bad"

[mmhardy]

Gosh the memories keep pouring in.

 

Our troop just got back from fishing. We were using live minnows to catch a mess of perch and I remember we were pretty successful. One of the boys was playing with the minnows in his hand and of course it flipped out of his hand and right into the Scoutmasters can of soda. A one in a hundred shot!! The Scoutmaster didn't see this, (chatting away with the other dads), before anyone could say anything Mr. Oak grabs the can of soda and takes a long pull. All of us sat stunned and wide eyed at the truly strange moment that just occurred. Mr. Oak sets down the can and looks around at all the bug-eyed boys and immediately senses danger. I ask if the soda tasted OK. Of course he asked what was put in the soda can. We were honest and said a minnow flipped into the can.

 

Upon examining the empty can all that could be found were a few shiny scales from its former resident.

 

[SMT376Richmond KY]

Tenderfoot scout at last weeks summer camp telling one of the ASM's that he found a Brown Rectum spider in his tent.

[Jason OK]

Another Philmont experience.

 

Aztec mine.

 

If anyone have experienced the Aztec mine at Philmont you are aware there is a scare at the end. Apparently one of our fellow scouts got so scared he made a mess in his pants. The poor guy was also the biggest guy in our group.

[OldGreyEagle]

Speaking of loud music...

 

Really, the band Rammstein (seen in the movie Triple X) is a german band which sings all their songs in german. At a campout there was a majority of the troop huddled around a walkman while the 3 year german student was translating the songs.

 

Now, I am sure in the translator's life, that was the most people he will ever have watch him translate german. The kids were impressed and he felt guten.

 

 

 

 

[Fuzzy Bear]

Don and I put together several Scout Camporees over the years. At one of them, we had invited the Webelos Scouts. We made up an event where the Webelos gathered firewood for a prize. They dragged in huge piles of wood from all over. The idea was to use these piles of wood for the main campfire that night.

 

Sure enough, we had a pile of wood eight feet tall and four feet across that was built in the square with lighter wood stacked across and inside every other foot to the top. The idea was to light the large tender pile on the very top and then for the wood to burn quickly through the center and chimney back out the top and burn the outside wood ever so brightly.

 

That night we took one small match and put it to the tender near the top. It worked perfectly. The wood caught fire and burned down through the middle during the first two skits. Then the fire began the back burn up and to the outside making a huge glowing burning heap. Without warning a small wind began to blow and then got stronger. The fire grew in strength. Pretty soon the wind had begun to blow even harder and the fire was too hot to stand near. It began to blow towards the Scouts on the lee side and with the flames and sparks about two hundred Scouts had to move to the other side of the fire.

 

It was so hot we had to move everyone back and we almost couldn't continue. All we did was try to keep from getting burned or scorched.

 

What I didn't know was that all during this disaster was that Don was about two hundred yards from the fire running back and forth with a can of water putting out little fires that the sparks were igniting in the dry grass.

 

Don and I wound up staying out there the rest of the night to insure that it would burn safely out and we cooked our last two meals on this huge pile of ashes. I suppose I should insert a warning but most of you already know not to follow this example without me saying another word.

 

FB

 

[MollieDuke]

My son's favorite was just after we moved to another council district. He had gone to a summer camp that was very primitive prior to the move. Tents/no floors, outdoor toilets, etc. Then, after the move went to a summer camp where you camped in cabins, with indoor toilets/showers, etc. "The Hilton" of camps, for him at least. Most of the young boys were cabined together, including him, and were brought by let's say overzealous mom's. My son was quite shocked to see them not only unload tons of cleaning supplies, but proceed to scrub the cabin from floor to ceiling before they'd allow the boys to unload any of their gear. He wonders what they'd have done in the outside camp....lysol the dirt? Ever since, these women are referred to in our house as the LYSOL PATROL.

[acco40]

mmHardy, thought you'd like to hear a recent (last week) LLSR tale.

 

Our troop had quite a few first time campers this year, about 15. I gave the boys my annual, "no food in tent" speech about racoons. Honest, I didn't make it all that scary. However, two of the youngest boys were spooked! Even at noon, they would sit on the picnic tables, afraid the racoons would cary them off if they wandered alone on the treacherous soil. When bed time came around they were still frightened. They wanted to sleep in the other boys tents (safety in numbers I guess). Well, one of the SAs trying to assuage their fears told one of the boys that, "unless you put a hamburger on your stomach when you go to sleep, you'll be alright." The young boy then lost it. It just so happens that the pillow he brought was a round "replica" of a cheeseburger! The fabric print had the bun, burger, lettuce, cheeese, pickles, etc.! Explaining to him that the racoons go by smell and not sight was to no avail. Needless to say, he slept with a pair of other boys that night. By the end of summer camp, he and his tent mate were bravely spending the night in their tents. Once again, no boys were lost to racoons - another successful summer camp!