Think of the windiest place you’ve ever been. Now multiply that by two. From the time we arrived at the lovely Tejon Ranch for the yearly Camporee to the time we left, such was the weather. But that’s OK, right? We’re not going to let a wind-chill factor of 20 degrees ruin our fun, are we?
Not at all!
Though we arrived at Tejon ranch on Friday night, the actual camporee didn’t start until Saturday morning. After a wonderful breakfast time show featuring fearless Cowboy Doug Nuckolls on his quest for a good cup of coffee, all 800 scouts gathered at the parade ground to kick things off proper. Four of the six scouts in the color guard were from Troop or Crew 104, Matthew G, Cassandra G, Grady M, and yours truly (ME!). Before the scouts headed out to compete and test their scout skills, Mr. Nuckolls opened the games with a bang, or rather a boom, that came from the business end of his black powder rifle.
The valley where the actual competitions took place came alive within minutes. Scouts ran this way and that, rallying behind their patrol flags as the sun broke over the hill and bathed the valley in sunlight. Fields of grass and young scouts alike swayed in the breeze. Competitions involved rifle shooting, navigating with a compass and map, tying knots, climbing rock walls, and obstacle courses, only to name a few. At noon, it was time for a lunch break and all 800 scouts and scouters lined up for a hotdog-a-topia served by members of Venture Crew 104 and other staff members. And not long after, we headed back to the competitions, hoping the pains on our necks were from windburn and not sunburn. At 4:30, the games were done and we all returned home to our camps for a much needed card game break.
While dinner warmed up on the stoves, I personally carved a bread bowl out of a loaf of sourdough the staff cook had given me because he had too much food. The insides were used as hamburger buns and quick energy boosts for the kids playing ninja just beyond the tents. Before the sun went down, we all had our fills of stir fry, hamburgers, and ramen. Just as the sun dropped below the horizon, we left for the campfire. The campfire show had many acts consisting of campfire classics (“You are about to go on a long and painful journey”) and the return of fearless Cowboy Doug Nuckolls and the last bottle of whiskey. Before long, campfire was over and the weary left for their sleeping bags while the curious and courageous stayed to listen to campfire stories by Mr. Krueger. I personally drifted between the OA cracker-barrel and the campfire, telling and listening to stories until I finally headed back up to camp with Nick P.
Do you remember when I said it was windy? Well that night, many tents were nearly crushed or dismantled by the wind. I personal awoke several times to my tent pole hitting me in the face through the tent wall. And this wasn’t a friendly, love-tap of a hit, this thing cam at me like a machine gun. Strangely enough, it was not a bad night’s sleep considering how I’ve fared on other campouts. In the morning, I discovered that many scouts had been attacked by their tents in the night under the pressure of the wind.
Speaking of morning, it was COLD! I am very proud of the scouts that worked up the courage to leave the warmth of their sleeping bags so that they could lift heavy items into trucks. My patrol, the Rubber Duckies, decided that fighting with the wind to warm up the water for their oatmeal was not worth the reward of oatmeal and so ate a granola bar each, had some fruit, and ended up packing everything away first. Due to disagreements with the wind, we missed the camp-wide scouts own (a non-denominational yet still religious ceremony/time to give thanks), so we held our own in our campsite before heading down to the awards ceremony.
Upon arriving, we were relieved of the Spirit Stick (the most sought-after camporee award) and it was placed at the front of the assembly for all to ogle at. The ribbons for individual events were handed out, and Troop 104 was polite when others won something, and loud and proud when they won something. I only remember what the Rubber Duckies won; first place in Rifle Shooting and Map and Compass, but you can rest assured that the other patrols got their share of the spotlight. Finally, the time had come to award the Spirit Stick. Mr. Goldberg held it up high, and announced the winning Troop.
104
Wait, that’s us! I almost felt sorry for the rest of the troops. This was the fourth year in a row, and I don’t even know how we won this one. I guess we just have lots of Spirit. Happily, we ran up the hill and finished loading up the trucks. After a brief missing scout problem (it turns out he was never missing, but instead in a different car than the one he rode in to get to the camp), we left for home. Unfortunately, barely out of the front gate, Mr. Barragan and his truck had an encounter with a speeding CHP officer. Nobody was hurt, but the patrol car lost. Thankfully, we all made it back to the church healthy and safe, with smiles on our faces. Everybody seemed to agree that, even though this may not have been the most awesome camporee ever, we all had a good time and are happy to go home with new memories and a Spirit Stick.
Jonathan R, T104 Historian
